Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do Discrete Choice Approaches to Valuing Urban Amenities Yield Different Results than Hedonic Models?

Amenities that vary across cities are typically valued using either a hedonic model, in which amenities are capitalized into wages and housing prices, or a discrete model of household location choice. In this paper, we use the 2000 Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) to value climate amenities using both methods. We compare estimates of marginal willingness to pay (MWTP), allowing preferences for climate amenities to vary by location. We find that mean MWTP for warmer winters is about twice as large using the discrete choice approach as with the hedonic approach; mean MWTP for cooler summers is approximately the same. The two approaches differ, however, in their estimates of taste sorting. The discrete choice model implies that households with the highest MWTP for warmer winters locate in cities with the mildest winters, while the hedonic model does not. Differences in estimates are due to primarily to two factors: (1) the discrete choice model incorporates the psychological costs of moving from one’s birthplace, which the hedonic models do not; (2) the discrete choice model uses information on market shares (i.e., population) in estimating parameters, which the hedonic model does not.
The PK/PD Interactions of Doxycycline against Mycoplasma gallisepticum

Mycoplasma gallisepticum is one of the most important pathogens that cause chronic respiratory disease in chicken. This study investigated the antibacterial activity of doxycycline against M. gallisepticum strain S6. In static time–killing studies with constant antibiotic concentrations [0–64 minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)], M. gallisepticum colonies were quantified and kill rates were calculated to estimate the drug effect. The half-life of doxycycline in chicken was 6.51 ± 0.63 h. An in vitro dynamic model (the drug concentrations are fluctuant) was also established and two half-lives of 6.51 and 12 h were simulated. The samples were collected for drug concentration determination and viable counting of M. gallisepticum. In static time–killing studies, doxycycline produced a maximum antimycoplasmal effect of 5.62log10 (CFU/mL) reduction and the maximum kill rate was 0.11 h−1. In the in vitro dynamic model, doxycycline had a mycoplasmacidal activity in the two regimens, and the maximum antimycoplasmal effects were 4.1 and 4.75log10 (CFU/mL) reduction, respectively. Furthermore, the cumulative percentage of time over a 48-h period that the drug concentration exceeds the MIC (%T > MIC) was the pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic index that best correlated with antimicrobial efficacy (R2 = 0.986, compared with 0.897 for the peak level divided by the MIC and 0.953 for the area under the concentration–time curve over 48 h divided by the MIC). The estimated %T > MIC values for 0log10 (CFU/mL) reduction, 2log10 (CFU/mL) reduction and 3log10 (CFU/mL) reduction were 32.48, 45.68, and 54.36%, respectively, during 48 h treatment period of doxycycline. In conclusion, doxycycline shows excellent effectiveness and time-dependent characteristics against M. gallisepticum strain S6 in vitro. Additionally, these results will guide optimal dosing strategies of doxycycline in M. gallisepticum infection.
Do Families Attitudes and Behaviors Support Sustainable Water Consumption

For increasing the quality of life and sustainable improvement, the importance of reaching for drinkable, usable and clean water sources in the 21st century has increased and started to become a significant potential problem to be solved in the World. With today's busy lifestyles, people are often unaware of the amount of water they consume. With the acceleration of modern life, individuals often choose the solution that best suits their time and convenience, rather than optimizing for efficiency and environmental outcomes, since they do not find water-related activities important. Water, which is naturally regarded as an inexhaustible source, is gradually decreasing over time and disappearing day by day. Therefore this research has been planned to determine individuals’ water consumption behavior at homes regarding the effective and efficient use of water sources. The sample comprised 654 individuals who resided in Safranbolu, Turkey. Data were collected through a demographic information form, Attitudes Toward Water Use (AtWC), Water Saving Behavior at the Home (WSBQ) and Sustainable Consumption Behavior Scale (SCBs). To determine the factors affecting water saving behavior at the home, correlation and hierarchical regression analyses were employed. Pearson correlation analyses revealed significant positive relationship between sustainable consumption behavior (SCBs) and saving behavior at the home (WSBQ) (r=.43; p<0.01), attitudes toward water use (AtWC) and saving behavior at the home (WSBQ) (r=.24; p<0.01). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis displayed that water saving behavior at home is influences by sustainable consumption behavior and attitudes toward water conservation. The theoretical implication of this study helps to understand the basic concepts of water saving behavior. Keywords: Households, attitudes toward water use, water saving behavior, sustainable consumption behavior
Birth order and post-traumatic stress disorder

