Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anti-VEGF receptor-2 monoclonal antibody prevents portal-systemic collateral vessel formation in portal hypertensive mice.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Portal hypertension is a frequent syndrome that develops in patients with chronic liver diseases, which are one of the most common causes of death in adults worldwide. The most serious clinical consequences of portal hypertension are related to the development of portal-systemic collateral vessels. Those include hepatic encephalopathy and massive bleeding from ruptured gastroesophageal varices. The high relevance of these collateral vessels prompted us to investigate the mechanism underlying its formation in a murine model of portal hypertension. METHODS To determine whether the development of portal-systemic collateral vessels in portal hypertension is a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-dependent angiogenic process, we assessed the effects of a monoclonal antibody against VEGF receptor-2 on the formation of these collateral vessels in mice with portal hypertension induced by partial portal vein ligation. We also studied the effects of a selective and specific inhibitor of VEGF receptor-2 autophosphorylation in partial portal vein-ligated rats. RESULTS A significant and marked inhibition in the formation of portal-systemic collateral vessels was observed in both partial portal vein-ligated mice and rats treated with anti-VEGF receptor-2 monoclonal antibodies or with the inhibitor of VEGF receptor-2 autophosphorylation, respectively, compared with animals receiving control solutions. CONCLUSIONS Our present study shows that formation of collateral vessels is an angiogenesis-dependent process that can be markedly inhibited by blockade of the VEGF signaling pathway. These findings will make angiogenesis a focal point of research in portal hypertension and may lead to novel approaches for therapy of patients with chronic liver diseases.
Reynolds number effects on scale energy balance in wall turbulence

The scale energy budget utilizes a modified version of the classical Kolmogorov equation of wall turbulence to develop an evolution equation for the second order structure function [R. J. Hill, “Exact second-order structure-function relationships,” J. Fluid Mech. 468, 317 (2002)]. This methodology allows for the simultaneous characterization of the energy cascade and spatial fluxes in turbulent shear flows across the entire physical domain as well as the range of scales. The present study utilizes this methodology to characterize the effects of Reynolds number on the balance of energy fluxes in turbulent channel flows. Direct numerical simulation data in the range Reτ = 300–934 are compared to previously published results at Reτ = 180 [N. Marati, C. M. Casciola, and R. Piva, “Energy cascade and spatial fluxes in wall turbulence,” J. Fluid Mech. 521, 191 (2004)]. The present results show no Reynolds number effects in the terms of the scale energy budget in either the viscous sublayer or buffer regions of t.
Loss of heterozygosity in multistage carcinogenesis of esophageal carcinoma at high-incidence area in Henan Province, China.

AIM Microsatellites are the repeated DNA sequences scattered widely within the genomes and closely linked with many important genes. This study was designed to characterize the changes of microsatellite DNA loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in esophageal carcinogenesis. METHODS Allelic deletions in 32 cases of matched precancerous, cancerous and normal tissues were examined by syringe microdissection under an anatomic microscope and microsatellite polymorphism analysis using 15 polymorphic markers on chromosomes 3p, 5q, 6p, 9p, 13q, 17p, 17q and 18q. RESULTS Microsatellite DNA LOH was observed in precancerous and cancerous tissues, except D9S1752. The rate of LOH increased remarkably with the lesions progressed from basal cell hyperplasia (BCH) to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (P<0.05). Three markers, D9S171, D13S260 and TP53, showed the highest incidence of LOH (>60%). LOH loci were different in precancerous and cancerous tissues. LOH in D3S1234 and TP53 was the common event in different lesions from the same patients. CONCLUSION Microsatellite DNA LOH occurs in early stage of human esophageal carcinogenesis, even in BCH. With the lesion progressed, gene instability increases, the accumulation of this change may be one of the important mechanisms driving precancerous lesions to cancer.
Long-term continuous exposure to static magnetic field reduces popolysaccharide-induced cytotoxicity of fibroblasts

Purposes: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is one of the major substances initiating the immune host response in microbial infections that results in cytotoxicity. In terms of treatment of the immune response, research has been conducted on physical environments that can reduce LPS-induced damage. In this experiment, a long-term continuous static magnetic field (SMF) was used as a physical resource to reduce LPS-induced immune host response. Materials and methods: Cultured fibroblasts were challenged with LPS to initiate an inflammatory reaction. Cell viability and various proinflammatory cytokine levels were detected and compared between SMF and sham-exposed groups. Results: Our in vitro study revealed that, with LPS challenge, fibroblasts continuously exposed to a 0.4-T SMF for 12 h demonstrated higher cell viability compared to unexposed analogs. From cytokine test, the levels of LPS-induced interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the SMF-exposed groups were significantly lower relative to their unexposed counterparts (p < 0.05). By contrast, SMF exposure tended to increase the level of LPS-induced IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) and IL-6. Conclusions: Our results suggest that SMF stimulation inhibits LPS-induced cytotoxicity through reduction of proinflammatory cytokines and increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines of NIH-3T3 cells.
Recent changes in heterosexual attitudes norms and behaviors among unmarried Thai men: a qualitative analysis.

