Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The granular and fundamental components of export specialization

Countries' export specialization patterns are often caused by the behavior of very few firms. We propose an easy-to-implement methodology to decompose export specialization into fundamental comparative advantage (a country-specific component) and granular comparative advantage (a firm-specific component). We apply this methodology to analyze export specialization across countries and across regions within a country. In the country-level analysis, we find that, on average, granular comparative advantage leads to export specialization in 29% of industries, which account for 47% of total exports. We also show that 60% of the variation in export specialization across countries is explained by granular comparative advantage. The contribution of firms to export specialization is more important across regions within a country than across countries.
Identification of RNA Polymerase β′ Subunit Segment Contacting the Melted Region of the lacUV5 Promoter*

Identification of the RNA polymerase functional regions involved in interactions with promoter is a basis for understanding the mechanism of transcription initiation. We have used formaldehyde cross-linking to identify a region of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase β′ subunit contacting lacUV5 promoter in open complex. Treatment of open complex with formaldehyde results in cross-linking of β′ and ς70 subunits at positions −5 and −3 on the nontemplate strand of the promoter DNA. These cross-links reflect specific interactions between RNA polymerase and promoter established in open complex. The positions of formaldehyde cross-links in the β′ subunit were mapped to the N-terminal segment (Cys198–Met237), which is contiguous to the evolutionary conserved region B. The proximity of the β′ and ς cross-links suggest that the N-terminal region of the β′ subunit, interacting with single-stranded promoter DNA, can cooperate with the ς subunit in the process of open complex formation.
Longitudinal Teaching of Evidence-Based Decision Making

Objective. To determine whether longitudinal design and delivery of evidence-based decision making (EBDM) content was effective in increasing students’ knowledge, skills, and confidence as they progressed through a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum. Design. Three student cohorts were followed from 2005 to 2009 (n=367), as they learned about EBDM through lectures, actively researching case-based questions, and researching and writing answers to therapy-based questions generated in practice settings. Assessment. Longitudinal evaluations included repeated multiple-choice examinations, confidence surveys, and written answers to practice-based questions (clinical inquiries). Students’ knowledge and perception of EBDM principles increased over each of the 3 years. Students’ self-efficacy (10-items, p<0.0001) and perceived skills (7-items, p<0.0001) in applying EBDM skills to answer practice-based questions also increased. Graded clinical inquiries verified that students performed satisfactorily in the final 2 years of the program. Conclusions. This study demonstrated a successful integration of EBDM throughout the curriculum. EBDM can effectively be taught by repetition, use of real examples, and provision of feedback.
Energy expenditure and affect responses to different types of active video game and exercise

Background The purpose of this study was to compare entertainment-themed active video game (AVG) and fitness-themed AVG play with traditional exercise to examine the interaction between physiological and psychological responses. Methods Participants (N = 23) were randomly assigned to 30-min of (i) self-selected intensity exercise (SS-EX), (ii) moderate intensity exercise (MOD-EX), (iii) entertainment-themed video game (ET-VG) and (iv) fitness-themed video game (FT-VG). Physiological and psychological outcomes were recorded before, during and after each trial. Results All trials met the ACSM criteria for moderate or vigorous physical activity. The %V˙O2R (68.3±13.9%) and rate of energy expenditure (10.3±3.1kcal/min) was significantly higher in the SS-EX trial with lowest values reported for ET-VG (p<0.05). No differences were found in % heart rate reserve between SS-EX and FT-VG (66.9±12.5% and 67.1±6% respectively). The AVG’s were significantly more enjoyable than the exercise trials (p<0.05) and the ET-VG resulted in the highest core flow and psychological well-being (p<0.05). Conclusion AVG’s can elicit physiological responses that meet recommended exercise intensities but are more enjoyable than conventional exercise in young inactive adults. While further work is required, this study highlights the importance of examining the interaction between physiological outcomes and psychological states to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary time.
Two sides of the mirror: parents' and service providers' view on the family-centredness of care for children with cerebral palsy.

BACKGROUND In order to best meet the needs of both families and their children with cerebral palsy, many rehabilitation service providers have adopted a family-centred service (FCS) approach. In FCS parents are seen as experts on their child's needs, and the family and professionals collaborate in the rehabilitation process. However, parents and service providers might look at FCS from different points of view, i.e. look into the mirror from two different sides. The objective of this study was to explore the degree to which parents experience the service as being family-centred and to which extent the service providers experience their service provision as family-centred. METHODS A translated version of The Measure of Processes of Care 20 (MPOC-20) questionnaire was used to evaluate parents' experience of FCS, and a Measures of Processes of Care for Service Providers (MPOC-SP) questionnaire was used to evaluate the FCS provided by professionals. Parents visiting two university hospital neuropediatric wards (n= 67) during a 2-month period and who were willing to participate received the questionnaire. Also the service providers working on the same wards (n= 49) were invited to participate. RESULTS A total of 53 families and 29 service providers completed the questionnaires. Both parents and professionals generally rated the FCS positively. General information was rated lowest and respectful treatment the highest by both parents and professionals. The results revealed that written information about the child's condition, the possibility to choose when to receive information, and contact with other families in the same situation are areas in need of improvement. CONCLUSIONS The possibility to regularly evaluate services both from the families' and the professionals' perspectives should be part of quality development. Providing general information is a challenge for all service providers. The MPOC questionnaires can be used to highlight important areas of improvement in FCS.
Properties of connexin 46 hemichannels in dissociated lens fiber cells.