Objective: To compare the birth order of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adjustment disorder (AD) with population norms. Method: 83 PTSD patients and 104 AD control patients from a psychiatric trauma clinic were diagnosed according to DCR-10 guidelines. A family history was taken as to number of siblings, and their birth order. We compared the distribution of birth order for each patient group against birth order distributions expected by chance for the same years of birth using UK population-level birth order from the Office for National Statistics. Results: Psychiatric patients with PTSD were more likely to be from a large family, specifically to be the fifth child or later (OR 4.78, p < .001) and less likely to be the eldest child (OR .65, p < .001) than the general population in England and Wales. There were no differences for birth order between AD patients and the general population. Conclusion: People with PTSD are more likely to be the youngest children from large families than expected from a random sample of people born in the same years. This association with birth order was not found for another psychiatric diagnosis AD from the same clinic. We discuss possible psychosocial and biological causes, and implications for further research.
mGluR1 in cerebellar Purkinje cells is required for normal association of temporally contiguous stimuli in classical conditioning

In metabotropic glutamate receptor‐subtype 1 (mGluR1)‐null (mGluR1–/–) mice, cerebellar long‐term depression (LTD) and several forms of memory are impaired. However, because mGluR1 is expressed in various brain regions in wild‐type mice, it has been difficult to identify which type of memory depends on mGluR1 expressed in a given brain region. Furthermore, severe ataxia in mGluR1–/– mice complicated interpretation of the data from non‐cerebellum‐dependent tasks. We have generated mGluR1‐rescue mice, which express mGluR1 only in Purkinje cells (PCs) of their cerebellum, by introducing the mGluR1α transgene into mGluR1–/– mice under the control of a PC‐specific promoter. The mGluR1‐rescue mouse has normal LTD and displays no apparent ataxia. Therefore, this mouse is the first animal model in which effects of mGluR1 deficiency outside PCs can be studied without cerebellar dysfunction. We used three eyeblink conditioning paradigms with different temporal specificities between conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US). Delay conditioning, in which CS and US coterminate, was impaired in mGluR1–/– mice but normal in mGluR1‐rescue mice. However, both strains of mice displayed severe impairment in trace conditionings, in which a stimulus‐free interval of 250 or 500 ms intervened between CS and US. We also examined social transmission of food‐preference and novel‐object‐recognition memory tests. In these tasks, mGluR1‐rescue mice showed normal short‐term but impaired long‐term memory. We conclude that mGluR1 in PCs is indispensable for normal learning of association of temporally contiguous stimuli in associative conditioning. In contrast, mGluR1 in other cell types is required for associating discontiguous stimuli and long‐term memory formation in nonspatial hippocampus‐dependent learning.
A review of the psychometric properties of the CRAFFT instrument: 1999-2010.

INTRODUCTION Alcohol (AUD) and other substance use disorders (SUD) are common among adolescents. The CRAFFT (Car, Relax, Alone, Forget, Friends, Trouble, 1999) was developed as a brief screening instrument for adolescents to measure AUD and SUD. This systematic review examines the psychometric properties of the CRAFFT. METHODS We performed a systematic review using Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews, Pubmed/Medline, Embase (1980 to present), PsycInfo, and Google Scholar using the keywords "CRAFFT", "CRAFFT questionnaire", "alcohol misuse", "alcohol abuse", "alcohol dependence" "alcohol", "substance misuse", and "substance abuse" and "substance dependence". RESULTS We report 11 studies on validity and six studies on reliability. Populations examined were clinic patients including hospital-based clinic patients, primary care patients, emergency room patients, Native-Americans, sexually transmitted diseases clinic patients, substance users, a general population group, and enlisting military concripts. In general, the CRAFFT was found to be a good screening instrument for gradations of alcohol and substance misuse including problem use, abuse, and dependence. At optimal cut-points, sensitivities of the CRAFFT ranged from 0.61 to 1.00, and specificities ranged from 0.33 to 0.97. The CRAFFT showed modest to adequate internal consistency values ranging from 0.65 to 0.86, and high test-retest reliability. CONCLUSION The CRAFFT has adequate psychometric properties for detecting AUD and SUD in adolescents. However, more studies of the psychometric properties of the CRAFFT need to be carried out to further assess and improve generalizability to other populations. Gender and ethnic differences also require further examination, as do versions that are adapted for different languages and cultures.
Potential Survival Benefit of Polymyxin B Hemoperfusion in Septic Shock Patients on Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy: A Propensity-Matched Analysis

Background/Aims: We assessed the survival benefit of polymyxin B hemoperfusion (PMX) in septic shock patients starting continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), who are known to have an increased rate of mortality. Methods: Adult patients in the Japanese diagnosis procedure combination database satisfying the following criteria were enrolled: hospitalized in 2007-2012; diagnosed as having sepsis; required noradrenaline and/or dopamine; and started CRRT in intensive care unit. Propensity scores for receiving PMX were created from patient and hospital characteristics. Results: Of 3,759 eligible patients, 1,068 received PMX. Propensity-score matching produced a matched cohort of 978 pairs. The 28-day mortality was 40.2% (393/978) in the PMX group and 46.8% (458/978) in the control group (p = 0.003). Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association between the use of PMX and decreased 28-day mortality (adjusted OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.62-0.91). Conclusion: This large retrospective study suggests that septic shock patients starting CRRT may benefit from PMX.
Beyond Altruism and Self-interest: The Growing Importance of External Factors in the Determination of Remittances Flowing to Latin America

