Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Three Essays on Growth Econometrics

There are large discrepancies between different panel datasets of cross-country estimates of gross domestic product (GDP). But which set of numbers is most accurate? In the first essay, I develop a general statistical framework for answering this question. I derive two estimators for assessing the relative accuracy of GDP data, and perform Monte Carlo simulations to compare them against existing approaches. Both estimators show that a new panel dataset of GDP from the University of Queensland (UQICD) is generally more accurate than the World Development Indicators (WDI) and the Penn World Tables (PWT), the two most widely-used datasets for growth economics research and policy, In the second essay, I characterize the differences between several versions of WDI, and PWT, and UQICD. I find that these datasets disagree on the magnitude and direction of growth in a large number of countries. The differences appear to be driven by country geography, economic size and frequency of data collection for purchasing power parity estimates. I quantify the policy impact of GDP differences by simulating counterfactual predictions of World Bank aid allocation and find that development assistance can vary substantially due to changes in underlying income measures. Nevertheless, for the vast majority of the cases, aid allocation is relatively inelastic with respect to changes in GDP data. The third essay empirically tests Tobin’s Q-theory of investment, a foundational model for modern macroeconomics and growth theory: it is shown that extant measures of average Q suffer from measurement error and a new measure of Q is proposed which adds close to 15 percentage points of explanatory power, more than twice as much as existing measures of Q. From theory, a cash flow-based measure of Q is derived which performs as well as extant Q. Lastly, an empirical measure for marginal Q is derived, but its explanatory power is found to be weak. These results provide support for the neoclassical model of firm investment.
Effects of the addition of nanoparticulate calcium carbonate on setting time, dimensional change, compressive strength, solubility and pH of MTA

AIM To evaluate nanoparticulate calcium carbonate (NPCC) using transmission electron microscopy and the effects of NPCC addition to MTA in regard to the setting time, dimensional change, compressive strength, solubility and pH. METHODOLOGY The experimental groups were G1 (MTA), G2 (MTA with 5% NPCC) and G3 (MTA with 10% NPCC). The tests followed ISO and ADA standards. The specimens in the dimensional change and compressive strength tests were measured immediately after setting, after 24 h and after 30 days. In the solubility test, rings filled with cement were weighed after setting and after 30 days. The pH was measured after 24 h and 30 days. The data were analysed with the ANOVA, Tukey's and Kruskal-Wallis tests (α = 5%). RESULTS The setting time was reduced (P < 0.05) in samples from G2 and G3 compared to G1. After 24 h, the dimensional change was similar amongst the groups, and after 30 days, G2 was associated with less alteration than G1 and G3. There was a difference in the compressive strength (P < 0.001) after 24 h and 30 days (G1 > G2 > G3). The solubility test revealed a difference amongst the groups when the specimens were hydrated: G2 > G1 > G3 and dehydrated: G3 > G2 > G1. The pH of the groups was similar at 24 h with higher values in each group after 30 days (P < 0.05), and G2 and G3 had similar mean pH values but both were higher than G1. CONCLUSIONS Nanoparticulate calcium carbonate had a cubic morphology with few impurities. The addition of nanoparticulate calcium carbonate to MTA accelerated the setting time, decreased compressive strength and, after 30 days, resulted in lower dimensional change (G2), higher solubility and a higher pH.
Can first trimester placental protein-13 and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A predict pre-eclampsia in Turkish women?

Abstract The aim of study was to evaluate placental protein-13 (PP-13) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) in first trimester maternal serum, for predicting pre-eclampsia. A prospective case–control study included 30 pre-eclampsia patients and 90 control pregnant women. Pre-eclampsia patients were divided into two subgroups: early- and late-onset (9 vs 21), and PP-13 and PAPP-A levels were compared between the groups and the comparison of risks for pre-eclampsia were calculated. Results showed that there was a significant inverse correlation between PAPP-A and late pre-eclampsia (p = 0.003), with a cut-off value of 0.805 (ROC analysis area under curve = 0.751). There was a significant reverse correlation between PAPP-A and early pre-eclampsia (p = 0.02). There was no significant relationship between PP-13 and early pre-eclampsia, nor with late pre-eclampsia (p = 0.7, p = 0.6, respectively). It was concluded that neither of these markers can serve as a sufficient and reliable screening test of pre-eclampsia because of inadequate sensitivity in the Turkish pregnant population.
Male Genital and Wing Morphology in the Cactophilic Sibling Species Drosophila gouveai and Drosophila antonietae and Their Hybrids Reared in Different Host Plants

