Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is pregabalin effective and safe in total knee arthroplasty? A PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials

Background: Pain management after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) varies and has been investigated for years. Pregabalin as an anticonvulsant agent that selectively affects the nociceptive process has been used for pain relief after operation. This meta-analysis was conducted to examine the evidence of pregabalin in TKA. Methods: Systematic searches of all related literatures were conducted using the following databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Only randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) for TKA were included. The postoperative narcotic requirements, visual analog scale scores, knee flexion range, and relative risk of incidence rate of adverse effects in the pregabalin group versus placebo group were extracted throughout the study. Results: Seven placebo-controlled RCTs met the inclusion criteria. The use of pregabalin significantly decrease the postoperative total morphine consumption (P < .05) and increase the passive knee flexion range (P < .05). Compared with the control group, the incidence of some side effects (nausea, vomiting, pruritus, and constipation) was less in the pregabalin group (P < .05). Conclusions: The administration of pregabalin is not only efficacious in the reduction of narcotic requirements and incidence of some adverse effect, but also workable for the improvement of passive knee flexion range after TKA.
Hedging Corporate Bonds

We examine Treasury bond and stock index futures, the swap curve and two types of hypothetical corporate bond assets as alternative hedging instruments for portfolios of corporate bonds. Conducting "ex post" and "ex ante" tests we find evidence that credit quality and maturity are important sources of basis risk when hedging corporate bonds whose credit rating are below triple A. We conclude that a new corporate hedging instrument may be useful for those wishing to hedge corporate bond portfolios provided that transaction costs are not too high relative to existing futures contracts. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1999.
Efficiency Sorting Among Foreign Affiliates: Evidence from China

type="main" xml:id="twec12210-abs-0001"> This paper uses a large micro-level data set to investigate the efficiency sorting pattern of foreign affiliates serving different markets. We find systematic differences among the attributes of foreign affiliates serving the local and overseas markets. Affiliates serving only the host country market are the most productive, the most capitalintensive and the most skill-intensive. Affiliates serving only the international market are the most unskilled and labour-intensive, the least efficient, pay the lowest wages and invest least in innovation and advertising. Affiliates serving both markets offer high wages and invest most in innovation and advertising. The results also suggest that the most productive affiliates choose to serve the host country market, whereas the least efficient affiliates target the international market.
Association of leptin receptor polymorphism with insulin resistance.

OBJECTIVE Although the role of the leptin receptor (LEPR) in obesity is well recognized, its role in insulin sensitivity remains unknown. DESIGN This was a cross-sectional study to investigate the impact of the Q223R polymorphism of the LEPR gene on insulin sensitivity. METHODS Sixty-seven glucose-tolerant Caucasians were enrolled. The insulin sensitivity index and glucose clearance were measured using a hyperglycemic clamp. Genomic DNA was extracted for genotyping. RESULTS We identified 20 QQ, 31 QR, and 16 RR subjects. The three genotypic groups were similar in age, gender distribution, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, and blood pressure, but differed in the insulin sensitivity index (P=0.0180) and in glucose clearance (P=0.0220). Multivariate analyses showed that the Q223R polymorphism was independently associated with the insulin sensitivity index (P=0.0317) and glucose clearance (P=0.0436). A trend of increasing low density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration was also observed (P=0.0447). CONCLUSION We have reported the first association of the Q223R polymorphism of the LEPR gene with insulin resistance.
Adrs, Analysts, and Accuracy: Does Cross Listing in the U.S. Improve a Firm's Information Environment and Increase Market Value?

This paper investigates the relation between cross listing in the United States and the information environment of non-U.S. firms. We find that firms that cross list on U.S. exchanges have greater analyst coverage and increased forecast accuracy than firms that are not cross listed. A time-series analysis shows that a change in analyst coverage and forecast accuracy occurs around cross listing. We also document that firms that have more analyst coverage and higher forecast accuracy have higher valuations. Furthermore, the change in firm value around cross listing is correlated with changes in analyst following and forecast accuracy, suggesting that cross listing enhances firm value through its effect on the firm's information environment. Our findings support the hypothesis that cross-listed firms have better information environments, which are associated with higher market valuations. Copyright University of Chicago on behalf of the Institute of Professional Accounting, 2003.
Müllerian Inhibitory Substance Induces Growth of Rat Preantral Ovarian Follicles1

