Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
International financial integration and economic growth : a panel analysis

This paper employs a new panel dataset and a wide assorted number of indicators both de jure and de facto measures to proxy for international financial integration to investigate the relationship between international financial integration and economic growth. Using 79 countries with the data covering the period from 1980 to 2003, our analysis indicates a weak relationship between international financial integration and economic growth. Our data also show that this relationship is not different even though we control for different economic conditions. With the development of financial market and increased degree of international financial integration around the world, many countries especially developing countries are now trying to remove cross-border barrier and capital control, relaxing the policy on capital restrictions and deregulating domestic financial system. This paper will empirically examine the growth impacts of international financial integration. This paper is going to contribute to the existing literature on the impacts of international financial integration on economic performance in a number of ways. Firstly, we examine an extensive array of international financial integration indicators, both de jure and de facto of international financial integration. We examine the IMF’s official restriction dummy variable (1) as well as the newly developed capital restriction measures by Miniane (2004). Furthermore, we explore various measures of capital flows and in disaggregation including total assets and liabilities, total liabilities, FDI, portfolio, and total capital flows as share of GDP (a total of 18 de facto indicators). Moreover, we consider measures of just capital inflows as well as measures of gross capital flows (inflows plus outflows) to proxy for international financial integration because capital account openness is defined both in terms of receiving foreign capital and in terms of domestic residents having the ability to diversify their investments abroad. In addition, we examine a wide array of international financial integration proxies because each indicator has advantages and disadvantages (2).
Friends, strangers, and bystanders: Informal practices of sexual assault intervention

ABSTRACT Sexual assault is a part of many students’ experiences in higher education. In U.S. universities, one in four women and one in ten men report being sexually assaulted before graduation. Bystander training programmes have been shown to modestly reduce campus sexual assault. Like all public health interventions, however, they have unintended social consequences; this research examines how undergraduate men on one campus understand bystander interventions and how those understandings shape their actual practices. We draw on ethnographic data collected between August 2015 and January 2017 at Columbia University and Barnard College. Our findings show that university training and an earnest desire to be responsible lead many men to intervene in possible sexual assaults. However, students’ gendered methods target more socially vulnerable and socially distant men while protecting popular men and those to whom they are socially connected. Students’ actual bystander practices thus reproduce social hierarchies in which low prestige may or may not be connected to actual risks of sexual assault. These results suggest that understanding intragroup dynamics and social hierarchies is essential to assault prevention in universities and that students’ actions as bystanders may be effective at preventing assaults in some circumstances but may lead to new risks of sexual assault.
Increases in matrix metalloproteinase‐9 and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase‐1 mRNA after cerebral contusion and depolarisation

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs) play major roles in physiological extracellular matrix turnover during normal development and in pathological processes. In brain, increases in MMP activity occur, for example, in multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and after head trauma. We examined MMP‐9 and TIMP‐1, ‐2, and ‐3 in events after head trauma. A time‐course study was carried out using two different rat injury models, cerebral contusion and depolarisation. Brains were analysed by RT‐PCR and in situ hybridisation. We observed a distinct and time‐dependent upregulation of MMP‐9 and TIMP‐1 mRNA in ipsilateral cortical areas. MMP‐9 mRNA levels were upregulated 1 day after cerebral contusion with a peak at Day 4. Depolarisation per se, which also occurs after traumatic brain injury, lead to delayed increase of MMP‐9 mRNA, 4 days post application. At Day 14, MMP‐9 mRNA levels were indistinguishable from controls in both models. TIMP‐1 mRNA increases were observed in both models 4 hr after injury, and increased further at Days 1 and 4. At Day 14, mRNA levels declined and were no higher than control levels. No alterations in mRNA levels were noted for TIMP‐2 or ‐3. Our results support earlier reports on MMP‐9 involvement in brain injury. It also shows a role for TIMP‐1 in the mechanisms of trauma, where depolarisation could be the mechanism responsible for this upregulation. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The study of sequence configuration and functional impact of the (AC)n(AT)xTy motif in human β‐globin gene promoter

