Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The conditional in mental probability logic

This chapter describes a probabilistic framework of human reasoning based on probability logic. While there are several approaches to probability logic, the chapter adopts the coherence based approach. It assumes that rules similar to the principles of probability logic are basic rules of the human inference engine. The approach is called ‘mental probability logic’. Conditionals are of special importance in the approach. These are conceived as non-truth functional, as uncertain, and as nonmonotonic.
The Radial Structure of the Cygnus Loop Supernova Remnant: Possible Evidence of a Cavity Explosion

We observed the northeast limb toward the center region of the Cygnus Loop with the ASCA Observatory. In our previous paper (Miyata et al.), we analyzed the data obtained with the X-ray CCD cameras (SISs). We found a radial variation of electron temperature (kTe) and ionization timescale [log(τ)], whereas no variation could be found for the abundances of heavy elements. In this paper, we reanalyzed the same data set and new observations with the latest calibration files. Then we constructed the precise spatial variations of kTe, log(τ), and abundances of O, Ne, Mg, Si, and Fe over the field of view (FOV). We found a spatial variation not only in kTe and in log(τ) but also in most of heavy elements. As described in Miyata et al., values of kTe increase and those of log(τ) decrease toward the inner region. We found that the abundance of heavy elements increases toward the inner region. The radial profiles of O, Ne, and Fe show clear jump structures at a radius of 0.9Rs, where Rs is the shock radius. Outside of 0.9Rs, abundances of all elements are constant. On the contrary, inside of 0.9Rs, abundances of these elements are 20%-30% larger than those obtained outside of 0.9Rs. The radial profile of kTe also shows the jump structure at 0.9Rs. This means that the hot and metal-rich plasma fills the volume inside of 0.9Rs. We concluded that this jump structure was the possible evidence for the pre-existing cavity produced by the precursor. If the ejecta fills inside of 0.9Rs, the total mass of the ejecta was roughly 4.1 M☉. We then estimated the main-sequence mass to be roughly 15 M☉, which supports the massive star in origin of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant and the existence of a pre-existing cavity.
Effects of volatile organic compounds, damp, and other environmental exposures in the home on wheezing illness in children

Background: The effects of indoor exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including formaldehyde, on respiratory health are not clearly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the independent effects of VOCs and other common environmental exposures in the home on the risk and severity of persistent wheezing illness in children. Methods: Total volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, damp (on a four category scale of % wood moisture equivalent), and environmental tobacco smoke (from salivary cotinine) were measured objectively in the homes of 193 children with persistent wheezing illness and 223 controls aged 9–11 years in Nottingham, UK. Results: The risk of wheezing illness was significantly increased only in relation to damp (odds ratio (OR) per increasing category=1.32 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00 to 1.75)), and was unrelated to the other exposures measured. Among cases, formaldehyde and damp were associated with more frequent nocturnal symptoms (OR per increasing quartile and category, respectively, 1.45 (1.06 to 1.98) and 1.97 (1.10 to 3.53)), significantly more so in atopic cases, but there was no effect of total volatile organic compounds, nitrogen dioxide, or cotinine. Conclusions: Domestic volatile organic compounds are not a major determinant of risk or severity of childhood wheezing illness, though formaldehyde may increase symptom severity. Indoor damp increases both the risk and severity of childhood wheezing illness.
Functional differences between L- and T-plastin isoforms

Fimbrins/plastins are a family of highly conserved actin-bundling proteins. They are present in all eukaryotic cells including yeast, but each isoform displays a remarkable tissue specificity. T-plastin is normally found in epithelial and mesenchymal cells while L-plastin is present in hematopoietic cells. However, L-plastin has been also found in tumor cells of non-hematopoietic origin (Lin, C.-S., R. H. Aebersold, S. B. Kent, M. Varma, and J. Leavitt. 1988. Mol. Cell. Biol. 8:4659-4668; Lin, C.-S., R. H. Aebersold, and J. Leavitt. 1990. Mol. Cell. Biol. 10: 1818-1821). To learn more about the biological significance of their tissue specificity, we have overproduced the T- and L-plastin isoforms in a fibroblast-like cell line, CV-1, and in a polarized epithelial cell line, LLC-PK1. In CV-1 cells, overproduction of T- and L-plastins induces cell rounding and a concomitant reorganization of actin stress fibers into geodesic structures. L- plastin remains associated with microfilaments while T-plastin is almost completely extracted after treatment of the cells with non-ionic detergent. In LLC-PK1 cells, T-plastin induces shape changes in microvilli and remains associated with microvillar actin filaments after detergent extraction while L-plastin has no effect on these structures and is completely extracted. The effect of T-plastin on the organization of microvilli differs from that of villin, another actin- bundling protein. Our experiments indicate that these two isoforms play differing roles in actin filament organization, and do so in a cell type-specific fashion. Thus it is likely that these plastin isoforms play fundamentally different roles in cell function.
Adducin Is Involved in Endothelial Barrier Stabilization

