Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hyperkyphosis and back pain are not associated with prevalent vertebral fractures in women with osteoporosis

Abstract Vertebral fractures (VFs) are the clinical consequence of spinal osteoporosis and may be associated with back pain and aggravated kyphosis. However, the relative importance of VFs as an underlying cause of kyphosis and chronic back pain is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between prevalent VFs and the size of kyphosis, and back pain in osteoporotic women. Thirty-six women, aged 74.6 ± 8.3 years, were consecutively recruited from the osteoporosis unit at Uppsala University Hospital. The patients had 1–9 radiographic verified VFs. Tragus wall distance (TWD) and numeric rating scale were used to measure kyphosis and pain. All patients had a hyperkyphosis (TWD ≥ 10 cm). Notably, there were no associations between numbers or location of VFs versus size of kyphosis (ρ = 0.15, p = 0.4; ρ = −0.27, p = 0.12) or severity of back pain (ρ = −0.08, p = 0.66; ρ = 0.16, p = 0.35). Furthermore, no association was evident between kyphosis and back pain (ρ = −0.02, p = 0.89). There was, however, an association between size of kyphosis and age (R = 0.44, p = 0.008). In conclusion, these data suggest that prevalent VFs are not significantly associated with kyphosis or chronic back pain, in patients with manifest spinal osteoporosis.
Urban Form and a Child’s Trip to School: The Current Literature and a Framework for Future Research

Recently created policies and programs target urban form as a primary factor in changes in children’s travel behavior to school. Unfortunately, little research exists that supports a direct relationship between urban form and a child’s trip to school. This article first discusses the transportation and health problems these policies attempt to address. It then reviews the current planning and public health literature on the relationship between urban form and children’s travel behavior. Finally, a conceptual framework is outlined that addresses the complexity of the relationship between urban form and a child’s trip to school to guide future policy and research.
Strategic Transparency and Informed Trading: Will Capital Market Integration Force Convergence of Corporate Governance?

Abstract Dominant investors can influence the publicly available information about firms by affecting the cost of information collection. Under strategic competition, transparency results in higher variability of profits and output. Thus, lenders prefer less transparency, since this protects firms when in a weak competitive position, while equity holders prefer more. Market interaction creates strategic complementarity in gathering information on competing firms, thus entry by transparent competitors will improve price informativeness. Moreover, as the return to information gathering increases with liquidity, increasing global trading may undermine the ability of bank control to keep firms opaque.
An Application of the Shephard Duality Theorem: A Generalized Leontief Production Function

The paper indicates how the Shephard duality theorem may be utilized in order to obtain a system of derived demand equations which are linear in the technological parameters, thus facilitating econometric estimation. This theorem states that technology may be equivalently represented by either a production function or a cost function, and a proof of the theorem is given. The chosen functional form is a quadratic form in the square roots of input prices and is a generalization of the Leontief cost function. The generalization has the property that it can attain any set of partial elasticities of substitution using a minimal number of parameters.
Characterization of microsatellite loci in the fungus, Grosmannia clavigera, a pine pathogen associated with the mountain pine beetle

The largest forest pest epidemic in Canadian history caused by the mountain pine beetle (MPB) and its fungal associates has killed over 15 million hectares of forest. Sixty simple sequence repeat regions were identified from Grosmannia clavigera, an MPB associated fungus. Eight loci genotyped in 53 isolates from two populations in British Columbia, Canada revealed three to 10 alleles per locus and gene diversities of 0 to 0.79. All but two of these loci showed length polymorphism in Leptographium longiclavatum, a related MPB fungal associate. These microsatellites will be useful in population genetic studies of these fungi.
The Boundary Conditions of Export Relational Governance: A “Strategy Tripod” Perspective

Manufacturers often use relational governance to manage interfirm relationships with their distributors. Yet recent literature has cautioned that relational governance may only offer conditional benefits. In this study, the authors integrate the resource-, industry-, and institution-based views to examine whether there is a limit to the positive effect of relational governance on export performance. Furthermore, the authors investigate two conditioning factors: industry uncertainty and cross-national institutional distance. Using a survey of 184 export ventures from China, the authors find that relational governance has an inverted U-shaped relationship with performance. In addition, the findings show that the export performance effect of relational governance becomes less effective in uncertain industry environments, but cross-country institutional distance enhances the value of relational governance.
The Intraday Behavior of Bid-Ask Spreads for NYSE Stocks and CBOE Options

Abstract We study the intraday behavior of bid-ask spreads for actively traded CBOE options and for their NYSE-traded underlying stocks. We confirm previous findings that stocks have a U-shaped spread pattern; however, the options display a very different intraday pattern—one that declines sharply after the open, and then levels off. Our results suggest that both the degree of competition in market making and the extent of informed trading are important for understanding the intraday behavior of spreads.
Effects of Displacement and Outsourcing on Woods Workers and Their Families

