Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SLAVES TO THE WAGE?: THE EFFECT OF RISING HOUSEHOLD INDEBTEDNESS ON LABOR PROTECTIONS

The global economy has seen substantial changes since the era of market liberalization in the 1980’s that have formed the basis of the so-called Washington Consensus. An important result of more market-oriented policies has been the rapid rise in household indebtedness and of financialization of economies around the globe. Relying on a socialist rhetoric that is deeply rooted in classic Marxist theoretical considerations, where the asset holding bourgeoisie captures governments and exploits the working class, most commentators’ claims are falling short of explaining why an exploited working class would support such a political-economic system in the first place. In order to explain this paradoxical situation, I develop a theoretical framework building on recent findings within the literature on household financial decision making. I find that OECD countries with a higher level of household debt also show changes in household preferences as well as a change in aggregate labor market behavior. From a policy perspective, these findings indicate that changes in enhanced financial access (i.e. financialization) and subsequently rising household indebtedness may shift social dynamics such that they affect political institutions.
Self-motion and thea relaxation in a simulated glass-forming polymer: Crossover from Gaussian to non-Gaussian dynamic behavior

J. Colmenero, 1,2,3,* F. Alvarez, 1,2 and A. Arbe Departamento de Fı ́sica de Materiales, Universidad del Paı ́s Vasco UPV/EHU, Apartado 1072, 20080 San Sebastia ́n, Spain Unidad de Fı ́sica de Materiales (CSIC-UPV/EHU), Apartado 1072, 20080 San Sebastia ́n, Spain Donostia International Physics Center, Apartado 1072, 20080 San Sebastia ́n, Sp in ~Received 6 July 2001; revised manuscript received 10 December 2001; published 4 April 2002 !
Ocular anterior segment dysgenesis upon ablation of p120 catenin in neural crest cells.

PURPOSE Development of the ocular anterior segment depends largely on periocular mesenchyme cells, which are derived predominantly from neural crest cells (NCC). Specific and differential cell adhesion is expected to be instrumental in induction, migration, and differentiation of NCC. As p120 catenin (ctn) is an important component of cadherin-catenin cell adhesion complexes, we assessed its role in development of the anterior segment structure. METHODS We generated conditional p120ctn(fl/fl);Wnt1Cre knockout mice and studied the effect of this gene ablation on eye development in vivo. In addition, p120ctn was knocked down in vitro. RESULTS Wnt1Cre-mediated deletion of floxed p120ctn alleles in NCC resulted in serious ocular anterior segment dysgenesis (ASD), including iridocorneal angle closure, complete anterior chamber obliteration, iris and ciliary body hypoplasia, corneal malformation and opacity, and glaucoma-like defects. A completely penetrant phenotype was visible approximately three weeks after birth, but histologic defects were obvious at embryonal day 18.5 (E18.5). Neither migration of NCC nor expression of key transcription factors appeared to be affected. In contrast, the N-cadherin expression pattern was changed significantly in iridocorneal angle cells and corneal endothelium. A human trabecular meshwork cell line in which p120ctn was knocked down also showed decreased expression levels of N-cadherin and β-catenin at the plasma membrane, but no defect in cell migration. CONCLUSIONS p120ctn has a critical role in ocular mesenchyme development. Loss of p120ctn and the associated N-cadherin downregulation in NCC leads to ASD without affecting cell migration. p120ctn abnormalities might have a role in the pathophysiology of mammalian eye development.
EncSIM: An encrypted similarity search service for distributed high-dimensional datasets

