Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Primidone on Dentate Nucleus &ggr;-Aminobutyric Acid Concentration in Patients With Essential Tremor

ObjectivesIt is not known whether current use of the medication primidone affects brain &ggr;-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations. This is an important potential confound in studies of the pathophysiology of essential tremor (ET), one of the most common neurological diseases. We compared GABA concentrations in the dentate nucleus in 6 ET patients taking primidone versus 26 ET patients not taking primidone. Methods1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed using a 3.0-T Siemens Tim Trio scanner. The MEGA-PRESS J-editing sequence was used for GABA detection in 2 cerebellar volumes of interest (left and right) that included the dentate nucleus. ResultsThe right dentate GABA concentration was similar in the 2 groups (2.21 ± 0.46 [on primidone] vs 1.93 ± 0.39 [not on primidone], P = 0.15), as was the left dentate GABA concentration (1.61 ± 0.35 [on primidone] vs 1.67 ± 0.34 [not on primidone], P = 0.72). The daily primidone dose was not associated with either right or left dentate GABA concentrations (P = 0.89 and 0.76, respectively). ConclusionsWe did not find a difference in dentate GABA concentrations between 6 ET patients taking daily primidone and 26 ET patients not taking primidone. Furthermore, there was no association between daily primidone dose and dentate GABA concentration. These data suggest that it is not necessary to exclude ET patients on primidone from magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies of dentate GABA concentration, and if assessment of these concentrations was to be developed as a biomarker for ET, primidone usage would not confound interpretation of the results.
Norwalk virus binds to histo-blood group antigens present on gastroduodenal epithelial cells of secretor individuals☆☆☆

Abstract Background & Aims: Norwalk Virus (NV) is a member of the Caliciviridae family, which causes acute epidemic gastroenteritis in humans of all ages and its cellular receptors have not yet been characterized. Another calicivirus, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus, attaches to H type 2 histo-blood group oligosaccharide present on rabbit epithelial cells. Our aim was to test if, by analogy, recombinant NV-like particles (rNV VLPs) use carbohydrates present on human gastroduodenal epithelial cells as ligands. Methods: Attachment of rNV VLPs was tested on tissue sections of the gastroduodenal junction and on saliva from individuals of known ABO, Lewis, and secretor phenotypes. It was also tested on human Caco-2 cells and on animal cell lines transfected with glycosyltransferases complementary DNA (cDNA). Competition experiments were performed with synthetic oligosaccharides and anticarbohydrate antibodies. Internalization was monitored by confocal microscopy. Results: Attachment of rNV VLPs to surface epithelial cells of the gastroduodenal junction as well as to saliva was detected, yet only from secretor donors. It was abolished by α1,2fucosidase treatment, and by competition with the H types 1 and 3 trisaccharides or with anti-H type 1 and anti-H types¾ antibodies. Transfection of CHO and TS/A cells with an α1,2fucosyltransferase cDNA allowed attachment of VLPs. These transfectants as well as differentiated Caco-2 cells expressing H type 1 structures internalized the bound particles. Conclusions: rNV VLPs use H type 1 and/or H types¾ as ligands on gastroduodenal epithelial cells of secretor individuals. GASTROENTEROLOGY 2002;122:1967-1977
Does a Currency Union affect Trade? The Time Series Evidence Reuven Glick and Andrew K. Rose*

Does leaving a currency union reduce international trade? We answer this question using a large annual panel data set covering 217 countries from 1948 through 1997. During this sample a large number of countries left currency unions; they experienced economically and statistically significant declines in bilateral trade, after accounting for other factors. Assuming symmetry, we estimate that a pair of countries that starts to use a common currency experiences a near doubling in bilateral trade.
The role of quorum sensing and the effect of environmental conditions on biofilm formation by strains of Vibrio vulnificus

