Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy and the Risk of Preterm Delivery and Fetal Growth Restriction

Objective: The associations between prenatal exposure to antidepressants and preterm delivery and fetal growth restriction are controversial and poorly understood. We studied the relation between antidepressant use and these outcomes. Methods: Analysis included women with nonmalformed infants interviewed in the Slone Epidemiology Center Birth Defects Study between 1998 and 2008. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for premature and small-for-gestational age (SGA) offsprings, adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, medical, and reproductive factors. Results: The frequencies of preterm delivery were 7.3% among the 5710 nonusers (reference), 8.9% among the 192 selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) users (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.6-2.0), and 15.3% among the 59 non-SSRI antidepressant users (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.0-4.9); the respective frequencies of delivering an SGA offspring were 7.2%, 10.9% (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0-2.7), and 13.6% (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.0-4.9). Compared with nonusers, the frequencies of preterm delivery (7.6%) and SGA offspring (5.7%) were not increased among the 106 women who discontinued SSRIs before the end of the first trimester. Among women who continued SSRIs beyond the first trimester, 10.5% delivered a preterm infant (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 0.6-2.8) and 17.4% had an SGA offspring (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.7-5.5). Conclusions: Women treated with SSRIs late in pregnancy had a higher frequency of delivering SGA infants, and women receiving non-SSRI antidepressants were more likely to deliver premature and SGA offsprings. The findings suggest an effect of underlying mood disorder or an effect common to both drug classes. In any case, prenatal antidepressant use may help identify women at elevated risks of delivering preterm and SGA infants.
Firmwide Risk Management of Foreign Exchange Exposure by U.S. Multinational Corporations

This paper investigates the impact of firmwide risk management practices on the foreign exchange exposure of 208 U.S. multinational corporations (MNC) over the period 1994 to 1998. Firmwide risk management is the coordinated use of both financial hedges, such as currency derivatives, and operational hedges, described by the structure of a firm's MNC foreign subsidiary network, to manage currency risk. We find that the use of currency derivatives, particularly forward contracts, is associated with reduced levels of foreign-exchange exposure. Furthermore, MNCs with dispersed operating networks have lower levels of currency exposure. These findings are robust to alternative ways of measuring foreign-exchange exposure. Finally, our results strongly support the view that MNCs hedging in a coordinated manner can significantly reduce exposure to currency risk. These results strongly suggest that operational and financial hedges are complementary risk management strategies.
Criticizing and reassuring oneself: An exploration of forms, styles and reasons in female students.

OBJECTIVES Self-critical people, compared with those who self-reassure, are at increased risk of psychopathology. However, there has been little work on the different forms and functions of these self-experiences. This study developed two self-report scales to measure forms and functions of self-criticism and self-reassurance and explore their relationship to depression. METHODS A self-report scale measuring forms of self-criticism and self-reassuring, and a scale measuring possible functions of self-criticism, together with a measure of depression and another self-criticism scale (LOSC), were given to 246 female students. RESULTS Self-criticizing vs. self-reassuring separated into two components. Forms of self-criticizing separated into two components related to: being self-critical, dwelling on mistakes and sense of inadequacy; and a second component of wanting to hurt the self and feeling self-disgust/hate. The reasons/functions for self-criticism separated into two components. One was related to desires to try to self-improve (called self-improving/correction), and the other to take revenge on, harm or hurt the self for failures (called self-harming/persecuting). Mediation analysis suggested that wanting to harm the self may be particularly pathogenic and is positively mediated by the effects of hating the self and negatively mediated by being able to self-reassure and focus on one's positives. CONCLUSIONS Self-criticism is not a single process but has different forms, functions, and underpinning emotions. This indicates a need for more detailed research into the variations of self-criticism and the mechanisms for developing self-reassurance.
Autonomic Nervous System Function in Patients with Acute Brainstem Stroke

Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) often complicates the clinical course in patients with acute stroke. The studies of the function of ANS in patients with brainstem stroke are scarce. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the function of ANS in the early period after acute brainstem stroke and to find out whether the location of stroke in brainstem influences the function of ANS. We studied heart rate variability (HRV) and plasma levels of catecholamines in 14 eligible patients with medullary (6 patients) and non-medullary (8 patients) brainstem stroke during the first 6 weeks after stroke. Integrals over the low- (LFB; 0.04–0.15 Hz) and high-frequency bands (HFB; 0.15–0.40 Hz) of power spectra were calculated. When compared to controls, the integrals over HFB in the hyperacute (p < 0.001) and over LFB in the hyperacute (p < 0.005) and in the acute (p < 0.05) phases were significantly smaller in patients with medullary strokes. Integrals over LFB and HFB in patients with non-medullary strokes did not differ significantly from controls, regardless of the phase of the disease. Plasma levels of epinephrine in patients with non-medullary stroke in the hyperacute and in the acute phases were significantly higher than in controls (p < 0.005). We conclude that there is transient dysfunction of ANS in patients with acute medullary stroke, in contrast to those with non-medullary brainstem stroke.
Quality of life issues in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

