Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cyclic stretch regulates autocrine IGF-I in vascular smooth muscle cells: implications in vascular hyperplasia.

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) subjected to acute or chronic stretch display enhanced growth rates in vitro and in vivo. Clinical examples of vascular hyperplasia (e.g., systolic hypertension and postinjury restenosis) suggest that local insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) expression is enhanced. Therefore, we investigated the role of in vitro cyclic stretch on rat VSMC IGF-I secretion and cellular growth. In serum-free medium, cyclic stretch (1 Hz at 120% resting length for 48 h) stimulated thymidine incorporation approximately 40% above that seen in nonstretched cells. Graded stretch magnitude (100-125% resting length) yielded graded increases in VSMC growth. Exogenous IGF-I increased growth of serum-starved, nonstretched VSMC in a dose-dependent manner, with maximal growth seen with 10(-7) M. IGF-I secretion from stretched cells was 20- to 30-fold greater than from those cells cultured in a static environment. Stretch-induced increases in growth were completely blocked on addition of anti-IGF-I and partially blocked with platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) antibodies and with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (tyrphostin-1). Finally, blockade of stretch-activated cation channels with GdCl3 profoundly inhibited stretch-induced growth. We conclude that stretch increases VSMC IGF-I secretion and that such autocrine IGF-I is required for stretch-induced growth. PDGF and stretch-sensitive cation channels are likely additional components of a complex pathway that regulates stretch-induced VSMC seen in systolic hypertension and postinjury restenosis.
Immunoglobulin G subclass responses in human cystic and alveolar echinococcosis.

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) subclass-specific antibody responses were investigated in both human cystic echinococcosis (CE) and alveolar echinococcosis (AE) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blotting. Sera were tested from 81 CE and 50 AE surgically confirmed cases using partially purified hydatid cyst fluid antigen B (EgB), and crude hydatid cyst fluid (EgCF) from Echinococcus granulosus and a protoscolex extract (EmP) prepared from E. multilocularis metacestodes. Eighty-nine percent of CE patients and 94% of AE patients were seropositive for total IgG antibodies. The dominant IgG antibody isotype in both CE and AE was IgG4, for which 73% of CE and 84% of AE cases were seropositive in the ELISA. Anti-Echinococcus IgG1 antibodies were detected in 58% of CE and 84% of AE patients. Sensitivity for IgG2 and IgG3 was significantly lower for both CE and AE patients. The IgG4 antibodies in CE patients predominantly recognized the E. granulosus antigen B subunits, i.e., at 20, 16 and 12 kD, while IgG1 antibodies primarily bound to the 38-kD subunit of antigen 5 from E. granulosus hydatid fluid. The possible functional significance of an IgG4 response and the potential use of combined assessment of total IgG, IgG1, and IgG4 antibodies in serologic diagnosis and follow-up for human echinococcosis are discussed.
Measuring exacerbations in obstructive lung disease

Using hospitalization always has been seen as a solid measurement for exacerbation in pharmacoepidemiology, but might lead to an underestimation of disease exacerbation because of a trend towards outpatient care. The aim of this study was to quantify the incidence of different exacerbation markers in obstructive lung disease and to identify predictors for these exacerbation markers.
A Microeconomic Theory–Based Latent Class Multiple Discrete–Continuous Choice Model of Time Use and Goods Consumption

A microeconomic theory–based multiple discrete–continuous choice model was developed to accommodate (a) both time allocation and goods consumption as decision variables in the utility function, (b) both time and money budget constraints governing the activity participation and goods consumption decisions, (c) a finite probability of zero consumption and zero time allocation (i.e., corner solutions), and (d) technical constraints in the form of minimum consumption levels for any good that would be consumed and minimum time allocation for any activity conducted. The proposed model was applied in the form of a latent class model (to consider heterogeneity) on a Dutch data set to understand the determinants of weekly time use and goods consumption behavior.
Managerial Risk Profile in Hedge Funds with Multiple High-Water Marks - Numerical Modelling and Fund Structure Analysis

We investigate a hedge fund manager’s risk-taking profile and evaluate how fund composition and multiple evaluation periods a↵ect risk-levels. The fund composition refers to the specific characteristics that result from investors entering the fund at di↵erent points in time, implying various maturities and strike levels for high-water mark incentive contracts. Multiple evaluation periods is the inclusion of long-term managerial compensation to the decision process. Using a numerical simulation framework we compute and analyse the optimal behaviour of a fund manager with constant relative risk aversion. In existing literature where the fund is depicted as one, homogeneous pool of investments, evaluated over a single period manager risk-taking fluctuates heavily depending on time to maturity and moneyness of the manager’s incentive option. By introducing a diversified fund composition as well as accounting for multiple evaluation periods, the manager’s behaviour is considerably less extreme, reducing manager-investor risk misalignment. Our results suggests that the fund composition is relevant to the individual investor, as it potentially a↵ects the overall risk profile and thereby the value of the investment. Furthermore, our results prove an interesting study in examining the e ciency of option-like incentive contracts in relieving agency problems. 1Submitted for the degree in M.Sc. Industrial Economics and Technology Management, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) June 2015
Foreign direct investment and employment in transition economies

