Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are Risk Preferences Time-Dependent? Looking Ahead, a Group Has a Stronger Effect Than the Average of Its Individual Members

We investigate whether individual and group risk preferences are dependent on reward delay. To do so, we run a lottery-choice experiment, where payments are made either directly or in 3, 9, or 18 months after the experiment. We find that risk preference is time-dependent for both individuals and groups. In the present, groups make more risk-averse decisions than individuals do. As soon as decisions materialize in the future, this relation reverses, with groups becoming less risk-averse in their decisions and reaching almost risk neutrality at 18 months. Both, individuals and groups, do not significantly differ in their risk preferences between the different delays. We present a parameterization of the probability time trade-off model extended by the probability of prospect survival and show that our results are consistent with the affect-based reasoning explanation.
Periodontal pathogens in the shallow pockets of immigrants from developing countries.

The aim of this study was to examine the distribution of typical periodontitis-associated microorganisms in refugees arriving from non-industrialized countries, and to relate the presence of these organisms to the periodontal condition of the subjects. Thirty males between 35-44 years of age were surveyed. Dental plaque, calculus, gingivitis, loss of attachment, and probing depths were recorded for all surfaces. A total of 90 microbiological samples were taken with paper points from mesial sites of teeth 16, 36 and 41. Microbiological test sites were grouped by probing depths and loss of attachment. Only 16.8% of all surfaces had probing depths > 3 mm, although 90.7% of surfaces had loss of attachment > 1 mm. Twenty-one sites with obvious periodontal destruction (PD > 3 mm, LA > 2 mm) showed the greatest recovery of Porphyromonas gingivalis (66.7%). However, 51 sites with minimal periodontal disease (PD < or = 3 mm, LA < 2 mm) and with no gingival recession also showed a relatively high detection frequency of P. gingivalis (34.1%). Twenty-four of these samples came from 12 patients with no pockets > 5 mm and with less than 10% of all sites yielding pockets > 3 mm. The detection frequencies of Prevotella intermedia (91.6%), Bacteroides forsythus (25.0%), Wolinella spp. (33.3%) and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (50.0%) were similar in these sites compared with periodontitis sites. Morphologically distinct isolates, from 19 individuals positive for A. actinomycetemcomitans, were serotyped by indirect immunofluorescence. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
DETEKSI PERILAKU HERDING PADA PASAR SAHAM INDONESIA & SINGAPURA TAHUN 2011 – 2015

Herding behavior is one of the investor's irrational behavior that can destabilize the stock market. When herding happened, investors tend not to use the analysis in making investment decisions but follow the market consensus or imitate a decision of other investors. This study discusses whether herding behavior occurs in emerging market specifically Indonesia Stock Market and also developed market specifically Singapore Stock Market. By looking at the relationship between return market portfolio and Cross Sectional Absolute Deviation (CSAD), then herding behavior in a market can be identified. Herding detection performed on different market conditions, so this study using quantile regression analysis. The result of this study shows that there is no indication of herding behavior in both stock market, which means that investors tend to behave rationally in making investment decisions.
Teaching Entrepreneurship Education in Tertiary Institutions and the Disposition of Social Studies Students towards Self-Reliance in Plateau State, Nigeria

Having incorporated entrepreneurship education into the curriculum of tertiary institutions in Nigeria with the composite aim of breeding creative and innovative graduates that can generate employment and thereby enhance national economy and consequently stem the terrific tide of mass unemployment with its attendant malady of poverty, youth restiveness and crime, it is therefore imperative to investigate the impact of this laudable efforts on the targeted students. To this end, this research examines the teaching of entrepreneurship education in tertiary institutions and the disposition of Social Studies students towards self-reliance in Plateau State. Data for analysis were drawn from 193 final year tertiary Social Studies students. Using the descriptive statistics of frequency count for research questions and chi-square test for the hypotheses formulated, the analysis reveals that practical demonstrations are abysmally used in the process of teaching the course. Equally, the linkage between industries and entrepreneur education is also very low. Besides, more than 75% of the students claimed that the training has not prepared them for selfreliant after graduation. Invariably, 53% of the potential graduates in the University and 79.3% of the College students preferred government job, while 47% of the University students and 20.7% of the College students preferred to be self-employed. In the light of this, the study strongly recommend among others that a well-funded model entrepreneurship centre should be established in all tertiary institutions in Nigeria, where practical exposure and functional skill acquisition will be well emphasised.
The Impact of Business Environment on of firmâ€™s Employment Growth

