Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Subclinical Sensory Abnormalities in Trigeminal Neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia is considered as a paroxysmal single nerve phenomenon. Abnormal sensory perception has been previously described in 15-25% of patients with clinical examination. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) was used to evaluate sensory perception in patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN). Nine patients and 10 normal control subjects were evaluated in all six trigeminal branches. QST abnormalities were found in the symptomatic division and in the other two branches on the same side. Minor contralateral changes were also found. Differences consisted of cold and warm hypoaesthesia and higher cold and heat pain thresholds in patients. All differences proved statistically significant. Our findings suggest that trigeminal neuralgia is not only a paroxysmal single nerve disorder, but also that other higher structures may be involved.
Predictors of Remission From Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Prospective Study

In the first naturalistic, prospective study of the course of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), we examined predictors of remission in 161 subjects over 1 year of follow-up. Data were obtained on clinical characteristics at the intake interview and weekly BDD symptom severity over 1 year using the Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation. More severe BDD at intake, longer BDD duration, and the presence of a comorbid personality disorder predicted a lower likelihood of partial or full remission from BDD. BDD remission was not predicted by gender; race/ethnicity; socioeconomic status; being an adult versus an adolescent; age of BDD onset; delusionality of BDD symptoms; or the presence at intake of major depression, a substance use disorder, social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, or an eating disorder. Receipt of mental health treatment or nonmental health treatment (e.g., surgery, dermatologic treatment) during the follow-up year also did not predict remission from BDD.
Investigating the permanent electric dipole moment of β‐lactoglobulin fibrils, using transient electric birefringence

Amyloid fibrils, which are polymeric assemblies of protein molecules, have been intensively studied on a structural level, yet due to complications such as the disorder within the molecules, several aspects of their structure remain mysterious. Similarly, the kinetics of assembly are not well understood. Here we investigate the electric dipole moment of β‐lactoglobulin fibrils, a model amyloid fibril system, by applying the technique of transient electric birefringence. This moment appears to be large, and comparable to the total moment of the constituent protein monomers if they were joined in a chain, head‐to‐tail, without changing conformation, suggesting an ordered joining of monomers in the fibril. Such an ordered assembly may have implications for the assembly mechanism of β‐lactoglobulin fibrils in particular, and amyloid fibrils in general. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 82: 241–252, 2006
Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I and Binding Proteins 1, 2, and 3 in Bovine Nuclear Transfer Pregnancies1

Abstract In cloned pregnancies, placental deficiencies, including increased placentome size, reduced placentome number, and increased accumulation of allantoic fluid, have been associated with low cloning efficiency. To assess differences in paracrine and endocrine growth regulation in cloned versus normal bovine placentomes and pregnancies, we have examined the expression of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and -II and their binding proteins (IGFBP)-1 through -3 in placentomes of artificially inseminated (AI), in vitro-produced (IVP), and nuclear transfer (NT) pregnancies at Days 50, 100, and 150 of gestation. Fetal, maternal, and binucleate cell counts in representative placentomes were performed on Days 50–150 of gestation in all three groups. Increased numbers of fetal, maternal, and binucleate cells were present in NT placentomes at all stages of gestation examined. Immunolocalization studies showed that spatial and temporal patterns of expression of IGFBP-2 and -3 were markedly altered in the placentomes of NT pregnancies compared to AI/IVP controls. Concentrations of IGF-I in fetal plasma, as determined by RIA, were significantly higher (P = 0.001) in NT pregnancies (mean ± SEM, 30.3 ± 2.3 ng/ml) compared with AI (19.1 ± 5.5 ng/ml) or IVP (24.2 ± 2.5 ng/ml) pregnancies on Day 150 of gestation. Allantoic fluid levels of IGFBP-1 were also increased in NT pregnancies. These findings suggest that endocrine and paracrine perturbations of the IGF axis may modulate placental dysfunction in NT pregnancies. Furthermore, increased cell numbers in NT placentomes likely have significant implications for fetomaternal communication and may contribute to the placental overgrowth observed in the NT placentomes.
Modification of electron velocity distribution in bounded plasmas by secondary electron emission

A particle-in-cell code has been developed for simulations of plasmas of Hall thruster discharges. The simulated system is a plasma slab bounded by dielectric walls with secondary electron emission. An external, accelerating electric field directed parallel to the walls and an external magnetic field directed normal to the walls are applied. The strongly anisotropic non-Maxwellian electron velocity distribution function is obtained in simulations. The average energy of electron motion parallel to the walls is defined by collisional heating in the accelerating electric field. This energy is much higher than the average energy of electron motion normal to the walls, which is determined by the energy of electrons produced in ionization and by scattering of electrons by neutral atoms. The electron distribution function for velocity components normal to the walls is depleted for energies above the near-wall plasma potential. The effects of Coulomb collisions on the electron velocity distribution function and electron wall losses are studied
Stress: Pregnancy Considerations

