Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strategic Asset Allocation and Intertemporal Hedging Demands: With Commodities as an Asset Class

This paper analyzes the role of commodities in the process of strategic asset allocation, with an attempt of computing the weight of commodities relative to traditional assets in a multi-period portfolio choice problem and understanding the economic interpretations to its importance. We find U.S. investors have a significantly stable intertemporal hedging demand for commodities in the long horizons, even when they have access to foreign equity markets, for example, foreign stock market. Our results provide support to institutional investors attempting to include commodities into their strategic asset allocation decision.
Novel arrangement of the blaCTX‐M‐55 gene in an Escherichia coli isolate coproducing 16S rRNA methylase

A multi‐drug resistant Escherichia coli C21 was isolated from a chicken in China. It was shown to be positive for the presence of the blaTEM‐1, blaCTX‐M‐55 and rmtB genes by PCR. This strain was examined by phylogenetic grouping, conjugation experiments, plasmid analysis, PCR‐based replicon typing and multi‐locus sequence typed (MLST). The genetic environment of blaCTX‐M‐55 was investigated by PCR mapping. The strain belonged to phylogroup A, ST156. The blaCTX‐M‐55 and rmtB genes were found to be present in separate plasmids that belonged to the IncI1 and IncN families, respectively. These antibiotic‐resistant plasmids could be transferred to the recipient strain alone or together. A new arrangement of ISEcp1Δ‐IS1294‐ΔISEcp1‐blaCTX‐M‐55‐ORF477, in which the ISEcp1 element was disrupted by another IS1294 element, was identified initially. Conjugative transfer and IS elements found in this study could lead to the rapid dissemination of blaCTX‐M‐55 and rmtB among strains of Enterobacteriaceae, which could pose a threat to animal husbandry and public health.
Origin of the zebrafish endocrine and exocrine pancreas

Here, we report a detailed fate map of the zebrafish pancreas at the early gastrula stage of development (6 hours postfertilization; hpf). We show that, at this stage, both pancreas and liver progenitors are symmetrically localized in two broad domains relative to the dorsal organizer. We demonstrate that the dorsal and ventral pancreatic buds can derive from common progenitor pools at 6 hpf, but often derive from independent populations. Endocrine vs. exocrine pancreas show a similar pattern of progenitors, consistent with descriptions of the dorsal bud being strictly endocrine and the ventral bud primarily exocrine. In general, we find that endocrine/dorsal bud progenitors are located more dorsally than the exocrine pancreas/ventral bud progenitors. Later in gastrulation (10 hpf), pancreas progenitors have migrated to bilateral domains at the equator of the embryo. Our fate map will assist with design and interpretation of future experiments to understand early pancreas development. Developmental Dynamics 236:1558–1569, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Clarias batrachus collagen extract increases fibroblast cell adhesion, migration and proliferation

Collagen is an extracellular matrix protein with great importance in biomedical application. The search for collagen from various sources is intensified especially from marine source. This study was carried out to extract the collagen from a Malaysian local fresh water fish, Clarias batrachus and characterized its biomedical potential in vitro. Collagen was extracted from C. batrachus skin using acetic acid method and identified using SDS-PAGE. MTT assay was performed to determine the effect of coated collagen on cell adhesion and proliferation of L929 skin fibroblast cells. Additionally, scratch assay was performed to examine the effect of collagen coating on fibroblast cell migration. Result showed that collagen extracted from C. batrachus was made up of collagen type I, which consists of two α chains (α-1 and α-2) and β chain. At 100 µg/cm2 density, collagen coating significantly increased fibroblast cell adhesion, proliferation and migration compared to negative control (p< 0.05). As a conclusion, collagen extracted from C. batrachus increased cell adhesion, proliferation and migration of fibroblasts cell and has potential to be used as an alternative source of collagen.
Patient outcome after complete surgery for retroperitoneal sarcoma.