Contexte: L'importance du risque d'infection a VIH a donne lieu a une transformation radicale de l'initiation sexuelle des jeunes hommes thailandais. Les glissements d'attitudes et d'attentes a la base de ce changement comportemental ne sont pas clairs. Methodes: Des interviews en profondeur de 10 jeunes hommes ont permis d'explorer l'evolution recente du contexte social des relations heterosexuelles masculines en Thailande. L'evolution des idees est examinee quant au caractere approprie et a la disponibilite de relations sexuelles commerciales et non commerciales et quant a l'importance de l'usage du preservatif lors de differents types de rencontres sexuelles. L'observation de directives d'interview standard et les codage et analyse systematiques des transcriptions facilitent la comparaison de ces questions d'un cas a l'autre. Resultats: Face, en grande partie, a la peur du SIDA, certains jeunes Thailandais au moins repoussent les efforts de leurs amis aines cherchant a les initier aux modeles traditionnels de la sexualite, caracterises par une forte consommation d'alcool suivie d'une visite en groupe dans une maison de prostitution. Certains participants signalent l'existence d'occasions de relations sexuelles avec leurs homologues feminines. Ces occasions semblent mener les hommes comme les femmes a reevaluer les modeles traditionnels de l'expression sexuelle masculine. Conclusions: Il faut tenir compte du contexte changeant des premiers comportements sexuels des hommes dans l'elaboration des programmes visant a reduire la propagation du VIH et des autres MST dans le cadre des relations sexuelles commerciales, quasi-commerciales et non commerciales.
Free Cash Flow and R&D Productivity

This paper finds that free cash flow reduces the efficiency with which firms’ convert R&D investment into innovative output. This negative relation is robust to numerous controls, firm fixed effects, and endogeneity concerns. The negative association observed for the average firm is not driven by managerial empire building incentives, but rather by the misalignment of incentives between research employees and corporate shareholders. Further analysis reveals that the relation is sensitive to financing frictions, with free cash flow induced R&D investment being less productive and being valued more negatively primarily amongst financially unconstrained firms. These results highlight that agency conflicts between employees and shareholders are prevalent in the innovation process, with these conflicts being exacerbated by the availability of internal resources.
Global Collaborative Patents

We study the prevalence and traits of global collaborative patents for U.S. public companies, where the inventor team is located both within and outside of the United States. Collaborative patents are frequently observed when a corporation is entering into a new foreign region for innovative work, especially in settings where intellectual property protection is weak. We also connect collaborative patents to the ethnic composition of the firm’s U.S. inventors and cross-border mobility of inventors within the firm. The inventor team composition has important consequences for how the new knowledge is exploited within and outside of the firm.
Psychiatric comorbidity assessed in Korean children and adolescents who screen positive for Internet addiction.

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate clinical comorbidity in children and adolescents with Internet addiction by using structured interview. METHOD The study was performed in 2 stages. We screened for the presence of Internet addiction among 455 children (mean +/- SD age = 11.0 +/- 0.9 years) and 836 adolescents (mean +/- SD age = 15.8 +/- 0.8 years) using Young's Internet Addiction Scale. These subjects also completed a measure of psychopathology for comparison between addicted and nonaddicted subjects. Sixty-three children (13.8%) and 170 adolescents (20.3%) screened positive for Internet addiction. Of these, 12 children (male, N = 9; female, N = 3) and 12 adolescents (male, N = 11; female, N = 1) were randomly selected for evaluation of current psychiatric diagnoses. Structured interviews used were K-SADS-PL-K for children and SCID-IV for adolescents. Data were collected and interviews were conducted from August 2003 through October 2004. RESULTS In the child group, 7 were diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) not otherwise specified including those with subthreshold levels. Mean DuPaul's ADHD Rating Scale scores were more than 20% higher than the mean in Korean children for 6 subjects. In the adolescent group, 3 subjects had major depressive disorder, 1 had schizophrenia, and 1 had obsessive-compulsive disorder. CONCLUSION By structured interview, we found that Internet-addicted subjects had various comorbid psychiatric disorders. The most closely related comorbidities differ with age. Though we can not conclude that Internet addiction is a cause or consequence of these disorders, clinicians must consider the possibility of age-specific comorbid psychiatric disorders in cases of Internet addiction.
The Co-creation of Animal-based Tourism Experience

