Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptation and validation of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale – Cognitive (ADAS-Cog) in a low-literacy setting in sub-Saharan Africa

Objective This study aimed to assess the feasibility of a low-literacy adaptation of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale – Cognitive (ADAS-Cog) for use in rural sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for interventional studies in dementia. No such adaptations currently exist. Methods Tanzanian and Nigerian health professionals adapted the ADAS-Cog by consensus. Validation took place in a cross-sectional sample of 34 rural-dwelling older adults with mild/moderate dementia alongside 32 non-demented controls in Tanzania. Participants were oversampled for lower educational level. Inter-rater reliability was conducted by two trained raters in 22 older adults (13 with dementia) from the same population. Assessors were blind to diagnostic group. Results Median ADAS-Cog scores were 28.75 (interquartile range (IQR), 22.96–35.54) in mild/moderate dementia and 12.75 (IQR 9.08–16.16) in controls. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.973 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.936–1.00) for dementia. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s α 0.884) and inter-rater reliability was excellent (intra-class correlation coefficient 0.905, 95% CI 0.804–0.964). Conclusion The low-literacy adaptation of the ADAS-Cog had good psychometric properties in this setting. Further evaluation in similar settings is required.
Excess Reserves in the Great Depression

This article assesses the extent to which government-administered financial shocks and lower interest rates can account for the massive accumulation of bank excess reserves in the Great Depression. Both factors are shown to be statistically significant. Financial shocks did exert astatistically detectable influence on the demand for excess reserves but those shocks at best can account for a step-like increase in the level of reserves held, an increase which was completed in less than a year. Financial shocks can explain no more than 1 percent of the variation in excess reserves during the Great Depression. We demonstrate that the most statistically appropriate form of the demand function is one which flattened rapidly as interest rates fell. The fall in interest rates can account for 80 percent of the movement of excess reserves during the Great Depression.
A Method for Measuring the Photoelectric Work Function of Contact Materials Versus Temperature

The nature of the contact material plays a key role to determine the characteristics of electrical arcs and particularly those related to electronic emission. Mechanical and thermodynamic properties as well as electronic emission of such complicated alloys present a lack of reliable and accurate experimental data. The purpose of this paper is to present the development of a method for measuring photoelectric work functions of contact materials. Also reported in this paper are the results of experimental work whose purpose has been the buildup of a reliable photoelectric system and associated monochromatic ultraviolet radiations source, and the photoelectric measurement of the EWF of contact materials. As a first test of the experimental Ultra High Vacuum setup, the electron work functions (EWF) of silver contacts, namely pure polycrystalline metals that are actually used in relays, were measured photoelectrically, using both Fowler's method of isothermal curves and linearized Fowler plots. Ultrahigh vacuum techniques were employed to obtain residual gas pressure of about 5 × 10-9 mbar that allows accurate and reliable photoelectric work function measurements. The EWF measured at room temperature of polycrystalline Ag contact (as commercially available) increased from 3.70 eV before heating, to 4.30 eV, and finally, stabilized at the vicinity of 4.26 eV after several vacuum heat treatments at 533 and 773 K. The EWF value obtained, i.e., 4.26 ± 0.03 eV, is in good agreement with the results found in the literature. This shows that the experimental method is valid and the experimental setup is usable. Furthermore, new photoelectric measurements versus temperature have shown a linear decrease of the EWF of silver contacts with increasing temperature, i.e., the temperature coefficient α = dφ/dt is constant and negative α = -4.58 · 10-4 eV/K in the experiment temperature range 300-780 K.
Contribution of Adenosine A2B Receptors to Inflammatory Parameters of Experimental Colitis 1

Inflammatory diseases influence tissue metabolism, significantly altering the profile of extracellular adenine nucleotides. A number of studies have suggested that adenosine (Ado) may function as an endogenously generated anti-inflammatory molecule. Given the central role of intestinal epithelial cells to the development of colitis, we hypothesized that specific Ado receptors would contribute to disease resolution in mucosal inflammation as modeled by dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) colitis. Initial profiling studies revealed that murine intestinal epithelial cells express predominantly the Ado A2B receptor (AA2BR) and to a lesser extent AA2AR. Guided by these results, we examined the contribution of AA2BR to colitis. Initial studies indicated that the severity of colitis was increased in Aa2br−/− mice relative to Aa2br+/+ controls, as reflected by increased weight loss, colonic shortening, and disease activity indices. Likewise, enteral administration of the selective AA2BR inhibitor PSB1115 to Aa2br+/+ mice resulted in a similar increase in severity of DSS colitis. Cytokine profiling of colonic tissue revealed specific deficiencies in IL-10 in Aa2br−/− mice relative to controls. Extensions of these findings in cultured human intestinal epithelial cells revealed that stable Ado analogs induce IL-10 mRNA and protein and that such increases can be blocked with PSB1115. Taken together, these studies indicate a central regulatory role for AA2BR-modulated IL-10 in the acute inflammatory phase of DSS colitis, thereby implicating AA2BR as an endogenously protective molecule expressed on intestinal epithelial cells.
The organisation of innovation in the wine industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the spatial organisation of the open innovation model in the wine industry in Canada.Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a micro‐firm level survey among 146 wine firms in Canada. Descriptive and non‐parametric tests are used in the analysis.Findings – The results on the occurrence of collaborations depict modest collaborative activities with external sources. Most of the collaborations and information are sourced locally because the local climate and growing conditions are so specific that alternative sources and collaborations are less relevant. The results also show that the firm's openness strategy has a weak influence on innovation capacity but firms that introduce more innovations are those that embrace an open innovation strategy to a greater extent than the less innovative.Research limitations/implications – The number of respondents is still limited (i.e. about 150). Moreover, only the relationship between some firm‐.
Adiponectin as a potential tumor suppressor inhibiting epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition but frequently silenced in prostate cancer by promoter methylation

Recent evidence suggests a particular role for obesity in prostate cancer (PCa) progression. Adiponectin (ADN) is a hormone secreted by adipose tissue and has a variety of functions including the inhibition of PCa cell proliferation. Although serum ADN levels have been identified to be related with carcinogenesis in a tissue‐specific context, the exact role of endogenous ADN in PCa cells remains largely unknown.
Does Executive Compensation Affect Investment?

Investment decisions require trading off current expenditures against future revenues. If revenues extend far enough into the future, the executives responsible for designing long-run investment policy may no longer be in office by the time all the revenues are realized. We present evidence that: (1) on average, executives are close to leaving office (relative to the payout period of many investments); (2) bonuses based on accounting earnings constitute an important part of compensation for the typical executive; and (3) executives respond in predictable ways to compensation plans based on accounting measures of earnings. Based on these facts, we hypothesize that existing compensation policy induces executives to reduce investments during their last years in office. In our empirical work, however, we find that investment expenditures on research and development and on advertising tend to be largest in the final years of a CEO's time in office. We offer several possible explanations for this surprising finding
Monopoly and Competition in the Market for Durable Goods