PURPOSE To characterize the properties of connexin 46 hemichannels in differentiating fiber cells isolated from mouse lenses. METHODS Differentiating fiber cells were isolated from mouse lenses using collagenase. Cellular localization of connexin 50 (Cx50) and connexin 46 (Cx46) was assessed by immunofluorescence. Membrane currents were recorded using whole cell patch clamping. Dye uptake was measured using time-lapse imaging. RESULTS In freshly dissociated fiber cells isolated from knockout Cx50 (KOCx50) mouse lenses, removal of external divalent cations induced a macroscopic current composed of large conductance channels. This current was reduced at a holding potential of -60 mV, activated on depolarization, and had a reversal potential near 0 mV. These properties were very similar to those of Cx46 hemichannel currents recorded in single Xenopus oocytes. If the currents observed in divalent cation-free Ringer's solution were due to Cx46 hemichannel opening, then dye influx by gap junctional/hemichannel permeable dyes should be measurable in the fiber cells. To measure dye influx, the authors used the positively charged dyes, propidium iodide (PrI) and 4'-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI). In the absence of external calcium, fiber cells took up both dyes. Furthermore, dye influx could be inhibited by hemichannel blockers. To confirm that this current was due to Cx46 hemichannels, the authors studied fiber cells isolated from the lenses of double knockout (Cx46(-/-); Cx50(-/-)) mice and demonstrated that both the calcium-sensitive conductance and dye influx were absent. CONCLUSIONS These results show that Cx46 can form functional hemichannels in the nonjunctional membrane of fiber cells.
Ehrlichia canis gp200 Contains Dominant Species-Specific Antibody Epitopes in Terminal Acidic Domains

ABSTRACT Species-specific antibody epitopes within several major immunoreactive protein orthologs of Ehrlichia species have recently been identified and molecularly characterized. In this study, dominant B-cell epitopes within the acidic (pI 5.35) ankyrin repeat-containing 200-kDa major immunoreactive protein (gp200) of Ehrlichia canis were defined. The E. canis gp200 gene (4,263 bp; 1,421 amino acids) was cloned and expressed as four (N-terminal, 1,107 bp; N-internal, 910 bp; C-internal, 1,000 bp; and C-terminal, 1,280 bp) overlapping recombinant proteins. The N-terminal, C-internal, and C-terminal polypeptides (369, 332, and 426 amino acids, respectively) were strongly recognized by antibody, and the major epitope(s) in these polypeptides was mapped to four polypeptide regions (40 to 70 amino acids). Smaller overlapping recombinant polypeptides (14 to 15 amino acids) spanning these regions identified five strongly immunoreactive species-specific epitopes that exhibited conformational dependence. The majority of the epitopes (four) were located in two strongly acidic (pI 4 to 4.9) domains in the distal N- and C-terminal regions of the protein flanking the centralized ankyrin domain-containing region. The amino acid content of the epitope-containing domains included a high proportion of strongly acidic amino acids (glutamate and aspartate), and these domains appear to have important biophysical properties that influence the antibody response to gp200.
On convergence rate for multi-agent consensus: A community detection algorithm

This paper considers the problem of improving the convergence rate for multi-agent consensus via a community detection algorithm used to divide the single layer topology into layers of connected subgraphs. This divided topological graph maintains the constraints of the original topological graph. Combining with the consensus protocol, community detection algorithm improves the convergence rate of multi-agent consensus effectively, and we propose a grouping improvement algorithm and a hierarchical grouping improvement algorithm to verify its feasibility.
Outcomes of clinical examination and genetic testing of 500 individuals with hearing loss evaluated through a genetics of hearing loss clinic