Abstract Stress-induced pregnancy complications represent a significant cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality due to preterm labor, low-birth-weight babies, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and neuropsychological developmental delays of affected offspring. Psychosocial factors such as socioeconomic status, work status, marital status, level of education, access to prenatal care, substance abuse, ethnicity, cultural background, and quality of relationships with partners and parents have been identified as determinants of stress during pregnancy. The biopsychosocial model of health and disease aptly explains the interactions of these psychosocial factors in the genesis of stress-induced pregnancy complications. Prenatal screening and intervention for relevant biopsychosocial risk factors may be useful in preventing stress-related perinatal complications. Target Audience: Obstetricians and gynecologists, family physicians Learning Objectives: After completing this CME activity, physicians should be better able to describe how stress is manifested biologically, discuss stress and its impact from the biopsychosocial model of health and disease, recognize how stress may lead to pregnancy complications such as preterm labor, preeclampsia, and low-birth-weight infants, explain how stress may impact the neuropsychological development of children whose mothers experienced perinatal stress, and demonstrate how prenatal screening and appropriate interventions may reduce perinatal stress and associated pregnancy complications.
Do Manufacturing Firms Benefit from Services FDI? – Evidence from Six New EU Member States

This paper focuses on the effect of foreign presence in the services sector on the productivity growth of downstream customers in the manufacturing sector in six EU new member countries in the course of their accession to the European Union. For this purpose, the analysis combines firm-level information, data on economic structures and annual national input-output tables. The findings suggest that services FDI may enhance productivity of manufacturing firms in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries through vertical forward spillovers, and thereby contribute to their competitiveness. The consideration of firm characteristics shows that the magnitude of spillover effects depends on size, ownership structure, and initial productivity level of downstream firms as well as on the diverging technological intensity across sector on the supply and demand side. The results suggest that services FDI foster productivity of domestic rather than foreign controlled firms in the host economy. For the period between 2003 and 2008, the findings suggest that the increasing share of services provided by foreign affiliates enhanced the productivity growth of domestic firms in manufacturing by 0.16%. Furthermore, the firms' absorptive capability and the size reduce the spillover effect of services FDI on the productivity of manufacturing firms. A sectoral distinction shows that firms at the end of the value chain experience a larger productivity growth through services FDI, whereas the aggregate positive effect seems to be driven by FDI in energy supply. This does not hold for science-based industries, which are spurred by foreign presence in knowledge-intensive business services.
Market orientation in service

The association between economic development and growth of the service sector seems indisputable. Although it is necessary to highlight that services are of a different nature from that of products, nowadays the latter are more and more penetrated by complementary services, given the circumstance that services themselves also include, occasionally, the use and consumption of products. Market orientation had been developed mainly in association with tangible products; therefore it is necessary to carry out a study where the evolution of the market orientation is reflected in the service sector independently from industrial sectors. That is why a historical summary of the evolution of market orientation on the service sector has been performed.
Root Hair Deformation Activity of Nodulation Factors and Their Fate on Vicia sativa

We used a semiquantitative root hair deformation assay for Vicia sativa (vetch) to study the activity of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv viciae nodulation (Nod) factors. Five to 10 min of Nod factor-root interaction appears to be sufficient to induce root hair deformation. The first deformation is visible within 1 h, and after 3 h about 80% of the root hairs in a small susceptible zone of the root are deformed. This zone encompasses root hairs that have almost reached their maximal size. The Nod factor accumulates preferentially to epidermal cells of the young part of the root, but is not restricted to the susceptible zone. In the interaction with roots, the glucosamine backbone of Nod factors is shortened, presumably by chitinases. NodRlv-IV(C18:4,Ac) is more stable than NodRlv-V(C18:4,Ac). No correlation was found between Nod factor degradation and susceptibility. Degradation occurs both in the susceptible zone and in the mature zone. Moreover, degradation is not affected by NH4NO3 and is similar in vetch and in the nonhost alfalfa (Medicago sativa).
Firm volatility and exports

