Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Between Scylla and Charybdis: Income Distribution, Consumer Credit, and Business Cycles

We introduce a macroeconomic model with heterogeneous households and an aggregate banking sector in order to analyze the impact of rising income inequality under different credit scenarios. Growing inequality produces debt‐led consumption boom dynamics when the banking sector is characterized by a lower capital requirement and a higher willingness to lend. Instead, when inequality rises but the banking sector is highly regulated, aggregate demand and output fall. Our results also yield new insights on the appropriate fiscal policy reaction to stabilize the economy: acting on the progressivity of the tax system seems more effective than a proactive countercyclical fiscal policy. (JEL C63, D31, E62, G01)
Association between HIV‐specific T helper responses and CTL activities in pediatric AIDS

We examined the relationship between the profile of HIV‐specific T helper (Th) cell responses, cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity, HIV viral load, and CD4+ T cell counts during longitudinal studies in children with perinatal HIV infection. Patients with AIDS demonstrated undetectable or low levels of HIV‐specific Th and CTL activities, and exhibited almost exclusively Th0 type of responses with low IFN‐γ and IL‐4 production. The levels of IL‐2 expression in the envelope (env) peptide‐stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells were increased in children with a slowly progressive disease, concomitant with higher numbers of CD45RO+ memory T cells and increased proportions of Th1 clones. In these patients, high levels of env peptide‐specific IL‐2 expression correlated with increases in HIV‐specific CTL responses, whereas a delay in the generation of HIV‐specific CTL activity was associated with lower IL‐2 production and elevated Th2 responses. Patients with slow disease progression produced higher levels of β‐chemokines than those detected in children with AIDS. These results suggest that an impaired development of HIV‐specific cellular responses and inhibition of T cell differentiation during infancy are associated with fast disease progression. They also point to a protective role of noncytotoxic antiviral activity that might complement HIV‐specific CTL responses in children with a slowly progressive disease.
Explosive Asset Price Bubble Detection with Unknown Bubble Length and Initial Condition

Recent research has proposed a method of detecting explosive processes that is based on forward recursions of OLS, right‐tailed, Dickey–Fuller [DF] unit root tests. In this paper, an alternative approach using GLS DF test statistics is considered. We derive limiting distributions for both mean‐invariant and trend‐invariant versions of OLS and GLS‐based Phillips, Wu and Yu (2011, International Economic Review 52, 201–226) [PWY] test statistics under a temporary, locally explosive alternative. These limits are shown to be dependent on both the value of the initial condition and the start and end points of the temporary explosive regime. Local asymptotic power simulations show that a GLS version of the PWY statistic offers superior power when a large proportion of the data is explosive, but that the OLS approach is preferred for explosive periods of short duration as a proportion of the total sample. These power differences are magnified by the presence of an asymptotically non‐negligible initial condition. We propose a union of rejections procedure that capitalizes on the respective power advantages of both OLS and GLS‐based approaches. This procedure achieves power close to the effective envelope provided by the two individual PWY tests across all settings of the initial condition and length of the explosive period considered in this paper. These results are shown to be robust to the point in the sample at which the temporary explosive regime occurs. An application of the union procedure to NASDAQ prices confirms the empirical value of this testing strategy.
An Extended Conformation of the Macrophage Mannose Receptor*

The macrophage mannose receptor mediates phagocytosis of pathogenic microorganisms and endocytosis of potentially harmful soluble glycoproteins by recognition of their defining carbohydrate structures. The mannose receptor is the prototype for a family of receptors each having an extracellular region consisting of 8–10 domains related to C-type carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs), a fibronectin type II repeat and an N-terminal cysteine-rich domain. Hydrodynamic analysis and proteolysis experiments performed on fragments of the extracellular region of the receptor have been used to investigate its conformation. Size and shape parameters derived from sedimentation and diffusion coefficients indicate that the receptor is a monomeric, elongated and asymmetric molecule. Proteolysis experiments indicate the presence of close contacts between several pairs of domains and exposed linker regions separating CRDs 3 and 6 from their neighboring domains. Hydrodynamic coefficients predicted for modeled receptor conformations are consistent with an extended conformation with close contacts between three pairs of CRDs. The N-terminal cysteine-rich domain and the fibronectin type II repeat appear to increase the rigidity of the molecule. The rigid, extended conformation of the receptor places domains with different functions at distinct positions with respect to the membrane.
Metal ion‐binding ability of tetrapeptides containing α‐aminoisobutyric acid

