Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning to Take Risks? The Effect of Education on Risk-Taking in Financial Markets

We investigate whether acquiring more education when young has long-term effects on risk-taking behavior in financial markets and whether the effects spill over to spouses and children. There is substantial evidence that more educated people are more likely to invest in the stock market. However, little is known about whether this is a causal effect of education or whether it arises from the correlation of education with unobserved characteristics. Using exogenous variation in education arising from a Swedish compulsory schooling reform in the 1950s and 1960s, and the wealth holdings of the population of Sweden in 2000, we estimate the effect of education on stock market participation and risky asset holdings. We find that an extra year of education increases stock market participation by about 2% for men but there is no evidence of any positive effect for women. More education also leads men to hold a greater proportion of their financial assets in stocks and other risky financial assets. We find no evidence of spillover effects from male schooling to the financial decisions of spouses or children.
A Constrained Monotonic Charging/Discharging Strategy for Optimal Capacity of Battery Energy Storage Supporting Wind Farms

A novel monotonic strategy following a consistent charging/discharging direction for each individual battery connected in parallel to form a large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) is proposed in this paper. The BESS is coordinated with a large wind farm to smooth out the intermittent nature of the farm's output fed to an electricity grid. The strategy is used to optimize the capacity of each battery reducing the system's capital cost. The strategy also prolongs the battery's lifetime and consequently minimizes the system's operating cost. It is shown that the optimal capacity of the battery decreases as their number increases. Moreover, the optimal capacity of the BESS tends to some positive limit as the number of batteries approaches infinity. A rigorous proof of the mathematical theory underlying the proposed strategy and associated optimization are given in the paper. The effectiveness of the strategy is confirmed with data analysis taken from an actual wind farm. The strategy is generic enough to be applicable to other intermittent generation sources such as solar PV farms.
Sexually dimorphic metabolism of branched-chain lipids in C57BL/6J mice Published, JLR Papers in Press, March 1, 2004. DOI 10.1194/jlr.M300408-JLR200

Despite the importance of branched chain lipid oxidation in detoxification, almost nothing is known regarding factors regulating peroxisomal uptake, targeting, and metabolism. One peroxisomal protein, sterol carrier protein-x (SCP-x), is thought to catalyze a key thiolytic step in branched chain lipid oxidation. When mice with substantially lower hepatic levels of SCP-x were tested for susceptibility to dietary stress with phytol (a phytanic acid precursor and peroxisome proliferator), livers of phytol-fed female but not male mice i) accumulated phytol metabolites (phytanic acid, pristanic acid, and Δ-2,3-pristanic acid); ii) exhibited decreased fat tissue mass and increased liver mass/body mass; iii) displayed signs of histopathological lesions in the liver; and iv) demonstrated significant alterations in hepatic lipid distributions. Moreover, both male and female mice exhibited phytol-induced peroxisomal proliferation, as demonstrated by liver morphology and upregulation of the peroxisomal protein catalase. In addition, levels of liver fatty acid binding protein, along with SCP-2 and SCP-x, increased, suggesting upregulation mediated by phytanic acid, a known ligand agonist of the peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor α. In summary, the present work establishes a role for SCP-x in branched chain lipid catabolism and demonstrates a sexual dimorphic response to phytol, a precursor of phytanic acid, in lipid parameters and hepatotoxicity.
Blood Transfusion Increases Functional Capillary Density in the Skin of Anemic Preterm Infants

Direct visualization of the microcirculation at the level of the skin capillaries may provide information on the quality of tissue perfusion. Orthogonal polarization spectral imaging (OPS) enables noninvasively direct observation of those blood vessels. OPS was applied to the upper arm of 13 preterm anemic infants [median (95% confidence interval) gestational age: 26 wk (25–26 wk); birth weight: 730 g (652–789 g)] before and 2 and 24 h after transfusion (Tx). OPS images of skin perfusion were continuously recorded on video. Off-line quantitative data of microvascular perfusion were obtained by measuring functional capillary density, vessel diameter, red blood cell velocity, and flow. We found a significant increase in functional capillary density 2 h after transfusion with an additional significant rise after 24 h [before: 142 (134–155); 2 h after Tx: 185 (166–196); 24 h after Tx: 206 (185–219) cm/cm2; p < 0.001), thus indicating improved microvascular perfusion. Vessel diameter, red blood cell velocity, and flow did not change significantly. There were no significant changes in clinical variables, such as blood pressure, heart rate, or body temperature. Whereas conventional monitoring methods did not show any changes after transfusion, quantitative analyses of OPS images indicated improved perfusion; hence, it seems a useful monitor for assessing the response to therapies aimed to improve tissue perfusion.
Vigabatrin-associated retinal cone system dysfunction