Adducins tightly regulate actin dynamics which is critical for endothelial barrier function. Adducins were reported to regulate epithelial junctional remodeling by controlling the assembly of actin filaments at areas of cell-cell contact. Here, we investigated the role of α-adducin for endothelial barrier regulation by using microvascular human dermal and myocardial murine endothelial cells. Parallel transendothelial electrical resistance (TER) measurements and immunofluorescence analysis revealed that siRNA-mediated adducin depletion impaired endothelial barrier formation and led to severe fragmentation of VE-cadherin immunostaining at cell-cell borders. To further test whether the peripheral localization of α-adducin is functionally linked with the integrity of endothelial adherens junctions, junctional remodeling was induced by a Ca2+-switch assay. Ca2+-depletion disturbed both linear vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin and adducin location along cell junctions, whereas their localization was restored following Ca2+-repletion. Similar results were obtained for α-adducin phosphorylated at a site typical for PKA (pSer481). To verify that endothelial barrier properties and junction reorganization can be effectively modulated by altering Ca2+-concentration, TER measurements were performed. Thus, Ca2+-depletion drastically reduced TER, whereas Ca2+-repletion led to recovery of endothelial barrier properties resulting in increased TER. Interestingly, the Ca2+-dependent increase in TER was also significantly reduced after efficient α-adducin downregulation. Finally, we report that inflammatory mediator-induced endothelial barrier breakdown is associated with loss of α-adducin from the cell membrane. Taken together, our results indicate that α-adducin is involved in remodeling of endothelial adhesion junctions and thereby contributes to endothelial barrier regulation.
Taxation and Inequality: A Time-Exposure Perspective

Conclusions about inequality based on cross-sectional snapshots of annual income can give a misleading picture of the inequality of a more permanent notion of income, due to the mobility of individuals across annual income classes. This paper reassesses some of the issues about taxation and inequality using two longitudinal tax return data bases. Replacing annual income with "time-exposure" income, defined as average real income over the period, does not significantly reduce the measured degree of inequality in the 1979-1985 period, although the fraction of income received by the lowest increase substantially. The procedure does, though, reduce the contribution to inequality of certain sources of income such as capital gains and increase the contribution of other sources such as interest and dividends. There is no systematic evidence that the comparison of snapshots between the 1967-1973 and 1979-1985 periods overstates the growth in inequality of a more permanent notion of income. The inequality of pre-tax income has been increasing steadily in the past two decades. Changes in income taxation have neither stemmed nor contributed significantly to this trend; since 1980 the contribution of the income tax to decreasing inequality has declined slightly.
PI3K/Akt inhibition and down-regulation of BCRP re-sensitize MCF7 breast cancer cell line to mitoxantrone chemotherapy

Objective(s): Multidrug resistance (MDR) of cancer cells is a major obstacle to successful chemotherapy. Overexpression of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) is one of the major causes of MDR. In addition, it has been shown that PI3K/Akt signaling pathway involves in drug resistance. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of novel approaches including siRNA directed against BCRP and targeted therapy against PI3K/Akt signaling pathway using LY294002 (LY) to re-sensitize breast cancer MCF7 cell line to mitoxantrone (MTX) chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: Anticancer effects of MTX, siRNA, and LY alone and in combination were evaluated in MCF7 cells using MTT cytotoxicity assay and flow cytometry analysis of cell cycle distribution and apoptosis induction. Results: MTT and apoptosis assays showed that both MTX and LY inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in MCF7 cells. Results indicated that inhibition of BCRP by siRNA or PI3K/Akt signaling pathway by LY significantly increased sensitivity of MCF7 cells to antiproliferation and apoptosis induction of MTX. Furthermore, MTX showed G2/M arrest, whereas LY induced G0/G1 arrest in cell cycle distribution of MCF7 cells. Combination of siRNA or LY with MTX chemotherapy significantly increased accumulation of MCF7 cells in the G2/M phase of cell cycle. Conclusion: Combination of MTX chemotherapy with BCRP siRNA and PI3K/Akt inhibition can overcome MDR in breast cancer cells. This study furthermore suggests that novel therapeutic approaches are needed to enhance anticancer effects of available drugs in breast cancer.
How Long are Business Cycles? Reconsidering Fluctuations and Growth