A good business environment makes it easier for firms from microenterprises to multinationals to enter and exit markets, which contributes to higher productivity, faster growth and creates jobs. A good business environment will benefit both domestic and foreign investors. Domestic and foreign investors invest where they find profitable opportunities, and try to avoid risks. In this paper, we use firm level survey data of the manufacturing firms in three different commercial strong Libyan cities to determine the influence of the business environment on the growth of the employment of the firms. The Structural Equation Model (SEM) method is used in this paper and the empirical variables are calculated for the purpose of the study. We find that corruption, crime and access to finance are the main obstacles that hamper the employment growth of manufacturing firms in Libya. However, the research does not reveal any significant effect of business regulations and the level of competition faced by the firm on the growth of the firmâ€™s employment. These results have important policy implications for the priority of reform efforts. To improve the Libyan business environment, the government of Libya should enforce the Anti-Corruption Law and should make the financial system more dynamic, by establishing a clear regulatory system and by continuing to open up the banking sector to private investment. They should also provide access to high quality financial services and to capital. The government also must work hard and take urgent steps to improve security.
Stat3 contributes to resistance toward BCR-ABL inhibitors in a bone marrow microenvironment model of drug resistance

Imatinib mesylate is a potent, molecularly targeted therapy against the oncogenic tyrosine kinase BCR-ABL. Although imatinib mesylate has considerable efficacy against chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), advanced-stage CML patients frequently become refractory to this agent. The bone marrow is the predominant microenvironment of CML and is a rich source of both soluble factors and extracellular matrices, which may influence drug response. To address the influence of the bone marrow microenvironment on imatinib mesylate sensitivity, we used an in vitro bone marrow stroma model. Our data show culturing K562 cells, in bone marrow stroma-derived conditioned medium (CM), is sufficient to cause resistance to BCR-ABL inhibitors. Drug resistance correlated with increased pTyrStat3, whereas no increases in pTyrStat5 was noted. Moreover, resistance was associated with increased levels of the Stat3 target genes Bcl-xl, Mcl-1, and survivin. Finally, reducing Stat3 levels with small interfering RNA sensitized K562 cells cultured in CM to imatinib mesylate-induced cell death. Importantly, Stat3 dependency was specific for cells grown in CM, as reducing Stat3 levels in regular growth conditions had no effect on imatinib mesylate sensitivity. Together, these data support a novel mechanism of BCR-ABL-independent imatinib mesylate resistance and provides preclinical rationale for using Stat3-inhibitors to increase the efficacy of imatinib mesylate within the context of the bone marrow microenvironment. [Mol Cancer Ther 2008;7(10):3169–75]
Patient-initiated Electronic Messages and Quality of Care for Patients With Diabetes and Hypertension in a Large Fee-for-Service Medical Group: Results From a Natural Experiment

Background:Few studies have examined the association between patient-initiated electronic messaging (e-messaging) and clinical outcomes in fee-for-service settings. Objective:To estimate the association between patient-initiated e-messages and quality of care among patients with diabetes and hypertension. Design:Longitudinal observational study from 2009 to 2013. In March 2011, the medical group eliminated a $60/year patient user fee for e-messaging and established a provider payment of $3–5 per patient-initiated e-message. Quality of care for patients initiating e-messages was compared before and after March 2011, relative to nonmessaging patients. Propensity score weighting accounted for differences between e-messaging and nonmessaging patients in generalized estimating equations. Setting:Large multispecialty practice in California compensating providers’ fee-for-service. Subjects:Patients with diabetes (N=4232) or hypertension (N=15,463) who had activated their online portal but not e-messaged before e-messaging became free. Measures:Quality of care included HEDIS-based process measures for hemoglobin (Hb) A1c, blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), nephropathy, and retinopathy tests, and outcome measures for HbA1c, blood pressure, and LDL. E-messaging was measured as counts of patient-initiated e-message threads sent to providers. Patients were categorized into quartiles by e-messaging frequency. Results:The probability of annually completing indicated tests increased by 1%–7% for e-messaging patients, depending on the outcome and e-messaging frequency. E-messaging was associated with small improvements in HbA1c and LDL for some patients with diabetes. Conclusion:Patient-initiated e-messaging may increase the likelihood of completing recommended tests, but may not be sufficient to improve clinical outcomes for most patients with diabetes or hypertension without additional interventions.
Protein Kinase C &dgr;-Mediated Processes in Cholecystokinin-8-Stimulated Pancreatic Acini

