Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of Basal and Morphine‐Induced Histamine Release in the Rat Periaqueductal Gray

Abstract: Previous studies have shown that antinociceptive doses of systemic morphine increase extracellular histamine (HA) levels in the rat periaqueductal gray (PAG), although the cellular origin of basal and morphine‐induced HA release in the PAG is unknown. Treatment with α‐fluoromethylhistidine (FMH; 100 mg/kg, i.p.), the irreversible inhibitor of histidine decarboxylase, decreased basal HA release by a maximum of 80% and prevented morphine‐induced HA release in the PAG. In addition, perfusion of this area with the sodium channel blocker tetrodotoxin (10−6M) decreased basal HA release by a maximum of 57% from baseline levels. When the perfusion medium was modified by substitution of magnesium for calcium, extracellular HA levels in the PAG decreased by a maximum of 72%, and morphine‐induced HA release was prevented. Thioperamide (5 mg/kg, i.p.), an H3 antagonist, increased HA release in the PAG to a maximum of 249% within the first 30–60‐min period. Taken together, these results suggest that basal and morphine‐induced HA release in the rat PAG have a neuronal origin.
A knowledge-based theory of the firm

Purpose Drawing on the knowledge-based theory of the firm, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between each facet of intellectual capital, productivity and firms’ performance and further investigate, heretofore neglected, a mediating effect of productivity in the relationship between each facet of intellectual capital and firms’ performance. Design/methodology/approach Data were garnered with a self-reported questionnaire from 232 firm managers working in various industries: banking, insurance, telecommunications and hotels. Reliability and validity of the instruments were confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. Prior to hypothesis testing using structural equation modelling, as a caveat, tests for nonresponse bias and common method variance were employed. Findings The paper confirmed that intellectual capital is the pièce de résistance and established a strong connection with productivity. The results further disclosed a positive relationship between productivity and firms’ performance. A mediated relationship between individual facets of intellectual capital and firms’ performance through productivity was also affirmed. Practical implications Chiefly, the paper underscored the importance of intellectual capital in promoting productivity and firms’ performance. It behoves human resource managers and practitioners to make the organisational arrangements to reinforce intellectual capital thereby boosting the productivity that brings organisations’ success. Originality/value Previous studies in the sphere of intellectual capital have unequivocally discounted in establishing relationships between intellectual capital, productivity and firms’ performance. The results of the paper are novel findings, unequivocally contributing to the frontiers of the knowledge-based theory of the firm and conjointly, the paper has made methodological and geographical contributions.
Assessment of differences in nutrients consumption in women diagnosed with osteoporosis as compared to a healthy control group

Background Osteoporosis is a condition that has been much more frequent for women, which is related to menopause and to their lower bone mineral density (BMD). Inappropriate diet is among the development factors of the disease. Objective To assess differences in consumption of particular nutrients among women with and without osteoporosis diagnosed. Material and Methods The study was conducted in 2013 in a group of 100 women aged 51-70, using a questionnaire, including a 24-hour recall related to a participant’s nutrients consumptions. Results Women suffering from osteoporosis were found to consume significantly lower amounts of fat (by 16%) and energy (by 13%), as well as vitamins: A (by 16%), E (by 20%), B6 (by 20%), niacin (by 16%) and C (by 19%). Differences in the consumption of minerals have been observed in the cases of calcium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium. The women with osteoporosis were fund to consume lower amounts of those elements, by 14%, 13%, 21% and 19% respectively. On the average, participants of the study in both groups consumed amounts of calcium at a half of the recommended level, and substantially exceeded the recommended values of phosphorus, as well as displaying an inappropriate calcium to phosphorus ratio (0.5:1). As little as 8% of the participants with osteoporosis declared a considerable change in their diet, with increased consumption of dairy products. Conclusions The observed nutrition deficiencies in osteoporosis patients may be conducive to a worsened condition, and may lead to an onset of the disease in participants from the control group.
Finding Novel Anti-carcinomas Compounds by Targeting SFRP4 Through Molecular Modeling, Docking and Dynamic Simulation Studies.