The treatment of metastatic breast cancer involves the sequential selection and delivery of hormonal therapies and cytotoxic chemotherapies. The available therapies for metastatic breast cancer are rarely curative, although high rates of response and modest prolongation of survival may be achieved in association with varying degrees of treatment-related toxicity. Therefore, the selection of appropriate therapy requires a reasoned consideration of the likelihood of benefit from therapy balanced with the impact of therapy on the patient's quality of life. Several instruments have been developed to measure quality of life in cancer patients, but none has been universally accepted, and they require time and resources to administer. Few randomized clinical trials have incorporated quality of life assessments. Thus, the clinician must balance antitumor activity, performance status, and the usual toxicity measures, (e.g., nausea, myelosuppression, asthenia) as surrogates for quality of life associated with each specific therapy. Studies have confirmed the clinical impression that antitumor activity of treatment generally correlates with quality of life outcome. The hormonal therapies have the quality of life advantages of limited and non-threatening acute toxicity, rare chronic toxicity, need for infrequent visits to health care providers, oral administration, and, in appropriately selected patients, response and duration of response rates equivalent to those of the cytotoxic agents. A number of cytotoxic agents have activity in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Although the active single agents differ substantially in their toxicity profiles, the dose-limiting toxicity is usually myelosuppression. Recently, several agents with substantial activity against breast cancer have become available, including the taxanes (paclitaxel and docetaxel), vinorelbine, and gemcitabine. Oral formulations of vinorelbine are being studied that may provide the additional advantages of not requiring intravenous access, requiring fewer visits to the health care professional, and providing patients with a greater sense of control of their treatment.
The Impact of Commercialization of GM Rice in China

Since 2009, genetically modified (GM) rice has been approved for commercial use and it is likely that China will become the world leader in large scale commercialization. While China is the world's leading rice producer, only a small fraction of the crop is exported. Hence, the commercialization of GM rice in China is not likely motivated by the international trade market. Conversion to GM rice significantly decreases the use of pesticides and therefore reduces the threat to human health and ecological contamination. Furthermore, Chinese consumers accept GM food more readily compared to consumers in other developed countries. It is hypothesized that while in the short term the commercialization of GM rice in China may have a negative impact on rice export, in the long term there is the potential for Chinese GM rice to dominate international markets.
Probing potassium channel function in vivo by intracellular delivery of antibodies in a rat model of retinal neurodegeneration

Inward rectifying potassium (Kir) channels participate in regulating potassium concentration (K+) in the central nervous system (CNS), including in the retina. We explored the contribution of Kir channels to retinal function by delivering Kir antibodies (Kir-Abs) into the rat eye in vivo to interrupt channel activity. Kir-Abs were coupled to a peptide carrier to reach intracellular epitopes. Functional effects were evaluated by recording the scotopic threshold response (STR) and photopic negative response (PhNR) of the electroretinogram (ERG) noninvasively with an electrode on the cornea to determine activity of the rod and cone pathways, respectively. Intravitreal delivery of Kir2.1-Ab coupled to the peptide carrier diminished these ERG responses equivalent to dimming the stimulus 10- to 100-fold. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) showed Kir2.1 immunostaining of retinal bipolar cells (BCs) matching the labeling pattern obtained with conventional IHC of applying Kir2.1-Ab to fixed retinal sections postmortem. Whole-cell voltage-clamp BC recordings in rat acute retinal slices showed suppression of barium-sensitive Kir2.1 currents upon inclusion of Kir2.1-Ab in the patch pipette. The in vivo functional and structural results implicate a contribution of Kir2.1 channel activity in these electronegative ERG potentials. Studies with Kir4.1-Ab administered in vivo also suppressed the ERG components and showed immunostaining of Müller cells. The strategy of administering Kir antibodies in vivo, coupled to a peptide carrier to facilitate intracellular delivery, identifies roles for Kir2.1 and Kir4.1 in ERG components arising in the proximal retina and suggests this approach could be of further value in research.
Regulation of Gene Expression in Diverse Cyanobacterial Species by Using Theophylline-Responsive Riboswitches

