Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predominance of Th 2 cytokines , CXC chemokines and innate immunity mediators at the mucosal level during severe respiratory syncytial virus infection in children

Profiling of immune mediators in both nasal and plasma samples is a common approach to the study of pathogenesis in respiratory viral infections. Nevertheless, mucosal immunity functions essentially independently from peripheral immunity. In our study, 27 immune mediators were profiled in parallel, in nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) and plasma from 22 < 2 year-old children with a severe respiratory syncytial virus infection involving the lower respiratory tract, using a multiplex assay. NPAs from 22 children with innocent heart murmurs were used as controls. Differences in mediator concentrations between NPAs from patients and controls were assessed using the Mann-Whitney test. Ratios of innate/adaptive-immunity mediators, Th2/Th1cytokines and CXC/CC-chemokines were calculated for NPAs and plasmas and differences were assessed using the Wilcoxon test. Associations mediators, severity and leukocyte counts were studied using the Spearman-Karber test. Results: increased levels of Th1 cytokines (IL-1b, IL-2, IL-12p70, IFNc, TNFa), Th2 cytokines (IL-13, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10), chemokines (IP-10, IL-8, MIP1a, MIP-1b), growth factors (FGFb, PDGFbb, GCSF) and IL-1RA, IL-17 were observed in patient NPAs in comparison to controls. In the relative comparisons between patient NPAs and plasmas, a predominance of innate immunity mediators, Th2 cytokines and CXC chemokines was found at the mucosal level. No association between the level of each mediator in NPAs and plasma was found. In plasma, PDGFbb, VEGF, MIP-1a, IL-8 correlated with severity; RANTES and IL-6 correlated with leukocyte counts. Conclusions: acute respiratory syncytial virus infection induces a relative predominance of innate-immunity mediators, Th2 cytokines and CXC chemokines in the mucosal compartment in infected children.
The Working with Parents in Sport Model (WWPS-Model): A Practical Guide for Practitioners Working with Parents of Elite Young Performers

In this article we introduce the Working with Parents in Sport Model (WWPS-Model), which highlights key areas applied practitioners can use to inform their practice with regard to the development and implementation of support programs for parents/guardians of elite junior athletes. The stage approach and nature of the model, which is accompanied by practical checklists, are all intended to serve as a valuable resource to both the experienced professional and the neophyte practitioner about to engage on the applied practice journey within an elite junior sporting environment.
The inflation-productivity trade-off revisited

Our aim in this paper is threefold. First, to test the robustness of the relation between total factor productivity growth and inflation to the specification of the estimating model; second, to test the stability of their relationship in the short run and in the long run, and third, to investigate the direction of causality between these two variables. To accomplish the first objective, we estimate a generalized Box–Cox cost function using data from the two-digit Standard Industrial Classification of manufacturing industries in Greece during the period 1964–1980. The results show that: (a) the acceleration of inflation from 1964–1972 to 1973–1980 reduced total factor productivity growth in a way that was both statistically significant and sizeable, and (b) even when the effect of inflation is separated from the effects of technical change and economies of scale, the choice of functional form is most crucial. With respect to the second objective, somewhat to our surprise, we find that the inflation-productivity trade-off prevails even in the long run. And, finally, regarding the third objective, it emerges that in the great majority of two-digit manufacturing industries the causality runs from inflation to productivity. On these grounds we conclude that for a precise estimation of the relationship under consideration it is imperative to sort out the three effects involved, do so by adopting the most general flexible functional form for the cost function, and run the appropriate stability and causality tests.
A Proposal for International Monetary Reform

a system of pegged parities that relied on the debts in reserve currencies, mostly dollars, to meet growing needs for official reserves. Trif fin and his followers saw the remedy as the internationalization of reserves and reserve assets; their ultimate solution was a world central bank. Others diagnosed the problem less in terms of liquidity than in the inadequa cies of balance of payments adjustment mech anisms in the modern world. The inadequa cies were especially evident under the fixed parity gold-exchange standard when, as in the 1960s, the reserve currency center was struc turally in chronic deficit. These analysts sought better and more symmetrical "rules of the game" for adjustments by surplus and deficit countries, usually including more flexi bility in the setting of exchange parities, crawling pegs, and the like. Many economists, of whom Milton Friedman was an eloquent and persuasive spokesman, had all along advocated floating exchange rates, deter mined in private markets without official interventions. By the early 1970s the third view was the dominant one in the economics profession, though not among central bankers and private financiers. And all of a sudden, thanks to Nixon and Connally, we got our wish. Or at least we got as much of it as anyone could reasonably have hoped, since it could never have been expected that governments would eschew all intervention in exchange markets. Now after five to seven years? depending how one counts? of unclean floating there are many second thoughts. Some economists share the nostalgia of men of affairs for the gold standard or its equivalent, for a fixed anchor for the world's money, for stability of official parities. Some economists, those who emphasize the rationality of expectations and the flexibility of prices in all markets, doubt that it makes much difference whether exchange rates are fixed or flexible, provided only that government policies are predictable. Clearly, flexible rates have not been the pana-, cea which their more extravagant advocates had hoped; international monetary problems have not disappeared from headlines or from the agenda of anxieties of central banks and governments. I believe that the basic problem today is not the exchange rate regime, whether fixed or floating. Debate on the regime evades and obscures the essential problem. That is the excessive international? or better, inter currency? mobility of private financial capi tal. The biggest thing that happened in the world monetary system since the 1950s was "This paper is Prof. Tobin's presidential address at the 1978 conference of the Eastern Economic Association, Wash. D C.
Escitalopram Treatment of Depression in Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

