Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fiscal Space and Increasing Fiscal Resilience

The paper compares fiscal cyclicality across regions and countries from 1960 to 2016. It finds that more than half of 170 countries analyzed in seven regions had, in more recent years, limited fiscal space, and that their fiscal policy was either cyclical or procyclical. This was particularly apparent since the 2008–2009 global financial crisis, which was marked by increased procyclical government spending when accounting for net acquisition of nonfinancial assets and capital expenditure. We construct a limited-fiscal-capacity statistic, measured by public debt–average tax revenue ratio and its volatility, which is found to be positively associated with fiscal procyclicality. The cyclicality is asymmetric: on average, a more indebted government (relative to the tax base) spends more in good times and cuts back spending indifferently compared with low-debt countries in bad times. Having sovereign wealth funds is also associated with larger countercyclicality. An enduring interest rate rise entails diminished fiscal space—a 10% increase in the public debt–tax base ratio is associated with an upper bound of a 5.6% increase in government-spending procyclicality.
An Ex Vivo Biomechanical Evaluation of an Inflatable Bone Tamp Used in the Treatment of Compression Fracture

Study Design. Ex vivo biomechanical study using osteoporotic cadaveric vertebral bodies. Objectives. To determine if the inflatable bone tamp (tamp) restores height to compressed vertebral bodies and to compare the biomechanical properties of isolated, fractured osteoporotic vertebral bodies treated by kyphoplasty (tamp) or vertebroplasty. Summary of Background Data. Previous biomechanical studies have shown that vertebroplasty increases vertebral body strength and restores vertebral body stiffness, but does not restore vertebral body height lost as a result of compression fracture. Methods. Compression fractures were experimentally created in 16 osteoporotic VBs assigned to either the tamp or percutaneous vertebroplasty group. The tamp treatment consisted of inserting balloon-like devices into the vertebral body, inflating the bone tamp, and filling the void with Simplex P (Howmedica, Rutherford, NJ) bone cement. The percutaneous vertebroplasty treatment consisted of directly injecting Cranioplastic bone cement (CMW, Blackpool, UK) into the vertebral body. Pre- and posttreatment heights were measured, and the repaired vertebral bodies were recompressed to determine posttreatment strength and stiffness values. Results. The tamp treatment resulted in significant restoration (97%) of vertebral body height lost after compression, whereas percutaneous vertebroplasty treatment resulted in a significantly lower restoration of lost height (30%) (P < 0.05). Both treatments resulted in significantly stronger vertebral bodies relative to their initial state (P < 0.05). The tamp treatment restored vertebral body stiffness to initial values, but the percutaneous vertebroplasty treatment did not (P < 0.05). Conclusions. Tamp treatment resulted in significantly greater height restoration than did percutaneous vertebroplasty, without loss of vertebral body strength or stiffness.
Initial Validation of a Numeric Zero to Ten Scale to Measure Children's State Anxiety

BACKGROUND:Although children experience physical and behavioral consequences from anxiety in many health care settings, anxiety assessment and subsequent management is not often performed because of the lack of clinically useful subjective scales. Current state anxiety scales are either observational or multidimensional self-report measures requiring significant clinician and patient time. Because anxiety is subjective, in this pilot study, we evaluated the validity of a self-report numeric 0–10 anxiety scale that is easy to administer to children in the clinical setting. METHODS:A descriptive correlation research design was used to determine the concurrent validity for a numeric 0–10 anxiety scale with the state portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC). During clinic preoperative visits, 60 children, 7–13 yr, provided anxiety scores for the 0–10 scale and the STAIC pre- and posteducation. Simple linear regression and Pearson correlation were performed to determine the strength of the relationship. RESULTS:STAIC was associated with the anxiety scale both preeducation (β = 1.20, SE[β] = 0.34, F[1,58] = 12.74, P = 0.0007) and posteducation (β = 1.97, SE[β]) = 0.31, F[1,58] = 40.11, P < 0.0001). Correlations were moderate for pre-education (r = 0.424) and posteducation (r = 0.639). CONCLUSIONS:This initial study supports the validity of the numeric 0–10 anxiety self-report scale to assess state anxiety in children as young as 7 yr.
Development of a teleconsultation system for communication between physiotherapists concerning children with complex movement and postural disorders