ABSTRACT Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic bacteria that are currently being developed as biological production platforms. They derive energy from light and carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide, and some species can fix atmospheric nitrogen. One advantage of developing cyanobacteria for renewable production of biofuels and other biological products is that they are amenable to genetic manipulation, facilitating bioengineering and synthetic biology. To expand the currently available genetic toolkit, we have demonstrated the utility of synthetic theophylline-responsive riboswitches for effective regulation of gene expression in four diverse species of cyanobacteria, including two recent isolates. We evaluated a set of six riboswitches driving the expression of a yellow fluorescent protein reporter in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, Leptolyngbya sp. strain BL0902, Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, and Synechocystis sp. strain WHSyn. We demonstrated that riboswitches can offer regulation of gene expression superior to that of the commonly used isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside induction of a lacI q-P trc promoter system. We also showed that expression of the toxic protein SacB can be effectively regulated, demonstrating utility for riboswitch regulation of proteins that are detrimental to biomass accumulation. Taken together, the results of this work demonstrate the utility and ease of use of riboswitches in the context of genetic engineering and synthetic biology in diverse cyanobacteria, which will facilitate the development of algal biotechnology.
What makes commercial Web pages popular

There are two main objectives of the paper. First, in a systematic and statistically rigorous manner, we attempt to descriptively document the types and nature of marketing information on commercial home‐pages, with a view to identifying the major objectives of contemporary commercial Web sites that pre‐dominate the Web. Using Resnik and Stern’s “information content” paradigm, we evaluate the informativeness of commercial home pages. Second, we attempt to empirically examine various important factors of commercial home‐pages that lead to increased visits, or hit‐rates. The identification of hit‐rate determinants is likely to be of great value, both to Web page designers and to the many small and large firms seeking to establish their presence on the Web.
Correlation of the refractive index change at the surface and inside phosphate glass upon femtosecond laser irradiation

A study of the surface modification induced by single femtosecond laser pulses in phosphate glass has revealed surface swelling at fluences just below the ablation threshold. This behavior is different from that observed in other dielectric materials. Optical micrographs obtained with monochromatic light show a pattern of Newton rings within the swollen region whose number scales inversely with the illumination wavelength, acting as a micro Fabry–Perot etalon. The swollen surface layer has lower refractive index than the bulk glass and can reach a maximum thickness of 820 nm. We relate these findings to results obtained during subsurface waveguide writing inside phosphate glass, which also show a refractive index decrease at energies near threshold for waveguide fabrication. We have identified low density free-electron plasma to be the trigger of the refractive index change.
The Credit Risk Premium in a Disaster-Prone World

The seminal Barro (2006) closed-economy model of the equity risk premium in the presence of extreme events ("disasters") allowed for leverage in the form of risky corporate debt which defaulted only in states when the Government defaulted on its debt. The probability of default was therefore exogenous and independent of the degree of leverage. In this paper, we take the model a step closer to reality by assuming that, on the one hand, the Government never defaults, and on the other hand, that the . corporate sector. in the form of the Lucas tree owner pays its debts in full if and only if its asset value is sufficient, which is always the case in non-crisis states. Otherwise, in exceptionally severe crises, it defaults and hands over the whole . firm. to its creditors. The probability of default by the tree owner is thus endogenous, dependent both on the volume of debt issued (taken as exogenous) and on the uncertain value of output. We show, using data from both Barro (2006) and Barro and Ursua (2008), that the model can generate values of the riskless rate, equity risk premium and credit risk spread broadly consistent with those typically observed in the data.
Credit Booms and Busts in Emerging Markets: The Role of Bank Governance and Risk Management

This paper investigates to what extent risk management and corporate governance mitigate the involvement of banks in credit boom and bust cycles. Using a unique, hand-collected dataset on 156 banks from Central and Eastern Europe during 2005-2012, we assess whether banks with stronger risk management and corporate governance display more moderate credit growth in the pre-crisis credit boom as well as a smaller credit contraction and fewer credit losses in the crisis period. With respect to bank governance we document that a higher share of financial experts on the supervisory board is associated with more rapid credit growth in the pre-crisis period and a larger contraction of credit in the crisis period, but not with larger credit losses. With respect to risk management we document that a strong risk committee is associated with more moderate pre-crisis credit growth but not with fewer credit losses in the crisis. We find no evidence of an organizational learning process among crisis-hit banks: those banks with the largest credit losses during the crisis are least likely to improve their risk management in the aftermath of the crisis.
Japanese Stock Markets and the US Stock Price Index Ratios

This paper investigates which US stock price index is strongly influenced by the Japanese stock markets. Our empirical tests as to the time-varying correlations derived from a multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (MGARCH) model reveal the following evidence. First, (1) we clarify that all US stock returns of the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and NASDAQ Composite indices are statistically significantly positively influenced by the returns of TOPIX and the Nikkei 225. Moreover, we also find that (2) the changes of the NASDAQ-S&P 500 (NS) ratio are statistically significantly positively influenced by the returns of TOPIX and the Nikkei 225 while the changes of the Dow Jones-S&P 500 (DS) ratio and the Dow Jones-NASDAQ (DN) ratio are statistically significantly negatively influenced by the returns of TOPIX and the Nikkei 225. These relations between the returns of TOPIX and the Nikkei 225 and the US stock price index ratios are clearly shown in all three sample periods employed in this paper. Hence our results suggest that, in our analyzing periods, (3) the NASDAQ index is most strongly positively connected with the Japanese stock markets. JEL Classification Codes: G12, G15
The culture of small aggregates of amphibian embryonic cells in vitro.

