Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanisms permitting nephrotic patients to achieve nitrogen equilibrium with a protein-restricted diet.

UNLABELLED Clinical experience suggests nephrotic patients are at risk for malnutrition. To determine if nephrotic patients can adapt successfully to a protein-restricted diet, nephrotic (glomerular filtration rate, 52+/-15 ml/min; urinary protein [Uprot.], 7.2+/-2.2 grams/d) and control subjects completed a crossover comparison of diets providing 0.8 or 1.6 grams protein (plus 1 gram protein/gram Uprot.) and 35 kcal per kg per day. Nitrogen balance (BN) was determined and whole body protein turnover measured during fasting and feeding using intravenous -[1-13C]leucine and intragastric -[5,5, 5- 2H3]leucine. BN was positive in both nephrotic and control subjects consuming either diet and rates of whole-body protein synthesis, protein degradation, and leucine oxidation did not differ between groups. In both nephrotic and control subjects anabolism was due to a suppression of whole-body protein degradation and stimulation of protein synthesis during feeding. The principal compensatory response to dietary protein restriction was a decrease in amino acid oxidation and this response was the same in both groups. With the low protein diet leucine oxidation rates during feeding correlated inversely with Uprot. losses (r = -0.83; P < 0. 05). CONCLUSIONS (a) a diet providing 0.8 gram protein (plus 1 gram protein/gram Uprot.) and 35 kcal per kg per day maintains BN in nephrotic patients; (b) nephrotic patients activate normal anabolic responses to dietary protein restriction (suppression of amino acid oxidation) and feeding (stimulation of protein synthesis and inhibition of protein degradation); (c) the inverse correlation between leucine oxidation and Uprot. losses suggests that proteinuria is a stimulus to conserve dietary essential amino acids.
Role of the Stat4 N Domain in Receptor Proximal Tyrosine Phosphorylation

ABSTRACT Stat4 is activated by the cytokines interleukin 12 and alpha interferon (IFN-α) and plays a significant role in directing development of naı̈ve CD4+ T cells to the Th1 phenotype. Signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) proteins undergo phosphorylation on a conserved tyrosine residue, resulting in homo- and heterodimerization, nuclear translocation, and DNA binding. Stat4 can bind to single IFN-γ-activated sites (GASs) as a dimer or bind two tandem GASs as a pair of STAT dimers, or tetramer, stabilized through N-terminal domain (N domain) interactions between dimers. We uncovered an unexpected effect of the Stat4 N domain in controlling the proximal activation of Stat4 by tyrosine phosphorylation at activated receptor complexes. Mutation of the N domain at tryptophan residue W37, predicted to interrupt N domain dimer formation, unexpectedly prevented IFN-α-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the Stat4 monomer, blocking dimer formation and nuclear translocation. Furthermore, N domains appear to exert private STAT functions, since interchanging the N domains between Stat1 and Stat4 prevented receptor-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation in one case and interrupted STAT-specific gene activation in another. Finally, replacement of the N domain of Stat1 with that of Stat4 abrogated the normal Stat2 dependence of Stat1 phosphorylation, again suggesting the domains are not equivalent. Thus, in addition to its role in STAT tetramerization, the conserved STAT N domain appears to participate in very proximal steps of receptor-mediated ligand-induced tyrosine phosphorylation.
Detection and quantitation of chromosomal mosaicism in human blastocysts using copy number variation sequencing

Currently, our understanding of the nature and reproductive potential of blastocysts associated with trophectoderm (TE) lineage chromosomal mosaicism is limited. The objective of this study was to first validate copy number variation sequencing (CNV‐Seq) for measuring the level of mosaicism and second, examine the nature and level of mosaicism in TE biopsies of patient's blastocysts.
New Keynesian Economics and the Phillips Curve

Models with sticky prices are an important part of New Keynesian economics. The author shows that several of the New Keynesian models imply a formulation that is similar to the expectations-augmented Phillips curve of Milton Friedman and Edmund Phelps. He then presents new estimates of the New Keynesian Phillips curve. The author uses two proxies for price expectations: survey-based measures and an econometric-based measure originally developed by Bennett McCallum (1976). Overall, the results are consistent with the model but the survey-based results are more precise, suggesting that the surveys may be better measures of actual expectations. Copyright 1995 by Ohio State University Press.
The media and public risk