Abstract It has been suggested that Vibrio vulnificus attaches to plankton and algae and is found in large numbers in the environment. Factors affecting attachment, biofilm formation and morphology of V. vulnificus have not been thoroughly investigated. This study evaluated the role of quorum sensing (QS) and environmental conditions on biofilm development of V. vulnificus. It was found that biofilm development by V. vulnificus was affected by nutrient and glucose concentration, but not by NaCl concentration or temperature under the conditions used here. Moreover, biofilm development of a QS mutant strain proceeded rapidly and sloughing occurred earlier than for the isogenic parent strain. There was a significant loss of viability for the QS mutant biofilm early in development. Hence, it is hypothesised that factors regulated by the QS system play a role in proper biofilm development and maintenance of V. vulnificus. Furthermore, it is shown that biofilm development varied among isolates.
Possible binding sites and interactions of propanidid and AZD3043 within the γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor (GABAAR)

Propanidid is an intravenous anesthetic with transient action and rapid recovery features, but it is clinically unacceptable due to its side effects. AZD-3043, an analog of propanidid with the methoxy group substituted by the ethoxy group, has become the focus of recent development efforts. Although propanidid and AZD-3043 are known to act by potentiating the γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAARs), their action sites and binding modes in the recognition of target proteins still remain unclear. In this study, molecular docking and ONIOM calculations were performed to explore the possible binding sites and binding modes of propanidid and AZD-3043 with the GABAAR. The predicted active region located in the transmembrane domain (TMD) of GABAAR was identified as the most favorable binding site for propanidid and AZD-3043, with the highest docking score (−39.69 and −39.44 kcal/mol, respectively) and the largest binding energy (−88.478 and −78.439 kcal/mol, respectively). The important role of amino acids Asp245, Asp424, Asp425, Arg428, Phe307, and Ser308 in determining the binding modes of propanidid or AZD-3043 with GABAAR was revealed. The detailed molecular interactions between propanidid and AZD-3043 and the GABAAR were revealed for the first time. This could improve our understanding of the action mechanism of general anesthetics and will be helpful for the design of more potential lead-like molecules.
Environmental Policy, Sustainable Development, Governance Mechanisms and Environmental Performance

We investigate the effects of environmental policy (Climate Change Act â€“ CCA), sustainable development frameworks (Global Reporting Initiative â€“ GRI; UN Global Compact â€“ UNGC) and corporate governance (CG) mechanisms on environmental performance (carbon reduction initiatives â€“ CRIs; actual carbon performance â€“ GHG emissions) of UK listed firms. We use the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation technique to analyse data consisting of 2245 UK firmâ€ year observations over the 2002â€“2014 period. First, we find that the CCA has a positive effect on CRIs, and this effect is stronger in betterâ€ governed firms. Second, we find that the GRIâ€ based framework is positively associated with CRIs. Third, we find that firms with poor CG structures have lower actual carbon performance compared with their betterâ€ governed counterparts. Overall, our evidence suggests that firms can symbolically conform to environmental policy (CCA) and sustainable development frameworks (GRI, UNGC) by engaging in CRIs without necessarily improving actual environmental performance (GHG emissions) substantively. Copyright Â© 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Prevalence of Thyroid Nodules and Its Relationship with Iodine Status in Shanghai: a Population-based Study.

OBJECTIVE This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of thyroid nodules (TNs) and its relationship with urine iodine concentrations (UICs) after the regional rapid economic growth and lifestyle changes. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the general population aged 15-69 years. A questionnaire regarding general and personal characteristics and relevant information was administered. Ultrasonography of the thyroid was performed, and serum triiodothyronine (T3), tetraiodothyronine (T4), serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), free tetraiodothyronine (FT4), thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb), thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb), and TSH receptor antibody (TRAb) levels were measured for each individual subject. RESULTS The prevalence rates of TNs in the whole population, females and males were 27.76%, 34.04%, and 21.60%, respectively. The prevalence of multiple nodules increased with age, whereas the prevalence peaks differed between males and females. The median UICs in the whole population and females with non-TNs were higher than those of subjects with TNs (P=0.0035, P=0.0068). The median UICs in subjects with a single TN were higher than those in subjects with multiple TNs (P=0.0164, P=0.0127). The result showed a U-shaped curve relationship between UIC and prevalence of TNs. The prevalence of TNs was the lowest when the UIC was 140-400 μg/L. CONCLUSION The prevalence of TNs was nearly 30% and increased with age. The relationship between UIC and prevalence of TNs is U-shaped, with an increase in risk when the UIC was <140 μg/L and >400 μg/L. Very low or high UIC levels need attention and correction.
Risk of solid cancer in patients with mast cell activation syndrome: Results from Germany and USA

