Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical Activity as a Potential Mechanism Through Which Social Support May Reduce Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Social support has been associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). It has been suggested that the protective effect of social support is mediated through the autonomic nervous system and/or unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, but data are sparse, especially in diverse populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate possible pathways through which social support may reduce cardiovascular disease risk. Baseline data from The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Intervention Trial for Heart Health were included in this analysis (N = 501, mean age 48 ± 13 years, 66% female, 36% nonwhite). Social support was calculated using the Enhancing Recovery in Coronary Heart Disease Patients Social Support Instrument, a validated tool measuring emotional and instrumental support. Emotional support is defined as the belief that one is cared about (high = score ≥ 18); instrumental social support is defined as help with services (high = score ≥ 3). Demographics, physical activity, and diet were assessed by standardized questionnaires, and cardiovascular disease risk factors were measured systematically. Linear regression models were adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, sex, marital status, and education. Higher instrumental social support was positively associated with minutes of physical activity per week (P = .007). Higher emotional social support was positively associated with number of days of physical activity per week (P = .023), number of servings of wine per week (P = .007), and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = .014). A mediational analysis was performed, and the relationship between emotional social support and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly attenuated by physical activity days per week and number of servings of wine per week. No significant associations were found for other potential mediators tested including body mass index, waist circumference, and intake of omega-3 fatty acids, beer, or liquor. In this ethnically diverse population, emotional social support was linked to higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels through increased physical activity and wine intake, suggesting possible mechanisms through which social support may reduce cardiovascular disease risk.
The burden of psychosocial morbidity related to cancer: patient and family issues

Abstract With cancer incidence increasing over time, attention to the burden of related psychiatric and psychosocial consequences of the disease and treatment is a major topic for both cancer patients and their caregivers. Among cancer patients, psychiatric (e.g. adjustment, anxiety, depressive disorders) and neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g. cognitive disorders secondary to treatment, delirium) have been shown to affect an average of 30–35% patients, with differences according to stage and type of cancer. Also other psychosocial syndromes (e.g. demoralization, health anxiety, irritable mood) not taken into account in usual nosological systems should be considered for their impact on the patient’s quality-of-life. Also, it has been repeatedly reported that psychological distress reverberates substantially throughout the nuclear family, and that a family approach is necessary in cancer care, with the caregiver–patient dyad as a unit to be the focus and direction of assessment and intervention. In this review the most significant psychosocial disorders causing burden for cancer patients and their caregivers are examined, and the main methods of assessment for more proper referral and treatment are summarized.
Empiric treatments impair the diagnostic yield of BAL in HIV-positive patients.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the influence of empiric treatments prior to fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) on the diagnostic yield of BAL in HIV-positive patients with respiratory symptoms. METHOD We studied 123 consecutive FOBs with BAL in HIV-positive patients; 101 of these patients (82%) had received previous antimicrobial treatment from 1 to 60 days. Diagnostic yield of BAL for Pneumocystis carinii, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and bacterial pneumonia was compared between patients with and without previous empiric treatments. RESULTS A diagnosis was obtained in 85 patients (69%), of whom 17 (20%) had multiple infections. Diagnostic yield was higher in patients without previous treatment, 91% (20/22) compared with 64% (65/101), p < 0.03. Diagnostic yield was also higher for bacterial pneumonia: seven isolations from 22 patients not receiving previous empiric treatment (32%), compared with 11 of those who had (11%; p < 0.02). The duration of empiric treatment against P carinii in patients in whom it was isolated was significantly shorter than in those in whom P carinii was not detected (3.5 +/- 1.8 days compared with 5.2 +/- 2.4 days; p = 0.003). FOB permitted a change in treatment in 62% of patients with a final diagnosis. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that empiric treatments prior to FOB significantly impair the diagnostic yield of BAL in detecting common pathogens in HIV-infected patients with respiratory symptoms.
Credit and Fiscal Multipliers in China

We estimate credit and fiscal multipliers in China, using subnational political cycles as a source of exogenous variation. The tenure of the provincial party secretary, interacted with the credit and fiscal expenditure used in other provinces, instruments for provincial credit and government expenditure growth. We find a fiscal multiplier of 0.75 in 2001-2008, which increased to 1.2 in 2010-2015, consistent with higher multipliers in a slower economy. At the same time, a credit multiplier of 0.2 in 2001-2008 declined to close to zero in 2010-2015, consistent with credit saturation and credit misallocation. Our results suggest that credit expansion cannot further support economic growth in China. The flip side is that lower credit growth is also unlikely to disrupt output growth. Fiscal policy is powerful, and can cushion the macroeconomic adjustment to lower credit intensity.
What Makes the Bonding Stick? A Natural Experiment Testing the Legal Bonding Hypothesis

