Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Three essays on investment in human capital in Canada

Cette these examine l’investissement en capital humain au Canada en s’interessant a la contribution de l’aide financiere aux etudes, aux effets de la fiscalite, a la rentabilite de l’investissement en education postsecondaire et a la redistribution des revenus. Elle est subdivisee en cinq chapitres. Le premier chapitre presente une revue chronologique des etudes microeconomiques sur l’investissement en capital humain. Il presente egalement une synthese des etudes canadiennes sur l’investissement en capital humain en insistant sur les limites portant essentiellement sur la non prise en compte de l’heterogeneite des systemes de prets et bourses et des systemes fiscaux a travers les provinces canadiennes et la faible analyse de la repartition des couts et benefices de l’investissement en education au Canada. Le second chapitre presente la methodologie de mesure des rendements de l’education et des gains issus des investissements en education. Il decrit les donnees utilisees et les resultats des regressions econometriques. Finalement, le chapitre presente SIMAID, un calculateur d’aide financiere aux etudes elabore pour les objectifs dans cette these et qui permet d’estimer le montant de l’aide financiere devant etre attribuee a chaque etudiant en fonction de ses caracteristiques personnelles et de celles de sa famille. Dans sa premiere section, le troisieme chapitre presente les rendements sociaux, prives et publics de l’education et montre que les rendements de l’education varient selon les provinces, les filieres de formation, le genre et les cohortes d’annee de naissance et decroient avec le niveau d’education. Dans sa seconde section, le chapitre montre que l’aide financiere aux etudes accroit le rendement des etudes du baccalaureat de 24.3% et 9.5% respectivement au Quebec et en Ontario. Finalement, le chapitre indique qu’un changement du systeme d’aide financiere aux etudes de Quebec par celui de l’Ontario entraine une baisse de 11.9% du rendement des etudes au baccalaureat alors qu’un changement du systeme fiscal quebecois par celui ontarien entraine une hausse du rendement du baccalaureat de 4.5%. L’effet combine du changement des systemes d’aide financiere et fiscal est une baisse du rendement du baccalaureat de 7.4%. Le quatrieme chapitre fournit une decomposition comptable detaillee des gains sociaux, prives et publics des investissements en education. Le gain social de l’investissement au baccalaureat est de $738 384 au Quebec et de $685 437 en Ontario. Ce gain varie selon les filieres de formation avec un niveau minimal pour les etudes humanitaires et un niveau maximal pour les etudes en ingenierie. Le chapitre montre egalement que la repartition des benefices et des couts de l’investissement en education entre les individus et le gouvernement est plus equitable en Ontario qu’a Quebec. En effet, un individu qui investit a Quebec supporte 51.6% du cout total et engrange 64.8% des gains alors que le meme individu supporterait 62.9% des couts sociaux et engrangerait 62.2% des gains en Ontario. Finalement, le…
Angiotensin II receptor type 1 autoantibodies promote endothelial microparticles formation through activating p38 MAPK pathway

Background: Endothelial microparticles (EMPs) are small vesicular structures that serve as a marker of endothelial function. Angiotensin II receptor type 1 autoantibody (AT1-AA) can cause endothelial dysfunction. However, whether AT1-AA promotes EMPs formation and the mechanism remains obscure. Methods: The titres of sera AT1-AA of 126 hypertensive patients and 30 normotensive individuals were evaluated by ELISA. EMPs in the sera and the supernatants of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were measured by flow cytometry. The phosphorylation levels of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in HUVECs treated by AT1-AA were assessed and their correlation with microparticle formation was also analysed. Furthermore, the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide in HUVECs was examined after incubation with "injured" endothelial microparticle (iEMPs) (EMPs derived from AT1-AA treated HUVECs). Results: The positive rate of AT1-AA in 126 hypertensive patients was 21.4% (27/126), and higher than that in normotensive individuals [3.3% (1/30), P < 0.01]. Circulating EMP (CD31+/CD42b–) levels were corresponding to the AT1-AA titres in hypertensive group (r2 = 0.3661, P < 0.01). AT1-AA promoted EMPs generation from HUVECs in a time and dose-dependent manner than the vehicle or nonspecific IgG. Meanwhile, AT1-AA significantly elevated phosphorylation level of P38 and ERK in HUVECs. Lorsartan and P38 inhibitor could suppress the AT1-AA's stimulation effect on EMPs generation. Moreover, the iEMP greatly increased ROS production and reduced nitric oxide synthesis in HUVECs. Conclusion: Our findings showed that circulating EMPs levels positively correlate to the serum AT1-AA titres in essential hypertension patients. The AT1-AA could promote EMPs generation in HUVECs through activation of P38 MAPK signalling pathway, and this effect could be effectively inhibited by losartan or p38 inhibitor. Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) may be more suitable for AT1-AA(+) hypertensive patients on account of suppressing the AT1-AA's stimulation effect on EMPs generation.
Fine-Scale Heterogeneity in Crossover Rate in the garnet-scalloped Region of the Drosophila melanogaster X Chromosome

