Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Commodity Prices, Stock Prices and Economic Activity in a Small Open Economy

This thesis is comprised of three papers which jointly examine the role of commodity prices as well as other asset prices in influencing the evolution of economic activity in a small-open economy (SOE). Using Canada as the quintessential small-open economy, each chapter adopts a particular approach to investigating this dynamic relationship. It is hoped that the contribution made in this thesis to understanding the relationship will aid policy-makers as they attempt to address the associated policy questions which are often fraught with difficulties and uncertainty. In chapter 1 the use of a recursively identified Vector Auto-Regression (VAR) is employed to study the impact of commodity price shocks on Canada’s macro-economy. While similar analysis has been carried out before, this has tended to focus solely on the impact of oil prices. Additionally, the analysis has tended to focus on aggregate output, while neglecting the specific sectoral impact. Given that each sectors’ exposure to commodity price movements will be different, one would also expect varying sectoral responses to these shocks. Chapter 1 attempts to focus on this and thus offers a level of insight into the operation of the Canadian macro-economy which has not been extensively addressed in the literature. The results suggest that indeed there is divergent sectoral responses to commodity price shocks, using a broad measure of commodity prices. The commodity producing sectors of the economy respond favourably to an unexpected rise in commodity prices, whilst the manufacturing sector is negatively impacted by such movements. We also found evidence that policy-makers may attempt to contain any inflationary pressures emanating from rising commodity prices by raising interest rates. Chapter 2 delves even further into the dynamics of this relationship by employing a
Multicolor COBRA‐FISH analysis of chronic myeloid leukemia reveals novel cryptic balanced translocations during disease progression

During the initial indolent chronic phase of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), the t(9;22)(q34;q11), resulting in the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph), is usually the sole cytogenetic anomaly, but as the disease progresses into the accelerated phase (AP), and eventually into aggressive blast crisis (BC), secondary aberrations, mainly unbalanced changes such as +8, i(17q), and +Ph, are frequent. To date, molecular genetic studies of CML BC have mainly focused on alterations of well‐known tumor‐suppressor genes (e.g., TP53, CDKN2A, and RB1) and oncogenes (e.g., RAS and MYC), whereas limited knowledge is available about the molecular genetic correlates of the unbalanced chromosomal abnormalities. Balanced secondary changes are rare in CML AP/BC, but it is not known whether cryptic chromosomal translocations, generating fusion genes, may be responsible for disease progression in a subgroup of CML. To address this issue, we used multicolor combined binary ratio fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), which allows the simultaneous visualization of all 24 chromosomes in different colors, verified by locus‐specific FISH in a series of 33 CML cases. Two cryptic balanced translocations, t(7;17)(q32–34;q23) and t(7;17)(p15;q23), were found in two of the five cases showing the t(9;22) as the only cytogenetic change. Using several BAC clones, the breakpoints at 17q23 in both cases were mapped within a 350‐kb region. In the case with the 7p15 breakpoint, a BAC clone containing the HOXA gene cluster displayed a split signal, suggesting a possible creation of a fusion gene involving a member of the HOXA family. Furthermore, one case with a partially cryptic t(9;11)(p21–22;q23) and an MLL rearrangement as well as a previously unreported t(3;10)(p22;p12–13) were identified. Altogether, a refined karyotypic description was achieved in 12 (36%) of the 33 investigated cases, illustrating the value of using multicolor FISH for identifying pathogenetically important aberrations in CML AP/BC. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Nuclear relaxation of human brain gray and white matter: Analysis of field dependence and implications for MRI