We investigated whether a relatively low-cost, PC-based teleconsultation system could be used for inter-institutional communication about children with complex movement and postural disorders. Four paediatric physiotherapists in three different institutions participated. Both email and videoconferencing were tested. Videoconferencing was unsuccessful, as the low-bandwidth analogue lines, used by the majority of the therapists, made the quality of the realtime video-images very poor. However, email with attached video-recordings was successful and the therapists used the system to consult each other about 20 cases. The therapists regarded the system as effective in clinical practice. However, some improvements would be desirable, such as making the system quicker to use and reducing the number of technical errors. Nonetheless, structured communication between physicians about complex postural and movement disorders appears to be promising both for patient referral and for decisions concerning treatment.
Pathologic Effects of Neoadjuvant Cyproterone Acetate on Nonneoplastic Prostate, Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia, and Adenocarcinoma: A Detailed Analysis of Radical Prostatectomy Specimens From a Randomized Trial

Neoadjuvant hormonal therapy (NHT; androgen ablation) is used prior to radical prostatectomy (RP) in an attempt to pathologically “downstage” prostatic adenocarcinoma and ultimately to improve disease-free survival. This study describes the pathologic effects of NHT with the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate, 300 mg/day for 12 weeks, on the RP specimens from men with clinically localized (stage T1 or T2) prostatic adenocarcinoma. There were 101 men in the pretreatment group (CPA) and 91 men in a control group who were treated with surgery alone. The prevalence and extent of morphologic effects were recorded for the nonneoplastic prostate, high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, and invasive adenocarcinoma. The commonest effects on the nonneoplastic prostate were atrophy and basal cell hyperplasia and prominence. High-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia was more commonly identified in the surgery alone group than the CPA group (p <0.01). In the CPA group, flat and low tufted patterns of high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia predominated. Following NHT, the adenocarcinoma showed characteristic morphologic alterations, including reduction in cytoplasmic quantity, cytoplasmic vacuolation, nuclear pyknosis, reduced gland diameter, and mucinous breakdown. In many cases there was prominence of collagenous stroma, obscuring malignant glands. Compared with the surgery alone group, the CPA group RP specimens had a significantly lower mean specimen weight (40.3 g vs 46.5 g, p = 0.025) and less tumor extent by several measures. Organ-confined tumor (stage pT2, margin negative) was found in 41.6% of the CPA group compared with 19.8% of the surgery alone group (p = 0.0017). The overall rate of margin positivity was lower in the CPA group (27.7% vs 64.8%, p = 0.001). We consider that the difference in margin positivity is the result of tumor shrinkage with a decreased likelihood of sampling in routine sections. There was no significant difference in the rate of extraprostatic extension between the two groups. There was elevation of the Gleason score in the RP specimens versus baseline biopsy in 60% of the CPA group compared with 33% of the surgery alone group (p = 0.02). The higher rate of elevation in the CPA group largely resulted from an increase in primary or secondary Gleason score 5 tumor, a morphologic artifact introduced by NHT. Because of this, we recommend not giving a Gleason grade to RP specimens following NHT. Monotherapy with CPA has similar pathologic effects on benign and malignant prostate tissue as does dual agent androgen blockade. Prolonged follow-up of these patients is required to determine if NHT with CPA leads to improved disease-free survival.
Genome-wide analyses identify recurrent amplifications of receptor tyrosine kinases and cell-cycle regulatory genes in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