ABSTRACT Cactophilic Drosophila flies are excellent models to study adaptation to a relatively narrow spectrum of potential host plants and host-driven evolutionary diversification. Previous studies suggested a complex genetic architecture of wing and male genital morphology in phylogenetically basal species of the D. buzzatii cluster. In this work, we investigate the effect of experimental hybridization and host plant shifts on male genital and wing morphology in D. gouveai Tidon-Sklorz and Sene and D. antonietae Tidon-Sklorz and Sene, a pair of more recently derived species. We explicitly tested the hypotheses that wing and male genital morphology in interspecific hybrids depend on the host plant in which flies were grown. Our study shows that cactus hosts exert a strong effect on genital and wing morphology and that hybrids can be clearly differentiated on the basis of wing and genital morphology from both parental species. However, the extent of morphological differentiation between hybrids and pure species as well as plasticity patterns varied across organs, suggesting a complex genetic architecture for the studied traits.
Group I metabotropic glutamate receptor‐mediated activation of PKC gamma in the nucleus accumbens core promotes the reinstatement of cocaine seeking

Emerging evidence indicates that type I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in the nucleus accumbens play a critical role in cocaine seeking. The present study sought to determine the role of accumbens core mGluR1, mGluR5 and protein kinase C (PKC) in cocaine priming‐induced reinstatement of drug seeking. Here, we show that intra‐accumbens core administration of the mGluR1/5 agonist DHPG (250 μM) promoted cocaine seeking in rats. Consistent with these results, administration of an mGluR1 (50.0 μM YM 298198) or mGluR5 (9.0 μM MPEP) antagonist directly into the accumbens core prior to a priming injection of cocaine (10 mg/kg) attenuated the reinstatement of drug seeking. mGluR1/5 stimulation activates a signaling cascade including PKC. Intracore microinjection of PKC inhibitors (10 μM Ro 31–8220 or 30.0 μM chelerythrine) also blunted cocaine seeking. In addition, cocaine priming‐induced reinstatement of drug seeking was associated with increased phosphorylation of PKCγ, but not PKCα or PKCβII, in the core. There were no effects of pharmacological inhibition of mGluR1, mGluR5 or PKC in the accumbens core on sucrose seeking. Together, these findings indicate that mGluR1 and mGluR5 activation in the accumbens core promotes cocaine seeking and that these effects are reinforcer specific. Furthermore, stimulation of mGluR1 and mGluR5 in the accumbens core may regulate cocaine seeking, in part, through activation of PKCγ.
In vitro Metabolism of Grandisin, a Lignan with Anti-chagasic Activity

Abstract Tetrahydrofuran lignans represent a well-known group of phenolic compounds capable of acting as antiparasitic agents. In the search for new medicines for the treatment of Chagas disease, one promising compound is grandisin which has shown significant activity on trypomastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi. In this work, the in vitro metabolism of grandisin was studied in the pig cecum model and by biomimetic phase I reactions, aiming at an ensuing a preclinical pharmacokinetic investigation. Although grandisin exhibited no metabolization by the pig microbiota, one putative metabolite was formed in a biomimetic model using Jacobsen catalyst. The putative metabolite was tested against T. cruzi revealing loss of activity in comparison to grandisin.
Testing for Explosive Bubbles in the Presence of Autocorrelated Innovations

