Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Health on Wages: Evidence from Europe Before and During the Great Recession

This paper adds to the empirical literature of health as a potential endogenous explanatory variable in wage equations by addressing problems such as unobserved heterogeneity, sample selection and measurement error (in the health variable) in one comprehensive framework. Moreover, by using European individual-level panel data from before and during the Great Recession (GR) — which started in Europe in 2008 — we gain insights into whether and how the current crisis has altered the relationship between health and wages. Our results provide empirical evidence of measurement error in the self-reported health variable when estimating its impact on wages for men, and of selectivity bias in wages for both men and women. We also show that in the period prior to the GR, working-age men (20-64 years old) who are in relatively better health (measured by a one-unit increase in a health index) have, on average, a 9 percent higher hourly wage rate. This effect is concentrated (and largest) among older workers (50-64 years old). Instead, during the GR the positive impact of health on wages disappears. One possible explanation for these findings is that presenteeism (i.e. attending work even though being sick) — which has become more common during the GR — may have reduced the impact of (poor) health on wages. With regard to working-age women (20-59 years old), we do not find evidence of an effect of health on wages, both before and during the GR.
The serine protease inhibitors TLCK and TPCK react with the RB-binding core of HPV-18 E7 protein and abolish its RB-binding capability.

The human papillomaviruses associated with cervical cancer (e.g., HPV-16 and HPV-18) express an E7 oncoprotein which mediates the immortalization of primary genital keratinocytes and the transformation of rodent cells. The 105-amino-acid HPV-18 E7 protein contains two zinc fingers as well as a conserved amino-terminal motif (Rb-binding core) which binds and alters the interactions of the retinoblastoma susceptibility gene product (Rb). We report here that two serine protease inhibitors, tosyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone (TLCK) and tosyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone (TPCK), reacted with and generated an altered form of the HPV-18 E7 protein. Chemical modification of the E7 protein was initially observed during its extraction and immunoprecipitation from mammalian cells but could also be detected using E7 protein expressed in vitro by reticulocyte lysates. More importantly, TLCK and TPCK were able to modify E7 protein in live keratinocytes following their addition to the culture medium. Site-specific mutagenesis demonstrated that the E7 Rb-binding core (Leu-X-Cys-X-Glu) contained a cysteine residue which was essential for this modification and that the TLCK/TPCK-dependent alteration of the E7 protein abolished its ability to bind Rb. These studies indicate that the E7 protein can be inactivated by a specific class of protease inhibitors and that such reagents may be useful for pharmacologically regulating E7 function in vivo. In addition, these results demonstrate that care must be taken when applying these commonly used protease inhibitors in experiments evaluating E7/cellular protein interactions.
Making meaningful commitments: Accounting for variation in cities’ investments of staff and fiscal resources to sustainability

Environmental sustainability is one of the great challenges of the 21st century. A number of explanations have been advanced for why some local governments make strong commitments to sustainability while others do not. Most of the extant empirical research, however, has relied on models that employ only one or just a few of these explanations. As a result, empirical analyses do not encompass a comprehensive set of variables that account for alternative explanations. This study begins to fill this lacuna by specifying an empirical model that examines six explanations for local commitment towards sustainability: local sustainability priorities, regional governance, climate protection networks, interest group support, local fiscal capacity, and characteristics of the local governing institution. Moreover, we use the designation of human and financial resources specifically for sustainability to operationalise commitment. This is a more substantive measure than has been used in previous studies. We accomplish this by utilising data from the Integrated City Sustainability Database. Our results indicate that local priorities, participation in regional governance, and membership in climate protection networks influence the likelihood of cities’ devotion of resources to sustainability. We discuss the implications of these findings for research and practice.
A revision of the white-headed spiny trapdoor spiders of the genus Euoplos (Mygalomorphae: Idiopidae: Arbanitinae): a remarkable lineage of rare mygalomorph spiders from the south-western Australian biodiversity hotspot