ABSTRACT Remittances have become an important and reliable source of funds for many developing countries, affecting the well-being of its population and the performance of their economies. However, challenging conditions in the economies were migrant workers reside has unveiled the increasing importance of external factors in determining their ability to send money back home. This study relies on migration patterns to create migration and distance-weighted measures of external condition, and uses the Arellano and Bond dynamic panel methodology to gauge the relevance of these external macroeconomic conditions during the 1995–2015 period for a set of 18 Latin American countries. The results indicate that external conditions, irrespective of the way in which they are measured, have a positive and statistically significant effect on the amount of remittances flowing into the region, and that such effect go beyond differences in levels, as relative differences prove to be important as well. While the results also show that remittances are inversely related to the income level of receiving countries and that these flows respond positively to better economic performance and higher interest rates in the receiving country, such altruistic and self-interest factors are less consistent than the one found for foreign economic activity.
Overview of clinical trials using 5‐fluorouracil and leucovorin for the treatment of colorectal cancer

Results from five completed and two ongoing Phase III trials comparing 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) with 5‐FU and leucovorin (LV) for the treatment of advanced, previously untreated colorectal carcinoma are reviewed. In five of these studies, 5‐FU/LV was shown to provide a significantly higher response rate than 5‐FU alone. Partial response rates resulting from the combination ranged from 16% to 45%, while those obtained with 5‐FU alone were 5% to 18%. Complete responses with either treatment occurred in 0% to 8% of the patients treated. In two of the studies, 5‐FU treatment prolonged median survival by 3 and 6 months. The planned dose intensities (DI) for single‐agent 5‐FU ranged from 463 to 760 mg/m2/week, and the actual delivered DI, established in two of the trials, were 531 and 533 mg/m2/week. The planned 5‐FU DI for the 5‐FU/LV combination ranged from 463 to 600 mg/m2/week compared with the delivered DI of 461 and 463 mg/m2/week. When used with LV, 5‐FU cannot be administered at the single‐agent maximum tolerated dose because of unacceptable toxicity. Nevertheless, lower doses of 5‐FU, when combined with LV, had higher response rates than 5‐FU alone. Significant toxicity occurred with 5‐FU and with the combination. The addition of LV to 5‐FU changed the type of toxicity that resulted; that toxicity varied with the schedule followed. The real, but modest improvement that resulted from the combination of 5‐FU with the metabolic modulator LV offers the possibility that the administration of 5‐FU/LV in the adjuvant setting will prolong survival and increase the percentage of patients cured of their disease. Furthermore, other compounds that modulate the effects of 5‐FU may be capable of providing additional therapeutic benefits.
Comparison of PCR and pp65 antigenemia assay with quantitative shell vial culture for detection of cytomegalovirus in blood leukocytes from solid-organ transplant recipients

This study compared PCR and an assay for cytomegalovirus (CMV) pp65 antigenemia (CMV-vue; INCSTAR Corp.) with a quantitative shell vial culture (QSVC) technique for the detection of CMV in serial blood specimens from 46 solid-organ transplant recipients. In a comparison based on 535 specimens tested by PCR and QSVC, CMV was detected by PCR in 41 and by QSVC in 37 of 43 recipients at risk of CMV infection. The mean number of days after transplantation of initial detection of CMV was 29.9 for PCR and 34.0 for QSVC (P = 0.01). The antigenemia assay was performed on 395 specimens, including 304 of those also tested by PCR. In these specimens, CMV was detected by the antigenemia assay, QSVC, and PCR in 30, 32, and 35 (respectively) of 38 patients at risk, with no statistically significant difference in the time to detection. Each of the assays detected CMV in similar proportions of patients with and without clinically significant CMV infection. PCR stayed positive longer after transplantation than the other assays but frequently returned to negative when more than 6 months had elapsed after transplantation. The antigenemia assay and PCR stayed positive longer after institution of antiviral therapy than QSVC. PCR can provide highly sensitive detection of CMV viremia, but a PCR assay for CMV is not yet available in kit form. The pp65 antigenemia assay and shell vial culture are quantifiable and comparable in sensitivity. Either is recommended for rapid detection of CMV in blood specimens from solid-organ transplant recipients.
Stability of added iodine in processed cereal foods