The dependence of 1 / T1 on the magnetic field strength (the relaxation dispersion) has been measured at 37°C on autopsy samples of human brain gray and white matter at field strengths corresponding to proton Larmor frequencies between 10 kHz and 50 MHz (0.0002‐1.2 T). Additional measurements of 1 / T1 and 1 / T2 have been performed at 200 MHz (4.7 T) and 20 MHz (0.47 T), respectively. Absolute signal amplitudes are found to be proportional to the sample water content, not to the “proton density,” and it is concluded that the myelin lipids do not contribute to the signal. Transverse magnetization decay data can be fitted with a triple exponential function, giving characteristic results for each tissue type, and are insensitive to variations of the pulse spacing interval. The longitudinal relaxation dispersion curves show characteristic shapes for each tissue type. The most striking difference is a large dispersion for white matter at very high fields. As a consequence, the relative difference in 1 / T1 between gray and white matter shows a marked maximum around 10 MHz. Possible implications for MRI are discussed. A weighted least‐squares fit of the dispersions has been performed using a four‐parameter function of the form \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$$ 1/T_1 = 1/T_{1,W} + D + A/(1 + (f/f_c)^{\beta '})$$ \end{document}
The Effects of Intraarticular Resiniferatoxin in Experimental Knee-Joint Arthritis

In this study we sought to determine whether an intraarticular administration of a vanilloid agonist resiniferatoxin (RTX) produces an analgesic effect in experimental arthritis. Knee joint inflammation was induced in rats by intraarticular carrageenan (2%, 30 &mgr;L). Pain score and left/right hind leg weight distribution ratio were used to assess pain behavior. Changes in knee dimensions were evaluated by measuring external circumference and intraarticular area (ultrasound scanning). The intraarticular administration of RTX (0.0003% or 0.003%, 30 &mgr;L) provided a significant analgesic effect. Twenty-four hours after RTX administration, the pain score was reduced from 15.1 ± 4.7 to 6.9 ± 4.4 (P < 0.01) with 0.0003% and was abolished (P < 0.0001) with 0.003%. The improvement in weight distribution ratio lasted for several days after the RTX administration. Reduction in knee circumference demonstrated that intraarticular RTX suppressed the carrageenan-induced edema by at least one third. Ultrasound scanning revealed no RTX-induced decrease of the intraarticular area. The experiments demonstrated that intraarticular RTX inhibits pain behavior in knee-joint arthritis and that this effect is dose-dependent. These results suggest a new direction for peripheral analgesia.
Double-blind comparison of bupropion and fluoxetine in depressed outpatients.

BACKGROUND This study was undertaken to compare the efficacy and safety of bupropion and fluoxetine. METHOD Moderately to severely depressed outpatients who fulfilled the DSM-III-R criteria for nonpsychotic major depressive disorder and had a score of 20 or more on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (21 item) participated in this two-center study. Following a 1-week placebo phase, patients were randomly assigned to receive either bupropion or fluoxetine for 6 weeks of double-blind treatment. Weekly efficacy assessments included Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety, Clinical Global Impressions-Severity, and Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement. Vital signs and adverse experiences were also assessed weekly. RESULTS A total of 61 patients were randomly assigned to receive bupropion (225-450 mg/day) and 62 were randomly assigned to receive fluoxetine (20-80 mg/day). The mean daily dose at the end of the study was 382 mg/day for the bupropion treatment group and 38 mg/day for the fluoxetine treatment group. There were no statistically significant differences between treatments on any of the efficacy variables. On the basis of a 50% or greater reduction in the HAM-D scores, 63% (N = 37) of the bupropion-treated and 58% (N = 35) of the fluoxetine-treated patients were categorized as responders, and on the basis of CGI scores, 68% (N = 40) of the bupropion-treated and 58% (N = 35) of the fluoxetine-treated patients were rated as much or very much improved. HAM-A scores decreased by 59% for both treatment groups. The incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events was low with no statistically significant differences between treatments. Twenty-six percent (N = 16) of the bupropion-treated and 29% (N = 18) of the fluoxetine-treated patients prematurely discontinued treatment. CONCLUSION Both bupropion and fluoxetine demonstrated similar efficacy in relieving depression and accompanying symptoms of anxiety, and both exhibited a similar, favorable safety profile.
Impact of unreported HIV‐1 reverse transcriptase mutations on phenotypic resistance to nucleoside and non‐nucleoside inhibitors