We analyze an empirically important issue with the recursive right-tailed unit root tests for bubbles in asset prices. First, we show that serially correlated innovations, which is a feature that is present in most financial series used to test for bubbles, can lead to severe size distortions when using either fixed or automatic (based on information criteria) lag-length selection in the auxiliary regressions underlying the test. Second, we propose a sieve-bootstrap version of these tests and show that this results in more or less perfectly sized test statistics even in the presence of highly autocorrelated innovations. We also find that these improvements in size come at a relatively low cost for the power of the tests. Finally, we apply the bootstrap tests on the housing market of OECD countries, and generally find less strong evidence of bubbles compared to existing evidence.
Ovarian abnormality in a pathological case caused by Myxidium sp. (Myxozoa, Myxosporea) in onespot snapper fish Lutjanus monostigma (Teleostei, Lutjanidae) from the Red Sea

To date, Myxidium elmatboulii Ali, Abdel-Baki et Sakran, 2006 (Myxozoa, Myxosporea) is the only species of the genus known from the Red Sea, and was originally described as a coelozoic parasite in the gall bladder of the belonid fish, Tylosurus choram. A Myxidium sp. closely similar to M. elmatboulii is described herein for the first time as a histozoic parasite in the ovary of the onespot snapper fish, Lutjanus monostigma (Teleostei, Lutjanidae) from the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. The infected ovary was morphologically abnormal, with two protruding digitiform black cysts at its distal end, densely packed with mature plasmodia suspended in a mucoid liquid. Histological examination revealed that the cysts were extended deeply within the ovary, and each was surrounded by a capsule consisting of a relatively thick layer of fibrous connective tissues of host origin (host tissue reaction), and followed internally by a distinct black layer composed of melanomacrophages encircling the parasite mass; this layer clearly indicates the ability of this myxosporean parasite to induce a strong immune inflammatory response in the ovary of L. monostigma. Many small or developing cysts with the same characteristics were seen scattered in the connective tissue between the ovarian follicles. Plasmodia or spores of the parasite were not seen within the oocytes or within its developmental stages. The cysts occupied a considerable part of the ovary, and some areas of the ovarian tissues appeared to be vacuolated or degenerated. Thus, the typical ovarian structure of L. monostigma was greatly affected and lost its normal architecture. Therefore, the infection caused by this Myxidium sp. is presumed to negatively affect the reproductive capacity of the fish host.
Psoriasis and Psychiatric Disorders : The Next Frontier Psoriasis y comorbilidad psiquiátrica : la próxima frontera

In May 2015, the developers of brodalumab, a biologic drug that targets the alfa subunit of the interleukin (IL)-17 receptor, unexpectedly decided to halt clinical development of the drug despite the promising clinical outcomes expected on the basis of preliminary findings. The reasons given for the decision at the time were based mainly on the observation of suicidal thoughts and behavior (in some cases successful) during clinical trials. The company considered that these would have to be clarified with the regulatory agencies and that they would lead to the inclusion in the Summary of Product Characteristics of restrictions that would have a negative impact on the sales of the drug in a very competitive market. The news sounded an alarm among dermatologists and led to reflection on how the modulation of inflammatory pathways that are apparently specific to plaque psoriasis by targeting the IL-17 receptor could have an unexpected effect in areas that are, a priori, not connected, such as the patient’s mental health. However, although the controversy appeared novel at the time, a quick search of the literature reveals that, in 1993, Gupta et al. had reported that about 10% of patients with psoriasis reported ‘‘a wish to be dead’’ and that half of these patients reported active suicidal ideation. In their conclusion, those authors argued that severe depression and suicidal ideation----until then considered to be a feature only
The Association of QT Dispersion and QT Dispersion Ratio with Extent and Severity of Coronary Artery Disease

Background: Although prolongation of the QT intervals in acute ischemic conditions, such as acute myocardial infarction, intracoronary balloon inflation, and exercise induced ischemia, has been shown, association of rest QT intervals with extent and severity of stable coronary artery disease (CAD) has not been assessed so far. The effects of extent and severity of stable CAD on rest QT interval were analyzed in this study.
Residual Information of Previous Decision Affects Evidence Accumulation in Current Decision

