Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Muddying the Waters: Who Induces Volatility in an Emerging Market?

Do all investor types contribute equally to volatility formation? Although stock volatility should ideally originate only from fundamental innovations, it is embedded into prices through the trading process. We compare the relative contributions of trading by local institutions, local individuals and foreign institutions to the volatility of individual stocks, using a proprietary dataset and a battery of robust measures. Overall, neither local nor foreign institutions are the major drivers of volatility, not even during times of financial stress. Individuals consistently appear to induce more of the volatility and liquidity, behaving as the archetypical noise traders but also as liquidity providers.
A Land without a People for a People without a Land

"A land without a people for a people without a land" is one of the most oft-cited phrases in the literature of Zionism—and perhaps also the most problematic. Anti-Zionists cite the phrase as a perfect encapsulation of the fundamental injustice of Zionism: that early Zionists believed Palestine was uninhabited,[1] that they denied—and continue to reject—the existence of a distinct Palestinian culture,[2] and even as evidence that Zionists always planned on an ethnic cleansing of the Arab population. [3] Such assertions are without basis in fact: They both deny awareness on the part of early Zionists of the presence of Arabs in Palestine and exaggerate the coalescence of a Palestinian national identity, which in reality only developed in reaction to Zionist immigration. [4] Nor is it true, as many anti-Zionists still assert, that early Zionists widely employed the phrase.
Direct Evidence of Lower Viral Replication Rates In Vivo in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2 (HIV-2) Infection than in HIV-1 Infection

ABSTRACT Studies have shown that human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) is less pathogenic than HIV-1, with a lower rate of disease progression. Similarly, plasma viral loads are lower in HIV-2 infection, suggesting that HIV-2 replication is restricted in vivo in comparison to that of HIV-1. However, to date, in vivo studies characterizing replication intermediates in the viral life cycle of HIV-2 have been limited. In order to test the hypothesis that HIV-2 has a lower replication rate in vivo than HIV-1 does, we quantified total viral DNA, integrated proviral DNA, cell-associated viral mRNA, and plasma viral loads in peripheral blood samples from groups of therapy-naïve HIV-1-infected (n = 21) and HIV-2-infected (n = 18) individuals from Dakar, Senegal, with CD4+ T-cell counts of >200/μl. Consistent with our previous findings, total viral DNA loads were similar between HIV-1 and HIV-2 and plasma viral loads were higher among HIV-1-infected individuals. Proportions of DNA in the integrated form were also similar between these viruses. In contrast, levels of viral mRNA were lower in HIV-2 infection. Our study indicates that HIV-2 is able to establish a stable, integrated proviral infection in vivo, but that accumulation of viral mRNA is attenuated in HIV-2 infection relative to that in HIV-1 infection. The differences in viral mRNA are consistent with the differences in plasma viral loads between HIV-1 and HIV-2 and suggest that lower plasma viral loads, and possibly the attenuated pathogenesis of HIV-2, can be explained by lower rates of viral replication in vivo.
The characteristics of recovery sleep when recovery opportunity is restricted.

STUDY OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate the recovery of sleep and waking functions following one night of total sleep deprivation, when recovery opportunity was either augmented or restricted. DESIGN The 9-day laboratory study involved a baseline night, a night of sleep loss (approximately 40 h) followed by 5 nighttime recovery sleep periods. Recovery consisted of either five 9-h sleep opportunities or five 6-h sleep opportunities. SETTING All data collection took place in a controlled laboratory environment at the Centre for Sleep Research. PARTICIPANTS A total of n = 20 healthy adults (18-35 yrs) participated in the study. RESULTS Each sleep period was recorded using a standard polysomnographic EEG montage. Waking functions were assessed every 2 hours during all wake periods, using a 10 minute psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) and a subjective alertness visual analogue scale (VAS). Sleep analyses indicated that across the week TST, SOL, REM, and sleep efficiency varied significantly between the 2 conditions, but amounts of SWS did not. Waking functions in the 9-h condition recovered after one sleep period. In the 6-h condition however, mean response time on the PVT was 10% below baseline and subjective alertness 20% below baseline for the entire recovery period. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that TST is a key factor in determining recovery. When recovery opportunity is restricted, both sleep variables and measures of waking functions do not recover.
Heterotrimeric NADH-Oxidizing Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase from the Acetogenic Bacterium Acetobacterium woodii

ABSTRACT The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) of acetogenic bacteria catalyzes the reduction of methylene-THF, which is highly exergonic with NADH as the reductant. Therefore, the enzyme was suggested to be involved in energy conservation by reducing ferredoxin via electron bifurcation, followed by Na+ translocation by the Rnf complex. The enzyme was purified from Acetobacterium woodii and shown to have an unprecedented subunit composition containing the three subunits RnfC2, MetF, and MetV. The stable complex contained 2 flavin mononucleotides (FMN), 23.5 ± 1.2 Fe and 24.5 ± 1.5 S, which fits well to the predicted six [4Fe4S] clusters in MetV and RnfC2. The enzyme catalyzed NADH:methylviologen and NADH:ferricyanide oxidoreductase activity but also methylene-tetrahydrofolate (THF) reduction with NADH as the reductant. The NADH:methylene-THF reductase activity was high (248 U/mg) and not stimulated by ferredoxin. Furthermore, reduction of ferredoxin, alone or in the presence of methylene-THF and NADH, was never observed. MetF or MetVF was not able to catalyze the methylene-THF-dependent oxidation of NADH, but MetVF could reduce methylene-THF using methyl viologen as the electron donor. The purified MTHFR complex did not catalyze the reverse reaction, the endergonic oxidation of methyl-THF with NAD+ as the acceptor, and this reaction could not be driven by reduced ferredoxin. However, addition of protein fractions made the oxidation of methyl-THF to methylene-THF coupled to NAD+ reduction possible. Our data demonstrate that the MTHFR of A. woodii catalyzes methylene-THF reduction according to the following reaction: NADH + methylene-THF → methyl-THF + NAD+. The differences in the subunit compositions of MTHFRs of bacteria are discussed in the light of their different functions. IMPORTANCE Energy conservation in the acetogenic bacterium Acetobacterium woodii involves ferredoxin reduction followed by a chemiosmotic mechanism involving Na+-translocating ferredoxin oxidation and a Na+-dependent F1Fo ATP synthase. All redox enzymes of the pathway have been characterized except the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR). Here we report the purification of the MTHFR of A. woodii, which has an unprecedented heterotrimeric structure. The enzyme reduces methylene-THF with NADH. Ferredoxin did not stimulate the reaction; neither was it oxidized or reduced with NADH. Since the last enzyme with a potential role in energy metabolism of A. woodii has now been characterized, we can propose a quantitative bioenergetic scheme for acetogenesis from H2 plus CO2 in the model acetogen A. woodii.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in a corticosteroid-treated rheumatic disease patient population.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the incidence and risk factors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in longterm corticosteroid treated rheumatic disease patients. METHODS We assessed retrospectively the incidence of active tuberculosis and its risk factors in 269 rheumatic disease patients treated with moderate to high doses of corticosteroid for an evaluation period representing 1,035 corticosteroid years of therapy. RESULTS The mean daily dose of steroid was 18.7 mg prednisolone and the mean daily dose during the first year of treatment was 20.4 mg prednisolone. 21 of these patients developed active tuberculosis resulting in an incidence rate of 20/1,000 patient-years. Cumulative and mean daily steroid doses during the follow-up period and during the first year of treatment, and a history of steroid pulse therapy were significantly correlated with the development of tuberculosis. A past history of tuberculosis, initial chest P-A abnormality, the starting dose of steroid, a history of more than 30 mg/day of prednisolone for more than one month, and a history of cytotoxic therapy were not related to the development of tuberculosis. CONCLUSION The incidence of active tuberculosis is increased in rheumatic patients on moderate-to-high dose steroid treatment. Its risk factors are the cumulative and mean daily steroid doses during the follow-up period and during the first year of steroid treatment, and a history of steroid pulse therapy.
ELITE BMX CYCLISTS USE INDIVIDUAL STRATEGIES FOR A SUCCESSFUL START

A fast start during BMX racing is strongly related to superior performance. The purpose of this study was to identify which aspects of starting technique were related to a further distance after 1 second, an indication of an advantageous starting position. Significant between-cyclists differences were found in set position kinematics and starting technique. Whilst each cyclist had specific aspects of the start related to superior performance, two of the cyclists had strong correlations with vertical velocity of the bicycle at gate drop and at 1 second, indicating the higher the wheel was lifted, the further the distance reached after 1 second. These data provide further insight into how BMX cyclists propel the bicycle from a stationary position to attain an advantageous position as quickly as possible.
Laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair: twenty-seven serious complications after 4565 consecutive operations.

OBJECTIVE To identify and assess the complications of laparoscopic inguinal hernia treatment with totally extraperitoneal mesh placement (TEP). METHODS We included patients who had undergone the TEP procedure in a consecutive series of 4565 laparoscopic hernia repairs between January 2001 and January 2011. Inclusion criteria were diagnosis with symptomatic inguinal hernia, including recurrence after inguinal hernia repair and previous surgery in the lower abdomen and pelvis. All patients were 18 years of age or above. Patients with incarcerated hernia in emergency were excluded from the study. RESULTS A total of 4565 hernias were included in the study. In the group, there were 27 severe complications (0.6%): 12 bleedings (0.25%), two bladder lesions (0.04%), five intestinal obstructions (0.11%), four intestinal perforations (0.09%) one injury to the iliac vein (0.02%), one femoral nerve injury (0.02%), two lesions of vas deferens (0.04%) and two deaths (0.02%) (pulmonary embolism, peritonitis). CONCLUSION The rate of complications with the TEP procedure is low. Laparoscopic hernia repair technique is reproducible and reliable. In our experience, there are contraindications to the TEP procedure. TEP technique must be meticulous to avoid intraoperative complications (bipolar diathermy). Complications can occur even after the surgeon has gained substantial experience.
Back Suction: Service Guarantees for Latency-Sensitive On-chip Networks