Abstract Depression can be a chronic and impairing illness in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Large randomized studies of newer selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as escitalopram in the treatment of depression in HIV, examining comparative treatment efficacy and safety, have yet to be done in HIV-positive patients. This was a fixed-dose, placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind study to investigate the efficacy of escitalopram in HIV-seropositive subjects with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, major depressive disorder. One hundred two participants were randomly assigned to either 10 mg of escitalopram or placebo for 6 weeks. An analysis of covariance of the completers found that there was no advantage for escitalopram over placebo on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (p = 0.93). Sixty-two percent responded to escitalopram and 59% responded to placebo on the Clinical Global Impression Scale. Given the relatively high placebo response, future trials in this area need to be selective in participant recruitment and to be adequately powered.
Essays on the measurement sensitivity of risk aversion and causal effects in education

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Portfolio Optimization with Concave Transaction Costs

In this paper we study the optimal portfolio management for the constant relative-risk averse investor who maximizes an expected utility of his terminal wealth and who faces transaction costs during his trades. In our model the investor's portfolio consists of one risky and one risk-free asset, and we assume that the transaction cost is a concave function of the traded volume of the risky asset. We find that under such transaction cost formulation the optimal trading strategies and boundaries of the no-transaction region are different than those when transaction costs are proportional, i.e. when they are linear in the traded volume. When transaction costs are concave, we show that the no-transaction region is narrower than when transaction costs are proportional, and it is not a positive cone. Under our transaction cost formulation, when the investor's wealth is relatively high, the optimal trading strategy consists in bringing the post-trade portfolio position inside the no-transaction region, whereas proportional transaction costs induce the investor trading to the boundary of the no-transaction region. We also examine the impact of the risky asset volatility and the risk aversion parameter on the shape of the no-transaction region. When comparing different transaction cost structures, we show that the financial securities' market tends to be more liquid with concave transaction costs than with alternative cost specifications.
Post Investment Demand for Accounting Information by Venture Capitalists

The key conecpts of principal-agent analysis are utilised to investigate influences on venture capitalists' accounting information requirements as used in their dealings with investees. The findings are based on structured interviews held with twenty leading venture capitalists, managing funds which together comprise over three quarters of all UK venure capital funds. The results confirm that a number of the key concepts of principal-agent analysis are mirrored in the financial communication process between venture capital investors and their investees. They reveal the venture capitalists' appreciation of the dangers of moral hazard and information asymmetry. It is shown that, as a consequence, their information demands are designed to provide safeguards through bonding arrangements. These establish and define an information flow which can be utilised as the basis for frequent and regular monitoring of the investee.
Effect of Supplemental Enzyme on Nutrient Digestibility and Performance of Broiler Chicks Fed on Diets Containing Triticale

2 Abstract: The influence of enzyme supplementation on performance and digestibility of dry matter and protein in young broiler chicks was examined for a diet based on triticale supplemented with different levels of enzyme. In a completely randomized design, two hundred d-old chicks (Ross strain) were divided into 20 groups, ten chicks per group. A basal diet containing 65% triticale was supplemented with zero, 100, 200, 400 and 800 g/kg enzyme and given to four replicates for 21 days. Added enzyme (xylanase) improved (P<0.05) body weight, body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio. Apparent digestibilities of energy and protein were increased (P<0.05) due to supplemental enzyme. Non-significant improvement was observed in protein and energy efficiencies by the addition of enzyme. All improvements had a similar trend and were the highest at 200 g/kg enzyme supplementation. Higher levels of enzyme had no beneficial effect on measured criteria. The results indicated that the nutritional value of cereal grains such as triticale can be improved by supplemental enzyme containing mainly xylanase to the diet of young broiler chicks.
Intracellular calcium reaches different levels of elevation in hyperactivated and acrosome‐reacted hamster sperm

