Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Novel Free Radical Scavenger, Edarabone, Protects Against Cisplatin-Induced Acute Renal Damage in Vitro and in Vivo

Accumulating evidence suggests that enhanced peroxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) may contribute to the pathogenesis of cisplatin-induced acute renal failure. Nevertheless, little is known about the involvement of oxygen radicals in cisplatin nephropathy. In this study, we investigated the effects of a novel free radical scavenger, 3-methyl-1-phenyl-pyrazolin-5-one (MCI-186; edarabone), on murine proximal tubular cell (PTC) damage induced by exposure to cisplatin in vitro and on renal function in an in vivo model of cisplatin-induced acute renal failure. Edarabone inhibited cisplatin-induced (40 μM, 24 h) cytotoxicity in a concentration-dependent manner (10-5 to 10-3 M). Edarabone also attenuated cisplatin-induced mitochondrial transmembrane potential loss and ROS production of PTCs. In the in vivo study, male Wistar rats were cotreated with cisplatin (5 mg/kg, i.p.) and edarabone (1 or 5 mg/kg, i.v.). Effects of edarabone on the kidney were examined 5 days after treatment. Cisplatin resulted in renal dysfunction, renal tubular damage, mitochondrial damage (assayed by histochemical staining for respiratory chain complex IV), renal protein oxidation (examined by Western blot analysis using a specific antibody for carbonyl group-containing proteins), and tubular apoptosis (determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling staining). The above changes were attenuated by edarabone treatment. Thus, edarabone exhibited cytoprotective effects in PTCs and renoprotective effects against cisplatin. Our findings suggest that ROS, in particular hydroxyl radicals, are involved in cisplatin nephropathy and that edarabone may be potentially useful in protecting the kidneys and prevention of acute renal failure.
THREE ESSAYS EVALUATING CHOICES OF TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS IN KENTUCKY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

OF DISSERTATION THREE ESSAYS EVALUATING CHOICES OF TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS IN KENTUCKY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Public K-12 education is a large enterprise in the United States. Through local, state and federal sources, the U.S. allocated over $610 billion to K-12 public education in 2009 (NCES). Not only is the commitment of public funds for education substantial, the provision of K-12 education is primarily administered by the government in non-market settings through local school districts. It is this institutional environment that generates the impetus for evaluating how those in education make choices in the absence of markets. Like traditional markets, non-market solutions often fail because the incentives facing individuals and agencies elicit choices which produce outcomes that are divergent from those which could be considered Pareto optimal. Examining these incentives and the resulting choices allows researchers to identify unintended consequences of policy and better inform policy design and reform. This dissertation endeavors to identify some of these incentives and to empirically examine their effects on the choices made by teachers and administrators. Chapter two recognizes that teaching effectiveness may motivate teacher choice into relatively more rigorous professional development. The empirical results suggest that teachers with a past history of relative ineffectiveness are selecting into the professional development program examined. The subsequent effectiveness of the in-service training is mixed. High stakes testing and school accountability are an increasing part of our K-12 education system. Chapter three acknowledges it is plausible that administrators may choose to place more students into class rooms of more effective teachers to maximize school performance. However, because of tenure and salary constraints they may choose to place fewer students into the class rooms of more effective teachers to reward
Analysing Roll Calls of the European Parliament

This article explores the performance of a Bayesian application of spatial voting models to the roll calls of the Fifth European Parliament (EP). Focusing on two distinct voting behaviours of members of the EP (MEPs) — high absenteeism and the defection from majority alternatives caused by the influence of national parties — it shows that the Bayesian method is complementary to the standard NOMINATE method. In general, the two methods produce very similar estimates and work as robustness checks for the results from each other. However, the Bayesian method enables us to measure the uncertainty of estimates resulting from the estimation with a large number of missing data and some random-appearing roll calls. In this way, it helps us draw more confident inferences about MEPs' voting behaviour.
A dynamic game theoretic approach to Chinese pharmaceutical firms’ international strategic alliance

Abstract This research explores international alliance in a Chinese context to understand the relationships and decision-making processes between Chinese and foreign pharmaceutical firms. We adopt static and dynamic game theory approaches to create models and use mathematic methods to deduct and explain the events under the various situations. Our results suggest that foreign pharmaceutical firms should mainly engage in research and development with higher profit, and the Chinese pharmaceutical firms should mainly engage in manufacturing with lower profit. The repeatedly unlimited game (long-term) is better than the two-stage game (short-term). Furthermore, it is suggested that the government to guide the industry to build and develop an appropriate direction according to the relative advantage of the country, and it should consistently welcome foreign investment and encourage the integration of local industry with international companies, as well.
Elevated C-reactive protein level in hemodialysis patients with moderate/severe uremic pruritus: a potential mediator of high overall mortality.

