Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The neurobiological underpinnings of risk and conversion in relatives of patients with schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is associated with deficits in many domains of cognitive function, along with structural and functional brain abnormalities, most notably in prefrontal and temporal lobes. In recent years, a number of research groups have turned to the study of relatives of affected individuals with the aim of determining if similar cognitive deficits and brain abnormalities are also found in those with increased genetic vulnerability to the disorder. In this article studies on such individuals are discussed. It is concluded that deficits are generally apparent in relatives, which are similar to but less marked than those seen in patients with schizophrenia. The literature on predictors of conversion in people at genetic high risk is much smaller, but suggests a combination of baseline trait severity and further change in key measures.
Urban Waterfront Regeneration and Local Governance in Tallinn

THIS ARTICLE ANALYSES THE EFFORTS to regenerate the centrally located but underdeveloped waterfront of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, into an area of new offices, tourist services and up-market housing. Regeneration ideas have evolved since the 1960s and particularly since Estonia regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. A large-scale redevelopment' project, involving a number of public sector agencies and private firms, was initiated in the autumn of 1996. This project, the largest private property development scheme in Estonia to date, is estimated to cost 5-7 billion kroons (approximately 450-550 million dollars, 1997-98 estimates) and is expected to give a considerable boost to the local economy and the image of the city. The revitalised waterfront is envisaged as a fashionable addition to Tallinn's central commercial district and a symbol of the city's growth potential. Owing to the investment interest in the project, as well as its political and symbolic importance, waterfront redevelopment illuminates the processes of urban regeneration and local governance in 1990s Tallinn. Central and Eastern Europe (hereafter Eastern Europe) represents a serious gap amidst the voluminous geographical research in urban regeneration and governance. Our current understanding of urban revitalisation relies heavily on the experience of North American and Western European cities.2 Consequently, the theoretical concepts, such as entrepreneurial governance, public-private partnership, urban regime and growth coalition, used to explain the revitalisation processes, are abstracted from these cities. Research on urban redevelopment and governance in Eastern Europe is chiefly empirical.3 Post-socialist transformations are not conceptualised in the light of the theoretical frameworks commonly employed to explain regeneration and governance (in 'the West') and, conversely, these frameworks do not incorporate evidence from Eastern Europe. The objectives of this article are twofold. First, it provides a case study of Tallinn waterfront revitalisation, focusing on the role of local governance in that project. Second, it examines the similarities and differences between Tallinn and the cases hitherto examined in the urban regeneration literature. I argue that, owing particularly to the fragmented and unstable institutional setting that is among the central components of post-socialist transformations, the waterfront regeneration process in Tallinn differs considerably from Western examples. Thus, the concept of entrepreneurial urban governance as a local coalition or partnership actively promoting local economic development, extensively used in Western contexts, has a limited
Technology Transfer under Asymmetric Information

Licensing contracts for newly patented innovations are observed to vary along several dimensions, including the form and size of the payment to the inventor (fixed fee versus some output-based royalty), the degree of exclusivity, and the division of rents. In this article, we show that the form of the contract can be explained by two problems in technology exchange: the superiority of a licensor's precontractual information about the economic value of the innovation and the fact that sharing this information with the licensee may facilitate imitation. We show that a licensor signals her technology type with an output-based payment (or royalty) and may leave some of the rents with the licensee. Conditions under which exclusive license contracts (linear and nonlinear) and nonexclusive linear contracts are used to transfer technology are identified.
Entrepreneur ambidexterity: A study of entrepreneur behaviours and competencies in growth-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises

This article uses the sociological method of structured observation to explore the every day behaviour of entrepreneurs from an exploration-exploitation perspective. Six entrepreneurs leading successful growth-oriented businesses were observed for a four-day period and 2305 ‘units of action’ performed by the entrepreneurs were recorded. Six behavioural patterns that allowed them, their management team or the organisation as a whole to pursue ambidexterity were identified. In contrast with the existing high-level approaches of ambidexterity, this study provides a synthesis of entrepreneur behaviours and competencies to achieve ambidexterity at the operating level.
Placebo response to caffeine improves reaction time performance in sleepy people

Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant to counteract sleepiness. However, little is known about any placebo effect of caffeine in sleepy people and the effect of suggestibility. Over a 95 min test period, and in a counterbalanced design, 16 young healthy adults underwent 3 × 30 min sessions at the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT), during an early afternoon ‘dip’ enhanced by a prior night's sleep restriction (5 h). On both occasions they were given a cup of a decaffeinated coffee; once when the participant was verbally primed to suggest the coffee was caffeinated (Placebo) and on the other under neutral priming (Control). There were significantly fewer lapses and shorter reaction times following Placebo, for the initial two 30 min sessions, indicating that suggestion about consuming caffeine was effective in improving performance in moderately sleepy people. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Robust Segmentation of Overlapping Cells in Histopathology Specimens Using Parallel Seed Detection and Repulsive Level Set