α‐Aminoisobutyric acid (Aib), one of the Cα, α‐disubstituted glycines, is a sterically hindered amino acid that acts as a conformational constraint in peptides. However, studies for the application of the ability of Aib to control conformation are quite few. The paper focuses on the molecular recognition ability of acyclic oligopeptides containing Aib. Liquid–liquid extraction of nine kinds of metal ions from aqueous layers to nonpolar organic layers with acyclic tetrapeptides, X‐Trp‐Xaa2‐Gly‐Xaa4‐NH‐Ar (X = H or C6H5CH2OCO (Z), Xaa2 = Aib or Gly, Xaa4 = Leu or Ala, Ar = phenyl or 3,5‐dimethylphenyl) was examined using picrate as the anion of ion pairs. The extraction behaviour of the metal ions with the tetrapeptides was investigated in the pH range from 3 to 9. In the case of basic pH regions, Cu(II) and Ag(I) were effectively extracted with Trp‐Aib‐Gly‐Leu‐NH‐Ar. Pd(II) was specifically extracted with Trp‐Aib‐Gly‐Leu‐NH‐Ar in acidic pH regions. The extraction percent (%E) of the peptide host, which has a 3,5‐dimethylphenyl group, was even larger than that of the host, which has a phenyl group. Moreover, Pd(II) was extracted with a peptide host which has Leu and a 3,5‐dimethylphenyl group in the absence of picrate as the anion of ion pairs. The free α‐amino group, the turn conformation and the hydrophobicity of peptide molecules were important factors for the extraction of the metals. Copyright © 2003 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Timing and topography of cerebral blood flow, aura, and headache during migraine attacks

Ten years of study has resulted in considerable but fragmented knowledge about regional cerebral blood flow in migraine with aura (classic migraine). In the present study, the number of repeatedly studied patients (n = 63) was large enough to determine statistically significant sequences of events and statistically significant spatial relations. The first observable event was a decrease of regional cerebral blood flow posteriorly in one cerebral hemisphere. Further development of this pathological process was accompanied by the aura symptoms. Thereafter headache occurred while regional cerebral blood flow remained decreased. During the headache phase, regional cerebral blood flow gradually changed from abnormally low to abnormally high without apparent change in headache. In some patients headache disappeared while regional cerebral blood flow remained increased. Although regional cerebral blood flow reduction and aura symptoms in the great majority of patients were unilateral, one‐third had bilateral headache. Unilateral headache usually localized to the side on which regional cerebral blood flow was reduced and from which the aura symptoms originated (i.e., aura symptoms were perceived to occur contralaterally but presumably originated in the hypoperfused hemisphere). Our results suggest a simple model for migraine attacks: A pathological disturbance in one cerebral hemisphere causes the aura symptoms and after a time delay, it also causes the headache by stimulating local vascular nociceptors. Bilateral headache caused by a unilateral cerebral disturbance may be explained by recent neuroanatomical and neurophysiological findings.
The Effects Of Religiosity, Economic Status, And Social Class Upon Social Justice Perspectives Of Faculty And Staff At A Small, Private, Catholic, Liberal Arts College

The effects of religiosity, economic status, and social class upon social justice viewpoints of faculty and staff members at a small, private, Catholic, liberal arts college were investigated. This study was a partial replication of Perkins’ (1983, 1985, 1992) research into effects of religiosity upon social justice perspectives. The particular social justice perspectives included humanitarianism, egalitarianism, and racism. Respondents took*a self-administered social attitudes and values survey. The results indicated that social justice perspectives are influenced not only by religiosity, economic status, and social class, but also age, gender, and political identification. The findings showed a similar relationship between strong religious commitment and heightened humanitarian concern as had been found in previous research. Additionally, a relationship between higher economic status among women and heightened egalitarianism was found, as were relationships between social class and heightened humanitarian concern. The specification effect of control variables upon relationships between the independent and dependent variables was a consistent trend throughout this research, and supports the hypothesis that several, and often, many, factors simultaneously influence individuals’ perspectives on social justice.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurses Working in an Open Ward: Stress and Work Satisfaction