Abstract. The ‘white-headed’ spiny trapdoor spiders of the Euoplos mcmillani-group are revised, and three new species are described from the biodiversity hotspot of south-western Western Australia: E. cornishi sp. nov., E. kalbarri sp. nov. and E. saplan sp. nov. Two previously described species, E. ballidu (Main, 2000) and E. mcmillani (Main, 2000), are further re-described and re-diagnosed. The mcmillani-group of Euoplos are remarkable for the unique ‘bright white’ carapace coloration of males, and we here document the known diversity and conservation status of these rare and enigmatic spiders.
Specialization and Agglomeration Forces of Economic Integration

Increasing numbers of free trade and economic partnership agreements have been concluded among many countries in East Asia, and economic integration has progressed rapidly on both a de facto and de jure basis. However, as the authors of this book argue, integration may intensify regional inequalities in East Asia and so this process has attracted much attention of late. Will it actually succeed in achieving greater economic growth or will it in fact cause growing regional disparity?
Postoperative function following laparoscopic collis gastroplasty for shortened esophagus.

BACKGROUND Collis gastroplasty is indicated when tension-free fundoplication is not possible. Few studies have described the physiological results of this procedure, and no studies have evaluated outcomes of the endoscopic approach. OBJECTIVE To assess the long-term outcomes of patients treated with laparoscopic Collis gastroplasty and fundoplication. DESIGN Case series. SETTING Tertiary care teaching hospital and esophageal physiology laboratory. PATIENTS Fifteen consecutive patients with refractory esophageal shortening diagnosed at operation. Complicated gastroesophageal reflux disease or type III paraesophageal hernia (or both) was preoperatively diagnosed with esophagogastroduodenoscopy, 24-hour pH monitoring, esophageal motility, and barium esophagram. Fourteen (93%) of the 15 patients were available for long-term objective follow-up. INTERVENTIONS Laparoscopic Collis gastroplasty with fundoplication and esophageal physiological testing. OUTCOME MEASURES Preoperative and postoperative symptoms, operative times, and complications were prospectively recorded on standardized data forms. Late follow-up at 14 months included manometry, 24-hour pH monitoring, and esophagogastroduodenoscopy with endoscopic Congo red testing and biopsy. RESULTS Presenting symptoms included heartburn (13 patients [87%]), dysphagia (11 patients [73%]), regurgitation (7 patients [47%]), and chest pain (7 patients). An endoscopic Collis gastroplasty was performed, followed by fundoplication (12 Nissen and 3 Toupet). There were no conversions to celiotomy and no deaths. Long-term follow-up occurred at 14 months. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed that all wraps were intact with no mediastinal herniations. Manometry demonstrated an intact distal high-pressure zone with a 93% increase in resting pressure over the preoperative values. Two (14%) of these patients reported heartburn, and 7 (50%) patients had abnormal results on postoperative 24-hour pH studies (mean DeMeester score, 100). Biopsy of the neoesophagus revealed gastric oxyntic mucosa in all patients. Endoscopic Congo red testing showed acid secretion in only those patients with abnormal DeMeester scores. Of these 7 patients, 5 (36%) had persistent esophagitis and 6 (43%) had manometric evidence of distal esophageal body aperistalsis that was not present preoperatively. CONCLUSIONS Collis gastroplasty allows a tension-free fundoplication to be performed to correct a shortened esophagus. It results in an effective antireflux mechanism but can be complicated by the presence of acid-secreting gastric mucosa proximal to the intact fundoplication and a loss of distal esophageal motility. These patients require close objective follow-up and maintenance acid-suppression therapy.
Improvements in the PSB AC-DC transfer capabilities and a proposal for range extension

A new automated AC-DC transfer calibration system based on thin-film multijunction thermal converter as primary standards at low-frequency range 10 Hz to 1 MHz has been designed and developed. Range extension up to 1000 V is achieved using resistive voltage divider. An equally-divided range extension setup which can be self-calibrated under practical working conditions has been proposed and eliminate the need of voltage interpolation.
Interdependence of the hue, value, and chroma in the middle site of anterior human teeth.

