bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Structural characterization of a C-terminally truncated E5 oncoprotein from papillomavirus in lipid bilayers
Authors: Windisch Dirk , Ziegler Colin , Bürck Jochen , Ulrich Anne S. 
Published: October 2014

AbstractE5 is the major transforming oncoprotein of bovine papillomavirus, which activates the platelet-derived growth factor receptor β in a highly specific manner. The short transmembrane protein E5 with only 44 residues interacts directly with the transmembrane segments of the receptor, but structural details are not available. Biophysical investigations are challenging, because the hydrophobic E5 protein tends to aggregate and get cross-linked non-specifically via two Cys residues near its C-terminus. Here, we demonstrate that a truncation by 10 amino acids creates a more manageable protein that can be conveniently used for structure analysis. Synchrotron radiation circular dichroism and solid-state15N- and31P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy show that this E5 variant serves as a representative model for the wild-type protein. The helical conformation of the transmembrane segment, its orientation in the lipid bilayer, and the ability to form homodimers in the membrane are not affected by the C-terminal truncation.
A Comparison of Exact Tests for Trend with Binary Endpoints Using Bartholomew’s Statistic
Authors: Consiglio J. D. , Shan G. , Wilding G. E. 
Published: October 2014

Abstract
Tests for trend are important in a number of scientific fields when trends associated with binary variables are of interest. Implementing the standard Cochran–Armitage trend test requires an arbitrary choice of scores assigned to represent the grouping variable. Bartholomew proposed a test for qualitatively ordered samples using asymptotic critical values, but type I error control can be problematic in finite samples. To our knowledge, use of the exact probability distribution has not been explored, and we study its use in the present paper. Specifically we consider an approach based on conditioning on both sets of marginal totals and three unconditional approaches where only the marginal totals corresponding to the group sample sizes are treated as fixed. While slightly conservative, all four tests are guaranteed to have actual type I error rates below the nominal level. The unconditional tests are found to exhibit far less conservatism than the conditional test and thereby gain a power advantage.
A study to investigate the biological activity of proteoglycan mixture extract from Convolvulus arvensis
Authors: Mahmoudi Mahmoud , Zamani Taghizadeh Rabe Shahrzad , Zamani Taghizadeh Rabe Shahin , Emami Seyed Ahmad 
Published: October 2014

Abstract

Background: Convolvulus arvensis L. (Convolvulaceae), bindweeds, is inhabitant to Iran and its proteoglycan mixture (PGM) has been reported to possess different biological activities. In the present study, we aimed to investigate different properties of PGM including anti-tumor, anti-angiogenesis and immunostimulatory activities.

Methods: PGM was prepared from the roots of C. arvensis. Various cancer cell lines were treated with PGM and the cytotoxicity was assessed after 24 h of incubation using MTT assay. In addition, J774A.1 macrophages were stimulated with LPS (1 µg/mL) and then with PGM. Then, production of nitric oxide (NO) as a marker of inflammation was measured using Griess reagent. Moreover, PGM was subjected to cultivated Leishmania major promastigotes and leishmanicidal activity was determined using MTT assay. More importantly, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) cultured on matrigel basement matrix and tube formation after treatment with PGM was considered microscopically for the determination of angiogenesis.

Results: Obtained results revealed that PGM significantly inhibited the formation of vascular-like tubes by HUVECs without any effect on their viability. Furthermore, PGM significantly exhibited leishmanicidal activity by the mechanism of suppressing L. major promastigotes developmental growth in vitro. However, PGM was shown to have no effect on the growth of cancer cells and production of NO by LPS-stimulated macrophages.

Conclusions: The present study provides some new evidence on remarkable leishmanicidal and anti-angiogenic activities of PGM. These findings also afford the scientific basis for the use of C. arvensis as a candidate medicinal plant for further thoroughly phytochemical investigations toward discovering leishmanicidal and anti-angiogenic compounds.
Enrique Peña Nieto’s National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Challenges of Waging War against Corruption in Mexico
Authors: Tromme Mathieu , Otaola Miguel Angel Lara 
Published: October 2014

