Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Baclofen efficacy in reducing alcohol craving and intake: a preliminary double-blind randomized controlled study.

AIMS The gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA(B)) receptor agonist, baclofen, has recently been shown to reduce alcohol intake in alcohol-preferring rats and alcohol consumption and craving for alcohol in an open study in humans. The present study was aimed at providing a first evaluation of the efficacy of baclofen in inducing and maintaining abstinence and reducing craving for alcohol in alcohol-dependent patients in a double-blind placebo-controlled design. METHODS A total of 39 alcohol-dependent patients were consecutively enrolled in the study. After 12-24 h of abstinence from alcohol, patients were randomly divided into two groups. Twenty patients were treated with baclofen and 19 with placebo. Drug and placebo were orally administered for 30 consecutive days. Baclofen was administered at the dose of 15 mg/day for the first 3 days and 30 mg/day for the subsequent 27 days, divided into three daily doses. Patients were monitored as out-patients on a weekly basis. At each visit alcohol intake, abstinence from alcohol, alcohol craving and changes in affective disorders were evaluated. RESULTS A higher percentage of subjects totally abstinent from alcohol and a higher number of cumulative abstinence days throughout the study period were found in the baclofen, compared to the placebo, group. A decrease in the obsessive and compulsive components of craving was found in the baclofen compared to the placebo group; likewise, alcohol intake was reduced in the baclofen group. A decrease in state anxiety was found in the baclofen compared to the placebo group. No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of current depressive symptoms. Baclofen proved to be easily manageable and no patient discontinued treatment due to the presence of side-effects. No patient was affected by craving for the drug and/or drug abuse. CONCLUSIONS Baclofen proved to be effective in inducing abstinence from alcohol and reducing alcohol craving and consumption in alcoholics. With the limits posed by the small number of subjects involved, the results of this preliminary double-blind study suggest that baclofen may represent a potentially useful drug in the treatment of alcohol-dependent patients and thus merits further investigations.
Measuring productivity and absorptive capacity evolution

We develop a new way to estimate cross-country production functions which allows us to parametrize unobserved non-factor inputs (total factor productivity) as a global technology process combined with country-specific time-varying absorptive capacity. The advantage of our approach is that we do not need to adopt proxies for absorptive capacity such as investments in research and development (R&D) or human capital, or specify explicit channels through which global technology can transfer to individual countries, such as trade, foreign direct investment (FDI) or migration: we provide an endogenously-created index for relative absorptive capacity which is easy to interpret and encompasses potential proxies and channels. Our implementation adopts an unobserved component model and uses a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm to obtain posterior estimates for all model parameters. This contribution to empirical methodology allows researchers to employ widely-available data for factor inputs (capital, labor) and GDP or value-added in order to arrive at policy-relevant insights for industrial and innovation policy. Applying our methodology to a panel of 31 advanced economies we chart the dynamic evolution of global TFP and country-specific absorptive capacity and then demonstrate the lose relationship between our estimates and salient indicators of growth-enhancing economic policy.
Is the Fed’s news perception different from the private sector’s?

ABSTRACT The recent literature on monetary policy has dedicated considerable attention to modelling agents’ processing of information about the future in real time. This paper contributes to this growing strand by investigating the implied differences in the so-called news shocks estimated from the standard New Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model using the real-time data sets from the Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) and the Federal Reserve’s Greenbook (GB) forecasts. Alternative specifications with either the SPF or GB forecasts aim to delineate the differences in the private sector’s and the Fed’s expectations of future macroeconomic outcomes and identify the differences in their perception of news shocks. Our results indicate that while the demand news shocks have very similar distributions in the two datasets, the monetary and cost-push news shocks from the models estimated on the GB data tend to be larger than those from the SPF. These findings suggest that the Federal Reserve’s forecasting methods allow for more variation in future outcomes than the SPF’s. These findings mesh well with the extant literature on the superiority of the Fed’s forecasts relative to the private sector’s and provide a structural explanation for the source of this superiority.
Association of caregiver demographic variables with neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease patients for distress on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI)