While economic theory has concentrated considerable attention on the firm as a user and accumulator of capital, analysis of its role as a producer of durable capital goods appears to have suffered comparative neglect. In recent years, however, a number of papers, inspired by the model of durable goods production developed by Wicksell in the course of his classical treatment of Ackerman's problem [10], have helped redress the balance. Modern writers, such as D. D. Martin [5], E. Kleiman and T. Ophir in this journal [3], D. Levhari and T. N. Srinivasan [4] and R. L. Schmalensee [6], have elaborated upon Wicksell's analysis by treating alternative time profiles of product decay and by considering the case of monopoly as well as that of competition. However, they have all followed Wicksell in confining their attention to an assumed long-run equilibrium in which the durability of the product, the rate of production, and the flow of services provided by the entire stock of the product, are all constant over time. The convenience of this long-run equilibrium assumption lies in the simple relationship it ensures between the rate of production and aggregate product services on the one hand, and between the price of the product and the price of its services on the other. These relationships allow the familiar Marshallian analysis of price and output determination under competition to be readily extended to the market for a durable good, and appear to permit a similar straightforward extension in the case of monopoly. Such simplicity nevertheless has its price. An analysis confined to situations of longrun equilibrium sheds no light on the behaviour of the industry in the short run, nor indeed on the conditions under which long-run equilibrium will be attained as a consequence of profit maximization. More seriously, by restricting their attention to positions of long-run equilibrium, those authors referred to above, who have extended Wicksell's results to the monopoly case, have been led to disregard Jevon's maxim that " in commerce, by-gones are for ever by-gones . "; an error which has produced the dramatic, but erroneous, conclusion that a monopolist will produce less durable assets than would perfect competitors operating under identical conditions of (constant) cost and demand. Thus one purpose of this paper is to analyse the production of durable goods, under the alternative regimes of competition and mol46poly, without imposing at the outset the assumption that the industry is in long-run equilibrium. Since the development of the industry over time depends critically on the relative importance of fixed costs, we treat the polar case, where all costs are escapable in the short run, in Part III, while fixed costs are introduced in Part V. A secondary objective is to identify, in Part IV, the error made in earlier long-run equilibrium analyses of monopoly and to show how the conclusion of Swan [7], [8], that
The effect of end-of-life discussions on perceived quality of care and health status among patients with COPD.

BACKGROUND Despite strong preferences for discussions about end-of-life care, patients with COPD do not often have these discussions with their providers. Our objective was to determine whether patients who reported having end-of-life discussions also reported higher perceived markers of quality of care and health status. METHODS A cross-sectional study of data collected at baseline for a trial to improve the occurrence and quality of end-of-life communication in patients with COPD was conducted. The primary exposure was self-reported acknowledgment of having discussions about end-of-life planning with their physicians. The primary outcome measures were patient-reported quality of care and satisfaction with care, which were dichotomized as best imaginable quality of care vs other ratings of quality and highest satisfaction vs other ratings of satisfaction. We adjusted for confounding factors, including patient and provider characteristics, using logistic regression clustered by provider. RESULTS Three hundred seventy-six patients were enrolled, of whom 55 (14.6%) reported having end-of-life discussions. Individuals who reported having end-of-life discussions with their physicians were significantly more likely to rate their quality of care as the best imaginable (OR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.05-4.09) and to be very satisfied with their medical care (OR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.10-3.55). Discussions were more likely to have occurred among patients with worse health status as measured by St. George Respiratory Questionnaire total and impact scores. CONCLUSIONS Patients who reported having end-of-life care discussions with their physicians had higher perceived quality of care and satisfaction with their physicians. Discussing end-of-life care with patients who have COPD may improve their perceived overall quality of and satisfaction with care.
A randomized study to compare sequential chemoradiotherapy with concurrent chemoradiotherapy for unresectable locally advanced esophageal cancer