PURPOSE Long-term survival for children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is less than 10%, and new therapeutic targets are urgently required. We evaluated a large cohort of DIPGs to identify recurrent genomic abnormalities and gene expression signatures underlying DIPG. PATIENTS AND METHODS Single-nucleotide polymorphism arrays were used to compare the frequencies of genomic copy number abnormalities in 43 DIPGs and eight low-grade brainstem gliomas with data from adult and pediatric (non-DIPG) glioblastomas, and expression profiles were evaluated using gene expression arrays for 27 DIPGs, six low-grade brainstem gliomas, and 66 nonbrainstem low-grade gliomas. RESULTS Frequencies of specific large-scale and focal imbalances varied significantly between DIPGs and nonbrainstem pediatric glioblastomas. Focal amplifications of genes within the receptor tyrosine kinase-Ras-phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling pathway were found in 47% of DIPGs, the most common of which involved PDGFRA and MET. Thirty percent of DIPGs contained focal amplifications of cell-cycle regulatory genes controlling retinoblastoma protein (RB) phosphorylation, and 21% had concurrent amplification of genes from both pathways. Some tumors showed heterogeneity in amplification patterns. DIPGs showed distinct gene expression signatures related to developmental processes compared with nonbrainstem pediatric high-grade gliomas, whereas expression signatures of low-grade brainstem and nonbrainstem gliomas were similar. CONCLUSION DIPGs comprise a molecularly related but distinct subgroup of pediatric gliomas. Genomic studies suggest that targeted inhibition of receptor tyrosine kinases and RB regulatory proteins may be useful therapies for DIPG.
Cellular and humoral immune responses induced in cattle by vaccination with Babesia divergens culture-derived exoantigens correlate with protection

Previous results with the Babesia divergens gerbil vaccination model were extended in studies with cattle. Two calves were vaccinated with culture-derived B. divergens exoantigens, and two others were treated with control supernatant; both preparations were adjuvanted with Quil-A saponin. A parasite-specific humoral response was observed after the first vaccine injection and was boosted by two succeeding vaccine injections. Sera from the two vaccinated calves immunoprecipitated eight major parasitic proteins (with molecular masses ranging between 17 and 110 kDa) whose patterns were close to those observed in gerbil vaccine assays. The cellular immune response, monitored by lymphoproliferation assays, was slightly delayed in comparison with the humoral response; a significant proliferation occurred only after the second vaccine injection. Mononuclear cell proliferation was dose dependent in the presence of (i) lysates of B. divergens-parasitized erythrocytes, (ii) exoantigens of the whole supernatant, or (iii) protective exoantigens of two low-molecular-mass fractions obtained after supernatant gel filtration chromatography. An infectious challenge was administered 3 weeks after the third vaccine injection, with 3.6 x 10(10) B. divergens-parasitized erythrocytes. Erythrocyte count, rectal temperature, and parasitemia of the animals were monitored daily until they returned to initial values. All parameters indicated that the exoantigens induced protection from B. divergens infection for the two vaccinated calves.
DO IMPACTS CAUSE RUNNING INJURIES ? A PROSPECTIVE INVESTIGATION