BACKGROUND Dialysis patients with uremic pruritus have worse outcomes. However, the pathophysiology of the high mortality in these patients remains inconclusive except for links with calcium/phosphate imbalance and sleep disturbance. Whether inflammation, an outcome predictor in dialysis patients, plays a role is unknown. METHODS This prospective study included 321 chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients (>3 months) for survival analysis. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to measure the severity of itching, and the patients were divided into four groups: no pruritus (VAS = 0, N = 118), mild (VAS 1-3, N = 76), moderate (VAS 4-7, N = 89) and severe pruritus (VAS 8-10, N = 38). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to define sleep disturbance, while high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were used to evaluate inflammation. The patients were followed-up for 30 months. RESULTS Patients with moderate/severe pruritus had higher hs-CRP, but similar TNF-α levels; they also had a worse survival rate (P = 0.0197, log rank test). By stratifying hs-CRP levels, those with higher hs-CRP had worse survival regardless of the severity of uremic pruritus. In a Cox proportional hazard model, hs-CRP levels and moderate/severe uremic pruritus were independent predictors of mortality after adjusting for age, poor sleeper (PSQI > 5), diabetes, albumin, phosphate, hemoglobin and parathyroid hormone levels and (hs-CRP) × (moderate/severe uremic pruritus) (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION In moderate/severe pruritic HD patients, those with higher hs-CRP suffer from worse overall mortality. Inflammation may bridge uremic pruritus to high mortality, and elevated hs-CRP predicts a worse outcome in this population.
Comparing Measures Of Competitiveness

In their Europe Agreements with the EU, the Central and Eastern European countries stated their intention of joining the Union. To ease the process of accession these countries must adjust their economies already prior to becoming an EU-member. Agriculture requires special attention, because it still represents a large share of the total economy in these countries. A better understanding of the competitiveness of agricultural products at domestic and EU markets is essential for providing the necessary economic framework to make the process of joining the EU as smooth as possible.Competitiveness can be analyzed at various levels of the economy: at the enterprise level, the sector level, or the level of the entire economy. Several measures exist for each of these levels. This paper focuses on those used for sector analysis. Since the measures commonly employed for this purpose do not deliver the same results, a better understanding of the underlying causes is necessary. This paper discusses the differences between the various indicators. It identifies the factors leading to disagreement in the results obtained.
Bimanual Co‐ordination in Adolescent Boys with Reading Retardation

The temporal organization of unimanual and bimanual rhythmic finger‐tapping was compared between adolescent normal readers and retarded readers, as well as across subgroups of retarded readers with different psychometric intelligence profiles. Regardless of subtype, the retarded readers had substantially greater difficulty in maintaining a steady tapping rhythm than did controls, but their deficit was limited to motor tasks requiring asymmetrical timing commands to the two hands. The findings indicate that the motor deficits of retarded readers on complex skills persist into adolescence; and they suggest that one major source of difficulties in motor performance may be in rapid communication between the hemispheres.
Pseudolesion in segment IV of the liver at CT during arterial portography: correlation with aberrant gastric venous drainage.

PURPOSE To analyze the correlation between pseudolesions seen in segment IV of the liver and aberrant gastric venous drainage (AGVD). MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-two patients with a pseudolesion in the posterior edge of segment IV of the liver (group A) and 100 randomly selected patients without pseudolesions (group B) underwent computed tomography during arterial portography (CTAP) and hepatic arteriography. The frequency of the visualization of AGVD to segment IV was compared for groups A and B. RESULTS AGVD was seen at arteriography in 18 of 22 patients in group A. None of the patients in group B had AGVD. The difference in the frequency of angiographically visible AGVD was statistically significant (chi 2 test, P < .01). CONCLUSION AGVD is the main cause of pseudolesions in the posterior edge of segment IV of the liver.
The Timing and Subsequent Performance of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange

Companies that have listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange by means of a public offering between 1980 and 1991 have subsequently performed poorly. This long run post issue performance is remarkably consistent with the South African evidence for seasoned rights issuing companies and the international evidence for both initial public offerings (IPOs) and seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). Over the four years post issue, the newly listed companies earned an average return of 18.0% as opposed to 81.5% for a size-matched sample of seasoned companies. This study adds to the increasing body of international evidence suggesting the IPO under performance 'puzzle' referred to by Ibbotson (1975), Loughran and Ritter (1995) and Spiess and Affleck-Graves (1995) is not simply sample or country specific. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1997.
Dynamic Externalities and Policy Coordination

The paper introduces trade into dynamic models with externalities and capital accumulation, and evaluates the efficiency of the Cournot-Nash equilibrium. It considers mixed economies characterized by a blend of strategic and nonstrategic sectors. Also, there are two sources of interdependence: the existence of production externalities and the endogenous determination of market prices. It is shown that policy coordination is not needed when preferences are the same. In this case, the production externalities are internalized, so that an inefficient solution becomes the efficient integrated world equilibrium due to trade. Copyright 2000 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
LOCAL ECONOMIC STRUCTURE AND OFF‐FARM LABOUR EARNINGS OF FARM OPERATORS AND SPOUSES

Off‐farm income has become an increasingly important source of farm household income in the past twenty years. While research has examined farm households' decision to work off‐farm, our understanding of how a region's economic structure influences the off‐farm labour decision is not strong. This manuscript uses Huffman's conceptual model for farm households' level of off‐farm earnings. Results show that higher relative employment in sectors which offer more flexible work schedules is strongly associated with higher off‐farm labour earnings.
The cyclicality of the demand for crude oil: evidence from the OECD

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the cyclical relationship between the demand for crude oil and real output for the OECD. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs Harvey's structural time series model to analyse the contemporaneous and non-contemporaneous cyclical co-movement of the demand for crude oil with real output, using quarterly observations for the period 1984:1-2010:4. Findings – The empirical evidence suggests that a strong and positive cyclical relationship between the two variables exists, with the demand for crude oil being procyclically contemporaneous. Practical implications – The implication of this finding suggests that consuming countries cannot stockpile oil reserves to guard against the cyclical nature of demand, while producing countries face weak and bearish oil markets during economic recessions, because oil consuming countries cannot smooth out their demand for oil on an intertemporal basis. Originality/value – The paper provides further evidence supporting the procyclically contemporaneous relationship between the demand for crude oil and real output for the OECD.
An Economic Analysis of Personal Earnings in Rawalpindi City

The intent of this paper is to delineate the determinants of the distribution of income in Rawalpindi city. The basic hypothesis to be tested is that fot each individual, personal earnings are a function of his socio-economio char. acteristics sud. as age, sex, education, and the like. If the hypothesis bears out, the disparity of incomes within the city would then prove to be a conse. quence of the variation in these individual characteristics. It would then be of interest to quantify the effect of each of these determinants on the eventual distribution of income.
A Study to Develop an Instrument to Measure Work Ethic

Work ethic is one of the most notable constructs that has endured over a long period of time. Among other things, it indicates the extent to which a person considers work as his central life interest. The purpose of the study on which this article is based is to develop an instrument to measure work ethic. Surprisingly, the role of ethical behaviour has not been adequately studied in India in spite of the widespread clamour in the country against corruption! The instrument to be developed through this study, it is hoped, will enable social and behavioural scientists to study this neglected aspect of employee attitude and behaviour. Data for the study was collected from a sample of 507 managerial employees working in the Indian wing of a multinational organization. The 10-item scale developed through this study is uni-dimensional and its psychometric properties were established with the help of appropriate statistical tools and techniques.
On the use of spline smoothing in estimating hedonic housing price models: Empirical evidence using Hong Kong data

Traditionally in estimating hedonic housing price functions, investigators use parametric models involving specific functional forms and a finite number of unknown parameters. Some investigators have questioned whether the underlying theory is capable of conveying sufficient information to enable a correct and successful specification of parametric models and have instead proposed the less restrictive semiparametric approach to the problem. In this paper, we illustrate how the technique of smoothing splines can be used to estimate hedonic housing price models. Smoothing splines are a powerful approach to the analysis of housing data as they are exceptionally flexible in their functional forms and provide a computationally tractable method even with a large number of explanatory variables. Our illustration takes the form of a rather limited, but very promising, application with Hong Kong data. In the forecasting comparison, the spline smoothing procedure outperforms the traditional parametric Box-Cox model in mean square error terms for out-of-sample predictions. Our results also suggest that the distortion caused by underfitting the model is smaller for spline smoothing than for the kernel and k-nearest-neighbor semiparametric procedures. Copyright 2004 by the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association
Social networking experiences on Facebook: A survey of gender differences amongst students