Hearing loss (HL) occurs in approximately 2 out of every 1,000 births and is genetic in origin in approximately 50% of cases. This high incidence coupled with the increasing number of genes implicated in HL and the trend toward universal newborn screening led to the establishment of the Genetics of Hearing Loss Clinic at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to manage the diagnosis, genetic screening, and counseling of families with an affected child. To date 500 individuals have been evaluated from 1999 to 2004. To determine the cause of their HL and screen for syndromic forms of HL, individuals were offered a panel of tests. Depending on the type and severity of the HL, recommendations included GJB2 mutation analysis, renal and thyroid function studies, a CT scan of the temporal bones, an ophthalmology evaluation, an EKG, and, at times, additional genetic tests. Of the 500 patients evaluated 70 (14%) had a syndromic etiology for their HL. Twenty‐eight different syndromic etiologies were identified. Enlarged vestibular aqueducts (EVAs) and/or Mondini malformations were seen in 18% of individuals with HL who had a CT or MRI of the temporal bones. Genetic testing of the GJB2 gene was completed for 310 of the 377 patients with bilateral sensorineural HL (82.2%). Nineteen different variants were identified in the GJB2 gene. Through GJB2 mutational analysis, clinical examination, and laboratory testing, a definitive etiologic diagnosis was established in 110/500 (22%) of patients. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Deep Regression Bayesian Network and Its Applications

Deep directed generative models have attracted much attention recently due to their generative modeling nature and powerful data representation ability. In this paper, we review different structures of deep directed generative models and the learning and inference algorithms associated with the structures. We focus on a specific structure that consists of layers of Bayesian Networks due to the property of capturing inherent and rich dependencies among latent variables. The major difficulty of learning and inference with deep directed models with many latent variables is the intractable inference due to the dependencies among the latent variables and the exponential number of latent variable configurations. Current solutions use variational methods often through an auxiliary network to approximate the posterior probability inference. In contrast, inference can also be performed directly without using any auxiliary network to maximally preserve the dependencies among the latent variables. Specifically, by exploiting the sparse representation with the latent space, max-max instead of max-sum operation can be used to overcome the exponential number of latent configurations. Furthermore, the max-max operation and augmented coordinate ascent are applied to both supervised and unsupervised learning as well as to various inference. Quantitative evaluations on benchmark datasets of different models are given for both data representation and feature learning tasks.
Hydrogen-Rich Saline Attenuates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Heart Dysfunction by Restoring Fatty Acid Oxidation in Rats by Mitigating C-Jun N-Terminal Kinase Activation

ABSTRACT Sepsis is common in intensive care units (ICU) and is associated with high mortality. Cardiac dysfunction complicating sepsis is one of the most important causes of this mortality. This dysfunction is due to myocardial inflammation and reduced production of energy by the heart. A number of studies have shown that hydrogen-rich saline (HRS) has a beneficial effect on sepsis. Therefore, we tested whether HRS prevents cardiac dysfunction by increasing cardiac energy. Four groups of rats received intraperitoneal injections of one of the following solutions: normal saline (NS), HRS, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and LPS plus HRS. Cardiac function was measured by echocardiography 8 h after the injections. Gene and protein expression related to fatty acid oxidation (FAO) were measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot analysis. The injection of LPS compromised heart function through decreased fractional shortening (FS) and increased left ventricular diameter (LVD). The addition of HRS increased FS, palmitate triphosphate, and the ratio of phosphocreatinine (PCr) to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as well as decreasing LVD. The LPS challenge reduced the expression of genes related to FAO, including perioxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1&agr;), perioxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR&agr;), Estrogen-related receptor alpha (ERR&agr;), and their downstream targets, in mRNA and protein level, which were attenuated by HRS. However, HRS had little effect on glucose metabolism. Furthermore, HRS inhibited c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation in the rat heart. Inhibition of JNK by HRS showed beneficial effects on LPS-challenged rats, at least in part, by restoring cardiac FAO.
School Interventions After the Joplin Tornado

Abstract Background/Objective To qualitatively describe interventions by schools to meet children's needs after the May 2011 Joplin, Missouri tornado. Methods Qualitative exploratory study conducted six months after the tornado. Key informant interviews with school staff (teachers, psychologists, guidance counselor, nurse, principal), public health official, and physicians. Report After the tornado, school staff immediately worked to contact every enrolled child to provide assistance and coordinate recovery services. Despite severe damage to half of the city's schools, the decision was made to reopen schools at the earliest possible time to provide a safe, reassuring environment and additional services. An expanded summer school session emphasized child safety and emotional wellbeing. The 2011-2012 school year began on time, less than three months after the disaster, using temporary facilities. Displaced children were bused to their usual schools regardless of their new temporary residence locations. In just-in-time training sessions, teachers developed strategies to support students and staff experiencing anxiety or depression. Certified counselors conducted school-based, small-group counseling for students. Selective referrals were made to community mental health providers for children with greatest needs. Conclusions Evidence from Joplin adds to a small body of empirical experience demonstrating the important contribution of schools to postdisaster community recovery. Despite timely and proactive services, many families and children struggled after the tornado. Improvements in the effectiveness of postdisaster interventions at schools will follow from future scientific evidence on optimal approaches. KanterRK, AbramsonD. School interventions after the Joplin tornado. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(2):1-4 .
Improving health and well-being independently of GDP: dividends of greener and prosocial economies