BACKGROUND Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein 4 (SFRP4) is a glycoprotein that acts as a competitor of both canonical and non-canonical Wnt pathways. SFRP4 is mostly expressed in ovary and plays a significant role as a target molecule to cure ovarian carcinoma. OBJECTIVE Multiple chemical agonists are being used to cure ovary melanoma. We are interested in theoretically analyzing the compounds through computational approaches for their potential inhibitory effects against SFRP4. METHODS Compounds were sketched in Chemsketch drawing tool and minimized through chimera tool. Because the crystal structure of SFRP4 is not available in Protein Data Bank, homology modeling approach was used to predict Three-Dimensional (3D) crystal structure of SFRP4. Moreover, multiple computational approaches such as molecular docking and Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulations along with various online tools were employed to screen the best inhibitor against ovary melanoma. RESULTS The docking results showed that 1d and 1e compounds revealed significant binding energy values (-9.10 and -9.00 kcal/mol, respectively) compared with the standard drugs such as cis-platin and docetaxel (-3.30, -10.80 kcal/mol), respectively. Moreover, MD simulation results showed that 1d has little fluctuations throughout the simulation period as depicted by the root mean square deviation and root mean square fluctuation graphs. CONCLUSION The present in-silico study provides a deeper insight into the structural attributes of 1d compound and its overall molecular interactions against SFRP4 and gives a hypothetical gateway to use this compound as a potential inhibitor against ovarian carcinoma.
Reining in Onion Prices by Introducing a Vertically Differentiated Substitute: Models, Analysis, and Insights

Onion is an indispensable ingredient of the Indian diet, and plays a vital role in Indian economy, society, and politics. The ongoing volatility in its prices leads to significant social unrest. In this paper, we are interested in helping decision-makers to rigorously evaluate policy proposals to remedy the situation. We identify conditions under which it is optimal to introduce a processed substitute and whether it should be managed by nonprofit or for-profit firms. Our models capture the inherent vertically differentiated competition over two periods, consumers' prejudice for the processed produce, and perishability of the fresh produce. We find ample evidence to work towards implementing the processed substitute policy. In addition, management by a nonprofit would be a far better solution, resulting in a much higher consumer surplus (by about 243\%) and lower prices (down to 48\%). While improved consumer perception is favorable in general, policymakers should be careful about some unintended consequences such as increased prices and lower availability. Moreover, contrary to the conventional wisdom, we find that a non-profit may purposefully choose a strategy where consumers do not purchase its offering when fresh onion deterioration is high and consumer prejudice is low. We also find that a for-profit firm would always choose to be the lower-quality substitute in the market when fresh onion deterioration is low.
Mechanisms of Bleeding and Thrombosis in Myeloproliferative Disorders

Arterial and venous thromboses and microcirculatory disturbances such as erythromelalgia and neurologic and visual symptoms are the thrombotic manifestations occurring in Polycythaemia Vera and Essential Thrombocythaemia. The increased in vivo thromboxane A2 generation existing in these patients and the selective sensitivity of erythromelalgia to aspirin suggest that platelet PGG/H synthase products may be involved in transducing the increased thrombotic risk. The relationship between Thromboxane A2 production and thrombotic accidents will be investigated by the European Collaboration on Low-Dose Aspirin in Polycythaemia Vera (ECLAP) which will test the efficacy of low-dose aspirin by a randomised clinical trial. The haemorrhagic diathesis of polycythaemic and thrombocythaemic subjects is generally mild and spontaneous bleeding usually manifests in patients with very high platelet count. Its mechanism may be related to quantitative as well as to qualitative platelet changes. Possible mechanisms linking the high grade thrombocytosis to bleeding are consumption of von Willebrand factor and clot fragility due to a mechanical effect of the high platelet count or to inhibition of fibrin polymerization by platelet Glycoprotein Ib.
Public Service-Function Types and Interlocal Agreement Network Structure: A Longitudinal Study of Iowa

Interlocal service delivery networks have become a prominent subject within the urban governance literature, with significant scholarly attention being focused on the political, legal, and demographic characteristics that influence an organization’s decision to join a collaboration network. However, despite being a theoretically significant factor, few analyses have examined the role that service-function type plays in shaping these networks. This research note replicates and extends previous tests of the hypothesized relationship between service-function type and network structure by relying on a comprehensive 25-year data set of interlocal agreements from the state of Iowa. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the positive relationship between networks of system maintenance service-functions and network centralization is confirmed after controlling for the significant moderating effect of time. This more-generalized finding enhances our understanding of when local governments use service networks to solve public problems and potentially carries important implications for the relationship between network governance and policy performance.
To Create or to Redistribute? That is the Question

This study attempts to explain low corporate investment in the post-crisis period, which persisted despite aggressive easing of financial conditions. Agents utilize available funding by either investing in new capital creation or by acquiring existing assets (asset redistribution). The former increases total income and employment, while the latter alters the distribution of wealth amongst agents. Theoretical explanations and empirical evidence are provided to support the argument that during recessions investors deem it more profitable and banks find it safer to fund re-purchases of existing assets, rather than create new assets. This trend exacerbates a recession and slows recovery as it deprives entrepreneurs of funding. Furthermore, this scenario provides an explanation of the phenomenon of rising inequality and social harm over the course of a recession. As asset redistribution is predominantly a privilege of the rich, an increase in inequality encourages more income redistribution, thus further exacerbating recessions. Finally, it is demonstrated that macroprudential policies promoting access to finance for new capital investments can discourage asset redistribution and potentially boost recovery.
A new method for the relative quantification of rCBF examined by 99Tcm-HMPAO SPECT