The purpose of this research note is to present some reflections on the role of animals in animal-based tourism experiences. It is inspired by those tourism studies concerning the conceptualization of animals and human-animal relationships (e.g., Curtin 2005, 2009, 2010; Woods 2000; Cohen 2012). Some of these studies qualify the domain in which encounters between the tourists and the animals occur as the place where humanity and animality meet. Thus, these encounters are viewed as particularly complex and meaningful. Although these studies concern wildlife tourism, it can reasonably be assumed that similar considerations are valid for any form of tourism that includes animals. This study focuses on the case of domesticated animals. People who live in close contact with domesticated animals tend to view them from the perspective of both their animality and also their individual subjectivity (Fox 2006). This observation can be relevant to those tourism activities that involve domesticated animals (e.g., dog sledding, equine tourism). Although the studies mentioned at the beginning of this section can be viewed as a sign of recognition by some tourism scholars of animals as important elements of the tourism experience, the dominant position in the literature seems to be characterized by a view of animals as rather passive elements. This study proposes a conceptualization of human-animal encounters focused on the central and active role played by the animals. Moreover, it is proposed that tourism experiences in which the tourists can interact closely with one or more animals can be viewed as encounters among subjects. The point of departure is the co-creation approach to the tourism experience.
The Role of Relationship Investment in Relationship Marketing in Nonprofit Organizations

This study analyzes the role of relationship marketing investments for organizations in establishing relations with donors, through the mediating variables of trust, relationship commitment and donorâ€™s gratitude. Relationship investment and efforts made by organizations to establish relationships with partners was instrumental in realizing the long-term relationship. This research was conducted on philanthropy organizations in Indonesia, with 507 donor respondents. By using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the analysis shows that relationship marketing investment had a significant effect on commitment and gratitude, but not significant effect on trust. Relaionship Marketing Investment effect trust indirectly through the gratitude variable. The effect of gratitude is not significant on intention of donors to redonate in philanthropy organizations. The gratitude variable seems to effect intention to redonate indirectly, through a mediating variable, trust. So donorâ€™s gratitude has a direct effect on trust, and trust has a direct effect on relationship commitment. Trust and commitment have a significant effect on intention of donors to redonate. Overall, telationship marketing investment plays an important role on the relation between philanthropy organizations and donors, through the strategic role of trust and relationship commitment variables
A Study on Empowerment of Rural Women Through Microcredit Facilities in Sri Lanka

This study seeks to examine the impact of micro credit facilities on women empowerment in the context of the great importance being given to the entrepreneurs. Access to credit can help women by enabling them to start and expand small businesses, often accompanied by market access. This study has the research problem — whether the micro credit facilitates in empowering women entrepreneurs in the rural areas of Sri Lanka. Therefore, the study has the primary objective to identify the impact of micro credit on empowerment and the sub to assess the relationship among them. The study adopts a causal survey research design through which 337 members of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the study area of Northern Province in Sri Lanka were selected using stratified random sampling and data collected from them by using a structured questionnaire. Correlation and regression analysis has been used to find out the impact of micro credit facilities on empowerment of women entrepreneurs in the rural areas of Sri Lanka. Linear multiple regression analysis was used to determine the micro credit facilities that affect women empowerment by using SPSS. The model summary indicates that 10.9% of the variation in the women empowerment can be explained for the micro credit facilities and remaining 89.1% influencing by other factors, such as education, experience, income, etc. The study concluded that micro credit facilities alone do not support the entrepreneurs to enhance them and it makes the policy recommendations to guide development of micro credit facilities that are beneficial to the clients and other stakeholders of the MFI institutions.
The Prevalence of Celiac Disease in Children With Arterial Ischemic Stroke

Objective: The association between arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) and celiac disease (CD) has been described in only a few cases in adults and children. We aim to determine the prevalence of CD in children and adolescents with AIS. Study Design: We investigated serum levels of tissue transglutaminase antibody immunoglobulin (Ig)A and total IgA from 76 children with AIS and in a healthy control group of 102 children. Study participants who were positive for tissue transglutaminase IgA antibodies underwent a duodenal biopsy. Results: A total of 2 patients in the AIS group (2.26%) and 2 in the control group (1.96%) had positive serum tissue transglutaminase antibody (P=0.89; 95% confidence interval, −5.05 to 6.89). Duodenal biopsy confirmed CD in only 1 patient who had AIS. Conclusions: In the present study, children with acute arterial stroke did not exhibit a higher prevalence rate of CD compared with healthy controls. Therefore, the screening test for CD is not a necessary part of the management of AIS in children. However, cases of recurrent AIS could be examined for CD.
Common Factor Mechanisms in Clinical Practice and Their Relationship with Outcome.