Similarity-oriented services serve as a foundation in a wide range of data analytic applications such as machine learning, target advertising, and real-time decisions. Both industry and academia strive for efficient and scalable similarity discovery and querying techniques to handle massive, complex data records in the real world. In addition to performance, data security and privacy become an indispensable criterion in the quality of service due to progressively increased data breaches. To address this serious concern, in this paper, we propose and implement “EncSIM”, an encrypted and scalable similarity search service. The architecture of EncSIM enables parallel query processing over distributed, encrypted data records. To reduce client overhead, EncSIM resorts to a variant of the state-of-the-art similarity search algorithm, called all-pairs locality-sensitive hashing (LSH). We describe a novel encrypted index construction for EncSIM based on searchable encryption to guarantee the security of service while preserving performance benefits of all-pairs LSH. Moreover, EncSIM supports data record addition with a strong security notion. Intensive evaluations on a cluster of Redis demonstrate low client cost, linear scalability, and satisfied query performance of EncSIM.
Biomechanical and histological evaluation of a laparoscopic stapled gastropexy technique in dogs.

The biochemical holding strength and histological characteristics of a laparoscopic stapled gastropexy (LG) adhesion were compared with that of an incisional gastropexy (IG) adhesion. An LG was performed in 14 dogs and an IG was performed in six dogs. During the LG procedure, the abdomen was insufflated with carbon dioxide and three cannulae were placed in the caudal aspect of the right side of the abdomen. A 35 mm laparoscopic stapler was used to staple the gastric antrum to the adjacent right lateral abdominal wall. The IG procedure was performed through ventral midline celiotomy. A 35 mm IG was made by apposing the gastric antrum to the adjacent right lateral abdominal wall with two continuous rows of suture. Half of each group of dogs was euthanatized at 7 and 30 days after surgery. The mean tensile load to failure at 7 days was 44.86 +/- 18.54 N for the LG group and 85.33 +/- 23.59 N for the IG group (P < .05). At 30 days the values were 72.39 +/- 18.01 N for the LG group and 71.17 +/-12.11 N for the IG group (P = .41). The gastropexy adhesions in the 7-day postoperative group contained variable amounts of fibrin, hemorrhage, mononuclear cell inflammation, loose fibrovascular tissue, and mature collagenous connective tissue. Adhesions in the 7-day postoperative group were divided subjectively into three histological subgroups based on the relative amounts of mature connective tissue within the adhesion. The LG and IG adhesions were randomly distributed among these subgroups (P = 1.0). Adhesions in the 30-day postoperative group contained well-organized fibrous connective tissue. No difference in the amount of connective tissue could be detected histologically in the LG or IG adhesions. Complications with the LG procedure included stomach perforation (2 cases), splenic puncture (2 cases), and subcutaneous emphysema (4 cases).
Lack of a correlation between γH2AX foci kinetics in lymphocytes and the severity of acute normal tissue reactions during IMRT treatment for head and neck cancer

Purpose: To investigate the phosphorylated histone H2A isoform X (γH2AX) foci kinetics as an indicator for the development of acute normal tissue complications during Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) for head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Materials and methods: Microscopic scoring of the γH2AX foci was used to evaluate the DNA-double-strand-break repair capacity in from Ataxia-Telangiectasia (A-T) patients derived lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) and T-lymphocytes isolated from 31 IMRT treated HNC patients. Cells were irradiated in vitro with 0.5 Gy given at high-dose-rate (HDR) and examined at several times up to 24 h after irradiation. The patients were subdivided in three groups showing mild, moderate and severe acute normal tissue complications based on their Common Toxicity Criteria grades for dysphagia, mucositis and dermatitis during the radiotherapy course. Results: For the ATM (Ataxia-Telangiectasia-Mutated) defective LCL, a lower number of radiation-induced foci and a somewhat less efficient repair capacity was observed. No correlation was found between the γH2AX foci kinetics pattern and the risk for acute normal tissue complications among the three patient subgroups. Conclusions: Scoring of γH2AX foci after in vitro irradiation of isolated T-lymphocytes of HNC patients cannot be applied to predict for the development of acute normal tissue complications.
SVM-Based Validation of Motor Unit Potential Trains Extracted by EMG Signal Decomposition

