Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Econometric Analysis of International Travel

En este articulo se presenta un modelo econometrico completo de las corrientes de viajes internacionales. Se hace especial referencia a la estimacion de la sensibilidad a corto plazo con respecto a los precios de los gastos e ingresos en la cuenta de viajes de varios paises desarrollados. El modelo tambien puede servir para prever con antelacion de uno a dos anos la cuenta de viajes de ciertos paises o para simular los efectos de determinadas modificaciones de la politica de viajes internacionales. En un Apendice se presentan como aplicaciones practicas previsiones para 1972 y estimaciones del efecto de las modificaciones de los tipos de cambio ocurridas en 1970 y 1971. Los resultados del estudio indican claramente que casi todas las corrientes de viajes internacionales reflejan bastante la influencia de los precios relativos. Asi ocurre tanto en lo que se refiere a las corrientes de viajes intra-europeos como a los que se efectuan entre el Canada y los Estados Unidos. Los precios relativos afectan la eleccion entre viajes internos y viajes al extranjero, asi como la seleccion de los paises extranjeros visitados. Las corrientes de viajes entre America del Norte y Europa occidental parecen menos sensibles frente a los tipos de cambio o los precios de los servicios de viaje en moneda nacional en ambas regiones, debido probablemente a la importancia relative de los costos del transporte transatlantico.
Proteomic studies of arbuscular mycorrhizal associations

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are soil-borne microorganisms forming mutualistic associations with the vast majority of land plants, including most agricultural relevant crops. In this association the plant provides the fungus with plant photosynthates allowing it to complete its life cycle, while the fungus provides the plant with mineral nutrients, mainly phosphorus and can also help the plant to tolerate biotic and abiotic stresses. In regard to these benefits there is growing interest on the use of AM fungi to improve productivity and sustainability in agricultural systems. AM fungi and their interactions with plants have been extensively studied using proteomic techniques, but some difficulties have been faced. 1) Little is known about the AM fungal typical protein repertoire because it is currently impossible to grow AM fungi in pure axenic cultures; 2) Plant tissues often contain high amounts of interfering substances that make protein extraction for the study of AM interactions a difficult procedure; 3) Most nutrient exchanges between AM fungi and their host plants involve participation of membrane proteins, still poorly resolved in most separation techniques. Finally, 4) the formation of the arbuscule is an asynchronous process, making it difficult to distinguish which proteins are essential in the early or late stages of AM associations. In this review we present a historical summary of how these difficulties have been overcome by technological advances in proteomics and we discuss current and future trends in the study of the proteins involved in AM interactions.
Hyaluronic Acid Modulates Cell Proliferation Unequally in Intrasynovial and Extrasynovial Rabbit Tendons In Vitro

As tendons differ in biochemical composition and cellular capacities, we have compared dose response effects of hyaluronic acid on cell proliferation and synthesis of matrix components in intermediate and proximal segments of intrasynovial deep flexor tendons and extrasynovial peroneus rabbit tendons in vitro. Compared with matched control tendons, hyaluronic acid inhibited cell proliferation in intermediate and proximal intrasynovial flexor tendon segments at the concentrations of 0.1–2.0 mg/ml and 0.5–2.0 mg/ml respectively, but in extrasynovial tendon segments only at the concentration of 0.5 mg/ml. Hyaluronic acid did not affect synthesis of proteoglycan, collagen and non-collagen protein in either type of tendon. These results show that hyaluronic acid modulates cell proliferation unequally in intra- and extrasynovial tendons without affecting the synthesis of matrix components in the two types of tendons, indicating differential hyaluronic acid sensitivity and a possible mechanism of action.
A Medieval Boat Graffito from Silves, Algarve, Portugal

as amphora and lamp fragments, demonstrate that the structure had an uninterrupted occupation sequence from the 4th century BC to the 10th century AD. The visible stratigraphy suggests that the structure was probably renovated twice following its construction, and that, later, it was rebuilt on top of the original remains. In addition, the existence of a harbour to the south of the structure is suggested by remains detected in the sea and on the shore. A project of archaeological excavation should be conducted on the site in order to date it more precisely, to deduce its function, and to procure secure evidence for the existence of a harbour structure. The risks that threaten the survival of the structure mean a consolidation and conservation project is urgently required.
Recovery Following Hurricane Rita: A Pilot Study of Preexisting and Modifiable Aspects of Positive Change