BACKGROUND Aggressive surgery has been suggested for improving local tumor control in patients with retroperitoneal sarcoma (RS). This study aimed at investigating local disease-free and overall survival after complete surgery, in patients with RS. PATIENTS AND METHODS Retrospective data of patients submitted to complete surgery for RS were extracted from a prospectively-maintained database. RESULTS Forty-three out of 78 patients (55%) presented with primary RS. Infiltrated organs were resected in 42 patients (54%). Patients presenting with recurrent (hazard ratio (HR)=5.57, p=0.002) and high-grade (HR 3.47, p=0.041) tumors were at higher risk of local recurrence. Microscopically-involved tumor resection margins (HR=3.47, p=0.04) and recurrent tumor at presentation (HR=2.49, p=0.008) were independent predictors of poor survival. CONCLUSION Patients presenting with primary RS had longer local disease-free survival and overall survival than those with recurrent tumor after complete surgery. Complete surgery remains the standard-of-care for patients with primary RS.
Scrapie infections initiated at varying doses: an analysis of 117 titration experiments.

An analysis of 117 titration experiments in the murine scrapie model is presented. The experiments encompass 30 years' work and a wide range of experimental conditions. To check that the experimental designs were reasonably consistent over time, comparisons were made of size, duration, source of inoculum, etc., in each experiment. These comparisons revealed no systematic trends that would render invalid comparisons across experiments. For 114 of the experiments it was possible to calculate the dose at which half of the challenged animals were infected (the ID50). These 114 experiments were then combined on the basis of relative dose (i.e. tenfold dilution relative to the ID50). This created a data set in which over 4000 animals were challenged with doses of scrapie ranging from four orders of magnitude below to five orders of magnitude above the ID50. Analysis of this data reveals that mean incubation periods rise linearly with logarithmic decreases in dose. A one unit increase in relative dose (i.e. a tenfold increase in actual dose) will, on average, decrease the incubation period by 25 days. At ID50 the average incubation period in this data set is 300 days. Within a single dose, in a single experimental model, incubation periods have a distribution close to normal. Variability in incubation period also rises linearly as dose decreases. There is no age or sex effect upon the probability of infection, but female mice have incubation periods that are, on average, nine days shorter than their male counterparts and young mice have incubation periods that are longer by seven days. Although many of these patterns are apparent in the results of single titration curves, they can be more rigorously investigated by considering the outcome for thousands of mice.
Terahertz photomixing with diode lasers in low‐temperature‐grown GaAs

Recent optical heterodyne measurements with distributed‐Bragg‐reflector diode‐laser pumps demonstrate that low‐temperature‐grown (LTG) GaAs photomixers will be useful in a compact all‐solid‐state terahertz source. Electrical 3 dB bandwidths as large as 650 GHz are measured in mixers with low electrode capacitance. These bandwidths appear to be independent of pump‐laser wavelength over the range 780–850 nm. Shorter wavelength pumping results in a significant reduction of the bandwidth. The best LTG‐GaAs photomixers are used to generate coherent continuous‐wave output radiation at frequencies up to 5 THz.
Role of dendritic cell maturation factors produced by human invariant NKT cells in immune tolerance

In this study, we used the culture supernatant of iNKT cells to identify human myeloid DC maturation factors produced by human CD4+ iNKT cells. S100A8 had a strong maturation effect. Notably, the recombinant S100A8 protein displayed properties of DC maturation functioning, and the induction of DC differentiation by both the purified and the recombinant protein were blocked by anti‐S100A8 and anti‐TLR‐4 mAbs. DC differentiation induced by anti‐major histocompatibility complex class II/CD1d Ab, S100A8, or both was qualitatively indistinguishable from that induced by the coculture of DCs and iNKT cells or via culture supplementation with supernatants from activated CD4+ iNKT cells. S100A8 also induced CD4+/CD25+/Foxp3+ Treg cells from naïve T cells. S100A8 may contribute to DC differentiation by elevating transcription factors or activating transcription factor‐2, heat shock factor‐1, or both, in mature DCs. S100A8 is a novel candidate iNKT cell‐dependent DC maturation factor.
Trends in International Migration