The stability of iodine from iodized salt was measured in white bread, grain bread, sweet biscuits and the breakfast cereals, Weetbix® (a flaked, pressed, wheat product), Ricies® (a puffed rice product) and toasted muesli, as part of the New Zealand Government's initiatives to address the public health issue of low iodine intake by most New Zealanders. Triplicate runs of each product were manufactured by commercial food manufacturers between September 2006 and May 2007 with iodized and non-iodized salt. Triplicate samples were taken at various steps during processing of each food and analysed for moisture and iodine content. Iodine concentration was determined by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry following an alkaline digestion. Iodine, at the equivalent of 25–65 mg of iodine per kg salt, was 100% retained in each of the selected foods from the time of mixing to the final product. These results imply that all iodine added via salt at the time of manufacture is available for consumption but not necessarily bioavailable. These data can be used for modelling the impact of strategies to increase iodine exposure. Salt as an ingredient is not a good predictor of iodine intake due to the inhomogeneity of iodine in iodized salt.
Stent-Grafts in Patients with Marfan Syndrome

Purpose: To explore the safety and feasibility of stent-graft placement in the dissected descending thoracic aorta of patients with Marfan syndrome. Methods: Six consecutive patients (4 men; mean age 33±15 years, range 24–61) with Marfan syndrome were offered endovascular repair for dissection after previous aortic root repair in 5 and solitary type B dissection in 1. Results: Transluminal placement of customized Talent stent-grafts was technically successful in all patients, with no 30-day or 1-year intervention-related mortality. Complete abolition of the dissection and reconstruction of the entire dissected aorta was documented in 2 patients. Over a mean 51±22-month follow-up (range 12–74), elective conversion to surgical repair was necessary in 2 patients at 22 and 43 months after stent-graft implantation. In a third patient, conversion to surgery is being considered at 74 months after stent-grafting. One patient died suddenly 12 months after endovascular repair. Conclusions: Nonsurgical reconstruction of postsurgical distal aortic dissection in patients with Marfan syndrome is feasible and technically successful. Stent-graft placement may either avoid or bridge to repeat surgery of distal aortic dissections after previous aortic root repair. Technical expertise and close postinterventional surveillance appear mandatory and may limit the procedure to centers of competence for aortic diseases.
Covering Corruption: Frames of Broadsheets on the Philippine Government’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) Scandal

This study is a content analysis of the three Philippine broadsheets (The Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippine Star and The Manila Bulletin) from August 3 to October 30, 2013 on how much prominence the broadsheets allot coverage to a corruption case known as the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in the Philippines. The research considered the news presentation, journalistic standards, treatment, frequency of appearances and placement on the newspapers. The study also determined the relationship between these attributes via correlation. The researchers concluded that there is a regular pattern of reportage of the PDAF issue in the broadsheets. However, the observed relationships between the variables revealed some form of disparity between each of them.
Developmental potential of in vitro or in vivo matured oocytes

Summary This study compared the embryological features of mature and immature oocytes (different stages) collected from stimulated cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Immature oocytes were identified, classified as PI (prophase I – germinal vesicle, GV) or MI (metaphase I), were matured in vitro and fertilized using the intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique. Fertilization potential, cleavage, and subsequent transfer/cryopreservation of the embryos derived from these in vitro matured oocytes were compared with those of in vivo matured oocytes (collected at the MII stage). The characteristics of embryos derived from gametes recovered in the MI and MII stages were similar. The fertilization rate of immature oocytes recovered in PI was significantly lower than that of MII oocytes (P = 0.031), and the cleavage rate of the PI group was also lower than that of the MI (P = 0.004) and MII (P < 0.001) groups. In vitro maturation of MI oocytes is a suitable alternative when immature oocytes are recovered, as their characteristics and development are similar to those of in vivo matured oocytes. Optimization of outcomes for PI oocytes will require development of techniques that can distinguish which of these gametes will mature and fertilize.
CD4+ T‐cell depletion in HIV infection: mechanisms of immunological failure

The hallmark of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pathogenesis is a progressive depletion of CD4+ T‐cell populations in close association with progressive impairment of cellular immunity and increasing susceptibility to opportunistic infections (OI). Disease progression in untreated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection can take many years, and it was originally hypothesized to be a consequence of slow, viral‐mediated CD4+ T‐cell destruction. However, massive CD4+ memory T‐cell destruction is now known to occur quite early in infection, almost always without overt immunodeficiency. In most individuals, this initial destruction is countered by CD4+ memory T‐cell regeneration that preserves CD4+ T‐cell numbers and functions above the threshold associated with overt immunodeficiency. This regeneration, which occurs in the setting of chronic immune activation and immune dysregulation does not, however, restore all functionally important CD4+ T‐cell populations and is not stable over the long term. Ultimately, CD4+ memory T‐cell homeostasis fails and critical effector populations decline below the level necessary to prevent OI. Thus, the onset of overt immune deficiency appears to be intimately linked with CD4+ memory T‐cell dynamics and reflects the complex interplay of direct viral cytopathogenicity and the indirect effects of persistent immune activation on CD4+ memory T‐cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival.