Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ESG-Persistence in Socially Responsible Mutual Funds

This paper analyzes the persistence of environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-scores in socially responsible (SR) mutual funds. ESG-scores can be used as a measure for the level of social responsibility of an SR mutual fund. It is shown that ESG-scores persist for approximately two years. However, the persistence of the ESG-scores is terminated after approximately three years. This implies that value-driven investors of SR mutual funds who seek high-ESG investments cannot rely upon a long-term continuation of high ESG-scores and thus need to rebalance their portfolio from time to time. The lack of long-term persistence in the ESG-scores is caused by changes in the holdings of the SR mutual funds.
Pyogenic infections of the sacro-iliac joint.

In 3 cases of pyogenic infection of the sacro-iliac joint, the diagnosis was difficult. Limp, buttock pain and upper sciatica were the most common presenting symptoms. Differential limitation of hip motion, positive straight leg raising, a positive Gaenslen test and pain on pelvic compression were frequent fingings. Increased E.S. R. , W.B.C. count and fever were seen in 2/3 cases. Plain and tomographic X-rays are often helpful but bone scan has been helpful in localizing early lesions. Treatment after early diagnosis may consist of antibiotics and immobilization alone while in the more chronic cases surgical drainage and debridement may be necessary.
IL-4 Downregulates IL-1β and IL-6 and Induces GATA3 in Psoriatic Epidermal Cells: Route of Action of a Th2 Cytokine

Clinical improvement of psoriasis induced by IL-4 treatment has been ascribed to changes in dermal inflammatory cells, such as activation of Th2 cells and tolerization of dendritic cells by suppressing IL-23 production. The pathologic epidermal alterations in psoriatic lesional skin include increased epidermal expression of IL-1β, IL-6, S100A7, and human β-defensin 2 (hBD2) and a downregulated expression of the epidermal transcription factor GATA3. Effects of IL-4 on the epidermal compartment of psoriasis lesions were not previously investigated. Therefore, we investigated whether IL-4 directly affects abovementioned psoriatic markers in the epidermal compartment. We cultured freshly isolated psoriatic epidermal cells, whole psoriatic and healthy skin biopsies, human keratinocytes and Langerhans cells with IL-4. The secretion of IL-1β and IL-6 by psoriatic epidermal cells was inhibited by IL-4 via transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms, respectively. In normal skin, IL-4 inhibited IL-1β- and IL-17A–induced hBD2 expression in vitro. In addition, IL-4 reduced the protein expression of hBD2 in psoriatic skin biopsies and induced phospho-STAT6 protein. Epidermal GATA3 mRNA and protein were significantly upregulated by IL-4 in epidermal cells and keratinocytes. Our data argue that IL-4 improves psoriasis not only via modification/induction of Th2 cells and type II dendritic cells, but also via direct inhibition of inflammatory cytokines in resident IL-4R–expressing epidermal cells and thereby alters the psoriatic skin phenotype toward a healthy skin phenotype.
Poetic talent unmasked by treatment of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is typically characterised by loss of function and previous abilities, often accompanied by complications of treatment in later stages of the disease. We report on a patient who newly developed an artistic skill after starting treatment for Parkinson's disease. This case offers insight into the neurology of the artistic process as well as into the pathophysiology of psychiatric adverse reactions to the treatment of PD. © 2001 Movement Disorder Society.
Investigations Into the Role of Nitric Oxide and the Large Intracranial Arteries in Migraine Headache

Previous studies suggest that nitric oxide (NO) is involved in headaches induced by i.v. infusion of the vasodilator and NO donor glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) in healthy subjects. Extending these studies to sufferers of migraine without aura, it was found that migraineurs experienced a stronger headache than non-migraineurs. In addition, most migraineurs experienced a delayed migraine attack at variable times (mean 5.5 h) after GTN provocation. This biphasic headache response in migraineurs may be linked to hypersensitivity in the NO-cGMP pathway. Thus, compared to controls, migraineurs were found to be more sensitive to GTN-induced intracranial arterial dilatation, which is known to be mediated via liberation of NO and subsequent synthesis of cGMP Furthermore, histamine infusions in migraineurs induced headache responses and intracranial arterial responses resembling those induced by GTN in migraineurs. Histamine is known to liberate NO from the endothelium via stimulation of the H1 receptor, which is present in the large intracranial arteries in man. Because both immediate histamine-induced headache and intracranial arterial dilatation and delayed histamine-induced migraine are blocked by H1-receptor blockade, a likely common pathway for GTN and histamine-induced headaches/migraines and intracranial arterial responses may be via activation of the NO-cGMP pathway. The delay in the development of these experimental migraines may reflect activation of multiple physiological processes. The intracranial arteries of migraineurs were found supersensitive to the vasodilating effect of GTN (exogenous NO). This relates to clinical findings suggesting dilatation of the large intracranial arteries on the headache side during spontaneous migraine attacks. The function of arterial regulatory mechanisms involving NO in migraine was therefore studied. In peripheral arteries, no endothelial dysfunction of NO was found and cardiovascular and intracranial arterial sympathetic function was normal. A mild parasympathetic dysfunction may be involved and may, via denervation supersensitivity, be responsible for the observed supersensitivity to NO. Another possibility is that NO initiates a perivascular neurogenic inflammation with liberation of vasoactive peptides. NO also mediates a variety of other physiological phenomena. One of these, the pain-modulating effect observed in animals, was evaluated in a human study using GTN infusion and measurements of pain thresholds. No definite effects of GTN were demonstrated. The precise mechanisms involved in NO-triggered migraines and which part of the NO-activated cascade that is involved remain to be determined. The possibilities for pharmacological stimulation and/or inhibition of several steps of the NO-activated cascade increase rapidly and soon may be available for human studies.
Pattern of renal vasoconstriction and transmitter release during sympathetic stimulation in presence of angiotensin and cocaine.

A preparation was devised in which the sympathetic vasoconstrictor response in the dog kidney perfused in vivo at constant blood flow could be elicited and measured, and the accompanying release of transmitter into the venous effluent could be quantitated. An i.a. infusion of angiotensin II amide resulted in potentiation of the response to sympathetic stimulation at a low frequency (2 cps) and an increased release of catecholamine elicited during stimulation at a higher frequency (5 cps). The vasoconstrictor response to sympathetic stimulation was increased to a much greater degree than the vasoconstrictor response to i.a. administered norepinephnine (1 µg). Cocaine, when infused i.a. , potentiated the responses to both sympathetic stimulation and norepinephrine, the latter to a somewhat greater degree. Release of catecholamine during stimulation at the higher frequency also was increased after cocaine. The difference in the relative degree of potentiation of the response to endogenously released vs. exogenously administered catecholamine, and the characteristics of the potentiated response at the lower frequency after angiotensin, suggest that this potentiation is accounted for by a mechanism different from blockade of reuptake of the transmitter.
Low blood pressure in extremely preterm infants: does treatment affect outcome?

Do extremely immature preterm infants with blood pressure which is believed to be low have reduced systemic perfusion, reduced cerebral oxygen delivery, increased cerebral injury, an increase in acute complications of prematurity and an increase in long-term disability? If so, below what value of blood pressure do these adverse outcomes increase? These unanswered questions are of vital importance; extremely preterm infants have high rates of developmental delay and disability, blood pressures are often numerically very low and many preterm infants receive treatments which are potentially toxic with the goal of increasing their blood pressure. Unfortunately, it is not at all clear whether the common treatments for low blood pressure improve systemic flow or cerebral perfusion, or among the available options, which treatments are effective? The reason for this poverty of information is the lack of adequate trials. There are no controlled studies of hypotension therapy in the preterm newborn which include an untreated group, so changes in systemic perfusion or indirect measures of cerebral blood flow cannot necessarily be ascribed to the intervention. In addition, the small number of comparative trials that have been performed have all been vastly underpowered, and have concentrated on short-term physiological end points, usually blood pressure.1 One study which compared the effects of dopamine and epinephrine on indices of cerebral perfusion showed an increase of about 20% in cerebral blood volume after 2 h of treatment, in association with about a 50% increase in mean blood pressure, with no difference between the groups2; there was …
Emotion perception after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury: The valence effect and the role of working memory, processing speed, and nonverbal reasoning.

OBJECTIVE Traumatic brain injury (TBI) impairs emotion perception. Perception of negative emotions (sadness, disgust, fear, and anger) is reportedly affected more than positive (happiness and surprise) ones. It has been argued that this reflects a specialized neural network underpinning negative emotions that is vulnerable to brain injury. However, studies typically do not equate for differential difficulty between emotions. We aimed to examine whether emotion recognition deficits in people with TBI were specific to negative emotions, while equating task difficulty, and to determine whether perception deficits might be accounted for by other cognitive processes. METHOD Twenty-seven people with TBI and 28 matched control participants identified 6 basic emotions at 2 levels of intensity (a) the conventional 100% intensity and (b) "equated intensity"-that is, an intensity that yielded comparable accuracy rates across emotions in controls. RESULTS (a) At 100% intensity, the TBI group was impaired in recognizing anger, fear, and disgust but not happiness, surprise, or sadness and performed worse on negative than positive emotions. (b) At equated intensity, the TBI group was poorer than controls overall but not differentially poorer in recognizing negative emotions. Although processing speed and nonverbal reasoning were associated with emotion accuracy, injury severity by itself was a unique predictor. CONCLUSIONS When task difficulty is taken into account, individuals with TBI show impairment in recognizing all facial emotions. There was no evidence for a specific impairment for negative emotions or any particular emotion. Impairment was accounted for by injury severity rather than being a secondary effect of reduced neuropsychological functioning.
SEMISOLID DOSAGE FORM OF PHENYTOIN SODIUM

Phenytoin sodium was formulated in a solid dosage form using different bases; o/w emulsion base, water soluble base, oleagino us base, and vanishin g cream base. Base s were prepared in two different concentrations, 5 % and 10 % w/w . The diffusion of the drug from each of the above bases was investigated. Results indicated that the effect of the type of ointment base on the release rate of phenytoin sod ium is significant. The rate and extent of phenytoin sodium release and diffusion through mouse skin was higher from the water soluble base (10% w/w) compared to other ointment bases, the difference was highly significant (P< 0.05).
NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE INHIBITION IN A SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RAT MODEL OF DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY

1. To investigate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in diabetic nephropathy the effect of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibition by NG‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME) was observed in a streptozotocin diabetic spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) model.
Blood flow and oxygenation of tumors in mice. I. Effects of breathing gases containing carbon dioxide at atmospheric pressure

Inhalation of 5% carbon dioxide (CO2) and 95% oxygen (O2) or 10% CO2 and 90% O2 at one atm pressure increased blood flow of the C3HBA isotransplant and C3H isoimplant in C3H mice compared with animals breathing 100% O2 or air. Oxygen concentration, measured by a platinum microelectrode, was improved in anoxic areas of the tumor when the animals inhaled the gases containing CO2 compared with those breathing 100% O2 or air; the relative increase was less when the electrode was placed in a well‐vascularized area. Rectal temperature, heart and respiration rates were decreased in animals breathing the gases containing CO2 compared with air; rectal temperature was increased by inhalation of 100% O2. The results suggest that inhalation of a gas mixture containing CO2 at atmospheric pressure during radiotherapy or chemotherapy may be of value in treating cancer in humans.
The accuracy of self-reported hearing loss in older Latino-American adults

