Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants of Export Sophistication

Recent literature indicates the importance of export sophistication for growth. This paper extends the empirical work of Hausmann et al. (2007) to examine the causal eect of foreign direct investment, remoteness from major markets, and institutional quality on export sophistication. Using cross country panel data, the …nding shows that FDI has a positive eect; and the eect is greater for countries with low institutional quality. Similarly, remoteness from major markets has a strong negative eect. With regard to institutional quality, its eect on export sophistication is evident only in manufactured exports. The results are robust to alternative measurement of the dependent variable and econometric estimation methods. The …ndings have important implications for developing countries that strive to enhance their export sophistication.
Investigation of the Association Between Cement Retention and Prevalent Peri-Implant Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study is to examine the association between retention type (cement-retained versus screw-retained restorations) and prevalence of peri-implant diseases in a German university-treated population. METHODS Data were analyzed from individuals that underwent clinical and radiographic peri-implant examinations as part of a university-based cross-sectional study from September 2011 to October 2012. RESULTS Data from 139 individuals (mean age: 57.59 years) having 394 implants were analyzed: 192 implants supporting single crowns and 202 fixed partial dentures. Overall, 11.9% of the participants had peri-implantitis, whereas 68.9% had peri-implant mucositis. Crude odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for peri-implantitis and peri-implant mucositis for cement- versus screw-retained restorations were 1.43 (0.45, 4.60) and 0.89 (0.53, 1.48), respectively. Results remained non-significant in multivariable models adjusting for type of restoration and smoking (all P values >0.50). There was also no effect of splinting restorations on disease prevalence in adjusted analyses (P values >0.32). CONCLUSIONS In this university-treated sample, there is no association between the type of prosthesis retention and peri-implant diseases. Current findings show that, when appropriate selection and removal of cement is performed, cement retention is not a risk indicator for peri-implant diseases.
The Effects of Adenotonsillectomy on Growth in Young Children

A history of poor weight gain can often be elicited in young children with chronic upper airway obstruction resulting from adenotonsillar hypertrophy. A series of 41 consecutive children under 3 years of age, who underwent inpatient adenotonsillectomy, were reviewed for changes in weight and height. Thirty-seven patients had adequate long-term followup. Of these, many had dramatic improvements in growth after adenotonsillectomy. Indications for surgery in this group were recurrent infection in three patients (7%), unilateral tonsillar mass in one patient (3%), and upper airway obstruction in 37 patients (90%). A clear history of sleep apnea was elicited in 59%. At the time of surgery, 19 of 41 patients (46%) were of the fifth percentile or lower for age-corrected weight. The inpatient hospital stay averaged 3.2 days. The postoperative complication rate was 27%, with postoperative stridor as the most common complication. After surgery, 28 children (75%) showed a change to a higher percentile for weight. Twenty-four (65%) had percentile changes of 15% or more. This change is significant according to results of the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (p < 0.001). We conclude that a relationship exists between improved growth rate and adenotonsillectomy in our study group. The rapid improvement in growth appears to be most obvious in children with upper airway obstruction resulting from adenotonsillar hypertrophy. Upper airway obstruction (including andenotonsillar hypertrophy) should be suspected as a possible cause in the workup of children with suboptimum growth.
Axial U(1) symmetry at high temperatures in $N_f=2+1$ lattice QCD with chiral fermions

Sinya Aoki, Yasumichi Aoki, Hidenori Fukaya, Shoji Hashimoto, Issaku Kanamori, Takashi Kaneko, Yoshifumi Nakamura, Christian Rohrhofer, and Kei Suzuki f ,∗(JLQCD Collaboration) Center for Gravitational Physics, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan RIKEN Center for Computational Science, Kobe 650-0047, Japan Department of Physics, Osaka University, Toyonaka 560-0043, Japan KEK Theory Center, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan School of High Energy Accelerator Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Sokendai), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan f Advanced Science Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), Tokai 319-1195, Japan E-mail: k.suzuki. 2010@th.phys.titech.ac. jp
Efficient quantum communication under collective noise