Behavioral symptoms are frequently observed in Alzheimer’s disease patients and are associated to higher distress for patients and caregivers, early institutionalization, worst prognosis and increased care. Objectives The objective of the present study was to evaluate the frequency of neuropsychiatric symptoms in a sample of Alzheimer’s disease patients and to analyze association between caregiver demographic characteristics and patient symptoms. Methods Sixty Alzheimer’s disease patients (NINCDS-ADRDA) and their caregivers were consecutively included in the investigation by the Dementia Outpatient clinic of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) was applied to evaluate behavioral symptoms and their impact upon caregivers. Age, sex, educational attainment, relationship to the patient, and time as caregiver were obtained from all caregivers. Results Apathy was the symptom responsible for the highest distress level, followed by agitation and aggression. A significant correlation between total severity NPI and distress NPI was observed. None of the caregiver demographic data showed association to distress. The most frequent symptoms were apathy and aberrant motor behavior. Patients’ relatives also considered apathy as the most severe symptom, followed by depression and agitation. Conclusions Apathy was the most frequent and severe neuropsychiatric symptom. No relationship between caregiver demographic characteristics and distress was observed.
Addressing the “My Students Cannot Write” Dilemma: Investigating Methods for Improving Graduate Student Writing

Improved writing can help students in their academic and professional careers, thus this action research project examined the use of three revision strategies in a graduate course by collecting three sources of data. One-sample t-tests revealed no significant differences across paper scores. However, students indicated rough drafts and rewrites were helpful because they were able to make changes to receive a better grade. Students did not find peer reviews helpful. To help students improve their writing, faculty should train them to become effective peer reviewers and give them multiple options for revising their writing.
Pancreaticoduodenectomy (classic Whipple) versus pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy (pp Whipple) for surgical treatment of periampullary and pancreatic carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death for men and the fifth for women. The standard treatment for resectable tumours is either a classic Whipple operation or a pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy but it is still unclear which of the two procedures is more favourable in terms of survival, mortality, complications, perioperative factors and quality of life. OBJECTIVES Several publications pointed out both advantages and disadvantages of both techniques and the current basis of evidence remains unclear. The objective of this systematic review is to compare the effectiveness of each technique. SEARCH STRATEGY A search was conducted to identify all published and unpublished randomised controlled trials. Trials were identified by searching the following electronic databases - The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Current Contents. Reference lists from trials selected by electronic searching were hand-searched to identify further relevant trials. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the classical Whipple (CW) with the pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy (PPW) were considered eligible if patients with periampullary or pancreatic carcinoma were included. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two authors independently extracted data for included studies. A random-effects model was used for pooling data from the different trials. Binary outcomes were compared using odds ratios, continuous outcomes were pooled using weighted mean differences and hazard ratios were used to for the meta-analysis of survival data. The methodological quality of included studies was evaluated independently by two authors according to quality standards and by using a questionnaire that covers different aspects of quality. MAIN RESULTS 1235 abstracts were retrieved and checked for eligibility and seven RCTs were finally included. The critical appraisal revealed vast heterogeneity with respect to methodological quality and outcome parameters. The comparison of overall in-hospital mortality (odds ratio 0.49; 95% CI 0.17 to 1.40; P=0.18), overall survival (hazard ratio 0.84; 95% CI 0.61 to 1.16; P=0.29) and morbidity showed no significant difference. However, operating time (weighted mean difference -68.26 min; 95% CI -105.70 to -30.83; P=0.0004) and intra-operative blood loss (weighted mean difference -0.76 ml; 95% CI -0.96 to -0.56; P<0.00001) were significantly reduced in the PPW group. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS There is no evidence of relevant differences in mortality, morbidity and survival between the PPW and the CW. Given obvious clinical and methodological inter-study heterogeneity, future efforts have to be undertaken to perform high quality RCTs of complex surgical interventions on the basis of well defined outcome parameters.
Welfare State in Central and Eastern Europe

DOI: 10.14254/2071789X.2018/11-1/7 ABSTRACT. This study aims at analyzing the existing welfare state models in Europe and investigating welfare regimes in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The hierarchical cluster analysis, employed in this study, revealed that five welfare state models can be distinguished in this region. The analysis also revealed that Central and Eastern European countries are too diverse to form a single cluster, and thus two models of the welfare state the Eastern Europe welfare model and the Central Europe welfare model – could be distinguished. Meanwhile, while investigating the situation of Central and Eastern European countries in the more general European context, it was observed that Central European welfare model is closer to the old European countries, while the Eastern European welfare model is very different from all other models.
Recent Progress and Emerging Topics on Weather and Climate Extremes Since the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Weather and climate extremes impose serious impacts on natural and human systems. In its fifth assessment report (AR5) and a special report [Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX)], the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provided a thorough assessment of observed and projected changes in extremes in a warming climate, with evidenced scientific gaps in the understanding of these responsive changes being reported. Reviewing post-AR5 literature, this article synthesizes recent advances regarding these previous gaps with respect to detection, attribution, and projection of extremes. We focus on constraints for the assessment confidence, overlooked types and characteristics of extremes, and changes in their thermodynamic-dynamic drivers. We also stress potential misinterpretations of existing results, propose an update of earlier key findings, and identify burgeoning topics.
Trafficking through the Late Endosome Significantly Impacts Candida albicans Tolerance of the Azole Antifungals

