Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fertility and women’s work in a demographic transition: evidence from Peru

As in other developing countries, Peru’s demographic transition is well underway. Concurrently, women’s labor market participation and employment rates have substantially increased. In this paper we estimate the causal effect that the reduction in fertility rates has on women’s employment using instrumental variables already tested in developed countries—twins in the first birth and the sex composition of the two oldest children. We also analyze the heterogeneity of the effects along three lines: marriage status of the mother, age of the first (second) child, and mother’s education. We find strong effects of fertility. According to our results, 29 percent of the total increase in women’s rate of employment between 1993 and 2007 can be attributed to the reduction in fertility rates. This is a considerable magnitude, more than four times as large as the estimate for US by Jacobsen et al. (1999). Effects are largest in women with children 2 years old or younger and decline inversely as the first child increases in age, but are still significant when she reaches 10. Effects also vary with the mother’s education level, tending to be stronger as women have more education. Finally, these effects are smaller for married women than for all women.
The ACCEPT study: ustekinumab versus etanercept in moderate-to-severe psoriasis patients

The first biologic therapy for psoriasis was approved in 2003. Other approvals followed, including TNF-α inhibitors, and in addition to providing new treatment options that were greatly needed, these therapies increased our understanding of the immunopathogenesis of psoriasis. Clinical trial activity increased, but all biologic trials were placebo controlled with no active comparators. In 2009, ustekinumab, a new agent that targets the p40 subunit of cytokines IL-12 and IL-23, was approved. In 2010, the Active Comparator (CNTO1275/Enbrel) Psoriasis Trial (ACCEPT) was published, the first active comparator trial of psoriasis biologic agents, comparing ustekinumab and the TNF antagonist etanercept. Here, we describe the results of the ACCEPT trial and offer an expert commentary on the results and implications for psoriasis treatment and research.
Audit quality, bank risks, and cross-country regulations

The recent turmoil in global financial markets has accentuated the need to better understand the fundamental determinants of bank risks. A large body of literature has emerged to address this issue in depth. However, the role of auditing in monitoring and shaping bank risk taking has not hitherto been considered. In this paper we examine the link between audit quality, banks' equity risk and cross-market regulatory differences in the G10 countries in the run-up to the 2007-2009 financial crisis. We find that higher audit quality is, on average, associated with lower systematic risk and this link is stronger in countries with weaker regulations. Our empirical findings bear important strategic implications for bank regulators and supervisors with an interest in improving auditing standards and banking sector policies.
Probiotics in the Treatment and Prevention of Atopic Dermatitis

The environmental factors which may influence atopic diseases also include probiotics such as lactobacilli or bifidobacteria. They are defined as specific microbial cultures which confer health benefits by prophylactic or therapeutic effects. These effects include the stabilization of the intestinal barrier, stimulation of intestinal IgA production, and modulation of specific and nonspecific immune responses to environmental factors like allergens [3–6] . In the end probiotic bacteria lead to a reduction in Th2 cytokines and increased production of IL-10 and TGFby regulatory T cells [5, 6–9] . However, there are conflicting results, as recently reported by authors from Denmark [10] . They showed that certain probiotic strains can modify antigen-presenting cells to cause reduced activity of regulatory T cells. So far the results regarding the immunomodulatory effects of probiotics appear variable, which may be due to using different probiotic strains and different methods of stimulating cytokine production. Based on these findings probiotics have been considered to improve and prevent AD. The Finnish group headed by Isolauri (1997) was the first to show significant reduction in SCORAD (Scoring Atopic Dermatitis) in the probiotic group compared to a placebo group [11] . Four years later the same study group reported a positive effect Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common chronic inflammatory skin disease in infancy, which has increased steadily in the industrialized countries over the last 3 decades. Clinically the disease is characterized by dry skin, intractable pruritus and current relapses or chronic course which is associated with reduced quality of life for patients and their families. The therapy is mainly symptomatic and includes moisturizing the skin and topical anti-inflammatory treatment such as corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors. Additionally patients have to avoid irritants and allergens. The main cause of AD is still not clearly understood. Apparently, it is the result of a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors leading to disturbed epidermal differentiation, impaired epidermal barrier function and dysbalance of the immune system. The latter is characterized by a disruption of the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance towards an activation of Th2 cells, which is followed by induction of IgE and the activation and recruitment of eosinophils. It has been suggested that the absence of the exposure to microbes in the early childhood predisposes an infant to develop atopic diseases (hygiene hypothesis) [1] . Furthermore, patients with AD have significantly increased colonization by superantigen-secreting Staphylococcus aureus , which is associated with immunosuppressive activity of regulatory T cells [2] . Published online: September 8, 2010
Personality Neglect