This paper analyses the proposals of Mexico’s President, Enrique Peña Nieto, to foster accountability and transparency in his country. Of particular interest is the creation of Mexico’s Anti-Corruption Commission (Comisión Nacional Anticorrupción). After reviewing success factors of other Anti-Corruption Commissions (ACC), particularly the need to guarantee their independence, the paper evaluates the challenges facing the Commission and Peña Nieto’s anti-corruption strategy, from a legal (constitutional), institutional and political point of view. Reference is also made on the linkages between organised crime and corruption. The paper finds that the main challenges include a weak Judiciary, an under-developed legal system, and the lack of coordination between the country’s federal, state and municipal governments. The paper concludes with reflections in order to foster integrity and inform debate on anti-corruption in the country.
Este artículo analiza las propuestas del presidente de México, Enrique Peña Nieto, para fomentar la responsabilidad y la transparencia en su país. De particular interés resulta la creación de la Comisión Nacional Anticorrupción de México. Tras revisar los factores de éxito de otras comisiones anticorrupción (CAC), particularmente la necesidad de garantizar su independencia, el artículo evalúa los desafíos que enfrenta la Comisión y la estrategia anticorrupción de Peña Nieto desde un punto de vista legal (constitucional), institucional y político. También se hace referencia a los vínculos entre el crimen organizado y la corrupción. El artículo encuentra que entre los desafíos principales se encuentra un poder judicial débil, un sistema legal mal desarrollado y la falta de coordinación entre los gobiernos federal, estatal y municipal del país. El artículo concluye con reflexiones destinadas a fomentar la integridad e informar el debate anticorrupción en el país.
Adipose Tissue, Muscle, and Function: Potential Mediators of Associations Between Body Weight and Mortality in Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Murphy Rachel A. , Reinders Ilse , Garcia Melissa E. , Eiriksdottir Gudny , Launer Lenore J. , Benediktsson Rafn , Gudnason Vilmundur , Jonsson Palmi V. , Harris Tamara B. 
Published: October 2014

OBJECTIVE
Studies in type 2 diabetes report both increased mortality for normal weight and no evidence of an obesity paradox. We aimed to examine whether adipose tissue, muscle size, and physical function, which are known to vary by weight, mediate associations between BMI and mortality.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
The AGES-Reykjavik cohort comprised participants aged 66–96 years with diabetes defined by fasting glucose, medications, or self-report. BMI was determined from measured height and weight and classified as normal (18.5–24.9 kg/m2, n = 117), overweight (25.0–29.9 kg/m2, n = 293, referent group) or obese (≥30.0 kg/m2, n = 227). Thigh muscle area and intermuscular, visceral, and subcutaneous adipose tissues were assessed with computed tomography. Function was assessed from gait speed and knee extensor strength. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were estimated by Cox proportional hazards regression adjusted for demographics and diabetes-related risk factors.

RESULTS
The median follow-up was 6.66 years, and there were 85, 59, and 44 deaths among normal weight, overweight, and obese participants, respectively. There was no mortality risk for obese participants and an increased risk among normal weight compared with overweight participants (HR 1.72 [95% CI 1.12–2.64]). Associations remained with adjustment for adipose tissues and knee extensor strength; however, mortality risk for normal weight was attenuated following adjustment for thigh muscle (HR 1.36 [95% CI 0.87–2.11]) and gait speed (HR 1.44 [95% CI 0.91–2.27]). Linear regression confirmed with bootstrapping indicated that thigh muscle size mediated 46% of the relationship between normal weight and mortality.

CONCLUSIONS
Normal weight participants had elevated mortality risk compared with overweight participants. This paradoxical association was mediated in part by muscle size.
On generalized M-projectively recurrent manifolds
Authors: Chand De Uday , Pal Prajjwal 
Published: October 2014

Abstract
The purpose of the present paper is to study generalized M-projectively recurrent manifolds. Some geometric properties of generalized M projectively recurrent manifolds have been studied under certain curvature conditions. An application of such a manifold in the theory of relativity has also been shown. Finally, we give an example of a generalized M-projectively recurrent manifold.
Socio-Economic Status and the Structural Change of Dietary Intake in Hungary
Authors: Bakucs Zoltán , Fertő Imre , Marreiros Cristina Galamba 
Published: October 2014

Abstract
Typically, big changes in the economic system lead to alterations on families’ disposable income and thus on their spending for different types of products, including food. These may imply in the long run a structural modification of the population’s diet quality. After the fall of the socialist system, in the past two decades, Central and Eastern European countries, including Hungary, went through a profound and sometimes difficult transition of their political and economic systems, shifting from a centralized plan to an open-market economy, and, perhaps more importantly, the European Union integration. Economic change in lower-income and transitional economies of the world appears to coincide with increasing rapid social change. With respect to nutrition, there is evidence that these countries are changing their diets and that changes seem to happen at a faster pace than ever before (e.g. Ivanova et al., 2006). In this paper, we analyse the evolution of Hungarian dietary patterns based on socio-economic status (SES) data between 1993 and 2007. Data allows defining and profiling several clusters based on aggregated consumption data, and then inspecting the influence of SES variables using OLS and multinomial logit estimations
Methodology For The Selection Of Compensation Trade Tools In SMEs
Authors: Milichovský František , Koleňák Jiří 
Published: October 2014