Facets of personality from the Big 5 model, familial coping mechanisms, and interpersonal support were selected to predict perceived benefits and subjective well-being with 43 participants from varied ages, income levels, and ethnicities who experienced a natural disaster. Results indicate positive changes were predicted by distinct variables (mental healthiness was predicted by high agreeableness, passive appraisal, and reframing, accounting for 43% of the variance, whereas perception of benefits was predicted by high conscientiousness and seeking social support, which accounted for 50% of the variance). Thus, it appears that long-standing, pretraumatic individual and familial differences predict these posttraumatic outcomes.
Reversibility of Protein Binding of Penicillins: an In Vitro Study Employing a Rapid Diafiltration Process

The reversibility of human serum protein binding of oxacillin, nafcillin, and cephalothin was investigated by using a diafiltration technique. While the temperature, pH, and protein concentration were kept constant, 20% of the serum volume was exchanged every 4 to 5 min. The binding of all three drugs was rapidly reversible, and the percentage of protein binding remained the same throughout the experiment.
Normal ranges for packed cell volume and hemoglobin concentration in adults: relevance to “apparent polycythemia”

Abstract: Published data from Europe and North America indicate that for non‐iron‐deficient adult Caucasian males, the normal mean packed cell volume (PCV) is 0.46 and the 2.5–97.5 percentile interval is04.0–0.53. Corresponding values for adult Caucasian females are: mean PCV 0.42; 2.5–97.5 percentile interval 0.36–0.48. It is not usually appropriate to undertake studies of polycythemia in adult Caucasian males with PCV<0.55 (Hb Conc.<180 g/L) or in adult Caucasian females with PCV<0.50 (Hb Conc. <16.5 g/L). Application of this principle will reduce the number of inappropriate and costly studies that would otherwise be performed in patients whose PCV values are only in the upper percentiles of the normal range, and will help to avoid misdiagnoses and therapeutic misadventures.
Unsupervised 3D Prostate Segmentation Based on Diffusion-Weighted Imaging MRI Using Active Contour Models with a Shape Prior

Accurate estimation of the prostate location and volume from in vivo images plays a crucial role in various clinical applications. Recently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is proposed as a promising modality to detect and monitor prostate-related diseases. In this paper, we propose an unsupervised algorithm to segment prostate with 3D apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) images derived from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) MRI without the need of a training dataset, whereas previous methods for this purpose require training datasets. We first apply a coarse segmentation to extract the shape information. Then, the shape prior is incorporated into the active contour model. Finally, morphological operations are applied to refine the segmentation results. We apply our method to an MR dataset obtained from three patients and provide segmentation results obtained by our method and an expert. Our experimental results show that the performance of the proposed method is quite successful.
The analgesic efficacy of tenoxicam versus placebo in day case laparoscopy: a randomised parallel double‐blind trial

The analgesic efficacy and duration of action of tenoxicam, an injectable non‐steroidal analgesic with a long elimination half‐life, were studied in day case laparoscopy in a double‐blind randomised prospective parallel placebo‐controlled trial. Tenoxicam 20 mg or saline was given intravenously at induction of anaesthesia in 67 women undergoing day case investigative laparoscopy for infertility or abdominal pain. Outcome measures were time to first analgesia, pain levels at 2, 4 and 24 h plus postoperative analgesic consumption in hospital and at home. The study showed no statistically significant difference in any of these measures between the two groups. Tenoxicam 20mg intravenously immediately pre‐operatively cannot be recommended for day case surgery on the basis of this study.
Weight status and depression: Moderating role of fat talk between female friends

