Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Preparation and identification of a monoclonal antibody against citrinin].

OBJECTIVE To prepare the monoclonal antibody (McAb) against citrinin. METHODS Four citrinin-protein conjugates (A, B, C and D) were synthesized by the active ester, Munnich Reaction and 1,1-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) method, respectively. BALB/c mice were immunized with the conjugates for producing the McAb against citrinin. RESULTS The antibodies against citrinin have been produced in serum of immunized BALB/c mice with the conjugate C. A McAb against citrinin was acquired according to the traditional procedure. Cross reactivity of the McAb was less than 0.01% with ochratoxin A, patulin, aflatoxin B1, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone, respectively. A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed. The linear range of ELISA was between 20 ng/ml and 1 000 ng/ml, the detectable limit was 10 ng/ml. Recovery of citrinin from wheat spiked with citrinin was from 95% to 112%, the coefficient of variation was 12.2% to 20.4%. CONCLUSION The McAb against citrinin was acquired successfully.
With good reputation size does not matter: issue frequency and the determinants of debt maturity

This article examines empirically the effect firm reputation has on the determinants of debt maturity. Utilizing data from European primary bond market between 1999 and 2005, I find that reputation is a determinant of the maturity of newly issued debt, where firms of high or low reputation issue short-term debt and firms of mediocre reputation issue long-term debt. Thus, reputation appears to mimic a nonmonotonic relationship between credit quality and maturity. The annualized coupon payments are shown to be a significant factor in determining the debt maturity and reveal a monotonously increasing relationship between credit quality and debt maturity once controlled for. Finally, I show that issuers lacking a credit rating have an implied credit quality positioned between Investment Grade (IG) and Speculative Grade (SG) debt.
Dynamics of tuberculosis and economic growth

We find significant empirical links between the health structure of the population and the productive system of an economy that is subject to infectious disease, in particular tuberculosis. Consequently, development policy, aimed to improve the level of prosperity, has significant effects on the demographic-epidemiological dynamics of the population. Moreover, infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, affect the size of the labour force and the productive capacity of the economy. We combine a Lotka-Volterra type system capturing the dynamics of TB epidemics with a Solow-Swan growth model where output is produced from capital and healthy labour. The demographic-epidemological parameters of the Lotka-Volterra type system are functions of GDP per healthy worker. We find significant differences between the most prosperous quartile and the rest of the world. In the former, the disease is eradicated whereas in the lowest three quartiles we predict damped capital and epidemic cycles converging to a population which is about 80 per cent of capacity and of whom about 2 per cent are TB infected. It follows that raising productivity in the lower quartiles is a critical policy aim.
Hypoxia induces re‐entry of committed cells into pluripotency

Adult stem cells reside in hypoxic niches, and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are derived from a low oxygen environment. However, it is not clear whether hypoxia is critical for stem cell fate since for example human ESCs (hESCs) are able to self‐renew in atmospheric oxygen concentrations as well. We now show that hypoxia can govern cell fate decisions since hypoxia alone can revert hESC‐ or iPSC‐derived differentiated cells back to a stem cell‐like state, as evidenced by re‐activation of an Oct4‐promoter reporter. Hypoxia‐induced “de‐differentiated” cells also mimic hESCs in their morphology, long‐term self‐renewal capacity, genome‐wide mRNA and miRNA profiles, Oct4 promoter methylation state, cell surface markers TRA1–60 and SSEA4 expression, and capacity to form teratomas. These data demonstrate that hypoxia can influence cell fate decisions and could elucidate hypoxic niche function. Stem Cells 2013;31:1737‐1748
Vertical-flow constructed wetlands as an emerging solution for faecal sludge dewatering in developing countries

Yard-scale experiments aiming at assessing the suitability of vertical-flow constructed wetlands to dewater faecal sludge (FS) were conducted in Yaounde (Cameroon). During 6 months, beds vegetated either with Cyperus papyrus L. or Echinochloa pyramidalis (Lam.) Hitchc. & Chase were fed under constant solids loading rates (SLR) of 100, 200 and 300 kg TS (total solids) m � 2 /year. Physicochemical parameters of raw FS and percolate as well as the dewatering efficiency of each bed unit were monitored weekly. Results showed that, despite the high loading rates, the beds’ pollutant removal efficiencies were more than 78% for the parameters considered and were not
The Frequency, Characteristics, and Outcomes Among Cancer Patients With Delirium Admitted to an Acute Palliative Care Unit.