The pursuit of audiences, and the nature of journalistic practices and news values, lead to some clear patterns in how the media cover risk. Key factors are: Body counts and ‘whose body counts’ – the news media will tend to focus on risks which kill, injure, or threaten many people at one time, rather than have a cumulative effect over the years. Threats to ‘people like us’ gain more attention, as will attractive or famous victims or unattractive sources of threat; Human interest angles and ‘relevance’ – ideas about relevance are crucial both to the media’s decision to cover a story, and the nature of the responses from audiences. Journalists seek out the ‘human face’ of science and of risk. Emphasis on ‘the victim’s story’ can mean that personal accounts may allow a risk to enter the media in spite of official denials; and the absence of existing ‘victims’ may make a story less newsworthy; Location – a geographically bounded event will provide a more media friendly crisis than one without a ‘news centre’. Geographical or social distance between journalists and their assumed audience also impacts on coverage; Visuals – the media, especially television, are attracted by the ‘spectacular spectacle’. Such visuals also often have a very powerful impact on audiences; Evidence of ‘harm’ is usually more newsworthy than evidence of ‘benefits’ or lack of harm. Exceptions to this are when reports of ‘safety’ or ‘lack of danger’ go against received wisdom or when there are other reasons for a particular media outlet to oppose central government declarations of danger; The importance of events – news reporting tends to be ‘event’ orientated rather than issue orientated. This means, for example, that a ‘leak’ or ‘spill’ will make a story but background pollution/radiation does not; Official procedures – in the absence of a ‘disaster event’, the news media will often examine a ‘risk’ through official procedures such as permit application, regulatory decisions or an inquiry; The impact of conflict, ‘cover-ups’ and blame – in the absence of a clear disaster prompting risk coverage, then conflict and blame are often key criteria in media attention to risk; The spiral of concern – the media can create a self-perpetuating spiral of concern, with risk stories growing once they enter diverse parts of the news (e.g. a science story becoming a political story). One part of the media can help to keep the story on the agenda of other parts of the media. Policy and audience responses to the agenda set by the media can also help keep an issue in the headlines.
Assessing the Functional Polycentricity of the Mega-City-Region of Central Belgium Based on Advanced Producer Service Transaction Links

Hanssens H. , Derudder B. , van Aelst S. and Witlox F. Assessing the functional polycentricity of the mega-city-region of Central Belgium based on advanced producer service transaction links, Regional Studies. This paper comments on three aspects of POLYNET's implementation of the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) model to measure functional polycentricity at the local scale. These aspects are: (1) the use of advanced producer services (APS) office locations as a proxy for inter-city relations, (2) the problematic calculation of the functional polycentricity index, and (3) the narrow conceptualization of functional polycentricity. Alternative methodologies based on transaction link data are introduced to examine whether Central Belgium displays features of a functionally polycentric mega-city-region. The results suggest that this is not the case: Central Belgium displays more features of a hierarchical urban system with Brussels as the dominant service city. However, some indications are found for a preliminary urban network formation.
Property as Process: How Innovation Markets Select Innovation Regimes

It is commonly asserted that innovation markets suffer from excessive intellectual property protections, which in turn stifle output. But empirical inquiries can neither confirm nor deny this assertion. Under the "agnostic" assumption that we cannot assess directly whether intellectual-property coverage is excessive, an alternative query is proposed: can the market assess if any "propertization outcome" is excessive and then undertake actions to yield a socially preferable outcome? Grounded in the "bottom up" methodology of new institutional economics, this process-based approach takes the view that innovator populations make rent-seeking investments that continuously "select" among a range of "innovation regimes" that trade off securing innovation gains (which tends to demand more property) against reducing transaction costs and associated innovation losses (which tends to demand less). If we can identify the conditions under which privately-interested investments in lobbying, enforcement, and transactional arrangements are likely to yield socially-interested propertization outcomes, then the underlying datum at issue - whether there is "too much" intellectual property - can be determined indirectly at some reasonable degree of approximation. This approach identifies a "property trap" effect where, under high coordination-cost conditions, the regime selection mechanism is prone to fail: litigation risk and associated transaction-cost burdens drive innovators to move "too fast" to implement a state-provided property regime. Conversely, under low coordination-cost conditions, the regime selection mechanism is prone to succeed: adversely-affected entities that rely substantially on outside sources for innovation inputs have incentives to undertake actions that weaken property-rights coverage, including constrained enforcement, forming cooperative arrangements, or even forfeiting intellectual-property assets to the public domain. Counterintuitively, these relationships imply that large firms that rely substantially on outside sources for innovation inputs tend to have the strongest incentives and capacities to take actions that correct overpropertization outcomes. Preliminary evidence is drawn from the semiconductor, financial-services and information-technology industries.
The Index Premium and its Hidden Cost for Index Funds

