Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pain in chronic pancreatitis: the role of reorganization in the central nervous system.

BACKGROUND & AIMS In various chronic pain conditions cortical reorganization seems to play a role in the manifestations. The aim of this study was to investigate cortical reorganization in patients with pain caused by chronic pancreatitis. METHODS Twelve healthy subjects and 10 patients with chronic pancreatitis were included. The esophagus, stomach, and duodenum were stimulated electrically at the pain threshold using a nasal endoscope. The electroencephalogram was recorded from 64 surface electrodes and event-related brain potentials (EPs) were obtained. RESULTS As compared with healthy subjects, the patient group showed decreased latencies of the early EP components (N1, P < .001; P1, P = .02), which is thought to reflect the exogenous brain pain processing specifically. Source analysis showed that the dipolar activities corresponding to the early EPs were located consistently in the bilateral insula, in the anterior cingulate gyrus, and in the bilateral secondary somatosensory area. The bilateral insular dipoles were localized more medial in the patient group than in the healthy subjects after stimulation of all 3 gut segments (P < .01). There also were changes in the cingulate cortex where the neuronal source was more posterior in patients than in controls to stimulation of the esophagus (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that pain in chronic pancreatitis leads to changes in cortical projections of the nociceptive system. Such findings also have been described in somatic pain disorders, among them neuropathic pain. Taken together with the clinical data this suggests a neuropathic component in pancreatic pain, which may influence the approach to treatment.
Who Are the Alumni Donors? Giving by Two Generations of Alumni from Selective Colleges

Using data on former students of fourteen private colleges and universities, this paper examines patterns of alumni giving. The data are taken from the College and Beyond survey, which covers individuals who entered the institutions in the fall of 1951, 1976, and 1989. Contributions by these former students to these colleges and universities tend to be quite concentrated, with half of all donations being given by the most generous 1 percent of the sample. A higher level of contribution is associated with higher income, with having participated in extracurricular activities in college, with having had a mentor in college, and with the degree of satisfaction in one's undergraduate experience. The projected donations for the most generous of these alumni over the course of a lifetime are quite high, with totals for the 1951 cohort exceeding those from the 1976 cohort.
Renin-angiotensin system and opioids during acute hemorrhage in conscious rabbits.

We measured changes in plasma renin activity (PRA) and used angiotensin-converting enzyme blockade with captopril to evaluate the role of the renin-angiotensin system during hemorrhage and after opioid receptor blockade in conscious rabbits. The increase in PRA after nonhypotensive hemorrhage was not statistically significant. PRA increased sixfold after a hypotensive hemorrhage to a mean arterial pressure less than 40 mmHg. This increase was statistically significant. Captopril altered the hemodynamic response to hemorrhage. The normal increase in vascular resistance early in hemorrhage was reduced by captopril pretreatment. After a critical blood loss, arterial pressure and heart rate decreased in both groups. The blood loss required to decrease mean arterial pressure to less than 40 mmHg was approximately 25% less in animals pretreated with captopril. The characteristic decrease in vascular resistance coincident with the onset of hypotension was still present after captopril pretreatment. Injection of naloxone or saline during acute hemorrhagic hypotension did not affect PRA. However, recovery of blood pressure after naloxone or saline was attenuated by converting-enzyme blockade. This attenuation was due primarily to a reduction in spontaneous recovery (i.e., recovery after the control saline injection) and not to a reduction in the response to naloxone. We tested whether this effect of captopril might be due to an interaction of ANG II and catecholamines. The plasma norepinephrine (NE) response to naloxone was statistically similar with and without captopril. In contrast, the response to exogenous NE after hypotensive hemorrhage was significantly reduced by captopril pretreatment. Captopril apparently did not alter baroreflex sensitivity but did reset the baroreflex to lower pressure levels during naloxone's pressor response. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
China's social capital and financial performance of private enterprises

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the effects of social capital (defined as networks) on the performance of Chinese private enterprises.Design/methodology/approach – The paper employ an econometric model to test relationships between social capital and firm performance, using a sample of private enterprises in a survey in China in 2000.Findings – The analysis suggests two findings. First, memberships in various organizations do not appear to be significant in affecting the performance of Chinese private enterprises. Second, short‐time investment in, and the flow of, social capital are significant determinants of enterprise performance.Research limitations/implications – The study examines only the effects of the short‐time investment in social capital. Further research is suggested to examine the effects of long‐term investments in social capital, the relationship between short‐time investment and long‐time investment in social capital, and the network as a whole, including informal networks.Origin.
Identification of New Kinetoplast DNA Replication Proteins in Trypanosomatids Based on Predicted S-Phase Expression and Mitochondrial Targeting