Objective: To determine the sources of vigabatrin-associated visual disturbances in patients treated for epilepsy. Background: Vigabatrin is an extremely effective antiepileptic drug that selectively increases brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Several patients recently developed constricted visual fields during vigabatrin treatment in the United Kingdom, indicating the possibility of GABA-associated retinal dysfunction. Methods: Patients with visual symptoms treated chronically with vigabatrin at our center underwent visual evoked potentials (VEP), electroretinograms (ERG), and visual field and ophthalmologic examinations. Results: Four of 38 patients treated with vigabatrin developed visual symptoms 2 to 40 months after starting the drug. Two patients complained of constricted visual fields and two had blurred vision. ERG demonstrated evidence of bilateral retinal dysfunction consistent with reduced inner retinal cone response in all four patients. Oscillatory potential responses were lost, suggesting impairment of the highly GABAergic amacrine cells. Two of the patients had normal VEPs and minimal findings on clinical ophthalmology examinations despite abnormal ERGs. Abnormal examination findings were narrowed retinal arteries, surface wrinkling retinopathy, and abnormal macular reflexes. One patient also had reduced rod photoreceptor function in the more symptomatic left eye. Conclusions: Visual field constriction and blurring during vigabatrin therapy is associated with retinal cone system dysfunction. Visual symptoms may represent selective vulnerability of retinas of affected patients to GABAergic effects of vigabatrin. The prevalence and course of retinal changes associated with vigabatrin therapy are important to determine in a larger group of patients.
The search for new antigenic targets in myasthenia gravis

Around 80% of myasthenia gravis patients have antibodies against the acetylcholine receptor, and 0–60% of the remaining patients have antibodies against the muscle‐specific tyrosine kinase, MuSK. Another recently identified antigen is low‐density lipoprotein receptor‐related protein 4 (Lrp4). To improve the existing assays and widen the search for new antigenic targets, we have employed cell‐based assays in which candidate target proteins are expressed on the cell surface of transfected cells and probed with patient sera. These assays, combined with use of myotube cultures to explore the effects of the antibodies, enable us to begin to identify new antigenic targets and test antibody pathogenicity in vitro.
Partial cost-benefit analysis of two different modes of nonpharmacological control of hypertension in the community.

In the Dan and Ashkelon areas of Israel, 28 male and 24 female mild to moderate hypertensives without target organ damage aged 35-65 years were randomly assigned to treatment programmes (based on nutritional management, exercise and stress management techniques) either on an individual basis administered by physician-nurse teams (PN) or on a group basis from a team of paramedical professionals (PP) consisting of a psychologist, nutritionist and physical activity instructor. At 11 and 24 months follow-up, there were similar significant improvements in both treatment modes for such risk factors as body mass index, caloric intake and physical activity levels. There was a significant decrease in drug use from $36.28 a month at baseline to $18.94 a month at 11 month follow-up (P = 0.01) and to an estimated $20.48 at 24 months. Mean BP remained unchanged, despite the reduction in drug use, indicating a reduction in the underlying BP. The net present value (NPV) of the reduction in drug utilisation totalled $740 per person over a five year time horizon and a 7.5% discount rate. The total extra costs of treatment, training, case-note writing, travelling and follow-up booster sessions, amounted to $95 per patient for the PN mode and $234 per patient for the PP mode, yielding benefit to cost ratios of 7.79/1 and 3.16/l, respectively. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Salmonella typhimurium leucine‐rich repeat proteins are targeted to the SPI1 and SPI2 type III secretion systems