I reconsider the empirical relationship between business cycles and economic growth and pose the question: How long are business cycles when we try to distinguish between business cycles and economic growth? There is a common held view - a myth - that the cyclical component has a period up to eight years but the empirical evidence underlying that myth is the tradition of empirical business cycle research of Burns and Mitchell (1946) and NBER. That is not a good measure of the duration of the cyclical component in macroeconomic time series since Burns and Mitchell do not distinguish between business cycles and economic growth and they measure economic growth as a part of the expansion phase of a business cycle and consequently overstate the duration of the cyclical component. The Burns-Mitchell concept of business cycles differs from the modern view where business cycles are defined as movements about trend in GDP. I measure the duration of business cycles using a computer algorithm for determining turning points in classical business cycles, recovery cycles, and growth cycles for 11 OECD\ countries for the postwar period, and I conclude that business cycles are for most countries shorter than six years and that this should be the basis for a distinction between business cycles and economic growth. I derive the implications for, first, optimal business cycle filtering of macroeconomic time series and, secondly, I compute business cycle stylized facts for the U.S. economy and for a standard RBC model
Evaluation of the Usefulness of the MRI Jelly Method for Diagnosing Complete Cul-de-Sac Obliteration

Objective. We conducted a single-center study to evaluate the usefulness of the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging jelly method for diagnosing endometriosis-associated adhesions in the Pouch of Douglas. Methods. Thirty women with menstrual pain, dyspareunia, and chronic pelvic pain were enrolled in the study. All had been scheduled for laparoscopic surgery on the basis of pelvic and/or ultrasonographic (US) evaluation. All underwent MR imaging both with and without application of US jelly to the vagina and rectum. The images were compared and analyzed postsurgically in a random and blinded fashion by a radiology specialist and a radiology fellow. The radiologists' interpretations of the images were compared to the surgical findings recorded on DVDs. Results. Adhesions in the Pouch of Douglas were found in 21 patients. The sensitivity and specificity of MR imaging without jelly administration were 85.7% and 55.6%, respectively, for the specialist and 81.0% and 55.6%, respectively, for the fellow; with jelly administration, values were 95.2% and 88.9% for the specialist and 90.5% and 66.7% for the fellow. Opacity produced by the jelly increased the sensitivity and specificity for both radiologists. Conclusion. The MRI jelly method is a potentially useful, beneficial, and simple approach for diagnosing Pouch of Douglas adhesions.
The Effect of R&D Inputs and Outputs on the Relation Between the Uncertainty of Future Operating Performance and R&D Expenditures

Consistent with the uncertainty of research and development’s future benefits, prior accounting studies hypothesize and find a positive relation between research and development (R&D) and the variability of future earnings. However, prior research has assumed constant marginal productivity of R&D in the cross-section. We relax this assumption and advance the accounting literature on the informational role of R&D by studying how measures of innovation outputs, namely patent counts and patent citations, which proxy for the economic value of innovation, are related to firms’ future performance. We predict and find that firms’ future operating performance is positively related to the quality of their patents and that this relation is stronger for more productive and innovative firms. We also predict and find that the volatility of future operating performance is negatively related to patent quality and that the relation is stronger for firms with higher R&D expenditures and larger patent portfolios. Overall, firms whose R&D is more productive exhibit higher and less volatile future operating performance. One contribution of our study is that it demonstrates that the relation between R&D expense (i.e., inputs) and future operating performance is better understood by incorporating information about the productivity (i.e., outputs) of a firm’s R&D outlays in the form of patent counts and citations.
Construct, concurrent and discriminant validity of Type D personality in the general population: Associations with anxiety, depression, stress and cardiac output

The Type D personality, identified by high negative affectivity paired with high social inhibition, has been associated with a number of health-related outcomes in (mainly) cardiac populations. However, despite its prevalence in the health-related literature, how this personality construct fits within existing personality theory has not been directly tested. Using a sample of 134 healthy university students, this study examined the Type D personality in terms of two well-established personality traits; introversion and neuroticism. Construct, concurrent and discriminant validity of this personality type was established through examination of the associations between the Type D personality and psychometrically assessed anxiety, depression and stress, as well as measurement of resting cardiovascular function. Results showed that while the Type D personality was easily represented using alternative measures of both introversion and neuroticism, associations with anxiety, depression and stress were mainly accounted for by neuroticism. Conversely, however, associations with resting cardiac output were attributable to the negative affectivity–social inhibition synergy, explicit within the Type D construct. Consequently, both the construct and concurrent validity of this personality type were confirmed, with discriminant validity evident on examination of physiological indices of well-being.
The Impact of Baseline Serum C-Reactive Protein and C-Reactive Protein Kinetics on the Prognosis of Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Patients Treated with Palliative Chemotherapy