During running, the foot collides with the ground approximately 1000 times per mile. These collisions vary significantly by the strike pattern that the runner adopts. A rearfoot strike pattern results in a very distinct vertical impact peak that is missing in a midfoot or forefoot strike landing (Figure 1) [1]. The impact peak of a rearfoot strike is associated with higher rates of loading compared with a forefoot strike pattern. Impact peak magnitudes are also positively correlated to tibial shock. Interestingly, increased vertical impact peaks, loading rates and tibial shock have been associated with a history of tibial stress fractures [2], plantar fasciitis [3], and more recently, patellofemoral pain syndrome [4].
MR imaging findings of Rathke's cleft cysts: significance of intracystic nodules.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Rathke's cleft cysts often may be difficult to differentiate from other intrasellar or suprasellar masses on radiologic studies. The purpose of this study was to describe the significance of intracystic nodules, a diagnostic characteristic found in Rathke's cleft cysts, on MR images. METHODS A retrospective review of MR studies was conducted for 13 patients who, after pathologic analysis, were diagnosed as having Rathke's cleft cyst. These patients underwent unenhanced and contrast-enhanced T1- and T2-weighted axial and coronal spin-echo sequential imaging. The signal intensity and incidence of the intracystic nodules on T1- and T2-weighted images were analyzed. The signal intensity of the nodule was compared with that of white matter and surrounding cyst fluid. The signal intensity of cyst fluid was compared with the intraoperative appearance of the cyst fluid. Biochemical and pathologic analyses of the intracystic nodules were conducted in two cases. RESULTS An intracystic nodule having high signal intensity on T1-weighted images and low signal intensity on T2-weighted images was observed in 10 (77%) of the cases. At surgery, intracystic nodules were yellow, waxy, solid masses. Pathologic analysis showed this nodule to be a mucin clump. Biochemical analysis of the intracystic nodules showed cholesterol and proteins as the main constituents. In the Rathke's cleft cyst with intracystic nodules, cyst fluid revealed low signal intensity to isointensity relative to the intensity of the nodules on T1-weighted images, and isointensity to high signal intensity on T2-weighted images. Intracystic nodules were clearly visible on T2-weighted images. CONCLUSION Because cyst fluid of Rathke's cleft cysts shows variable intensities on MR images, the specific diagnosis is often difficult when based on MR signal intensity values alone. The presence of an intracystic nodule with characteristic signal intensities on MR images may be indicative of the diagnosis of Rathke's cleft cyst.
The Effect of Employee Stock Options on Bank Investment Choice, Borrowing, and Capital

In this paper, we test the hypothesis that granting employee stock options motivates CEOs of banking firms to undertake riskier projects. We also investigate whether granting employee stock options reduces the bank's incentive to borrow while inducing a buildup of regulatory capital. Using a sample of 549 bank-years for publicly traded banks from 1992 to 2002, we find some evidence that the bank's equity volatility (total as well as residual) and asset volatility increase as CEO stock option holdings increase. In addition, it appears that granting employee stock options motivates banks to reduce their borrowing, as evidenced by lower levels of interest expense and federal funds borrowing. Furthermore, we show that banking firms that grant more options to their employees build up more capital in future years.
Ultrastructural study of secretory granules in the corpus luteum of the sheep during the estrous cycle.

The ultrastructure of the corpus luteum of the sheep has been examined throughout the estrous cycle. Small, densely staining granules 0.2 im in diameter, are observed within the luteal cell at Day 2 of the cycle; they increase in number as the cycle progresses and at Day 6 the first signs of secretion are noticed. Maximum secretion of granules takes place at Days 10 and 11, and this is followed by a progressive decline in secretory activity from Day 12 to Day 15 of the cycle. These clear-cut changes in granule formation and secretion therefore reflect the established pattern of progesterone secretion by the ovary during the estrous cycle in the sheep. Fractions were obtained from corpora lutea of sheep by homogenization and differential centrifugation. A correlation was obtained between the presence of densely staining granules (approx 0.2 um diam) and the progesterone content of each fraction. Many types of nonsteroidogenic endocrine cells are known to have a secretory pathway whereby hormones are packaged in the Colgi region and then discharged from the cells via granules; the present work provides the first indication of a steroid hormone, viz, progesterone, being secreted in a similar way.
Exclusivity , uniqueness , and definiteness

An utterance of (2a) means of course that there is only one author of Waverley – indeed, that is most likely one’s point when one uses (2a). But (2b) can mean that there is strictly more than one author of Waverley, on the reading that can be paraphrased, ‘It’s not the case that only Scott is an author of Waverley’. In (2c) the question may concern the number of authors; if the answer is no, then there are several. Likewise, in (2d), it is supposed in the antecedent that there is only one author, and the sentence is consistent with the falsehood of that supposition, so there might be more. In general, sentences of the form X is F have two readings, a predicative one and an equative one. For example, the predicative reading of (2a) is ‘Only he is an author of Waverley’. The ∗We would like to thank Chris Piñón and an anonymous reviewer for feedback that greatly improved the paper. This research was partially supported by NSF grant BCS-0952862 Semantics and Pragmatics of Projective Meaning across Languages, and by NSF BCS-0904913, DoD HHM402-10-C-0100, and the NYCT TeXIT project.
Mass spectrometric immunoassay and MRM as targeted MS‐based quantitative approaches in biomarker development: Potential applications to cardiovascular disease and diabetes