A new method for the analysis of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) studies, the 'Min-Max' method, was compared with the conventional method, the 'Average' method. Regional CBF was examined by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using 99Tcm-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (99Tcm-HMPAO). The two methods were used to quantify the rCBF in a population of patients with various dementia disorders, and in healthy controls. Results from a phantom were also used. In the Average method the average counts per pixel (cp-1) within irregular manually drawn regions of interest (ROIs) was registered. In the Min-Max method the minimum cp-1 and maximum cp-1 within rectangular ROIs were registered for white and grey matter, respectively. The relative rCBF (rrCBF) was calculated as the ratio between the regional and cerebellar values. The Min-Max method gave systematically lower values for rrCBF in the white matter, in both clinical studies, and in the phantom, compared to the Average method. No difference was found in the grey matter results. The variability in rrCBF in the phantom study was greater with the Min-Max method than with the Average method, but this effect was counteracted in the clinical studies by a smaller interobserver error. The average regional differences between patients and controls appeared greater with the Min-Max method than with the Average method. The Min-Max method proved to be more simple to execute, involved a smaller observer error, and with respect to ability to distinguish patients with dementia disorders from controls, it appears to function at least as well as the accepted Average method.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Relative Glycosaminoglycan Distribution in Patients with Autologous Chondrocyte Transplants

Gillis A, Bashir A, McKeon B, et al. Magnetic resonance imaging of relative glycosaminoglycan distribution in patients with autologous chondrocyte transplants. Invest Radiol 2001;36:743–748. rationale and objectives. Autologous chondrocyte transplantation (ACT) is a potential treatment for full-thickness chondral lesions in the knee. Delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) has recently been developed as a sensitive and specific measure of cartilage glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Under the conditions of dGEMRIC, T1 is directly related to the GAG concentration. Our aim for this study was to demonstrate the potential of dGEMRIC to evaluate ACT implants. methods. Eleven ACT implants were studied 2 to 24 months postoperatively by dGEMRIC. T1 values from three regions of interest were obtained to examine GAG content (1) in the implant, (2) in native cartilage adjacent to the implant, and (3) in native cartilage further removed from the implant (as “control”). results. One implant failed and therefore was not included. Four of the implants were studied between 2 and 6 months postoperatively and showed low T1 (GAG), less than 80% of the control native cartilage. Five of the six implants studied between 12 and 24 months postoperativley showed T1 (GAG) comparable to (>80%) of control. One 18-month graft showed low T1 comparable to the surrounding native cartilage, with normal GAG seen in cartilage far from the graft site. The GAG index (T1 values of the graft normalized to control) from the group of implants 6 months or less was 59% ± 5% of control, whereas those at 12 to 24 months were 91% ± 18% of control. The two groups were statistically different with a P value of 0.005. conclusions. The GAG level in grafts that were implanted for less than 12 months appeared to be lower than that in the remote cartilage. At 12 months or greater, the grafts in this study had GAG levels that were comparable to both the adjacent and remote cartilage. This preliminary study of ACT implants has shown that it is feasible to apply the dGEMRIC technique in patients with ACT as a way to obtain information related to the composition of grafts. These results provide motivation and the pilot data with which to design further clinical studies.
Net excitation of the motor unit pool varies with load type during fatiguing contractions

To identify the underlying physiological mechanisms for the difference in the time to failure for two types of fatiguing contractions, 20 subjects performed force and position tasks with the elbow flexor muscles at a comparable net muscle torque for a similar duration. Prior to terminating each task, blood flow was occluded to estimate the relative amount of feedback transmitted by small‐diameter afferents to the spinal cord. Mean arterial pressure at the conclusion of the fatiguing contraction increased similarly for the two tasks (force: 119% ± 14%; position: 114% ± 15%). However, the final values for the electromyographic activity for the elbow flexor muscles (26% ± 14% and 21% ± 11%, respectively; P < 0.05), and the increase in the fluctuations in acceleration and force (225% ± 152% and 154% ± 53%, respectively; P < 0.05) in the sagittal plane, were significantly greater during the position task compared with the force task. These results suggest a different balance in the excitatory and inhibitory inputs to the spinal motor neurons for the two tasks, which has implications for the design of work tasks and exercise prescription in rehabilitation. Muscle Nerve, 2005
Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Among HIV/HCV-Coinfected Women.