An extended spectrum of HIV‐1 reverse‐transcriptase (RT) mutations in HAART‐treated patients has been recently described. To verify the possible association of previously unreported RT mutations with a decrease of phenotypic susceptibility to nucleoside (NRTIs) and non‐nucleoside (NNRTIs) RT inhibitors, the RT sequence of 328 HIV‐1‐positive patients (102 naïve and 226 treated with HAART participating in either the PhenGen or Genpherex study) was analyzed. All treated patients were tested at the time of therapeutic failure with both phenotypic (Antivirogram®, Virco) and genotypic analyses (VircoGen™); the frequency of RT substitutions (positions 1–240) with respect to consensus B was compared to that of naïve patients using a Chi‐square test. Amino acid changes at 13 positions not included in the IAS list of resistance‐associated mutations were detected more frequently in treated than in naïve subjects. The mutations involving 10 of these positions were associated with a reduced susceptibility to antiretroviral drugs; K20R, T39A, K43EQN, E203KD, H208Y, and D218E were correlated with NRTI resistance while mutations K101EQP, H221Y, K223EQ, L228HR were associated to NNRTI resistance. A correlation was found between K20R and lamivudine resistance (P = 0.006) while T39A (P = 0.005), K43EQN (<0.001), E203KD (P = 0.010), and H208Y (P = < 0.001) seemed to be associated with a previous use of zidovudine and stavudine and with the development of thymidine analog resistance. For H208Y, an association with use/resistance to abacavir (P = 0.004) was also noted. D218E showed a weak association to didanosine resistance (P = 0.013). The data confirm that previously unreported mutations are associated with antiretroviral drug experience and, more importantly, with a reduced susceptibility to NRTIs and NNRTIs. J. Med. Virol. 78:9–17, 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, inc.
What is the best measure of maternal complications of term pregnancy: ongoing pregnancies or pregnancies delivered?

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether rates of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy increase beyond 37 weeks of gestation and to address how best to analyze these rates. STUDY DESIGN This was a retrospective cohort study of all women delivered beyond 37 weeks' gestational age from 1995 to 1999 at all Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program delivery hospitals in Northern California. Rates of gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and eclampsia were calculated by use of both pregnancy delivered (PD) and ongoing pregnancy (OP) as the denominator. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted with use of P<. 05 to indicate statistical significance. RESULTS Among the 135,560 women in this cohort, the rates of gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and eclampsia were the same or decreased from 37 to 43 weeks' gestation using PD, but all three increased when calculated according to OP (P<.01). CONCLUSION We found that among complications of pregnancy that are diagnosed ante partum, use of a different denominator led to contradictory conclusions. When hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are analyzed, ongoing pregnancies should be used as the denominator.
Employee Sensemaking on the Importance of Sustainability Reporting in Sustainability Identity Change

This study examines employee sensemaking processes in order to understand the role of sustainability reporting in organizational identity change. Through an analysis of 52 interviews with employees in two Finnish companies, we develop sensemaking frames for understanding the role of sustainability reporting in organizational identity change. The three sensemaking frames are individualistic, relational and decoupled. Each of these sensemaking frames differs in stakeholder orientation. They indicate that sensemaking influences the interpretation of how important sustainability reporting is for organizational identity change towards sustainability. The study shows how the individualistic and relational frames serve as sensemaking frames for framing sustainability reporting as being possibly beneficial in organizational identity change. However, the decoupled frame highlights the deficiencies of reporting, especially from the perspective of a collectivistic stakeholder orientation. We propose that a better understanding of the decoupled sensemaking frame helps to understand the justifications for the increasing criticism that has been targeted at sustainability reporting. Copyright Â© 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Health Workers’ Support for Breastfeeding in Ibadan, Nigeria