Bias in perceptual decisions can be generally defined as an effect which is controlled by factors other than the decision-relevant information (e.g., perceptual information in a perceptual task, when trials are independent). The literature on decision-making suggests two main hypotheses to account for this kind of bias: internal bias signals are derived from (a) the residual of motor signals generated to report a decision in the past, and (b) the residual of sensory information extracted from the stimulus in the past. Beside these hypotheses, this study suggests that making a decision in the past per se may bias the next decision. We demonstrate the validity of this assumption, first, by performing behavioral experiments based on the two-alternative forced-choice (TAFC) discrimination of motion direction paradigms and, then, we modified the pure drift-diffusion model (DDM) based on the accumulation-to-bound mechanism to account for the sequential effect. In both cases, the trace of the previous trial influences the current decision. Results indicate that the probability of being correct in the current decision increases if it is in line with the previously made decision even in the presence of feedback. Moreover, a modified model that keeps the previous decision information in the starting point of evidence accumulation provides a better fit to the behavioral data. Our findings suggest that the accumulated evidence in the decision-making process after crossing the bound in the previous decision can affect the parameters of information accumulation for the current decision in consecutive trials.
Kickboxing review: anthropometric, psychophysiological and activity profiles and injury epidemiology

Kickboxing is one of the modern combat sports. The psychophysiological demands of a kickboxing competition require athletes to achieve high thresholds of several aspects of physical fitness. The aim of the current review is to critically analyse and appraise the kickboxer’s anthropometric, physiological, physical and psychological attributes with the activity profile and injury epidemiology in order to provide practical recommendations for training as well as new areas of scientific research. The available information shows that both amateur and elite-level male kickboxers are characterized by a higher proportion of mesomorphy with a well-developed muscle mass and low body fat percentage. While there is some variation in the maximum oxygen uptake of kickboxers, moderate to high cardio-respiratory levels are reported for these athletes. Regardless of kickboxers’ level, a high peak and mean anaerobic power output were reported. High-level kickboxing performance also requires well-developed muscle power in both the upper and lower limbs. Psychological factors contribute to success that requires high levels of self-confidence, motivation, dispositional hope and optimism, mental toughness/resiliency, and adaptive perfectionism. Psychological attributes also distinguished successful from less successful kickboxers. The activity-to-rest ratio was higher in elite (1:1) than both amateur and national-level (from 1:2 to 1:5) kickboxers, with no significant differences between rounds (round 1=1:4, and rounds 2 and 3=1:5) as well as between winners and losers in amateur and national-level simulated combats. These particular psychophysiological characteristics and performance aspects of kickboxers influence performance and could serve as guidance for training. Finally, kickboxing is characterized by chronic repetitive head trauma, which causes hypopituitarism due to traumatic brain injury (TBI). Future investigations into the physical, physiological and psychological characteristics related to age, gender and competitive levels of kickboxers are required to enrich the current knowledge and to help create the most suitable training programme.
Essential Oils of Chiliadenus Lopadusanus (Asteraceae)

The essential oils from the leaves and flowers of Chiliadenus lopadusanus growing on Lampedusa Island were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. The major component was camphor (39.4% in the leaves and 24.0% in the flowers), followed in the leaves by torreyol (6.7%), t-cadinol (5.2%) and 1,8-cineole (3.8%), while in the flowers by t-cadinol (15.2%), t-muurolol (5.1%) and torreyol (4.5%). Among the compounds identified, several seem to play a role in antibacterial, antifungal, allelopathic and spasmolytic activity. In addition, several compounds identified in this study seem to influence the attraction of Megachile (Eutricharaea) apicalis (Megachilidae) and Halictus (Seladonia) gemmeus (Halictidae), two hymenopteran here identified as pollinators of Chiliadenus lopadusanus.
Effect of particle size distribution of maize and soybean meal on the precaecal amino acid digestibility in broiler chickens

