Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Whence the intestinal intraepithelial lymphocyte?

O ne of the most widely accepted principles of immunobiology is that lymphocytes with phenotypic and functional properties o f T cells develop from hematopoietic precursors during a requisite period of intrathymic maturation. This developmental stage appears to prepare T cells for their ability to recognize tissue-borne foreign antigens, and to render the peripheral T cell repertoire tolerant to normal host tissue antigens (1, 2). This is not to say that lymphocytes with properties of T cells cannot develop extrathymically, but rather that when immunologists have sought evidence for extrathymic pathways of T cell development, little has been found. Now, however, considerable empirical evidence supports the likelihood that T cells in the small intestine of mice, the intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), have genuine extrathymic origins (3-9). Yet, many aspects of that process remain highly contentious, and the debate involves issues that are central to how the gastrointestinal tract--one of the largest barriers of foreign antigen invasion--maintains its immunological integrity. Curiously, the intestinal IELs were one of the first discrete populations of lymphoid ceils to be identified in mammalian species (10). However, studies of that lymphocyte population were quickly superseded by detailed exploration into lymphocyte biology using more accessible pools of cells in the spleen and lymph nodes of mice, and in the blood of humans. In fact, the intestinal epithelium with its collection of eclectic T cells containing no less than ten distinct phenotypic subsets (11), many with novel functional properties (12, 13), is still occasionally regarded as little more than a graveyard of dying and effete cells. The rejuvenated interest in the IELs can be attributed to several factors, not the least of which is the potential extrathymic nature of those cells, and the identification of IELs as a major pool of peripheral ~8 T cells (14). Evidence for the former comes from traditional experimental approaches used by immunologists to delineate pathways of T cell development, including studies in congenitally-athymic nude mice, in mice rendered athymic as neonates (neonatally thymectomized [NTX] mice), and in adult athymic radiation chimeras. The basic findings from those studies have been consistent, yet perplexing. Simply summarized, they are: (0 IELs in adult athymic chimeras are most similar, phenotypically, to IELs found in normal unmanipulated mice; these include both TC1KoL[3 and TClKy8 IELs as well as CD8ot0~ and CD8o~ subsets (4, 8, 9); (i 0 IELs in nude mice strongly favor the TC1K~/8 and CD8~xo~ lineage(s), although some age-dependent increases occur in the numbers ot[3
The Evolution of Performance Measurement System ( PMS ) and Linkage to the Environmental Uncertainty and Strategy ; a Review of Literature

Performance measurement systems in today’s business environment are different from the 1960s and 1970s. The nature of today’s business is very unique and dynamic; and with the effect of globalization, the organization’s performance measurement system requires a different dimensional approach. To provide managers with useful information and to sustain competitiveness, the organization must measure all aspects of organization functions. Traditional organization performance measurement systems measure the financial dimension alone, but as a result of stiff competition from the global market, the organization has to take a different approach in measuring performances. Integrated or multidimensional performance measurement system is a major innovation in organization performance measurement. However, this tool is not effective if it is not linked to the organization’s strategy and reflected based on the environmental uncertainty that has great influence in changing the organization strategy. Besides, the organization performance measurement system also varies according to the organization structure. This research paper is divided into two sections. The first section of this research reviews the literature with regards to development and evolution of performance measurement systems. The second section reviews literature with regards to the significance of incorporating factors such as environmental uncertainty, organizational strategy and structure in organizations’ performance measurement system. In summary, the innovation in performance measurement system and above mentioned factors are compulsory in order to sustain the organization’s competitiveness in today’s business environment.
Ph.D. Research Report: Reliable Communication in Dynamic Environments

Distributed systems consist of a set of independent processes (no shared clock, no shared memory) that communicate to get a common goal. The main aspect of a distributed system is achieving communication among processes facing the possible heterogeneity. In a modern view this communication is provided through a set of services that compose a software layer interposed between the operative system layer and the application layer (middleware). The set of services can comprise basic services like a simple reliable communication service (a sent message is eventually received by the intended receivers) or more complex services as group communications (Reliable [? ], FIFO, Causal, Atomic [? ]) or services that provide shared memory abstraction with different consistency criteria (PRAM [? ], causal [? ], sequential [? ], atomic [? ]). The application programmer will choose the right level of abstraction provided by these services to easily design its application. The massively advent of peer-to-peer networks, publish/subscribe systems or mobile networks brings the need of reliable communication prim-itives for large scale dissemination in size and/or in geographical distance within a group of processes that share common interest. These environments impose many constraints on the underlying system model: distributed (processes don't share memory), asynchronous (no timing assumption on processes speed and on communication delay), unreliable communication links, etc. Moreover, contrarily to classical distributed systems where the number of system processes is bounded (and most of the time known in advance by all participants), in such a context the number of processes in the system varies along the time and may be unbounded. This implies, among the others, that each process of the system can only have a partial knowledge
Natural and built environments and quality of life in EU member states