ABSTRACT Trypanosomatid parasites contain an unusual form of mitochondrial DNA (kinetoplast DNA [kDNA]) consisting of a catenated network of several thousand minicircles and a smaller number of maxicircles. Many of the proteins involved in the replication and division of kDNA are likely to have no counterparts in other organisms and would not be identified by similarity to known replication proteins in other organisms. A new kDNA replication protein conserved in kinetoplastids has been identified based on the presence of posttranscriptional regulatory sequences associated with S-phase gene expression and predicted mitochondrial targeting. The Leishmania major protein P105 (LmP105) and Trypanosoma brucei protein P93 (TbP93) localize to antipodal sites flanking the kDNA disk, where several other replication proteins and nascent minicircles have been localized. Like some of these kDNA replication proteins, the LmP105 protein is only present at the antipodal sites during S phase. RNA interference (RNAi) of TbP93 expression resulted in a cessation of cell growth and the loss of kDNA. Nicked/gapped forms of minicircles, the products of minicircle replication, were preferentially lost from the population of free minicircles during RNAi, suggesting involvement of TbP93 in minicircle replication. This approach should allow the identification of other novel proteins involved in the duplication of kDNA.
The role of creative industries in industrial innovation

Abstract This paper analyses the role of creative industries in affecting an economy’s innovation performance. Conducting a survey of more than 2,000 creative industry enterprises, we show that creative industries are among the most innovative sectors in the economy. They support innovation in a variety of other sectors through creative inputs, such as ideas for new products, supplementary products and services or marketing support for product innovations. They are also an important user of new technology and demand innovations from technology producers, particularly information and communication technologies. Own innovative activities are a key driver for supporting innovation. Creative industries are no homogenous sector, however. While software and advertising show the strongest links to industrial innovation, architecture and content providers contribute rather little.
The relative importance of the top management team's managerial skills

Purpose – The goal of this study is to examine the effect that nine managerial skills of the firm's top management team (TMT) (persuasiveness, administrative ability, fluency in speaking, knowledge about group tasks, diplomacy and tact, social skills, creativity, conceptual skills, and cleverness) have on the performance of industrial firms (a weighted average of seven performance measures). Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from chief executive officers of 93 industrial enterprises in Israel through structured questionnaires and complementary in‐depth investigation. Both multivariate (robust canonical analysis and hierarchical regressions) and in‐depth analyses were used to analyze the study's results.Findings – The results show that managerial skills possessed by the TMT strongly affect firm performance, their impact apparently being greater than that of variables representing industry sectors, firm size and age, and perceived environmental uncertainty. In particular, skills that are requ.
Entrepreneurship And Economic Growth In West Bank, Palestine

This paper examines the nature of the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories that occurred post Oslo Agreement. The paper has two main objectives: first, to examine with empirical evidence the impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth; second, to explore the effect of two control variables on the relationship — checkpoints and international aid — which are unique to this particular study. Using data spanning over a course of sixteen years, various statistical methods were applied to explain the effect of variant levels of entrepreneurial activity on GDP and unemployment. The results show that contrary to a reservoir of research, entrepreneurship appeared to have no significant impact on economic growth. This can be explained by the fact entrepreneurial activity is expected to decrease as a result of growth in the economy as new jobs are created.
Mental chronometry and mental rotation abilities in stroke patients with different degrees of sensory deficit.

BACKGROUND Motor imagery is used for treatment of motor deficits after stroke. Clinical observations suggested that motor imagery abilities might be reduced in patients with severe sensory deficits. This study investigated the influence of somatosensory deficits on temporal (mental chronometry, MC) and spatial aspects of motor imagery abilities. METHODS Stroke patients (n = 70; <6 months after stroke) were subdivided into 3 groups according to their somatosensory functions. Group 1 (n = 31) had no sensory deficits, group 2 (n = 27) had a mild to moderate sensory impairment and group 3 (n = 12) had severe sensory deficits. Patients and a healthy age-matched control group (n = 23) participated in a mental chronometry task (Box and Block Test, BBT) and a mental rotation task (Hand Identification Test, HIT). MC abilities were expressed as a ratio (motor execution time-motor imagery time/motor execution time). RESULTS MC for the affected hand was significantly impaired in group 3 in comparison to stroke patients of group 1 (p = 0.006), group 2 (p = 0.005) and healthy controls (p < 0.001). For the non-affected hand MC was similar across all groups. Stroke patients had a slower BBT motor execution than healthy controls (p < 0.001), and group 1 executed the task faster than group 3 (p = 0.002). The percentage of correct responses in the HIT was similar for all groups. CONCLUSION Severe sensory deficits impair mental chronometry abilities but have no impact on mental rotation abilities. Future studies should explore whether the presence of severe sensory deficits in stroke patients reduces the benefit from motor imagery therapy.
Transition from higher education as a public good to higher education as a private good: the saga of Indian experience