PURPOSE This study examines how the color coordinates of human teeth are related to each other and describes a mathematical relationship between Hue, Value, and Chroma of the middle site of anterior teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS The color coordinates obtained from a previous instrumental survey of the colors of vital teeth (see Goodkind and Schwabacher) were examined statistically, and equations were sought to describe their distribution in color space. The resulting single equation was applied to the colors of 100 extracted teeth. RESULTS Correlations between Hue, Value, and Chroma were not significant for incisal and cervical sites. For the middle site, these Munsell color coordinates were highly correlated and closely confined to a planar region of the color space, described by a single equation. CONCLUSIONS Human tooth color distribution seems to be relatively simple, at least for the middle site. It seems possible that a systematic method of shade selection (see Goodkind and Loupe) can be made available.
Classification and prognosis of intrahepatic biliary stricture after liver transplantation

Intrahepatic biliary stricture (IHBS) after liver transplantation (LT) may develop in patients with hepatic artery thrombosis, chronic rejection, or ABO incompatibility, as well as in patients with prolonged warm ischemia in non‐heart‐beating donor (NHBD) LT. However, the clinical course and methods of management have not been well defined for IHBSs to date. Thus, the purpose of this study was to provide a classification of post‐LT IHBS and to investigate patient prognosis. Forty‐four patients who developed IHBS after NHBD LT were enrolled. On the basis of the cholangiographic appearance, patients were classified into 4 groups: unilateral focal (UF, n = 8), confluence (CO, n = 10), bilateral multifocal (BM, n = 21), and diffuse necrosis (DN, n = 5). The UF type was defined as cases with stricture only in the segmental branch of the unilateral hemiliver; the CO type in cases with several strictures at confluence level; and the BM type in cases with multiple strictures bilaterally. Cases with diffuse obliteration of peripheral ducts or destruction of the central architectural integrity, over a long segment, were classified as the DN type. Five patients with the CO type required several interventions requiring biliary dilatation, yet all patients with the UF or CO type had a good prognosis. Among the patients with the BM type, 3 patients (14.3%) died or underwent retransplantation due to biliary complications, and 7 (33.3%) required repeated interventions for >1 year without improvement. Moreover, among 5 patients classified as the DN type, 1 (20%) died of biliary sepsis, 2 (40%) underwent retransplantation, and the remaining 2 (40%) did not recover from persistent jaundice and life‐threatening cholangitis despite multiple interventions. In conclusion, all patients classified as UF or CO had a good outcome with or without additional interventions. However, all patients with the DN type and about half the patients with the BM type did not recover from life‐threatening complications, despite repeated aggressive interventions; early retransplantation was therefore the only treatment option for these patients. Liver Transpl 13:1736–1742, 2007. © 2007 AASLD.
Improving the detection of mtbi via complexity analysis in resting - state magnetoencephalography

Diagnosis of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) is difficult due to the variability of obvious brain lesions using imaging scans. A promising tool for exploring potential biomarkers for mTBI is magnetoencephalography which has the advantage of high spatial and temporal resolution. By adopting proper analytic tools from the field of symbolic dynamics like Lempel-Ziv complexity, we can objectively characterize neural network alterations compared to healthy control by enumerating the different patterns of a symbolic sequence. This procedure oversimplifies the rich information of brain activity captured via MEG. For that reason, we adopted neural-gas algorithm which can transform a time series into more than two symbols by learning brain dynamics with a small reconstructed error. The proposed analysis was applied to recordings of 30 mTBI patients and 50 normal controls in δ frequency band. Our results demonstrated that mTBI patients could be separated from normal controls with more than 97% classification accuracy based on high complexity regions corresponding to right frontal areas. In addition, a reverse relation between complexity and transition rate was demonstrated for both groups. These findings indicate that symbolic complexity could have a significant predictive value in the development of reliable biomarkers to help with the early detection of mTBI.
Orange peel fixed oil (Citrus sinensis "Valencia"), physiochemical properties, fatty acids profile, potential uses and the effect of environmental factors on it.