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The Expansion Power of the English Banking System

Scope and purpose of study, 1. — I. Reserve policies of London Clearing House banks: primary expansion, 2. — Customary reserve ratios, 2. — Coefficients of expansion: commercial banking system, 8. — Individual commercial banks, 10. — II. Reserve policies of the Bank of England: systemic expansion, 16. — Deposit expansion, 17. — Currency and deposit expansion, 27. — III. Coefficients of expansion as guides for banking policy and reform, 35.
New Data on the World Distribution of Paraoxonase ( PON1 Gln 192--Arg) Gene Frequencies

The physiological role of human paraoxonase (PON), a serum enzyme that hydrolyzes organophosphate insecticides and nerve agents, is not clear. Of the three genes in the paraoxonase gene family, PON1 shows a polymorphism, Gln 192-> Arg, governed by two common alleles named *Q and *R. These determine two different isoforms associated, respectively, with lower and higher activity towards paraoxon, a toxic metabolic product of the insecticide parathion. The *R allele has often been found associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. As human populations tend towards greater exposure to environmental changes, including changes in dietary habits and contact with insecticides or other toxic substances, health risks will change as well. In studying the prevention of these newly emerging risks, it could be important to know the distribution of the two alleles in the various world populations. In this paper we report on the genotype and allele frequencies of this polymorphism in different populations, most of which have never been examined for this polymorphism. Samples were taken from mainland Italy, Sardinia, Ethiopia, Benin, and Ecuador. The *R allelefrequencies for the samples were: 0.313, 0.248, 0.408, 0.612, and 0.789, respectively. The data show a large variability in allele frequencies, and, in particular, that PON1 allele distribution depends on membership to different geographic populations.
Local axonal protection by WldS as revealed by conditional regulation of protein stability

Significance We investigated the molecular basis of Wallerian degeneration slow (WldS) axon protection by defining a spatial and temporal requirement of WldS activity to promote axonal survival. The findings carry clinical significance in showing that the cellular mechanisms governing degeneration of mammalian axons exhibit a latency period before the axon is irreversibly committed to degradation. Moreover, our findings indicate that the progression of Wallerian axon degeneration can be attenuated or halted altogether even long after an injury has occurred. We believe these findings narrow the molecular mechanisms responsible for orchestrating axonal degeneration to events within the axonal compartment and help identify therapeutic targets to halt or reverse the course of axon degeneration in neurological injuries and diseases. The expression of the mutant Wallerian degeneration slow (WldS) protein significantly delays axonal degeneration from various nerve injuries and in multiple species; however, the mechanism for its axonal protective property remains unclear. Although WldS is localized predominantly in the nucleus, it also is present in a smaller axonal pool, leading to conflicting models to account for the WldS fraction necessary for axonal protection. To identify where WldS activity is required to delay axonal degeneration, we adopted a method to alter the temporal expression of WldS protein in neurons by chemically regulating its protein stability. We demonstrate that continuous WldS activity in the axonal compartment is both necessary and sufficient to delay axonal degeneration. Furthermore, by specifically increasing axonal WldS expression postaxotomy, we reveal a critical period of 4–5 h postinjury during which the course of Wallerian axonal degeneration can be halted. Finally, we show that NAD+, the metabolite of WldS/nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase enzymatic activity, is sufficient and specific to confer WldS-like axon protection and is a likely molecular mediator of WldS axon protection. The results delineate a therapeutic window in which the course of Wallerian degeneration can be delayed even after injures have occurred and help narrow the molecular targets of WldS activity to events within the axonal compartment.
The Influence of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in Mississippi Public Schools to Improve Adolescent African American Males' Literacy Achievement

ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . iv DEDICATION . v LIST OF TABLES . xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . xiii CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION . 1 Causes of African American Achievement Gap . 3 U. S. School’s Accountability System . 5 Instructional Practices that Motivate African American Male Learners . 8 Theoretical Frameworks . 12 Critical Race Theory . 12 Culturally Relevant Pedagogy . 14 Statement of Problem . 18 Purpose of Study . 20 Justification . 21 Research Questions . 22 Hypotheses . 23 Delimitations . 23 Assumptions . 23 vii Definition of Terms. 24 Chapter Summary . 25 CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW . 26 Historical Perspective . 26 Post Slavery . 27 Jim Crow Laws . 28 Modern Slavery . 29 Great Depression . 31 Desegregation . 32 Accountability Movement . 33 Culturally Imbalanced Schools . 37 Theoretical Frameworks . 40 Critical Race Theory . 41 Culturally Relevant Pedagogy . 46 Issues that Influence African American Males’ Literacy . 49 School Factors . 49 Pre-service Training . 53 Disengagement. 54 Culturally relevant text . 55 Discipline. 56 viii Over identification in special education . 57 Home and Environmental Factors . 60 Family structure . 62 Self-Identification . 63 Personal attitudes. 64 Peer influences . 64 School Culture . 65 Home and School Unity . 66 Parental Involvement . 67 Personal Relationships . 68 Role Models in the Media . 69 Promoting Academic Success for all Students . 69 Promoting Teacher-Student Relationships . 70 Extrinsic Rewards . 71 Intrinsic Rewards . 71 Academic Strategies. 72 Active Reading. 75 Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction . 75 Culturally Relevant Curriculum and Instruction. 75 Culturally Relevant Text . 76 ix Delivery Style . 77 Performance Arts . 78 Hip-hop Pedagogy . 79 Technology . 79 Student Choice . 80 Student-centered Learning . 81 Cooperative Learning. 81 Behavior Strategies . 82 Positive Behavior Intervention and Support . 83 Response to Intervention. 83 Chapter Summary . 84 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY . 86 Overview . 86 Purpose . 86 Research Design. 86 Research Questions . 87 Participants . 87 Instrumentation . 92 Strategies and Behaviors of Effective Teachers . 92 Reliability . 93 x Data Collection and Analysis. 95 Chapter Summary . 97 CHAPTER IV – RESULTS . 98 Overview .
Potential of Local Currencies in the Czech Republic: DSGE model

The Czech Republic is an economy with one of the most municipalities per squared kilometer in Europe. The localization factor of individual municipalities causes their different reaction to exogenous shocks. The subsequent varying transmission of shocks into prices questions the convenience of the dominant position of the Czech currency for all regions. Instead, community currencies respect regional heterogeneity as well as endorse social values national currency is weak of targeting. Individuals, companies but also municipalities in other countries seem to realize these benefits of community currencies. Over four-thousands of community currencies operate worldwide. Spain belongs among one of the most recent member of such local-currency movement. High unemployment rate in Spain has motivated local activists to launch several time-banking schemes. These schemes multiplied into more than four hundred. Greece copied such effort to provide unemployed and impoverished individuals with additional means of exchange along with independence on scarce euro currency. Local currencies could help Czech Republic to respect regional discrepancies and allow local communities to be more flexible to transmission shocks and varying economic conditions. This study analyzes the benefits of such potential scenario with local currencies in the Czech Economy. The applied method represents an enhancement of the DSGE model as designed by the Ministry of Finance in the Czech Republic for local-currency variables. All set of monetary policy and fiscal policy shocks along with a shock into the local currency will allow to determine the potential importance of community currencies for the Czech Economy.
Do women experience the same benefits as men from implantable cardioverter defibrillators?