Objectives: To define the role of protein kinase C &dgr; (PKC &dgr;) in acinar cell responses to the hormone cholecystokinin-8 (CCK) using isoform-specific inhibitors and a previously unreported genetic deletion model. Methods: Pancreatic acinar cells were isolated from (1) rat, and pretreated with a PKC &dgr;-specific inhibitor or (2) PKC &dgr;-deficient and wild type mice. Isolated cells were stimulated with CCK (0.001-100 nmol/L) and cell responses were measured. Results: The PKC &dgr; inhibitor did not affect stimulated amylase secretion from rat pancreatic acinar cells. Cholecystokinin-8 stimulation induced a typical biphasic dose-response curve for amylase secretion in acinar cells isolated from both PKC &dgr;−/− and wild type mice, with maximal stimulation at 10-pmol/L CCK. Cholecystokinin-8 (100 nmol/L) induced zymogen and nuclear factor &kgr;B activation in both PKC &dgr;−/− and wild type mice, although it was up to 50% less in PKC &dgr;−/−. Conclusions: In contrast to previous studies, this study has used specific and complementary approaches to examine PKC &dgr;-mediated acinar cell responses. We could not confirm that it mediates amylase release but corroborated its role in the early stages of acute pancreatitis.
The use of infliximab in academic rheumatology practice: an audit of early clinical experience.

OBJECTIVE To audit a first clinical experience of treating rheumatic disease patients with infliximab in the setting of an academic tertiary care rheumatology practice. METHODS The infusion history of patients referred to the McGill University Health Centre during the first 18 month period of a special access program for treatment with infliximab, a tumor necrosis factor-a antibody, was audited for disease characteristics, dosing schedule for infliximab, concomitant treatments, response rate, and side effect profile. RESULTS Forty-one patients received a total of 300 infusions of infliximab over a period of 9 +/- 5 months (mean +/- standard deviation). Rheumatic disease indications were rheumatoid arthritis in 30, spondyloarthropathy in 6, psoriatic arthritis in 2, juvenile onset polyarthritis in 2, and scleroderma in one. Disease duration was 17 +/- 11 years. Concomitant treatment with steroids and methotrexate was present in 68% and 54%, respectively. Infliximab treatment was continued beyond 5 infusions or 22 weeks in 63%. Of the 26 patients continuing treatment, adjustment to dosing and/or interval schedule of infusions was made in 58%. The clinical response rate was moderately to greatly improved in 96%. Severe side effects considered directly related to the treatment were observed in 6 (15%) patients; less severe side effects, which did not preclude continuation of treatment but frequently required medical intervention, were noted in 93%. CONCLUSION Infliximab is a valuable treatment for patients with resistant rheumatic diseases in the short term. Both the serious, and the frequent, more benign complication rate observed in this group of patients should alert physicians to be vigilant in the routine care of patients treated with infliximab.
Does income inequality matter for economic growth? : An empirical investigation

In this paper we empirically investigate a possible effect of income inequality on growth. Using a panel of 126 countries for the time-span from 1968 to 2007 we report a positive relationship between income inequality and growth. That occurs through both the taxation and the human capital channels. We estimate our model with several estimation techniques such as fixed effects, GMM and Two stages least squares. Our results suggest that a policy maker has to take into account a certain trade off between making the distribution of income more equal and raising the economy's wealth.
Assessing latent dimensionality in psychological research

