Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ambiguity Aversion and Household Portfolio Choice Puzzles: Empirical Evidence

We test the relation between ambiguity aversion and five household portfolio choice puzzles: nonparticipation in equities, low allocations to equity, home-bias, own-company stock ownership, and portfolio under-diversification. In a representative US household survey, we measure ambiguity preferences using custom-designed questions based on Ellsberg urns. As theory predicts, ambiguity aversion is negatively associated with stock market participation, the fraction of financial assets in stocks, and foreign stock ownership, but it is positively related to own-company stock ownership. Conditional on stock ownership, ambiguity aversion is related to portfolio under-diversification, and during the financial crisis, ambiguity-averse respondents were more likely to sell stocks.
Gut cell metabolism shapes the microbiome

The metabolism of colonocytes determines the type of microbes that thrive in the gut Gut microbes are key partners in host defense against potential pathogens (1). This might be achieved through cross-talk between gut bacteria, epithelial cells lining the gut (colonocytes), and immune cells (2). Part of this cross-talk involves metabolites derived from the bacteria, such as the short-chain fatty acid butyrate. This can bind to specific G protein-coupled receptors in colonocytes and immune cells, leading to antimicrobial immune responses (3). However, what if this cross-talk were not the full story? On page 570 of this issue, Byndloss et al. (4) show that butyrate instructs colonocytes to consume oxygen through the β-oxidation metabolic pathway and consequently protects the host against the expansion of potentially pathogenic bacteria that can lead to inflammatory bowel diseases.
Dynamical properties of the negative beta-transformation

Abstract We analyse dynamical properties of the negative beta-transformation, which has been studied recently by Ito and Sadahiro. Contrary to the classical beta-transformation, the density of the absolutely continuous invariant measure of the negative beta-transformation may be zero on certain intervals. By investigating this property in detail, we prove that the (−β)-transformation is exact for all β>1, confirming a conjecture of Góra, and intrinsic, which completes a study of Faller. We also show that the limit behaviour of the (−β)-expansion of 1 when β tends to 1 is related to the Thue–Morse sequence. A consequence of the exactness is that every Yrrap number, which is a β>1 such that the (−β) -expansion of 1 is eventually periodic, is a Perron number. This extends a well-known property of Parry numbers. However, the set of Parry numbers is different from the set of Yrrap numbers.
Combining Portable Raman Probes with Nanotubes for Theranostic Applications

Recently portable Raman probes have emerged along with a variety of applications, including carbon nanotube (CNT) characterization. Aqueous dispersed CNTs have shown promise for biomedical applications such as drug/gene delivery vectors, photo-thermal therapy, and photoacoustic imaging. In this study we report the simultaneous detection and irradiation of carbon nanotubes in 2D monolayers of cancer cells and in 3D spheroids using a portable Raman probe. A portable handheld Raman instrument was utilized for dual purposes: as a CNT detector and as an irradiating laser source. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were dispersed aqueously using a lipid-polymer (LP) coating, which formed highly stable dispersions both in buffer and cell media. The LP coated SWCNT and MWCNT aqueous dispersions were characterized by atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The cellular uptake of the LP-dispersed SWCNTs and MWCNTs was observed using confocal microscopy, and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-nanotube conjugates were found to be internalized by ovarian cancer cells by using Z-stack fluorescence confocal imaging. Biocompatibility of SWCNTs and MWCNTs was assessed using a cell viability MTT assay, which showed that the nanotube dispersions did not hinder the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells at the dosage tested. Ovarian cancer cells treated with SWCNTs and MWCNTs were simultaneously detected and irradiated live in 2D layers of cancer cells and in 3D environments using the portable Raman probe. An apoptotic terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay carried out after laser irradiation confirmed that cell death occurred only in the presence of nanotube dispersions. We show for the first time that both SWCNTs and MWCNTs can be selectively irradiated and detected in cancer cells using a simple handheld Raman instrument. This approach could potentially be used to treat various diseases, including cancer.
Visualizing infection spread: Dual‐color fluorescent reporting of virus–host interactions

Although the molecular mechanisms by which host cells defend themselves against viral infection have been studied in great depth, and countermeasures viruses employ to suppress such defensive responses have been widely documented, relatively little attention has been devoted toward elucidating how such interactions between virus and host are resolved over multiple rounds of infection. Here, we describe the design, synthesis, and validation of a dual‐color fluorescent reporter system to study how viral infections spread through a host cell monolayer and how the cellular innate immune system mounts an antiviral response. We employed recombinant, red fluorescent protein expressing mutants of a prototypical RNA virus, vesicular stomatitis virus to enable identification and tracking of infected cells. Further, we generated stable reporter cells that use green fluorescent protein to report on the expression of IFIT2, an interferon stimulated gene involved in the interference of viral protein translation, and a marker of antiviral defense activation. The presence of the fluorescent protein reporters had minimal effects on the normal behavior of the cells or viruses. Moreover, expression of the virus and cell reporters correlated with the kinetics of viral replication and activation of an anti‐viral response, respectively. This two‐color system enabled us to track and quantify in live cells how viral replication and activation of host defensive responses play out over multiple rounds of infection. Initial study of propagating infections demonstrated that antiviral activation over multiple rounds was critical for slowing and ultimately halting the spread of infection. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2014;111: 1200–1209. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Salmonella enteritidis Effector AvrA Stabilizes Intestinal Tight Junctions via the JNK Pathway*