This paper empirically investigates the index premium and its implications from 1990 to 2005. For additions to the S&P 500 and Russell 2000, we find that the price impact from announcement to effective day has averaged + 8.8% and + 4.7%, respectively, and -15.1% and -4.6% for deletions. The premia have been growing over time, peaking in 2000, and declining since then. The implied price elasticity of demand increases with firm size and decreases with idiosyncratic risk, supporting theoretical predictions. We also introduce a new concept that we label the index turnover cost, which represents a hidden cost borne by index funds (and the indexes themselves) due to the index premium. We illustrate this cost and estimate its lower bound as 21-28 bp annually for the S&P 500 and 38-77 bp annually for the Russell 2000.
A New Pseudo-Bayesian Model with Implications to Financial Anomalies and Investors’ Behaviors

Barberis, Shleifer and Vishny (1998) and others have developed Bayesian models to explain investors’ behavioral biases by using the conservatism heuristics and the representativeness heuristics in making decisions. To extend their work, Lam, Liu, and Wong (2010) have developed a model of weight assignments using a pseudo-Bayesian approach that reflects investors’ behavioral biases. In this parsimonious model of investor sentiment, weights induced by investors’ conservative and representative heuristics are assigned to observations of the earning shocks of stock prices. Such weight assignments enable us to provide a quantitative link between some market anomalies and investors’ behavioral biases. This paper extends their work further by developing properties to explain some market anomalies including short-term underreaction, long-term overreaction, and excess volatility. We also explain in details the linkage between these market anomalies and investors’ behavioral biases.
Part-Time Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Perception and Attitude to ICT Supports for Distance Education in Nursing in Nigeria

The increase in demand for university education remains unmet especially in developing countries; this has made the adoption of distance education imperative in our educational system. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been identified as a tool with the potential to improve the quality of education especially in developing countries. The study examined attitudes and perceptions of nursing students toward the use of Information and Communication Technology supports in Distance Education. A researcher designed and validated Questionnaire with alpha coefficient of 0.82 was administered to 396 students of the Department of Nursing, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria out of which 305 (70%) was returned and analysed. Findings of the study revealed that majority of the nurses (83.3%) had never been engaged in any online computer based training programme, a sizeable number of the respondents (63.9%) had no formal computer training and do not possess personal computer. Majority of respondents (74.4%) reported positive perception and attitudes towards the use of ICT supports in Distance Education. Also, lack of constant internet access was rated by the respondents (29.8%) as major challenge to e-learning support. Gender and Years of working experience had no significant influence on respondents’ attitudes and perceptions towards ICT supports.
Bupropion for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: an open-label, fixed-dose study.

OBJECTIVE In the present study, we examined the efficacy of bupropion for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). METHOD Twelve patients with OCD according to DSM-IV criteria were included in an open trial with bupropion, maximum dosage 300 mg per day, during 8 weeks. The primary efficacy parameter was the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS). A responder was defined by a reduction in score on the YBOCS of > or = 25%. Data were collected from February 2003 to July 2003. RESULTS An intent-to-treat analysis using the last observation carried forward demonstrated that bupropion had no mean effect on OCD symptoms (mean YBOCS decrease was 1.1 +/- 9.6). Four patients improved, with a mean decrease on the YBOCS of 31%, and 2 of them met responder rate criteria. Eight patients experienced an exacerbation of OCD symptoms, with a mean increase on the YBOCS of 21%. CONCLUSION Bupropion is not an effective treatment for OCD, but the bimodal distribution of the effect supports the notion that dopamine might be involved in the pathophysiology of OCD.
Dopant activation and crystal recovery in arsenic-implanted ultra-thin silicon-on-insulator structures using 308nm nanosecond laser annealing

The different regimes encountered when submitting ultra-thin SOI structures implanted with arsenic to single pulse laser annealing with increasing energy density, are identified. It is found that nanosecond UV laser annealing can be successfully applied to rebuild a perfect monocrystalline SOI layer and reach arsenic activation levels at least as high as rapid thermal processing, with a reasonably large process window. Thanks to electrical and morphological characterizations, the defective or polycrystalline silicon obtained below the optimum range is evidenced, as well as the loss of monocrystalline nature of the silicon at the upper end of the process window.
Absorption of sound by vortex filaments.

The effect of an acoustic wave packet falling onto a thin 3D filament of vorticity is identified and analyzed. The wavelength of sound decreases to zero in a finite time in such a process. Therefore, even if viscosity is small the wave packets will reach the scales of strong viscous dissipation and get absorbed, transferring their energy to the thermal energy of the compressible vortex flow. The cross section of the sound absorption by multiple vortex filaments having an arbitrary 3D shape is derived. Applications to the theory of the second sound attenuation in HeII are discussed.
Only If We Agree? How Value Conflicts Moderate the Relationship Between Transformational Leadership and Public Service Motivation

