Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bmi 1 is required for the initiation of pancreatic cancer through an Ink 4 a-independent mechanism

Epigenetic dysregulation is involved in the initiation and progression of many epithelial cancers. BMI1, a component of the polycomb protein family, plays a key role in these processes by controlling the histone ubiquitination and longterm repression of multiple genomic loci. BMI1 has previously been implicated in pancreatic homeostasis and the function of pancreatic cancer stem cells. However, no work has yet addressed its role in the early stages of pancreatic cancer development. Here, we show that BMI1 is required for the initiation of murine pancreatic neoplasia using a novel conditional knockout of Bmi1 in combination with a KrasG12D-driven pancreatic cancer mouse model. We also demonstrate that the requirement for Bmi1 in pancreatic carcinogenesis is independent of the Ink4a/Arf locus and at least partially mediated by dysregulation of reactive oxygen species. Our data provide new evidence of the importance of this epigenetic regulator in the genesis of pancreatic cancer.
Staggered Price Indexation

Empirical studies using micro data find that about two thirds of all product prices do not change in a given quarter. This evidence has been interpreted as indicating the absence of price indexation. Further, models of staggered price setting without indexation interpret all price changes as optimal. However, the empirical evidence is mute with regard to whether price changes are optimal or not. To reconcile the possibility of price indexation with the micro evidence on the frequency of price changes, I modify the Calvo sticky price model by allowing each period a fraction of randomly picked prices to change optimally, another fraction of randomly picked prices to change due to indexation, and the remaining prices to be constant. The paper presents five main findings: (1) with staggered price indexation the Phillips curve includes a state variable that carries information about all past inflation rates; (2) as the degree of staggered price indexation increases, the Phillips curve becomes flatter; (3) staggered indexation dampens the short-run effect of monetary policy on inflation and amplifies its effect on output; (4) fixing the probability of a price change to 33% per quarter (in accordance with the empirical evidence), a small-scale new-Keynesian model estimated on U.S. data yields a probability of indexation of 19\% per quarter (and therefore a probability of an optimal price change of 14% per quarter); and (5) according to the estimated model, staggered indexation explains more than half of the observed persistence of inflation in the United States.
Green marketing and the SDGs: emerging market perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how consumers in emerging market respond to sustainable development goals initiatives by marketers and firms. The study seeks to identify how sustainable marketing strategies contribute to attaining the SDGs in Ghana, a developing and emerging country in sub-Saharan Africa.Design/methodology/approachA positivist methodological framework was used for the collection of data, analysis and theoretical development in this research. A total of 780 questionnaires were handed out. Out of this number, a total of 650 were returned. However, due to missing values, 622 valid responses were used for analysis. Of the valid responses, 306 (about 49.23%) were males while 316 were females, representing about 50.8%. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse data and investigate the relationship amongst advertising, packaging, pricing, green marketing strategies and purchasing behaviour.FindingsStudy findings provide insight into how marketing strategies affect consumer purchasing decisions and brand loyalty. Findings revealed positive relationship between green marketing and purchase behaviour. Empirical results from this study also confirm the mediating role of price on the relationship between green marketing strategies and purchase behaviour.Research limitations/implicationsWhile this study is limited to a single country Ghana, the findings can have far-reaching implications for many countries in the emerging markets sector. The study provides a vivid illustration of how environmental concerns can affect consumers' attitude towards products or services.Practical implicationsPolicy on environmental issues can be developed from this study. Marketers can be more effective at how to effect consumer behaviour using findings from this research.Social implicationsFirms employing green marketing strategies must be aware of the importance the youth places on sustainability and develop strategies that enhance social acceptance by the youth.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, sustainable and environmental issues have been researched on, but pricing and advertising have not been used as a mediating variable on purchasing behaviour in Ghana. Moreover investigation of green marketing strategies and purchase behaviour, advertising packaging and brand loyalty using structural equation modelling analysis within the Ghanaian public space is unique.
Why College Students Drift Left: The Stability of Political Identity and Relative Malleability of Issue Positions among College Students

ABSTRACT In considering the liberalizing effect of college on students’ political values, we argue that political identities—in the form of self-identified ideology or partisanship—are components of social identity and are resistant to change. Using data from the Higher Education Research Institute’s student surveys, we show that what movement in identity does occur is mostly a regression to the mean effect. On several issue positions, however, students move in a more uniform leftward direction. We find that liberal drift on issues is most common among students majoring in the arts and humanities. Self-reported ideology does drift left at liberal arts colleges, but this is explained by a peer effect: students at liberal arts colleges drift more to the left because they have more liberal peers. The results have implications for future research on college student political development, suggesting that attitudinal change can be more easily identified by examining shifts in policy preferences rather than changes in political identity.
Analyzing Knowledge Sharing Behavior for Security Guards in Hospitals