UNLABELLED This study investigates three common factor mechanisms that could affect outcome in clinical practice: response expectancy, the affective expectation model and motivational concordance. Clients attending a gestalt therapy clinic (30 clients), a sophrology (therapeutic technique) clinic (33 clients) and a homeopathy clinic (31 clients) completed measures of expectancy and the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) before their first session. After 1 month, they completed PANAS and measures of intrinsic motivation, perceived effort and empowerment. Expectancy was not associated with better outcome and was no different between treatments. Although some of the 54 clients who endorsed highest expectations showed substantial improvement, others did not: 19 had no change or deteriorated in positive affect, and 18 had the same result for negative affect. Intrinsic motivation independently predicted changes in negative affect (β = -0.23). Intrinsic motivation (β = 0.24), effort (β = 0.23) and empowerment (β = 0.20) independently predicted positive affect change. Expectancy (β = -0.17) negatively affected changes in positive affect. Clients found gestalt and sophrology to be more intrinsically motivating, empowering and effortful compared with homeopathy. Greater improvement in mood was found for sophrology and gestalt than for homeopathy clients. These findings are inconsistent with response expectancy as a common factor mechanism in clinical practice. The results support motivational concordance (outcome influenced by the intrinsic enjoyment of the therapy) and the affective expectation model (high expectations can lead for some clients to worse outcome). When expectancy correlates with outcome in some other studies, this may be due to confound between expectancy and intrinsic enjoyment. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE Common factors play an important role in outcome. Intrinsic enjoyment of a therapeutic treatment is associated with better outcome. Active engagement with a therapeutic treatment improves outcome. Unrealistic expectations about a therapeutic treatment can have a negative impact on outcome.
Ultra-High-Dose Lanreotide Treatment in Patients with Metastatic Neuroendocrine Gastroenteropancreatic Tumors

Background: Symptomatic control and occasionally even tumor regression of functional neuroendocrine tumors (NET) of the gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) system can be achieved by somatostatin analogues. Assuming a dose-dependent antiproliferative effect of somatostatin analogues, we performed a study with the somatostatin analogue lanreotide in ultra-high dosages in patients with progressive, metastatic GEP NET. Patients and Methods: 30 patients with metastatic GEP NET, progressive during treatment with somatostatin analogues (≤1.5 mg/day) and/or interferon-α, underwent ultra-high-dose lanreotide therapy (5 mg lanreotide s.c. three times a day). Tumor growth was evaluated every 3 months. Serum chromogranin A, serum serotonin as well as urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acetic acid levels were also determined at 3-month intervals. In patients with functional tumors, tumor-related symptoms were documented. Results: After a 1-year treatment period with ultra-high-dose lanreotide, 1 complete and 1 partial remission were observed in patients with functional midgut NET. Eleven patients had stable disease and 11 patients showed continuing tumor growth after 3–12 months of treatment. Symptoms decreased significantly during therapy. Conclusions: Our data show that ultra-high-dose lanreotide treatment in patients with metastatic GEP NET can lead to control of both symptoms and proliferation in at least some patients refractory to conventional therapies.
Empirical Evidence from Canadian Firm-level Data on the Relationship Between Trade and Productivity Performance

Canada? s aggregate productivity performance has closely tracked changes in Canada? s trading environment. To gain a better understanding of the link, the Economic Analysis Division of Statistics Canada has conducted a set of studies that investigate whether and how changes in the trading environment, brought about by trade liberalization policies and exchange-rate movements, contributed to productivity growth. The firm-level analysis provides insights into the productivity dynamics that arise from within-industry growth and restructuring as resources are shifted from declining to growing industries. The paper provides an overview of the key Canadian empirical findings over the last two decades.
Role of Socio-Demographics in Segmenting and Profiling Green Consumers

Abstract Though green consumerism is on the rise, not all the consumers are equally green. To be able to more effectively market green products and ideas, marketers need to segment their market and use differentiated marketing approach for each target segment. Socio-demographic characteristics have been widely used in the past researches as a basis of market segmentation and profiling of green consumers. The present study explores the usefulness of select socio-demographic characteristics in capturing variations present in the environmental consciousness of the consumers in India. Both the univariate and multivariate analyses point to the presence of statistically significant linkages between the socio-demo-graphic characteristics and different environmental consciousness constructs, thus implying potential usefulness of these characteristics in profiling different segments of green consumers and evolving accordingly the green marketing strategies and environmental campaigns as capable of more effectively reaching and influencing the chosen green consumer segments.