BACKGROUND Delirium is a common neuropsychiatric condition seen in patients with severe illness, such as advanced cancer. Few published studies are available of the frequency, course, and outcomes of standardized management of delirium in advanced cancer patients admitted to acute palliative care unit (APCU). In this study, we examined the frequency, characteristics, and outcomes of delirium in patients with advanced cancer admitted to an APCU. METHODS Medical records of 609 consecutive patients admitted to the APCU from January 2011 through December 2011 were reviewed. Data on patients' demographics; Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale (MDAS) score; palliative care specialist (PCS) diagnosis of delirium; delirium etiology, subtype, and reversibility; late development of delirium; and discharge outcome were collected. Delirium was diagnosed with MDAS score ≥7 and by a PCS using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th edition, Text Revision criteria. All patients admitted to the APCU received standardized assessments and management of delirium per best practice guidelines in delirium management. RESULTS Of 556 patients in the APCU, 323 (58%) had a diagnosis of delirium. Of these, 229 (71%) had a delirium diagnosis on admission and 94 (29%) developed delirium after admission to the APCU. Delirium reversed in 85 of 323 episodes (26%). Half of patients with delirium (n = 162) died. Patients with the diagnosis of delirium had a lower median overall survival than those without delirium. Patients who developed delirium after admission to the APCU had poorer survival (p ≤ .0001) and a lower rate of delirium reversal (p = .03) compared with those admitted with delirium. CONCLUSION More than half of the patients admitted to the APCU had delirium. Reversibility occurred in almost one-third of cases. Diagnosis of delirium was associated with poorer survival.
Natural history of diverticular disease of the colon. A review of 521 cases

In a survey of the natural history of 521 patients with diverticular disease of the colon half of the patients had had symptoms for less than one month on presentation at hospital, and these carried the highest morbidity and mortality. Progression of the disease was usually within segments initially involved, and extension to other regions of the colon rarely occurred. The overall prognosis of patients with total colonic involvement was similar to those with localized disease, while the morbidity and mortality associated with a recurrent attack were higher than in the initial acute episode.
Epigenetic and genetic alterations of APC and CDH1 genes in lobular breast cancer: Relationships with abnormal E‐cadherin and catenin expression and microsatellite instability

The causes and functional consequences of E‐cadherin (E‐CD) loss in breast cancer are poorly understood. E‐CD loss might act in concert with alterations in the APC/β‐catenin pathway to permit oncogenic β‐catenin signaling. To test this hypothesis, we have analyzed the presence of genetic and epigenetic alterations affecting E‐CD (CDH1), APC and β‐catenin (CTNNB1) genes and the immunohistochemical expression of E‐CD, β‐ and γ‐catenin in a series of 46 infiltrating lobular breast carcinomas (ILCs). Since 80% of ILCs featured complete loss of E‐CD expression, we analyzed the molecular alterations responsible for E‐CD inactivation in these tumors. We found that 10 of 46 (22%) cases harbored mutations in CDH1, including 1 case with 2 different mutations (1 of which was germline). CDH1 was also inactivated by loss of heterozygosity (LOH; 30/41, 73%) and promoter hypermethylation (19/46, 41%). Interestingly, LOH and mutations were also detected in the corresponding in situ lesions of the ILCs, implying that these alterations are early events in lobular cancer tumorogenesis. Additionally, the presence of a polymorphism in the CDH1 promoter was found to be inversely correlated with CDH1 mutations, but not with E‐CD levels. We next examined whether alterations in the APC/β‐catenin pathway also occurred in the same series of ILCs. Although no CTNNB1 or APC mutations were detected, promoter methylation (25/46, 52%) and LOH (7/30, 23%) of APC were found. Moreover, methylation of APC and CDH1 occurred concordantly. However, β‐ and γ‐catenin were severely reduced or absent in 90% of these tumors, implying that alterations in CDH1 and APC genes do not promote β‐catenin accumulation in ILC. These molecular alterations were not associated with microsatellite instability. In summary, several different mechanisms (mutations, LOH, methylation) are involved in the frequent CDH1 inactivation in invasive and in situ lobular breast cancer. The same tumors also show genetic and epigenetic alterations of APC gene. However, altered CDH1 and APC genes do not promote β‐catenin accumulation in this tumor type. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
World Public Debt and Real Interest Rates