In this report we examine the (AC)n(AT)xTy motif residing −530 bp 5′ upstream of the β‐globin gene in Chinese thalassaemic patients. This motif is a putative binding site for a repressor protein, termed beta protein 1 (BP1) (Berg et al., Nucleic Acids Res 1989;17:8833–8852). Variations in the (AC)n(AT)xTy repeats affect the binding affinity of BP1, thereby altering the expression of the β‐globin gene. Eight different configurations of this repeat motif are identified in our population of Chinese β‐thalassaemia patients. A (AC)3(AT)7T5 motif was identified among these thalassaemia patients and its influence in β‐globin gene expression was studied using stable transfection assay in murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells. Our data demonstrated that the (AC)3(AT)7T5 motif has a moderately strong repressor effect on the expression of the cis‐linked β‐globin gene. The high affinity of BP1 for this motif may result in the suppression of the transcription of the β‐globin gene (Berg et al., Am J Hematol 1991;36:42–47). We postulate that silencer elements in the β‐globin promoter play an important role in modifying the clinical presentation of the disease. Am. J. Hematol. , 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Optimal Monetary Policy and Limited Enforcement in a Small Open Economy

This paper analyzes the optimal monetary policy problem on the basis of a small open New Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model with enforcement constraints, where limited enforcement and limited spanning interact to create an endogenous debt limit. As a result, if there are fiscal policy measures to eliminate steady-state distortions, the inflation targeting regime is optimal even when there are enforcement constraints.
Candida glabrata, an emerging fungal pathogen, exhibits superior relative cell surface hydrophobicity and adhesion to denture acrylic surfaces compared with Candida albicans

Oral candidosis is a common opportunistic infection in debilitated individuals and Candida glabrata is the second most frequently isolated species from this condition, after Candida albicans. Candidal adherence to various biological or non‐biological surfaces is considered a prerequisite for colonization, and pathogenesis of candidal infections, and their relative cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) is likely to be a possible contributory force involved in this process. Whereas a large body of data on the latter features of C. albicans is available, there is surprisingly little information on C. glabrata. As a comprehensive database on the relative adhesion and CSH of Candida spp. is instructive and useful, we investigated in vitro the latter attributes of 34 oral isolates of C. glabrata and 15 isolates of C. albicans. There were remarkable intraspecies differences in both the CSH and the adhesive ability of C. glabrata strains (p<0.001). Compared with C. albicans, C. glabrata demonstrated a four‐fold greater CSH value (30.63±11.20% vs 7.23±3.56%, p<0.0001) and a two‐fold greater tendency to adhere to denture acrylic surfaces (75.18±39.96 vs 30.36±9.21, p<0.0001). A significant positive correlation between CSH and adhesion was also noted for both C. glabrata (r=0.674, p<0.0001) and C. albicans (r=0.636, p<0.05). When the effect of different incubation conditions on the relative CSH and adherence of C. glabrata was examined, CSH and the adherence to acrylic surfaces of four of six C. glabrata isolates were significantly affected by a reduction of the culture temperature (from 37 °C to 25 °C). A positive relationship also emerged when the temperature‐induced variations in the adherence values were correlated with their relative CSH. These data provide hitherto unavailable archival information on important pathogenic attributes of the two most common oral Candida species that may help explain their predominance in this milieu.
Pathogenicity testing of lesser-known vascular fungi of grapevines