The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of self-reported hearing loss in older Latino-American adults. Fifty-nine individuals, 32 women (mean age 62.2 years) and 27 men (mean age 62.4 years), participated. The questionnaire addressed hearing loss, hearing aid use, and other people's views of their hearing abilities. Based on the question, ‘Do you feel you have a hearing loss? ’, the prevalence of self-reported hearing loss was 57.6%, with 56.3% of women and 59.3% of men reporting a hearing loss. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were calculated using this question and compared to the pure-tone average (PTA) at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz in the poorer ear. Overall, sensitivity was 75.7%, specificity was 72.7%, and accuracy was 74.6%. Results of this smaller scale study suggest that a single question, used as a screening measure, is both sensitive and specific for hearing loss in older Latino-American adults and may overcome language and cultural barriers. This question can be easily implemented by physicians or other health-care employees to quickly screen for hearing loss.
Application of combined field Integral equation for electromagnetic scattering by dielectric and composite objects

Combined field integral equation (CFIE) is applied for computing electromagnetic scattering by arbitrarily shaped three dimensional dielectric and composite objects. The objectives of this paper are as follows. First, to present a CFIE formulation which can be used in the analysis of piecewise dielectric and composite metallic and dielectric objects with junctions. Second, to show that properly choosing the coupling coefficients of the equations the conditioning of the discretized matrix equation can be essentially improved and rapidly converging iterative solutions can be obtained even without preconditioning.
Efficacy and safety of lung recruitment in pediatric patients with acute lung injury

Objective: To assess the safety and efficacy of a recruitment maneuver, the Open Lung Tool, in pediatric patients with acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Design: Prospective cohort study using a repeated-measures design. Setting: Pediatric intensive care unit at an urban tertiary children's hospital. Patients: Twenty-one ventilated pediatric patients with acute lung injury. Intervention: Recruitment maneuver using incremental positive end-expiratory pressure. Measurements and Main Results: The ratio of partial pressure of arterial oxygen over fraction of inspired oxygen (Pao2/Fio2 ratio) increased 53% immediately after the recruitment maneuver. The median Pao2/Fio2 ratio increased from 111 (interquartile range, 73–266) prerecruitment maneuver to 170 (interquartile range, 102–341) immediately postrecruitment maneuver (p < .01). Improvement in Pao2/Fio2 ratio persisted with an increase of 80% over the baseline at 4 hrs and 40% at 12 hrs after the recruitment maneuver. The median Pao2/Fio2 ratio was 200 (interquartile range, 116–257) 4 hrs postrecruitment maneuver (p < .05) and 156 (interquartile range, 127–236) 12 hrs postrecruitment maneuver (p < .01). Compared with prerecruitment maneuver, the partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide (Paco2) was significantly decreased at 4 hrs postrecruitment maneuver but not immediately after the recruitment maneuver. The median Paco2 was 49 torr (interquartile range, 44–60) prerecruitment maneuver compared with 48 torr (interquartile range, 43–50) immediately postrecruitment maneuver (p = .69), 45 torr (interquartile range, 41–50) at 4 hrs postrecruitment maneuver (p < .01), and 43 torr (interquartile range, 38–51) at 12 hrs postrecruitment maneuver. Recruitment maneuvers were well tolerated except for significant increase in Paco2 in three patients. There were no serious adverse events related to the recruitment maneuver. Conclusions: Using the modified open lung tool recruitment maneuver, pediatric patients with acute lung injury may safely achieve improved oxygenation and ventilation with these benefits potentially lasting up to 12 hrs postrecruitment maneuver.
Expression of the terminal protein of hepatitis B virus is associated with failure to respond to interferon therapy