Salmonellae encode two virulence‐associated type III secretion systems (TTSS) within Salmonella pathogenicity islands 1 and 2 (SPI1 and SPI2). Two Salmonella typhimurium genes, sspH1 and sspH2, that encode proteins similar to the Shigella flexneri and Yersinia species TTSS substrates, IpaH and YopM, were identified. SspH1 and SspH2 are proteins containing leucine‐rich repeats that are differentially targeted to the SPI1 and SPI2 TTSS. sspH2 transcription was induced within RAW264.7 macrophages, and was dependent upon the SPI2‐encoded regulator ssrA/ssrB. In contrast, sspH1 transcription is independent of SPI2, and is not induced after bacterial phagocytosis by eukaryotic cells. Infection of eukaryotic cells with strains expressing a SspH2–CyaA fusion protein resulted in SPI2 TTSS‐dependent cAMP increases. In contrast, SspH1–CyaA‐mediated cAMP increases were both SPI1 and SPI2 TTSS dependent. sspH2‐like sequences were found in most Salmonella serotypes examined, whereas sspH1 was detected in only one S. typhimurium isolate, indicating that the copy number of sspH genes can be variable within Salmonella serotypes. S. typhimurium deleted for both sspH1 and sspH2 was not able to cause a lethal infection in calves, indicating that these genes participate in S. typhimurium virulence for animals.
An exploratory study of social loafing in asynchronous virtual collaboration

This paper reports an exploratory study that investigates social loafing in asynchronous virtual collaboration. Specifically, we conducted an experiment to examine the following three research questions: 1) Does social loafing exist in virtual collaboration conducted in asynchronous mode? ; 2) Does providing feedback about their co-workers' performance increase an individual's contribution to a group task? ; 3) Does their co-workers' performance level influence an individual's contribution to a group task? Although no significant differences were found related to individual's contribution and perceived social loafing between the control and treatment groups, this study revealed a very intriguing phenomenon: individuals who were informed that their co-workers contributed a little to the group task did not perceive that their co-workers were engaged in social loafing. Future research is needed to investigate whether individuals involved in asynchronous virtual collaboration perceive their co-workers' social loafing differently from those involved in traditional face-to-face or synchronous virtual collaboration.
2‐methoxyestradiol‐induced caspase‐3 activation and apoptosis occurs through G2/M arrest dependent and independent pathways in gastric carcinoma cells

2‐Methoxyestradiol (2‐Me), one of the estrogen metabolites, has recently been found to possess anti‐angiogenesis activity in vivo. Many chemotherapeutic agents, such as taxol, docetaxel, and vinblastine, interact with microtubules and then induce apoptosis. It has been suggested that 2‐Me acts on microtubules and results in G2/M‐cycle arrest of tumor cells. Whether 2‐Me induces apoptosis in gastric carcinoma cell lines is not known. Moreover, reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by 2‐Me may be involved in cytotoxicity of tumor cells. Thus, another objective of this study was to evaluate the relation between cell cycle arrest, ROS formation, and caspase activity levels after 2‐Me treatment in gastric carcinoma cells.
A New Index Derived from the Cerebrovascular Pressure Transmission and Correlated with Consciousness Recovery in Severely Head-Injured Intensive Care Patients