Real interest rates appear to have risen in virtually all industrialized countries in the 1980s and 1990s relative to levels that prevailed in earlier decades. There is concern that this may reflect higher public debt, which is crowding out private-sector activity. There has also been increasing international capital market integration, implying that interest rates in any country may be sensitive to global fiscal developments. This paper estimates the effects of such fiscal developments on real interest rates in nine industrial countries. The results imply that the increase in OECD-wide government debt since the late 1970s was a major factor in the rise in real interest rates. Copyright 1999 by Oxford University Press.
Return to work after lower limb amputation

This study investigated the proportion of patients who returned to work following amputation and the factors that influenced a positive or negative outcome. One hundred patients of working age who had sustained unilateral lower limb amputation at least 1 year previously and who were established prosthesis users participated in the study. A specially designed questionnaire similar to a guided interview was administered by the rehabilitation physician at the patients' routine follow-ups. The questionnaire yielded a unique score dependent on whether return to work (or a different or preferred occupation) had been achieved with good or reduced productivity. All patients were eligible for mobility benefit, including schemes to purchase suitably adapted vehicles if necessary. However, no vocational rehabilitation was available. Sixty-six per cent of patients returned to employment and this was related to mobility, time since amputation and Handicap Scale scores. Age, socket comfort, level and cause of amputation, type of previous work or the presence of other medical problems did not differ between those who did and did not return to work. The Employment Questionnaire showed good correspondence with the London Handicap Scale, indicating some concurrent validity, although future development might include consideration of psychological factors, which could explain more of the reasons for continued unemployment.
Poultry production and performance in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

In this review, the production of poultry in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) is described. Data from field observations, published works, government and other documents are presented. Some 95% of poultry, which in Ethiopia are overwhelmingly domestic fowl, are kept in villages, mainly under scavenging, systems, and only 5% are in industrial systems. Poultry are kept by about 60% of households. Most households in the highlands keep birds whereas far fewer do so in the pastoral lowlands. ‘Average’ households own a flock comprising 6–10 birds, and genetic resources are almost entirely indigenous in the scavenging system. National poultry meat production is of the order of 76,000 tonnes and egg production approaches 80,000 tonnes. Annual production per bird is 55–80 eggs for scavenging fowl, of which about half are used for replacement and the remainder for consumption and sale. Disease is an important constraint to production. More attention should be given to smallholder producers, as this, together with interventions in housing, sanitation, nutrition and disease control would greatly increase output and have a positive impact on human health and nutrition. Smallholder producers would be the principal beneficiaries of these interventions in improvements to food security and nutritional status and in reduced production risk.
An Explanation of the Forward Premium 'Puzzle'

Existing literature reports a puzzle about the forward rate premium over the spot foreign exchange rate. The premium is often negatively correlated with subsequent changes in the spot rate. This defies economic intuition and possibly violates market efficiency. Rational explanations include non‐stationary risk premia and econometric mis‐specifications, but some embrace the puzzle as a guide to profitable trading. We suggest there is really no puzzle. A simple model fits the data: forward exchange rates are unbiased predictors of subsequent spot rates. The puzzle arises because the forward rate, the spot rate, and the forward premium follow nearly non‐stationary time series processes. We document these properties with an extended sample and show why they give the delusion of a puzzle.
Phospholipase B Is Activated in Response to Sterol Removal and Stimulates Acrosome Exocytosis in Murine Sperm*

Background: How sperm sterol removal enables acrosome exocytosis (AE) is unclear; phospholipase B (PLB) is enriched in sperm membrane rafts. Results: Sterol removal leads to proteolytic activation of PLB, stimulating the initiation of changes leading to AE. Conclusion: PLB activation plays an important role in fertilization. Significance: We identify a mechanism for how sterol removal enables AE, consistent with new, zona pellucida-independent models for membrane fusion. Despite a strict requirement for sterol removal for sperm to undergo acrosome exocytosis (AE), the mechanisms by which changes in membrane sterols are transduced into changes in sperm fertilization competence are poorly understood. We have previously shown in live murine sperm that the plasma membrane overlying the acrosome (APM) contains several types of microdomains known as membrane rafts. When characterizing the membrane raft-associated proteomes, we identified phospholipase B (PLB), a calcium-independent enzyme exhibiting multiple activities. Here, we show that sperm surface PLB is activated in response to sterol removal. Both biochemical activity assays and immunoblots of subcellular fractions of sperm incubated with the sterol acceptor 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (2-OHCD) confirmed the release of an active PLB fragment. Specific protease inhibitors prevented PLB activation, revealing a mechanistic requirement for proteolytic cleavage. Competitive inhibitors of PLB reduced the ability of sperm both to undergo AE and to fertilize oocytes in vitro, suggesting an important role in fertilization. This was reinforced by our finding that incubation either with protein concentrate released from 2-OHCD-treated sperm or with recombinant PLB peptide corresponding to the catalytic domain was able to induce AE in the absence of other stimuli. Together, these results lead us to propose a novel mechanism by which sterol removal promotes membrane fusogenicity and AE, helping confer fertilization competence. Importantly, this mechanism provides a basis for the newly emerging model of AE in which membrane fusions occur during capacitation/transit through the cumulus, prior to any physical contact between the sperm and the oocyte's zona pellucida.
The Impact of Federal Reserve Statements and Chairman Sentiment on the Gold and Silver Markets

This study investigates the impact of Federal Reserve monetary policy decisions and communication on global gold and silver markets from May 1999 to June 2012. We argue that the discourse used by central bankers is not only a key driver of financial markets based on empirical evidence, but also, in essence, a device to convey authority and power. Using computer-assisted content analysis, we analyse speech styles of the current and former Federal Reserve Chairmen, Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan, to explore their impact on market sentiment. We find that the surprise component of Fed monetary policies significantly influences gold and silver markets. For example, a 1% surprise rate hike increases gold bullion prices by 1.3% and silver bullion prices by 1.5%. We also find significant stylistic differences between the two Fed Chairmen in their policy communications and their impact on market volatility.
Of what cloth are the ties that bind? National identity and support for the welfare state across 29 European countries

An oft-made claim is that national identity (NI) can function as social glue underpinning public support for the welfare state by encouraging the identification with co-nationals essential for redistribution. Empirical tests have largely ignored the possibility that the relationship depends on the kind of NI people hold, that various dimensions of welfare support are shaped by NI differently, and that these relationships depend on demographic context. Analyzing the European Values Study's 2008 wave, we find ample evidence that these distinctions matter: ethnic conceptions of NI are linked to general welfare state support, whereas civic and cultural ones are not. Moreover, all three national self-conceptions induce welfare chauvinism against immigrants, albeit to varying degrees, an effect that strengthens as immigrant diversity increases. Ultimately, we find nothing to suggest that NI can sustain public support for redistribution in an ever-diversifying age, and much to the contrary.
Time-series Evidence for Export-led Growth Paradigm: A Case Study of Zimbabwe

