pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Quality of Life in the Regions: An Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis for West German Labor Markets

Which of Germanys regions is the most attractive? Where is it best to live and work - on
objective grounds? These questions are summed up in the concept “quality of life”. This
paper uses recent research projects that determine this parameter to examine the spatial
distribution of quality of life in Germany. For this purpose, an Exploratory Spatial Data
Analysis is conducted which focuses on identifying statistically significant (dis-)similarities
in space. An initial result of this research is that it is important to choose the aggregation
level of administrative units carefully when considering a spatial analysis. The level plays a
crucial role in the strength and impact of spatial effects. In concentrating on various labor
market areas, this paper identifies a significant spatial autocorrelation in the quality of life,
which seems to be characterized by a North-Mid-South divide. In addition, the ESDA results
are used to augment the regression specifications, which helps to avoid the occurrence
of spatial dependencies in the residuals.
The FAAH inhibitor URB597 suppresses hippocampal maximal dentate afterdischarges and restores seizure-induced impairment of short and long-term synaptic plasticity

Synthetic cannabinoids and phytocannabinoids have been shown to suppress seizures both in humans and experimental models of epilepsy. However, they generally have a detrimental effect on memory and memory-related processes. Here we compared the effect of the inhibition of the endocannabinoid (eCB) degradation versus synthetic CB agonist on limbic seizures induced by maximal dentate activation (MDA) acute kindling. Moreover, we investigated the dentate gyrus (DG) granule cell reactivity and synaptic plasticity in naïve and in MDA-kindled anaesthetised rats. We found that both the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor URB597 and the synthetic cannabinoid agonist WIN55,212-2 displayed AM251-sensitive anti-seizure effects. WIN55,212-2, dose-dependently (0.5–2 mg/kg, i.p.) impaired short-term plasticity (STP) and long-term potentiation (LTP) at perforant path-DG synapses in naïve rats. Strikingly, URB597 (1 mg/kg, i.p.) was devoid of any deleterious effects in normal conditions, while it prevented seizure-induced alterations of both STP and LTP. Our evidence indicates that boosting the eCB tone rather than general CB1 activation might represent a potential strategy for the development of a new class of drugs for treatment of both seizures and comorbid memory impairments associated with epilepsy.peer-reviewe
Structural organisation of the type IV secretion systems

Type IV secretion (T4S) systems are large dynamic nanomachines that transport DNAs and/or proteins through the membranes of bacteria. Because of their complexity and multi-protein organisation, T4S systems have been extremely challenging to study structurally. However in the past five years significant milestones have been achieved by X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy. This review describes some of the more recent advances: the structures of some of the protein components of the T4S systems and the complete core complex structure that was determined using electron microscopy
Metabolic characterisation of plasma in juveniles with glycogen storage disease type 1a (GSD1a) by high-resolution 1H NMR spectroscopy

This paper reports the first application of high-resolution 1H NMR spectroscopy to the plasma of five juveniles with glycogen storage disease type 1a (GSD1a), permitting the characterisation of the plasma metabolic profile and the identification of alterations relative to a set of control samples. The relaxation-weighted spectra allowed changes in low molecular weight compounds to be detected more clearly, whereas diffusion-edited spectra were used to characterise the plasma lipoprotein profile. Low molecular weight metabolites with altered levels in most patients were lactate, ketone bodies, acetate, creatine/creatinine and glucose. One of the patients showed distinctively lower glucose levels and higher lactate and ketone body contents, suggesting poorer metabolic control of the disease compared with other patients. In addition, a metabolite tentatively identified as alpha-hydroxyisobutyrate was only detected in the spectra of GSD1a plasmas, representing, therefore, a possible novel GSD1a biomarker. Total lipoprotein contents were higher in the plasma from GSD1a patients. Furthermore, lower HDL and higher VLDL + LDL levels also characterised the plasma of these patients. Preliminary results on principal component analysis of 1H NMR spectra allowed a clear separation between GSD1a and control plasmas. The specificity of the changes observed to GSD1a is discussed, together with the recognised potential of NMR and pattern recognition methods for aiding the diagnosis of GSD1a. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/nbm.107
The dynamics of the growth of firms: evidence from the services sector