Abstract
The main aim of this paper is to determine which factors of business tools are important in Czech companies. To find these factors, theoretical information from the area of trade tools and data from primary research (obtained via questionnaire) were used. These data are applied by a statistical evaluation of selected indicators which could help determine the significance of the indicators in the area being monitored. Activities concerning the management of company finances are also partially incorporated, as due to their close cohesion with business, they cannot be excluded from the field of turnaround management. The business tools described in the paper see excellent usage not only during times of crisis but also in periods of prosperity, when their application provides companies with unique competitive advantages as a way of increasing GDP. The results of the paper confirm the necessity for compensation tools in the business environment and provide the significance level of the compensation tools used. Accurate usage could create an advantage in a global market characterised by high competition.
The EU's Antidumping Actions Against Chinese Products
Authors: Liu Yinan 
Published: October 2014

Abstract
As the importance of tariffs in international trade has declined with the reduction of tariff rates under the GATT/WTO programs of multilateral trade liberalization, most governments prefer to protect domestic industries from foreign competitors through a variety of non-tariff barriers. Antidumping actions have recently become the world's biggest trade impediment due to their specific features and the antidumping activity of new users. Since China has become the major engine of world trade growth in recent years, it also has become the largest anti-dumping target in the world. However, the present world competition situation implies that world trade liberalization might arouse regional trade friction. The objective of this research is to identify whether China's WTO accession changed China's situation with regard to EU antidumping actions. The research analysis empirically proved that trade liberalization could partly affect the EU's antidumping actions against Chinese exports and the higher degree of industrial concentricity becomes a motive to increase the EU's antidumping activities against China.
Selected Success Factors of Virtual Teams: Literature Review and Suggestions for Future Research
Authors: Szewc Justyna 
Published: October 2014

Abstract
The aim of this paper is to extend the knowledge about virtual teams and above all to stress the differences between face-to-face and virtual teams as well as to define its chosen success factors. This paper is based on an extended literature review of virtual teams. The author describes virtual teams, reasons for their implementation and four factors that are prerequisites for team success.
The first finding is that the successful introduction of a virtual team and its management requires knowledge about the special characteristics of this team and the effective handling of challenges. Second, the literature review of virtual teams reveals a lack of research on the differences in motivation between face-to-face and virtual teams. The originality of the article is ensured by selection of the most important factors which, according to the literature review, lead to the success of virtual teams and by a description of areas that need to be explored in the future.
The Efects of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives and Price Premiums on Polish Consumers' Responses: An Experimental Study
Authors: Wójcik Piotr 
Published: October 2014

Abstract
This article explores whether, how and which forms of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives influence consumer perceptions of the value of and intention to buy responsibly manufactured yogurt, and identifies the impact of the price rise effect on consumer responses. An experimental study was conducted using scenarios with a sample of 421 university students. The results indicate that information about positive corporate behavior evokes higher perceived value and buying intention than information about negative corporate behavior; that responses differ significantly depending on whether or not the CSR initiative relates to the firm's core business; and that there is a level of consumer sensitivity to the price premium for a responsibly made yogurt. This study expands existing knowledge beyond previous areas of focus by demonstrating that a CSR initiative related to a firm's core business generates higher perceived value and buying intention than a non-related initiative, and by showing that there exists a trade-of between functional and social attributes. The findings of this study may be of interest to companies by showing the level of premium price acceptance and by demonstrating that CSR initiatives detached from basic business activity may bring negative consequences in terms of sales volume.
The Investigation into Motivations, Success Factors and Barriers Among Women Small Business Owners: An Overview of Extant Literature
Authors: Leszczyński Dariusz 
Published: October 2014