ABSTRACT The azole antifungals block ergosterol biosynthesis by inhibiting lanosterol demethylase (Erg11p). The resulting depletion of cellular ergosterol and the accumulation of “toxic” sterol intermediates are both thought to compromise plasma membrane function. However, the effects of ergosterol depletion upon the function of intracellular membranes and organelles are not well described. The purpose of this study was to characterize the effects of azole treatment upon the integrity of the Candida albicans vacuole and to determine whether, in turn, vacuolar trafficking influences azole susceptibility. Profound fragmentation of the C. albicans vacuole can be observed as an early consequence of azole treatment, and it precedes significant growth inhibition. In addition, a C. albicans vps21Δ/Δ mutant, blocked in membrane trafficking through the late endosomal prevacuolar compartment (PVC), is able to grow significantly more than the wild type in the presence of several azole antifungals under standard susceptibility testing conditions. Furthermore, the vps21Δ/Δ mutant is able to grow despite the depletion of cellular ergosterol. This phenotype resembles an exaggerated form of “trailing growth” that has been described for some clinical isolates. In contrast, the vps21Δ/Δ mutant is hypersensitive to drugs that block alternate steps in ergosterol biosynthesis. On the basis of these results, we propose that endosomal trafficking defects may lead to the cellular “redistribution” of the sterol intermediates that accumulate following inhibition of ergosterol biosynthesis. Furthermore, the destination of these intermediates, or the precise cellular compartments in which they accumulate, may be an important determinant of their toxicity and thus ultimately antifungal efficacy.
Using Parallel Distributed Processing Models to Simulate Phonological Dyslexia: The Key Role of Plasticity-related Recovery

PMSP96 [Plaut, D. C. , McClelland, J. L. , Seidenberg, M. S. , & Patterson, K. Understanding normal and impaired word reading: Computational principles in quasi-regular domains. Psychological Review, 103, 56115, 1996, Simulation 4] is an implementation of the triangle model of reading, which was able to simulate effects found in normal and surface dyslexic readers. This study replicated the original findings and explored the possibility that damage to the phonological portion of the model might produce symptoms of phonological dyslexia. The first simulation demonstrated that this implementation of PMSP96 was able to reproduce the standard effects of reading, and that when damaged by removal of the semantic input to phonology, it produced the kind of frequency/consistency interactions and regularization errors typical of surface dyslexia. The second simulation explored the effect of phonological damage. Phonological damage alone did not result in a convincing simulation of phonological dyslexia. However, when the damage was followed by a period of recovery, the network was able to simulate large lexicality and imageability effects characteristic of phonological dyslexia-the first time that both surface and phonological dyslexia have been simulated in the same parallel distributed processing network. This result supports the view that plasticity-related changes should be a significant factor in our understanding of chronic behavioral dissociations.
Subcellular Localization of Selectively Permeable Aquaporins in the Male Germ Line of a Marine Teleost Reveals Spatial Redistribution in Activated Spermatozoa1

ABSTRACT In oviparous vertebrates such as the marine teleost gilthead seabream, water and fluid homeostasis associated with testicular physiology and the external activation of spermatozoa is potentially mediated by multiple aquaporins. To test this hypothesis, we isolated five novel members of the aquaporin superfamily from gilthead seabream and developed paralog-specific antibodies to localize the cellular sites of protein expression in the male reproductive tract. Together with phylogenetic classification, functional characterization of four of the newly isolated paralogs, Aqp0a, -7, -8b, and -9b, demonstrated that they were water permeable, while Aqp8b was also permeable to urea, and Aqp7 and -9b were permeable to glycerol and urea. Immunolocalization experiments indicated that up to seven paralogous aquaporins are differentially expressed in the seabream testis: Aqp0a and -9b in Sertoli and Leydig cells, respectively; Aqp1ab, -7, and -10b from spermatogonia to spermatozoa; and Aqp1aa and -8b in spermatids and sperm. In the efferent duct, only Aqp10b was found in the luminal epithelium. Ejaculated spermatozoa showed a segregated spatial distribution of five aquaporins: Aqp1aa and -7 in the entire flagellum or the head, respectively, and Aqp1ab, -8b, and -10b both in the head and the anterior tail. The combination of immunofluorescence microscopy and biochemical fractionation of spermatozoa indicated that Aqp10b and phosphorylated Aqp1ab are rapidly translocated to the head plasma membrane upon activation, whereas Aqp8b accumulates in the mitochondrion of the spermatozoa. In contrast, Aqp1aa and -7 remained unchanged. These data reveal that aquaporin expression in the teleost testis shares conserved features of the mammalian system, and they suggest that the piscine channels may play different roles in water and solute transport during spermatogenesis, sperm maturation and nutrition, and the initiation and maintenance of sperm motility.
Chasing Performance and Identifying Talented Investment Managers