Breastfeeding in Nigeria is universal, and exclusive breastfeeding was introduced in 1992, yet no study has assessed health workers’ support for breastfeeding at the grassroots level. This study assessed health workers’ tangible support for breastfeeding at primary care facilities in Ibadan and factors affecting it, including knowledge of and attitudes toward breastfeeding. Among the 386 workers, there was moderate support for breastfeeding (median score = 15.0, maximum = 20). Following multivariate analysis, young age of worker (20-29 years; odds ratio [OR] = 2.9, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-6.8), more than 5 years of post-training experience (OR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2-4.4), senior profession (OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.0-4.4), high breastfeeding knowledge scores (OR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.4-4.5), and sufficient opportunities to practice tangible breastfeeding support (OR = 4.3, 95% CI: 2.4-7.7) were found to predict tangible breastfeeding support. Deliberate efforts should be made to incorporate continuing education workshops to better prepare health professionals for their role in providing tangible breastfeeding support at the primary care level.
Short term effect of withdrawal of diuretic drugs prescribed for ankle oedema

Abstract Objective : To determine the effect of withdrawing diuretic drugs on oedema in patients prescribed them for only ankle oedema, excluding patients with cardiac, hepatic, or renal failure. Design : Randomised controlled trial. Setting : 15 general practices in the Netherlands. Patients : 1202 patients aged 65 years or older and taking diuretic drugs, 63 of whom were eligible for the trial. Main outcome measure : Change in volumetrically determined ankle oedema (oedema index) over six weeks. Results : 34 patients were randomised to stop diuretics and 29 to the control group. In eight patients diuretics had to be restarted. Among patients who had diuretics withdrawn successfully, rebound oedema caused a temporary increase in mean oedema index. The peak level (3.5% (95% confidence interval 1.5% to 5.2%) was reached in the third week, after which the oedema seemed to be returning to the baseline level. Conclusion : Few patients who have been prescribed diuretics for only ankle oedema clearly have no contraindications to withdrawing diuretics. If patients are unlikely to have cardiac insufficiency and careful monitoring is provided, withdrawal of diuretics seems to be feasible, though moderate rebound oedema may occur for a short time.
Big data analytics capabilities and knowledge management: impact on firm performance

Purpose Big data analytics (BDA) guarantees that data may be analysed and categorised into useful information for businesses and transformed into big data related-knowledge and efficient decision-making processes, thereby improving performance. However, the management of the knowledge generated from the BDA as well as its integration and combination with firm knowledge have scarcely been investigated, despite an emergent need of a structured and integrated approach. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Through an empirical analysis based on structural equation modelling with data collected from 88 Italian SMEs, the authors tested if BDA capabilities have a positive impact on firm performances, as well as the mediator effect of knowledge management (KM) on this relationship. Findings The findings of this paper show that firms that developed more BDA capabilities than others, both technological and managerial, increased their performances and that KM orientation plays a significant role in amplifying the effect of BDA capabilities. Originality/value BDA has the potential to change the way firms compete through better understanding, processing, and exploiting of huge amounts of data coming from different internal and external sources and processes. Some managerial and theoretical implications are proposed and discussed in light of the emergence of this new phenomenon.
Priming of Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells by Plerixafor and Filgrastim in Children With Previous Failure of Mobilization With Chemotherapy and/or Cytokine Treatment

Plerixafor has been recently approved by the European Medicines Agency for adult patients who have failed other mobilization strategies. Experience in children, however, is extremely limited. We describe the experience of the use of this drug in 8 children under a compassionate-use program in 3 Italian and 2 Spanish centers. Plerixafor was generally well tolerated; only 2 of 8 children reported adverse effects, and these were mild in intensity. Peripheral blood progenitor cell priming was improved with plerixafor in 6 of 8 patients. In the remaining 2 patients, the target CD34+ cell count was below the target of 2×106 cells/kg, although in these patients cell counts before collection were good enough for leukapheresis. Plerixafor, therefore seems to be safe and effective for peripheral blood progenitor cell mobilization in children. Adverse events were comparable with those described with filgrastim alone.
Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor Activates JAK/Stat Signal Transduction Cascade and Induces Transcriptional Expression of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein in Glial Cells