This study examined whether engagement in fat talk would moderate the association between weight status (body mass index) and depression between female friends. Individuals’ body mass index was significantly related to their own (actor effect) and friend’s (partner effect) depression. For low-fat-talk friends, higher actor’s body mass index was associated with higher actor’s depression, but not for high-fat-talk friends. For high-fat-talk friends, higher actor’s body mass index was associated with higher partner’s depression, but not for low-fat-talk friends. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
A Trispecific Anti-HIV Chimeric Antigen Receptor Containing the CCR5 N-Terminal Region

Anti-HIV chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) promote direct killing of infected cells, thus offering a therapeutic approach aimed at durable suppression of infection emerging from viral reservoirs. CD4-based CARs represent a favored option, since they target the essential conserved primary receptor binding site on the HIV envelope glycoprotein (Env). We have previously shown that adding a second Env-binding moiety, such as the carbohydrate recognition domain of human mannose-binding lectin (MBL) that recognizes the highly conserved oligomannose patch on gp120, increases CAR potency in an in vitro HIV suppression assay; moreover it reduces the undesired capacity for the CD4 of the CAR molecule to act as an entry receptor, thereby rendering CAR-expressing CD8+ T cells susceptible to infection. Here, we further improve the bispecific CD4-MBL CAR by adding a third targeting moiety against a distinct conserved Env determinant, i.e. a polypeptide sequence derived from the N-terminus of the HIV coreceptor CCR5. The trispecific CD4-MBL-R5Nt CAR displays enhanced in vitro anti-HIV potency compared to the CD4-MBL CAR, as well as undetectable HIV entry receptor activity. The high anti-HIV potency of the CD4-MBL-R5Nt CAR, coupled with its all-human composition and absence of immunogenic variable regions associated with antibody-based CARs, offer promise for the trispecific construct in therapeutic approaches seeking durable drug-free HIV remission.
A preliminary guideline for the assignment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to a Canadian pulsed-field gel electrophoresis epidemic type using spa typing.

BACKGROUND Increasing rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections on a global scale is a major health concern. In Canada, there are 10 known epidemic types of MRSA as determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Despite the excellent discriminatory power of PFGE, there are several disadvantages of using this technique, such as high degree of labour intensity and the inability to easily develop an MRSA typing database due to the subjective interpretation of results. OBJECTIVES The purpose of the present study was to determine whether spa typing, an established DNA sequence-based typing method, could be used as an alternative to PFGE for the typing of Canadian MRSA (CMRSA) epidemic isolates. RESULTS spa types were determined for 1488 CMRSA isolates, and the method was analyzed for its ability to identify and cluster CMRSA1-10 strains. Minimal spanning tree analysis of 1452 spa types revealed individual clonal clusters for PFGE epidemic types CMRSA1, 2, 7 and 8, but spa typing could not distinguish CMRSA5 from CMRSA9 and CMRSA10, and CMRSA3 from CMRSA4 and CMRSA6. However, specific spa types were generally associated with only one PFGE epidemic type. Based on these results, a spa typing guideline for CMRSA isolates was developed and tested using the first 300 MRSA isolates received in 2007 through the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program. CONCLUSIONS The high concordance of spa types with PFGE epidemic types using this guideline demonstrated the feasibility of spa typing as a more rapid and less technically demanding alternative typing method for MRSA in Canada.
An Image Retrieving Scheme Using Salient Features and Annotation Watermarking