We use a US Supreme Court case, Morrison v. National Australia Bank (2010), as a natural experiment to test the legal bonding hypothesis. By decreasing the potential liability of US-listed foreign firms, particularly due to class action lawsuits, Morrison arguably eroded their legal bonding to compliance with disclosure duties. Nevertheless, we find evidence of an increase or insignificant change in share values. Tests of longer-run effects of the legal event indicate that foreign firms’ disclosure quality and likelihood of facing enforcement actions remained stable, as did investors’ revealed preferences for trading on US markets. These results go against the legal bonding hypothesis but are consistent with reputational bonding and with market-based accounts of US cross-listing. Our results may contribute to ongoing debate about civil enforcement of securities laws through class actions.
Cell‐selective gene silencing in prostate cancer LNCap cells using prostate‐specific membrane antigen promoter and enhancer in vitro and in vivo

RNAi (RNA interference) has been widely used to silence specific genes. However, RNAi may also cause off‐target silencing and elicit non‐specific side effects. To achieve cell‐specific gene silencing, a cell‐selective promoter has to be used to drive RNAi expression. Furthermore, different terminators of cell‐selective promoters may cause different silencing efficacies. In order to explore the best promoter and terminator combination and prove the cell‐selective gene silencing effect of PSMAe/p (prostate‐specific membrane antigen enhancer/promoter), we first constructed three plasmids by using PSMAe/p and three different terminators [poly(A), minipoly(A) and poly(U)] to explore the cell‐selective driving ability of PSMAe/p by targeting EGFP (enhanced green fluorescent protein) in LNCaP, PC‐3, EJ and HEK‐293 (human embryonic kidney) cells. Then we chose NS (nucleostemin), an important endogenous gene of prostate cancer, and constructed the NS‐targeting shRNA (small‐hairpin RNA) expression plasmid by using PSMAe/p—poly(A) combination. Cell proliferation, cell cycle and early apoptosis in vitro and xenograft tumour growth in BALB/c nude mice in vivo were detected after NS knockdown. Results showed that PSMAe/p can drive EGFP silencing in LNCaP, not in PC‐3, EJ and HEK‐293 cells and PSMAe/p—poly(A) combination achieved the best silencing efficacy. Then PSMAe/p‐shNS‐poly(A) drives NS knockdown in LNCaP cells, not in PC‐3, EJ and HEK‐293 cells. Furthermore, RNAi‐mediated NS knockdown not only reduces cell proliferation rate, reduces the percentage of S‐stage cells and increases the percentage of G1‐stage cells and increases the early apoptosis ratio in LNCaP cells in vitro, but also inhibited the LNCaP xenograft tumour growth in BALB/c nude mice in vivo by intratumoural injection. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that PSMAe/p—poly(A) combination is a promising delivery system for targeted RNAi gene therapy of prostate cancer. We showed one effective antitumour strategy by targeting NS protein, an important target in prostate cancer, with PSMAe/p‐shNS‐poly(A). These results serve as an important step for developing novel strategies to treat prostate cancer.
Cul-De-Sacs and Narrative Data Analysis-A Less Than Straightforward Journey

© 2017 Gwyneth James and NSU Works. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as they credit the author(s) and The Qualitative Report and license their new creations under identical terms.
Accelerated progression to autonomy of a pregnancy-dependent mouse mammary tumor (TPDMT-4) by hormones.

TPDMT-4 mouse mammary tumors have been characterized by pregnancy-dependent growth in breeders; formation of ductal, lobular, and alveolar structures in gland-free but insignificant outgrowth in intact fat pads of virgins; and continuous growth in hosts implanted s.c. with estrogen-progesterone pellets. Tumors were passaged in breeding and estrogen-progesterone-treated mice for 30 and 28 generations, respectively. The latter subline was called TPDMT-4EP. Both lines were compared for tumor-producing capability in virgins. Transplants from growing TPDMT-4 and growing and regressing TPDMT-4EP tumors were implanted into cleared and intact fat pads of 3-week-old mice and investigated for tumor formation for 12, 4, and 4 months, respectively. No significant differences were noted between cleared and intact fat pads. TPDMT-4 transplants formed significant tumors in 26 (72%) of 36 fat pads after a mean latency period of of 204 days. Growing and regressing TPDMT-4EP transplants formed significant tumors in 47 (98%) of 48 and in 27 (90%) of 30 fat pads, respectively, after a mean latency period of 52 days. Of eight TPDMT-4 tumors tested for ovarian dependence, six were ovarian dependent, one was ovarian responsive, and one was undecided. In contrast, of 31 TPDMT-4EP tumors tested, three were ovarian responsive, and 28 were ovarian independent. Five of seven independent tumors from ovariectomized mice still responded to the estrogen-progesterone pellet. Cytoplasmic estrogen and progesterone receptors were assayed in tumors different in ovarian dependence without noting significant correlation between their levels and ovarian dependence or growth rate. The results suggest that continuous hormone stimulation may enhance progression from dependence to autonomy of hormone-dependent tumors.
Social Norms and the Environment