Abstract: In recent reports, ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) has been implicated as an injury factor involved in regulating astrogliosis in the CNS. In this study, we used a rat oligodendroglial progenitor cell line that is highly responsive to CNTF to examine CNTF‐induced alterations that may play a role in activation of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) gene. We determined that CNTF induces the transient translocation of Stat1α/p91 to the nucleus. This nuclear translocation was followed by GFAP promoter activation and an up‐regulation of GFAP mRNA and protein. Levels of CNTF‐α receptor mRNA, however, were unaffected by addition of the ligand. Transfection studies using an upstream 5′‐flanking, 1.9‐kb rat GFAP promoter linked to a luciferase reporter gene revealed CNTF‐induced transcriptional activation within 1 h of ligand exposure. Moreover, serial‐deleted constructs identified a distal (−1,857 to −1,546 bp) and a proximal (−384 to −106 bp) region as being important for CNTF‐induced GFAP promoter activation. These two regions showed a strong degree of overlap for CNTF‐ and serum‐induced activation of the GFAP gene. Analysis of the two regions revealed several cis‐elements that are thought to be involved in GFAP regulation and/or the regulation of other genes by members of the interleukin‐6 family of cytokines. Moreover, we are the first to report the presence of several putative CNTF‐responsive elements within our identified distal and proximal regions in the GFAP gene promoter.
Upregulation of COX-1 and COX-2 in nasal polyps in cystic fibrosis

Background: Since abnormalities in prostanoid metabolism occur in the lower airway of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), it is likely that they could also be detected in the nose. Methods: The degree of mRNA and protein expression of cyclo-oxygenase (COX) enzymes 1 (COX-1) and 2 (COX-2) was examined using quantitative reverse competitive polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis in the nasal polyps from 10 patients with CF, nasal polyps from 10 non-CF patients and 11 nasal mucosa specimens. The results are presented as 106 cDNA molecules/μg total RNA and the densitometric ratio between protein and β-actin. Results: COX-1 mRNA levels were significantly higher in CF nasal polyps (median 2.34, 25–75th percentiles 1.6–3.2) than in the nasal mucosa (0.78, 0.11–1.21), while there was no difference with non-CF nasal polyps (1.11, 0.80–3.15). COX-1 protein levels were significantly higher in CF nasal polyps (3.63, 2.71–4.27) than in nasal mucosa (1.55, 0.66–2.33) and non-CF nasal polyps (2.19, 1.72–3.68). COX-2 mRNA was significantly higher in CF nasal polyps (3.34, 2.42–7.05) than in nasal mucosa (1.69, 0.19–3.50). No differences were found in COX-2 mRNA expression between CF and non-CF polyps (1.38, 0.12–6.07). COX-2 protein levels were also significantly higher in CF nasal polyps (0.23, 0.04–0.34) than in non-CF nasal polyps (0.011, 0.009–0.016) or nasal mucosa (0.014, 0.014–0.016). Conclusions: Upregulation in the expression of COX-1 and COX-2 could explain the high production of prostanoids reported in CF. These findings raise questions regarding the potential use of selective or non-selective COX-2 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory treatment in CF.
Race and gender differences in the treatment of psychiatric disorders in young adolescents.

OBJECTIVE Most children and adolescents with mental illness remain untreated. Evidence suggests that race is a factor in the referral of children for treatment. This study examines race and gender differences in treatment of adolescent psychiatric disorders. METHOD During a two-stage, school-based, epidemiological study of depression, data were collected on 478 adolescents. Instruments included the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children and the Children's Global Assessment Scale. RESULTS Twenty-two percent of the sample had contact with professionals during the prior year, including 56% of adolescents with a psychiatric diagnosis. Significant odds ratios (ORs) were found between all diagnoses and treatment. Trends for undertreatment of females and African-Americans were evident in univariable and multivariable models. The OR (0.34) for African-American females was significant in the multivariable model. African-Americans were significantly more likely to receive only one or two treatment contacts. CONCLUSION Data suggest race and gender differences in the treatment of adolescent psychiatric disorders. Possible explanations include referral bias, low cultural competence of mental health professionals, and cultural differences in the expression and tolerance of symptoms and help-seeking behaviors. Further study of factors influencing treatment decisions is needed.