This research focuses on Knowledge Sharing Behavior of hospital security guards and attempts to establish a conceptual framework for better understanding of the knowledge sharing behavior. The main methodology of this study consists of the detailed literature review, enabling the design of comprehensive research model and highlighting the relevant interrelations between the postulated variables.Some hypotheses were structured on the basis of the most emphasized correlations. According to these hypotheses, factors such as Organizational Citizenship, Motivation and Intention have been highlighted as the ones which have the significant effect on the Knowledge Sharing Behavior, and Knowledge Sharing Behavior had the highest impact on the Organizational Performance.
Improving controllers based on neural networks obtained by parallel evolution strategy

Complex task solving can be carried out by decomposing the original problem into more specific and simpler parts, called subtasks. Several researches have demonstrated that each of these subtasks may be solved by means of a neural network, and that, through the coordinated action of these networks, the full problem can in turn be solved. This paper is focused on the presentation of a new mechanism, which allows improving controllers based on neural networks obtained through parallel evolution strategy. Its operation is based on the combination of a method that is capable of generating a minimum-structure neural network with a genetic algorithm that uses tournament selection and uniform mutation. Throughout the process, in order to reduce adaptation time, individuals fitness is assessed in parallel. The proposed method has been applied to the generation of a controller allowing a robot to find a ball, correctly stand behind it and hit it towards a specific place. Tests performed both in the simulated environment and upon the real robot have given satisfactory results.
Biotechnology for Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) Wastewater Treatment: A Review

Gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology involves the conversion of natural gas into several liquid hydrocarbon products. The Fischer–Tropsch (F–T) process is the most widely applied approach for GTL, and it is the main source of wastewater in the GTL process. The wastewater is generally characterized by high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) content due to the presence of alcohol, ketones and organic acids. The discharge of this highly contaminated wastewater without prior treatment can cause adverse effects on human life and aquatic systems. This review examines aerobic and anaerobic biological treatment methods that have been shown to reduce the concentration of COD and organic compounds in wastewater. Advanced biological treatment methods, such as cell immobilization and application of nanotechnology are also evaluated. The removal of alcohol and volatile fatty acids (VFA) from GTL wastewater can be achieved successfully under anaerobic conditions. However, the combination of anaerobic systems with aerobic biodegradation processes or chemical treatment processes can be a viable technology for the treatment of highly contaminated GTL wastewater with high COD concentration. The ultimate goal is to have treated wastewater that has good enough quality to be reused in the GTL process, which could lead to cost reduction and environmental benefits.
Morphological and digestive adjustments buffer performance: How staging shorebirds cope with severe food declines

Abstract Organisms cope with environmental stressors by behavioral, morphological, and physiological adjustments. Documentation of such adjustments in the wild provides information on the response space in nature and the extent to which behavioral and bodily adjustments lead to appropriate performance effects. Here we studied the morphological and digestive adjustments in a staging population of migrating Great Knots Calidris tenuirostris in response to stark declines in food abundance and quality at the Yalu Jiang estuarine wetland (northern Yellow Sea, China). At Yalu Jiang, from 2011 to 2017 the densities of intertidal mollusks, the food of Great Knots, declined 15‐fold. The staple prey of Great Knots shifted from the relatively soft‐shelled bivalve Potamocorbula laevis in 2011–2012 to harder‐shelled mollusks such as the gastropod Umbonium thomasi in 2016–2017. The crushing of the mollusks in the gizzard would require a threefold to 11‐fold increase in break force. This was partially resolved by a 15% increase in gizzard mass which would yield a 32% increase in shell processing capacity. The consumption of harder‐shelled mollusks was also accompanied by reliance on regurgitates to excrete unbreakable parts of prey, rather than the usual intestinal voidance of shell fragments as feces. Despite the changes in digestive morphology and strategy, there was still an 85% reduction in intake rate in 2016–2017 compared with 2011–2012. With these morphological and digestive adjustments, the Great Knots remaining faithful to the staging site to a certain extent buffered the disadvantageous effects of dramatic food declines. However, compensation was not complete. Locally, birds will have had to extend foraging time and use a greater daily foraging range. This study offers a perspective on how individual animals may mitigate the effects of environmental change by morphological and digestive strategies and the limits to the response space of long‐distance migrating shorebirds in the wild.
Do Efficient Dairy Producers Purchase Quota