The second half of 2001 was marked by a turnaround in activity in the majority of OECD countries, ending a period of strong growth that had begun in the first half of the 1990s. In contrast with what had been observed during the previous expansionary phase, and particularly in a number of European OECD countries, economic growth was accompanied during the second half of the 1990s by a sharp increase in job creation. Between 1993 and 2000, more than 40 million jobs were created in the OECD member countries as a whole, while the average rate of unemployment fell by more than 1.5 points from 7.9 to 6.3% over the entire period. That trend was even more noticeable in the European Union, where the unemployment rate fell by over 27% between 1993 and 2001. Because of the economic slowdown, employment growth was however appreciably slower in 2001, reaching just 0.4% in the OECD area.
Seasonality of sporadic physical processes driving temperature and nutrient high-frequency variability in the coastal ocean off southeast Australia

Physical processes forced by alongshore winds and currents are known to strongly influence the biogeochemistry of coastal waters. Combining in situ observations (moored platforms, hydrographic surveys) and satellite data (sea surface wind and sea surface height), we investigate the transient occurrence of wind-driven upwelling/downwelling and current-driven upwelling events off southeast Australia. Remote-sensed indices are developed and calibrated with multiannual time series of in situ temperature and current measurements at two shelf locations. Based on archives up to 10 years long, climatological analyses of these indices reveal various latitudinal regimes with respect to seasonality, magnitude, duration of events, and their driving mechanisms (wind or current). Generally, downwelling-favorable winds prevail in this region; however, we demonstrate that up to 10 wind-driven upwelling days per month occur during spring/summer at 28-33.5 degrees S and up to 5 days in summer further south. Current-driven upwelling upstream of the East Australian Current separation zone (approximate to 32 degrees S) occurs twice as often as downstream. Using independent in situ data sets, we show that the response of the coastal ocean is consistent with our climatology of shelf processes: upwelling leads to a large range of temperatures and elevated nutrient concentrations on the shelf, maximized in the wind-driven case, while downwelling results in destratified nutrient-poor waters. The combination of these sporadic wind- and current-driven processes may drive an important part of the high-frequency variability of coastal temperature and nutrient content. Our results suggest that localized nutrient enrichment events of variable magnitude are favored at specific latitudes and seasons, potentially impacting coastal ecosystems. Key Points Multisensor analysis of shelf processes combining in situ and satellite data Spatio-temporal variability of transient wind and current-driven up/downwelling Cold/nutrient-rich water intrusions favoured at specific locations/seasons
Efficacy and safety of glycosylated undenatured type-II collagen (UC-II) in therapy of arthritic dogs.

DeParle L. A. , Gupta R. C. , Canerdy T. D. , Goad J. T. , D'Altilio M. , Bagchi M. , Bagchi D. Efficacy and safety of glycosylated undenatured type-II collagen (UC-II) in therapy of arthritic dogs. J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap.28, 385-390. In large breed dogs, arthritis is very common because of obesity, injury, aging, immune disorder, or genetic predispositions. This study was therefore undertaken to evaluate clinical efficacy and safety of undenatured type-II collagen (UC-II) in obese-arthritic dogs. Fifteen dogs in three groups received either no UC-II (Group I) or UC-II with 1 mg/day (Group II) or 10 mg/day (Group III) for 90 days. Lameness and pain were measured on a weekly basis for 120 days (90 days treatment plus 30 days post-treatment). Blood samples were assayed for creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (markers of renal injury); and alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase (evidence of hepatic injury). Dogs receiving 1 mg or 10 mg UC-II/day for 90 days showed significant declines in overall pain and pain during limb manipulation and lameness after physical exertion, with 10 mg showed greater improvement. At either dose of UC-II, no adverse effects were noted and no significant changes were noted in serum chemistry, suggesting that UC-II was well tolerated. In addition, dogs receiving UC-II for 90 days showed increased physical activity level. Following UC-II withdrawal for a period of 30 days, all dogs experienced a relapse of overall pain, exercise-associated lameness, and pain upon limb manipulation. These results suggest that daily treatment of arthritic dogs with UC-II ameliorates signs and symptoms of arthritis, and UC-II is well tolerated as no adverse effects were noted.
Cryopreservation of human adult hepatocytes for use in drug metabolism and toxicity studies.