Existing studies find positive associations between transformational leadership and public service motivation (PSM), but value conflict may moderate the relationship. This is investigated for Danish University Colleges using a mixed-methods design. These colleges educate future teachers, pedagogues, nurses, and social workers, and their strong public service-oriented missions and potentially conflicting public values make this sector a well-suited case to test whether consensus on public values is a precondition for a positive association between transformational leadership and employee PSM. Based on a survey of 968 employees combined with qualitative interviews concerning specific public values, we find that the less value conflict, the stronger the positive relationship between the direct managers’ level of transformational leadership and the employees’ PSM. This is also the case for the top management. This implies that transformational leadership might be a way for managers to enhance employee PSM, but only if there is no severe value conflict.
On Legal Complexity: Between Law in Books and Planning in Practice

This chapter addresses the difference between the intentions of the law and its application by using mobile telephony infrastructure development in Sweden as a case. Three possible pitfalls for policy management in general are concluded and analyzed. The first pitfall deals with legal complexity, which may be a result of piecemeal changes to the governing legal bodies over a longer time and is here argued to be of relevance for issues of public participation and access to justice. Another problematic pitfall concerns when law is internally contradictory without any clear hierarchy, which is exemplified below. The third possible pitfall, which often is a point of focus in sociology of law, concerns when extra-legal factors interfere in the legal decision-making without this being pronounced or acknowledged. This means that economy and politics can affect the application of law to the extent that legal security and predictability is jeopardized. These three possible pitfalls in policy represent issues of general character in the legal government of land use and spatial planning, and are here analysed from a socio-legal perspective.
Speeding, Coordination, and the 55 MPH Limit

Do laws coordinate or restrain? A number of recent papers discuss the optimality of the 55 mph national maximum speed limit (NMSL), and evaluate the tradeoff of timelost vs. lives-saved resulting from the lowered speed (James Jondrow et al., 1983; Dana Kamerud, 1983; Thomas Forester et al., 1984). These papers all implicitly accept the conventional wisdom-speed kills, slower is safer. This conventional wisdom leads to laws designed as limits on behavior, whereas . the crucial element is often coordination. People need to do the right things at the right time in relation to what others are doing" (Thomas Schelling, 1978, p. 121). There are indeed some traffic laws that establish conventions of expected conduct: we ask that motorists drive to the right, not because driving on the left is evil, but because it is important that the direction of flow be commonly agreed upon. Likewise, traffic lights are best viewed as a coordinating device: allowing free flow to alternating lanes of traffic to reduce the confusion and loss of time in unsignalized intersections. For peculiar historical reasons, speed laws evolved as limits on driver behavior, rather than as signaling devices meant to coordinate it. Guided by the limit-rationale, police concentrate on those drivers who exceed the legal speed, and tend to ignore those drivers who disrupt coordination by traveling much slower than the norm. This paper tests these differing views of the law by examining the current effects of the 55 mph NMSL-should it be viewed as a coordinating mechanism or a limiting mechanism? I measure the effects of limit-defying behavior (speeding), and absence of coordination (speed variance) on the fatality rate. Based on analysis of 1981 and 1982 state cross-section data, I find that there is no statistically discernable relationship between the fatality rate and average speed, though there is a strong relationship to speed variance. When most cars are traveling at about the same speed, whether it is a high speed or a low one, the fatality rate will be low-presumably because the probability of collision will be low. Variance kills, not speed.
Executive function assessment in New Zealand 2-year olds born at risk of neonatal hypoglycemia

A growing number of babies are born with perinatal risk factors that may impair later development. These children are often assessed at 2 years to help predict outcome and direct support services. Executive function is an important predictor of academic achievement and behavior, but there are limited assessments of executive function in 2-year-olds and few have been tested in at-risk populations. Therefore, we developed a battery of four age-appropriate tasks to assess executive function in 2-year-olds. At 24 months’ corrected age 368 children completed tasks assessing attention, inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility. Scores on different tasks were weakly correlated, suggesting that they measured separate aspects of executive function, with combined scores for this cohort approximating a normal distribution. Significantly more boys (67%) than girls (57%) were unable to inhibit their behavior on the Snack Delay Task and girls (M = 3.24, SD = 2.4) had higher mean scores than boys (M = 2.7, SD = 2.7) on the Ducks and Buckets Reverse Categorization Task of working memory. Performance was significantly affected by family socioeconomic status. Mean scores were lower on all four individual tasks and on the global score of overall performance in children from a low household income (<$40,000) compared to those from medium ($40,001-$70,000) and high income households (>$70,001). Maternal education was only associated with scores on the working memory task and the global score; and a measure of neighborhood deprivation was only associated with scores on the two inhibitory tasks and the global score. Our findings confirm the feasibility of assessing executive function in 2-year-olds, and its ability to discriminate effects of socioeconomic status, a common confounder in child development research. Further development and standardization of this test battery comparing at-risk children with a normative population would provide a much-needed measure of executive function in early childhood.