Salmonella pathogenesis studies to date have focused on Salmonella typhimurium, and the pathogenesis of a second major serotype, Salmonella enteritidis, is poorly understood. Salmonella spp. possess effector proteins that display biochemical activities and modulate host functions. Here, we generated a deletion mutant of the effector AvrA, S.E-AvrA−, and a plasmid-mediated complementary strain, S.E-AvrA−/pAvrA+ (S.E-AvrA+), in S. Enteritidis. Using in vitro and in vivo infection models, we showed that AvrA stabilizes epithelial tight junction (TJ) proteins, such as ZO-1, in human intestinal epithelial cells. Transepithelial electrical resistance was significantly higher in cells infected with S.E-AvrA+ than in cells infected with S.E-AvrA−. Inhibition of the JNK pathway suppresses the disassembly of TJ proteins; we found that enteritidis AvrA inhibited JNK activity in cells infected with wild type or S.E-AvrA+ strains. Therefore, Enteritidis AvrA-induced ZO-1 stability is achieved via suppression of the JNK pathway. Furthermore, the S.E-AvrA− strain led to enhanced bacterial invasion, both in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our data reveal a novel role for AvrA in S. Enteritidis: Enteritidis AvrA stabilizes intestinal TJs and attenuates bacterial invasion. The manipulation of JNK activity and TJs in microbial-epithelial interactions may be a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of infectious diseases.
Microlensing neutron stars

We investigate the chances that neutron stars act as the lens in a gravitational microlensing event towards the galactic bulge or a spiral arm. The observation of neutron stars by means of gravitational microlensing would allow the estimation of neutron star masses independently of the property of being a pulsar in a binary system. We estimate the contribution of neutron stars to the optical depth and the lensing rate based on two different models of pulsar distribution in the galaxy. Since only a small fraction of all neutron stars are pulsars, it is unlikely to find a pulsar that acts as a microlens by chance. A position comparison of known radio pulsars with observed microlensing candidates towards the galactic bulge and spiral arms shows no candidate pairs, which is consistent with the theoretical expectation. To improve the probability of microlensing a pulsar, we suggest a search for gravitational microlensing events of known nearby high proper motion pulsars. The pulsar PSR J1932+1059 is a good candidate for an astrometric detection of gravitational lensing.
Aqueous Extract of Dried Fruit of Berberis vulgaris L. in Acne vulgaris, a Clinical Trial

ABSTRACT Berberis vulgaris L. (barberry) is a very well-known herb in traditional medicine. Apart from its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, the antilipogenic effect of barberry on the sebaceous glands in animals may further suggest it could be employed as an anti-acne agent. This study examined the effect of oral aqueous extract of barberry on acne vulgaris. Adolescents aged 12–17 years with moderate to severe acne vulgaris were randomly given oral gelatin capsules containing either aqueous extract of dried barberry (600 mg daily for 4 weeks, n = 25) or placebo (n = 24). Counts of facial noninflamed, inflamed, and total acne lesions, as well as the Michaelson's acne severity score were documented at baseline and at weeks 2 and 4. Both groups were comparable in terms of the patients’ characteristics and baseline variables. After 4 weeks, the mean number of noninflamed, inflamed, and total lesions as well as mean Michaelson's acne severity score declined significantly by 43.25 ± 10.88% (median: 42.11%), 44.53 ± 11.78% (median: 45.45%), 44.64 ± 8.46% (median: 46.15%), and 44.38 ± 8.25% (median: 44.07%), respectively, among the extract receivers (p <.001 for all the changes). Similar changes were not significant in the placebo group. No notable complication or side effect was reported in relation to barberry. In conclusion, oral aqueous extract of dried barberry is a safe, well-tolerated, and effective choice in teenagers with moderate to severe acne vulgaris.
Review Article: Examining Treatment of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: The Importance of Early Intervention

