Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Globalization, Crisis Contagion and the Reform of the International Financial Architecture. Discussion Paper No. 300. January 2002

The process of globalization has integrated financial markets and cross-border capital flows. This has resulted in the hyper mobility of capital and increased the vulnerability of nations to speculative attacks on their currencies. Capital flows deliver benefits in a first-best world. However, in a second-best world capital controls can reduce the welfare losses due to information asymmetry and other distortions. The speed and sequencing of capital account liberalization are critical to minimize the exposure of an economy to currency crises. Various types of currency crises and resulting contagion and its regional nature have been reviewed. Crisis contagion poses a systemic threat to the stability of the global financial system. Therefore the reform of the international financial architecture in order to minimize the occurrence of crises and crises contagion is matter of utmost importance. The role of the key players in the arena of global capital flows and the proposals for redesigning the international financial architecture are critically reviewed.
A comparison of methods for the construction of confidence interval for relative risk in stratified matched‐pair designs

A stratified matched‐pair study is often designed for adjusting a confounding effect or effect of different trails/centers/ groups in modern medical studies. The relative risk is one of the most frequently used indices in comparing efficiency of two treatments in clinical trials. In this paper, we propose seven confidence interval estimators for the common relative risk and three simultaneous confidence interval estimators for the relative risks in stratified matched‐pair designs. The performance of the proposed methods is evaluated with respect to their type I error rates, powers, coverage probabilities, and expected widths. Our empirical results show that the percentile bootstrap confidence interval and bootstrap‐resampling‐based Bonferroni simultaneous confidence interval behave satisfactorily for small to large sample sizes in the sense that (i) their empirical coverage probabilities can be well controlled around the pre‐specified nominal confidence level with reasonably shorter confidence widths; and (ii) the empirical type I error rates of their associated test statistics are generally closer to the pre‐specified nominal level with larger powers. They are hence recommended. Two real examples from clinical laboratory studies are used to illustrate the proposed methodologies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The IDEFICS intervention trial to prevent childhood obesity: design and study methods

One of the major research dimensions of the Identification and prevention of Dietary‐ and lifestyle‐induced health EFfects In Children and infantS (IDEFICS) study involved the development, implementation and evaluation of a setting‐based community‐oriented intervention programme for primary prevention of childhood obesity. In this supplement of Obesity Reviews, a compilation of key results of the IDEFICS intervention is packaged in a series of complementary papers.
Edinburgh Research Explorer Identification of amino acid residues of influenza virus nucleoprotein essential for RNA binding

The inﬂuenza virus nucleoprotein (NP) is a single-strand-RNA-binding protein associated with genome and antigenome RNA and is one of the four virus proteins necessary for transcription and replication of viral RNA. To better characterize the mechanism by which NP binds RNA, we undertook a physical and mutational analysis of the polypeptide, with the strategy of identifying ﬁrst the regions in direct contact with RNA, then the classes of amino acids involved, and ﬁnally the crucial residues by mutagenesis. Chemical fragmentation and amino acid sequencing of NP that had been UV cross linked to radiolabelled RNA showed that protein-RNA contacts occur throughout the length of the polypeptide. Chemical modiﬁcation experiments implicated arginine but not lysine residues as important for RNA binding, while RNA-dependent changes in the intrinsic ﬂuorescence spectrum of NP suggested the involvement of tryptophan residues. Supporting these observations, single-codon mutagenesis identiﬁed ﬁve tryptophan, one phenylalanine, and two arginine residues as essential for high-afﬁnity RNA binding at physiological temperature. In addition, mutants unable to bind RNA in vitro were unable to support virus gene expression in vivo. The mutationally sensitive residues are not localized to any particular region of NP but instead are distributed throughout the protein. Overall, these data are in- consistent with previous models suggesting that the NP-RNA interaction is mediated by a discrete N-terminal domain. Instead, we propose that high-afﬁnity binding of RNA by NP requires the concerted interaction of multiple regions of the protein with RNA and that the individual protein-RNA contacts are mediated by a combination of electrostatic interactions between positively charged residues
Molecular methods for identification of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus using methionine biosynthesis and 16S rRNA genes