This study examines the effects of displacement and outsourcing on 60 woods workers and their partners in northeastern California. Following displacement, 17% retired and 76% were reemployed when interviewed. The average unemployment period was 2 mo. Eighty percent of those reemployed continued to work in the woods. Postdisplacement income declined on average 25% from predisplacement levels. As a group, retirees fared the worst, losing 30% of their predisplacement income, while those reemployed in woods work lost on average 17%. Those reemployed worked in less stable jobs and frequently worked more hours with fewer or no benefits. Thirty percent were without health insurance. Women shouldered an increased responsibility for household income, contributing on average 15% more to the postdisplacement total. Job training was ineffective because the displaced were unwilling to move into occupations requiring relocation. Commitment to kin and communities kept the displaced from moving despite limited local oppo.
Molecular quantification of viral load in plasma allows for fast and accurate prediction of response to therapy of Epstein–Barr virus‐associated lymphoproliferative disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation

Epstein‐Barr virus lymphoproliferative disease (EBV‐LPD) following allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo‐SCT) has a poor prognosis. We used a sensitive real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for quantitative detection of EBV‐DNA in plasma and serially measured EBV‐DNA levels to assess the response to treatment in allo‐SCT recipients with EBV‐LPD. Fourteen allo‐SCT recipients with EBV‐LPD who received a T cell‐depleted (TCD) sibling (n = 5) or matched unrelated donor (n = 9) graft were monitored from the time of EBV‐LPD diagnosis, during therapy and assessment of clinical response. Seven patients had complete responses of EBV‐LPD to therapy, of whom 21% (3 out of 14) survived beyond 6 months from EBV‐LPD diagnosis. Clinically responding patients showed a rapid decline of EBV‐DNA plasma levels within 72 h from the start of therapy. In contrast, all clinical non‐responders showed an increase of EBV‐DNA levels. Absolute EBV‐DNA levels at the time of EBV‐LPD diagnosis did not predict for response, but the pattern of EBV‐DNA levels within 72 h from the start of therapy (> 50% decrease versus increase) strongly predicted for clinical response (P = 0·001). Quantitative monitoring of EBV‐DNA levels from the start of and during therapy for EBV‐LPD rapidly and accurately predicts for response to therapy as early as within 72 h. It may thus provide a powerful tool to adjust and select treatment in individuals with EBV‐LPD following allo‐SCT.
The Effect of Earnings Permanence, Growth, and Firm Size on the Usefulness of Cash Flows and Earnings in Explaining Security Returns: Empirical Evidence for the UK

This paper examines the relative information content of earnings and cash flows for security returns using a methodology incorporating contextual factors which may affect earnings and cash flow response coefficients. For our UK dataset, we provide evidence that the earnings coefficient is related to earnings permanence, growth and firm size and that the cash flow coefficient may be related to growth. Although our results emphasise the value relevance of earnings, they also suggest that both contemporaneous and prior period cash flow are positively related to security returns and that market-to-book and market value of equity have predictive power for returns. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2001.
Quantitative Trait Loci Affecting Peak Bone Mineral Density in Mice

Peak bone mass is a major determinant of risk of osteoporotic fracture. Family and twin studies have found a strong genetic component to the determination of bone mineral density (BMD). However, BMD is a complex trait whose expression is confounded by environmental influences and polygenic inheritance. The number, locations, and effects of the individual genes contributing to natural variation in this trait are all unknown. Experimental animal models provide a means to circumvent complicating environmental factors, and the development of dense genetic maps based on molecular markers now provides opportunities to resolve quantitative genetic variation into individual regions of the genome influencing a given trait (quantitative trait loci, QTL). To begin to identify the heritable determinants of BMD, we have examined genetically distinct laboratory mouse strains raised under strict environmental control. Mouse whole‐body bone mineral content by dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) correlated strongly with skeletal calcium content by ashing, and peak whole‐body BMD by DXA in female mice occurred at ∼80–90 days of age. We therefore determined mean body weight and peak whole body BMD values in 12‐week‐old female mice from a panel of 24 recombinant inbred (RI) BXD strains, derived from a cross between C57BL/6 and DBA/2 progenitors. The distribution of body weight and BMD values among the strains clearly indicated the presence of strong genetic influences on both of these traits, with an estimated narrow sense heritability of 60% and 35%, respectively. The patterns of differences in body weight and peak whole body BMD in the BXD strains were then integrated with a large database of genetic markers previously defined in the RI BXD strains to generate chromosome map sites for QTL. After correction for redundancy among the significant correlations, QTL analysis of the BXD RI strain series provisionally identified 10 chromosomal sites linked to peak bone mass development in the female. Several of the identified sites map near genes encoding hormones, structural proteins, and cell surface receptors that are intricately involved in skeletal homeostasis. Four QTL for body weight were also identified. One of these loci was also strongly linked to inherited variation in BMD. This finding suggests that body weight and peak BMD may be influenced by linked genes or perhaps by common genes with pleiotropic effects. Our phenotyping in the RI BXD strains has allowed us to map a number of specific genetic loci strongly related to the acquisition of peak BMD. Confirmation of these findings will likely result in the understanding of which genes control skeletal health.
PDCD 4 as a Predictor of Sensitivity to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer Patients

Rectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality worldwide. Currently, neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by total mesorectal excision (TME) is the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Several studies have demonstrated that nCRT significantly improved the local control of LARC when compared with preoperative radiotherapy alone or postoperative CRT (Sauer et al., 2004; Bosset et al., 2006; Gérard et al., 2006). However, the tumor responses to nCRT cover a wide spectrum, ranging from none to complete. Recent studies have demonstrated that good response to nCRT associated with good prognosis (Rödel et al., 2005; Vecchio et al., 2005; Suárez et al., 2008). Therefore, it is very important to identify the patients who show good pathological response to nCRT from the poor. Programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) was first identified as being differentially upregulated during apoptosis by Shibahara et al. (1995) in 1995. Nowadays, experimental evidence has demonstrated it is a novel tumor suppressor that localized in chromosome 10q24 (Soejima et al., 1999). It is known that PDCD4 plays an important role
Knowing Whether Spatio-Temporal Analysis Procedures Are Applicable to Datasets

© 2016 The authors and IOS Press.How can data analysts identify spatio-temporal datasets that are suitable for their task? Answering this question is not only dependent on the aim of the analysis and the semantic contents of the data, but also on knowing whether the required data combinations and transformations, spatio-temporal analysis methods, charts and map visualizations are meaningfully applicable to the data. Operators need to assess whether they can meaningfully apply analytical operations to data to derive the information required. Answering this question in a general and computationally executable way is a crucial step on our way towards supporting data analysts and their research practice in e-Science. We propose an ontology design pattern for spatio-temporal information that enables to reason about the applicability of a number of fundamental classes of analyses in relation to given data, i.e., whether data sets can be compared, transformed, combined, and whether summary statistics can be applied to them. We demonstrate this ontology implemented in OWL through a set of corresponding SPARQL queries applied to meta-data of datasets from the AURIN portal.
POSSIBLE ROLE OF A β‐ADRENOCEPTOR IN THE REGULATION OF NORADRENALINE RELEASE BY NERVE STIMULATION THROUGH A POSITIVE FEED‐BACK MECHANISM

1 The effects of isoprenaline, propranolol and phentolamine, were studied on tritiated noradrenaline overflow elicited by postganglionic nerve stimulation in guinea‐pig isolated atria. 2 Isoprenaline (1.2 × 10−8) increased while propranolol (1.0 × 10‐7 M) reduced the overflow of tritiated noradrenaline evoked by nerve stimulation. These effects were less than those of phentolamine (3.1 × 10‐6 M), which increased by approximately three‐fold the overflow of [3 H] ‐noradrenaline elicited by nerve stimulation. 3 Neuronal accumulation of tritiated noradrenaline in guinea‐pig atria was not affected by isoprenaline, propranolol or phentolamine at the concentrations employed in this study. 4 Isoprenaline (1.2 × 10‐8 M) induced a positive chronotropic effect of about 80% of the maximum. On the other hand, propranolol produced a shift to the right in the frequency‐response curve to nerve stimulation and in the concentration‐response curve to exogenous noradrenaline in guinea‐pig atria. 5 In the isolated nictitating membrane of the cat, the frequency‐response curve to nerve stimulation was not modified by propranolol, while in the presence of 3.9 × 10−6 m of N,‐2‐(2,6‐dimethylphenoxy)propyl‐N,N,N ‐trimethylammonium (β‐methyl‐TM 10) there was a shift to the right and a depression of slope. Neither propranolol nor β‐methyl‐TM 10 affected responses to exogenous noradrenaline. 6 The effects of isoprenaline and of propranolol on transmitter release are compatible with the view that in addition to the presynaptic negative feed‐back mechanism for noradrenaline release by nerve stimulation mediated via α‐adrenoceptors a positive feed‐back mechanism exists in adrenergic nerve endings which is triggered through the activation of presynaptic β‐adrenoceptors.
Dutch Auction Repurchases: An Analysis of Shareholder Heterogeneity