Several hyphomycetes were recently isolated from asymptomatic or symptomatic vascular tissues of grapevines showing Petri disease symptoms in South Africa. In most cases, their status as pathogens was unknown and pathogenicity studies were, therefore, conducted to determine their potential as decline pathogens. The fungi included Acremonium cf. charticola, Acremonium cf. ochraceum, Cadophora luteo-olivacea, Phialemonium cf. curvatum, Pleurostomophora richardsiae, Phaeoacremonium (Pm.) krajdenii, Pm. parasiticum, Pm. subulatum, Pm. venezuelense and Pm. viticola. Of these, Pm. parasiticum and Pm. viticola have been associated with Petri disease symptoms, although their pathogenicity has not been tested. Phaeomoniella (Pa.) chlamydospora and Pm. aleophilum, known to be involved in Petri disease and esca, were included as positive controls. Pathogenicity studies were conducted in glasshouse experiments where grapevine rootstocks were artificially inoculated, as well as in the field. Data obtained after 3 months from a glasshouse trial were difficult to interpret, due to the small lesions and similarity in disease expression among different species. However, Pa. chlamydospora produced the largest lesions and was by far the most aggressive pathogen. To supplement the glasshouse trial, grapevine trunks and pruning wounds of Vitis vinifera cv. Periquita were artificially inoculated in the field. Field trials, rated after 14 months, confirmed Pa. chlamydospora to be the most aggressive pathogen, since it produced the largest trunk and pruning wound lesions. Furthermore, it was re-isolated more frequently than any of the other fungi, especially from the pruning wounds. All the fungi were able to infect, colonise and produce lesions statistically different to those caused by the water control and the non-pathogen in the field trial.
Self-Organizing Migrating Strategies Applied to Reliability-Redundancy Optimization of Systems

The reliability-redundancy allocation problem is a mixed-integer programming problem. It has been solved by using optimization techniques such as dynamic programming, integer programming, mixed-integer non-linear programming, heuristics, and meta-heuristics. Meanwhile, the development of meta-heuristics has been an active research area in optimizing system reliability wherein the redundancy, the component reliability, or both are to be determined. In recent years, a broad class of stochastic algorithms, such as simulated annealing, evolutionary computation, and swarm intelligence algorithms, has been developed for reliability-redundancy optimization of systems. Recently, a new class of stochastic optimization algorithm called SOMA (Self-Organizing Migrating Algorithm) has emerged. SOMA works on a population of potential solutions called specimen, and is based on the self-organizing behavior of groups of individuals in a "social environment". This paper introduces a modified SOMA approach based on a Gaussian operator to solve reliability-redundancy optimization problems. In this context, three examples of mixed integer programming in reliability-redundancy design problems are evaluated. In this application domain, SOMA was found to outperform the previously best-known solutions available.
Is there a role for sodium bicarbonate in treating lactic acidosis from shock?

Purpose of reviewBicarbonate therapy for severe lactic acidosis remains a controversial therapy. Recent findingsThe most recent 2008 Surviving Sepsis guidelines strongly recommend against the use of bicarbonate in patients with pH at least 7.15, while deferring judgment in more severe acidemia. We review the mechanisms causing lactic acidosis in the critically ill and the scientific rationale behind treatment with bicarbonate. SummaryThere is little rationale or evidence for the use of bicarbonate therapy for lactic acidosis due to shock. We agree with the Surviving Sepsis guidelines recommendation against the use of bicarbonate for lactic acidosis for pH at least 7.15 and we further recommend a lower target pH of 7.00 or less. If bicarbonate is used, consideration must be given to slow infusion and a plan for clearing the CO2 that is produced and measuring and correcting ionized calcium as the resultant 10% drop may decrease cardiac and vascular contractility and responsiveness to catecholamines. When continuous renal replacement therapy is used during severe acidosis, we recommend bicarbonate-based replacement fluid over citrate as citrate may increase the strong ion gap. Effective therapy of lactic acidosis due to shock is to reverse the cause.
Bone loss in HIV: a contemporary review

Purpose of reviewBecause of antiretroviral therapy (ART), people are living with HIV infection longer than ever before. As this patient group ages, it is expected that medical comorbidities such as osteoporosis and fragility fractures will increase. The purpose of this review is to address the epidemiology and what is known regarding the pathogenesis of bone loss in people living with HIV infection with a focus on recently published literature. Recent findingsHIV-infected individuals are at increased risk for low bone mineral density and bone fractures. The cause of bone loss in HIV is multifactorial including traditional risk factors some of which disproportionately affect HIV-infected individuals and alterations in bone metabolism due to ART, HIV viral proteins and chronic inflammation. Lifestyle modification, changing ART, calcium and vitamin D supplementation and pharmacologic treatment for osteoporosis may all be employed to abrogate bone loss in this patient group. SummaryClinicians should be aware of the contributors to bone loss in people living with HIV in order to recognize high-risk individuals and to take appropriate steps to address modifiable risk factors to prevent future fracture.
Vagus nerve stimulation inhibits the increase in Ca2+ transient and left ventricular force caused by sympathetic nerve stimulation but has no direct effects alone – epicardial Ca2+ fluorescence studies using fura‐2 AM in the isolated innervated beating rabbit heart