Orientation : Students’ membership and participation in social networking sites, such as Facebook, has increased in recent years. Research purpose : The study examined students’ access to social network sites and compared male and female students’ usage of Facebook with regards to time commitment, privacy concerns, and the creation and/or maintenance of relationships. Motivation : The study adds to the existing academic literature on this topic by providing a South African perspective. Research design, approach and method : Two-hundred self-administered questionnaires were distributed using convenience sampling. The statistical analysis that was used included Mann-Whitney U -test, t -test and ANOVA analysis. Main findings : Students connect to social networking sites everyday primarily via their mobile phones. Female students reported spending more time on Facebook whilst at the same time expressing more concern for their privacy. Moreover, students were found to use Facebook to maintain existing offline friendships more so than creating new relationships. Managerial implications : Social networking sites such as Facebook play an important role in students’ everyday interpersonal communication. Practically, Facebook provides lecturers, parents and businesses the opportunity to communicate with students in a fast and cost-effective way. Therefore, insight into the variables studied could help marketers and Social Network Site operators to manage privacy concerns in order to effectively target, advertise and communicate with students. Contribution: Although past research has concentrated on the study of Facebook in terms of privacy and members’ uses little research has been conducted on gender differences in this regard, more so within a South African context. Furthermore demographic variables such as gender influence motives and behaviour, as such making the analysis demographics essential.
The Daily Market for Federal Funds

This paper reports overwhelming evidence against the hypothesis that the federal funds rate follows a martingale over the 2-week reserve maintenance period, establishing that banks do not regard reserves held on different days of the week to be perfect substitutes. A theoretical model of the federal funds market is proposed that could account for these empirical regularities as the result of line limits, transaction costs, and weekend accounting conventions. The paper concludes that such transaction costs lie at the heart of the liquidity effect that enables the Federal Reserve to change the interest rate on a daily basis.
Transfer Learning based Non-native Acoustic Modeling for Pronunciation Error Detection

The scarcity of large-scale non-native corpora and human annotations are two fundamental challenges in the development of computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) systems. We explored several transfer learning based methods to detect the pronunciation errors without using non-native training data. Effects were confirmed in the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation error detection of Japanese speakers. In this paper, we investigate the generality of the methods through application to an English speech data of Japanese speakers. We also evaluate on a non-native phone recognition experiment, which is necessary but challenging in advanced CAPT systems. Experimental results show that transfer learning based acoustic modeling methods can not only be ported to a new target language but also effective in a recognition task.
Oral tolerance

Summary: The gut‐associated lymphoid tissue is the largest immune organ in the body and is the primary route by which we are exposed to antigens. Tolerance induction is the default immune pathway in the gut, and the type of tolerance induced relates to the dose of antigen fed: anergy/deletion (high dose) or regulatory T‐cell (Treg) induction (low dose). Conditioning of gut dendritic cells (DCs) by gut epithelial cells and the gut flora, which itself has a major influence on gut immunity, induces CD103+ retinoic acid‐dependent DC that induces Tregs. A number of Tregs are induced at mucosal surfaces. Th3 type Tregs are transforming growth factor‐β dependent and express latency‐associated peptide (LAP) on their surface and were discovered in the context of oral tolerance. Tr1 type Tregs (interleukin‐10 dependent) are induced by nasal antigen and forkhead box protein 3+ iTregs are induced by oral antigen and by oral administration of aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligands. Oral or nasal antigen ameliorates autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in animal models by inducing Tregs. Furthermore, anti‐CD3 monoclonal antibody is active at mucosal surfaces and oral or nasal anti‐CD3 monoclonal antibody induces LAP+ Tregs that suppresses animal models (experimental autoimmune encephalitis, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, lupus, arthritis, atherosclerosis) and is being tested in humans. Although there is a large literature on treatment of animal models by mucosal tolerance and some positive results in humans, this approach has yet to be translated to the clinic. The successful translation will require defining responsive patient populations, validating biomarkers to measure immunologic effects, and using combination therapy and immune adjuvants to enhance Treg induction. A major avenue being investigated for the treatment of autoimmunity is the induction of Tregs and mucosal tolerance represents a non‐toxic, physiologic approach to reach this goal.