Conventionally, higher education is regarded as a public good, producing a huge set of externalities, benefiting not only the individuals but also the whole society. Higher education institutions are recognized as important social institutions, performing vital social functions, that are widely acknowledged as noble and core for the very sustenance of societies, besides creating and disseminating knowledge. But of late, the chronic shortage of public funds for higher education, the widespread introduction of neo-liberal economic policies and globalization in every country and in every sector, which also contributed to rapid growth in privatization of education, and the heralding of the international law on trade in services by the World Treaty Organization (WTO) and the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) – all tend to question the long-cherished and well-established view of many on higher education as a public good, and to propose and legitimize the sale and purchase of higher education, as if it is a commodity meant for trade. In India too, the introduction of neo-liberal policies in the early 1990s has resulted in a significant shift in public approach to education: the public good character is being forgotten, and the profit-seeking private sector is gaining strength. All this poses serious problems relating to access, quality, and equity in education, resulting in dangerous cracks in the edifice of higher education.
Clostridium difficile toxin A causes early damage to mitochondria in cultured cells.

BACKGROUND & AIMS The mechanism by which Clostridium difficile toxin A causes actin depolymerization and cell rounding involves toxin internalization and subsequent monoglucosylation of the Rho family of proteins. This study explored toxin internalization and effects on mitochondrial function before cell rounding. METHODS Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were exposed to toxin A, and mitochondrial localization was assayed by confocal microscopy. Mitochondrial function was measured by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentration, mitochondrial permeability, and leakage of cytochrome c. RESULTS Confocal microscopy showed toxin A colocalization with the mitochondrial protein GRP 75 at 5 minutes after toxin exposure. Between 5 and 15 minutes, toxin A caused an 80% diminution in cellular ATP levels; cell rounding and Rho glucosylation commenced between 15 and 30 minutes. Toxin A also resulted in reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential and a 2-3-fold increase in reactive oxygen radicals. Preincubation of CHO cells with the antioxidants butylated hydroxyanisole or butylated hydroxytoluene blocked the toxin A-induced increase in oxygen radicals and diminished cell rounding. Western blot analysis of toxin A-exposed isolated mitochondria showed a direct effect of toxin A on leakage of cytochrome c. CONCLUSIONS The results show that extensive mitochondrial damage occurs within 15 minutes in CHO cells exposed to toxin A. Diminished ATP concentrations and increased oxygen radicals are likely to contribute to cytotoxicity from this bacterial toxin.
Role of surgery in the treatment of motor complications

When medications no longer provide patients with Parkinson's disease a reasonable quality of life due to the presence of levodopa‐associated motor fluctuations and dyskinesias, surgical treatment is often pursued. Numerous studies have examined the antiparkinsonian efficacy of procedures currently available, but surprisingly few studies have evaluated their effect on motor response complications in a systematic, controlled manner, using appropriate instruments. Nonetheless, the combined evidence from uncontrolled case series and more recent randomized controlled trials reviewed here indicates that unilateral pallidotomy, bilateral pallidal deep brain stimulation, and bilateral subthalamic deep brain stimulation all substantially alleviate levodopa‐induced dyskinesias and, to a lesser extent, motor fluctuations. Incorporation of standardized, validated instruments for the quantification of motor response complications in future surgical study protocols will not only allow more accurate comparison of different interventions but also will help physicians select the most appropriate procedure for their patients. © 2005 Movement Disorder Society
Stock Price Reaction of Multinational Firms to Exchange Realignments

Dr. Franck is Professor of International Investment and Trade at Syracuse University. He was Dean of Robert College in Istanbul, Turkey for several years before assuming his current post. He is a contributor to World Business Systems, edited by Jean Boddewyn. Dr. Young is Associate Professor of Finance at Syracuse University. He taught at the Baruch School of Business of the City College of New York before assuming his current post. He is coauthor of The Repurchase of Common Stock.
Relationship between insulin resistance and circulating endothelial cells in pre-eclampsia

Abstract Endothelial dysfunction and insulin resistance (IR) are established features of pre-eclampsia, however the cause and effect relationship between them remain unexplained. Circulating endothelial cells (CEC) are increased in pre-eclampsia and appear to correlate with the degree of endothelial dysfunction. We hypothesised that CEC count in pre-eclampsia would correlate with IR and might provide a simple measure of IR in pregnancies complicated by the disease. CEC count and IR were measured in 10 women with pre-eclampsia and 10 normal pregnant controls matched for maternal age, body mass index and gestational age during the third trimester. CEC count was determined using an established immunomagnetic bead separation method and IR was measured by the homeostasis model test. CEC count and IR were significantly increased in pre-eclampsia compared to normal pregnancy. However, there was no correlation between the CEC count and IR in pre-eclampsia. The data suggest that CEC count in pre-eclampsia is not a useful measure on its own of IR in pregnancies complicated by the disease.
Testing the causality between Export Diversification, External Debt and Economic Growth in Cameroon using the Vector-Autoregrasive Analysis