This paper looks at the relationship between trade openness and sales volatility at the firm level. The analysis builds on a two-country monopolisitic competition model of trade in which firms face demand uncertainty on their domestic and export markets as well as convex costs of production in the short run. The paper has three main conclusions, which I test empirically using the Amadeus dataset for France between 1997 and 2006. First, exporting firms substitute sales in the short run between their domestic and export markets. A firm facing a positive demand shock on its domestic market and no change in demand on the export market will reduce its exports in order to sell more on the domestic market. This eect is empirically robust to a variety of controls. Second, the higher the openness level of an exporter, the higher the volatility of its domestic sales and the lower the volatility of its exports. It is a direct consequence of the market substitution highlighted above and appears quantitatively important. Third, the global sales of firms which export less than 25% of their output are less volatile than these of comparable non-exporters.
A Rare Case of Invasive Breast Lobular Carcinoma Overexpressing Her 2 Corresponding

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) appears to have distinctive clinical and biologic characteristics compared with Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), as the overexpression of HER2. The association of HER2 positive phenotype with classical ILC is very rare, therefore we present an atypical case of classical ILC overexpressing HER2 in immunohistochemical study (Hercept test HER2 3+). We describe the case, and propose a literature review of HER2 phenotype positive in ILC breast cancer.
A Comparison of Male-Female Household Headship and Agricultural Production in Marginal Areas of Rachuonyo and Homa Bay District, Kenya

Studies on agricultural production and gender are full of contradictions as to whether female farmers are less productive than male farmers even under similar production systems and environments. The objective of this paper was to assess and compare the agricultural production differences of the male and female headed households in marginal areas bordering Lake Victoria region. A sample of 125 farmers surveyed during feasibility study of smallholder irrigation scheme in Rachuonyo and Homa Bay district was used for the study. The study compared demographic, socio-economic and agricultural production characteristics of male- and female- headed households using t-ratios. The study revealed that female heads of households were significantly less educated, owned and cultivated smaller land parcels, used fewer family labour in the farm but more external labour as compared to male headed households which formed 54% of the sample. Female-headed households were less efficient in agricultural production as they produced about half the production of male-headed households and disposed 38% of the produce in the local market with negative implications on both household food security and commercialization of agriculture. The study concluded that female-headed households need to be specifically targeted with specific programmes that will reduce low production trap by increasing farm productivity through provision of cheap agricultural credits and/ or subsidies. The government should pursue policies that expand rural economies that will discourage temporary male out- migration to urban centres which is the main source of de-facto female headship.
The Interactions between Direct and Securitized Infrastructure Investments and Its Relationship to Real Estate

The importance of infrastructure as an alternative asset has emerged significantly in recent years. Based on a novel dataset, this paper investigates the long-run relationships and short-run dynamics between direct and securitized infrastructure returns and the relationsship to the relevant real estate indices. Based on a cointegration analysis, we are able to detect the existence of a long-run relationship between direct and securitized infrastructure driven by a common underlying infrastructure business factor. This result implies that investors are not able to realize long-term portfolio diversification benefits by allocating funds to both direct and securitized infrastructure, since they are substitutable over the long run. However, in the short run indirect infrastructure is driven by the general stock market and follows the direct infrastructure market - a status (similar in particular to the “pre-Reit era”), which might reflect the lack of segmentation and focus of listed infrastructure companies. Furthermore, we are unable to investigate the relationship between direct infrastructure and direct real estate returns, either in the short run or long run - a result which contradicts to the assumption of infrastructure as being a subset of or substitute for real estate.
Consumer perspectives on mobile advertising and marketing

Abstract Mobile marketing is set to make a big impact in Australia. However, experience from the use ofemail for marketing purposes demonstrates that there are a number of pitfalls that companies canfall into and which consumers react badly to. The paper examines various theoretical approachesthat can be used to investigate effective m-marketing strategies. We use an adapted version of theunified view of user acceptance of IT to determine the factors that impact on the intention toparticipate in m-marketing. A survey of mobile phone users shows that consumers view thebenefits of m-marketing as saving money, saving time and providing useful information.Consumers think that granting permission is an important factor in a decision to participate in m-marketing. In addition, financial incentives can substantially improve the level of participation. Itwould appear that the effort and time involved in processing m-marketing messages are notimportant factors in the decision to participate in m-marketing schemes.Keywords: Mobile commerce, short messaging services, mobile marketing
Sentiment and volatility in the UK stock market