Calcium plays a role in sperm motility hyperactivation and the acrosome reaction, but the relationship between cytoplasmic calcium (Ca2+ in) levels in the two states was heretofore unknown. The Ca2+ indicator indo‐1 was used to detect Ca2+in in moving hamster sperm in two sets of experiments. In the first experiment, activated, hyperactivated, and zona pellucida‐induced acrosome‐reacted/hyperactivated sperm were analyzed at the time of peak of activity for each state. In the second experiment, sperm in all states were analyzed at one time point. In both sets, mean Ca2+in in the acrosomal region, postacrosomal region, and flagellar midpiece was greater in hyperactivated sperm than in activated sperm, and in acrosome‐reacted/hyperactivated sperm than in unreacted/hyperactivated sperm (P ≤ 0.001). Ca2+in had increased to a greater extent in the midpiece than in the head in hyperactivated sperm, while the reverse was true for acrosome‐reacted sperm. Oscillations at the frequency of the flagellar beat cycle were detected chiefly in the proximal flagellar midpiece of acrosome‐reacted sperm, as they had been previously reported to occur in activated and hyperactivated sperm. Thus, Ca2+in may be maintained at two different elevated levels in sperm, and continues to oscillate after the acrosome reaction. © 1995 wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Global Crisis, National Responses: The Political Economy of Turkish Exceptionalism

With its dilatory and piecemeal fiscal activism and uncharacteristic aversion to IMF assistance, the Turkish government's response to the global economic crisis of 2008–9 diverged considerably from prevalent trends in other major emerging market countries. Underlying this intriguing pattern were Turkey's pre-existing policy and macroeconomic constraints, cognitive lapses on the part of policymakers, and the conjunctural dynamics of domestic politics. The interplay of these factors progressively narrowed the policy space for vigorous action, leading to a motley combination of reactive initiatives that neither offered sufficient protection to vulnerable social groups nor promised sustainable growth in the long run despite rapid short-term recovery.
Expression of different isoforms of protein kinase C in the rat hippocampus after pilocarpine‐induced status epilepticus with special reference to CA1 area and the dentate gyrus

At 4 h during pilocarpine‐induced status epilepticus (DPISE) in rat, protein kinase C (PKC)β1, PKCβ2, and PKCγ were induced at the border between the stratum oriens and alveus (O/A border) of CA1 in the hippocampus. Induced PKCγ was colocalized with metabotropic glutamate receptor α (mGluRα). By intracerebroventricular injection of mGluR1α antagonists, (RS)‐1‐aminoindan‐1,5‐dicarboxylic acid (AIDA), PKCβ1, PKCβ2, and PKCγ immunoreactive products decreased dramatically; however, intracerebroventricular injection of saline did not change the expression of PKCβ1, PKCβ2, and PKCγ, suggesting that these three PKC isoforms might be involved in mGluR1α‐related excitoneurotoxicity. One day after pilocarpine‐induced status epilepticus (APISE), PKCδ was induced in microglial cells. At this time point, both PKCγ and PKCϵ immunopositive products decreased in the inner molecular layer of upper blade of the stratum granulosum. At 7–31 days APISE, induced PKCβ1, PKCδ, PKCη, and PKCζ positive astrocytes were demonstrated in all parts of hippocampus, suggesting that they may be involved in gliosis. By this time, both PKCγ and PKCϵ immunopositive products in the inner molecular layer had almost disappeared, suggesting that they may be involved in the inhibition of granule cells by controlling neurotransmitter release presynaptically in the dentate gyrus of normal rats. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Mathematical Optimisation Model of a New Zealand Dairy Farm: The Integrated Dairy Enterprise (IDEA) Framework

Optimisation models are a key tool for the analysis of emerging policies, price sets, and technologies within grazing systems. A detailed nonlinear optimisation model of a New Zealand dairy farming system is described. The framework is notable for its rich portrayal of pasture and cow biology that add substantial descriptive power to standard approaches. Key processes incorporated in the model include: (1) pasture growth and digestibility that differ with residual pasture mass and rotation length, (2) pasture utilisation that varies by stocking rate, and (3) different levels of intake regulation. Model output is shown to closely match data from a more detailed simulation model (deviations between 0 and 5 per cent) and survey data (deviations between 1 and 11 per cent), providing confidence in its predictive capacity. Use of the model is demonstrated in an empirical application investigating the relative profitability of production systems involving different amounts of imported feed under price variation. The case study indicates superior profitability associated with the use of a moderate level of imported supplement, with Operating Profit ($NZ ha-1) of 934, 926, 1186, 1314, and 1093 when imported feed makes up 0, 5, 10, 20 and 30 per cent of the diet, respectively. Stocking rate and milk production per cow increase by 35 and 29 per cent, respectively, as the proportion of imported feed increases from 0 to 30 per cent of the diet. Pasture utilisation increases with stocking rate. Accordingly, pasture eaten and nitrogen fertiliser application increase by 20 and 213 per cent, respectively, as the proportion of imported feed increases from 0 to 30 per cent of the diet.
Neural markers of positive reappraisal and their associations with trait reappraisal and worry.

Positively reinterpreting negative experiences is important for psychological well-being and represents a key mechanism of cognitive-behavioral therapies for emotional problems. Yet, little is known about the neural mechanisms that underlie this process and how they relate to clinically relevant individual differences. Here we demonstrate using event-related potentials (ERPs) that positively reappraising distress-inducing images is associated with early increases in frontal control activity and later decreases in parietal arousal-related activity. Moreover, we show that people's chronic tendencies to reappraise versus worry modulate neural activity in opposing directions--trait reappraisal predicts decreases in parietal arousal-related activity during positive reappraisal implementation whereas worry predicts increases in the same waveform. These findings provide novel insights into the neural time course of positive reappraisal. They also speak to the potential clinical utility of neurophysiological measures as relatively inexpensive, noninvasive biomarkers that could serve as risk indicators and treatment mediators.
Preferencing, Internalization of Order Flow, and Tacit Collusion: Evidence from Experiments

This paper examines preferencing arrangements and tacit collusion in laboratory asset markets. In the experiments, dealers may internalize by matching the best quote or by passing orders to the dealer posting the best quote. Although some markets were highly competitive, several markets reached a collusive equilibrium with wide spreads and near complete internalization of order flow. The paper further examines the role of market transparency and passed order flow on quote-setting behavior and suggests that these affect the mechanism leading to tacitly collusive equilibria.
Animal models in the evaluation of antimicrobial agents

The testing of potential antimicrobial agents in animal models of infectious disease is a long-established practice and is acknowledged as an essential prerequisite of antiinfective therapy, but the ultimate utility of such experiments in the development of antimicrobial agents is still debated. Although there are guidelines specifying appropriate models and relevant parameters for evaluating the safety of antibiotics, no clear guidelines exist for the evaluation of their efficacies in animals. This deficit appears to reflect the recognized difficulties in the design and interpretation of such experiments. Animal models of infectious disease bridge the gap between the in vitro characterization and the clinical evaluation of antimicrobial agents. In contrast to in vitro testing, which determines the inherent susceptibilities of microorganisms to chemical agents (7), in vivo testing places antimicrobial agents into a realm where their in vitro activities are altered by a variety of host factors, most critically by metabolic processes and anti-infective defense mechanisms. The majority of agents active in vitro are devoid of significant activity in vivo, and while some may also exert demonstrable effects in vivo, the correlation is generally considered poor (49). Although the final judgment of the efficacies of antimicrobial agents must depend on the results of controlled clinical trials, the findings made in experimental models can permit reasonably accurate predictions of clinical efficacy, provided that the limitations of these models are clearly realized. This review outlines the role that animal experimentation can play in the evaluation of antimicrobial (largely antibacterial) therapy, with emphasis on the assessment of efficacy, and indicates the restrictions, which, if ignored, will compromise the conclusions that are reached. Experimental details already dealt with in previous, more extensive reviews (1, 3, 7, 20, 21, 28, 31-33, 39, 45-52) are omitted.
Characteristics of the soil microbial population in forest land irrigated with saline water in the desert area

The study of soil microbial populations and diversity is an important way to understanding the soil energy process.In this study we analyzed the characteristics of soil microbial populations of the Tarim Desert Highway shelter-forest,by identifying microbial fatty acids and using methods of conventional cul-tivation.The results illustrated that the amount of soil microbial activity and the diversity of soil microbial fatty acid increased significantly with the plantation age of the shelter-forest;the soil microbial population was dominated by bacteria.The fatty acids of C14︰0,C15︰0,C16︰0,C17︰0,C18︰1ω9,C18︰0,C18︰2ω6 and C21︰0 were found to be dominant soil microbial fatty acids in the shelter-forest soil.Prin-cipal analysis and regression analysis showed that(1) concentrations of fatty acids of C14︰0,C16︰0 and C18︰0 could be used as indicators of total soil microbial population;(2) soil bacteria and actinomycetes populations were closely correlated with the amount of fatty acids of C15︰0 and C17︰0;and(3) soil fungi were closely correlated with the amount of fatty acids of C18︰1ω9 and C18︰2ω6.