Automated image analysis of histopathology specimens could potentially provide support for early detection and improved characterization of breast cancer. Automated segmentation of the cells comprising imaged tissue microarrays (TMAs) is a prerequisite for any subsequent quantitative analysis. Unfortunately, crowding and overlapping of cells present significant challenges for most traditional segmentation algorithms. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm that can reliably separate touching cells in hematoxylin-stained breast TMA specimens that have been acquired using a standard RGB camera. The algorithm is composed of two steps. It begins with a fast, reliable object center localization approach that utilizes single-path voting followed by mean-shift clustering. Next, the contour of each cell is obtained using a level set algorithm based on an interactive model. We compared the experimental results with those reported in the most current literature. Finally, performance was evaluated by comparing the pixel-wise accuracy provided by human experts with that produced by the new automated segmentation algorithm. The method was systematically tested on 234 image patches exhibiting dense overlap and containing more than 2200 cells. It was also tested on whole slide images including blood smears and TMAs containing thousands of cells. Since the voting step of the seed detection algorithm is well suited for parallelization, a parallel version of the algorithm was implemented using graphic processing units (GPU) that resulted in significant speedup over the C/C++ implementation.
Identification of specific antigens of Pseudomonas pseudomallei and evaluation of their efficacies for diagnosis of melioidosis

Current methods for the diagnosis of melioidosis are based on bacteriological culture. A number of serological tests currently available lack specificity and sensitivity. This is largely due to the use of crude antigens which results in a significant cross-reactivity with sera from individuals infected with other bacteria. In this study five different antigens were prepared and evaluated for their potential usefulness in diagnosis of melioidosis. These included a 19.5-kDa antigen which was previously shown to be specific by Western blotting (immunoblotting), a crude cell extract, a veronal extract, a 39.0-kDa antigen, and an immunoaffinity-purified antigen. All antigens were used for detecting antibody in sera from patients with septicemic melioidosis by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results were compared with those obtained with sera from patients with other bacterial infections and normal sera from areas where the infection is and is not endemic. The 19.5-kDa antigen exhibited the most satisfactory results, with 92% sensitivity, 91% specificity, 81% positive predictive value, and 96% negative predictive value based on a background obtained with normal sera from the area where the infection is nonendemic. These values were 82% sensitivity, 96% specificity, 94% positive predictive value, and 87% negative predictive value based on results with normal sera from the area where the infection is endemic. Results from this study showed that the 19.5-kDa antigen was potentially useful in the diagnosis of melioidosis and deserves further investigation.
Triglycerides are major determinants of cholesterol esterification/transfer and HDL remodeling in human plasma.

Lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) are responsible for the esterification of cell-derived cholesterol and for the transfer of newly synthesized cholesteryl esters (CE) from HDL to apoB-containing lipoproteins in human plasma. LCAT and CETP are also crucial factors in HDL remodeling, a process by which HDL particles with a high capacity for cell cholesterol uptake are generated in plasma. In the present study, cholesterol esterification and transfer were evaluated in 60 patients with isolated hypercholesterolemia (HC, n = 20) and isolated (HTG, n = 20) or mixed hypertriglyceridemia (MHTG, n = 20) and in 20 normolipidemic healthy individuals (NL). Cholesterol esterification rate (CER) and net CE transfer rate (CETR) were measured in whole plasma. LCAT and CETP concentrations were determined by specific immunoassays. HDL remodeling was analyzed by monitoring changes in HDL particle size distribution during incubation of whole plasma at 37 degrees C. Mean CER and CETR were 48% and 73% higher, respectively, in hypertriglyceridemic (HTG + MHTG) versus normotriglyceridemic individuals. HDL remodeling was also significantly accelerated in plasma from hypertriglyceridemic patients. Strong positive correlations were found in the total sample between plasma and VLDL triglyceride levels and CER (r = .722 and r = .642, respectively), CETR (r = .510 and r = .491, respectively), and HDL remodeling (r = .625 and r = .620, respectively). No differences in plasma LCAT and CETP concentrations were found among the various groups except for a tendency toward higher CETP levels in hypercholesterolemic patients (+51% in MHTG and +20% in HC) versus control subjects (NL). By stepwise regression analysis, VLDL triglyceride level was the sole significant predictor of CER and CETR and contributed significantly together with baseline HDL particle distribution to HDL remodeling. These results indicate that plasma triglyceride level is a major factor in the regulation of cholesterol esterification/transfer and HDL remodeling in human plasma, whereas LCAT/CETP concentrations play a minor role in the modulation of reverse cholesterol transport.
Wages, Nonwage Job Characteristics and the Search Behavior of Employees