A common refrain from investors is that they have bad luck in hiring investment managers. Their managers’ post-hire performance tends to be disappointing relative to their pre-hire performance. This may be because of performance-based hiring and firing. The literature documents the practice of chasing performance. This article illustrates that the probability that a talented manager’s performance will exceed the best in a pool of untalented managers can be surprisingly small, even for long time periods; hence, chasing performance is unlikely to result in choosing the best managers. This article also provides a framework for mitigating the detrimental effects of chasing performance.
A stochastic optimization approach for parameter tuning of support vector machines

Support vector machines (SVMs) are both mathematically well-funded and efficient in a large number of real-world applications. However, the classification results highly depend on the parameters of the model: the scale of the kernel and the regularization parameter. Estimating these parameters is referred to as tuning. Tuning requires to estimate the generalization error and to find its minimum over the parameter space. Classical methods use a local minimization approach. After empirically showing that the tuning of parameters presents local minima, we investigate in this paper the use of global minimization techniques, namely genetic algorithms and simulated annealing. This latter approach is compared to the standard tuning frameworks and provides a more reliable tuning method.
Information technology and hospital patient safety: a cross-sectional study of US acute care hospitals.

OBJECTIVES To determine whether health information technology (IT) systems are associated with better patient safety in acute care settings. STUDY DESIGN In a cross-sectional retrospective study, data on hospital patient safety performance for October 2008 to June 2010 were combined with 2007 information technology systems data. The sample included 3002 US non-federal acute care hospitals. Electronic health record (EHR) system was coded as a composite dichotomous variable based on the presence of 10 major clinical and administrative applications that (if in use) could potentially meet stage 1 "meaningful use" objectives. The surgical IT system was measured as a dichotomous variable if a hospital used at least 1 of the perioperative, preoperative, or postoperative information systems. Hospital patient safety performance was measured by risk-standardized estimated rates per 1000 admissions. Statistical analyses were conducted using an estimated dependent variable methodology with gamma-log link-based weighted generalized linear models, adjusting for hospital characteristics, historical composite process quality, and propensity for EHR adoption. RESULTS We found that the use of surgical IT systems was associated with 7% to 26% lower rates for 7 of 8 patient safety indicators (incidence rate ratio [IRR] range from 0.74 to 0.93; all P values < .01). Further, stage 1 meaningful use-capable EHR systems were associated with 7% to 11% lower rates on 3 of 8 measures (IRR range from 0.89 to 0.93; all P values < .01). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the use of IT is associated with modestly lower rates of adverse events in hospitals. However, the cross-sectional design limits our ability to make causal conclusions.
Retirement age and the work force in general surgery.

OBJECTIVE This study examines the age of retirement of general surgery Fellows of the American College of Surgeons from 1984 through 1995 and analyzes the potential effect on the work force in general surgery of age of retirement. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Data from the Fellowship files of the American College of Surgeons, the American Board of Medical Specialties, and the American Medical Association disclosed that the number of practicing general surgeons in the United States in 1994 was between 17,289 and 23,502, or approximately 7 general surgeons per 100,000 population in the United States. METHODS The Fellowship files of the American College of Surgeons from 1984 through 1995 were searched for general surgeons who had written to ask for retirement status or who had died before retirement. Calculations were made of the effect of years in practice on the total general surgeon work force. All living retirees from 1984 to 1985 and 1994 to 1995 were questioned to learn the factors leading to a decision to retire. RESULTS The average age of retirement for general surgeon Fellows has risen from 60.45 in 1984 to 62.97 in 1995. Because of increasing diversion of general surgery graduates into surgical specialties, total practice years are declining despite increasing length of practice time. The principal factors for retirement decisions in 1984 and 1985 were disability (26%), leisure time (20%), and unfavorable changes in surgery (29%). In 1994 and 1995, disability was a major factor in 14% of decisions, leisure time in 20%, and unfavorable changes in surgery in 56%. CONCLUSIONS Fewer general surgeons enter the work force each year. Thus, despite working longer, the total number of years practiced by each cohort of new general surgeons has decreased.