The study addresses empirically the Export-led Growth Hypothesis (ELGH) using Zimbabwe as a case study. This research work attempts to provide some evidence in this regard by examining the influence of trade on economic growth in the economy and ascertaining if the regressors utilised are good predictors of growth. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method is resorted in order to estimate the specified equations used in the study. The time-series data utilized runs from 1991 to 2003. The results of the study confirm the existence of the export-led growth model in Zimbabwe. In the face of continual instability in its export receipts, we recommend that fundamental economic and political restructuring should be embarked upon in order to address and subsequently reverse the present situation.
Intertemporal Competitive Equilibrium: An Empirical Study of Speculation

Theory and hypotheses, 600. —Subjects and experimental design, 601. —Experimental results, 605. —Concluding remarks, 610. —Appendix 1: Instructions for market experiment 1, 610. —Appendix 2: Instructions, 615. —Appendix 3: Subject index and limit prices, 618. —Appendix 4: Contracts in experiment 1, and bids, offers, and contracts for experiment 2, 619.
Discrimination in Labor Markets

This volume contains revised versions of the papers presented in 1971 at the Princeton University Conference on Discrimination in Labor Markets, and the formal discussions of them.This paper is by Kenneth Arrow, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, who lays the theoretical foundations of the economic analysis of discrimination in labor markets. Finis Welch discusses the relationship between schooling and labor market discrimination. Orley Ashenfelter's paper presents a method for estimating the effect of an important institution--trade unionism--on the wages of black workers relative to whites. Ronald Oaxaca provides a framework for measuring the extent of discrimination against women. Finally, Phyllis Wallace examines public policy on discrimination and suggests strategies for public policy in this area.Originally published in 1974.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Sector‐specific sticky wages and wage subsidy: a note

This note sketches out the likely effects of a wage subsidy in a model of LDC which systematically incorporates an Informal sector. It is seen that the effects of a wage subsidy in this model differ considerably from those derived in the Harris‐Todaro‐type frameworks. Also, the ranking policies to improve welfare is likely to be considerably different in this model compared to this in the Harris‐Todaro‐type models.
Corporate vs. social attitudes toward environmental externalities

In this quasi-longitudinal study, 389 US respondents reported their current attitudes and recollections of their attitudes of five years earlier on the same questions. Respondents were separate samples of corporate executives and 'ordinary consumers'. A contribution of this study is the clear and separate measurement of (trends in) attitudes on public resources, externalities, and the environment. Results show that executives and consumers alike are more concerned about all three of these dimensions in 2009 than in 2004; that 2009 levels of concern about public resources ('the commons') and the environment are equal between the two groups; that there is no difference in attitudes between the two industries studied (aerospace and software); and that there is a significant difference in attitude between executives and consumers on the matter of economic/environmental externalities. Implications for policy and for psychographic communication strategies are discussed.
The Impact of European and Global Integration on the Mark-up of Prices Over Costs

This paper develops a new approach for investigating the determinant of the mark-up of prices over costs. We estimate basic price equations around an expression for marginal cost that is derived from a cost minimisation problem, using a vector error correction approach to avoid endogeneity bias. Observed basic prices include the mark-up over marginal costs, and this mark-up is of interest to policymakers as an indicator of competition and ultimately as a determinant of the level of equilibrium employment. We look at the factors driving this mark-up, and in particular look at the role of EMU, as well as globalisation, the European Single Market and openness to trade and the introduction of the euro. We use a panel data set that includes both EMU and non-EMU members. The results indicate an important role for trade liberalisation in determining the mark-up, but openness itself and the introduction of the euro do not appear to have a significant role.