Motor unit potential trains (MUPTs) extracted via electromyographic (EMG) signal decomposition can aid in the diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders and the study of the neural control of movement, but only if they are valid. In this paper, support vector machine (SVM)-based supervised classifiers are proposed to estimate the validity of extracted MUPTs. The classifiers use either the MU firing pattern or the MUP shape consistency of an MUPT, or both, to estimate its validity. The developed classifiers estimate the class label of an MUPT (i.e., valid/invalid) and a degree of support for the decision being made. A single SVM that estimates the validity of a given MUPT using extracted MU firing pattern and MUP shape features was investigated. In addition, the effectiveness of multiclassifier techniques which estimate the overall validity of a train by fusing the MU firing pattern and MUP shape validity of a given MUPT, determined separately by two distinct SVMs, was also investigated. Training based only on simulated data showed robust classification performance of the several multiclassifier methods when tested using both simulated and real test data. Of the methods studied, the multiclassifier constructed using trainable logistic regression to aggregate base classifier outputs had the best performance. Assuming 12.7% of extracted MUPTs are on average invalid, the estimated accuracy for this method in correctly categorizing MUPTs extracted during decomposition was 99.4% and 98.8% for simulated and real data, respectively.
Structural Modelling of Credit Spreads on the European Bond Market: An Empirical Study

This thesis empirically tests the explanatory power of structural models on the European corporate bond market. Using new evaluation methods, including LASSO and gradient boosting regression, we can provide an in-depth assessment of the models’ shortcomings. With these tools we show that the structural models tend to systematically overstate or understate the spread due to an oversensitivity to leverage ratio and asset volatility. We introduce a novel extension to the Black Cox model in order to mitigate the observed weaknesses. Our extension is calibrated to match historical default probabilities with an additional baseline default risk component attributable to all ﬁrms. This approach manages to increase the R-squared from 39 % to 47 % and at the same time reduce the residual dependencies of leverage ratio and asset volatility.
Price Search and Periodic Price Discounts

This paper empirically investigates the interplay between buyer search behavior and firm pricing strategy in a commodity market where many firms price compete to sell homogeneous products. We use the heterogeneity in buyers’ search costs to explain why a firm offers periodic price discounts and enjoys a high profit. An estimation method is proposed to recover the non-parametric distribution of the search costs from the price and transaction volume data. With both data, we show that the search cost distribution can be estimated non-parametrically in a sequential search model, and estimation results from a non-sequential search model are robust to the assumption of the maximum number of searches. We also show the commonly observed high-low pricing strategy can be an optimal strategy for firms when buyers search prices sequentially. As an empirical application, we use the proposed method to estimate the search models using data on a commodity product sold by a firm in a B-to-B market. The models predict a high profit margin for the firm that is consistent with the data, but the sequential search model fits with the observed price distributions and supply costs better than the non-sequential search model.
Monocytes harbour replication-competent, non-latent HIV-1 in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy

ObjectiveTo determine whether HIV-1 can be recovered from blood monocytes as well as resting, memory CD4 T lymphocytes of patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) with undetectable plasma viraemia and whether infection is active or latent. DesignFive patients with plasma HIV-1-RNA levels of less than 500 copies/ml for at least 3 months and less than 50 copies/ml at the time of sampling were initially selected, followed by an additional five patients with viral loads of less than 50 copies/ml for 3 months or more. MethodsMonocytes were isolated from blood by plastic adherence, then further purified by a second adherence step or CD3 depletion before co-culture with CD8-depleted donor peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Virus isolates were examined for mutations conferring resistance to reverse transcriptase or protease inhibitors and for genotype. The highly purified monocytes were also analysed for the presence of proviral and unintegrated viral DNA and multiply spliced (MS) viral mRNA by polymerase chain reaction. ResultsVirus was recovered from monocytes of five patients. Sequencing of the recovered viruses did not reveal multiple drug resistance, and was consistent with a non-syncytium-inducing/CCR5 phenotype. Proviral DNA was detectable in monocytes from all subjects, and unintegrated HIV-1 DNA and MS RNA was found in four out of five populations examined. ConclusionRecovery of replication-competent virus from some HAART patients indicates that monocytes can also harbour HIV-1. Detection of circular, viral DNA and spliced RNA, albeit at very low levels, in these cells suggests that their infection is recent and transcriptionally active rather than latent.
Optimization of cooking energy mix, an alternative strategy to reduce deforestation: An example of households and restaurants in the Bauchi Metropolis, Nigeria