We examine the effect of farm level cost and scale efficiencies on dairy quota exchanges in Ontario. A constrained profit maximization framework is used to illustrate the role of cost efficiency in quota exchanges (i.e., sales and purchases). Using a multinomial logit model, where net quota buyers and net quota sellers are identified our empirical results indicate that variations in cost efficiency do not have a significant effect on purchases milk production quota, whereas scale efficiency does. Younger farmers, farms with underutilized barns space and farms with a recent history of quota purchase tend to buy milk production quota.
Contests With Multi-Tasking

The standard contest model in which participants compete in a single dimension is well understood and documented. Multi-dimension extensions are possible but are liable to increase the complexity of the contest structure, mitigating one of its main advantages: simplicity. In this paper we propose an extension in which competition ensues in several dimensions and a competitor that wins a certain number of these is awarded a prize. The amount of information needed to run the contest is hence limited to the number of dimensions won by each player. We look at the design of this contest from the point of view of maximizing effort in the contest (per dimension and totally), and show that there will be a tendency to run small contests with few dimensions. The standard Tullock model and its results are encompassed by our framework.
Analysis of nonlinear viscoelastic lubrication using Giesekus constitutive equation

Recent research has shown that adding polymeric materials to mineral oils and consequently changing the behavior of Newtonian lubricants into viscoelastic materials will enhance the lubrication performance. Therefore, in order to examine theoretically the actual behavior of such lubricants, a suitable viscoelastic model must be considered. Hence, in this paper, the solution of fluid film lubrication is presented analytically using the Giesekus viscoelastic model. This constitutive model is based on the concept of configuration-dependent molecular mobility and is suitable for predicting the nonlinear viscoelastic properties. Indeed, it can describe the power-law regions for viscosity, the normal-stress coefficients, the elongational viscosity, and also the complex viscosity. In order to linearize the momentum and constitutive equations and obtain the generalized Reynolds equation, the perturbation method is used and the mobility factor is considered as the perturbation parameter. Here, the effects of mobility factor, outlet-to-inlet height ratio, and Weissenberg number on fluid film pressure distribution, velocity profiles, load capacity, friction coefficient, and first normal stress difference are investigated in detail. Due to the normal stress difference in viscoelastic fluids, using a viscoelastic fluid in contrast a Newtonian fluid can significantly increase the load-carrying capacity of bearing. Another result is with increasing the value of mobility factor, the fluid viscosity decreases and consequently the pressure distribution decreases simultaneously while the lateral normal stress in the y-direction increases. The term pressure distribution is more negligible than the term lateral normal stress and as a result by increasing the mobility factor the load-carrying capacity increases too. It is also observed that, when the Weissenberg numbers tend to infinity regardless of the mobility factor, the friction coefficient tends towards a constant value and rubber-like elasticity is responses.
Specialization within global value chains: The role of additive transport costs

This paper studies the factors of comparative advantage within global value chains relying on a framework where comparative advantage is measured through the interaction of country and industry characteristics. We find that good institutions give a comparative advantage in the later stages of the production process, whereas good transport infrastructure gives an advantage in the early stages of production. We explain these results with a simple theoretical framework that shows how predicted patterns of specializations depend on whether trade costs are additive or multiplicative.
Metabolic fitness of Candida albicans is indispensable for functional drug efflux, ergosterol, and chitin biosynthesis

Background and Purpose: The increment in fungal infections, particularly due to Candida species, is alarming due to the emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR). Hence, the identification of novel drug targets to circumvent the problem of MDR requires immediate attention. The metabolic pathway, such as glyoxylate cycle (GC), which utilizes key enzymes (isocitrate lyase [ICL] and malate synthase [MLS]), enables C. albicans to adapt under glucose-deficient conditions. This study uncovers the effect of GC disruption on the major MDR mechanisms of C. albicans as a human pathogenic fungus. Materials and Methods: For the purpose of the study, efflux pump activity was assessed by phenotypic susceptibilities in the presence of substrates rhodamine 6G (R6G) and Nile red, along with R6G extracellular concentration (527 nm). In addition, ergosterol content was estimated by the alcoholic potassium hydroxide hydrolysis method. The estimation of chitin was also accomplished by the absorbance (520 nm) of glucosamine released by acid hydrolysis. Results: The results revealed that the disruption of ICL enzyme gene (Δicl1) led to the impairment of the efflux activity of multidrug transporters belonging to the ATP - binding cassette superfamily. It was further shown that Δicl1 mutant exhibited diminished ergosterol and chitin contents. In addition, all abrogated phenotypes could be rescued in the reverting strain of Δicl1 mutant. Conclusion: Based on the findings, the disruption of GC affected efflux activity and the synthesis of ergosterol and chitin. The present study for the first time revealed that metabolic fitness was associated with functional drug efflux, ergosterol and chitin biosynthesis and validated GC as an antifungal target. However, further studies are needed to comprehend and exploit this therapeutic opportunity.
The Effects of Zinc Methionine Chelate and ZnSO 4 on the Growth Performance and Immune Function of the Weaned Piglets and on IPEC-J 2 Cell Immune Function