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD)—the leading cause of death in the United States. Yet not all subjects with T2DM are at equal risk for CVD complications; the challenge lies in identifying those at greatest risk. Therapies directed toward treating conventional risk factors have failed to significantly reduce this residual risk in T2DM patients. Thus newer targets and markers are needed for the development and testing of novel therapies. Herein we review two complementary MS‐based approaches—mass spectrometric immunoassay (MSIA) and MS/MS as MRM—for the analysis of plasma proteins and PTMs of relevance to T2DM and CVD. Together, these complementary approaches allow for high‐throughput monitoring of many PTMs and the absolute quantification of proteins near the low picomolar range. In this review article, we discuss the clinical relevance of the high density lipoprotein (HDL) proteome and Apolipoprotein A‐I PTMs to T2DM and CVD as well as provide illustrative MSIA and MRM data on HDL proteins from T2DM patients to provide examples of how these MS approaches can be applied to gain new insight regarding cardiovascular risk factors. Also discussed are the reproducibility, interpretation, and limitations of each technique with an emphasis on their capacities to facilitate the translation of new biomarkers into clinical practice.
Effector domains of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Rev and human T-cell leukemia virus type I Rex are functionally interchangeable and share an essential peptide motif

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Rev and human T-cell leukemia virus type I Rex transactivators are posttranscriptional regulatory proteins that promote retroviral gene expression by interacting with specific viral mRNAs. Rev and Rex have markedly dissimilar amino acid sequences and RNA target specificities but are thought to act through the same cellular pathway. In this report, we demonstrate that short peptide domains which are required for effector activity in Rev and Rex are functionally interchangeable. Activity of these effector domains depends upon a previously unrecognized tetrapeptide motif that is present in both Rev and Rex and also in analogous proteins from other complex retroviruses. The conserved effector motif may mediate essential interactions of Rev, Rex, and other transactivators of this type with a common cellular cofactor.
Lateralization of Interictal EEG Findings

Summary: Several reports indicate that interictal epileptiform discharges (IED) may be more likely to occur over the left cerebral hemisphere than over the right. The objective of our study was to determine the frequency and type of IED on routine and multihour EEGs in a tertiary epilepsy center to estimate the frequency of left-sided versus right-sided IED and to determine interictal spike distribution pattern differences between adult and pediatric epilepsy patients. The current study retrospectively reviewed 31,207 EEGs (25,793 routine EEGs and 5414 multihour EEGs) recorded on 24,003 patients during the period from 1993 to 2003. All EEGs were read according to a systematic EEG classification system. Every patient was considered only once by including the first abnormal EEG. Regional unilateral or bilateral IEDs were recorded in 1707 patients (7%). Regional unilateral or bilateral slow was recorded in 2297 patients (9.6%). Left-sided regional IED were seen in 828 patients and accounted for 58% of all unilateral IED. Left-sided slow was seen in 1389 patients and accounted for 65% of all unilateral slow. Lateralization of slow was due to intermittent slow, whereas continuous slow involved both hemispheres equally. There was no lateralization difference in benign focal epileptiform discharges of childhood. Lateralization shows a tendency toward greater left-sided lateralization of interictal findings with aging. Benign focal epileptiform discharges were only seen under the age of 20 years old. Regional IEDs were seen in approximately 7% of patients and slowing occurs in 10% of patients. Both abnormalities were seen more frequently in the left hemisphere. Age adjusted analysis of the data revealed that this left-sided predominance was mildly increased in adults as compared with pediatric patients.