The Issue Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are used for primary prevention in those who are at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) and for secondary prevention in those who have been resuscitated from a cardiac arrest. Several randomized controlled trials have found that treatment with an ICD reduced mortality, and the device has been assumed to be equally effective in women and men (Antiarrhythmics versus Implantable Defibrillators Investigators 1997; Bardy et al. 2005; Moss et al. 2002). Indeed, clinical guidelines do not consider the sex of the patient in their recommendations for ICD implantation. Although ICDs are now routinely implanted in patients regardless of their sex, recent studies have questioned whether there are differences in ICD use and outcomes between women and men. The weight of evidence suggests that women are less likely than men to undergo ICD implantation. Indeed, landmark randomized controlled trials of ICDs enrolled approximately 75% men (Bardy et al. 2005; Moss et al. 2002). Data from Ontario indicate that compared with men, far fewer women with myocardial infarction or heart failure have had the device implanted for primary prevention, and this difference has persisted over time (MacFadden et al. 2009). Women are also far less likely to undergo ICD implantation for secondary prevention after cardiac arrest, although the differences in device utilization for post-cardiac arrest indications have been attenuated over time (MacFadden et al. 2009). Although few studies have examined the reasons for differences in ICD use between the sexes, there are several potential explanations, including lower rates of referral of women, reduced likelihood of accepting women for the procedure and women’s refusal to undergo defibrillator implantation. Outcomes for women who undergo ICD implantation have not been fully evaluated. Data from the US National Cardiovascular Disease Registry (NCDR) ICD Registry suggest that women have a higher risk of in-hospital complications than men (Peterson et al. 2009). However, ICD complications are more likely to occur after discharge from hospital, and these events were not explored. In a study of defibrillator-related early complications from the Ontario ICD Database, complication rates were found to be higher than previously anticipated (Lee et al. 2010). Rates of major, minor and any complications at 45 days were 4.1%, 5.1% and 7.4%, respectively. The majority of these events occurred after discharge from the index ICD-implantation admission, as evidenced by the 0.8% in-hospital complication rate. Importantly, early implant-related
Territorial Restrictions in Distribution: A Case Analysis

T ERRITORIAL restrictions often play an important role in agreements between franchisors and franchisees. That is, franchisees may obtain exclusive rights to market the franchisor's brand(s) within a given geographical area; these rights thereby give the franchisees monopoly positions with respect to these brands. From a marketing strategy perspective, such restrictions frequently make sense, because the franchisor is more concerned with the ability of his franchisees to win competitive battles against other brands than he is with their ability to do battle among themselves, thereby cannibalizing one another's sales volume. In the early stages of brand development and growth, such restrictions can be viewed as a needed incentive to secure adequate market penetration vis-a-vis established brands within the same product category. From an antitrust perspective, however, such restrictions are highly questionable because they are a blatant means of prohibiting intrabrand competition. Thus, the issue of territorial restrictions provides an example of a classic confrontation between a marketing strategy that seeks to promote interbrand competition and antitrust programs that seek to promote competition among all brands, including those owned by specific franchisors. Since the Supreme Court's 1967 decision in the Schwinn case (which found territorial restrictions in distribution to be illegal on a per se basis),' many industries have been operating in limbo with regard to their distribution systems. For the most part, these industries have continued to use past practices pending final clarification of the issue of territorial restrictions.2 This article assesses the various factors surrounding territorial restrictions in the distribution of soft drinks. The soft drink industry has been isolated for analysis because segments of the industry have been particularly vocal in urging Congress to pass legislation designed to override the Schwinn decision. As a result of the assessment presented in this article, the authors take a position opposing the use of territorial restrictions in this industry. A similar analysis to the one presented here can, it is believed, be applied to other product classes in the food and beverage industries (e.g., bread and beer), where such restrictions are prevalent.
Intellectual Capital (Ic) and Customer Value in a Retailing Context

Intellectual Capital (IC) is the intellectual capability of an organization; it drives the usage of other productive resources and adds value to the business structure. Although the expanding literature on IC has enhanced our understanding, the effects of IC with relation to consumers have not been explored in the marketing literature. Thus, this study fills this void by approaching the notion of IC from a customer perspective. Customer value also has attracted extensive attention in recent years. However, the lack of agreement among scholars with respect to the conceptualization of customer value has resulted in inconsistent empirical measures. Furthermore, despite extensive research focus on IC and customer value separately, there is a void in the literature as far as investigating the relationship between the two is concerned. Thus, this study also empirically investigates the predictive relationships among the various dimensions of IC and perceived customer value. This dissertation delineates three dimensions of IC (i.e., Human Capital, Structural Capital, and Relational Capital) available to a retail store in creating value for customers. This study tests the psychometric properties of scale items for measuring these three resources in an apparel retailing context. It also tests the effects of IC on customer value using both a student sample and a consumer sample. This study makes several important contributions to the literature and has the potential to improve marketing practices. First, this study revisits the conceptualization of IC in relation to consumer’s perception and to value creation in an apparel retailing context. Second, this study investigates the multidimensional nature of IC and the relative influence of different dimensions on customer value. Lastly, marketing practitioners and retail managers can learn, based on these results, that the types of resources and their utilization affect the perception by consumers of the value of retail stores.