Zinc Methionine chelate (Met-Zn) shows a better palatability, stability, and bioactivity than traditional zinc preparations, therefore this study evaluated the effect on the growth performance and immunologic functions of the weaned piglets. Two in vivo tests were conducted: (I) crossbreeding piglets [duroc × (landrace × large white pigs)] were fed 80 mg/kg ZnSO4 or 20, 40, 60, or 80 mg/kg Met-Zn after the weaning on day 21.The content of serum globulin and lymphocyte transformation rate were measured on days 21, 35, 45 and 60; (II) another group of piglets weaned on day 28 days were fed 80 mg/kg ZnSO4 or 80 mg/kg Met-Zn after orally administrated of Escherichia coli. The levels of some immune factors in the small intestine were measured after the feeding for one month. An in vitro experiment studied the expression of some immune factors and zinc transporters in the porcine small intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) after treatments with ZnSO4+LPS and Met-Zn+LPS. Both Met-Zn and ZnSO4 increased the lymphocyte transformation rate and the content of serum globulin. But, Met-Zn showed better effect than ZnSO4 in improving the growth performance, particularly the average daily gain, after E. coli insults. With E. coli insults, Met-Zn promoted the expression of TNF-α and IL-6 in the anterior and middle segments of the small intestine respectively, but inhibited the expression of IL-8 in the middle segment. ZnSO4 promoted the expression of IL-6 in the posterior segment of the small intestine, but inhibited the expression of TNF-α in the middle segment. Both Met-Zn and ZnSO4 dose-dependently increased the expression levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 in IPEC-J2 cells after the LPS stimulation. In summary, Met-Zn improved the growth performance of piglets and changed the immunologic functions.
SNe Ia AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT: THEORY AND APPLICATIONS TO SN 2014J

We present theoretical semi-analytic models for the interaction of stellar winds with the interstellar medium (ISM) or prior mass loss implemented in our code SPICE, assuming spherical symmetry and power-law ambient density profiles and using the Π-theorem. This allows us to test a wide variety of configurations, their functional dependencies, and to find classes of solutions for given observations. Here, we study Type Ia Supernova (SN Ia) surroundings of single and double degenerate systems, and their observational signatures. Winds may originate from the progenitor prior to the white dwarf (WD) stage, the WD, a donor star, or an accretion disk (AD). For MCh explosions, the AD wind dominates and produces a low-density void several light years across, surrounded by a dense shell. The bubble explains the lack of observed interaction in late time SN light curves for, at least, several years. The shell produces narrow ISM lines Doppler shifted by 10–100 km s−1, and equivalent widths of ≈100 mÅ and ≈1 mÅ in cases of ambient environments with constant density and produced by prior mass loss, respectively. For SN2014J, both mergers and MCh mass explosions have been suggested based on radio and narrow lines. As a consistent and most likely solution, we find an AD wind running into an environment produced by the red giant wind of the progenitor during the pre-WD stage, and a short delay, 0.013–1.4 Myr, between the WD formation and the explosion. Our framework may be applied more generally to stellar winds and star formation feedback in large scale galactic evolution simulations.
How Smart Metering and Smart Charging may Help a Local Energy Community in Collective Self-Consumption in Presence of Electric Vehicles

The 2018/2001/EU renewable energy directive (RED II) underlined the strategic role of energy communities in the EU transition process towards sustainable and renewable energy. In line with the path traced by RED II, this paper proposes a solution that may help local energy communities in increasing self-consumption. The proposed solution is based on the combination of smart metering and smart charging. A set of smart meters returns the profile of each member of the community with a time resolution of 5 s; the aggregator calculates the community profile and regulates the charging of electric vehicles accordingly. An experimental test is performed on a local community composed of four users, where the first is a consumer with a Nissan Leaf, whereas the remaining three users are prosumers with a photovoltaic generator mounted on the roof of their home. The results of the experimental test show the feasibility of the proposed solution and demonstrate its effectiveness in increasing self-consumption. The paper also calculates the subsidy that the community under investigation would receive if the current Italian incentive policies for renewables were extended to local energy communities; this subsidy is discussed in comparison with the subsidies that the three prosumers individually receive thanks to the net metering mechanism. This paper ends with an economic analysis and calculation of savings on bills when the four users create the local energy community and adopt the proposed combination of smart metering and smart charging.