A Common procedure in amphibian embryology has been to remove portions from embryos and culture these under conditions in which the large numbers of cells retain a close-knit association, favourable to the differentiation of primitive organs in the explant. It has not, in general, been the aim to employ the primary explant as a source of a two-dimensional outgrowth of cells on the substrate, as in typical cell culture procedures. Because of their inherent migratory tendencies, however, outgrowths of pigment cells are readily obtained from explants of the amphibian neural crest, and these have stimulated the interest of a number of investigators (see Wilde, 1961). Holtfreter (1938, 1946) and Finnegan (1953) have also observed the migration of cells from explants of Urodele embryos. Several investigators have employed cell cultures as opposed to organ type cultures in induction studies, Niu & Twitty (1953), Niu (1958), Barth & Barth (1959) and Becker, Tiedemann & Tiedemann (1959).
Effect of hemostatic risk factors on the individual probability of thrombosis during pregnancy and the puerperium

Summary In a retrospective study of 190 women with a first history of venous thromboembolism during pregnancy and the puerperium and 190 age-matched women with at least one prior pregnancy and no history of venous thromboembolism, the individual probability of thrombosis was determined. Assuming an overall risk of 1 in 1500 pregnancies, the probability of pregnancy-related thrombosis in carriers of homozygous factor V Leiden was 1 in 80 (odds ratio 20.6, p=0.005) and among carriers of combined heterozygous factor V Leiden and heterozygous G20210A mutation in the prothrombin gene 1 in 20 (odds ratio 88, p<0.001). The probability of thrombosis per pregnancy among women with elevated levels of factor VIII:C (>172 % activity) was 1 in 385 (odds ratio 4.5, p<0.001) and among those with increased levels of von Willebrand factor antigen (>190 %) 1 in 435 (odds ratio 4.0, p=0.002), independent of elevated factor VIII:C levels. The high prevalence of combined and homozygous defects of hemostatic components (21.6%) in patients as compared with normal women (0.86%) supports the concept that venous thromboembolism is a multicausal disorder.
DEVELOPING HUMAN RESOURCES’ SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY THROUGH THE DETERMINATION OF QUALITY OF TRAINING PROGRAMS

Research into tourism and hospitality training field has been focused on the subjects of training need assessments, training evaluation models, training within organizational frameworks and useful training techniques. Despite the significance of the above aspects, less afford has been made in the field of training quality and particularly in defining those factors that the quality of a training program consists of. Taking into account that training is a service which the organization, the producer, delivers to its employee, the consumer, this research is going one step further and not only exams SERVQUAL in the training field, but tries to examine inductively at distinctive training quality dimensions from the perspective of trainees point of view that are not subject of other service industry. The definition of training quality dimensions can lead those who develop a new training program to use those dimensions as a framework for greater training outcomes. Moreover, this research tests how the GAP model is compared with the measurement of perceptions merely and the measurement of expectations lone of training quality, as defined by the trainees.
Use of a Plane-Wave Synthesis Technique to Obtain Target RCS From Near-Field Measurements, With Selective Feature Extraction Capability

A novel 3-D radar cross section (RCS) feature extraction technique using a combination of plane-wave synthesis and 3-D imaging procedures is presented. The technique enables RCS as a function of frequency to be obtained for a target containing multiple scattering centers, where individual scattering elements can be evaluated in isolation from neighboring elements. The technique is validated against numerical simulations and measurements using a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) facility over the 8–12-GHz frequency range.
Effort as Investment: Analyzing the Response to Incentives

We analyze a model in which incentives in one period on one task can affect output more broadly through learning. If agents can invest in human or organizational capital, then output will increase both before and after short-term incentives. We develop a model of these e¤ects, and then we evaluate its predictions using data from hospitals in Britain during a series of limited-time performance incentives offered by the government. We …nd empirically that these policies increase performance not only during the incentivized periods but also before and after, matching the preditctions of our model. We also examine performance along non-incentivized dimensions of quality of care and find little evidence of classical effort substitution.