Cooking is a major energy consuming activity in households and restaurants. Over dependence on fuel wood and charcoal for cooking has been identified as a major cause of deforestation, a major environmental problem in Africa and Asia. This paper presents the results of a study which attempted to make households’ and restaurants’ cooking energy mix more efficient by reducing the share of wood and charcoal in their energy mix. A genetic algorithm (MATLAB) was used to optimize the cooking energy mix of an average household and restaurant in the Bauchi Metropolis, Nigeria. The result shows remarkable savings in the quantities of wood and charcoal required by the household, with an associated savings in cooking energy expenditure. It is recommended that policies should be made to increase access to modern energy types in order to discourage dependence on wood. More so, energy education should be included in the nation’s educational curriculum to enhance enlightenment on the benefits of a careful combination of cooking fuels.
Unimanual and bimanual weight discrimination in lifting objects with a power assist system

In this paper, we designed a 1 DOF power assist system for lifting objects based on human operator's perception of object weight. We established psychophysical relationships between the actual weights and the power assisted weights of objects lifted with the power assist system. We also determined the excess of the load forces that humans applied while lifting objects with the system. The psychophysical relationships were established and the excessive load forces were determined for two protocols independently: 1) unimanual lifting, and 2) bimanual lifting. Then, we suggested using the findings to design power assist systems for carrying heavy objects in various industries that would enhance maneuverability, naturalness, ease of use, stability, safety etc. while carrying heavy objects with the power assist systems.
DEPLETION AND RECOVERY OF CATECHOLAMINES AND ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE OF RAT ADRENAL MEDULLA AFTER RESERPINE TREATMENT.

The effect of reserpine on the catecholamine and adenosine triphosphate contents of rat adrenal medullae has been studied. Reserpine (10 mg/kg) given intraperitoneally, reduced epinephrine, norepinephrine and adenosine triphosphate levels by about 90 to 95% within 24 hours. Recovery of amines and adenosine triphosphate was studied at intervals up to 21 days following reserpine. Recovery of norepinephrine was slightly faster than epinephrine, and almost complete replacement occurred in about 7 days. Epinephrine recovery was complete in 2 weeks. Recovery of adenosine triphosphate followed the same time course as the recovery of total catecholamines and 50% replacement of both took place in 4 days following reserpine injection. A monoamine oxidase inhibitor, pheniprazine, when injected at a dose of 2 mg/kg per day for 7 days, had no effect on medullary amines.
A Tale of Fragmentation: Corporate Funding in the Euro-Area Bond Market

Corporations of different euro-area countries faced noticeably different costs of funding in the bond market during the prolonged period of financial instability which started in 2007. We identify the determinants of corporate bond yield spreads in order to isolate country-specific effects, as indicators of market fragmentation. Our evidence hints at a disorderly process of reassessment of corporate credit risk since 2007 with country-specific spreads vis-a-vis Germany becoming strongly positive for issuers located in other euro-area countries (Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain, in particular). After the introduction of the non-conventional monetary policy tool named OMT, the spreads declined considerably, but fragmentation disappeared only in the latest period characterised by the expectations and the actual deployment of the ECB quantitative easing.
Analysis of Extrastriatal 123I-FP-CIT Binding Contributes to the Differential Diagnosis of Parkinsonian Diseases