Background The aim of this study was to determine whether baseline C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and CRP kinetics predict the overall survival in metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (mNPC) patients. Methods A total of 116 mNPC patients from January 2006 to July 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. Serum CRP level was measured at baseline and thereafter at the start of each palliative chemotherapy cycle for all patients. Results Patients with higher values of baseline CRP (≥ 3.4 mg/L) had significantly worse survival than those with lower baseline CRP values (< 3.4 mg/L). Patients were divided into four groups according to baseline CRP and CRP kinetics: (1) patients whose CRP < 3.4 mg/L and never elevated during treatment; (2) patients whose CRP < 3.4 mg/L and elevated at least one time during treatment; (3) patients whose CRP ≥ 3.4 mg/L and normalized at least one time during treatment; and (4) patients whose CRP ≥ 3.4 mg/L and never normalized during treatment. The patients were further assigned to non-elevated, elevated, normalized, and non-normalized CRP groups. Overall survival rates were significantly different among the four groups, with three-year survival rates of 68%, 41%, 33%, and 0.03% for non-elevated, elevated, normalized, and non-normalized CRP groups respectively. When compared with the non-elevated group, hazard ratios of death were 1.69, 2.57, and 10.34 in the normalized, elevated, and non-normalized groups (P < 0.001). Conclusions Baseline CRP and CRP kinetics may be useful to predict the prognosis of metastatic NPC patients treated with palliative chemotherapy and facilitate individualized treatment. A prospective study to validate this prognostic model is still needed however.
Shifting Preferences at the Fed: Evidence from Rolling Dynamic Multipliers and Impulse Response Analysis

The existing empirical literature on Taylor-type interest rate rules has failed to achieve a robust consensus. Indeed, the relatively common finding that the Taylor principle does not hold has fueled a degree of controversy in the field. We attribute these mixed estimation results to a raft of empirical issues from which many existing studies suffer, including bias, inconsistency, endogeneity and a failure to adequately account for the combination of persistent and stationary variables. We propose a new method of combining I(0) and I(1) series in a system setting based on the long-run structural approach of Garratt, Lee, Pesaran and Shin (2006). The application of this method to a long sample of US data provides modest support for the operation of a Taylor-type rule, albeit with considerable inertia. We argue that estimation across rolling windows may better reflect shifts in the underlying preferences of the monetary policymakers at the Federal Reserve. Such rolling estimation provides substantial evidence that the inflation and output preferences of the Fed have varied through time, presumably reflecting the prevailing economic and political conditions, its chairmanship, and the composition of the Federal Open Market Committee. Our most significant finding is that the Taylor Principle was robustly upheld under Volcker, often upheld pre-Volcker but rarely observed post-Volcker over any horizon.
Derivation and verification of synergy coordinates for the DLR hand arm system

Dexterous robotic hands are still not used in production lines, mainly because of the complexity to operate such hands. Most often a robotic hand is used to grasp and hold the object of interest while the object motion is performed by the arm. From studies on human grasping it is known that most of the grasping task can be reduced to two independent degree of freedom which drive the joints of the hand. Based on this idea, we analyzed a robotic grasp database to find suitable robotic “synergy coordinates”. 77% of these grasps can be represented by two coordinates that were originally defined by the 19 joint variables of the DLR Hand Arm System. In this work we also discuss the importance of the grasp approach configurations, which have significant influence on the results. The synergy coordinates were used to extend the joint level impedance controller and to provide a complexity reduced interface to an user or a planning algorithm, which leads to simplified operation of the hand and to reduced teach-in-times. From a different perspective this concept allows to imitate the behavior of a synergistic, respectively underactuated, hand by means of programming. The controller was evaluated successfully on the DLR Hand Arm System by realizing several different grasps covering a simplified grasping taxonomy. The DLR Hand Arm System has additional degrees of freedom to adjust the mechanical joint stiffness, which was used to modify the grasp force at a given pinch grasp configuration.
γ-Glutamyltransferase: value of its measurement in paediatrics

γ-Glutamyltransferase (GGT) is a microsomal enzyme that is widely distributed in human tissues involved in secretory and absorptive processes, particularly the bile canaliculi. Serum GGT is elevated in liver diseases affecting the biliary system, such as extrahepatic biliary atresia, sclerosing cholangitis and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) type 3. Conversely, two other subtypes of PFIC have normal or low serum GGT activity, discordant with the degree of cholestasis. GGT is also useful in detecting cholestasis associated with parenteral nutrition and assessing the efficacy of ursodeoxycholic acid in its treatment. GGT may also help screening for biliary complications on patients that have undergone orthotopic liver transplantation. The reference range for GGT is age dependent. In normal full-term neonates the activity at birth is approximately six to seven times the upper limit of the adult reference range. The activity then declines, reaching adult levels by the age of 5-7 months.