The effects of direct autonomic nerve stimulation on the heart may be quite different to those of perfusion with pharmacological neuromodulating agents. This study was designed to investigate the effect of autonomic nerve stimulation on intracellular calcium fluorescence using fura‐2 AM in the isolated Langendorff‐perfused rabbit heart preparation with intact dual autonomic innervation. The effects of autonomic nerve stimulation on cardiac force and calcium transients were more obvious during intrinsic sinus rhythm. High‐frequency (15 Hz, n= 5) right vagus nerve stimulation (VS) decreased heart rate from 142.7 ± 2.6 to 75.5 ± 10.2 beats min–1 and left ventricular pressure from 36.4 ± 3.2 to 25.9 ± 1.9 mmHg, whilst simultaneously decreasing the diastolic and systolic level of the calcium transient. Direct sympathetic nerve stimulation (7 Hz, n= 8) increased heart rate (from 144.7 ± 10.5 to 213.2 ± 4.9 beats min–1) and left ventricular pressure (from 37.5 ± 3.6 to 43.7 ± 2.8 mmHg), whilst simultaneously increasing the diastolic and systolic level of the calcium transient. During constant ventricular pacing, the high‐frequency right vagus nerve stimulation did not have any direct effect on ventricular force or the calcium transient (n= 8), but was effective in reducing the effect of direct sympathetic nerve stimulation.
Channel-anchored Protein Kinase CK2 and Protein Phosphatase 1 Reciprocally Regulate KCNQ2-containing M-channels via Phosphorylation of Calmodulin*

Background: Calmodulin binding to KCNQ subunit is required for maintaining the M-current. Results: Protein kinase CK2-mediated phosphorylation of CaM enhances KCNQ2 current. KCNQ2 subunit tethers protein kinase CK2 and protein phosphatase 1. Conclusion: Phosphorylation status of CaM regulates the M-current. Significance: Phosphorylation status of calmodulin regulates neuronal excitability via M-current modulation. M-type potassium channels, encoded by the KCNQ family genes (KCNQ2–5), require calmodulin as an essential co-factor. Calmodulin bound to the KCNQ2 subunit regulates channel trafficking and stabilizes channel activity. We demonstrate that phosphorylation of calmodulin by protein kinase CK2 (casein kinase 2) rapidly and reversibly modulated KCNQ2 current. CK2-mediated phosphorylation of calmodulin strengthened its binding to KCNQ2 channel, caused resistance to phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate depletion, and increased KCNQ2 current amplitude. Accordingly, application of CK2-selective inhibitors suppressed KCNQ2 current. This suppression was prevented by co-expression of CK2 phosphomimetic calmodulin mutants or pretreatment with a protein phosphatase inhibitor, calyculin A. We also demonstrated that functional CK2 and protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) were selectively tethered to the KCNQ2 subunit. We identified a functional KVXF consensus site for PP1 binding in the N-terminal tail of KCNQ2 subunit: mutation of this site augmented current density. CK2 inhibitor treatment suppressed M-current in rat superior cervical ganglion neurons, an effect negated by overexpression of phosphomimetic calmodulin or pretreatment with calyculin A Furthermore, CK2 inhibition diminished the medium after hyperpolarization by suppressing the M-current. These findings suggest that CK2-mediated phosphorylation of calmodulin regulates the M-current, which is tonically regulated by CK2 and PP1 anchored to the KCNQ2 channel complex.
The Determinant of Consumer Price Index in Malaysia.