1. Human hepatocytes were cryopreserved for up to 14 days at -80 degrees C and the cryoprotection offered by different media investigated in terms of post-thaw cell viability and function. 2. Optimal cryoprotection was offered by a solution containing dimethylsulphoxide, propylene glycol, acetamide and polyethylene glycol 8000 in Leibowitz L15 medium. 3. The cytochrome P450 content and activities of the microsomal P450 dependent mixed function oxidase system were well maintained at above 70% of fresh cell values throughout the cryopreservation period. However, the activities of the cytosolic enzymes studied, glutathione S-transferase and glutathione reductase, were not well maintained; they declined to < 40% of fresh cell values after storage of cells for 14 days at -80 degrees C. The membrane environment may protect microsomal enzymes from denaturation by freeze-thaw damage. 4. After cryopreservation, viability of human hepatocytes was higher than that of rat hepatocytes preserved under identical conditions. For human cells maximum post-cryopreservation viability was 67% after 24 h at -80 degrees C; this declined to 49% after 14 days storage at -80 degrees C. In addition post-cryopreservation human hepatocytes remained > 70% viable when incubated at 37 degrees C in suspension compared with only 46% of rat hepatocytes. This indicates that human hepatocytes can withstand freeze-thaw damage better than those from rat. 5. The results of this study define optimal conditions for cryopreserving human hepatocytes. Although microsomal enzyme activities are retained post-cryopreservation, the decrease in viability of thawed cells upon incubation at 37 degrees C suggests that caution should be exercized when using cryopreserved cells to study integrated drug metabolizing pathways in man in vitro.
Predictors of maternal HIV infection at the primary care level in inner city Ibadan

National HIV prevalence rate is derived from the sentinel surveys, which are carried out once in two years and remain anonymized. Epidemiological data are largely unavailable on the pregnant HIV-positive mothers particularly at the grass root level. This information is urgently needed when developing a realistic intervention programme. Three hundred and forty-three consenting pregnant women attending a randomly selected primary health care clinic in inner city Ibadan from April to November 2001 were enrolled at booking and followed up till delivery of their babies. Sociodemographic and reproductive health data were collected by questionnaire and all mothers were screened for HIV/AIDS using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based rapid test. Results showed that about one in three teenage mothers screened positive, having the highest HIV rate. HIV prevalence rate reduced, though not significantly, in mothers 20-29 years and those 30-39 years with mothers in these groups having similar rates. No mother over 39 years screened positive. Following logistic regression analysis, young age 15-19 years, was associated with a significantly increased risk for infection at the primary health care level (P =0.046). Christian religion was associated with a lower risk (P =0.038), and mothers who booked late in pregnancy (P =0.025) or had husbands in the lower socio-economic class (P =0.001) were less likely to be infected. None of the women were aware of their HIV status prior to the study. With a predominantly heterosexual mode of HIV transmission, it is necessary to identify infected pregnant women early through voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), so that they can be given the option to take preventive drugs, which would among other benefits reduce mother-to-child transmission, and help infected mothers stay healthy and productive for longer.
HCV kinetics, quasispecies, and clearance in treated HCV‐infected and HCV/HIV‐1‐coinfected patients with hemophilia

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment response rates remain low in HCV/HIV‐1‐coinfected individuals compared with those with HCV alone. Persons with inherited coagulation disorders have high rates of HCV and HIV‐1 infection, but HCV treatment trials in this patient population are scarce. We hypothesized that differences by infection status in HCV viral kinetics would be associated with differences in HCV quasispecies complexity over time and with treatment response disparities. Coinfected and monoinfected patients were enrolled in a treatment trial for pegylated‐interferon alpha‐2a (peg‐IFN) + ribavirin. Patients were treated for 48 weeks and followed for an additional 24. Quantitative HCV RNA was tested at multiple times during and after treatment. Viral kinetic parameters associated with response were estimated with a mathematical model. Quasispecies emergence was determined via heteroduplex complexity assay. Twenty‐two patients were HCV RNA‐positive at baseline, with no significant demographic or virological differences by infection status. Five of eleven (45%) of monoinfected and 3 of 11 (27%) of coinfected patients achieved sustained viral response (SVR). Peg‐IFN efficacy (ε) of 90% or greater was associated with probability of end‐of‐treatment response (ETR) (P = .001) and SVR (P = .06). Patients with SVR had lower baseline quasispecies complexity than those without SVR (P = .07). Those with ε of 90% or greater also had lower baseline complexity (P = .07). Coinfection status mediated changes in complexity over time (P = .04). In conclusion, low pretreatment quasispecies complexity may predict peg‐IFN response; early peg‐IFN response is critical for sustained HCV clearance and is altered in coinfection. Further studies are warranted. (HEPATOLOGY 2006;44:1146–1157.)
On a multiscale model involving cell contractivity and its effects on tumor invasion