The terminal protein domain of the hepatitis B viral polymerase can inhibit the cellular response to interferon. To clarify the clinical relevance of this inhibitory effect, we examined the expression of terminal protein in liver biopsy specimens from patients with chronic hepatitis B infection. We found that expression of terminal protein is associated with a failure of hepatocytes to respond to interferon, as assessed by expression of the interferon‐inducible protein β2‐microglobulin. Patients whose liver specimens contained large numbers of cells expressing terminal protein tended not to respond to treatment. During interferon therapy the percentage of cells expressing terminal protein remained constant, but treatment significantly reduced the number of cells that expressed the hepatitis B nucleocapsid protein. Hence expression of terminal protein in a cell may prevent elimination of the virus by interferon therapy. (Hepatology 1993;17:757–762.)
Correlation of serum homocysteine levels and pregnancy outcome: the dilemma continues

Background: Hyperhomocysteinemia has been implicated as a risk factor for complications in pregnancy including abortion, preeclampsia and placental abruption. The present study was designed to study the correlation, if any, of Hyperhomocysteinemia with pregnancy outcome. Methods: Pregnant women between 14 to 24 weeks of gestation were included as subjects. Serum homocysteine levels and MTHFR gene (Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase 677C>T) polymorphism was estimated. The women were followed till delivery and obstetric & neonatal outcomes were noted. Results: A total of 81 women were followed till delivery. Out of these 42 women had an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery and 39 women had at least one antenatal or perinatal complication. Difference between mean serum homocysteine in both the groups was not statistically significant (p=0.403). No significant difference was found in the occurrence of different genotypes in the 2 groups though women with TT genotype were found to have higher serum homocysteine levels as compared to other genotypes. Conclusions: Though the serum homocysteine levels were higher in the women with pregnancy complications as compared to women without complications but the difference was not statistically significant.
Threat and Repression: The Non-Linear Relationship between Government and Opposition Violence

An understanding of the causes of political repression has continually eluded researchers for the past decade. We argue that much of this can be tied to the theoretical specifications of the models employed. We developed a decision-theoretic model that predicts the level of repression used by governments to suppress political opposition. We believe that analysis of repression needs to include the political contexts in which states operate. In particular, we theorize and find that the nature of the threat posed by an opposition group influences the impact of both the domestic and international factors on the government's decision to repress. We argue that the international and domestic costs associated with a given level of government repression are best represented by separate, non-linear functions of the level of demand made by a dissident opposition group. From this model we deduce an equilibrium level of repression for any given demand; we then empirically test these predictions against original data generated from 18 Latin American countries during the years 1977-86. We find that as the nature of the threat posed by an opposition group moves from minor to extreme, the marginal increment of government repression decreases. Analyses of these data support our theoretical propositions, and suggest that both non-linear approaches and the inclusion of opposition group demands provide a useful tool for studying state repression.
Category Effects on Estimates of Stimuli: Perception or Reconstruction?

The present study examined a common category effect that has been reported in the literature: the tendency for estimates of individual stimuli to be biased toward the central value of the presented set of stimuli. Both encoding and reconstruction accounts of this central-tendency effect are considered. Plain vertical lines and vertical lines embedded in the Müller-Lyer illusion were estimated while still in view or from memory. Although bias due to the Müller-Lyer illusion remained constant across the two conditions, bias due to the context set (category) occurred only when stimuli were estimated from memory. The results suggest that the category bias occurs at a later stage of processing than the Müller-Lyer effect and offer support for a reconstruction account of category effects on stimulus estimation.
Loss of preconditioning in rabbits with vascular tolerance to nitroglycerin

A preceding right ventricular overdrive pacing (VOP) of 500 b.p.m. for 5 min, markedly reduced the severity of global myocardial ischaemia produced by a subsequent 5‐min VOP in conscious rabbits. This VOP‐induced preconditioning developed in parallel with an increase in cardiac cyclic guanosine 3′: 5′‐monophosphate (cyclic GMP) content. VOP‐induced preconditioning was abolished when the animals had been made tolerant to the vasodilator effect of nitroglycerin (NG). In the heart of the NG‐tolerant rabbits, neither VOP nor preconditioning increased cyclic GMP content. This suggests that changes by NG tolerance of cyclic GMP metabolism may account for the loss of VOP‐induced preconditioning.