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been argued to improve company performance and stimulate growth and employment. Transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) faced a desperate need to join the global economy, to improve their competitiveness and to create jobs through FDI. So, did the FDI come, and did it deliver what was expected? FDI levels were high for CEE, and for some resource-rich transition countries (e.g. Russia and some of Central Asia), but primarily delivered significant benefits (e.g. employment) for the former. FDI arrived much later to other transition countries (e.g. the former Soviet republics and the Balkans) and had much less impact.
Clinical use of second-generation antipsychotics in children

Abstract Background The use of second-generation antipsychotic (SGA) medication among child and adolescent psychiatric patients has increased worldwide in recent years. The increase appears to have been more extensive in the USA than in European countries, but the tendency is similar. However, after a peak the use seems to have declined in the USA. Simultaneously with the increasing numbers, the duration of SGA use has lengthened, indications have broadened, and off-label use has increased. Despite existing follow-up recommendations and evidence for the metabolic adverse effects of SGAs in children, research evidence has not translated into clinical practice. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the clinical use and follow-up practices of SGA medication among child psychiatric patients of one university hospital in Finland. Method This retrospective patient report-based study was conducted at the Child Psychiatric Clinic of Tampere University Hospital, Finland. The study sample consisted of 133 patients who were younger than 13 years when initiating SGA treatment and had an ongoing SGA medication during the study period. The study sample was divided into two groups according to diagnosis to examine whether there were differences between patients with an autistic or a developmental disorder (F83-84) and patients with other psychiatric diagnoses. Results: This study showed that SGA use in children younger than 13 years was mainly off-label. Irrespective of diagnosis, the most common indication was aggression. Especially children with psychiatric diagnoses other than developmental disorders had multiple socio-demographic risk factors and adverse life experiences in their background. The follow-up practices were diverse and partly irregular. Conclusions: A need for systematic SGA monitoring practices and dialogue between the medical specialities treating children and their families is evident.
Breast Feeding and the Development of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

A case‐control study was conducted to study the proposed inverse relationship between breast feeding and incidence of Type 1 diabetes mellitus. All Danish diabetic men born in Copenhagen during 1959–1964 and/or residing there for the first year of life (n = 119) were identified and a search made for their post‐natal health visitor records. These include data on birth weight, birth length, immunizations, and feeding habits. A total of 77 cases were re‐identified. No differences were found with respect to clinical characteristics between these cases and those not identified. For each diabetic subject, two control children with date of birth identical to the diabetic cases were drawn from health visitor records. Cases and controls did not differ with respect to maternal age, or birth weight or length. Overall, the statistical analysis failed to confirm the hypothesis of an association between duration of breast feeding and subsequent diabetes risk.
The effects on heart rate and temperature of mice and vas deferens responses to noradrenaline when their cage mates are subjected to daily restraint stress

Summary Performing stressful procedures in view of cage mates may cause stress in observer animals. However, it is not known if stressful procedures performed in close proximity to, but not in view of cage mates are stressful for the (observer) cage mates. Radiotelemetry and postmortem in vitro studies of the vas deferens were used to determine the effects of stress on observers. Heart rate (HR) and core body temperature (cBT) were recorded for 1 h following weighing of a cage mate or 1 h during restraint of a cage mate and the hour following return of the restrained mouse to the cage. This procedure was repeated daily for 15 days. HR and cBT were increased in observers during both restraint and weighing of cage mates. Analysis of the area under the curve showed that HR and cBT in observers were significantly higher during restraint of a cage mate than after weighing of a cage mate. When mice were returned to the cage after weighing or restraint, HR and cBT were significantly higher in the cage mates of restrained animals. Comparison between days 1, 3, 7 and 14 found that, as the experiment progressed, HR and cBT were significantly reduced in the observer mice during the hour following return of the cage mates after restraint. Results from previous studies have shown that chronic stress causes the vas deferens to become hypersensitive to exogenous application of noradrenaline (NAd). In this study, vas deferens from observers of restraint had a significantly increased response to NAd. These results indicate that stressful procedures should be conducted in isolation from other mice.
The development of international purchasing capabilities: a comparative study of the four largest Swedish construction firms