Networks-on-chip for future many-core processor platforms face an increasing diversity of traffic requirements, ranging from streaming traffic with real-time requirements to bursty latency-sensitive best-effort traffic from general-purpose processors with caches. In this paper, we propose Back Suction, a novel flow-control scheme to implement quality-of-service. Traffic with service guarantees is selectively prioritized upon low buffer occupancy of downstream routers. As a result, best-effort traffic is preferred for an improved latency as long as guaranteed service traffic makes sufficient progress. We present a formal analysis and an experimental evaluation of the Back Suction scheme showing improved latency of best effort traffic when compared to current approaches even under formal service guarantees for streaming traffic.
Accuracy of transcutaneous laryngeal ultrasound for detecting vocal cord paralysis in the immediate postoperative period after total thyroidectomy.

BACKGROUND Transcutaneous laryngeal ultrasound (TLUS) has emerged as a promising imaging tool for vocal cord examination in patients undergoing thyroid surgery. The focus of this prospective, double-blind study was to assess the accuracy of TLUS in the diagnosis of vocal cord paralysis in the immediate postoperative period following total thyroidectomy. METHODS The study included 93 patients undergoing total thyroidectomy and assessed by videostrobolaryngoscopy (VSL) and TLUS. VSL was carried out the day before surgery and was repeated at 4 days postoperatively. TLUS was performed before surgery in the preanesthesia holding area and at completion of the procedure in the postanesthesia care unit. The preoperative and postoperative TLUS results were correlated with those of VSL. The statistical analysis included the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value (with 95% CI) of TLUS for detecting vocal cord paralysis. RESULTS The visualization rate associated with TLUS was 93%. The total vocal cord paralysis rate was 16.1%. The performance of TLUS for diagnosing this condition was as follows: sensitivity, 93.3% (95% CI: 77.3-100%); specificity 96.1% (95% CI: 91.2-100%); positive predictive value, 82.3% (95% CI: 61.2-100%); negative predictive value, 98.6% (95% CI, 95.4-100%). CONCLUSIONS TLUS may be a suitable technique for detecting vocal cord paralysis shortly after total thyroidectomy.
BK channels in human glioma cells have enhanced calcium sensitivity

We have previously demonstrated the expression of large‐conductance, calcium‐activated potassium (BK) channels in human glioma cells. In the present study, we characterized the calcium sensitivity of glioma BK channels in excised membrane patches. Channels in inside‐out patches were activated at −60 mV by 2.1 × 10−6 M cytosolic Ca2+, were highly K+‐selective, and had a slope conductance of ≈210 pS. We characterized the Ca2+ sensitivity of these channels in detail by isolating BK currents in outside‐out patches with different free [Ca2+]i. The half‐maximal voltage for channel activation, V0.5, of glioma BK currents in outside‐out patches was +138 mV with 0 Ca2+/10 EGTA. V0.5 was shifted to +81 mV and −14 mV with free [Ca2+]i of 1.5 × 10−7 M and 2.1 × 10−6 M, respectively. These results suggest that glioma BK channels have a higher Ca2+ sensitivity than that described in many other human preparations. Data obtained from a cloned BK channel (hbr5) expressed in HEK cells support the conclusion that glioma BK channels have an unusually high sensitivity to calcium. In addition, the sensitivity of glioma BK channels to the BK inhibitor tetrandrine suggests the expression of BK channel auxiliary β‐subunits by glioma cells. Expression of the auxiliary β‐subunit of BK channels by glioma cells may relate to the high Ca2+ sensitivity of glioma BK channels. GLIA 38:281–291, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Three‐dimensional structural location and molecular functional effects of missense SNPs in the T cell receptor Vβ domain

The mechanisms by which human single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) influence susceptibility to disease are not yet well understood. In a previous study, we developed a structure‐based model that may be used to identify which missense SNPs are neutral and which are deleterious to protein function and so potentially involved in disease (Wang and Moult, Hum Mutat 2001;263–270). The model has now been applied to a set of 54 missense cSNPs in the 46 functional T‐cell receptor Vβ‐genes. Most of these missense cSNPs are found to be neutral, but 10 are identified as likely deleterious to protein function. Only one was previously associated with disease. We suggest that the others may be disease related but that redundancy in the T‐cell response prevents any simple, monogenic effect. Therefore, these SNPs are the most likely contributors to complex, polygenic disease traits. It has been noted that there is a surprisingly high (74%) fraction of nonsynonymous SNPs in these genes. Contrary to expectation, the analysis shows that these are not associated with an unusually high fraction of deleterious SNPs, nor do they significantly contribute to a larger range of antigen recognition or a reduced superantigen‐binding repertoire. Proteins 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
DNA sequences identical to Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. carinii and Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. hominis in samples of air spora