Abstract  Using a dynamic panel data model with serial correlation in the error term, the purpose of this paper is to examine if Gibrat’s Law can be rejected for the services sector as it has been for manufacturing. The aim of this paper is also to improve the understanding of the empirical determinants of firm growth by extending the literature to include a new variable related to foreign participation. In addition, and based on recent developments in the growth of firms, our analysis also includes the role of the financial structure. The sample used is an unbalanced panel data set that includes all size classes, including the smallest surviving firms, from the Portuguese service sector over the period from 1995 to 2001. Applying the GMM-system estimator our findings suggest that Gibrat’s Law is rejected for the services firms. In addition, the results also indicate that firm growth is mainly explained by firm size and age. These results have significant policy implications.http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10663-008-9065-
Evaluation of the structure–activity relationship of thrombin with thrombin binding aptamers by voltammetry and atomic force microscopy

The structure–activity relationship of the complex between thrombin and thrombin binding aptamers (TBA) was evaluated by differential pulse voltammetry at a glassy carbon electrode and atomic force microscopy at a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite electrode. The effects on the interaction with thrombin of TBA primary and secondary structures as well as of its folding properties in the presence of alkaline metals were investigated. The complex between thrombin and single stranded aptamers involved the coiling of the single stranded molecules around thrombin structure leading to the formation of a robust TBA–thrombin complex that maintains the symmetry and conformation of the thrombin molecule. Monitoring both thrombin and TBA oxidation peaks, showed that the thrombin oxidation peaks occur at more positive potentials after TBA–thrombin complex formation. In the presence of K+ ions, the aptamers fold into quadruplex structures that facilitate the interaction with thrombin molecules. The TBA–thrombin complex adsorbs at the surface with the aptamer quadruplex always in preferential contact with the surface, and the thrombin molecules on top of the aptamer quadruplex structure, thus being less accessible to the electrode surface leading to the occurrence of thrombin oxidation peaks at less positive potentials
Occupational mobility in nineteenth century rural England: the interpretation of entheseal changes

Identified skeletal collections have been widely used to test methods for recording
entheseal changes. These studies have all used the occupation provided with the death
certificate or equivalent as the occupation during life. However, the variety of tasks
undertaken within occupations, the range of occupational tasks and how these changed over
the life course is rarely discussed. The aim of this paper is to highlight the value of using
historical data to improve the interpretation of skeletal data.
Materials and Methods: Identified adult skeletons (n=18), from the churchyard of St.
Michael and St. Lawrence, Fewston, North Yorkshire, England were recorded for entheseal
changes (EC) and degenerative joint changes (DJC). The individuals were born and died
between 1791 – 1921 (only one individual was buried after the churchyard's closure in 1896).
All individuals have at least one census record which includes their occupation. Published
sections of a diary coinciding with the cemetery’s use and written by the son of two of the
identified individuals were used to record the frequency and range of activities.
Results: 54.5% of males and 29% of females changed their occupations and those who
changed occupation were found to be older than those who did not. The latter were found to
have a lower frequency of DJC and EC, but this is likely due to the difference in age profile
between the two groups. However, the detailed pattern of EC did not match that of DJC for
the three occupation categories used. The diary demonstrated that a stonemason undertook a
wide variety of occupational tasks as well as enjoying hobbies.
Discussion: The results demonstrate that occupations in nineteenth century rural England
were not stable and demonstrated a wide variety of everyday and infrequent activities. This
demonstrates that using occupation listed at death does not provide sufficiently detailed
information for testing methods of recording EC or for interpreting the relationship between
occupation and health
Green supply chain performance measurement using fuzzy-ANP based balanced scorecard: A collaborative decision-making approach

The purpose of this paper is to delineate a green supply-chain performance measurement framework using an intra-organisational Collaborative Decision-Making (CDM) approach. A fuzzy-Analytic Network Process (ANP) based Green Balanced Scorecard (GrBSc) has been used within the CDM approach. CDM aids in arriving at a consistent, accurate and timely data flow across all cross-functional areas of a business thereby providing real-time information for the evaluation, control and improvement of processes, products and services so as to meet both business objectives and rapidly changing customer needs. A green causal relationship is established and linked to the fuzzy-ANP approach. The causal relationship involves organisational commitment, eco-design, green supply-chain process, social performance and sustainable performance constructs. Sub-constructs and sub-sub-constructs are also identified and linked to the causal relationship to form a network. The fuzzy-ANP approach suitably handles the vagueness of the linguistics information of the CDM approach. The CDM approach is implemented in a UK-based carpet manufacturing firm. The performance measurement approach, in addition to the traditional financial performance and accounting measures, aids in making decisions of the firm in regard to the overall organisational goals. The implemented approach assists the firm in identifying further requirements of the collaborative data across the supply-chain and information about customers and markets. Overall, the CDM-based GrBSc approach assists managers in deciding if the suppliers’ performances meet the industry and environment standards and the human resource is effective
What is PE? Sport, education and society