Abstract Müllerian inhibitory substance (MIS), also known as anti-Müllerian hormone, is best known as the hormone that regulates the regression of the Müllerian duct in males. In females, MIS is expressed in granulosa cells of preantral and early antral follicles. The specific MIS type II receptor is present in granulosa and theca cells of these small, growing follicles. Because the role of MIS in preantral follicle development is unknown, we have evaluated the effect of MIS on the growth, differentiation, and apoptosis of intact preantral follicles in a serum-free culture system. In this system, treatment with FSH induces an increase in both follicle diameter, cell number, and follicle cell differentiation based on increased inhibin-α synthesis. Of interest, treatment with MIS enhances the effect of FSH both on follicle diameter and cell number. Although treatment with activin A also enhances FSH effects on follicle growth, treatment with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β inhibits the FSH effects on follicle growth. Based on in situ staining of fragmented DNA, MIS was found to have no effect on follicle cell apoptosis, unlike its proapoptotic action on Müllerian ducts. In contrast to MIS and activin, TGF-β was a potent proapoptotic factor for preantral follicles in culture. Analysis of inhibin-α expression of cultured preantral follicles further indicated that in contrast to activin, treatment with MIS did not enhance FSH-stimulated follicle differentiation. Thus, MIS is a unique factor that promotes preantral follicle growth but not preantral follicle cell differentiation and apoptosis.
The Global House Price Boom and its Unwinding: An Analysis and a Commentary

The unprecedented rises in house prices across much of the industrialized world during the period 1997–2006 have been closely linked to the massive global credit expansion of the past decade. They have also coincided with the highest rates of growth of the global economy on record. The downturn of house prices in the US that began in late 2006 has been the trigger for the US sub-prime crisis, itself the catalyst for the broad financial crisis that began in August 2007 which by September 2008 had become the worst US financial crisis since 1929. As a result, the structure of the highly influential US mortgage finance system has already changed fundamentally. These US problems will lead to a thorough review of mortgage securitization processes and of the wholesale funding of mortgage finance across the world. However, housing markets and housing finance systems differ significantly between countries and will channel the shocks originating from the US with varying intensity. Given the interdependence of the global economy, the quality of the US policy response and its impact on the depth and duration of the US recession will influence house price downturns in all other countries. This paper, written in the midst of the US crisis, looks to our understanding of fundamental economic and financial relationships: first, to describe the key features of the house price boom; second, to examine the likely impacts of the unwinding of that boom; and, finally, to bring out implications for affordability, the provision of housing credit and the most appropriate forms of tenure for higher risk households.
The Three-dimensional Structures of Antagonistic and Agonistic Forms of the Glucocorticoid Receptor Ligand-binding Domain

Here we describe the three-dimensional crystal structures of human glucocorticoid receptor ligand-binding domain (GR-LBD) in complex with the antagonist RU-486 at 2.3 Å resolution and with the agonist dexamethasone ligand together with a coactivator peptide at 2.8 Å. The RU-486 structure was solved in several different crystal forms, two with helix 12 intact (GR1 and GR3) and one with a protease-digested C terminus (GR2). In GR1, part of helix 12 is in a position that covers the co-activator pocket, whereas in the GR3, domain swapping is seen between the crystallographically identical subunits in the GR dimer. An arm consisting of the end of helix 11 and beyond stretches out from one molecule, and helix 12 binds to the other LBD, partly blocking the coactivator pocket of that molecule. This type of GR-LBD dimer has not been described before but might be an artifact from crystallization. Furthermore, the subunits of the GR3 dimers are covalently connected via a disulfide bond between the Cys-736 residues in the two molecules. All three RU-486 GR-LBD structures show that GR has a very flexible region between the end of helix 11 and the end of helix 12.
DSM-IV Axis II Comorbidity with Borderline Personality Disorder in Monolingual Hispanic Psychiatric Outpatients

The authors examined the comorbidity of DSM-IV borderline personality disorder (BPD) with other personality disorders (PD) in a series of adult monolingual (Spanish only) Hispanic psychiatric outpatients with substance use disorders. One hundred outpatients (69 men and 31 women) were assessed with the Spanish version of the Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders. PD co-occurrence in the group of patients with BPD (N = 34) was statistically compared with that in the group without BPD (N = 66). Bonferroni-corrected chi-square analysis showed significant diagnostic comorbidity with BPD for antisocial, avoidant, and depressive PD. However, analyses conducted separately by gender showed no significant comorbidity of any PD with BPD in women and significant comorbidity with antisocial, avoidant, and depressive PD in men. These results suggest that in monolingual Hispanic psychiatric outpatients with substance use disorders, gender may play a role in the nature of BPD comorbidity. The BPD diagnosis may represent a broader range of psychopathology in Hispanic men than women.
Pension Survivors Insurance for Widows