Yoghurt and starter culture producers are still searching strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus to produce healthier yogurt with longer shelf life, better texture, taste and quality. However, selective identification of Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Strep. thermophilus from a mixed population using microbiological and biochemical methods is difficult, time consuming and may not be accurate. In this study, a quick, sensitive and accurate method is proposed to identify both Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Strep. thermophilus using PCR. The method is comprised of two parts. In the first part, methionine biosynthesis genes, known to be present in both species were partially amplified by designed primers (cysmet2F and cysmet2R). Partial amplification of the methionine biosynthesis gene which gives 700 bp fragment resulted in selective identification of Lb. bulgaricus and Strep. thermophilus. All 16 Lb. bulgaricus and 6 Strep. thermophilus isolates assessed by this method gave the expected amplification. On the other hand, further analysis of other closely related species with the same primers have indicated that the same product was also amplified in two more lactobacilli namely, Lb. delbrueckii subsp. lactis and Lb. helveticus species. Thus, in the second part of the method, further differentiation of Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Strep. thermophilus from each other and these species was achieved using restriction analysis of 16S rRNA gene with EcoRI.
Türkiye’nin İhracat, İthalat Ve Ekonomik Büyüme Arasındaki Nedensellik Analizi

Bu calismada, Turkiye’nin 1996-2006 donemindeki verilerle ihracat, ithalat ve ekonomik buyume arasindaki nedensellik iliskisi arastirildi. Birim kok testi sonuclarina gore tum serilerin birinci farklarinda duragan olduklari goruldu. Johansen’nin Esbutunlesme testi sonuclari ihracat, ithalat ve ekonomik buyume arasinda uzun donem denge iliskisinin oldugunu ve uc esbutunlesim vektoru oldugunu gosterdi. Seriler esbutunlesik olduklarindan, nedensellik testinin yapilmasi icin vektor hata duzeltme modeli kullanildi. Ampirik sonuclar kisa donemde ithalat, ihracat ve ekonomik buyume arasinda iki yonlu nedensellik iliskisi oldugunu gosterdi. Hata Duzeltme Modeline gore uzun donemde, ihracattan ithalata, ithalattan ihracata, buyumeden ihracata ve buyumeden ithalata dogru tek yonlu bir nedensellik iliskisi oldugu sonucuna varildi
Prophylactic CMV therapy does not improve three‐yr patient and graft survival compared to preemptive therapy

Despite increasing evidence in favor of prophylactic valganciclovir treatment in kidney transplant recipients for the prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, the impact of preemptive vs. prophylactic treatment on long‐term clinical outcomes is unclear. In this retrospective study, 187 kidney transplant recipients with serologic intermediate‐risk constellation (recipient CMV IgG positive) received either preemptive or prophylactic treatment with valganciclovir. Patient survival (primary endpoint), graft survival, viremia rates, and other CMV‐related outcomes were analyzed. Prophylactic therapy reduced the rates for CMV viremia during the first year (hazard ratio: 0.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.30–0.75; p < 0.001). There was a trend for higher three‐yr patient mortality in the prophylactic group (hazard ratio: 5.08, 95% CI 0.62–41.3; p = 0.091), and the rate of graft loss was not reduced (hazard ratio: 0.93, 95% CI 0.32–2.68; p = 0.894). Estimated glomerular filtration rate over three yr was on average 6.8 mL/min/1.73 m2 lower in the prophylactic group (95% CI −11.68 to −1.81; p = 0.007) using a multivariate random effects model but showed more improvement over time. Prophylactic valganciclovir treatment reduced the rate of CMV infections during the first year post‐transplant but no effects of prophylactic treatment on patient and graft survival or kidney function over three yr were observed.
Information needs of family members of critically ill patients in intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital.