We introduce a new quantum communication protocol for the transmission of quantum information under collective noise. Our protocol utilizes a decoherence-free subspace in such a way that an optimal asymptotic transmission rate is achieved, while at the same time encoding and decoding operations can be efficiently implemented. The encoding and decoding circuit requires a number of elementary gates that scale linearly with the number of transmitted qudits, m. The logical depth of our encoding and decoding operations is constant and depends only on the channel in question. For channels described by an arbitrary discrete group G, i.e. with a discrete number, |G|, of possible noise operators, perfect transmission at a rate m/(m+r) is achieved with an overhead that scales at most as O(dr) where the number of auxiliary qudits, r, depends solely on the group in question. Moreover, this overhead is independent of the number of transmitted qudits, m. For certain groups, e.g. cyclic groups, we find that the overhead scales only linearly with the number of group elements |G|.
Effect of Frying-Meat Emission Particulate On 17β-Estradiol 2- and 4-Hydroxylation in Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Cl5 Cells

The effect of airborne frying-meat emission particulate (FMEP) on metabolism of 17 g -estradiol (E 2 ) to potentially toxic catechol estrogens 2- and 4-hydroxyestradiol (2- and 4-OH-E 2 ) was determined using human lung adenocarcinoma CL5 cells treated with organic extracts of beef FMEP. E 2 was incubated with microsomes prepared from untreated CL5 cells or cells treated with 200 w g/ml FMEP extract for 6 h. E 2 metabolites formed were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results revealed that treatment with FMEP produced three-and twofold increases of 2- and 4-hydroxylation of E 2 , respectively. Monooxygenase activity and immunoblot analyses showed that FMEP markedly induced microsomal 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity and cytochrome P-450 (CYP) IAI and CYPIBI protein levels. Similar increases in E 2 hydroxylation, EROD activity, and CYP protein levels were observed with HepG2 human hepatoma and MCF-7 human breast cancer cells treated with FMEP or 1 w M dibenz[a,h]anthracene. Cotreatment of CL5 cells with FMEP extract and 2 w M f -naphthoflavone, an arylhydrocarbon receptor antagonist, blocked the inductive effects of FMEP on E 2 hydroxylation and EROD activity. Additions of 0.01, 0.1, or 1 w M f -naphthoflavone, a CYP inhibitor, to microsomes produced concentration-dependent decreases in E 2 2-hydroxylation and EROD activity of CL5 cells induced by dibenz[a,h]anthracene. The present finding demonstrates that FMEP can increase formation of 2-OH-E 2 and 4-OH-E 2 by human lung cells, and induction of CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 is a potential mechanism underlying increased E 2 metabolism. The toxicological significance of FMEP and estrogen interaction warrants further investigation.
The extracellular matrix and diffusion barriers in focal cortical dysplasias

Focal cortical dysplasias (FCDs) of the brain are recognized as a frequent cause of intractable epilepsy. To contribute to the current understanding of the mechanisms of epileptogenesis in FCD, our study provides evidence that not only cellular alterations and synaptic transmission, but also changed diffusion properties of the extracellular space (ECS), induced by modified extracellular matrix (ECM) composition and astrogliosis, might be involved in the generation or spread of seizures in FCD. The composition of the ECM in FCD and non‐malformed cortex (in 163 samples from 62 patients) was analyzed immunohistochemically and correlated with the corresponding ECS diffusion parameter values determined with the real‐time iontophoretic method in freshly resected cortex (i.e. the ECS volume fraction and the geometrical factor tortuosity, describing the hindrances to diffusion in the ECS). The ECS in FCD was shown to differ from that in non‐malformed cortex, mainly by the increased accumulation of certain ECM molecules (tenascin R, tenascin C, and versican) or by their reduced expression (brevican), and by the presence of an increased number of astrocytic processes. The consequent increase of ECS diffusion barriers observed in both FCD type I and II (and, at the same time, the enlargement of the ECS volume in FCD type II) may alter the diffusion of neuroactive substances through the ECS, which mediates one of the important modes of intercellular communication in the brain – extrasynaptic volume transmission. Thus, the changed ECM composition and altered ECS diffusion properties might represent additional factors contributing to epileptogenicity in FCD.
Expression and Purification of the RNA Polymerase III Transcription Specificity Factor IIIB70 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Its Cooperative Binding with TATA-binding Protein*