Existing image search systems allow users to search images by keywords, or by example images through content-based image retrieval (CBIR). On the other hand, users might learn more relevant textual information about an image from its text captions or surrounding contexts within documents or Web pages. Without such contexts, it’s difficult to extract semantic description directly from the image content. In this paper, we propose an annotation watermarking system for users to embed text descriptions, and retrieve more relevant textual information from similar images. First, tags associated with an image are converted by two-dimensional code and embedded into the image by discrete wavelet transform (DWT). Next, for images without annotations, similar images can be obtained by CBIR techniques and embedded annotations can be extracted. Specifically, we use global features such as color ratios and dominant sub-image colors for preliminary filtering. Then, local features such as Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) descriptors are extracted for similarity matching. This design can achieve good effectiveness with reasonable processing time in practical systems. Our experimental results showed good accuracy in retrieving similar images and extracting relevant tags from similar images.
Research on the knowledge transfer in construction projects

The construction industry is generally viewed as a project-based industry, in which knowledge is scattered in different construction projects and participants. Since the complex nature of construction projects brings serious challenge, knowledge will seldom be shared or reused if it could not be transferred effectively and acquired correctly. Knowledge loss in a construction project's lifecycle and among different projects is discussed in this paper. Obstacles of knowledge transfer in construction projects are identified and the importance of knowledge transfer in the implementation of construction projects is emphasized. Additionally, the mechanism of knowledge transfer is analyzed. Some suggestions for improving efficiency of knowledge transfer in construction projects are presented also.
Color Vision Losses in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by impairments in social/communication abilities and restricted behaviors. The present study aims to examine color vision discrimination in ASD children and adolescents without intellectual disability. The participants were also subdivided in order to compare color vision thresholds of autistic participants and those who achieved diagnostic criteria for Asperger Syndrome (AS). Nine subjects with autism, 11 participants with AS and 36 typically developing children and adolescents participated in the study. Color vision was assessed by the Cambridge Color Test (CCT). The Trivector protocol was administered to determine color discrimination thresholds along the protan, deutan, and tritan color confusion lines. Data from ASD participants were compared to tolerance limits for 90% of the population with 90% probability obtained from controls thresholds. Of the 20 ASD individuals examined, 6 (30%) showed color vision losses. Elevated color discrimination thresholds were found in 3/9 participants with autism and in 3/11 AS participants. Diffuse and tritan deficits were found. Mechanisms for chromatic losses may be either at the retinal level and/or reflect reduced cortical integration.
Effects of financing smoking cessation outpatient services in Taiwan

Objective: This study assesses the effects of a 2005 increase in funding for smoking cessation services on provider participation, patient utilisation of smoking cessation services and cessation outcome at a six-month follow-up. Methods: Analyses are based on existing databases and on a follow-up study among smokers participating in the smoking cessation service. The effect of the policy is evaluated by comparing year 2004 (old policy) with year 2005 (new policy). The generalised estimating equations (GEE) method was conducted to examine the effects of increasing funding for smoking cessation services on monthly smoking cessation services provided per physician and yearly consultations received per patient. Logistic regression was used to examine the effects of increasing funding on smoking cessation outcome. Results: The study found the increased reimbursement rates and medication subsidies for smoking cessation to be positively related to the number of physicians enrolling in the programme (1841 in 2004 vs 3466 in 2005), the number of cessation consultations per month per physician (5.1 vs 14.6) and the number of cessation visits per year per patient (2.0 vs 2.5). Male providers and providers belonging to the private sector were found to offer more cessation consultations. The number of subjects receiving this counselling increased from 22 167 in 2004 to 109 508 in 2005. After adjusting for consumer and provider factors the likelihood of successful quitting among those counselled did not change. Overall, smokers who were older, had attempted to quit in the past year, had lower nicotine dependence, had gone to more smoking cessation service visits, had received consultations in the public sector and were seen by physicians delivering fewer consultations were more likely to have quit smoking at the six-month follow-up. Conclusions: Based on increases in physician enrolment and consultations and the increase in number of subjects receiving counselling and number of visits, the policy of increasing provider incentives and medication subsidies appears to have successfully promoted smoking cessation services.
Renal denervation attenuates aldosterone expression and associated cardiovascular pathophysiology in angiotensin II-induced hypertension