This study tries to notice out the significance of macroeconomic variables such as broad money, gross domestic product and household final consumption expenditure towards the consumer price index in Malaysia on long run economy. Augmented Dickey-Fuller with lag length on Schwarz Info Criterion and Phillips-Perron with Newey West Bandwidth used to test the stationarity of the data. Johansen-Juselius system co-integration test applied to find the stationary linear combination of the non-stationary variables. The Long run relationship between dependent and independent variables estimated on Vector Error Correction (VEC) model. The results show that there is a relationship within the dependent variable and its independent variables. On the long run, the broad money, export of goods and services, gross domestic product and household final consumption expenditure are significantly positively related to the consumer price index. The results show a sign of complete pass-through of household final consumption expenditure to the consumer price index. The future research shall be testing this variable to examine the pass-through factor. The findings have important implications for understanding the volatility of aggregate demand and supply of price level in a developing country and able to conclude the effectiveness of the monetary policy
Different sides of the same coin

Energy market experts have long predicted increased gas demand in Europe, driven largely by the growth of gas-fired power generation. Yet, over one-third of demand in 2030 in OECD Europe is up for discussion and a significant share of investments in gas infrastructure is being called into question, writes Booz Allen Hamilton's Dr Robin Hirschl, Dr Thomas Schlaak and Otto Waterlander.
Intraductal ultrasound for the evaluation of patients with biliary strictures and no abdominal mass on computed tomography.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is the diagnostic procedure of choice in patients with biliary strictures and no culprit mass lesion on abdominal imaging, but it is limited in its diagnostic accuracy. The aim of this prospective study was to determine the value of intraductal ultrasound (IDUS) in distinguishing between benign and malignant biliary strictures in this clinical setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS Sixty-one patients with painless jaundice and no mass lesion on abdominal computed tomography, who were found to have a biliary stricture at ERCP, underwent IDUS with a high-frequency (20-MHz) wire-guided probe. Histopathological confirmation or clinical follow-up was used to establish the final diagnosis. The diagnostic performances of IDUS, ERCP, and IDUS plus ERCP in the identification of malignant strictures were evaluated. RESULTS Forty-three patients had malignant strictures and 18 had benign strictures. ERCP produced 25 false-negative diagnoses, 22 of which were identified as malignant by IDUS. IDUS provided seven false-negative and three false-positive diagnoses. The proportion of patients with malignant strictures who tested positive with IDUS was 2.06 times that of ERCP (95 % CI, 1.37 - 3.10; 83.3 % vs. 40.5 %, P = 0.0004). When used in conjunction, IDUS increased the accuracy of ERCP from 58 % to 90 %. Patients with operable lesions on IDUS and no contraindication to surgery underwent resection; most patients with pancreatic parenchymal invasion on IDUS underwent EUS, which identified a pancreatic mass in more than 50 % of cases. Patients with negative IDUS and a low clinical suspicion for malignancy were treated endoscopically, while a more aggressive work-up was performed in all patients with high pretest probability, regardless of the IDUS results. CONCLUSIONS IDUS is a valuable adjunct to ERCP in the characterization of biliary strictures in patients who present with painless jaundice in the absence of a culprit mass on abdominal imaging.
Health consequences of illegal drug use

Purpose of review The aim of this article is to review recent research on the health consequences of illegal drug use and possible risk factors, with a particular focus on prospective evidence. Recent findings Mortality studies have revealed qualitative and quantitative changes in causes of death among heroin and injecting drug users (IDUs), probably due to increasing exposure to harm reduction programs, the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the aging of drug users, and rising concurrent use of illegal drugs and prescription drugs. For morbidity, nonfatal overdose is still one of the most important concerns; likewise the higher prevalence of hepatitis C among non-IDUs and hepatitis A, B, C coinfection. Cannabis use has been consistently reported to be associated with the emergence of psychotic symptoms, yet that seems not to be the case for anxiety and depressive disorders. Use of 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has been linked with short-term negative effects on cognitive performance (i.e. visual memory). A series of longitudinal studies have shown enduring unfavorable effects of prenatal cocaine and marijuana exposure on children's physical, cognitive, and language development. Summary Prospective evidence on illegal drug use in particular subpopulations may be needed to better understand health problems among users at different life stages and the possible long-term effects.