Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CD4+CD25hiFOXP3+ Regulatory T Cells and Cytokine Responses in Human Schistosomiasis before and after Treatment with Praziquantel

Background Chronic schistosomiasis is associated with T cell hypo-responsiveness and immunoregulatory mechanisms, including induction of regulatory T cells (Tregs). However, little is known about Treg functional capacity during human Schistosoma haematobium infection. Methodology CD4+CD25hiFOXP3+ cells were characterized by flow cytometry and their function assessed by analysing total and Treg-depleted PBMC responses to schistosomal adult worm antigen (AWA), soluable egg antigen (SEA) and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in S. haematobium-infected Gabonese children before and 6 weeks after anthelmintic treatment. Cytokines responses (IFN-γ, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17 and TNF) were integrated using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Proliferation was measured by CFSE. Principal Findings S. haematobium infection was associated with increased Treg frequencies, which decreased post-treatment. Cytokine responses clustered into two principal components reflecting regulatory and Th2-polarized (PC1) and pro-inflammatory and Th1-polarized (PC2) cytokine responses; both components increased post-treatment. Treg depletion resulted in increased PC1 and PC2 at both time-points. Proliferation on the other hand, showed no significant difference from pre- to post-treatment. Treg depletion resulted mostly in increased proliferative responses at the pre-treatment time-point only. Conclusions Schistosoma-associated CD4+CD25hiFOXP3+Tregs exert a suppressive effect on both proliferation and cytokine production. Although Treg frequency decreases after praziquantel treatment, their suppressive capacity remains unaltered when considering cytokine production whereas their influence on proliferation weakens with treatment.
Job Content Plateaus

The current study examined job content plateaus, which occur when employees perceive a lack of future challenge or responsibility in their jobs. Although previous research has indicated that job content plateaus are related to poor job attitudes and outcomes, few studies have examined mediators of these relationships, a critical step in theory development. In this study, we tested a mediation model to examine the outcomes of job content plateaus among a sample of 118 hospital employees in Kenya. Job content plateaus were negatively related to job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors directed at individuals (OCBIs). Job satisfaction was positively related to OCBIs and organizational citizenship behaviors aimed at organizations (OCBOs) and mediated the relationship between job content plateaus and OCBIs and OCBOs.
A daughter is a daughter for the whole of her life : A study of daughters' responsibility for parents with dementia

Informal caregiving for elderly people is a common care system in Sweden as well as in many other countries. Adult children assume a major role in providing care for their disabled elderly parents. This study describes daughters' feelings after many years of caregiving and attempts to gain an understanding of the motives that elicit and sustain their helping behaviour towards parents with dementia, positive aspects of caregiving are also investigated. The data were collected by means of interviews with the daughters and were focused on the qualitative aspects of their subjective feelings of caregiving in order to obtain a profound understanding of these experiences. The data were coded and categorized. The results showed that most of the parents were institutionalized and that the daughters did not cease their supportive activities when these older people entered an institution. They still experienced stress because of constraints, conflicts and loneliness in their caregiving role. Two-thirds of the daughters expressed positive feelings of caregiving, while the others were unable to identify such sentiments. Affection and reciprocity emerged as the most common motives for caring. Examples of their experiences are illustrated with quotations from the data. The results are discussed in relation to the attachment theory. Innovative ways for supporting daughters in this role must be found.
Prevalence of an intraspecific Neotyphodium hybrid in natural populations of stout wood reed (Cinna arundinacea L.) from eastern North America

Members of genus Neotyphodium are asexual derivatives of sexual Epichloë species and maintain endophytic relationships with many cool-season grasses. Most Neotyphodium species analyzed so far are interspecific hybrids with combined or partial genomes of two or three ancestral species. In this study we characterized Neotyphodium isolates from Cinna arundinacea, a perennial cool-season grass from eastern North America. A total of 23 isolates grouping into two distinct morphotypes were obtained from five local populations of C. arundinacea. PCR amplification and cloning of translation-elongation factor 1-α (tefA) and β-tubulin (tubB) genes of 10 isolates comprising both morphotypes (two isolates per location) revealed that all 10 contain two copies of tefA and tubB genes. Surprisingly phylogenetic analysis of mainly non-coding sequence from these genes revealed that both copies in each isolate were inherited from Epichloë typhina ancestors, indicating that the C. arundinacea endophytes arose through intraspecific hybridization between two E. typhina progenitors with extant relatives infecting hosts Poa nemoralis and Poa pratensis. Furthermore the tefA sequences were identical between isolates, as were tubB sequences, despite obvious morphological differences. Profiling of alkaloid biosynthetic genes from these isolates indicated the presence of the peramine biosynthetic gene (perA) and the absence of genes required for biosynthesis of lolines, indole-diterpenes and ergot alkaloids. Thus this endophyte is potentially capable of producing peramine in planta and providing protection to its host from insect pests. The absence of genes for indole-diterpenes and ergot alkaloid biosynthesis makes this endophyte a candidate for agricultural applications. Based on our phylogenetic analysis, alkaloid profiling and description of morphological characteristics, we propose the name Neotyphodium schardlii for these isolates from C. arundinacea, a new member of genus Neotyphodium and the first described to have arisen through intraspecific hybridization.
Anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of plant extracts traditionally used for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders

The antibacterial activity of plant extracts obtained from Bixa orellana L. , Chamomilla recutita L. , Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil. , Malva sylvestris L. , Plantago major L. and Rheum rhaponticum L. has been evaluated against two reference strains and eleven clinical isolates of Helicobacter pylori. All the plant species chosen are used in popular Brazilian cuisine and folk medicine in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Initial screening was made by the disk diffusion test and then minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by the agar dilution method. The results presented in this work demonstrated that among the plant preparations analyzed, B. orellana L. , C. recutita L. , I. paraguariensis A. St.-Hil. and M. sylvestris L. were capable of inhibiting the in vitro growth of H. pylori.
Unsupervised Classification of Dialogue Acts using a Dirichlet Process Mixture Model

In recent years Dialogue Acts have become a popular means of modelling the communicative intentions of human and machine utterances in many modern dialogue systems. Many of these systems rely heavily on the availability of dialogue corpora that have been annotated with Dialogue Act labels. The manual annotation of dialogue corpora is both tedious and expensive. Consequently, there is a growing interest in unsupervised systems that are capable of automating the annotation process. This paper investigates the use of a Dirichlet Process Mixture Model as a means of clustering dialogue utterances in an unsupervised manner. These clusters can then be analysed in terms of the possible Dialogue Acts that they might represent. The results presented here are from the application of the Dirichlet Process Mixture Model to the Dihana corpus.
The Effect of Time Distortions on the Intelligibility of Deaf Children's Speech

Abnormal time relationships in the speech of deaf children are discussed. An experiment, the aim of which was to examine the effect of teaching directed solely at improving the time factors in the speech of a group of severely deaf children, is described. This teaching produced a 56% improvement in word intelligibility and an even greater improvement in listeners' abilities to recognize the complete syntactic patterns of the children's utterances. It is concluded that the information about linguistic sequences which is carried by the relative time factors in speech becomes critical in the interpretation of speech which is grossly defective in its articulation. It is suggested that in teaching speech to deaf children great emphasis should be given to non-articulatory aspects in the improvement of which there are quick returns for effort.
Estimating the Enduring Effects of Fertiliser Subsidies on Commercial Fertiliser Demand and Maize Production: Panel Data Evidence from Malawi

Abstract Most studies of input subsidy programmes confine their analyses to measuring programme effects over a one‐year period. This article estimates the potential longer‐run or enduring effects of fertiliser subsidy programmes on smallholder farm households' demand for commercial fertiliser and maize production over time. We use four waves of panel data on 462 farm households in Malawi for whom fertiliser use can be tracked for eight consecutive seasons between 2003/2004 and 2010/2011. Panel estimation methods are used to control for potential endogeneity of subsidised fertiliser acquisition. Results indicate that farmers acquiring subsidised fertiliser in three consecutive prior years are found to purchase slightly more commercial fertiliser in the next year. This suggests a small amount of crowding in of commercial fertiliser from the receipt of subsidised fertiliser in prior years. In addition, acquiring subsidised fertiliser in a given year has a modest positive impact on increasing maize output in that same year. However, acquiring subsidised fertiliser in multiple prior years generates no statistically significant effect on maize output in the current year. These findings indicate that potential enduring effects of the Malawi fertiliser subsidy programme on maize production are limited. Additional interventions that increase soil fertility can make using inorganic fertiliser more profitable and sustainable for smallholders in sub‐Saharan Africa and thereby increase the cost‐effectiveness of input subsidy programmes.
Feeling Healthy? A Survey of Physical and Psychological Wellbeing of Students from Seven Universities in the UK