Abstract Background: Chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy can improve outcome in locally advanced esophageal cancer. Aim: This study aimed to compare efficacy and toxicity between concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and sequential chemoradiotherapy (SCRT) in unresectable, locally advanced, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESSC). Materials and Methods: Forty-one patients with unresectable, locally advanced ESCC were randomized into two arms. In the CCRT arm (Arm A), 17 patients received 50.4 Gy at 1.8 Gy per fraction over 5.6 weeks along with concurrent cisplatin (75 mg m -2 intravenously on day 1 and 5-fluorouracil (1000 mg m -2 continuous intravenous infusion on days 1-4 ; starting on the first day of irradiation and given after 28 days. In the SCRT arm (Arm B), 20 patients received two cycles of chemotherapy, using the same schedule, followed by radiotherapy fractionated in a similar manner. The endpoints were tumor response, acute and late toxicities, and disease-free survival. Results: With a median follow up of 12.5 months, the complete response rate was 82.4% in Arm A and 35% in Arm B (P = 0.003). Statistically significant differences in frequencies of acute skin toxicity (P = 0.016), gastrointestinal toxicity (P = 0.005) and late radiation pneumonitis (P = 0.002) were found, with greater in the CCRT arm. A modest but non-significant difference was observed in median time to recurrence among complete responders in the two arms (Arm A 13 months and Arm B 15.5 months, P = 0.167) and there was also no significant difference between the Kaplan Meier survival plots (P = 0.641) of disease-free survival. Conclusions: Compared to sequential chemoradiotherapy, concurrent chemoradiotherapy can significantly improve local control rate but with greater risk of adverse reactions.
[Perinatal outcome of pregnancies in advanced maternal age].

BACKGROUND Traditionally an advanced maternal age have been associated with a higher risk of unfavorable perinatal results. OBJECTIVE to know the perinatal outcomes in women giving birth at age 40 or older during a year in a concentration hospital located at Monterrey, Nuevo León. PATIENTS AND METHODS In a retrospective, cross-sectional, study. RESULTS 163 women and 170 newborn were included. A newborn death (5.8 x 1000 RN) and no one maternal death was observed. The most frequent maternal associated disease was gestational diabetes (16%) followed by the hypertensive disorders (10%). The cesarean rate was 71.1% and the most frequent indication was previous cesarean. The most frequent hospitalization cause was early premature labour (4.2%). Premature membrane was observed in 11% of patients. The mean delivery time was at 38 weeks with a mean body weight of 3032 g. There were 5 newborn with congenital malformations (2.9%). 21 newborns were hospitalized (12%) and the most frequent indication was prematurity. CONCLUSION Women giving birth at age 40 or older observed a higher gestational diabetes incidence followed by the pregnancy-induced hypertension. The cesarean delivery was the most frequent mode of delivery. We consider that the perinatal outcomes in this study were favorable for both mother and child.
The Sentence Completion and Three Wishes tasks: windows into the inner lives of people with intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND Measuring the self-perceptions, thoughts, hopes and inner lives of persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) has long been a research challenge. Unlike objective or projective tests, semi-projective tasks may provide persons with ID with just enough structure or cues to convey their self-perceptions in a spontaneous and unbiased manner. METHODS Sentence Completion and Three Wishes tasks were individually administered to 128 persons with ID aged 5-50 years (mean = 18.75 years). Participants had Prader-Willi, Williams or Down syndromes. Content analyses resulted in 19 codes that were used to reliably score both tasks by independent raters who achieved excellent levels of inter-rater agreement. Participants also received IQ testing, and their parents or care providers completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). RESULTS Frequent themes across both tasks included activities, positive affect, desired objects, and relationships with family and pets. No gender or IQ effects were found, and just a few codes showed modest age effects. Several responses, including dating, friends, food, and positive or negative self-appraisals, were significantly related to either syndrome status or CBCL maladaptive behaviour. CONCLUSIONS Although not widely used, the Sentence Completion and Three Wishes tasks are useful semi-projective techniques for garnering otherwise hard-to-access self-perceptions and associations of people with ID. Implications are discussed for practice and research.
Towards a definitive model of the corporate identity management process

Various writers have developed conceptual models of corporate image formation and corporate identity management. These models reflect the way in which corporate identity and corporate image have been conceptualised over the past three decades. This paper explores the significance of the various models as a rich foundation for the conceptual thinking on corporate identity, and draws from these models a more definitive model of the corporate identity management process. The model developed reflects current thinking, which places greater emphasis on organizational culture, corporate strategy, corporate communication and integrated communication. The implications for managers and consultants are discussed. A significant implication for both is that the increase in complexity of the model indicates that more variables need to be systematically taken into account when planning a corporate identity program.
Regulation of the Na 1 / H 1 exchanger in fibroblasts overexpressing the Na 1 / Ca 2 1 exchanger