Ramadan, K. , S. Nader and A. Ibrahim, 2018. Orange peel fi xed oil (Citrus sinensis “Valencia”), physiochemical properties, fatty acids profi le, potential uses and the effect of environmental factors on it. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 24
Teens, Testosterone and Time: Neural, Endocrinological and Contextual Correlates of Adolescent Impulsivity

Vorsitz: Prof. Dr. Isabel Dziobek, Institut für Psychologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Gutachter: 1. Dr. Wouter van der Bos, Forschungsbereich für Adaptive Rationalität , Max-PlanckInstitut für Bildungsforschung, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam 2. Prof. Dr. Ralph Hertwig, Forschungsbereich für Adaptive Rationalität , Max-PlanckInstitut für Bildungsforschung, Institut für Psychologie, HU Berlin 3. Prof. Dr. Samuel M. McClure, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University
Complications of phonosurgery: Results of a national survey

Objective: Medialization laryngoplasty (ML) and arytenoid adduction (AA) have become common treatments for vocal fold paralysis. The widespread use of these procedures has required many surgeons to learn these new surgeries through postgraduate education sources. Little is known regarding the efficacy of the learning methods and the types and incidence of complications in a large number of surgeons' experience. Method: A survey consisting of 23 questions regarding complications of ML and AA was sent to 7364 otolaryngologists. Results: A 33% response rate resulted in 2436 returned surveys of which 43% stated they performed ML and/or AA (n = 1039). The survey represents 14,621 cases of ML. The average respondent performed 12 ML in the past 5 years. Forty‐two percent of the respondents reported experience with one or more major complication. Airway complications requiring intervention occurred more frequently following AA than ML. The most common major complications were implant migration and failure to improve voice quality. The ML revision rate was 5.4% and the reported voice quality following revision was positive in 90% of cases. A statistically significant difference in major ML complication rate was found between surgeons with experience doing fewer than 10 MLs and those with experience doing more than 10 MLs. Similar findings showed that a higher major complication rate occurred for surgeons performing fewer than two MLs per year compared with counterparts who average two or more MLs per year. A near 1% implant extrusion rate was found. Most of the extrusions occurred into the airway. Conclusions: This is a study of the use and complications of ML/AA based on more than 14,000 procedures. Wide‐spread use of ML for vocal fold paralysis was found. A notable rate of poor voice quality following ML/AA was identified and led to a 5.5% revision rate for ML. Revision ML resulted in an improved voice quality in more than 90% of the reported cases. There appears to be a “learning curve” for performing ML as well as an increased complication rate for those surgeons who perform fewer than two MLs per year and have a total career experience of fewer than 10 procedures. These findings suggest that ML may result in increased complications if the surgeon is not experienced or does not perform the surgery regularly. Laryngoscope, 108:1697–1703, 1998
Cohesion‐Induced Enhancement of Aeolian Saltation