The present research provides the first evidence that people neglect their own personalities when they envision their future emotional lives. In Study 1, students ignored the impact of their dispositional happiness in predicting how they would feel 2 weeks after receiving grades. Yet dispositional happiness played an important role in shaping actual emotional experiences. Similarly, exhibiting personality neglect, participants in Study 2 overlooked their trait levels of neuroticism and optimism when forecasting their reaction to Barack Obama’s election, though these personality dimensions were related to their actual emotional reactions. Because they overlooked the influence of their own dispositions, individuals incorrectly predicted their future feelings. Ironically, as a result of this personality neglect, more optimistic individuals were less likely to see their emotional future in an overly rosy light, whereas more neurotic individuals were more likely to overestimate the pleasure that the future would bring.
Identification of Human-Derived Volatile Chemicals That Interfere With Attraction of the Scottish Biting Midge and Their Potential Use as Repellents

ABSTRACT The Scottish biting midge, Culicoides impunctatus (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), is a major pest in Scotland, causing a significant impact to the Scottish tourist and forestry industries. C. impunctatus is a generalist feeder, preferring to feed on large mammals, and is notorious for its attacks on humans. Until now, there was anecdotal evidence for differential attraction of female host-seeking C. impunctatus to individual human hosts, and the mechanism for this phenomenon was unknown. Using extracts of human odor collected by air entrainment, electroantennogram recordings to identify the physiologically active components, followed by behavioral assays, we show, for the first time, the differential attraction of female C. impunctatus to human odors and the chemical basis for this phenomenon. Certain chemicals, found in greater amounts in extracts that cause low attractiveness to midges, elicit a repellent effect in laboratory assays and repellency trials in the field. Differences in the production of these natural human-derived compounds could help to explain differential “attractiveness” between different human hosts. A mixture of two compounds in particular, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one and geranylacetone [(E)-6,10-dimethylundeca-5,9-dien-2-one], showed significant repellency (87, 77.4, 74.2, and 31.6% at hours 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively) in the field and have the potential to be developed as novel repellents.
Can Investors Hedge Energy Risk? Evidence from Asia

The relationship between energy and stock prices is investigated in the context of Asia, including China and Japan. Oil, gas and coal prices are considered both individually and in an energy portfolio. Consistent with evidence from analysis of other asset prices in international markets, during the post Global Financial Crisis (GFC) period, Asian stock markets moved in tandem with oil prices. However, using asset pricing and portfolio theory we identify time-varying integration between individual stock markets and the energy portfolio, which in turn may limit the benefit of risk reduction through diversification. However, this relation can also be used to hedge the common factor arising from energy risk. Doing so provides benefits to investors in the form of positive risk adjusted returns, although these are episodic.
Liver slices in dynamic organ culture. II. An in vitro cellular technique for the study of integrated drug metabolism using human tissue.

1. Precision cut human liver slices in dynamic organ culture have been used to study the integrated metabolism of 7-ethoxycoumarin and the conjugation of 7-hydroxycoumarin. 2. The metabolism of 7-ethoxycoumarin and 7-hydroxycoumarin was monitored for 6 h. For both substrates there was a time-dependent increase in metabolites present in the incubation medium. The low levels of free 7-hydroxycoumarin found in the medium when 7-ethoxycoumarin was the substrate suggests good coupling of phase I and phase II metabolism. 3. With suitable incubation conditions, i.e. change of medium containing new substrate every 2 h, the metabolism of both 7-ethoxycoumarin and 7-hydroxycoumarin by human liver slices was found to proceed at similar rates for up to 24 h. This was demonstrated using five separate human liver preparations. 4. Human liver slices also metabolized mono-chlorobenzene and o-, m- and p-dichlorobenzene to aqueous soluble metabolites. There was a time-dependent increase in the appearance of aqueous soluble metabolites present in the incubation medium. Metabolites were not retained by the liver slices. 5. A cold-storage transit buffer has been described and used to maintain the levels of drug metabolism in both rat and human tissue for periods of up to 6 h. 6. The use of human liver slices in dynamic organ culture as a suitable method for the direct assessment of integrated hepatic drug metabolism is proposed.
Environmental Externalities and Weak Appropriability: Influences on Firm Pollution Reduction Technology Development

Technological development plays a critical role in society’s ability to address environmental issues. Building on Teece’s profiting from innovation framework, we articulate how a double-externality problem weakens the appropriability regime surrounding pollution reduction technology (PRT). We then develop a theoretical framework articulating how weak appropriability induces firms to modify their innovation strategies for PRT development by increasing the extent to which they engage in organizational exploration (rather than exploitation) and emphasizing incremental (rather than radical) technologies. Noting that the effects of weak appropriability are unlikely to be static, we detail how the accumulation of organizational capabilities for reducing pollution diminishes the extent to which firms modify their innovation strategies for PRT. That is, firms become less exploratory and less focused on incremental technology as they gain experience with pollution reduction. Results of broad-sample empirical analyses of 206,277 patents held by 203 U.S. manufacturing firms over a 20-year period provide support for our framework.
2,6-Dichloro-phenol indophenol prevents switch-over of electrons between the cyanide-sensitive and -insensitive pathway of the mitochondrial electron transport chain in the presence of inhibitors.