ABSTRACT While there is a growing stream of research addressing purchasing issues, we know little about how the internationalization of purchasing activities unfolds. The study contributes to the sparsely empirically and theoretically substantiated field of international purchasing by, based on empirical support, providing an analytical framework which can improve our understanding of international purchasing by offering an integrated view of a business relationship perspective and a capabilities perspective. The purpose of this article is to track the actual prerequisites behind the development of international purchasing capabilities. In this article, we study the nearly simultaneous implementation of international purchasing strategies in the four largest construction firms in Sweden to be able to compare and contrast the underlying mechanisms and outcomes of these processes. We find that the firms that had developed capabilities incrementally in supplier relationships were better able to reap cost--benefits from international purchasing than firms that had not.
Corporate Risk-Taking, Returns and the Nature of Major Shareholders: Evidence from Prospect Theory

Abstract This paper analyses the relation between corporate risk-taking and firm performance for a sample of international listed firms over the period 2001–2013. We consider the approaches on individual behavior (specifically prospect theory) to propose a U-shaped relation between corporate risk-taking and firm returns. We find that firms adopt an attitude of risk-seeking when the expected performance is below a target performance (to avoid an anticipated loss) and an attitude of risk averse when the performance exceeds that target. This relation is affected by the economic context and the nature of the major shareholder: Firms controlled by families or institutional investors react more conservatively (taking or avoiding risk) to changes in corporate results. We are aware that our results, are affected by both the theoretical model and the temporal and spatial framework used.
RIFLE criteria for acute kidney injury in valvular surgery.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY The RIFLE classification, which defines three grades of increasing severity of acute kidney injury--risk (RIFLE R), injury (RIFLE I) and failure (RIFLE F), and two outcome classes (L, loss) and E (end-stage kidney disease)--represents a valuable method for evaluating acute renal failure. Risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI) according to the RIFLE criteria and for operative mortality were identified in patients undergoing valvular procedures. METHODS A single-center prospective cohort study of 1424 patients who were not receiving renal replacement therapy preoperatively was conducted between January 2004 and December 2007. A total of 100 variables was collected from each patient. RESULTS The main features were: mean age 61.9 +/- 12.9 years (range: 15-88 years), 47% females, 6% endocarditis, 11% redo surgery, 8% urgent/emergent surgery, 30% combined procedures, 5% complex, and 16% associated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The overall AKI prevalence was 10%, with RIFLE scores of I or F being detected in 8% and continuous veno-venous hemofiltration being required in 5%. Risk factors for AKI were age (OR 1.03; 95% CI 1.14-4.15), time of extracorporeal circulation (ECC) (OR 1.09; 95% CI 1.005-1.013), redo procedure (OR 2.35; 95% CI 1.42-3.8), chronic kidney disease (OR 3.2; 95% CI 1.6-6.1), and blood transfusion (OR 3.8; 95% CI 2.5-6.5). The transfusion of leukodepleted blood exerted a protective effect on AKI development (OR 0.6; 95% CI 0.4-0.9). The average overall hospital mortality was 4.8%. Risk factors for operative mortality included: ECC time (OR 1; 95% CI 1.002-1.014), age (OR 1.043; 95% CI 1.01-1.07), chronic kidney disease (OR 4.8; 95% CI 2.2-10.6), blood transfusion (OR 6.43; 95% CI 2.8-14.7), surgical priority (OR 6.5; 95% CI 2.8-14.7), RIFLE class I (OR 11.9; 95% CI 5.5-25.7), and RIFLE class F (OR 30; 95% CI 8.1-111.7). Mortality increased with each RIFLE stratification (Normal 1.7%, RIFLE R = 4.1%, RR = 2.5; RIFLE I = 27.6%, RR = 16.2; and RIFLE F = 43.8% RR = 25.8). CONCLUSION AKI is a highly prevalent and prognostically important complication, for which the majority of risk factors that have been identified are not modifiable. The transfusion of leukodepleted blood products was seen to exert a preventive effect.
Defining the Window of Germline Genesis In Vitro from Murine Embryonic Stem Cells1

Abstract Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling is critical for germline establishment during mouse embryogenesis. To exploit its importance for induction of germline precursors in vitro, mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) were cultured as embryoid body (EB) aggregates with combinations of BMP2, BMP4, and BMP8B for 3–10 days. At Day 10 of culture, well-delineated clusters of POU5F1-positive (POU5F1+) cells were visible in BMP4-treated and BMP2-treated EBs; these were rarely detected in untreated and BMP8B-treated cultures. Quantitative mRNA analysis revealed that a significant elevation of markers associated with primordial germ cell development had occurred in the presence of BMP4 by Day 10, including late germline markers such as Ddx4 (Mvh). Reasoning that germline specification was established by Day 10, we surveyed earlier time points for altered levels of germline marker mRNAs. A peak of early markers, Prdm1 (Blimp1), Ifitm3 (Fragilis), and Dppa3 (Stella), was measured in Day 3 to Day 4 EBs grown in BMP4, followed by a decrease at Day 5. In contrast, other markers, Pou5f1, Nanog, Dazl, and Ddx4, progressively increased from Day 3 to Day 5. Transforming growth factor beta superfamily signaling components Acvr1 (ALK2), Smad1, and Smad5 remained relatively constant. Isolated POU5F1+ cells from BMP4-treated Day 5 EBs contained significantly elevated germline markers compared with POU5F1-negative cells, with a transcript profile differing from mESCs, verifying their unique identity. These results demonstrate that signaling by BMP2 and BMP4, but not BMP8B, enhances germline marker expression within EBs and identify Day 3 to Day 5 in EB differentiation as a window for specification of germ cells in vitro.
Genetic diversity and selection in the maize starch pathway