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND AND AIMS. The experience in intensive care unit (ICU) has created an intense emotional situation both to patients and their family members. The aim of this study was to determine the family members information needs of critically ill patients in ICU. MATERIALS AND METHODS A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 family members of patients admitted in ICU. A face to face interview was conducted and a self-report questionnaire of the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI) was used. RESULTS Findings reported CCFNI five sub-attributes that ranked from highest to lowest included: support (mean 39.13 ± 6.189); proximity (mean 27.17 ± 3.384); information (mean 24.25 ± 3.093); assurance (mean 22.67 ± 1.862) and comfort (mean 16.24 ± 2.776). There were no significant differences in needs between family members with different gender (p >0.05). However, there were significant differences in support needs between family members with admission to ICU with (t=-2.111; p <0.05). There were significant differences in assurance needs (F=3.542; p <0.05) and information needs (F=3.681; p <0.05) between family members with age. There were no significant differences in needs between family members with different education level (p >0.05) whereas assurance needs were significant differences with education level of (F=3.542; p <0.05). CONCLUSION The results suggest that family members perceived support and proximity as the most crucial need. Comfort need was viewed as least important. Although this study was conducted in a tertiary hospital, the findings could still provide insight for nurses to improve the delivery of care to patients and family members.
Racial Inequity in America's ESRD Program

The end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) program has a significant overrepresentation of racial and ethnic minority groups. The increased susceptibility of nonwhite populations to ESRD has not been fully explained and probably represents a complex interplay of genetic, cultural, and environmental influences. Because the program delivers care under a uniform health care payment system, it represents a unique environment in which to explore variation in health care delivery. A number of disparities in outcomes and delivery of ESRD care have been noted for racial minority participants. These include possible overdiagnosis of hypertensive nephrosclerosis, decreased provision of renal replacement therapy, limited referral for home dialysis modalities, underprescription of dialysis, increased use of synthetic grafts rather than fistulas as permanent angioaccess, and delayed wait‐listing for renal transplantation. Transplantation inequities mean that black patients are likely to remain on dialysis relatively longer, so that their susceptibility to less than optimal processes of care increases disproportionately. Improved survival and quality of life (QOL) for blacks with ESRD may have encouraged provider complacency about racial disparities in the ESRD program and in particular about referral for transplantation. It is also apparent that minority ESRD patients may, similar to their non‐ESRD counterparts, be referred less frequently for invasive cardiovascular (CV) procedures. Despite these observations of inequality in ESRD care, the adjusted mortality for minority participants in the ESRD program are better than for the majority population. This seeming paradox may define an opportunity to improve outcomes for minorities with ESRD even more.
Immunodeficiency of the thymus-dependent system of the Ames dwarf mouse.

The autosomal recessive pituitary Ames dwarf mouse was immunodeficient as shown by lymphocyte depletion and involution of thymus and peripheral lymphoid tissue, lymphopenia and a wasting syndrome with subsequent death at a young age. The appearance of 19S and 7S hemolytic plaque-forming cells after immunogenic stimulation with sheep erythrocytes was delayed and considerably less in Ames dwarf mice than in normal littermates. The graft-vs-host reactivity of spleen cells, measured by the Simonsen splenomegaly assay in young (Ames × AKR)F1 hybrid mice, was significantly lower in Ames dwarf mice. On the other hand, the Ames dwarf mouse did not have marked deficiencies in the serum levels of immunoglobulin. The normal colony-forming capacity of bone marrow cells measured with the spleencolony assay of Till and McCulloch (see Ref. 13), suggested a normal stem cell population in the bone marrow of Ames dwarf mice. The earliest degenerative change of the thymus of the Ames dwarf mouse was a depletion of thymocytes from the thymus cortex frequently accompanied by an increased number of lymphoid cells in the medulla. This was followed by a loss of lymphoid cellularity of the medulla, thereby causing a complete involution of the thymus. These results suggest that the Ames dwarf mouse has an immunodeficiency of the thymus-dependent lymphoid system as a consequence of defective thymotropic influences by the pituitary.
The Height Production Function from Birth to Age Two