Background: It has been shown repeatedly that mast cells can promote or prevent cancer development and growth. If development and/or progression of a solid cancer is substantially influenced by mast cell activity, the frequencies of occurrence of solid cancers in patients with primary mast cells disorders would be expected to differ from the corresponding prevalence data in the general population. In fact, a recent study demonstrated that patients with systemic mastocytosis (i.e., a rare neoplastic variant of the primary mast cell activation disease) have increased risk for solid cancers, in particular melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. The aim of the present study is to examine whether the risk of solid cancer is increased in systemic mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), the common systemic variant of mast cell activation disease. Methods: In the present descriptive study, we have analysed a large (n=828) patient group with MCAS, consisting of cohorts from Germany and the USA, for occurrence of solid forms of cancer and compared the frequencies of the different cancers with corresponding prevalence data for German and U.S. general populations. Results: Sixty-eight of the 828 MCAS patients (46 female, 22 male) had developed a solid tumor before the diagnosis of MCAS was made. Comparison of the frequencies of the malignancies in the MCAS patients with their prevalence in the general population revealed a significantly increased prevalence for melanoma and cancers of the breast, cervix uteri, ovary, lung, and thyroid in MCAS patients. Conclusions: Our data support the view that mast cells may promote development of certain malignant tumors. These findings indicate a need for increased surveillance of certain types of cancer in MCAS patients irrespective of its individual clinical presentation.
Self-Monitoring for Health: Questions for an Emerging Field

This paper aims to contribute to critical studies of self-monitoring by drawing together existing scholarship, emerging predominantly in digital sociology and media and communication studies journals, with scholarship from Science and Technology Studies (STS) and Sociology of Health and Illness (SHI) on other health technologies used away from the clinic. We take stock of existing work and suggest potential avenues for further exploration. We start by offering a critical summary of scholarship on self-monitoring, arguing that an important theme has concerned the meaning and value of data. An initial focus on media and commercial discourses, providing political economy and Foucauldian analyses, has been complemented and complicated by emerging ethnographic work, particularly on the Quantified Self movement, which suggest plural understandings and valuations of self-monitoring data, and limits to data flows. A key contribution of our argument is that there may be more to self-monitoring than data and data flows. We suggest that a technology-in-practice perspective might help to explore the diversity of monitoring practices, bringing into relief issues that are already central in SHI and STS. We draw on evidence from comparison cases of other health technologies used in domestic spaces (telecare and pharmaceuticals) to highlight three conceptual areas that have resonance for self-monitoring: (i) non-use, resistance and unexpected uses of technologies, (ii) the distributed work of self-monitoring within existing care infrastructures, and (iii) the emotional meaning of self-monitoring. We end with a series of questions that we propose could help orientate and further enrich future scholarship into self-monitoring.
Objective detection of subtle freezing of gait episodes in Parkinson's disease