Maize is both phenotypically and genetically diverse. Sequence studies generally confirm the extensive genetic variability in modern maize is consistent with a lack of selection. For more than 6,000 years, Native Americans and modern breeders have exploited the tremendous genetic diversity of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) to create the highest yielding grain crop in the world. Nonetheless, some loci have relatively low levels of genetic variation, particularly loci that have been the target of artificial selection, like c1 and tb1. However, there is limited information on how selection may affect an agronomically important pathway for any crop. These pathways may retain the signature of artificial selection and may lack genetic variation in contrast to the rest of the genome. To evaluate the impact of selection across an agronomically important pathway, we surveyed nucleotide diversity at six major genes involved in starch metabolism and found unusually low genetic diversity and strong evidence of selection. Low diversity in these critical genes suggests that a paradigm shift may be required for future maize breeding. Rather than relying solely on the diversity within maize or on transgenics, future maize breeding would perhaps benefit from the incorporation of alleles from maize's wild relatives.
Vote Brokers, Clientelist Appeals, and Voter Turnout: Evidence from Russia and Venezuela

abstract:Modern clientelist exchange is typically carried out by intermediaries—party activists, employers, local strongmen, traditional leaders, and the like. Politicians use such brokers to mobilize voters, yet little about their relative effectiveness is known. The authors argue that broker effectiveness depends on their leverage over clients and their ability to monitor voters. They apply their theoretical framework to compare two of the most common brokers worldwide, party activists and employers, arguing the latter enjoy numerous advantages along both dimensions. Using survey-based framing experiments in Venezuela and Russia, the authors find voters respond more strongly to turnout appeals from employers than from party activists. To demonstrate mechanisms, the article shows that vulnerability to job loss and embeddedness in workplace social networks make voters more responsive to clientelist mobilization by their bosses. The results shed light on the conditions most conducive to effective clientelism and highlight broker type as important for understanding why clientelism is prevalent in some countries but not others.
Economic renewal through devolution? Tax reform and the uneven geographies of the economic dividend

The economic governance of the UK is currently in flux with various devolution agreements being negotiated across the country. This article examines the changing political economy of the UK enforced by Wave 1 City Deals, to analyse the claims made by devolution proponents that there is an ‘economic dividend’ to devolution. The argument is made that scant evidence exists to suggest that these reforms respond to the pathologies of the UK economy. Instead, the Northern Powerhouse discourse serves to disguise the implementation of a tax and investment settlement which regressively concentrates taxation revenue in the more affluent parts of the country. These reforms though are a political expression of a certain understanding of wealth creation which privileges low tax taxation, inter-territorial competition to promote it and a belief in the major UK cities to drive the economic recovery. It is a strategy likely to produce very uneven geographies of growth which will exacerbate uneven development; ironically so given the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ rhetoric through which it was reasoned.
Integration sites and genotype distributions of human papillomavirus in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

OBJECTIVES To analyse HPV integration prevalence and genotype distributions in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in east part of China, furthermore to assess preferential sites for common HPV integrations and provide baseline information for cervical abnormality screening and prevention. METHODS Integration of HPV in 113 paraffin-embedded cervical intraepithelial neoplasia samples was assessed using Gencap technology in Key Laboratory of Biotechnologies in BGI-Shenzhen. RESULTS 64 samples were HPV-integrated and as the cervical lesions increased, the integration rate became higher significantly (P=0.002). Fifteen different HPV genotypes were detected, 14 high-risk (16, 18, 31, 33, 51, 52, 56, 58, 66, 68) and 1 low-risk (11). The most common genotypes were HPV-16, 58, 33, 52, 66, and 56. Thirteen patients had co-integration involving mainly HPV-16 and 58. The frequency of HPV gene disruption was higher in L1 and E1 genes than in other regions of the viral genomes. CONCLUSION Some 56.6% of CIN lesions in Qingdao had HPV integrations, and 67.2% of HPV-integrated patients were HPV-16 and 58, more prone to be integrated in younger patients below 45 years old. There exist preferential sites for HPV-16 and HPV-58 integration, and they are more likely to be disrupted in the L1 and E1 loci.