To evolve a simple oxygen electrode-based method to estimate alternative respiration, one needs to develop a procedure to prevent switch-over of electrons to either pathway upon inhibition by cyanide or salicylhydroxamic acid. It was hypothesized that the inclusion of appropriate electron acceptor, possessing redox potential close to one of the electron transport carriers in between ubiquinone (branch point) and cytochrome a-a3, should be able to stop switch-over of electrons to either pathway by working as an electron sink. To test the hypothesis, 2,6-dichloro-phenol indophenol (DCPIP; redox potential +0.217 V), an artificial electron acceptor having a redox potential quite similar to the site near cytochrome c1 (redox potential +0.22 V) on the cyanide-sensitive pathway, was used with isolated mitochondria and leaf discs in the absence and presence of inhibitors (potassium cyanide, antimycin A, and salicylhydroxamic acid). Polarographic data confirmed electron acceptance by DCPIP only from the inhibited (by cyanide or salicylhydroxamic acid) mitochondrial electron transport chain, hence preventing switch-over of electrons between the cyanide-sensitive and cyanide-insensitive pathway of respiration. Results with antimycin A and reduction status of DCPIP further confirmed electron acceptance by DCPIP from the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Possible implications of the results have been discussed.
Temporal specificity in Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer

Presentation of a previously trained Pavlovian conditioned stimulus while an organism is engaged in operant responding can moderate the rate of responding, a phenomenon known as Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer. Although it is well known that Pavlovian contingencies will generate conditioned behavior that is temporally organized with respect to the arrival of the predicted outcome, little work has examined the temporal dynamics of responding during Pavlovian-instrumental transfer. We trained rats using a fixed time 60-sec, fixed time 120-sec, or random time 60-sec schedule in an appetitive Pavlovian task, and found that presentation of the conditioned stimulus potentiated operant responding in a manner that reflected these previously established temporal expectancies. Further, this temporal specificity conformed to the scalar property as seen with other forms of interval timing behavior. Surprisingly, this effect was only seen when the conditioned stimulus was a visual cue, but not when it was an auditory cue. These data suggest that the motivational processes triggered by Pavlovian cues are not static, but fluctuate in strength as a function of temporally specific expectations of reward.
Press-fit condylar design total knee arthroplasty. Fourteen to seventeen-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND The Press-Fit Condylar total knee arthroplasty implant design has been used by many orthopaedic surgeons over the last twenty years. The design has survived with relatively minor modifications and remains a popular implant system today. The present study represents the fourteen to seventeen-year results for our patients who were described in our previous report on the eight to ten-year results. METHODS The senior author performed 160 consecutive total knee arthroplasties with use of the Press-Fit Condylar cruciate-retaining device in 134 patients between 1986 and 1989. The mean age of the patients at the time of the index procedure was 70.5 years. Follow-up data were available for sixty-three of sixty-four surviving knees. Surviving patients were followed for a mean of 15.8 years. The knees were evaluated on the basis of Knee Society function and clinical scores, radiographs, and survivorship analysis. RESULTS The mean Knee Society function score was 65, and the mean clinical score was 89. The overall survival rate of the knee was 91.5% with revision for any reason as the end point and 97.2% with aseptic loosening as the end point. The rate of revision of the tibial insert because of wear-related aseptic loosening was 2.5%. We found no relationship between revision and the shelf life or method of sterilization of the polyethylene insert. Radiolucent lines were present in 62% (twenty-one) of thirty-four knees; all radiolucent lines were nonprogressive. None of the implants were loose according to the criteria of the Knee Society. CONCLUSIONS This long-term analysis indicates that the Press-Fit Condylar total knee implant is a successful implant system with excellent longevity.
Self-reported health in the Republic of Karelia, Russia and in north Karelia, Finland in 1992.