Homologous recombination affects myriad aspects of genome evolution, from standing levels of nucleotide diversity to the efficacy of natural selection. Rates of crossing over show marked variability at all scales surveyed, including species-, population-, and individual-level differences. Even within genomes, crossovers are nonrandomly distributed in a wide diversity of taxa. Although intra- and intergenomic heterogeneities in crossover distribution have been documented in Drosophila, the scale and degree of crossover rate heterogeneity remain unclear. In addition, the genetic features mediating this heterogeneity are unknown. Here we quantify fine-scale heterogeneity in crossover distribution in a 2.1-Mb region of the Drosophila melanogaster X chromosome by localizing crossover breakpoints in 2500 individuals, each containing a single crossover in this specific X chromosome region. We show 90-fold variation in rates of crossing over at a 5-kb scale, place this variation in the context of several aspects of genome evolution, and identify several genetic features associated with crossover rates. Our results shed new light on the scale and magnitude of crossover rate heterogeneity in D. melanogaster and highlight potential features mediating this heterogeneity.
Safety of allogeneic Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes for patients with refractory EBV‐related lymphoma

Summary. Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) causes lymphomas in immunocompromised individuals such as recipients of stem cell or organ transplants and patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). EBV has also been detected in the Reed–Sternberg cells of approximately 50% of all cases of Hodgkin's disease (HD). The purpose of this study was to examine the safety, and the clinical and immunological effects of infusing allogeneic EBV‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) for patients with refractory EBV‐positive malignancies. In this pilot study, we have treated four patients with EBV‐related lymphoma using allogeneic EBV‐specific CTL. Two patients received EBV‐specific CTL derived from partially human leucocyte antigen (HLA)‐matched donors and the other two from HLA‐matched siblings. No complications were observed as a result of the CTL infusions and all patients showed increased levels of EBV‐specific CTL precursors (CTLp) post infusion. Of the two organ transplant patients, one had refractory disease and has sustained a complete remission following the T‐cell infusions. The second has also been disease free since T‐cell infusions, although the efficacy cannot be definitively attributed to CTL therapy because this patient received local radiation therapy prior to immunotherapy. A patient with AIDS‐related, EBV‐positive lymphoma had disease progression following CTL infusions. One HD patient received HLA 4/6 matched T cells from an unrelated donor and showed a decrease in the size of affected lymph nodes and resolution of B‐symptoms post infusion. In conclusion, adoptive immunotherapy with allogeneic EBV‐specific CTL is safe and mayhave efficacy in patients with high‐risk or refractory EBV‐related tumours.
Parameter Identification in an Estimated New Keynesian Open Economy Model