Cancer cell migration is an essential feature in the process of tumor spread and establishing of metastasis. It characterizes the invasion observed on the level of the cell population, but it is also tightly connected to the events taking place on the subcellular level. These are conditioning the motile and proliferative behavior of the cells, but are also influenced by it. In this work we propose a multiscale model linking these two levels and aiming to assess their interdependence. On the subcellular, microscopic scale it accounts for integrin binding to soluble and insoluble components present in the peritumoral environment, which is seen as the onset of biochemical events leading to changes in the cell's ability to contract and modify its shape. On the macroscale of the cell population this leads to modifications in the diffusion and haptotaxis performed by the tumor cells and implicitly to changes in the tumor environment. We prove the (local) well posedness of our model and perform numerical simulations in order to illustrate the model predictions.
Antihypertensive Medications and the Survival Rate of Osseointegrated Dental Implants: A Cohort Study.

PURPOSE Antihypertensive drugs in general are beneficial for bone formation and remodeling, and are associated with lower risk of bone fractures. As osseointegration is influenced by bone metabolism, this study aimed to investigate the association between antihypertensive drugs and the survival rate of osseointegrated implants. MATERIALS AND METHODS This retrospective cohort study included a total of 1,499 dental implants in 728 patients (327 implants in 142 antihypertensive-drugs-users and 1,172 in 586 nonusers). Multilevel mixed effects parametric survival analyses were used to test the association between antihypertensive drugs use and implant failure adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS Only 0.6% of the implants failed in patients using antihypertensive drugs while 4.1% failed in nonusers. A higher survival rate of dental implants was observed among users of antihypertensive drugs [HR (95% CI): 0.12 (0.03-0.49)] compared to nonusers. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that treatment with antihypertensive drugs may be associated with an increased survival rate of osseointegrated implants. To our knowledge, this could be the first study showing that the systemic use of a medication could be associated with higher survival rate of dental implants.
Chemical and toxicological studies on bracken fern, Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum. VI. Isolation of 5-O-caffeoylshikimic acid as an antithiamine factor.

5-O-Caffeoylshikimic acid (dactylifric acid) was isolated from bracken fern as a major constituent of its acutely toxic fraction, which causes depression of leucocytes and thrombocytes in calves. 5-O-Caffeoylshikimic acid exhibited an antithiamine effect in vitro, but had no hematuric effect in guinea pigs.
Regulation of expression of Streptococcus mutans genes important to virulence

Studies were initiated to investigate the regulation of Streptococcus mutans genes which are believed to be important to virulence. Operon fusions were constructed between S. mutans gene regulatory regions and a promoterless chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene (cat) found on the plasmid pMH109. Specifically, fusions were generated between cat and the S. mutans genes encoding fructosyltransferase (ftf) and the glucosyltransferase B/C (gtfB/C) operon. Constructs were confirmed by restriction enzyme analysis, and the fusions were subcloned into the integration vehicle pVA891. Following generation of multimeric DNA, recombinant plasmids were introduced into the s. mutans genome by Campbell-type insertion, resulting in single-copy operon fusions. Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase specific activities were used to monitor the expression of the S. mutans gtfB/C operon and ftf determinants. The expression of these genes is increased by the presence of sucrose and is followed by a rapid decline in expression over time. Additionally, expression of the gtfB/C operon is increased in S. mutans cells bound to artificial tooth pellicles.