BACKGROUND Major differences in mortality, cardiovascular disease risk factors and health behaviour are known to exist between the populations of eastern Finland and the Republic of Karelia, Russia. Little is known, however, whether similar differences exist in subjective health. METHODS In spring 1992 a population survey was conducted in North Karelia, Finland and in the area of Pitkäranta, Republic of Karelia, Russia. Random population samples (n = 2,000 in North Karelia and n = 1,000 in Pitkäranta) stratified for age and sex were taken from the population registers. The subjects completed questionnaires and were examined at local health centres. RESULTS In North Karelia 50% of men reported their health as being quite good or very good, compared to 34% in Pitkäranta (p < 0.0001 for area difference). Among women the corresponding percentages were 58% in North Karelia and 22% in Pitkäranta (p < 0.0001). High household income and education were associated with good self-rated health among both sexes in North Karelia and among women but not men in Pitkäranta. Self-reported physical condition was better in North Karelia than in Pitkäranta (p < 0.0001). Psychosomatic symptoms (p = 0.0002 among men and p < 0.0001 among women) and many somatic symptoms were more prevalent in Pitkäranta than in North Karelia. CONCLUSION In general, people in North Karelia, Finland feel healthier than people in the neighbouring Republic of Karelia, Russia. Socioeconomic differences in subjective health are less prominent in the Republic of Karelia.
The transport of neonates to an intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE To describe the mode of transport, the type of patient transferred and outcome as defined by death or discharge from hospital. DESIGN A retrospective study was done of all neonates transferred from outside the designated drainage area of the hospital. SETTING The study was done at the level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Tygerberg Hospital for the period January-September 1992. PARTICIPANTS From a total of 58 infants 52 were enrolled; they originated over a vast area of the western and northern Cape Province. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Reasons for transfer, mode of transport and survival were measured. RESULTS None of the infants died during transport. In total 11 (21%) of the 52 died. Categorising outcome according to transport method showed 100% survival of babies transported by fixed-wing aircraft, 94% survival if transport was by helicopter, and 70% survival if transported by ambulance. The non-survivors had a higher mean gestational age (P < 0.05) than the survivors and included 8 (73%) with asphyxia-related meconium aspiration syndrome. When the primary referral diagnosis was considered, 8 (27%) of 29 infants with respiratory failure of any cause, and 2 (28%) of those with neurological problems, died. All the infants transported because of a surgical emergency survived. CONCLUSION These results show a high survival rate in transported infants, with the highest mortality in the asphyxia-related meconium aspiration syndrome and the infants transported by ambulance. The preponderance of infants with meconium aspiration syndrome might reflect the standard of perinatal care provided in the outlying regions of the western and northern Cape.
The Intracellular Cholesterol Transport Inhibitor U18666A Inhibits the Exosome-Dependent Release of Mature Hepatitis C Virus

ABSTRACT Hepatitis C virus (HCV) particles are described as lipoviroparticles which are released similarly to very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs). However, the release mechanism is still poorly understood; the canonical endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC) pathway as well as endosome-dependent release has been proposed. Recently, the role of exosomes in the transmission of HCV has been reported. Only a minor fraction of the de novo-synthesized lipoviroparticles is released by the infected cell. To investigate the relevance of multivesicular bodies (MVBs) for viral morphogenesis and release, the MVB inhibitor U18666A was used. Intracellular trafficking was analyzed by confocal microscopy and electron microscopy. Moreover, an mCherry-tagged HCV variant was used. Conditions were established that enable U18666A-dependent inhibition of MVBs without affecting viral replication. Under these conditions, significant inhibition of the HCV release was observed. The assembly of viral particles is not affected. In U18666A-treated cells, intact infectious viral particles accumulate in CD63-positive exosomal structures and large dysfunctional lysosomal structures (multilamellar bodies). These retained particles possess a lower density, reflecting a misloading with lipids. Our data indicate that at least a fraction of HCV particles leaves the cell via the endosomal pathway. Endosomes facilitate the sorting of HCV particles for release or degradation. IMPORTANCE There are still a variety of open questions regarding morphogenesis and release of hepatitis C virus. The HCV-infected cell produces significant more viral particles that are released, raising the question about the fate of the nonreleased particles. Moreover, the relevance of the endosomal pathway for the release of HCV is under debate. Use of the MVB (multivesicular body) inhibitor U18666A enabled a detailed analysis of the impact of MVBs for viral morphogenesis and release. It was revealed that infectious, fully assembled HCV particles are either MVB-dependently released or intracellularly degraded by the lysosome. Our data indicate that at least a fraction of HCV particles leaves the cell via the endosomal pathway independent from the constitutive secretory pathway. Our study describes a so-far-unprecedented cross talk between two pathways regulating on the one hand the release of infectious viral particles and on the other hand the intracellular degradation of nonreleased particles.