123I-N-ω-fluoropropyl-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-iodophenyl)nortropane (123I-FP-CIT) SPECT can visualize and quantify striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) binding in vivo. In addition, 123I-FP-CIT has modest affinity for the serotonin transporter (SERT), predominantly represented in extrastriatal binding. On the basis of previous imaging studies that have suggested more pronounced degeneration of other monoaminergic systems in multiple-system atrophy (MSA) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) than in Parkinson disease (PD), we hypothesized that, in addition to striatal DAT binding, there would be differences in extrastriatal 123I-FP-CIT SPECT binding to SERT between MSA, PSP, and PD. Methods: We included patients with parkinsonian type MSA (multiple-system atrophy with predominantly parkinsonism [MSA-P], n = 9), cerebellar type MSA (MSA-C, n = 7), PSP (n = 13), and PD (n = 30). 123I-FP-CIT binding was analyzed using region-of-interest (ROI)– as well as voxel-based methods in both the DAT-rich striatum (caudate nucleus and putamen) and the SERT-rich extrastriatal brain regions (thalamus, hypothalamus, and pons). For SERT analysis, patients on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor were excluded (n = 48 remained). Results: In the ROI analyses, extrastriatal 123I-FP-CIT binding ratios in the hypothalamus were significantly lower in PSP than in MSA-C patients, and we observed significantly lower striatal 123I-FP-CIT binding ratios in the caudate nucleus of PSP patients than in that of both PD and MSA-C patients. In the posterior putamen, binding ratios were significantly lower in MSA-P, PSP, and PD than MSA-C patients. Striatal ROI outcomes were confirmed by the voxel-based analyses that additionally showed a significantly lower hypothalamic binding in PSP and MSA-P than PD. Conclusion: Striatal 123I-FP-CIT binding to DAT and hypothalamic 123I-FP-CIT binding to SERT are significantly lower in MSA-P and PSP than in PD and MSA-C patients and might therefore be of interest for differential diagnosis.
Daily oral magnesium supplementation suppresses bone turnover in young adult males.

This study examined the effects of daily oral magnesium (Mg) supplementation on bone turnover in 12 young (27-36 yr old) healthy men. Twelve healthy men of matching age, height, and weight were recruited as the control group. The study group received orally 15 mmol Mg (Magnosolv powder, Asta Medica) daily in the early afternoon with 2-h fasting before and after Mg intake. Fasting blood and second void urine samples were collected in the early morning on days 0, 1, 5, 10, 20, and 30, respectively. Total and ionized Mg2+ and calcium (Ca2+), and intact PTH (iPTH) levels were determined in blood samples. Serum biochemical markers of bone formation (i.e. C-terminus of type I procollagen peptide and osteocalcin) and resorption (i.e. type I collagen telopeptide) and urinary Mg level adjusted for creatinine were measured. In these young males, 30 consecutive days of oral Mg supplementation had no significant effect on total circulating Mg level, but caused a significant reduction in the serum ionized Mg+ level after 5 days of intake. The Mg supplementation also significantly reduced the serum iPTH level, which did not appear to be related to changes in serum Ca2+ because the Mg intake had no significant effect on serum levels of either total or ionized Ca2+. There was a strong positive correlation between serum iPTH and ionized Mg2+ (r = 0.699; P < 0.001), supporting the contention that decreased serum iPTH may be associated with the reduction in serum ionized Mg2+. Mg supplementation also reduced levels of both serum bone formation and resorption biochemical markers after 1-5 days, consistent with the premise that Mg supplementation may have a suppressive effect on bone turnover rate. Covariance analyses revealed that serum bone formation markers correlated negatively with ionized Mg2+ (r = -0.274 for type I procollagen peptide and -0.315 for osteocalcin), but not with iPTH or ionized Ca2+. Thus, the suppressive effect on bone formation may be mediated by the reduction in serum ionized Mg2+ level (and not iPTH or ionized Ca2+). In summary, this study has demonstrated for the first time that oral Mg supplementation in normal young adults caused reductions in serum levels of iPTH, ionized Mg2+, and biochemical markers of bone turnover. In conclusion, oral Mg supplementation may suppress bone turnover in young adults. Because increased bone turnover has been implicated as a significant etiological factor for bone loss, these findings raise the interesting possibility that oral Mg supplementation may have beneficial effects in reducing bone loss associated with high bone turnover, such as age-related osteoporosis.