Men frequently do not provide pension survivors insurance for their wives. To analyze why, a demand-supply model of survivors insurance is presented. Using the Survey of Private Pension Benefit Amounts, tobit estimates are calculated for a sample of married male pensioners. Social security reduces the survivors insurance provided through private pensions, partially foiling governmental attempts to reduce poverty among widows. The decline in inflation and the Supreme Court's unisex pension decisions have increased the selection of pension survivors insurance so that an increase could not necessarily be attributed to the passage of the Retirement Equity Act. Copyright 1988 by Oxford University Press.
Red pitaya betacyanins protects from diet‐induced obesity, liver steatosis and insulin resistance in association with modulation of gut microbiota in mice

Growing evidence indicates that gut microbiota contributes to obesity and its related metabolic disorders. Betacyanins possess free radical scavenging and antioxidant activities, suggesting its potential beneficial effects on metabolic diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the metabolic effect of red pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) fruit betacyanins (HPBN) on high‐fat diet‐fed mice and determine whether the beneficial effects of HPBN are associated with the modulation of gut microbiota.
Human neurobehavioral research methods: impact of subject variables.

Behavioral tests are used in work site and community research to detect and characterize the effects of neurotoxic chemical exposures in human populations, but the influence of subject variables on test performance has not been well studied in normal adult populations. This research sought to evaluate the impact of two variables, education and cultural group, on 18 widely used tests of neurotoxic insult. Behavioral tests from the two consensus neurotoxicity test batteries (established by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) were administered to 715 people aged 26-45 with 0-18 years of education, drawn from European descent United States majority, American Indian, African American, and Latin American populations. Education, cultural group, age, and gender affected the outcome of behavioral tests as revealed by ANOVA, MANOVA, and multiple regression techniques. Education, followed by cultural group, accounted for the most variance in the tests studied. More importantly, years of education and cultural group had 13-25% shared variance on the cognitive tests and highly significant interactions derived from ANOVA tests. This suggests that these factors should be controlled in the design of a study rather than in the statistical analysis. Because these factors can mimic a neurotoxic insult, failure to adequately control and analyze them could lead to inaccurate conclusions about the association between poor performance and neurotoxic insult.
The Origin of the Reserve Clause

This article examines the creation of the first professional athletic labor market restriction over a century ago. In 1879, professional baseball club owners mutually agreed that each could reserve five players whom the others would not sign without permission, justifying the action by claiming that it was in the “public interest,” that is, necessary to preserve the game in the face of various alleged problems. Analysis of the relevant data reveals that these problems were either nonexistent or easily solved within the game’s existing rule structure. Given the lack of support for the public interest arguments proffered by owners, the more likely motive for the reserve rule was monopsonistic collusion.
Demonstration effects or relative deprivation? The counter‐revolutionary pressures of tourism in Cuba

Much has been written on how formal political systems affect tourism but little on how tourism impacts upon political culture. This paper reclaims relative deprivation theory from the field of general political sociology as an analytical framework for understanding the impact of tourism on political socialisation in host countries. The paper argues that relative deprivation theory, long established in political sociology, but never utilised in tourism-impact anlaysis, provides valuable insight into understanding the socio-cultural effects of tourism on host societies, particularly those relating to political acculturation, offering significant improvements on “demonstration effect” analysis. Relative deprivation theory can be systematically developed to specify testable hypotheses on the differential effects of tourism upon the political culture within different kinds of societies. Data from Cuba is used to support the theoretical discussion which suggests an intractable paradox – that governments in poor socialist countries which most need tourism to achieve economic growth, may be those most likely to be subverted by it politically. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Neural signatures of betrayal aversion: an fMRI study of trust

Decisions are said to be ‘risky’ when they are made in environments with uncertainty caused by nature. By contrast, a decision is said to be ‘trusting’ when its outcome depends on the uncertain decisions of another person. A rapidly expanding literature reveals economically important differences between risky and trusting decisions, and further suggests these differences are due to ‘betrayal aversion’. While its neural foundations have not been previously illuminated, the prevailing hypothesis is that betrayal aversion stems from a desire to avoid negative emotions that arise from learning one's trust was betrayed. Here, we provide evidence from an fMRI study that supports this hypothesis. In particular, our data indicate that the anterior insula modulates trusting decisions that involve the possibility of betrayal.
Reduction of Asymmetric Information Through Corporate Governance Mechanisms – The Importance of Ownership Dispersion and Exposure toward the International Capital Market