University students’ physical and psychological health and wellbeing are important and comprise many variables. This study assessed perceived health status in addition to a range of physical and psychological wellbeing indicators of 3,706 undergraduate students from seven universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We compared differences in these variables across males and females, and across the participating universities. The data was collected in 2007–2008. A self-administered questionnaire assessed socio-demographic information (e.g., gender, age), self-reported physical and psychological health data, as well as questions on health awareness, health service use, social support, burdens and stressors and university study related questions. While females generally reported more health problems and psychological burdens, male students felt that they received/had fewer persons to depend on for social support. The comparisons of health and wellbeing variables across the different universities suggested some evidence of ‘clustering’ of the variables under study, whereby favourable situations would be exhibited by a cluster of the variables that is encountered at some universities; and conversely, the clustering of less favourable variables as exhibited at other universities. We conclude that the level of health complaints and psychological problems/burdens is relatively high and calls for increased awareness of university administrators, leaders and policy makers to the health and well-being needs of their students. The observed clustering effects also indicated the need for local (university-specific) health and wellbeing profiles as basis and guidance for relevant health promotion programmes at universities.
Human Capital and Convergence in a Non-Scale R&D Growth Model

This paper extends an R&D non-scale growth model to include endogenous human capital. The goal is to study the model predictions once the complementarity between technology and human capital commonly found in the empirical literature is taken into account. To do this, a human capital accumulation technology is proposed that preserves the non-scale nature of the model. Our model suggests that cross-sector labor movements induced by the complementarity between human capital and technology can be a key factor in replicating and explaining growth miracles such as Japan and South Korea. It is shown that the speed of convergence and the adjustment paths of output growth, investment rates, interest rates, and labor shares implied by the proposed model are consistent with empirical evidence. Finally, it is argued that focusing only on the asymptotic speed of convergence may not be very informative about the overall performance of a model to explain the convergence phenomenon. JEL Classification: O33, O41, O47.
The efficacy of a microwave device for treating axillary hyperhidrosis and osmidrosis in Asians: a preliminary study

Abstract A microwave-based device has been developed to treat axillary hyperhidrosis by selectively heating the interface between the skin and underlying fat in the axilla. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of microwave-based devices for axillary hyperhidrosis and osmidrosis in Asians. Eleven patients (8 females and 3 males, age range 20–52 years, mean age 37.6 years) with axillary hyperhidrosis or osmidrosis were enrolled, treated with the microwave-based device, and followed up for 7 months. Procedure efficacy, patient satisfaction, and treatment safety were assessed. The clinical records were reviewed and the patients were interviewed individually at follow-up visits or via telephone. Evaluation of sweating showed at least a 2-point drop or greater in hyperhidrosis disease severity scale (HDSS) in 83.3% subjects (10/12 axillae) as measured at the 7-month follow-up. Of 16 axillae with osmidrosis, 93.8% (15/16 axillae) showed good to excellent results. Histologic findings also showed destruction of eccrine and apocrine glands that were replaced with fibrosis. Regarding safety, altered sensation of arms developed in one case that resolved after 3 months. This novel microwave-based treatment appears to be effective and well tolerated for the treatment of axillary hyperhidrosis and osmidrosis in Asians.
The Effect of ETFs on Stock Liquidity

This paper investigates whether markets for individual stocks lose liquidity when uninformed investors are given options to avoid trading against informed investors. I find a positive association between the percentage of firm shares being held by exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and illiquidity in the market for the underlying stocks. This liquidity deprivation is mitigated for stocks with high quality earnings. These results imply that investors with an informational disadvantage migrate after weighing the cost and benefits of trading portfolios versus the underlying stocks. I further examine how portfolio-level liquidity relates to diversification when liquidity dynamically flows between a portfolio and its underlying stocks.
"Boutique" financial advisors vs. full-service investment banks: An analysis of advisor choice and deal outcomes in mergers and acquisitions