This paper analyzes the search decision of employees empirically. A maximum likelihood model consisting of a wage equation and a search equation, in which the difference between the present and the nonobserved alternative (market) wage is included, is estimated to investigate the importance of nonwage job characteristics and future wage prospects relative to the present wage. The estimation results indicate that both present and future wages and nonwage job characteristics have a significant impact on the search decisions of employees. Copyright 1991 by MIT Press.
What influences guests' emotions? The case of high-quality hotels

This paper outlines the methodology and results of an attempt to assess influences on the emotional states of hotel guests. When consuming tourism products, tourists do not only expect professional services but also desire satisfying experiences. According to Pine and Gilmore (1998), goods and services must be ‘experientialized’ because customers seek for rewarding, memorable and pleasurable consumption experiences. Quality management research suggests that traditional service quality measures are insufficient in evaluating the satisfaction of the ‘new’ tourists with consumed services. In order to measure customer satisfaction, it is important to take into account factors concerning the psychological environment such as subjective personal reactions or feelings experienced by consumers. Thus, experience quality should be the starting point for developing models to assess emotions in tourism industry. After reviewing the latest literature in the field of service and experience measurement in leisure and tourism, the paper presents an experience model highlighting causalities measuring flow experience during the consumption of activities. The results show that the hotel setting has strong influence on the emotional state of the guests and that the staging of the service environment as well as the service process constitutes a crucial part of the hotel strategy. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Revisiting the Inflationary Effects of Oil Prices

This paper uses a structural vector autoregression model to investigate the inflationary effects of oil prices. Rather than simply infer the oil price changes as oil supply shocks, we identify three different shocks in the crude oil market: the oil supply shock, the global aggregate demand shock, and the oil-market specific demand shock. We then use impulse response functions to compute the conditional oil price pass-through ratios. It is found that the largest oil price pass-through is caused by oil supply shocks. However, evidence from historical decompositions suggests that the oil price movements have been driven by shocks from strong global aggregate demand and oil demand while only minor contributions come from oil supply shocks. Disentangling demand and supply shocks in the crude oil market helps to uncover the fact that a recent decline in unconditional oil price pass-through may come from the low conditional passthrough caused by global demand shocks.
Impact on prognosis of periprocedural bleeding after TAVI: mid-term follow-up of a multicenter prospective study.

AIMS Impact of periprocedural bleeding after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) over mid-term prognosis remains still unclear. METHODS Consecutive patients who underwent TAVI from May 2008 to July 2012 were prospectively included and stratified according to life-threatening (LT) and major bleeding (MB). Mid-term all-cause death was the primary end-point, and 30-day death, vascular complications, stroke, and acute kidney injury the secondary ones. All end-points were adjudicated according to VARC. RESULTS Seven hundred fourteen patients with an average age of 81.9 ± 5.8 years were included. 130 (18%) patients suffered a LT, 112 (16%) a MB. A preprocedural GFR <30 ml/min and increasing diameter of sheaths were independent predictors of LT or MB, while transfemoral approach showed a protective effect (OR 0.42; CI: 0.26-0.68; P = 0.035). At 30 days LT (OR 3.3; CI: 1.1-9.7; P = 0.0026) and MB (OR 3.5; CI: 1.4-8.6; P = 0.007) bleeding along with GFR < 30 ml/min (OR 2.3; CI: 1.1-5.5; P = 0.04) were independent predictors of death, while bleeding did not impact survival on mid term (OR 0.9; CI: 0.47-1.7; P = 0.78; all CI 95%). CONCLUSION Periprocedural bleeding after TAVI was frequent and associated with an increased mortality after 30 days but not after mid-term follow-up. A preprocedural GFR < 30 ml/min was the most important predictor of bleeding, enabling risk stratification and choice of approach for these patients.
Valuation of residential property: analysis of participant behaviour

The comparative method of valuation is based on valuers interpreting prices agreed in the open market to arrive at an opinion of value. This requires the consideration of a diverse range of variables and an assessment of their relative impact. Behavioural analysis using an independent sample of buyers and valuers operative in the Belfast residential market indicates that there are statistically significant differences between the two sample groups in the scoring and ranking of variables. In particular valuers are shown to place a greater emphasis on environmental or neighbourhood effects. Discusses the outcome of this empirically‐based research and analyses whether differences in the treatment of variables between the valuer and buyer samples are reflected in different price and value distributions. The results indicate that valuation accuracy to within 5 per cent of transaction price is not upheld; rather it is argued that a 10 per cent threshold has greater credibility.
Intake of different types of red meat, poultry, and fish and incident colorectal cancer in women and men: results from the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study