Samples of ambient air collected with three different types of spore traps in a rural location were examined for the presence of Pneumocystis carinii by screening for P. carinii-specific DNA sequences by DNA amplification. Eleven spore trap samples were analyzed by nested PCR, using oligonucleotide primers designed for the gene encoding the mitochondrial large subunit rRNA of P. carinii f. sp. carinii and P. carinii f. sp. hominis. The samples were collected over a 3-year period during the months of May to September, with a range of sampling times from 9 to 240 h. One air sample from an animal facility housing P. carinii-infected rats was also examined. P. carinii-specific amplification products were obtained from samples from each of the spore traps. The amplification products from eight air samples were cloned and sequenced. The majority of the recombinants from each of these samples had sequences identical to those of P. carinii f. sp. carinii and P. carinii f. sp. hominis, and a number of clones had single-base differences. These data suggest that sequences identical to those of P. carinii f. sp. carinii and P. carinii f. sp. hominis can be detected in samples of air collected in a rural location and that P. carinii may be a component of the air spora of rural Oxfordshire.
Current pharmacological models of social withdrawal in rats: relevance to schizophrenia

Social dysfunction in schizophrenia is one of the core negative symptoms, which to date is not adequately addressed by treatment with both typical and atypical antipsychotics. A number of different pharmacological models of social withdrawal are used to mimic social dysfunction in rats, such as amphetamine, N-methyl-D-aspartic acid antagonists, cannabinergic and serotonergic receptor ligands. The purpose of this review is to discuss and compare these models of social withdrawal with a focus on their face, construct and predictive validities. Various techniques and strategies used to observe and analyze rodent social behaviour and other factors that are of relevance to this paradigm have also been examined. After comparing the reports, we are of the opinion that to improve replicability of any given model and its antipsychotic screening potential and the reliability of comparisons made, efforts need to be directed towards cross-laboratory standardization of variables that may confound experimental outcomes and cause discrepancies in results reported. In keeping with an earlier suggestion this may be facilitated through the creation of an online consortium for behavioural neuroscientists to share and compare methodologies, laboratory layouts and perhaps even raw data.
How Type of Excuse Defense, Mock Juror Age, and Defendant Age Affect Mock Jurors' Decisions

The authors investigated the effects of mock juror age (younger vs. older), defendant age (22 vs. 65), and type of excuse defense used by defendants (a highly selfinflicted condition, Cocaine Dependency Disorder, vs. a less self-inflicted condition, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) on mock juror decisions. Ninety-six younger and 96 older adults read a scenario and answered a questionnaire. Results indicated that the defendant using the highly self-inflicted excuse was more likely to receive a guilty verdict and a longer sentence than was the defendant using the less self-inflicted excuse. Older jurors were more certain of their verdicts and saw the defendant as more responsible for his condition than did younger jurors. Defendant age did not affect juror decisions. In addition, excuse type and juror age affected the jurors' perceptions of the victim's responsibility for the attack. The authors discuss the potential influence of juror age on perceptions of defendant responsibility.
Thalamic connectivity of the second somatosensory area and neighboring somatosensory fields of the lateral sulcus of the macaque

The thalamocortical relations of the somatic fields in and around the lateral sulcus of the macaque were studied following cortical injections of tritated amino acids and horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Special attention was paid to the second somatosensory area (S2), the connections of which were also studied by means of thalamic isotope injections and retrograde degeneration. S2 was shown to receive its major thalamic input from the ventroposterior inferior thalamic nucleus (VPI) and not, as previously reported, from the caudal division of the ventroposterior lateral nucleus (VPLc). Following small injections of isotope or HRP into the hand representation of S2, only VPI was labeled. Larger injections, which included the representations of more body parts, led to heavy label in VPI, with scattered label in VPLc, the central lateral nucleus (CL), and the posterior nucleus (Po). In addition, small isotope injections into VPLc did not result in label in S2 unless VPI was also involved in the injection site, and ablations of S2 led to cell loss in VPI. Comparison of injections involving different body parts in S2 suggested a somatotopic arrangement within VPI such that the trunk and lower limb representations are located posterolaterally and the hand and arm representations anteromedially. The location of the thalamic representations of the head, face, and intraoral structures that project to S2 may be in the ventroposterior medial nucleus (VPM).