Transcription by RNA polymerase III (pol III) in yeast requires the assembly of an initiation complex comprising the TATA-binding protein (TBP), a 90-kDa polypeptide (TFIIIB90), and a 70-kDa polypeptide (TFIIIB70). TFIIIB70 interacts with TBP, a unique pol III subunit, C34, and the 131-kDa subunit of the pol III-specific complex, TFIIIC. TFIIIB70 was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. The specific transcription activity of rTFIIIB70 is 22-58% that of the native yeast and in vitro synthesized factor. However, only a small fraction (0.07-0.32%) of the TFIIIB70 from these sources results in the synthesis of full-length RNA. The data suggest that TFIIIB70 function may be limited by an unfavorable recruitment equilibrium into the preinitiation complex. Quantitative DNase I “footprint” titrations of yeast TBP to the adenovirus major late promoter were conducted at a series of constant TFIIIB70 concentrations. A value of −0.7 ± 0.2 kcal/mol was determined for the cooperative free energy of formation of the TBP·TFIIIB70·DNA complex at concentrations of TFIIIB70 sufficient to partition all of the binding cooperativity to the TBP binding isotherm. A Kd of 44 ± 23 nM characterizes the TFIIIB70 concentration dependence of the TBP·TFIIIB70 cooperativity. The relationship δlog K/δlog (TFIIIB70) is consistent with the linkage of a single molecule of TFIIIB70 with the TBP-promoter binding reaction.
Is there a decline in picture naming with advancing age?

This review of 25 studies of the picture-naming accuracy of normal aging individuals shows that an age-related decline in picture naming is an inconsistent finding. Naming performance of older adults varied throughout the studies reviewed in this paper. This variability is attributed to the research methods used and to subject characteristics. To date, there are no studies that have considered all "nuisance factors" (e.g., health status, medication) in such a way that would allow support for a decrease in picture-naming accuracy associated with primary aging.
Predictors of Loss of Residual Renal Function in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Numerous studies have demonstrated that preserved residual renal function (RRF) confers a better clinical outcome among patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) (1–3). Although RRF seems to be better preserved in PD patients than in hemodialysis patients (4,5), there is wide individual variability among patients on either dialysis modality. Higher peritonitis rates (6,7), the use of aminoglycosides (7,8), higher grades of congestive heart failure (7,9), and the non use of antihypertensive drugs (9) have been shown to be incidental factors related to faster decline of RRF. Along with these incidental factors, other variables related to the patient’s baseline characteristics (true predictors) have also been associated with faster decline of RRF, such as diabetes mellitus (7,9), large body mass index (7), and higher 24-hour urine protein (7). The type of PD (continuous cycling/nocturnal intermittent vs continuous ambulatory) has also been suggested to be associated with faster decline of RRF (10,11); the role of patient gender is controversial (7,9). The present study aimed to determine if there is any demographic, clinical, or biochemical factor just prior to the initiation of PD that would predict independently the “survival” of significant RRF in 50 patients followed prospectively.
Plasma lipid peroxidation and antioxidant levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

In recent years, a great number of studies have investigated the possible role of reactive oxygen species in the aetiology and pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study was to investigate plasma concentrations of vitamin E, beta‐carotene, activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px) and catalase, levels of lipid peroxidation (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) in 36 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 22 healthy age‐matched controls. The plasma activity of GSH‐Px and catalase (p < 0.001), levels of GSH (p < 0.01), concentration of beta‐carotene (p < 0.05) and vitamin E (p < 0.001), haemoglobin and hematocrit (p < 0.05) were significantly lower in patients with RA than in controls. The MDA levels (p < 0.01), C reactive protein, rheumatoid factor, anti‐streptolysin‐o values (p < 0.001), platelet count (p < 0.05) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p < 0.001) were higher in the patient group than in the control group. These results provide some evidence for a potential role of increased lipid peroxidation and decreased enzymic and non‐enzymic antioxidants in RA by its inflammatory character. These results suggested that oxidant stress plays a very important role in the pathogenesis of RA. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Serum inflammatory markers and effects of age and tobacco smoke exposure in young non‐asthmatic children

Serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), but not serum myeloperoxidase (MPO), has been found to reflect disease activity of asthma and eczema, but no reference values exist for young children. Thus, we aimed to provide values of serum‐ECP and serum‐MPO in young children without obstructive airways disease (OAD), and determine possible influencing factors. Parental interview was performed and serum was collected from a total of 245 children (207 children aged 24‐41 months and 76 children aged 0‐23 months) with no history of lower respiratory disease. Repeated serum samples were obtained in 38 subjects. Ten percent of the children had active eczema at examination. All children were controls in the“Environment and Childhood Asthma”study in Oslo. Geometric means (GM ± 1.96 SD) for serum ECP were 11.8 μg/l (2.5‐56.0) and 7.9 μg/l (2.0‐30.4), respectively, in the 0‐23 and 24‐41‐month‐old children, with the corresponding values for serum MPO 453 μg/l (153‐1349) and 347 μg/l (142–859), respectively. Age was inversely associated with serum‐ECP and serum‐MPO, most pronounced in the youngest children. Active eczema and maternal daily smoking adversely affected serum‐ECP, but not serum‐MPO. Gender and parental atopy did not influence the results. We conclude that serum‐ECP in very young children is influenced by age and active eczema and is related to maternal smoking in a dose‐dependent fashion. These factors should be considered when assessing inflammatory markers in very young children.
Temporal Sequence of Plaque Formation in the Cerebral Cortex of Non-Demented Individuals

One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease is the presence of argyrophilic plaques (arg-P) accompanying dementia and other forms of cognitive alterations. In the present investigation 195 non-demented, cognitively normal patients were grouped according to the presence or absence of critical coronary artery disease (cCAD), defined as a 75% or greater stenosis of one of the epicardial arteries. None of the subjects had significant cerebral vascular disease. The parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) and frontal pole were analyzed for the presence of arg-P, A4 deposition, ALZ-50 immunoreactive (IR) neurons and neuropil threads (NT). Individuals with cCAD have a significantly greater incidence of plaques than non-heart disease (non- HD) subjects. Every cCAD subject had ALZ-50 IR neurons in the PHG and a greater incidence of NT as compared to the non-HD subjects. Every subject with plaques also had IR neurons and NT in the PHG. Based on the presumption that early neurodegeneration labeled by ALZ-50 antibody and amyloid deposition are in some way linked, then the sequence of plaque formation is initiated by the presence of ALZ-50 IR neurons followed in order by NT, A4 deposition and diffuse form arg-P.
Surgical Treatment of Migraine Headaches by Corrugator Muscle Resection

The authors, a plastic surgeon (Dirnberger) and a neurologist (Becker), conducted this study after reading the article by of Bahman Guyuron et al. in the August 2000 issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (106: 429, 2000). Sixty patients were operated on between June of 2001 and June of 2002; postoperative follow-up ranged between 6 and 18 months. Patients’ charts were reviewed to confirm the diagnosis of migraine headache according to the criteria of the International Headache Society. Sixty patients (13 men and 47 women) from Austria and four neighboring countries took part in the study. The patients were divided into three groups, based on the severity of their migraines: group A comprised patients with up to 4 days of migraine per month; group B included patients with 5 to 14 days of migraine per month; and group C was composed of patients with more than 15 days of headache per month (“permanent headache”) or evidence of drug abuse and drug-related headaches. The effectiveness of the operation was evaluated using the following factors: percentage reduction of headache days; percentage reduction of drugs; percentage reduction of side effects, severity of headaches, and response to drugs; and patient grade of personal satisfaction, using a scale from 1 to 5 [1 = excellent (total elimination of migraine headache) to 5 = insufficient or no improvement]. From the entire group of 60 patients, 17 (28.3 percent) reported a total relief from migraine, 24 (40 percent) reported an essential improvement, and 19 (31.7 percent) reported minimal or no change. Patients with a rather mild form of migraine headache had a much better chance (almost 90 percent in group A and 75 percent in group B) to experience an improvement or total elimination of migraine than those patients (n = 27) from group C with severe migraine, “permanent headaches,” and drug-induced headaches. Contrary to the reports by Guyuron, 11 patients who had a very favorable response immediately and in the first weeks after the operation experienced a gradual return of their headaches to preoperative intensity after about 4 postoperative weeks. After 3 months, the results in all patients could be declared permanent. All side effects, such as paraesthesia in the frontal region, disappeared in all patients within 3 to 9 months.
Body mass index and cardiovascular disease in the Asia-Pacific Region: an overview of 33 cohorts involving 310 000 participants.