Social norms affect environmental quality. But what exactly is a social norm? Environmental economists studying the topic draw on diverse scholarly traditions and may not have the same phenomenon in mind when using the concept. For example, social norms may refer to common, but not necessarily socially approved, behaviors; to internalized ethical rules; or to one of several equilibria in a coordination game. I first discuss some of the definitions used in the environmental economics literature. Then, I outline a simple framework for analysis of voluntary contributions to public goods. Using this framework, I illustrate differences and similarities between altruism, moral norms, and social norms and discuss implications for environmental policies. In particular, when a social norm represents one of several stable equilibria, policy can potentially invoke abrupt and dramatic behavioral changes.
Special Education Identification in the Louisiana Scholarship Program. Technical Report. Louisiana Scholarship Program Evaluation Report #8.

The debate over school vouchers continues as more states offer government dollars to fund private schooling for students as a method of improving choice and quality in K-12 education. Previous research in the charter school sector has found that special education enrollment discrepancies between charters and traditional public schools is likely due to a mixture in parental choice making, differential identification practices, and the removal of special education labels. This study is the first experimental analysis of the impact of a enrollment in a private school choice program on special education identification and de-identification. Using data for almost 2,000 students who were randomly assigned to private schools in the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP), we find no statistically significant over impact of enrollment in a student’s first choice school on being either identified or de-identified in special education. Analyzing annual trends results in lower probabilities of identification for students in the LSP in Year 2 and Year 3 of the program and higher probabilities of de-identification in Year 2.
Spatial hearing in a child with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder and bilateral cochlear implants

Abstract Objective: The neural dys-synchrony associated with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) causes a temporal impairment that could degrade spatial hearing, particularly sound localization accuracy (SLA) and spatial release from masking (SRM). Unilateral cochlear implantation has become an accepted treatment for ANSD but treatment options for the contralateral ear remain controversial. We report spatial hearing measures in a child with ANSD before and after receiving a second cochlear implant (CI). Study sample: An 11-year-7-month old boy with ANSD and expressive and receptive language delay received a second CI eight years after his first implant. Design: The SLA and SRM were measured four months before sequential bilateral CIs (with the contralateral ear plugged and unplugged), and after nine months using both CIs. Results: Testing done before the second CI, with the first CI alone, suggested that residual hearing in the contralateral ear contributed to sound localization accuracy, but not word recognition in quiet or noise. Nine-months after receiving a second CI, SLA improved by 12.76° and SRM increased to 3.8–4.2 dB relative to pre-operative performance. Results were compared to published outcomes for children with bilateral CIs. Conclusions: The addition of a second CI in this child with ANSD improved spatial hearing.
Complications in Pediatric Spine Surgery Using the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib: The French Experience

Study Design. Multicenter retrospective study of 54 children. Objective. To describe the complication rate of the French vertical expandable prosthetic titanium rib (VEPTR) series involving patients treated between August 2005 and January 2012. Summary of Background Data. Congenital chest wall and spine deformities in children are complex entities. Most of the affected patients have severe scoliosis often associated with a thoracic deformity. Orthopedic treatment is generally ineffective, and surgical treatment is very challenging. These patients are good candidates for VEPTR expansion thoracoplasty. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential complications of VEPTR surgery. Methods. Of the 58 case files, 54 were available for analysis. The series involved 33 girls and 21 boys with a mean age of 7 years (range, 20 mo–14 yr and 2 mo) at primary VEPTR surgery. During the follow-up period, several complications occurred. Results. Mean follow-up was 22.5 months (range, 6–64 mo). In total, 184 procedures were performed, including 56 VEPTR implantations, 98 expansions, and 30 nonscheduled procedures for different types of complications: mechanical complications (i.e., fracture, device migration), device-related and infectious complications, neurological disorders, spine statics disturbances. Altogether, there were 74 complications in 54 patients: a complication rate of 137% per patient and 40% per surgery. Comparison of the complications in this series with those reported in the literature led the authors to suggest solutions that should help decrease their incidence. Conclusion. The complication rate is consistent with that reported in the literature. Correct determination of the levels to be instrumented, preoperative improvement of nutritional status, and better evaluation of the preoperative and postoperative respiratory function are important factors in minimizing the potential complications of a technique that is used in weak patients with complex deformities. Level of Evidence: 4
Human asthma phenotypes: from the clinic, to cytokines, and back again