The sympathetic nervous system interacts with the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) contributing to cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we sought to determine if renal denervation (RDN) inhibits aldosterone expression and associated cardiovascular pathophysiological changes in angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced hypertension. Bilateral RDN or SHAM operation was performed before chronic 14-day Ang II subcutaneous infusion (200ng/kg/min) in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Bilateral RDN blunted Ang II-induced hypertension and ameliorated the mesenteric vascular dysfunction. Cardiovascular hypertrophy in response to Ang II was significantly attenuated by RDN as shown by histopathology and transthoracic echocardiography. Moreover, Ang II-induced vascular and myocardial inflammation and fibrosis were suppressed by RDN with concurrent decrease in fibronectin and collagen deposition, macrophage infiltration, and MCP-1 expression. Interestingly, RDN also inhibited Ang II-induced aldosterone expression in the plasma, kidney and heart. This was associated with the reduction of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the adrenal gland. Ang II promoted aldosterone secretion which was partly attenuated by CGRP in the adrenocortical cell line, suggesting a protective role of CGRP in this model. Activation of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smad and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) signaling pathway was both inhibited by RDN especially in the heart. These results suggest that the regulation of the renal sympathetic nerve in Ang II-induced hypertension and associated cardiovascular pathophysiological changes is likely mediated by aldosterone, with CGRP involvement.
Classical Swine Fever Virus Npro Interacts with Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 and Induces Its Proteasomal Degradation

ABSTRACT Viruses have evolved a multitude of strategies to subvert the innate immune system by interfering with components of the alpha/beta interferon (IFN-α/β) induction and signaling pathway. It is well established that the pestiviruses prevent IFN-α/β induction in their primary target cells, such as epitheloidal and endothelial cells, macrophages, and conventional dendritic cells, a phenotype mediated by the viral protein Npro. Central players in the IFN-α/β induction cascade are interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) and IRF7. Recently, it was proposed that classical swine fever virus (CSFV), the porcine pestivirus, induced the loss of IRF3 by inhibiting the transcription of IRF3 mRNA. In the present study, we show that endogenous IRF3 and IRF3 expressed from a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter are depleted in the presence of CSFV by means of Npro, while CSFV does not inhibit CMV promoter-driven protein expression. We also demonstrate that CSFV does not reduce the transcriptional activity of the IRF3 promoter and does not affect the stability of IRF3 mRNA. In fact, CSFV Npro induces proteasomal degradation of IRF3, as demonstrated by proteasome inhibition studies. Furthermore, Npro coprecipitates with IRF3, suggesting that the proteasomal degradation of IRF3 is induced by a direct or indirect interaction with Npro. Finally, we show that Npro does not downregulate IRF7 expression.
Tilting Together: An Information-Theoretic Characterization of Behavioral Roles in Rhythmic Dyadic Interaction

Every joint collaborative physical activity performed by a group of people, e.g., carrying a table, typically leads to the emergence of spatiotemporal coordination of individual motor behavior. Such interpersonal coordination can arise solely based on the observation of the partners' and/or the object's movements, without the presence of verbal communication. In this paper, we investigate how the social coupling between two individuals in a collaborative task translates into measured objective and subjective performance indicators recorded in two different studies. We analyse the trends in the dyadic interrelationship based on the information-theoretic measure of transfer entropy and identify emerging leader-follower roles. In our experimental paradigm, the actions of the pair of subjects are continuously and seamlessly fused, resulting in a joint control of an object simulated on a tablet computer. Subjects need to synchronize their movements with a 90° phase difference in order to keep the object (a ball) rotating precisely on a predefined circular or elliptic trajectory on a tablet device. Results demonstrate how the identification of causal dependencies in this social interaction task could reveal specific trends in human behavior and provide insights into the emergence of social sensorimotor contingencies.