BACKGROUND: In patients with serious head trauma, a moderate (20–25 mm Hg) mean level of intracranial pressure (ICP) may fail to distinguish patients with a real deteriorated intracranial status from those who are stable or improving. Because of these limitations, we analyzed the ICP curve in search of other relevant information regarding cerebrovascular pressure transmission. We looked for parameters with physiological meaning extracted from spectral analysis of cerebrovascular pressure transmission and correlated with consciousness recovery in patients with severe head injuries. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted in an intensive care unit of the University Hospital, Montpellier, France, from December 2003 to December 2005. Thirty consecutive patients admitted for severe head trauma were subjected to sedatives, mechanical ventilation, and intraparenchymatous recording of ICP and were evaluated with Glasgow Outcome Scale score. Simultaneous 60-s recordings of ICP and arterial blood pressure (BP) signals, beginning as soon as possible after head trauma, were repeated until death or clinical stabilization, every 15 min, with physicians blinded to the patients’ data. Spectra of ICP and BP waveforms were computed with Fourier transform. Amplitudes of cardiac and respiratory harmonics were analyzed. Cardiac (or respiratory) gain was defined as the ratio of amplitudes of cardiac (or respiratory) harmonic of ICP to BP signals and referred to as Gc and Gr, respectively. RESULTS: Twenty of the 30 enrolled patients recovered consciousness (Glasgow Outcome Scale score = 3, 4, or 5). Gr/Gc averaged over the whole recording period performed better in discriminating consciousness recovery (area under receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curve: 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.91–1) than ICP (0.76; 95% CI: 0.54–0.97), cerebral perfusion pressure (0.75; 95% CI: 0.53–0.97) and Gc (0.77; 95% CI: 0.57–0.99) (P < 0.001 for each comparison). When considering the recording period 30 h posttrauma (hpt), 162 hpt, a value of Gr/Gc ≥4 was always associated with consciousness recovery, and the relative risk was equal to 9 (95% CI: 1.42–57.12). CONCLUSIONS: Gr/Gc, which characterizes the cerebrovascular transmission, better discriminates bad evolution than high values of ICP or low values of cerebral perfusion pressure in patients with severe head trauma. A reduction in Gr/Gc ratio might be an early alarm signaling worsening intracranial hemodynamic conditions.
R-plasmid transfer frequencies from environmental isolates of Escherichia coli to laboratory and fecal strains

Multiple-drug-resistant strains of Escherichia coli were isolated from the water at an estuarine site. They represented about 8.3% of the total E. coli population. Fifty-five strains, representing each of the 32 resistance patterns identified, were mated with an E. coli K-12 F- strain. Matings were performed on membrane filters, and the cells were washed to remove any colicins produced by the donors. Thirty-one strains, about 5% of the mean E. coli density in the samples, transferred drug resistance and, hence, posessed conjugative R plasmids. Of these, 80% transferred drug resistance at a frequency of about 10(-4) or less. Nine environmental R+ strains were mated with three fecal recipients. The R-plasmid transfer frequencies to the fecal strains from the environmental donors correlated well with those from a derepressed K-12 R+ laboratory donor. The R+ X K-12 F- lac- transconjugants from 16 environmental strains were "backcrossed" to a lac+ K-12 F- strain. All transfer frequencies were higher in the backcrosses than in the original matings from the environmental donor. Furthermore, 7 of 13 different transconjugants, which accepted plasmids at repressed frequencies of less than 10(-3), donated them at frequencies greater than 10(-2). This suggests that these were derepressed plasmids in a repressed host.
Antimicrobial activity of Desmos chinensis leaf and Maclura cochinchinensis wood extracts

The antimicrobial activity of crude extracts of Desmos chinensis leaves and Maclura cochinchinensis wood were tested against human pathogens, including bacteria, yeast and dermatophytic fungi, using the agar disc diffusion and agar dilution methods. The crude chloroform extract of D. chinensis was active against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Bacillus subtilis with MIC values ranging from 500-1000 μg/ml. The crude hexane and chloroform extracts of D. chinensis exhibited the strongest activity against all dermatophytes tested (Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Microsporum gypseum), with MIC values ranging from 31.25-62.50 μg/ml. However, methanol and water extracts of D. chinensis showed no activities against all of the microorganisms tested. The crude chloroform extract of M. cochinchinensis exhibited strong antibacterial activity against S. aureus, S. epidermidis and B. subtilis with MIC value ranging from 125-250 μg/ml. and showed inhibition against all the dermatophytes, with MIC of 250 μg/ml. Hexane extract of M. cochinchinensis was not active against all microorganisms. None of the crude extracts were active against Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Shigella sonnei and Candida albicans. These findings indicated that D. chinensis and M. cochinchinensis had antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteia and anti-dermatophytic activity.
The Role of Echocardiography for Evaluation Patients with Arterial Hypertension