17 Assessing Latent Dimensionality . 19 Overview of Section One: State-Trace Analysis . 23 Overview of Section Two: The Differential Face Inversion Effect . 26 Section One: State-Trace Analysis . 31 Chapter One . 33 State-Trace Analysis: What is it and why use it? 35 The State-Trace Plot . 39 State-Trace Experiment Design . 47 Diagnosing Dimensionality . 48 Choosing a Trace Factor . 52 Refining a State-Trace Experiment: A Case Study . 53 Summary and Recommendations for Experiment Design . 60 Statistical Analysis of State-Trace Data . 61 Existing Statistical Methods . 61 Proposed Method . 66 Example Analysis . 76 Summary and Recommendations for Statistical Analysis . 82 General Discussion. 85 Future Directions . 87 Technical Details for Bayesian State-Trace Analysis . 89 Prior Proportions . 89 Posterior Proportions . 91 Numerical Accuracy . 95 Chapter Two . 97 A Bayesian Approach to State-Trace Analysis. 99 Simulations . 102 Bayesian State-Trace Results . 103 The Trace Model . 104 The No-Overlap Model . 106 The Unidimensional and Multidimensional Models . 107 Group Bayes Factors . 108 Conclusions . 111 Chapter Three . 113 StateTrace . 115 Design and Data . 116 State and Dimension Factors. 117 Trace Factor . 119 Input Data Formats . 120 Statistics and Graphics . 121 Computing Bayes Factors . 125 Overview of Functions . 126 First Steps . 128 Refining Estimates . 129 Extracting Results. 132 Limitations and Future Directions . 138 Chapter Four . 141 Using StateTrace: An Example Analysis . 143 Overview of Functions . 145 Data Input Formats . 147 First Steps . 150 Saving and Loading sta Objects. 160 Refining Estimates . 161 Managing the sta Object . 165 Extracting Results . 167 Model Selection Results . 168 The State-Trace Plot . 177 Summary and Conclusions for StateTrace Package . 185 Section Two: The Differential Face Inversion Effect . 189 The Differential Face Inversion Effect . 194 Dimensions of Face Processing . 195 Dimensions and Inversion . 197 A Robust Phenomenon? 201 Are Unfamiliar and Familiar Faces Qualitatively Different? 204 Testing the Unfamiliar-Face DFIE with State-Trace Analysis . 206 Chapter Five . 207 A Memory Retrieval Effect? 209 Method. 211 Participants. 211 Stimuli . 212 Apparatus . 212 Procedure . 213 Results . 214 Discussion . 220 Chapter Six . 223 A Strategic Explanation? 225 Method. 228 Participants. 228 Stimuli . 228 Apparatus . 229 Procedure . 229 Results . 231 Discussion . 235 Chapter Seven . 239 Refining Loftus, Oberg and Dillon’s (2004) Design . 241 Experiment . 243 Method. 244 Participants. 244 Stimuli and Apparatus . 245 Procedure .
Association between Socioeconomic Position in Earlier and Later Life and Age at Natural Menopause: Estudo Pró-SaúDe, Brazil

This study was based on a prospective cohort of university staff in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (the Estudo Pró-Saúde). In this article the association between socioeconomic position (SEP) earlier and later in life and age at menopause is investigated. The main indicators investigated were for earlier SEP: mother's and father's schooling; stature; leg and trunk length. For later SEP they were: schooling; home and/or car ownership. Median age at menopause was estimated and survival curves were generated by the Kaplan–Meier method, while the association between indicators of SEP and age at menopause was explored by means of Cox semiparametric models. Associations were found between earlier SEP – represented by trunk length – and earlier menopause and between later SEP – represented by the indicator ‘present schooling’ – and earlier menopause. The association between earlier and later SEP was confirmed. Adverse situations over the life course can impact age at menopause and related health outcomes.
Combining partial correlation and an information theory approach to the reversed engineering of gene co-expression networks