Infancy is one of the most critical periods for the formation of adult height. This paper studies the determinants of height from birth to age 2 using rich longitudinal data on Filipino children. A height production function is specified in which height is the result of the accumulation of inputs (i.e., nutrition and diseases) over time. The empirical specification allows the causal identification of the age-specific effects of both nutrition and diseases on height. Considering gender differences in growth patterns, the results show that diseases play a major role in reducing height and that girls are more strongly affected than boys.
Cardiac involvement in patients with trichinosis hospitalized in western Romania.

OBJECTIVES Cardiovascular disturbances are reported as major trichinosis complications, and myocarditis is the most frequent of them. Previous Romanian surveillances on prevalence of cardiac involvement indicated a rate of 30%–50%. The present study aimed to overview the clinical and the main epidemiological characteristics of persons from western Romania found to have trichinosis and cardiac involvement. PATIENTS AND METHODS Hospitalization documents of individuals with trichinosis and cardiac complications admitted at the Hospital of Infectious Diseases in Timisoara, Romania, were retroactively investigated. Patients were residents of three Romanian counties and were hospitalized between 1990 and 2001. RESULTS Twenty-eight patients, found to have trichinosis, presented cardiac involvement. Of the study group, six patients (21.4%) died during hospitalization and their necropsy revealed the diagnosis of myocarditis. For the remaining patients, myocarditis was only suspected and cardiac abnormalities were mainly evidenced by electrocardiography. The mean age of the patients was 38 years (range, 3–80 years) and there were 18 male patients (64.3%). Repolarization disturbances predominated and myalgia was the most common symptom. The mean eosinophil value of the study group was 16.9% (range, 2–70%). CONCLUSIONS Cardiac involvement represented and still continues to be a major complication in Romanian patients. According to its potentially lethal outcome, myocarditis must be considered in such patients even when specific symptoms are missing. Prophylactic measures are also very important and should be based especially on health education programs for the masses.
Double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study of eicosapentaenoic acid diester in patients with cancer cachexia.

PURPOSE Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) has been proposed to have specific anticachectic effects. This trial compared EPA diethyl ester with placebo in cachectic cancer patients for effects on weight and lean body mass. PATIENTS AND METHODS Five hundred eighteen weight-losing patients with advanced gastrointestinal or lung cancer were studied in a multicenter, double-blind, placebo controlled trial. Patients were randomly assigned to receive a novel preparation of pure EPA at a dose of 2 g or 4 g daily or placebo (2g EPA, n = 175; 4 g EPA, n = 172; placebo, n = 171). Patients were assessed at 4 weeks and 8 weeks. RESULTS The groups were well balanced at baseline. Mean weight loss at baseline was 18% (n = 518). Over the 8-week treatment period, both intention-to-treat analysis and per protocol analysis revealed no statistically significant improvements in survival, weight, or other nutritional variables. There was, however, a trend in favor of EPA with analysis of the primary end point, weight, at 8 weeks showing a borderline, nonsignificant treatment effect (P = .066). Relative to placebo, mean weight increased by 1.2 kg with 2 g EPA (95% CI, 0 kg to 2.3 kg) and by 0.3 kg with 4 g EPA (-0.9 kg to 1.5 kg). CONCLUSION The results indicate no statistically significant benefit from single agent EPA in the treatment of cancer cachexia. Future studies should concentrate on other agents or combination regimens.
CALLIOBOTHRIUM SPP. (EUCESTODA: TETRAPHYLLIDEA: ONCHOBOTHRIIDAE) IN MUSTELUS SCHMITTI (CHONDRICHTHYES: CARCHARHINIFORMES) FROM ARGENTINA AND URUGUAY