BACKGROUND Maternal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection has been associated with increased hepatitis C virus (HCV) mother-to-child transmission (MTCT). We hypothesized that HCV/HIV-coinfected women with well-controlled HIV disease would not have increased HCV MTCT. METHODS The NISDI Perinatal and LILAC cohorts enrolled HIV-infected pregnant women and their infants in Latin America and the Caribbean. This substudy evaluated the HCV infection status of mothers at participating sites and their live born, singleton infants who had a 6-month postnatal visit by December 31, 2008. Mothers who were anti-HCV-positive, or who had CD4 counts (cells/mm(3)) <200 with detectable HCV RNA, were considered HCV-infected. All HCV-infected women were tested for HCV RNA. Infants with HCV RNA were considered HCV-infected. RESULTS Of 1042 enrolled women, 739 (71%) mother-infant pairs met the inclusion criteria. Of the 739 women, 67 (9%) were anti-HCV-positive and 672 anti-HCV-negative [68 (10%) with CD4 counts <200; of these, 3 (4.4%) were HCV RNA-positive]. Therefore, our study population comprised 70 HCV-infected (47 with HCV RNA) and 669 HCV-uninfected women (and their infants). Factors associated with maternal HCV infection included unemployment (odds ratio [OR] = 2.58); tobacco (OR = 1.73) or marijuana (OR = 3.88) use during pregnancy; enrollment HIV viral load ([VL] copies/mL) ≥10 000 (OR = 2.27); HIV clinical disease stage C (OR = 2.12); and abnormal alanine aminotransferase (OR = 4.24) or aspartate aminotransferase (OR = 11.98). Four of 47 infants (8.5%) born to HCV-viremic women were HCV-infected, and all 4 mothers had HIV VL <1000 at hospital discharge after delivery. CONCLUSIONS HCV MTCT among HIV/HCV-coinfected women with well-controlled HIV disease may be lower than reported in other coinfected populations. Studies with longer infant follow-up are needed.
Deliberate Practice Using Simulation Improves Neonatal Resuscitation Performance

Introduction: Simulation will soon become the standard method of training in the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP). Deliberate practice (DP) using simulation has been shown to improve performance in other areas of medicine. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of DP using simulation on improving NRP performance. Methods: Using a pretest-posttest design, 15 teams of 2 residents participated in a series of 3 NRP simulations followed by a facilitated debriefing. Objective measures of NRP performance and time to complete critical tasks were evaluated on the first (pretest) and the third (posttest) simulations by blinded video review using a validated scoring instrument. Results: Improvements were seen in scores for overall NRP performance (pretest 82.5% vs. posttest 92.5%, mean difference 10% [95% CI, 1.5–18.5]; P = 0.024) and positive-pressure ventilation (pretest 73.3% vs. posttest 95.0%, mean difference 21.7% [95% CI, 0.8–42.5]; P = 0.043). Time to the vascular access decreased by over 1 minute from baseline (pretest 404 second vs. posttest 343 second, mean difference −60.3 second [95% CI, −119.6 to −0.9]; P = 0.047) as did the time to first IV medication (pretest 452 second vs. posttest 387 second, mean difference −64.9 second [95% CI, −112.4 to −17.5]; P = 0.011). Conclusions: Our results suggest that DP using simulation is associated with improvements in NRP performance and support the use of DP using simulation in NRP training.
In Vivo Administration of Mycobacterial Cord Factor (Trehalose 6,6′-Dimycolate) Can Induce Lung and Liver Granulomas and Thymic Atrophy in Rabbits

ABSTRACT Trehalose 6,6′-dimycolate (TDM) is a cell surface molecule ofMycobacterium tuberculosis. TDM induced a loss of body weight and prominent granulomas in the liver and lungs by the intravenous injection of TDM into rabbits. TDM also induced atrophy of the thymus and spleen due to apoptosis. By contrast, sulfolipid (2,3,6,6′-tetraacyl trehalose 2′-sulfate) induced neither toxicity, nor granuloma formation, nor atrophy of the thymus and spleen. In rabbits the histopathological changes were more dramatic than in mice. The rabbit model may be more sensitive and may provide more information on the beneficial or pathological effects of TDM.
Managerial Optimism, Prior Period Sales Changes, and Sticky Cost Behavior

The traditional view of cost accounting assumes that costs are solely driven by the magnitude of changes in the level of activity. However, Anderson, Banker and Janakiraman (2003) (hereafter ABJ), argue that since costs are a manifestation of managers’ deliberate decision-making, they are also affected by the direction of change in the activity. They show that costs decrease less when activity levels decline than they rise when activity levels increase, which they refer to as the ‘sticky’ behavior of costs. In this paper we explore the role of managers’ optimism in the theory describing managerial decisions regarding capacity of activity resources that lead to costs. We consider changes in SG&A costs to infer how managers make capacity decisions in response to sales changes witnessed in current and prior periods. We analyze signals, such as consecutive changes in the same direction, order backlogs and GDP growth, that managers may utilize in judging future demand uncertainty. When the signals point towards greater optimism about future demand, we predict and find that this accentuates cost changes in the upward direction and slows changes in the downward direction. Specifically, we find that the direction of the ABJ predictions is reversed when sales have declined in the prior periods.