Freezing of gait (FOG) is a clinically defined phenomenon of Parkinson's disease (PD). Recent evidence suggests that subtle FOG episodes can be elicited in a gait laboratory using suddenly appearing obstacles during treadmill walking. We evaluated which quantitative gait parameters identify such subtle FOG episodes. We included 10 PD patients with FOG, 10 PD patients without FOG, and 10 controls. Subjects walked on a motorized treadmill while avoiding unexpectedly appearing obstacles. Treadmill walking was videotaped, and FOG episodes were identified by two independent experts. Gait was also analyzed using detailed kinematics. Knee joint signals were processed using time–frequency analysis with combinations of sliding fast Fourier transform and wavelets transform. Twenty FOG episodes occurred during treadmill walking in 5 patients (all with clinically certified FOG), predominantly in relation to obstacle avoidance. FOG was brief when it occurred just before or after obstacle crossing and was characterized by short, rapid steps. Frequency analysis showed a typical qualitative pattern: before the FOG episode an increase in dominant frequency in the 0 to 3 Hz band (festination), followed by decreased power in 0 to 3 Hz band and an increased power in the 3 to 8 Hz band during the FOG episode. This pattern led to an increased FOG index as a qualitative measure. These approaches detected even very brief FOG with acceptable sensitivity (75–83%) and specificity (>95%). We conclude that time–frequency analysis is an appropriate approach to detect brief and subtle FOG episodes. Future work will need to decide whether this approach can support or even replace expert clinical opinion. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society
To the Novel Paradigm of Proteome-Based Cell Therapy of Tumors: Through Comparative Proteome Mapping of Tumor Stem Cells and Tissue-Specific Stem Cells of Humans

We performed proteome mapping (PM), cataloging, and bioinformation analysis of protein lysates of human neural (CD133+) progenitor and stem cells (NPSCs) isolated from the olfactory sheath of a nose, multipotent mesenchymal (CD29+, CD44+, CD73+, CD90+, CD34-) stromal cells (MMSCs) isolated from human bone marrow, and tumor (CD133+) stem cells (TSCs) isolated from the human U87 glioblastoma (GB) cell line. We identified 1,664 proteins in the examined lysates of stem cells (SCs), 1,052 (63.2%) of which are identical in NPSCs and TSCs and 607 proteins (36.47%) of which are identical in MMSCs and TSCs. Other proteins in U87 GB TSCs are oncospecific or carcinogenesis associated. The biological processes, molecular functions, cell localization, and protein signal pathways of the proteins available in all three proteomes were annotated by PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/), PANTHER (http://www.pantherdb.org/), GeneOntology (http://www.geneontology.org/), and KEGG (http://www.genome.jp/kegg/) databases. It was shown that gliomaspheres of U87 GB had only 10 intracellular signal transduction pathways (ISTP) that were not modified by the neoplastic process, but only two of them (integrin and focal adhesion pathways) were accessible for regulatory action on gene candidates in the TSC nucleus. Carcinogenesis-free membrane proteins, IPST, and genes expressing proteins of these pathways in U87 GB TSCs can be viewed as main targets for regulatory effects on TSCs. We offer a novel concept of proteome-based complex therapy of tumors. This manuscript is published as part of the International Association of Neurorestoratology (IANR) special issue of Cell Transplantation.
HMM-Based Phrase-Independent i-Vector Extractor for Text-Dependent Speaker Verification