Physical education is a socially constructed activity that forms one component of a wider physical culture that includes sport and health/physical activity (Kirk, 1999, Lake, 2001a: 69, Penney, 1998). The terms sport and physical education are often used interchangeably in school contexts, where sport and health continue to shape what is understood by the term physical education (Capel & Blair, 2007). This study explores discourses shaping pre-service primary teachers’ understandings of the nature and purposes of physical education within an Irish context and the relationship between these understandings. A ten minute writing task (Pike, 2006) prompted by the question ‘what is physical education?’ was completed by a sample of pre-service teachers (n=544, age range 18-46, 8.8% male) from two colleges of education, prior to the physical education component of their teacher education programme. Content analysis involved an initial text frequency search to create categories which were collapsed into three broad areas of students’ understandings of physical education – sport, health and physical education. The research design allowed access to preservice teachers’ understandings of physical education. Participants’ understandings reflected their own school experiences and were framed within health and sport ideologies of physical education. Although acknowledged as an important part of school life physical education was perceived as a break from academic subjects where the purpose of learning was to learn sports and activities to stay fit and healthy. While the overwhelmingly positive nature of participants’ experiences and the changing discourses around competition and team games are encouraging the dominant discourses of physical education continue to reflect the dominant aspects of wider physical culture in Ireland. The capacity of physical education to move beyond reproducing dominant sport and health ideologies provides a significant challenge to teacher education contexts, to challenge dominant discourses and recreate understandings of physical education for future action
Breakup of a supported drop of a  viscous, conducting liquid in a uniform field

Numerical computations and order-of-magnitude estimates are used to describe the time evolution of a drop of a very viscous liquid of finite electrical conductivity attached to a metallic plate which is suddenly subject to a uniform electric field. Under the action of the electric stresses induced at its surface, the drop elongates in the direction of the field, and charged droplets are emitted when the strength of the field is higher than a certain critical value. A stationary emission mode exists in which the attached drop develops a conical tip and a thin jet, with small droplets emitted from the end of the jet in a process that involves the formation of a long ligament. The flow rate and the electric current carried by the stream of droplets emitted in this mode are determined by the flow and the transfer of charge in the attached drop, in particular in a small region around its tip and in a leading stretch of the jet, where the solution is nearly stationary despite the transient character of the jet further downstream. A simplified analysis of the stationary regions is carried out to elucidate the effects of the physical properties of the liquid _electrical conductivity, permittivity, viscosity, and surface tension_, the volume of the drop, and the strength of the applied field. For high electrical conductivities and applied fields well above its critical value, the electrical and viscous stresses are large compared to surface tension stresses, and their balance gives a flow rate proportional to the square of the applied field. The electric current is then that of a stationary electrified jet fed with this flow rate
Evaluation of the efficiency potential of intermediate band solar cells based on thin-film chalcopyrite materials

This paper discusses the potential of the intermediate band solar cell _IBSC_ concept to improve the efficiency of thin-film chalcopyrite solar cells. The results show that solar cells based on CuGaS2, with a radiative limiting efficiency of 46.7%, exhibit the highest potential. A simple method for the identification of transition elements that when incorporated in CuGaS2 could possibly introduce an intermediate band is also described. The IBSC concept is also applied under the assumptions that thin-film solar cells are not to be operated under concentrated light and that a non-negligible contribution of nonradiative recombination exists
Small-scale variation of vegetation in a mixed forest understorey is partly controlled by the effect of overstory composition on litter accumulation

We investigated how richness and composition of vascular plant species in the understory of a mixed hardwood forest stand varied with respect to the abundance and composition of the overstory. The stand is in central Spain and represents the southernmost range of distribution of several tree and herbaceous species in Europe. Understory species were identified in 46 quadrats (0.25 m2) where variables litter depth and light availability were measured. In addition, we estimated tree density, basal area, and percent basal area by tree species within 6-m-radius areas around each plot. Species richness and composition were studied using path analysis and scale-dependent geostatistical methods, respectively. We found that the relative abundance of certain trees species in the overstory was more important than total overstory abundance in explaining understory species richness. Richness decreased as soil litter depth increased, and soil litter increased as the relative proportion of Fagus sylvatica in the overstory increased, which accounted for a negative, indirect effect of Fagus sylvatica on richness. Regarding understory species composition, we found that some species distributed preferentially below certain tree species. For example, Melica uniflora was most frequent below Fagus sylvatica and Quercus petraea while the increasing proportion of Q. pyrenaica in the overstory favored the presence of Cruciata glabra, Arenaria montana, Prunus avium, Conopodium bourgaei, Holcus mollis, Stellaria media and Galium aparine in the understory. Overall, these results emphasize the importance of individual tree species in controlling the assemblage and richness of understory species in mixed stands. We conclude that soil litter accumulation is one way through which overstory composition shapes the understory community
MIRACLE’s Hybrid Approach to Bilingual and Monolingual Information Retrieval