The wind‐driven saltation of granular material plays a key role in various geophysical processes on Earth, Mars, Venus, and Titan. Although interparticle cohesion is known to limit the number of grains lifted from the surface through aerodynamic entrainment and granular splash, the role of cohesion in the development of saltation from onset to steady state is still poorly understood. Using a numerical model based on the discrete element method, we show that saltation over cohesive beds sustains itself at wind speeds 1 order of magnitude smaller than those necessary to initiate it, giving rise to hysteresis in which the occurrence of transport depends on the history of the wind. Our results further suggest that saltation over cohesive beds requires much longer distances to saturate, thereby increasing the size of the smallest stable bed forms. These findings have implications for dune formation, dust emission, and snow sublimation over cohesive beds.
Is childhood oppositional defiant disorder a precursor to adolescent conduct disorder? Findings from a four-year follow-up study of children with ADHD.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the overlap between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), addressing whether ODD is subsyndromal form of conduct disorder (CD) and, if so, whether it is a precursor or prodrome syndrome of CD. METHOD Assessments from multiple domains were used to examine 140 children with ADHD and 120 normal controls at baseline and 4 years later. RESULTS Of children who had ADHD at baseline, 65% had comorbid ODD and 22% had CD. Among those with ODD, 32% had comorbid CD. All but one child with CD also had ODD that preceded the onset of CD by several years. ODD+CD children had more severe symptoms of ODD, more comorbid psychiatric disorders, lower Global Assessment of Functioning Scale scores, more bipolar disorder, and more abnormal Child Behavior Checklist clinical scale scores compared with ADHD children with non-CD ODD and those without ODD or CD. In addition, ODD without CD at baseline assessment in childhood did not increase the risk for CD at the 4-year follow-up, by midadolescence. CONCLUSIONS Two subtypes of ODD associated with ADHD were identified: one that is prodromal to CD and another that is subsyndromal to CD but not likely to progress into CD in later years. These ODD subtypes have different correlates, course, and outcome.
Comparing impacts of climate change on streamflow in four large African river basins

This study aims to compare impacts of climate change on streamflow in four large representative African river basins: the Niger, the Upper Blue Nile, the Oubangui and the Limpopo. We set up the eco-hydrological model SWIM (Soil and Water Integrated Model) for all four basins individually. The validation of the models for four basins shows results from adequate to very good, depending on the quality and availability of input and calibration data. For the climate impact assessment, we drive the model with outputs of five bias corrected Earth system models of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) for the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 2.6 and 8.5. This climate input is put into the context of climate trends of the whole African continent and compared to a CMIP5 ensemble of 19 models in order to test their representativeness. Subsequently, we compare the trends in mean discharges, seasonality and hydrological extremes in the 21st century. The uncertainty of results for all basins is high. Still, climate change impact is clearly visible for mean discharges but also for extremes in high and low flows. The uncertainty of the projections is the lowest in the Upper Blue Nile, where an increase in streamflow is most likely. In the Niger and the Limpopo basins, the magnitude of trends in both directions is high and has a wide range of uncertainty. In the Oubangui, impacts are the least significant. Our results confirm partly the findings of previous continental impact analyses for Africa. However, contradictory to these studies we find a tendency for increased streamflows in three of the four basins (not for the Oubangui). Guided by these results, we argue for attention to the possible risks of increasing high flows in the face of the dominant water scarcity in Africa. In conclusion, the study shows that impact intercomparisons have added value to the adaptation discussion and may be used for setting up adaptation plans in the context of a holistic approach.
The Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 and Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 type III secretion systems play a major role in pathogenesis of systemic disease and gastrointestinal tract colonization of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in the chicken

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection of chickens is a major public and animal health problem. In young chicks, S. Typhimurium infection results in severe systemic infection; in older chicks, infection results in prolonged gastrointestinal tract colonization. Here we determined the role of the Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) and Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 (SPI-2) type III secretion systems in systemic infection and gastrointestinal tract colonization of the chicken though experimental infection of chicks with a S. Typhimurium strain with mutations in the genes encoding the secretion system machinery of SPI-1 (spaS) and SPI-2 (ssaU) that prevent secretion of effector proteins. In 1-day-old chicks, mutation of SPI-2 lead to a decrease in both systemic bacterial numbers and pathology, although no difference in gastrointestinal numbers was observed. Mutation of SPI-1 had little effect in 1-day old chicks. In 1-week-old animals the SPI-2 mutants could not be detected systemically and colonized the gastrointestinal tract only in low numbers in comparison with the parent strain, and was cleared in 1 week. The SPI-1 mutant showed greatly reduced levels of systemic infection, and colonized the gastrointestinal tract at a lower level than the parent strain. The findings show that the SPI-2 type III secretion system is required for systemic S. Typhimurium infection in both infection models, and that it plays a significant role in gastrointestinal colonization. The SPI-1 system is involved in both systemic infection and gastrointestinal colonization, but does not appear absolutely essential for either infection process.