The low-dimensional i-vector representation of speech segments is used in the state-of-the-art text-independent speaker verification systems. However, i-vectors were deemed unsuitable for the text-dependent task, where simpler and older speaker recognition approaches were found more effective. In this work, we propose a straightforward hidden Markov model (HMM) based extension of the i-vector approach, which allows i-vectors to be successfully applied to text-dependent speaker verification. In our approach, the Universal Background Model (UBM) for training phrase-independent i-vector extractor is based on a set of monophone HMMs instead of the standard Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM). To compensate for the channel variability, we propose to precondition i-vectors using a regularized variant of within-class covariance normalization, which can be robustly estimated in a phrase-dependent fashion on the small datasets available for the text-dependent task. The verification scores are cosine similarities between the i-vectors normalized using phrase-dependent s-norm. The experimental results on RSR2015 and RedDots databases confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach, especially in rejecting test utterances with a wrong phrase. A simple MFCC based i-vector/HMM system performs competitively when compared to very computationally expensive DNN-based approaches or the conventional relevance MAP GMM-UBM, which does not allow for compact speaker representations. To our knowledge, this paper presents the best published results obtained with a single system on both RSR2015 and RedDots dataset.
Inhibition of estrogen biosynthesis with a potent aromatase inhibitor increases predicted adult height in boys with idiopathic short stature: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT In males as well as in females, estrogen is an essential regulator of bone maturation, growth plate fusion, and cessation of longitudinal growth. Therefore, an increase in predicted adult height (PAH) may be achieved in short boys by blocking estrogen biosynthesis. OBJECTIVE We tested the hypothesis that a decrease in the rate of bone maturation and an increase in PAH can be achieved in boys with idiopathic short stature (ISS) by the method of blocking estrogen biosynthesis with an aromatase inhibitor. Secondarily, we investigated the effects of aromatase inhibition on bone mineralization. DESIGN This was a prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo (Pl)-controlled clinical study. SETTING The study was performed at a university hospital out-patient clinic. PATIENTS Thirty-one boys, aged 9.0-14.5 yr, with ISS were studied. INTERVENTION The boys were treated with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole (Lz; 2.5 mg/d) or Pl for 2 yr. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The main outcome measure was the change in PAH after 24 months of treatment. RESULTS PAH increased by 5.9 cm (P < 0.0001), and height SD score for bone age increased by 0.7 SD score (P < 0.0001) in the Lz-treated boys, whereas no changes occurred in the respective measures in Pl-treated boys. Areal bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and femoral neck, assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, increased in a similar fashion in both groups during the treatment, whereas bone mineral apparent density increased only in those taking Lz (median increase, 4.3%; P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS Treatment with the aromatase inhibitor Lz delays bone maturation and improves PAH in boys with ISS. No adverse effects on bone mineralization were evident after 2 yr of treatment.
DOES TRADE OPENNESS AND FISCAL POLICY AFFECT INEQUALITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH? A STUDY IN INDONESIA

This paper examines the impact of trade openness and Indonesia's fiscal policy on income inequality and economic growth. The error correction model approach was used to analyze the effect during the period 1980 to 2015. The results show that trade openness can improve inequality but at the same time impede growth. The effect of fiscal policy on reducing inequality is only generated by tax collection but is temporary. Meanwhile, government spending on infrastructure and health proved to encourage growth. On the other hand, education sector spending and tax collection can actually hamper growth.
The Risk of Fraud in Family Firms: Assessments of External Auditors

There is a dearth of business ethics research on family firms, despite the importance of such firms to the US economy (Vazquez in J Bus Ethics, 2016. doi:10.1007/s10551-016-3171-1). We answer Vazquez’s (2016) call to examine the intersection of family-firm research and business ethics, by investigating whether external auditors assess higher risk of fraud in family firms. We test the contradictory predictions of two dominant theoretical perspectives in family-firm research—entrenchment theory and alignment theory. We conduct an experiment with highly experienced external audit professionals, who assess the risk of fraud and make client acceptance decisions for family firms versus non-family firms with different strength of corporate governance: strong versus weak audit committees (ACs). We find that auditors assess the risk of fraud as higher for family firms than for non-family firms, consistent with the predictions of entrenchment theory. Auditors are also less likely to make client acceptance recommendations for family firms. The strength of the AC moderates the family-firm effect, whereby auditors assess family firms with weak ACs to have the highest fraud risk and to be the least desirable audit clients. Our findings suggest that auditors perceive more severe agency conflicts to be present in family firms than in non-family firms, consistent with entrenchment theory, according to which family members may behave opportunistically to extract rents and potentially expropriate the firm’s resources at the expense of minority shareholders.
Flexibility in Income Shifting under Losses

ABSTRACT: This study examines the flexibility of multinational firms to adjust their income-shifting strategies—whether using transfer pricing or internal debt—during the tax year to react to affiliates' operating losses. We develop the concept that under flexibility, multinationals can adjust their inter-affiliate payments ex post (i.e., after financial outcomes are revealed, but before the end of the tax year) to minimize worldwide tax payments. Without flexibility, multinationals must commit to their affiliates' income-shifting strategies ex ante (i.e., before financial outcomes are revealed). Our central prediction is that under ex post income shifting, loss affiliates report lower transfer prices and internal leverage than profitable affiliates; under ex ante income shifting, affiliates report the same transfer prices and internal capital structure, regardless of making losses. Using novel data on direct transfer payments and internal debt of Norwegian affiliates, we find empirical evidence that tran.