Three species of Calliobothrium inhabit the spiral intestine of Mustelus schmitti in Argentina and Uruguay. Calliobothrium verticillatum australis is redescribed and its taxonomic status modified to species as C. australis. Calliobothrium barbarae n. sp. can be distinguished from all other species of Calliobothrium, which are small bodied, nonlaciniate, and without accessory piece between the bases of axial hook, by worm length, number of segments, cocoon morphology, and hooks shape. Calliobothrium lunae n. sp. is different from other Calliobothrium spp. , which are small bodied, nonlaciniate, and have an accessory piece, by the number of segments and testes, hook shape, cocoon morphology, and the presence of ciliumlike projections on the distal surface of muscular pads. Calliobothrium australis is clearly distinguished from other large-bodied, laciniate species of the genus by worm length, number of testes, ovary shape, cocoon morphology, hook shape, and in being hyperapolytic. The oioxenous specificity involving Calliobothrium spp. and Mustelus spp. described by previous authors is confirmed in this study.
Muscle functional MRI analysis of trunk muscle recruitment during extension exercises in asymptomatic individuals

The present study examined the activity levels of the thoracic and lumbar extensor muscles during different extension exercise modalities in healthy individuals. Therefore, 14 subjects performed four different types of extension exercises in prone position: dynamic trunk extension, dynamic–static trunk extension, dynamic leg extension, and dynamic–static leg extension. Pre‐ and post‐exercise muscle functional magnetic resonance imaging scans from the latissimus dorsi, the thoracic and lumbar parts of the longissimus, iliocostalis, and multifidus were performed. Differences in water relaxation values (T2‐relaxation) before and after exercise were calculated (T2‐shift) as a measure of muscle activity and compared between extension modalities. Linear mixed‐model analysis revealed higher lumbar extensor activity during trunk extension compared with leg extension (T2‐shift of 5.01 ms and 3.55 ms, respectively) and during the dynamic–static exercise performance compared with the dynamic exercise performance (T2‐shift of 4.77 ms and 3.55 ms, respectively). No significant differences in the thoracic extensor activity between the exercises could be demonstrated. During all extension exercises, the latissimus dorsi was the least activated compared with the paraspinal muscles. While all extension exercises are equivalent effective to train the thoracic muscles, trunk extension exercises performed in a dynamic–static way are the most appropriate to enhance lumbar muscle strength.
Cropping Sequence Affects Subsequent Soybean Yield, Soil Microbiome and Soil Health

CROPPING SEQUENCE AFFECTS SUBSEQUENT SOYBEAN YIELD, SOIL MICROBIOME AND SOIL HEALTH IZZET BULBUL 2019 Rotation is an important cultural practice that farmers use to manage crop growth and diseases. Diversified crop rotations directly affect plant residue inputs that may enrich specific groups of microbes that form beneficial associations with the following crop. At two field sites, yield differences were observed in soybeans planted after the following four long-term (14 year) crop sequences: continuous corn (CC), corn (Zea mays)/corn/soybean (Glycine max) (CCS), corn/soybean/corn (CSC), soybean/corn/soybean (SCS). Soybean yields were in decreasing order, CC>CCS>CSC>SCS, and the yield differences could not be explained by soil chemical and physical properties previously reported by a different study on the same sites. Our goal was to relate soil biological properties, including soil health indicators and soil microbial community composition, with the differences in soybean yields. To assess the soil health, soil protein, permanganate-oxidizable carbon (POXC) and β-glucosidase activity were measured. After 14 years of the above-mentioned rotation regimes, soil protein was significantly higher in continuous corn (CC) plots compared with other rotations (p<0.05) in one of the two sites. POXC was also significantly greater in CC plots in one of the two sites (P<0.001). For microbial composition, we found uncultured order JG30-KF-AS9 was associated with higher POXC and protein levels. The taxa of bacteria Chthoniobacter, and one taxa of fungi, Ascomycota, were associated with higher