This study aims at evaluating the links between export diversification, external debts, labour productivity, domestic investment and economic growth in Cameroon between 1980 and 2014 under the precondition that current data predict future events more than previous data. This work is therefore motivated on the ground that Cameroon economy which is highly diversified in natural resources, ,population, cultural, economic and political institutions remains underdeveloped while Ethiopia and East Asian nations with comparatively few resources are making news in their trends of growth and development in the globe. To achieve the desired objectives of this study, the Vector-Autogressive (VAR) technique is employed on the bases of its dynamism to stimulate the expected policies for the study of this nature. The findings are in agreement with the prior theoretical expectations and works of others especially in the Asian economies. Based on the findings of this study, it is strongly recommended that if growth and development is targeted in Cameroon, then the export base needs to be expanded by more than 60% under the endogenous growth hypothesis with limited external debts, This should be enhanced by research on new and complementary products, the creation of conducive business environment for private sector growth and high drive for technical and pragmatic capacity building in Cameroon. Keywords: Economic Growth, External Debts, Productivity, Export Diversification, Domestic Investment, Conducive Environments and Transparency
Rebels without a Clue? Experimental Evidence on Coordination in Cartels and Outside Firms

This paper provides experimental evidence on the formation of binding cartels with endogenous coordination and cooperation. We introduce a three-stage mechanism where potential cartel members can monitor the total number of outside firms, before agreeing to a binding cartel. Our first treatment provides a test of our mechanism and yields a cartelization rate of 25.71%. In the second treatment we analyze partial cartelization and the role of outside firms in this framework. Here, the payo structure is modified making partial cartelization more attractive. We find an outof-the-equilibrium rejection of partial cartels in 55.56% of the cases documenting the importance of payo asymmetries. In two further treatments we analyze the impacts of prior communication on firms’ cooperative behavior. The results show that chat increases firms’ cooperative behavior in the environment of our multi-stage setup. Combining the institution with chat leads to cartelization rates of up to 97%.
Association of choroidal thickness with early stages of diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes.

AIM To assess the correlation between choroidal thickness (CT) and the early stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS We divided 83 diabetic patients (51-80 years of age; 50 females) into non diabetic retinopathy group (NDR) and mild/moderate nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) group, and compared them with 26 non-diabetic control subjects (51-78 years of age; 16 females). Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and parafoveal choroidal thickness (PFCT) were measured using enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT). Ocular health status, disease duration, body mass index, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were recorded. RESULTS The mean ages of the NDR, NPDR, and control groups were 68.0±6.9y, 67.8±6.4y, and 65.1±6.3y, respectively (P=0.17). Pearson correlation of the right and left eyes for the control subjects was 0.95 and for the NDR subjects was 0.93. SFCT for the right eyes of the controls was 252.77± 41.10 µm, which was significantly thicker than that of the right eyes in NDR group (221.51±46.56 µm) and the worse eyes of the NPDR group (207.18±61.87 µm; ANOVA, P<0.01). In the diabetic patients pooled together, age was the only variable significantly associated with SFCT (multiple linear regression analysis, P=0.01). CONCLUSION CT decreased significantly in the NDR and mild/moderate NPDR eyes compared with the control eyes. Age is significantly associated with SFCT in the diabetic patients. Diabetic choroidopathy may be present before clinical retinopathy.
Dose–time relationships for elicitation of contact allergy to para‐phenylenediamine

Skin‐sensitizing chemicals exhibit dose–response relationships for the elicitation of contact dermatitis. Previously, considerable work has been carried out in which the elicitation of allergic skin reaction has been examined as a function of the applied concentration. However, the relationship between exposure time, dose and response has not been explored in any depth. The present work has extended our initial assessment of the relationship between both exposure time and concentration for para‐phenylenediamine (PPD) in a group of 19 PPD‐allergic volunteers. The results clearly demonstrate that a relationship exists between both exposure time and concentration. Positive responses to PPD were directly proportional to exposure time: at 5 min 16% responded; at 15 min, 38%; at 30 min, 50%; and at 120 min, 69%. A similar direct relationship was found between concentration of PPD and response: after 120 min, 22% of patients had responded to 0.01%, and 69% to 1% PPD. All exposures for 1 and 2 min were negative. Subsequent evaluation using repeated 5 min open application testing demonstrated a cumulative effect, as after 8 days 39% of the panel reacted, more than double the number that reacted to a single occluded 5‐min treatment. It was noted that there was marked subject variability in exposure time and dose required to elicit an allergic response. These results are of relevance for the general interpretation of patch test data, especially with regard to risk assessment.