In this paper, we use Monte Carlo methods to study the small sample properties of the classical maximum likelihood (ML) estimator in artificial samples generated by the New- Keynesian open economy DSGE model estimated by Adolfson et al. (2008) with Bayesian techniques. While asymptotic identification tests show that some of the parameters are weakly identified in the model and by the set of observable variables we consider, we document that ML is unbiased and has low MSE for many key parameters if a suitable set of observable variables are included in the estimation. These findings suggest that we can learn a lot about many of the parameters by confronting the model with data, and hence stand in sharp contrast to the conclusions drawn by Canova and Sala (2009) and Iskrev (2008). Encouraged by our results, we estimate the model using classical techniques on actual data, where we use a new simulation based approach to compute the uncertainty bands for the parameters. From a classical viewpoint, ML estimation leads to a significant improvement in fit relative to the log-likelihood computed with the Bayesian posterior median parameters, but at the expense of some the ML estimates being implausible from a microeconomic viewpoint. We interpret these results to imply that the model at hand suffers from a substantial degree of model misspecification. This interpretation is supported by the DSGE-VAR( ) analysis in Adolfson et al. (2008). Accordingly, we conclude that problems with model misspecification, and not primarily weak identification, is the main challenge ahead in developing quantitative macromodels for policy analysis.
Seroprevalence of Leptospirosis among Febrile PatientsA Hospital Based Study

Leptospirosis is one of the most widespread and globally important zoonotic diseases. In India, it is emerged as an important cause of febrile illness with seasonal and geographical variation and affects humans on all continents, in both urban and rural area and in tropical and temperate climates. Most outbreaks of leptospirosis are reported in coastal regions. Leptospirosis has been recognized as an occupational disease. It is a frequent cause of undifferentiated febrile illness in developing countries. In order to understand the clinical spectrum, risk factors associated with leptospirosis and its prevalence, a retrospective hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in patients admitted with acute febrile illness in Govt. Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram over the last 1 year. Serum samples were screened for leptospirosis by IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IgM ELISA). About 1924 patients who presented with an acute febrile illness in the year 2014 were screened for leptospirosis. Of these 220(11.4%) patients, were positive for Leptospira by SD-IgM ELISA. The overall seroprevalence of leptospirosis was 11.4%. Males were affected more than females in this study. The main age group affected was 41-50 years. There were antigenic cross reaction with IgM Dengue for 7 cases and IgM scrub typhus for 12 cases. This study revealed a high seroprevalence of leptospirosis among febrile cases, indicating the importance of doing leptospirosis investigation of febrile illness.
Characterization of the ArsRS Regulon of Helicobacter pylori, Involved in Acid Adaptation

ABSTRACT The human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori is extremely well adapted to the highly acidic conditions encountered in the stomach. The pronounced acid resistance of H. pylori relies mainly on the ammonia-producing enzyme urease; however, urease-independent mechanisms are likely to contribute to acid adaptation. Acid-responsive gene regulation is mediated at least in part by the ArsRS two-component system consisting of the essential OmpR-like response regulator ArsR and the nonessential cognate histidine kinase ArsS, whose autophosphorylation is triggered in response to low pH. In this study, by global transcriptional profiling of an ArsS-deficient H. pylori mutant grown at pH 5.0, we define the ArsR∼P-dependent regulon consisting of 109 genes, including the urease gene cluster, the genes encoding the aliphatic amidases AmiE and AmiF, and the rocF gene encoding arginase. We show that ArsR∼P controls the acid-induced transcription of amiE and amiF by binding to extended regions located upstream of the −10 box of the respective promoters. In contrast, transcription of rocF is repressed by ArsR∼P at neutral, acidic, and mildly alkaline pH via high-affinity binding of the response regulator to a site overlapping the promoter of the rocF gene.
Spectral evaluation of aging effects on blood pressure and heart rate variations in healthy subjects