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: The purpose of this study is to examine how differences in “ownership dispersion” and “exposure to the international capital market” affect the particular use of the corporate governance mechanisms “transparency” and “board independence” in listed companies. Research Findings/Insights: Our findings are based on a Danish dataset that includes 100 listed companies. We find that transparency is a more important corporate governance mechanism for companies with exposure to the international capital market, while differences in ownership dispersion do not affect the use of the transparency mechanism. In contrast, we find that board independence in the context of a two-tier board member system is an important corporate governance mechanism for companies with widely dispersed ownership and not for companies with exposure to the international capital market. Theoretical/Academic Implications: The relationships identified in our study contribute to improved understanding of the contextual relationship between good corporate governance and the companies' choice of corporate governance mechanisms within a given corporate governance system. This is important in order to interpret inconsistencies in prior research findings and provide insight for the design of future studies into the seemingly endogenous nature of many corporate governance relationships. Practitioner/Policy Implications: The requirement to adhere to the “comply or explain rules” for corporate governance has become commonplace for listed companies. The study provides insight into valid reasons for differences in compliance. Regulators and other capital market participants should acknowledge that companies may differ in their use of corporate governance mechanisms for various reasons, including differences in ownership dispersion and exposure to the international capital market.
Comparing the Dynamics of Change in Food Safety and Pharmaceutical Policy in Spain

ABSTRACT Comparative analysis shows that while policy windows and policy entrepreneurs are important, they are insufficient to account for policy change. An understanding of the institutional setting is key to explaining the speed and the magnitude of policy dynamics. In both food safety and pharmaceutical policy in Spain, a redefinition of policy image has involved a transformation of the policy subsystem. In the case of food safety such a paradigm shift has represented a dramatic change, in the case of pharmaceuticals it has meant a gradual process that has developed over a decade. Periods of stability in the pharmaceutical sector reflect the ability of a closed policy community to control problem framing. By contrast, rapid changes in food safety policies are the result of crisis situations governed by a relatively loose policy network. The European Union has been a key policy venue that can transform an institutional framework towards one that is more pluralistic and expert oriented.
Auditor fee dependence, auditor tenure, and auditor independence: the case of Finland

A Green Paper on Audit Policy published by the European Commission is questioning, among other issues, whether the maximum fee collected from one client should be regulated and whether continuous assignment should be limited. In this paper, we examine the association between fee dependence and auditor tenure on auditor independence in Finland. We utilise audit, non-audit, and total fees as proxies of auditor fee dependence and discretionary accruals as a proxy of auditor independence. We find that: 1) fee dependence is not associated with discretionary accruals; 2) short auditor tenure (i.e., one year, equal or less than two years, and equal to or less than three years) is positively associated with discretionary accruals, however, only the former is statistically significant; 3) long auditor tenure is negatively associated with discretionary accruals, though this result is not statistically significant. Taken together, these results do not support policies to regulate auditor fee and limit auditor tenure in Finland.
Multivariate analysis of adaptive capacity for upper thermal limits in Drosophila simulans

Thermal tolerance is an important factor influencing the distribution of ectotherms, but our understanding of the ability of species to evolve different thermal limits is limited. Based on univariate measures of adaptive capacity, it has recently been suggested that species may have limited evolutionary potential to extend their upper thermal limits under ramping temperature conditions that better reflect heat stress in nature. To test these findings more broadly, we used a paternal half‐sibling breeding design to estimate the multivariate evolutionary potential for upper thermal limits in Drosophila simulans. We assessed heat tolerance using static (basal and hardened) and ramping assays. Our analyses revealed significant evolutionary potential for all three measures of heat tolerance. Additive genetic variances were significantly different from zero for all three traits. Our G matrix analysis revealed that all three traits would contribute to a response to selection for increased heat tolerance. Significant additive genetic covariances and additive genetic correlations between static basal and hardened heat‐knockdown time, marginally nonsignificant between static basal and ramping heat‐knockdown time, indicate that direct and correlated responses to selection for increased upper thermal limits are possible. Thus, combinations of all three traits will contribute to the evolution of upper thermal limits in response to selection imposed by a warming climate. Reliance on univariate estimates of evolutionary potential may not provide accurate insight into the ability of organisms to evolve upper thermal limits in nature.