Early reperfusion in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is imperative. Acute reperfusion may be achieved with fibrinolytic agents and/or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI); however, PCI is associated with lower rates of death and myocardial infarction compared with fibrinolysis. As treatment delays are associated with worse outcomes, current guidelines recommend minimizing time from symptom onset to treatment initiation. Regardless of the reperfusion strategy, patients with STEMI are at increased risk of early recurrent ischemic events and death. These risks can be significantly reduced by promptly initiating a combination of pharmacotherapies that includes antiplatelet and anticoagulant agents, β-blockers, and inhibitors of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. This manuscript reviews the evidence supporting the most recent guidelines for STEMI management published jointly by the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association. More recent evidence and its potential impact on future evidence-based guidelines are also addressed.
Predictive system shutdown and other architectural techniques for energy efficient programmable computation

With the popularity of portable devices such as personal digital assistants and personal communicators, as well as with increasing awareness of the economic and environmental costs of power consumption by desktop computers, energy efficiency has emerged as an important issue in the design of electronic systems. While power efficient ASIC's with dedicated architectures have addressed the energy efficiency issue for niche applications such as DSP, much of the computation continues to be implemented as software running on programmable processors such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, and programmable DSP's. Not only is this true for general purpose computation on personal computers and workstations, but also for portable devices, application-specific systems etc. In fact, firmware and embedded software executing on RISC and DSP processor cores that are embedded in ASIC's has emerged as a leading implementation methodology for speech coding, modem functionality, video compression, communication protocol processing etc. This paper describes architectural techniques for energy efficient implementation of programmable computation, particularly focussing on the computation needed in portable devices where event-driven user interfaces, communication protocols, and signal processing play a dominant role. Two key approaches described here are predictive system shutdown and extended voltage scaling. Results indicate that a large reduction in power consumption can be achieved over current day solutions with little or no loss in system performance.
Designing modulators of monoamine transporters using virtual screening techniques

The plasma-membrane monoamine transporters (MATs), including the serotonin (SERT), norepinephrine (NET) and dopamine (DAT) transporters, serve a pivotal role in limiting monoamine-mediated neurotransmission through the reuptake of their respective monoamine neurotransmitters. The transporters are the main target of clinically used psychostimulants and antidepressants. Despite the availability of several potent and selective MAT substrates and inhibitors the continuing need for therapeutic drugs to treat brain disorders involving aberrant monoamine signaling provides a compelling reason to identify novel ways of targeting and modulating the MATs. Designing novel modulators of MAT function have been limited by the lack of three dimensional structure information of the individual MATs. However, crystal structures of LeuT, a bacterial homolog of MATs, in a substrate-bound occluded, substrate-free outward-open, and an apo inward-open state and also with competitive and non-competitive inhibitors have been determined. In addition, several structures of the Drosophila DAT have also been resolved. Together with computational modeling and experimental data gathered over the past decade, these structures have dramatically advanced our understanding of several aspects of SERT, NET, and DAT transporter function, including some of the molecular determinants of ligand interaction at orthosteric substrate and inhibitor binding pockets. In addition progress has been made in the understanding of how allosteric modulation of MAT function can be achieved. Here we will review all the efforts up to date that has been made through computational approaches employing structural models of MATs to design small molecule modulators to the orthosteric and allosteric sites using virtual screening techniques.
MEG detection of delayed auditory evoked responses in autism spectrum disorders: towards an imaging biomarker for autism

Motivated by auditory and speech deficits in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), the frequency dependence of superior temporal gyrus (STG) 50 msec (M50) and 100 msec (M100) neuromagnetic auditory evoked field responses in children with ASD and typically developing controls were evaluated. Whole‐cortex magnetoencephalography (MEG) was obtained from 17 typically developing children and 25 children with ASD. Subjects were presented tones with frequencies of 200, 300, 500, and 1,000 Hz, and left and right STG M50 and M100 STG activity was examined. No M50 latency or amplitude Group differences were observed. In the right hemisphere, a Group×Frequency ANOVA on M100 latency produced a main effect for Group (P=0.01), with an average M100 latency delay of 11 msec in children with ASD. In addition, only in the control group was the expected association of earlier M100 latencies in older than younger children observed. Group latency differences remained significant when hierarchical regression analyses partialed out M100 variance associated with age, IQ, and language ability (all P‐values <0.05). Examining the right‐hemisphere 500 Hz condition (where the largest latency differences were observed), a sensitivity of 75%, a specificity of 81%, and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 86% was obtained at a threshold of 116 msec. The M100 latency delay indicates disruption of encoding simple sensory information. Given similar findings in language impaired and nonlanguage impaired ASD subjects, a right‐hemisphere M100 latency delay appears to be an electrophysiological endophenotype for autism.
Foraging behaviour of an egg parasitoid exploiting plant volatiles induced by pentatomids: the role of adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces

Several phases of herbivorous insect attack including feeding and oviposition are known to induce plant defenses. Plants emit volatiles induced by herbivores to recruit insect parasitoids as an indirect defense strategy. So far, volatiles induced by herbivore walking and their putative role in the foraging behavior of egg parasitoids have not been investigated. In this paper we studied the response of the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis toward volatiles emitted by Vicia faba plants as consequence of the walking activity of the host Nezara viridula. Olfactometer bioassays were carried out to evaluate wasp responses to plants in which the abaxial or the adaxial surfaces were subjected to walking or/and oviposition. Results showed that host female walking on the abaxial but not on the adaxial surface caused a repellence effect in T. basalis 24 h after plant treatment. The emission of active volatiles also occurred when the leaf was turned upside-down, indicating a specificity of stress localization. This specificity was supported by the results, which showed that oviposition combined with feeding elicit the induction of plant volatiles, attracting the parasitoid, when the attack occurred on the abaxial surface. Analyses of plant volatile blends showed significant differences between the treatments.
Effects of tDCS on motor learning and memory formation: A consensus and critical position paper

Motor skills are required for activities of daily living. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied in association with motor skill learning has been investigated as a tool for enhancing training effects in health and disease. Here, we review the published literature investigating whether tDCS can facilitate the acquisition and retention of motor skills and adaptation. A majority of reports focused on the application of tDCS with the anode placed over the primary motor cortex (M1) during motor skill acquisition, while some evaluated tDCS applied over the cerebellum during adaptation of existing motor skills. Work in multiple laboratories is under way to develop a mechanistic understanding of tDCS effects on different forms of learning and to optimize stimulation protocols. Efforts are required to improve reproducibility and standardization. Overall, reproducibility remains to be fully tested, effect sizes with present techniques are moderate (up to d= 0.5) (Hashemirad, Zoghi, Fitzgerald, & Jaberzadeh, 2016) and the basis of inter-individual variability in tDCS effects is incompletely understood. It is recommended that future studies explicitly state in the Methods the exploratory (hypothesis-generating) or hypothesis-driven (confirmatory) nature of the experimental designs. General research practices could be improved with prospective pre-registration of hypothesis-based investigations, more emphasis on the detailed description of methods (including all pertinent details to enable future modeling of induced current and experimental replication) and use of post-publication open data repositories. A checklist is proposed for reporting tDCS investigations in a way that can improve efforts to assess reproducibility.
Impact of multi-tiered pharmacy benefits on attitudes of plan members with chronic disease states.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of 2- and 3-tiered pharmacy benefit plans on member attitudes regarding their pharmacy benefits. METHODS We performed a mail survey and cross-sectional comparison of the outcome variables in a large managed care population in the western United States. Participants were persons with chronic disease states who were in 2- or 3-tier copay drug plans. A random sample of 10,662 was selected from a total of 25,008 members who had received 2 or more prescriptions for a drug commonly used to treat one of 5 conditions: hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or arthritis. Statistical analysis included bivariate comparisons and regression analysis of the factors affecting member attitudes, including satisfaction, loyalty, health plan choices, and willingness to pay a higher out-of-pocket cost for medications. RESULTS A response rate of 35.8% was obtained from continuously enrolled plan members. Respondents were older, sicker, and consumed more prescriptions than nonrespondents. There were significant differences in age and health plan characteristics between 2- and 3-tier plan members: respondents aged 65 or older represented 11.7% of 2-tier plan members and 54.7% of 3-tier plan members, and 10.0% of 2-tier plan members were in Medicare+Choice plans versus 61.4% in Medicare+Choice plans for 3-tier plan members (P<0.05). Controlling for demographic characteristics, number of comorbidities, and the cost of health care, 2-tier plan members were more satisfied with their plan, more likely to recommend their plan to others, and less likely to switch their current plans to obtain better prescription drug coverage than 3-tier plan members. While members were willing to purchase higher cost nonformulary and brand-name medications, in general, they were not willing to pay more than 10 dollars (in addition to their copayment amount) for these medications. Older respondents and sicker individuals (those with higher scores on the Chronic Disease Indicator) appeared to have more positive attitudes toward their pharmacy benefit plans in general. Higher reported incomes by respondents were also associated with greater satisfaction with prescription drug coverage and increased loyalty toward the pharmacy benefit plan. Conversely, the more individuals spent for either their health care or prescription medications, the less satisfied they were with their prescription drug coverage and less loyalty they appeared to have for their health plans. An inverse relationship also appeared to exist between the out-of-pocket costs for prescription medications and members' willingness to pay for nonformulary medications. CONCLUSIONS Three-tier members had lower reported satisfaction with their plans compared to members in 2-tier plans. The financial resources available to members (which may be a function of being older and having more education and higher incomes), the number of chronic disease states that members have, and other factors may influence their attitudes toward their prescription drug coverage.