The background to heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV), and their determinants and physiological correlates, remain obscure. The impact of age must be taken into account if HRV and BPV are used for predictive purposes in clinical settings. Healthy subjects show wide inter-individual variation in their heart rate behaviour and the factors affecting heart rate dynamics are not well known. This paper has undertaken to evaluate heart rate variability (HRV) and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) in a random sample of subjects without evidence of heart disease, and to estimate the relation of HRV and BPV behaviour to age. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of ageing on HRV and BPV for simultaneous recordings of electrocardiograph (ECG) and blood pressure (BP) signals at rest in healthy subjects. We studied eight young (21 – 34 years old) and eight elderly (68 – 85 years old) rigorously screened subjects from the Fantasia Database to make the reproducibility and comparability of the results more extensive. Time- and frequency-domain analysis of HRV and BPV was performed on 5-minute ectopic-free recordings. BRS on the heart was estimated by frequency-domain analysis of spontaneous variability of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and RR interval. It has been observed that compared to young the elderly subjects have (i) diminished HRV; (ii) a shift in the power spectral density and median frequency to low frequency side for HRV and to higher frequency side for BPV; and (iii) increased low-frequency alpha index and decreased high-frequency alpha index of BRS with overall alpha index augmented. The results convey that normal ageing in the absence of disease is associated with lesser parasympathetic regulation of heart rate. Thus it is concluded that the age is an important factor to be considered for prognosis and diagnosis by HRV and BPV. For reliable clinical applications, more research needs to be done on a broad spectrum of subjects. In addition, these observations will prove to be useful for dynamic modelling of cardiovascular regulation for testing the authentication of new techniques for analysis purposes.
Does the use of TENS increase the effectiveness of exercise for improving walking after stroke? A randomized controlled clinical trial

Objective: To investigate whether surface electrical stimulation can increase the effectiveness of task-related exercises for improving the walking capacity of patients with chronic stroke. Design: Randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Setting: Home-based programme. Subjects: One hundred and nine hemiparetic stroke survivors were assigned randomly to: (1) transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), (2) TENS + exercise, (3) placebo stimulation + exercise, or (4) control group. Interventions: The TENS group received 60 minutes of electrical stimulation. Both the TENS + exercise group and placebo stimulation + exercise group did 60 minutes of exercises, followed respectively by 60 minutes of electrical and placebo stimulation. Treatment was given five days a week for four weeks. The control group had no active treatment. Outcome measures: Comfortable gait speed was measured using a GAITRite II walkway system. Walking endurance and functional mobility were measured by the distance covered during a 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and by timed up and go test scores before treatment, after two weeks and after four weeks of treatment, and at follow-up four weeks after treatment ended. Results: When compared with the other three groups, only the combined TENS + exercise group showed significantly greater absolute and percentage increases in gait velocity (by 37.1—57.5%, all P<0.01) and reduction in timed up and go scores (by —14.9 to —23.3%, P<0.01) from week 2 onwards. When compared with the control and TENS groups, only the combined TENS + exercise group covered significantly more distance in the 6MWT (by 22.2—34.7%, P<0.01) from week 2 onwards. Conclusion: TENS can improve the effectiveness of task-related exercise for increasing walking capacity in hemiparetic stroke survivors.
In vitro activity and beta-lactamase stability of U-63196E, a novel cephalosporin

The in vitro activity of U-63196E, a new broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic, was studied against various gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and compared with the in vitro activities of cefotaxime, moxalactam, cefoperazone, ceftazidime, and aztreonam. Although U-63196E inhibited many ampicillin-resistant bacteria and its activity against gram-negative species was similar to cefoperazone, it was much less active than the other agents. U-63196E was less active than cefazolin against gram-positive species, and it was less active than cefoxitin or moxalactam against Bacteroides fragilis. U-63196E did not inhibit most cefoperazone- or cefsulodin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. There was a difference between minimal inhibitory concentrations and minimal bactericidal concentrations for isolates which contained beta-lactamases. Plasmid beta-lactamases of the TEM, HSV, OXA, and PSE types hydrolyzed U-63196E. But U-63196E was relatively stable against hydrolysis by the chromosomal beta-lactamases.
The novel anticonvulsant MK‐801 binds to the activated state of the N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor in rat brain