ABSTRACT 1. Herein, it was investigated whether different particle size distributions of feed ingredients achieved by grinding through a 2- or 3-mm grid would have an effect on precaecal (pc) amino acid (AA) digestibility. Maize and soybean meal were used as the test ingredients. 2. Maize and soybean meal was ground with grid sizes of 2 or 3 mm. Nine diets were prepared. The basal diet contained 500 g/kg of maize starch. The other experimental diets contained maize or soybean meal samples at concentrations of 250 and 500, and 150 and 300 g/kg, respectively, instead of maize starch. Each diet was tested using 6 replicate groups of 10 birds each. The regression approach was applied to calculate the pc AA digestibility of the test ingredients. 3. The reduction of the grid size from 3 to 2 mm reduced the average particle size of both maize and soybean meal, mainly by reducing the proportion of coarse particles. Reducing the grid size significantly (P < 0.050) increased the pc digestibility of all AA in the soybean meal. In maize, reducing the grid size decreased the pc digestibility of all AA numerically, but not significantly (P > 0.050). The mean numerical differences in pc AA digestibility between the grid sizes were 0.045 and 0.055 in maize and soybean meal, respectively. 4. Future studies investigating the pc AA digestibility should specify the particle size distribution and should investigate the test ingredients ground similarly for practical applications.
Reactional states in multibacillary Hansen disease patients during multidrug therapy.

It is well known that reactions are commonplace occurrences during the course of leprosy disease. Stigmatization may even be attributable to reactions which are also responsible for the worsening of neural lesions. A cohort of 162 newly-diagnosed baciloscopically positive patients from the Leprosy Care Outpatient Clinic of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) was selected for this study. While 46% of the multibacillary (MB) patients submitted to the 24 fixed-dose multidrug therapy (MDT) regimen suffered reactions during treatment, it was found that all MBs were susceptible and that constant attention and care were required at all times. Fourteen per cent were classified as BB, 52% as BL, and 33% as LL. None of the variables under study, such as, sex, age, clinical form, length of illness, length of dermatological lesions, baciloscopic index (BI), or degree of disability proved to be associate with reaction among the patients studied. Reversal Reaction (RR) occurred in 45%, and Erythema Nodosum Leprosum (ENL) occurred in 55%. Among BB patients who developed reactions (15 patients), 93% presented RR; while among the LL patients who developed reactions (34 patients), 91% presented ENL. Likewise, ENL was very frequent among those with disseminate lesions, while RR was most often observed in patients with segmentary lesions. RR was also most likely to occur during the initial months of treatment. It was demonstrated that the recurrence rate of ENL was significantly higher than that of RR. Neither grade of disability nor BI was shown to be associated with RR and ENL reaction. However, the RR rate was significantly higher among patients showing BI < 3, while ENL predominated among those patients with BI > 3.
Immunization attitudes and practices among family medicine providers

ABSTRACT Objective: To describe immunization attitudes and practices among family medicine providers across New York State. Methods: In this cross-sectional survey study, family medicine providers across New York State completed a questionnaire to assess vaccine beliefs and barriers and immunization practices. Statistical analysis: Descriptive statistical methods were used to define provider characteristics, knowledge and vaccine practices. Results: Completed questionnaires from 226 family medicine providers were included for analysis. As a group, 207/218 (95%) of providers who answered the question state they always recommend standard pediatric vaccines. Of the 209 providers who answered both questions, 47 (22%) state they always recommend standard pediatric vaccines but do not always recommend HPV vaccine to eligible 11–12 year-old patients. Only 75% of providers strongly disagreed with the statement ‘vaccinating adolescents against HPV increases the likelihood of unprotected sex'. Even though 178/190 (94%) and 164/188 (87%) of surveyed family medicine providers reported recommending that their pregnant patients receive influenza vaccine and Tdap vaccine, respectively, only 134/185 (72%) routinely do so in their office. Conclusion: Most family medicine providers self-report always recommending standard pediatric vaccines, however only a minority are following ACIP recommendations. Educational sessions to update family medicine providers on ACIP recommendations and address individual provider concerns may improve provider vaccine confidence and uptake of vaccines by their patients.