Ikeda, Toshitaro, Takahiro Iwamoto, Shigeo Wakabayashi, and Munekazu Shigekawa. Regulation of the Na1/H1 exchanger in fibroblasts overexpressing the Na1/Ca21 exchanger. Am. J. Physiol. 274 (Cell Physiol. 43): C1537–C1544, 1998. —To assess the role of Ca21 in regulation of the Na1/H1 exchanger (NHE1), we used CCL-39 fibroblasts overexpressing the Na1/Ca21 exchanger (NCX1). Expression of NCX1 markedly inhibited the transient cytoplasmic Ca21 rise and long-lasting cytoplasmic alkalinization (60–80% inhibition) induced by a-thrombin. In contrast, coexpression of NCX1 did not inhibit this alkalinization in cells expressing the NHE1 mutant with the calmodulin (CaM)-binding domain deleted (amino acids 637–656), suggesting that the effect of NCX1 transfection involves Ca21-CaM binding. Expression of NCX1 only slightly inhibited platelet-derived growth factor BBinduced alkalinization and did not affect hyperosmolarityor phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-induced alkalinization. Downregulation of protein kinase C (PKC) inhibited thrombininduced alkalinization partially in control cells and abolished it completely in NCX1-transfected cells, suggesting that the thrombin effect is mediated exclusively via Ca21 and PKC. On the other hand, deletion mutant study revealed that PKCdependent regulation occurs through a small cytoplasmic segment (amino aids 566–595). These data suggest that a mechanism involving direct Ca21-CaM binding lasts for a relatively long period after agonist stimulation, despite apparent short-lived Ca21 mobilization, and further support our previous conclusion that Ca21and PKC-dependent mechanisms are mediated through distinct segments of the NHE1 cytoplasmic domain.
Building a Sentiment Corpus of Tweets in Brazilian Portuguese

The large amount of data available in social media, forums and websites motivates researches in several areas of Natural Language Processing, such as sentiment analysis. The popularity of the area due to its subjective and semantic characteristics motivates research on novel methods and approaches for classification. Hence, there is a high demand for datasets on different domains and different languages. This paper introduces TweetSentBR, a sentiment corpora for Brazilian Portuguese manually annotated with 15.000 sentences on TV show domain. The sentences were labeled in three classes (positive, neutral and negative) by seven annotators, following literature guidelines for ensuring reliability on the annotation. We also ran baseline experiments on polarity classification using three machine learning methods, reaching 80.99% on F-Measure and 82.06% on accuracy in binary classification, and 59.85% F-Measure and 64.62% on accuracy on three point classification.
Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 1b Core Protein Does Not Exert Immunomodulatory Effects on Virus-Induced Cellular Immunity

ABSTRACT The hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein is among the most conserved proteins in HCV and is known to induce sensitization of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Therefore, it is a prime candidate for a component of a potential HCV vaccine. The HCV core protein has, however, been reported to exert multiple effects on cell functions, raising questions as to its suitability for this purpose. This question was investigated here with mice into which replication-deficient adenoviruses expressing core protein of an HCV genotype 1b isolate were injected. We show that induction of cytokines in response to the infection, infiltration of lymphocytes into the infected liver, priming of virus-specific CTL, and liver injury are not modulated by expression of the core protein in the liver. Moreover, no changes in the sensitivity to tumor necrosis factor alpha- or Fas-mediated liver injury are demonstrable. A similar lack of demonstrable effects of the core protein on immune functions has also been obtained using transgenic mice expressing another HCV genotype 1b core protein. It is concluded that the HCV core protein of genotype 1b has no modulatory effects on induction of virus-specific immune responses and may therefore be a suitable component of an HCV vaccine.