1 The influence of endogenous and exogenous acidic amino acids on the binding of [3H]‐MK‐801, a selective, non‐competitive antagonist of N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) receptors, has been investigated in rat cerebral cortex crude synaptic membranes (CSM). 2 Removal of endogenous glutamate and aspartate from CSM by repeated washing reduced the affinity of [3H]‐MK‐801 for its binding site (with no change in the total number of binding sites) and increased NMDA‐sensitive l‐[3H]‐glutamate binding. 3 In washed CSM, competitive NMDA antagonists of the dl‐α‐amino‐ω‐phosphonocarboxylate series reduced [3H]‐MK‐801 binding and NMDA‐sensitive L‐[3H]‐glutamate binding, the most active compounds being 2‐amino‐5‐phosphonovalerate (AP5) and 2‐amino‐7‐phosphono‐heptanoate (AP7). 4 Exogenous excitatory amino acid agonists enhanced the binding of [3H]‐MK‐801 to washed CSM by up to 700%. A selective involvement of NMDA receptors in these effects was indicated by the excellent correlation between EC50s for stimulation of [3H]‐MK‐801 binding and IC50s for inhibition of NMDA‐sensitive l‐[3H]‐glutamate binding in the same membranes. 5 The selective, competitive NMDA receptor antagonist D‐AP5 blocked the l‐glutamate‐induced increase in [3H]‐MK‐801 binding in a competitive manner with a pA2 value of 6.0. 6 These results seem to reflect a molecular interaction between two distinct components of the NMDA receptor complex: the transmitter recognition site and the site through which MK‐801 exerts its antagonist effects, possibly the ion channel.
Elderly migration and development in small communities.

"This paper develops a conceptual model of the process of community change [in the United States] in response to elderly inmigration. Analysis of intra-regional variation in elderly migration patterns in Appalachia, and synthesis of an emergent literature on the benefits and costs of attracting elderly migrants, serve as a backdrop for case studies, based on field observations and interviews, of three contrasting Appalachian communities at different stages of development as retirement destinations. "
Individualism and Momentum Around the World

This paper examines the extent to which cultural differences influence the returns of momentum strategies. We measure cultural differences using an index of individualism developed by Hofstede (2001), which we argue is related to overconfidence and self-attribution bias. Our cross-country evidence indicates that individualism is positively associated with trading volume and volatility, and is strongly related to the magnitude of momentum profits. The evidence also indicates that momentum profits are positively related to the dispersion of analyst forecasts, transaction costs, and the familiarity of a market to foreign investors, and negatively related to firm size and stock volatility. However, the addition of these and other variables does not dampen the relation between individualism and momentum profits. These results are robust to whether or not East Asian countries, which exhibit less momentum, are included in our sample. Finally, consistent with the prediction of behavioral models, momentum profits reverse one year after portfolio formation in most countries, and the magnitude of the reversals tends to be higher in countries with higher individualism.
Inhibition of the malate-aspartate shuttle by pre-ischaemic aminooxyacetate loading of the heart induces cardioprotection.

AIMS Preserved mitochondrial function is essential for protection against ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. The malate-aspartate (MA) shuttle constitutes the principal pathway for transport of reducing cytosolic equivalents for mitochondrial oxidation. We hypothesized that a transient shut-down of the MA-shuttle by aminooxyacetate (AOA) during ischaemia and early reperfusion modulates IR injury by mechanisms comparable to ischaemic preconditioning (IPC). METHODS AND RESULTS Isolated perfused rat hearts exposed to 40 min global no-flow ischaemia were studied in: (i) control, (ii) pre-ischaemic AOA (0.1 mM), (iii) IPC, and (iv) AOA+IPC hearts. IR injury was evaluated by infarct size and haemodynamic recovery. Tracer-estimated glucose oxidation and metabolic changes in glycogen, lactate, pyruvate, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates, and ATP degradation products were measured. The effects of AOA on complex I respiration and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were examined in isolated rabbit mitochondria. Treatment with AOA, IPC, or AOA+IPC induced significant infarct reduction; 28 ± 6, 30 ± 3, and 18 ± 1%, respectively, vs. 52 ± 5% of left ventricular (LV) mass for control (P < 0.01 for all). LV-developed pressure improved to 60 ± 3, 63 ± 5 and 53 ± 4 vs. 31 ± 5 mmHg (P < 0.01 for all) after 2 h reperfusion. Pre-ischaemic AOA administration inhibited glycolysis and increased glucose oxidation during post-ischaemic reperfusion similar to IPC, and suppressed complex I respiration and ROS production in the non-ischaemic heart. Changes in lactate, pyruvate, TCA intermediates, and ATP end products suggested an AOA inhibition of the MA-shuttle during late ischaemia and early reperfusion. CONCLUSION Inhibition of the MA-shuttle during ischaemia and early reperfusion is proposed as a mechanism to reduce IR injury.