Arterial hypertension is a major risk factor for stroke andcardiovascular diseases, and is thus associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Hypertensive heart disease is a complex entity that involves changes to thecardiovascular system resulting from arterial hypertension; it is therefore the major cause of hypertension-related complications [1]. The development of Doppler echocardiography has offered newapproaches regarding both insights into pathophysiology and clinical implicationsthat affect hypertensive patients [2,3] . For these reasons, it is obvious that echocardiographic assessment is very important inthe clinical management of hypertensive patient. We aimed at reviewing “old” and newer data regarding the contributions of echocardiography to the evaluation of a hypertensive patient.
Is sodium bicarbonate therapy during cardiopulmonary resuscitation really detrimental?

Dr. Arieff (1) states that the acid base status associated with cardiac arrest is best defined as "hypercarbic metabolic acidosis," where the acidosis is secondary to "metabolic" CO2 accumulation. Although it is true that CO2 production (partly because of titration of "metabolic" hydrogen ions by bicarbonate) and accumulation may contribute to the acidosis at the tissue level, the contribution of the "metabolically" produced lactate and hydrogen ions to the acidosis of cardiac arrest and CPR cannot be ignored.
[Health self-perception in men and women among the elderly].

OBJECTIVES To analyze the differences in health self-perception between men and women in the later stages of life and to assess their association with sociodemographic and health variables. METHODS Data on 1,459 men and 1,993 women aged 60 or older from the 1994 Catalan Health Survey, were collected and an analysis of health self-perception according to age, gender, social class, reporting of chronic disease and handicaps was performed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used, taking into account the survey design. RESULTS Of the women aged 60 and older, 57.3% reported poor health compared with 43.6% of men of the same age. The proportion of women with one or more handicaps was also greater (41.2%) than that of the men (28.7%), as was the case with chronic disease (92.2% in women and 85.6% in men). The multivariate model also revealed that health self-perception was poorer among women than among men. Other explanatory factors were the number of chronic diseases, having handicaps, and being a member of a lower social class. Age interacted with the number of chronic diseases to mitigate the effect of chronic diseases on perceived health status. CONCLUSIONS In the elderly population, poor health self-perception was greater among women, even when other significant explanatory variable (social class, age, handicaps and chronic disease) were adjusted for. The most important explanatory factors in health self-perception were having chronic disease and/or handicaps. The impact of chronic disease on poor health self-perception decreased in older age groups.
A Pilot Study of Adalimumab in Infliximab-Allergic Patients

The anti-TNF-&agr; antibody infliximab (Remicade) is highly effective in the treatment of Crohn's disease. A subset of patients experience allergic reactions as a result of antibodies to infliximab (ATIs). The purpose of the current study is to describe the safety and efficacy of adalimumab (Humira) in patients previously allergic or intolerant to infliximab. Adalimumab is an anti-TNF-&agr; agent containing only human peptide sequences. Seven patients have been treated with adalimumab who had experienced immediate- or delayed-hypersensitivity reactions to infliximab and one with infliximab-induced lupus. Except for injection site discomfort, adalimumab was well tolerated without signs or symptoms of allergic reactions. One patient who had previously received pooled human immunoglobulin developed a pruritic rash after each dose of adalimumab. Patients with active disease who had previously experienced a robust response to infliximab responded to adalimumab as reflected by an improvement in Harvey-Bradshaw index and inflammatory markers. Based on these preliminary data, adalimumab may be a safe and effective substitute for infliximab-allergic patients. Individuals who have been exposed to human antibodies may be sensitized to other human antibodies such as adalimumab.
Identification of Polypeptides Expressed in Response to Vinyl Chloride, Ethene, and Epoxyethane in Nocardioides sp. Strain JS614 by Using Peptide Mass Fingerprinting

ABSTRACT Enzymes expressed in response to vinyl chloride, ethene, and epoxyethane by Nocardioides sp. strain JS614 were identified by using a peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) approach. PMF provided insight concerning vinyl chloride biodegradation in strain JS614 and extends the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time of flight mass spectrometry as a tool to enhance characterization of biodegradation pathways.