The main goal of the bilingual and monolingual participation of the MIRACLE team in CLEF 2004 was to test the effect of combination approaches on information retrieval. The starting point was a set of basic components: stemming, transformation, filtering, generation of n-grams, weighting and relevance feedback. Some of these basic components were used in different combinations and order of application for document indexing and for query processing. A second order combination was also tested, mainly by averaging or selective combination of the documents retrieved by different approaches for a particular query
Efficiency analysis of information technology and online social networks management : an integrated DEA-Model assessment

This paper analyses the relationship between productive efficiency and online-social-networks (OSN) in Spanish telecommunications firms. A data-envelopment-analysis (DEA) is used and several indicators of business ?social Media? activities are incorporated. A super-efficiency analysis and bootstrapping techniques are performed to increase the model?s robustness and accuracy. Then, a logistic regression model is applied to characterise factors and drivers of good performance in OSN. Results reveal the company?s ability to absorb and utilise OSNs as a key factor in improving the productive efficiency. This paper presents a model for assessing the strategic performance of the presence and activity in OSN
Targeting antibiotic resistance

Finding strategies against the development of antibiotic resistance is a major global challenge for the life sciences community and for public health. The past decades have seen a dramatic worldwide increase in human-pathogenic bacteria that are resistant to one or multiple antibiotics. More and more infections caused by resistant microorganisms fail to respond to conventional treatment, and in some cases, even lastresort antibiotics have lost their power. In addition, industry pipelines for the development of novel antibiotics have run dry over the past decades. A recent world health day by the World Health Organization titled “Combat drug resistance: no action today means no cure tomorrow” triggered an increase in research activity, and several promising strategies have been developed to restore treatment options against infections by resistant bacterial pathogens
Dependence of the irradiation-induced growth kinetics of satellites on the nanoclusters dimension

A paraître dans NIM B, présenté par G. Rizza (LSI)International audienceIrradiation with MeV gold ions of embedded Au nanoclusters in silica matrix results in the formation of a ring of satellites in its surrounding. We show that changing the initial nanoclusters size modifies both the size and the density of the satellites, and therefore alters their kinetic growth. Finally we discuss the limitation of the ion implantation technique to form a model system to study the satellites kinetic growth and we propose a new approach based on the chemical synthesis of metallic nanoparticles to obtain the proper configuration
Spectroscopy of neutron-deficient nuclei around $^{36}$Ca

International audienceAn experiment was performed to extend the knowledge of excited states in neutron-deficient Ca isotopes. In particular, excited states in $^{36}$Ca were searched for to allow for a comparison with its stable mirror nucleus, $^{36}$S. Secondary beams of $^{37}$Ca and $^{36}$Ca were produced by fragmentation of a primary $^{40}$Ca beam with an energy of 95 · A MeV on the SISSI target at GANIL. A variety of nuclei around $^{36}$Ca has been produced in a secondary Be target by neutron and proton-removal at beam energies around 61 · A MeV. The produced nuclei were identified using the spectrometer SPEG, and prompt $\gamma$ rays were measured with the Château de Cristal. A preliminary value for the energy of the first $2^+$ state of $^{36}$Ca has been determined
Finite-difference modelling of wavefield constituents

The finite-difference method is among the most popular methods for modelling seismic wave
propagation. Although the method has enjoyed huge success for its ability to produce full
wavefield seismograms in complex models, it has one major limitation which is of critical
importance for many modelling applications; to naturally output up- and downgoing and P- and
S-wave constituents of synthesized seismograms. In this paper, we show how such wavefield
constituents can be isolated in finite-difference-computed synthetics in complex models with
high numerical precision by means of a simple algorithm. The description focuses on up- and
downgoing and P- and S-wave separation of data generated using an isotropic elastic finitedifference
modelling method. However, the same principles can also be applied to acoustic,
electromagnetic and other wave equations.© The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society