MOTIVATION We present PCIT, an algorithm for the reconstruction of gene co-expression networks (GCN) that combines the concept partial correlation coefficient with information theory to identify significant gene to gene associations defining edges in the reconstruction of GCN. The properties of PCIT are examined in the context of the topology of the reconstructed network including connectivity structure, clustering coefficient and sensitivity. RESULTS We apply PCIT to a series of simulated datasets with varying levels of complexity in terms of number of genes and experimental conditions, as well as to three real datasets. Results show that, as opposed to the constant cutoff approach commonly used in the literature, the PCIT algorithm can identify and allow for more moderate, yet not less significant, estimates of correlation (r) to still establish a connection in the GCN. We show that PCIT is more sensitive than established methods and capable of detecting functionally validated gene-gene interactions coming from absolute r values as low as 0.3. These bona fide associations, which often relate to genes with low variation in expression patterns, are beyond the detection limits of conventional fixed-threshold methods, and would be overlooked by studies relying on those methods. AVAILABILITY FORTRAN 90 source code to perform the PCIT algorithm is available as Supplementary File 1.
Insecticidal and repellent effects of tea tree and andiroba oils on flies associated with livestock

This study aimed to evaluate the insecticidal and repellent effects of tea tree, Melaleuca alternifolia (Myrtales: Myrtaceae), and andiroba, Carapa guianensis (Sapindales: Meliaceae), essential oils on two species of fly. For in vitro studies, free‐living adult flies were captured and reared in the laboratory. To evaluate the insecticidal effects of the oils, adult flies of Haematobia irritans (L.) and Musca domestica L. (both: Diptera: Muscidae) were separated by species in test cages (n = 10 per group), and subsequently tested with oils at concentrations of 1.0% and 5.0% using a negative control to validate the test. Both oils showed insecticidal activity. Tea tree oil at a concentration of 5.0% was able to kill M. domestica with 100.0% efficacy after 12 h of exposure. However, the effectiveness of andiroba oil at a concentration of 5.0% was only 67.0%. The insecticidal efficacy (100.0%) of both oils against H. irritans was observed at both concentrations for up to 4 h. The repellency effects of the oils at concentrations of 5.0% were tested in vivo on Holstein cows naturally infested by H. irritans. Both oils demonstrated repellency at 24 h, when the numbers of flies on cows treated with tea tree and andiroba oil were 61.6% and 57.7%, respectively, lower than the number of flies on control animals. It is possible to conclude that these essential oils have insecticidal and repellent effects against the species of fly used in this study.
Evaluation of a Platelet Function Analyser (PFA-100) in patients with a bleeding tendency.

OBJECTIVE To investigate pre-analytical variables and the diagnostic performance of the platelet function analyser (PFA-100), a new device to test primary haemostasis in vitro by simulating platelet adhesion and aggregation under high shear stress. METHODS Venous whole citrated blood is aspirated through a capillary towards an aperture of a collagen coated membrane containing either adenosine diphosphate (ADP) or epinephrine (EPI). The time needed for occluding this aperture by plug formation is called closure time (CT) and was assessed in 70 healthy subjects and 43 patients with a suspected mild bleeding disorder. RESULTS The reference range for the PFA-100 was found to be 82-159 s for EPI-CT and 62.5-120.5 s for ADP-CT. Duplicate analyses revealed a mean coefficient of variations of 7.1% (EPI-CT) and 5.7% (ADP-CT). The EPI- and ADP-CT of blood samples collected in the evening were significantly longer (p = 0.002 and p = 0.004, respectively) than the CT of blood samples collected in the morning. Acetylsalicylic acid(100 mg, 300 mg or 500 mg) administered as a single dose or daily on 10 consecutive days resulted in a prolongation of the EPI-CT, whereas the ADP-CT was not affected. EPI-CT was more sensitive in detecting acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) ingestion than was the bleeding time (BT). Sensitivity and specificity of the PFA-100 to detect von Willebrand disease (vWD) were comparable to the results obtained with the BT. CONCLUSION The PFA-100 represents a simple and easy to use test for investigation of primary haemostasis. Limitations of the system are: special citrated whole blood has to be proceeded within 0.5 to 4 h after sampling, duplicate measurements are necessary, and the results differ between blood sampled in the morning or in the afternoon. The data indicate that the test is sensitive to ASA intake and vWD. Its use is preferable to BT determination, because it is less invasive and more sensitive to abnormalities of primary haemostasis.