BACKGROUND Few prospective data from the Asia-Pacific region are available relating body mass index (BMI) to the risks of stroke and ischaemic heart disease (IHD). Our objective was to assess the age-, sex-, and region-specific associations of BMI with cardiovascular disease using individual participant data from prospective studies in the Asia-Pacific region. METHODS Studies were identified from literature searches, proceedings of meetings, and personal communication. All studies had at least 5000 person-years of follow-up. Hazard ratios were calculated from Cox models, stratified by sex and cohort, and adjusted for age at risk and smoking. The first 3 years of follow-up were excluded in order to reduce confounding due to disease at baseline. RESULTS A total of 33 cohort studies, including 310 283 participants, contributed 2 148 354 person-years of follow-up, during which 3332 stroke and 2073 IHD events were observed. There were continuous positive associations between baseline BMI and the risks of ischaemic stroke, haemorrhagic stroke, and IHD, with each 2 kg/m(2) lower BMI associated a 12% (95% CI: 9, 15%) lower risk of ischaemic stroke, 8% (95% CI: 4, 12%) lower risk in haemorrhagic stroke, and 11% (95% CI: 9, 13%) lower risk of IHD. The strengths of all associations were strongly age dependent, and there was no significant difference between Asian and Australasian cohorts. CONCLUSIONS This overview provides the most reliable estimates to date of the associations between BMI and cardiovascular disease in the Asia-Pacific region, and the first direct comparisons within the region. Continuous relationships of approximately equal strength are evident in both Asian and Australasian populations. These results indicate considerable potential for cardiovascular disease reduction with population-wide lowering of BMI.
Minimal degree H(curl) and H(div) conforming finite elements on polytopal meshes

We construct H(curl) and H(div) conforming finite elements on convex polygons and polyhedra with minimal possible degrees of freedom, i.e., the number of degrees of freedom is equal to the number of edges or faces of the polygon/polyhedron. The construction is based on generalized barycentric coordinates and the Whitney forms. In 3D, it currently requires the faces of the polyhedron be either triangles or parallelograms. Formula for computing basis functions are given. The finite elements satisfy discrete de Rham sequences in analogy to the well-known ones on simplices. Moreover, they reproduce existing H(curl)-H(div) elements on simplices, parallelograms, parallelepipeds, pyramids and triangular prisms. Approximation property of the constructed elements is also analyzed, by showing that the lowest-order simplicial Nedelec- Raviart-Thomas elements are subsets of the constructed elements on arbitrary polygons and certain polyhedra.
Ectoparasitic mite and fungus on an invasive lady beetle: parasite coexistence and influence on host survival

This study documents the interaction of two coccinellid-specific ectoparasites, a podapolipid mite Coccipolipus hippodamiae (McDaniel et Morrill) and a laboulbenialean fungus Hesperomyces virescens Thaxter with the lady beetle Harmonia axyridis (Pallas). The study objectives were to (1) determine the prevalence and intensity of both parasites and (2) predict the influence of parasitism on host survival during the winter season. The prevalence of mite and fungus in host aggregations ranged from 3.2 to 17.4% and 3.6 to 43.5%, respectively, in winter aggregations in five different locations in Mississippi, southeastern USA, from 2007-2009. The mite colonized the subelytral space of male and female H. axyridis. Mite intensity was greatest on fungusinfected beetles, especially females. Fungus intensity was greatest on the abdomen of H. axyridis males that harbored mites than those that did not. H. axyridis adults (particularly males) infected with the mite and fungus or the fungus alone had lower survival rates, under simulated winter conditions, than those not infected with any parasites. This research documents the parasitic mite C. hippodamiae infecting H. axyridis under natural field conditions for the first time anywhere in the world.