This paper documents that firms face upward-sloping supply curves when they repurchase shares in a Dutch auction, and it analyzes the market reaction to these offers. The announcement price increase is highly correlated with the ultimate repurchase premium. Prices decline at expiration only for pro-rated offers. The cumulative return is positive and highly correlated with the repurchase premium, excepting pro-rated offers. Much of this price increase is consistent with movement along an upward-sloping supply curve. Trading volume around the Dutch auction parallels fixed-price repurchases. Supply elasticity is larger for firms with large trading volume, firms included in the S&P 500 Index, and takeover targets. Copyright 1992 by American Finance Association.
Financial Literacy and Neighborhood Effects

type="main" xml:id="joca12024-abs-0001"> This study uses data from the 2009 and 2012 waves of the National Financial Capability Study to examine the effects of neighborhood characteristics on financial literacy. Controlling for individual characteristics, multivariate regression analysis shows that a zip code's education level has a significant impact on financial literacy. This finding is consistent with social learning as a mechanism of financial knowledge acquisition, with neighborhood education serving as a proxy for the level of financial knowledge of one's social network. Although social effects are not the only possible explanation for this finding, the result is robust even after controlling for a host of other factors such as getting advice from financial professionals, receiving financial education, and living in a zip code with greater employment in the financial industry. This study additionally documents that zip code education effects are present with various savings and credit measures.
Does price dispersion increase with quality? Evidence from the online diamond market

This article empirically investigates the relationship between price dispersion and price level. Searches seem more valuable for products of high quality, but buyers may have little incentive to search since such products are less frequently purchased. The extent of price dispersion is examined using a sample of around 160 000 diamonds offered for sale online. Estimates from a two-stage econometric strategy show that price dispersion increases significantly with quality. An explanation is that buyers of high-quality gemstones pay little attention to the price of these diamonds and even more so if they perceive high prices as signals of quality and rarity of the diamonds they intend to purchase.
Reconstitution of T Cell Proliferation under Arginine Limitation: Activated Human T Cells Take Up Citrulline via L-Type Amino Acid Transporter 1 and Use It to Regenerate Arginine after Induction of Argininosuccinate Synthase Expression

In the tumor microenvironment, arginine is metabolized by arginase-expressing myeloid cells. This arginine depletion profoundly inhibits T cell functions and is crucially involved in tumor-induced immunosuppression. Reconstitution of adaptive immune functions in the context of arginase-mediated tumor immune escape is a promising therapeutic strategy to boost the immunological antitumor response. Arginine can be recycled in certain mammalian tissues from citrulline via argininosuccinate (ASA) in a two-step enzymatic process involving the enzymes argininosuccinate synthase (ASS) and argininosuccinate lyase (ASL). Here, we demonstrate that anti-CD3/anti-CD28-activated human primary CD4+ and CD8+ T cells upregulate ASS expression in response to low extracellular arginine concentrations, while ASL is expressed constitutively. ASS expression peaked under moderate arginine restriction (20 µM), but no relevant induction was detectable in the complete absence of extracellular arginine. The upregulated ASS correlated with a reconstitution of T cell proliferation upon supplementation of citrulline, while the suppressed production of IFN-γ was refractory to citrulline substitution. In contrast, ASA reconstituted proliferation and cytokine synthesis even in the complete absence of arginine. By direct quantification of intracellular metabolites we show that activated primary human T cells import citrulline but only metabolize it further to ASA and arginine when ASS is expressed in the context of low amounts of extracellular arginine. We then clarify that citrulline transport is largely mediated by the L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1), induced upon human T cell activation. Upon siRNA-mediated knockdown of LAT1, activated T cells lost the ability to import citrulline. These data underline the potential of citrulline substitution as a promising pharmacological way to treat immunosuppression in settings of arginine deprivation.
Good News, Bad News, Volatility, and Betas

The authors investigate the conditional covariances of stock returns using bivariate exponential ARCH models. These models allow market volatility, portfolio-specific volatility, and beta to respond asymmetrically to positive and negative market and portfolio returns, i.e., 'leverage' effects. Using monthly data, the authors find strong evidence of conditional heteroscedasticity in both market and nonmarket components of returns, and weaker evidence of time-varying conditional betas. Surprisingly, while leverage effects appear strong in the market component of volatility, they are absent in conditional betas and weak and/or inconsistent in nonmarket sources of risk. Copyright 1995 by American Finance Association.
Asymptotic performance of optimal gain-and-phase estimators of sensor arrays

For estimating angles of arrival, there are three well known algorithms: weighted noise subspace fitting (WNSF), unconditional maximum likelihood (UML), and conditional maximum likelihood (CML). These algorithms can also be used for estimating/calibrating the gains-and-phases of sensor arrays, assuming the angles of arrival are known. We show that the WNSF algorithm with an optimal weight has the same statistical efficiency as the UML algorithm but more efficient than the CML algorithm. This conclusion was known for angles of arrival estimation and is now confirmed for gains-and-phases calibration. Computationally, the WNSF algorithm is shown to be more attractive than the other two as it can be implemented via a quadratic minimization procedure for arbitrarily shaped arrays.