This thesis decomposes the UK market volatility into short- and long-run components using the EGARCH component model and examines the cross-sectional prices of the two components. The empirical results suggest that these two components are significantly priced in the cross-section and the negative risk premia are consistent with the existing literature. However, the ICAPM model in this paper using market excess return and two volatility components as state variables is inferior to the traditional three-factor model. Therefore, investor sentiment is augmented to the EGARCH component model to analyse the impacts of sentiment on market excess return and the components of market volatility. Bullish sentiment leads to higher market excess return while bearish sentiment leads to lower excess return. The sentiment-augmented EGARCH component model compares favourably to the original EGARCH component model which does not take investor sentiment into account. The sentiment-affected volatility components are significantly negatively priced in the cross-section. This paper explores the cross-sectional impacts of market sentiment on stock returns and reveals that the sensitivities of investor sentiment vary monotonically with certain firm characteristics in the cross-section. The analysis suggests that investor sentiments forecast the returns of portfolios that consist of buying stock with high values of a characteristic and selling stock with low values. A sentiment risk factor is constructed to capture the average return differences between stocks most exposed to sentiment and stocks least exposed to sentiment. The two-stage Fama-MacBeth procedure suggests that the sentiment risk factor is significantly priced in the cross-section.
Laboratory Diagnosis of Malaria: Comparison of Manual and Automated Diagnostic Tests

Malaria is the second most prevalent disease in Pakistan resulting in ~30,000 annual deaths. In endemic countries like Pakistan precise and timely diagnosis of malaria is imperative to overcome the associated risks of fatal outcomes. Malarial parasite was screened in 128 malaria suspected patients and 150 healthy controls, by species-specific PCR, microscopy of blood smears, hemoanalyzer Sysmex XE-2100, and rapid test devices (First Response Malaria® and ICT Malaria Combo®). The microscopy detected MP in 126 samples (parasite load/µl 386–53712/µl); 71.094% were infected with Plasmodium vivax and 14.844% with P. falciparum while 14.062% had mixed P. vivax and P. falciparum infection. The mean parasite load for P. vivax and P. falciparum was 14496/µl and 24410/µl, respectively. The abnormal scattergrams of DIFF, WBC/ Baso, IMI channel, and RET-EXT on Sysmex XE-2100 supported 99.2% parasite detection, whereas only 93% of confirmed malaria cases were detected by both rapid tests. About 127 samples were positive by PCR. Since Sysmex XE-2100 automatically detected the presence of malarial parasite with high sensitivity, it can be a good option for presumptive diagnosis in endemic areas. Microscopy remains the gold standard to confirm MP in suspected patients. Rapid diagnostic tests have acceptable sensitivity and specificity.
Association of the R485K polymorphism of the Factor V gene with poor response to activated protein C and increased risk of coronary artery disease in the Chinese population

Inherited predisposition to thrombosis contributes to the initiation and progression of coronary artery disease (CAD). The present study was designed to explore the relationship between genetic variation of coagulation factor V and occurrence of CAD. A total of 141 unrelated patients with CAD and 175 healthy controls were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction‐denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR‐DGGE) for variation detection in all 25 exons of the factor V gene. Among the study subjects, 55 CAD patients and 73 controls were evaluated at random for response to activated protein C (APC) by Coatest APC resistance test. Polymorphisms in exon 4, 10, 13 and 16 of factor V gene were documented [642G→T(S156), 1628→A(R485K), 4070A→G(H1299R) and 5380G→A(V1736M), respectively]. The study also identified a novel polymorphism 327A→G in exon 2 which did not alter the amino acid residue. Leiden mutation (R506Q) was not detected in any of our 316 subjects. Among the five polymorphisms, the allele frequency of 1628G→A was significantly different between the CAD patients and the controls (0.36 vs. 0.21, p<0.05). Subjects homozygous or heterozygous for the A allele of 1628G→A polymorphism had lower normalized APC ratios than those with the GG genotype in the CAD group (1.16±0.13 and 1.18±0.23 vs. 1.36±0.33, p<0.05) and in the controls, indicating that A1628 allele was associated with a poor response to APC. We conclude that the 1628G→A (R485K) polymorphism of factor V is associated with a poor response to APC and increased risk for CAD.
Adaptive Fault-Tolerant Control for Nonlinear System With Unknown Control Directions Based on Fuzzy Approximation

This paper focuses mainly on the approximation-based fuzzy adaptive fault-tolerant control problem for nonlinear systems with unmodeled dynamics and unknown control directions. With the Nussbaum gain technique and a dynamic signal introduced, the difficulties from the unknown control directions and unmodeled dynamics are successfully overcome. Then, by taking advantage of the adaptive fuzzy control method and backstepping technology, we develop a fuzzy adaptive failure compensation control strategy and guarantee the semi-global boundedness for all signals. A simulation example is carried out to demonstrate the validity of the theoretical findings.