A large body of experimental evidence supports the hypothesis that T‐helper 2 (Th2) cytokines orchestrate allergic airway inflammation in animal models. However, human asthma is heterogeneous with respect to clinical features, cellular sources of inflammation, and response to common therapies. This disease heterogeneity has been investigated using sputum cytology as well as unbiased clustering approaches using cellular and clinical data. Important differences in cytokine‐driven inflammation may underlie this heterogeneity, and studies in human subjects with asthma have begun to elucidate these molecular differences. This molecular heterogeneity may be assessed by existing biomarkers (induced sputum evaluation or exhaled nitric oxide testing) or may require novel biomarkers. Effective testing and application of emerging therapies that target Th2 cytokines will depend on accurate and easily obtained biomarkers of this molecular heterogeneity in asthma. Furthermore, whether other non‐Th2 cytokine pathways underlie airway inflammation in specific subsets of patients with asthma is an unresolved question and an important goal of future research using both mouse models and human studies.
Linear relationship between systolic and diastolic blood pressure monitored over 24 h: assessment and correlates

Objectives Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) frequently display a linear relationship characterized by the systolic-versus-diastolic slope (‘Slope’) or the ‘ambulatory arterial stiffness index’ [AASI = 1 – (diastolic-versus-systolic Slope)] and the correlation coefficient r. We evaluated the effect of using symmetric regression on the AASI and its dependence on clinical characteristics using 24-h ambulatory monitoring. Methods Ambulatory monitoring data of 140 patients (age 56 ± 17 years, 45% men) were retrieved from a service database. Slope and the AASI were evaluated using symmetric regression procedures, and the AASI also by standard regression. Results Correlation between SBP and DBP was r = 0.74 ± 0.14 (r > 0.5 in 95% of patients). Low r-values (when SBP correlates poorly with DBP) were tightly linked with nondipping (P < 0.00001). Use of symmetric rather than standard regression eliminated the bias in slope-related parameters and unmasked their dependence on clinical characteristics. Both symmetric Slope and the AASI were independent of mean arterial pressure and r, increased with pulse pressure (P < 0.01 and P < 0.0001, respectively), with the greater effect of wider pulse pressure in older age (P < 0.005 for both). The symmetric slope was 1.29 ± 0.28, showing bivariate dependence (r = 0.82) on age (exponential, with P < 0.00001) and pulse pressure dipping (P < 0.00001), increased for antihypertensive drug treatment (0.07 ± 0.03, P < 0.05) and diabetes mellitus (0.18 ± 0.06, P < 0.005). Conclusions Application of symmetrical regression provides a more valid estimate of the systolic-on-diastolic slope and the AASI, less influenced by goodness of fit and nocturnal dipping and more sensitive to age and disease states such as hypertension and diabetes, thus providing an improved index of arterial stiffening.
Audit Partner Identification and Characteristics: Evidence from U.S. Form AP Filings

This paper investigates the overall impact of and the information made available by the recent audit partner disclosure requirement in the U.S. After a contentious comment period, the PCAOB released Rule 3211, which requires registered public accounting firms to disclose the name of the audit partner for every audit report it issues. In the first year of adoption, we find a significant increase in audit quality and audit fees and a significant decrease in audit delay. We collect information on partner gender, busyness, education, and social connections to explore whether these newly observable characteristics are associated with audit outcomes. We find that several of these characteristics are associated with variations in audit fees and audit delay, but no evidence of an association with audit quality. Overall, our findings suggest that the disclosure of partner name in Form AP enhances the audit information environment, which supports PCAOB motivation for Rule 3211.
Sorbitol-6-phosphate dehydrogenase expression in transgenic tobacco. High amounts of sorbitol lead to necrotic lesions

We analyzed transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) expressing Stpd1, a cDNA encoding sorbitol-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from apple, under the control of a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. In 125 independent transformants variable amounts of sorbitol ranging from 0.2 to 130 &mgr;mol g-1 fresh weight were found. Plants that accumulated up to 2 to 3 &mgr;mol g-1 fresh weight sorbitol were phenotypically normal, with successively slower growth as sorbitol amounts increased. Plants accumulating sorbitol at 3 to 5 &mgr;mol g-1 fresh weight occasionally showed regions in which chlorophyll was partially lost, but at higher sorbitol amounts young leaves of all plants lost chlorophyll in irregular spots that developed into necrotic lesions. When sorbitol exceeded 15 to 20 &mgr;mol g-1 fresh weight, plants were infertile, and at even higher sorbitol concentrations the primary regenerants were incapable of forming roots in culture or soil. In mature plants sorbitol amounts varied with age, leaf position, and growth conditions. The appearance of lesions was correlated with high sorbitol, glucose, fructose, and starch, and low myo-inositol. Supplementing myo-inositol in seedlings and young plants prevented lesion formation. Hyperaccumulation of sorbitol, which interferes with inositol biosynthesis, seems to lead to osmotic imbalance, possibly acting as a signal affecting carbohydrate allocation and transport.