Abstract
Women entrepreneurship, as an object of scientific inquiries, has elicited suitable recognition among researchers during the early 1980s. However, female business owners have attracted far less attention from the academic community than their male counterparts despite their reported increasing contribution towards the economic growth of both developed and emerging nations. This article attempts to bridge this gap in knowledge by providing readers with an overview of influential international research papers that investigate some of the key issues presented in the literature about women small business management and entrepreneurship.
The studies discussed herein examine the motivation of women to establish frms; a variety of definitions of favorable performance applied in studies; the most important determinants of success in business, and the barriers encountered by businesswomen in the process of setting up as well as running their respective companies. In the final section, the author provides some future directions of research in areas touched upon in this paper that could be explored by scholars. Finally, the paper highlights key policy recommendations for decision-makers that are aimed at encouraging women to enter into entrepreneurship and fostering the growth of existing female-owned frms.
Factors of the European Economies' Vulnerability to External Shocks - An Empirical Analysis. The Example of 2008-2009 Crisis Costs
Authors: Domańska Agnieszka , Serwa Dobromił 
Published: October 2014

Abstract
The article analyses the factors determining the vulnerability of the European countries to external shocks taking the example of the global 2008-2009 economic slowdown (also called the subprime crisis2) and its impact on economies in Europe. The particular attention is attached to factors related to the fundamentals of the economy, i.e. the GDP growth, fiscal and monetary stability and external stability. Attempting to level of the gap existing in the Polish literature in the empirical research on that problem, the hereby article also refers to wider problems of the macroeconomic factors enhancing economies' capabilities to meet the challenges of global crises and strengthening their competitiveness afterwards. The special attention in the paper was attached to the role of financial and trade openness.
In the empirical study we have assessed the macroeconomic “outside” of the crisis in the European economies and then we have run the regression model process to estimate the factors determining the exposure to those costs in cross-country perspective. The above mentioned macroeconomic costs are the relative falls (“gaps”) in GDP, i.e. the difference between the hypothetical GDP (resulting from the average mid-term trend) in 2008-2009 and actual GDP incurred in those two “crisis years”. In the regression model (crisis costs as the explained variable) we used the chosen data and indicators denoting the potential factors of the European countries' exposure to 2007-2009 crisis shock as explanatory variables.
As the calculation results show, the variables that contributed to higher 2008-2009 crisis effects in the European countries were among others: high unemployment and high real interest rates, considerable government sector debt before the crisis, high economic development level, high share of nonperforming credit portfolio and high share of equity in the banking sector's assets (signifying a relatively poorly developed banking system), as well as good quality of law. Greater costs of the 2007-2009 crisis were (on average) incurred by countries experiencing high inflation, rapid GDP growth (as compared to the other sample countries), and considerable share of investment in GDP before crisis, and the economies which were characterized by above-average industry concentration and high development of stock exchange and bank market. The study leads to a general conclusion that in case of the European countries, the recession only highlighted and enhanced many problems and unfavorable tendencies which had existed before.
Rebalancing the Eurozone Troubled Economies
Authors: Ziółkowski Michał 
Published: October 2014

Abstract
The aim of the article is to assess how much rebalancing of the six eurozone troubled economies (Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus) was achieved since the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2007/2008, to what extent migrations were a mitigating factor on their labor markets and how much the troubled countries were assisted in their adjustment by other countries. The first part of the article shows an overall macroeconomic picture of the troubled economies' rebalancing together with a presentation of the etiology of the problem (i.e. accumulation of imbalances). The second part presents the role of migrations and the third part the role of the Eurosystem and international financial assistance in the rebalancing process. The research is based on comparing developments in selected indicators across countries. The conclusions are that the rebalancing in the troubled countries was either at most limited or actually their economies continued to fall out of balance (various indicators showing various developments make the situation ambiguous), migrations were either not much supportive for rebalancing of the troubled economies or they did not provide any dent to unemployment at all and that the troubled countries were provided with significant international assistance mainly in the form of the ECB policies causing the rise in the Target balances.
Female Employment and Parental Leave: The Case of Poland
Authors: Kubacki Konrad , Bągard Marcin 
Published: October 2014

Abstract
With the use of the Polish Social Security's administrative data for the period 1999-2011, nonparametric and Cox models, the author assesses the role of the means-tested child-raising allowance in shaping an effective period for parental leave and the impact of parental leave duration on the subsequent (continued) job tenure.
The results suggest low income level (an eligibility criterion for child-raising allowance) loses any significant negative effect on the intensity of returning to a job as soon as the eligibility period for the allowance expires. Long periods of parental leave increase the intensity of transition to unemployment soon after the return to the interrupted job but they have only a minor impact on the intensity of transition to other jobs. The intensity of transition from the continued job to unemployment is also related to employment in the private/public sector, unemployment history and length of service.