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY In this thesis, I study the motives and impact of hiring boutique advisors in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Specifically, this paper investigates a merging firm’s choice between boutique and full-service advisors and the impact of advisor choice on deal outcomes regarding deal premium, deal duration and deal completion. DATA AND METHODOLOGY My sample consists of 906 M&A transactions. The sample is collected from the Securities Data Corporations (SDC) database in Thomson One Banker. The sample contains completed and withdrawn transactions from the international merger database from 1987 to 2013. Both the acquirer and target firm are required to be publicly traded firms from the EU-19 countries, Norway, and Switzerland. Advisor choice is analyzed with multivariate logistic regressions. Deal premiums are analyzed with OLS regressions and a two-step procedure. Deal duration is analyzed with OLS regressions and deal completion is analyzed with multivariate probit regressions. FINDINGS OF THE STUDY The findings suggest that deal size is an important factor in determining how merging firms select financial advisors. Boutique advisors are less likely to be chosen by either acquirers or targets as deal size increases. Additionally, some findings suggest that boutique advisors are hired when merging firms face complex transactions but these findings are weak. With regard to whether boutiques can improve deal outcomes, the findings are mixed.
Hypnosis in the Perioperative Management of Breast Cancer Surgery: Clinical Benefits and Potential Implications

The aim of this review is to summarize data published on the use of perioperative hypnosis in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery (BCS). Indeed, the majority of BCS patients experience stress, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, and pain. Correct management of the perioperative period and surgical removal of the primary tumor are clearly essential but can affect patients on different levels and hence have a negative impact on oncological outcomes. This review examines the effect of clinical hypnosis performed during the perioperative period. Thanks to its specific properties and techniques allowing it to be used as complementary treatment preoperatively, hypnosis has an impact most notably on distress and postoperative pain. During surgery, hypnosis may be applied to limit immunosuppression, while, in the postoperative period, it can reduce pain, anxiety, and fatigue and improve wound healing. Moreover, hypnosis is inexpensive, an important consideration given current financial concerns in healthcare. Of course, large randomized prospective studies are now needed to confirm the observed advantages of hypnosis in the field of oncology.
Business Bias: How Epidemiologic Studies May Underestimate or Fail to Detect Increased Risks of Cancer and Other Diseases

Abstract In spite of claiming primary prevention as their aim, studies of potential occupational and environmental health hazards that are funded either directly or indirectly by industry are likely to have negative results. The authors present three common scenarios in which faulty design of epidemiologic studies skewsresults, and list 15 study design flaws that lead to results that are dangerously misleading with regard to both the evaluation and the improvement of public health.
Beta-catenin mutations are more frequent in small colorectal adenomas than in larger adenomas and invasive carcinomas.

Loss of serine or threonine phosphorylation sites from exon 3 of beta-catenin has been identified in approximately half of colorectal tumors which lack adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) mutations, but the overall contribution of beta-catenin mutations to sporadic colorectal tumorigenesis is unclear. We therefore used PCR to amplify and sequence exon 3 of beta-catenin from 202 sporadic colorectal tumors. Exon 3 beta-catenin mutations were identified in 6 of 48 small (< 1 cm) adenomas, 2 of 82 large (> or =1 cm) adenomas, and 1 of 72 invasive carcinomas. Eight of the nine mutations, including all of those in the small adenomas and the invasive cancer, involved loss of serine or threonine phosphorylation sites. The percentage of beta-catenin mutations in small adenomas (12.5%) was significantly greater than that in large adenomas (2.4%) and invasive cancers (1.4%; P = 0.05 and P = 0.02, respectively). We conclude that mutation of beta-catenin can be an early, perhaps initiating, event in colorectal tumorigenesis. Small adenomas with beta-catenin mutations do not appear to be as likely to progress to larger adenomas and invasive carcinomas as other adenomas, however, with the result that beta-catenin mutations are only rarely seen in invasive cancers. This suggests that APC and beta-catenin mutations are not functionally equivalent, and that the APC gene may have other tumor suppressor functions besides the degradation of beta-catenin.
Cellular Immune Responses in the Murine Lung to Local Immunization with Influenza A Virus Glycoproteins in Micelles and Immunostimulatory Complexes (Iscoms)

Primary immunization with a single inoculum of either micelles or iscoms containing influenza A virus glycoproteins failed to induce either B or cytotoxic T (Tc) cell responses. In contrast, immunization with two inocula of iscoms, but not micelles, resulted in the appearance of influenza virus‐specific antibody‐secreting cells (ASC) but not Tc cells in the lung. There was a 10‐fold increase in Tc cell precursor frequency and an increase in ASC generated by secondary in vitro stimulation of lung cell cultures obtained from mice primed with iscoms but not micelles. In mice primed with infectious virus, secondary immunization with either micelles or iscoms increased the number of ASC in the lung and elicited virus‐specific Tc cell responses. In contrast homologous virus challenge failed to induce detectable secondary B or Tc cell responses.