Increases in gross domestic product (GDP) beyond a threshold of basic needs do not lead to further increases in well-being. An explanation is that material consumption (MC) also results in negative health externalities. We assess how these externalities influence six factors critical for well-being: (i) healthy food; (ii) active body; (iii) healthy mind; (iv) community links; (v) contact with nature; and (vi) attachment to possessions. If environmentally sustainable consumption (ESC) were increasingly substituted for MC, thus improving well-being and stocks of natural and social capital, and sustainable behaviours involving non-material consumption (SBs-NMC) became more prevalent, then well-being would increase regardless of levels of GDP. In the UK, the individualised annual health costs of negative consumption externalities (NCEs) currently amount to £62 billion for the National Health Service, and £184 billion for the economy (for mental ill-health, dementia, obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes, loneliness and cardiovascular disease). A dividend is available if substitution by ESC and SBs-NMC could limit the prevalence of these conditions.
The diagnostic accuracy of high-resolution endoscopy, autofluorescence imaging and narrow-band imaging for differentially diagnosing colon adenoma.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS Conventional colonoscopy can result in unnecessary biopsy or endoscopic resection due to its inability to distinguish adenomas from hyperplastic polyps. This study therefore evaluated the efficacy of high-resolution endoscopy (HRE), autofluorescence imaging (AFI), and narrow-band imaging (NBI) in discriminating colon adenoma from hyperplastic polyps. PATIENTS AND METHODS This was a prospective multicenter study in patients undergoing AFI and NBI examinations. HRE, AFI, and NBI images were classified into two groups based on morphological characteristics, the predominant color intensities, and the visibility of meshed capillary vessels, respectively. Each of the endoscopic photographs were independently evaluated by a single endoscopist. The images were then assessed by three specialists and three residents, the latter having performed < 500 colonoscopies and < 30 NBI and AFI examinations. Diagnostic test statistics were calculated to compare the accuracy in differentiating colon adenoma from hyperplastic polyps for each method. RESULTS A total of 183 patients were enrolled in the study and 339 adenomas and 85 hyperplastic polyps were identified. AFI and NBI could distinguish adenoma from hyperplastic polyps with an accuracy of 84.9 % and 88.4 %, respectively, whereas HRE exhibited an accuracy of 75.9 %. In the 358 lesions in which the AFI diagnosis was consistent with that of NBI, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were high, at 91.9 %, 92.7 %, and 92.9 %, respectively. During the study comparing specialists and residents, AFI and NBI dramatically improved the diagnostic accuracy of residents from 69.1 % to 86.1 % and 84.7 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Both AFI and NBI are considered to be feasible tools that can discriminate colon adenoma from hyperplastic polyps, and their use may be particularly beneficial for less-experienced endoscopists.
Micro‐venous valves in the superficial veins of the human lower limb

It is commonly believed that venous valves are not present in veins smaller than 2 mm in diameter. Venous valves, however, have been identified recently in small veins in several regions of the body. This study was undertaken to determine the size distribution of venous valves in the human lower limb micro‐venous circulation. Vascular casts were made from six adult lower limbs and the sampled areas were viewed by scanning electron microscopy. In total, 2,376 valves were identified from 410 cm3 of subcutaneous tissue. The vast majority (94%) of the valves were in veins less than 300 μm in luminal diameter, with 65% of the valves present in venous channels less than 100 μm in luminal diameter. The smallest valves identified were present in venous channels 18 μm in diameter. All valves were bicuspid and often associated with a tributary. Endothelial cells on the vein wall not associated with a valve were fusiform and arranged parallel to the long axis of the vessel, however, the endothelial cells on the luminal and valve sinus surfaces of the cusp were more polyhedral in shape and showed no obvious pattern of alignment. This study provides direct evidence to show that small superficial veins of the human lower limb do contain abundant venous valves and, for the first time, shows that the majority of these valves are present within venous channels less than 100 μm in luminal diameter. Clin. Anat. 17:55–60, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Social communication skills in persons with post-acute traumatic brain injury: Three perspectives

Objective: To describe social communication skills problems identified by individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) compared to significant other (SO) and clinician ratings; and associations between these skills and participation outcome measures. Design: Cohort study. Methods: Sixty individuals with TBI ≥ 1 year post-injury were administered measures of social communication, societal participation, social integration and life satisfaction. Clinicians and SOs rated the social communication skills of the subjects. Results: Subjects were able to identify social communication skills problems, associated with lower ratings of community integration and satisfaction with life. Males reported higher scores in social communication and social integration than females. SOs and clinicians identified more social skills problems than subjects. Conclusions: Persons with TBI experience social communication skills deficits, associated with decreased societal participation and life satisfaction. Further research is needed to determine efficacy of social communication skills treatment and association with improved participation and satisfaction with life.