ABSTRACT Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered one of the most common forms of cancer in the Western world. High intake of red and processed meat is considered to increase CRC development. Objective: This study examined associations between intake of red meats, poultry, and fish and incident CRC, and if weight status modifies the associations. Design: In the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study, dietary data was collected through a modified diet history method. Via the Swedish Cancer Registry, 728 cases of CRC were identified during 428 924 person-years of follow-up of 16 944 women and 10 987 men. Results: Beef intake was inversely associated with colon cancer. However, in men high intake of beef was associated with increased risk of rectal cancer. High intake of pork was associated with increased incidence of CRC, and colon cancer. Processed meat was associated with increased risk of CRC in men. Fish intake was inversely associated with risk of rectal cancer. No significant interactions were found between different types of meat and weight status. Conclusions: Findings suggest that associations between meat intake and CRC differ depending on meat type, sex, and tumor location in the bowel. Weight status did not modify observed associations.
Effects of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide on gonadotropin secretion and subunit messenger ribonucleic acids in perifused rat pituitary cells.

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide-38 (PACAP38) is a neuropeptide related to vasoactive intestinal peptide-secretin-glucagon which stimulates adenylate cyclase in cultured rat pituitary cells and stimulates LH and FSH release in vitro and in vivo. Because the cAMP-protein kinase-A pathway regulates the gonadotropin subunit messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and modulates GnRH-stimulated gonadotropin secretion in vitro, we examined the effects of PACAP38 on gonadotropin secretion and subunit mRNA levels. Anterior pituitary cells were prepared from 7-week-old male rats castrated at 5 weeks of age. In monolayer cultures stimulated with GnRH, 0.1-10 nM PACAP38 decreased (P < 0.05) the EC50 for GnRH dose-dependently without affecting the maximum LH secretory response. Cells were next stimulated with 1-min pulses of 2.5 nM GnRH every hour for 9 h in the absence or presence of 10 nM PACAP38, which was perifused continuously. The amplitude of GnRH-induced LH, FSH, and alpha-subunit secretory episodes from PACAP38-treated cells rose (P < 0.01) gradually to 233 +/- 54%, 197 +/- 44%, and 378 +/- 104%, respectively (mean +/- SEM; n = 5 experiments), of the value for control cells lacking PACAP38. This enhancement was sustained for at least 3 h after PACAP38 was removed from the perifusion medium. With PACAP treatment, interpulse secretion of LH and alpha-subunit increased gradually (P < 0.01) to 174 +/- 21% and 212 +/- 64% of the value for chambers stimulated with GnRH alone (control), respectively, whereas interpulse secretion of FSH declined (P < 0.001) to 75 +/- 7% of the control value. In contrast to the gradual effect of PACAP38 to enhance GnRH-induced hormone secretion, PACAP38 alone produced a transient burst of gonadotropin secretion. At the completion of the perifusions, total RNA was extracted and gonadotropin subunit mRNA levels were determined by Northern analysis. GnRH increased (P < 0.01) FSH beta mRNA to 438 +/- 52% of the level in cells stimulated with medium alone (control). Adding PACAP38 to the perifusion medium partially blocked (P < 0.01) the effect of GnRH (178 +/- 20% of the control value), and PACAP38 alone reduced (P < 0.01) FSH beta mRNA levels to 31 +/- 3% of the control value. By contrast, alpha-subunit mRNA levels were increased by both PACAP38 (143 +/- 4% of the control value; P < 0.01) and GnRH (121 +/- 2% of the control value; P < 0.05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
EARLY POSTNATAL STARVATION CAUSES LASTING BRAIN HYPOMYELINATION

Abstract— Rats were starved during various intervals of postnatal development, and subsequently, they were rehabilitated by feeding ad lib. through 60 days of age. Starvation was induced by an increasingly severe regime of maternal deprivation that results in a 50% deficit in body weight at 20 days. Relatively mild and brief starvation, from birth through 8 days, as well as more severe starvation occurring late, from 14 to 30 days, produced no lasting deficit in myelin accumulation. Starvation from birth through 14 days or from birth through 20 days produced lasting, significant myelin deficits in all regions (cerebrum, cerebellum, medulla, midbrain, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and striatum) of the brain. These data, in combination with our previous metabolic studies of myelin synthesis of starved and control rats, show that starvation early in development, during the period of oligodendroglial cell multiplication, accounts for an immediate reduction in myelin synthesis, and that the consequent myelin deficit proves irreversible in subsequent nutritional rehabilitation. In contrast, brain weight is subject to substantial growth catch‐up upon rehabilitation. Where the onset of starvation was late, during the period of rapid myelin synthesis, but after completion of the major period of oligodendroglial cell proliferation, no lasting myelin deficit was observed upon rehabilitation.