There is some research on the impact of open-ward unit design on the health of babies and the stress experienced by parents and nurses in neonatal intensive care units. However, few studies have explored the factors associated with nurse stress and work satisfaction among nurses practicing in open-ward neonatal intensive care units. The purpose of this study was to examine what factors are associated with nurse stress and work satisfaction among nurses practicing in an open-ward neonatal intensive care unit. A cross-sectional correlational design was used in this study. Participants were nurses employed in a 34-bed open-ward neonatal intensive care unit in a major university-affiliated hospital in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. A total of 94 nurses were eligible, and 86 completed questionnaires (91% response rate). Descriptive statistics were computed to describe the participants’ characteristics. To identify factors associated with nurse stress and work satisfaction, correlational analysis and multiple regression analyses were performed with the Nurse Stress Scale and the Global Work Satisfaction scores as the dependent variables. Different factors predict neonatal intensive care unit nurses’ stress and job satisfaction, including support, family-centered care, performance obstacles, work schedule, education, and employment status. In order to provide neonatal intensive care units nurses with a supportive environment, managers can provide direct social support to nurses and influence the culture around teamwork.
Wounds Difficult to Heal: An Effective Treatment Strategy.

OBJECTIVE Treatment of wounds difficult to heal concerns 50% of the elderly population in Italy and is therefore a relevant social burden. The present study shows how the treatment with autologous leuco-platelets reduces the healing time of wounds improving the functional recovery. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients (n=100) with ulcers of the legs were divided in two groups: 1) 50 patients treated with conventional therapies; 2) 50 patients treated with autologous leuco-platelet concentrate (LPC) and hyaluronic acid (HIAFF, Hyalofill-F® ) as a scaffold. RESULTS After 2 months, a 49% reduction in wound area was observed in the second group and in about 65% wound reduction was achieved in 15 days (4 LPC dressings). In contrast, patients treated by conventional therapies, showed a longer healing time and a greater percentage of failures. Morphometric analysis of biopsy samples obtained from the edge as well as from the bottom of the lesions obtained from the LPC group, detected an abundant presence of neoformed capillaries, characterized by a cubic, "reactive endothelium", close to the site of LPC infiltration. CONCLUSION These results suggest that healing was promoted not only by limiting bacterial infections but also by the release of chemotactic and proangiogenic factors from leukocytes and platelets, improving the neoformation of capillaries.
Effect of self-care education on lifestyle modification, medication adherence and blood pressure in hypertensive adults: Randomized controlled clinical trial

Background: Self-care management has recently been suggested as an effective approach for secondary prevention of hypertension. This study was conducted to examine whether self-care behaviors could modulate blood pressure levels and also comparing the different training methods of self-care on patients' adherence and controlling hypertension. Materials and Methods: This study was a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial, conducted on 180 hypertensive patients referring to four centers in Isfahan, Iran, between July and December 2013. Block randomization method were applied to divide eligible subjects into four equal groups, including group A in which the patients and their family were educated by cardiology resident about self-care behaviors through eight sessions, group B and group C were obtained self-care education through four pamphlets or eight short message services (SMS), respectively and group D were obtained only usual care of hypertension without any training about self-care management. Results: Increasing vegetable intake and frequency of subject who took antihypertensive medication regularly and the reduction in the frequency of subjects who consumed high salt were significantly more in group A than the others (P = 0.001, P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). The systolic and diastolic blood pressure had significantly more reduction in the group A than the other groups (−8.18 ± 18.3 and − 3.89 ± 4.1; P < 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: The self-care management education integration into the usual care along with using SMS and other educational materials may improve the efficient and effective adherence strategies.
Psychotropic Drug Use in Relation to Psychiatric Symptoms in Community‐Living Persons With Alzheimer's Disease

We attempted to determine the relationship between psychiatric symptoms and psychotropic drug use in persons with Alzheimer's disease based on a multicenter patient registry of 671 community‐living persons diagnosed with the disease by published criteria. Logistic regression was performed to determine which symptoms were associated psychotropic use after controlling for age, sex, and Mini‐Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score. At least one psychotropic drug was reported by 31% of patients, and 66% had at least one psychiatric symptom. Antipsychotics were associated with a lower MMSE score (odds ratio=0.92, 95% confidence interval 0.88‐0.97), emotional lability (OR=4.52, 95% CI 1.69‐11.94), and hallucinations (OR=6.54, 95% CI 2.99‐14.26). Antidepressants were associated with depressive symptoms (OR=5.8, 95% CI 2.61‐13.46), and benzodiazepines with a lower MMSE score (OR=0.93, 95% CI 0.90‐0.97). Community‐living persons with Alzheimer's disease are frequently prescribed psychotropic drugs; however, more than 50% of patients with a psychiatric symptom did not report taking one of these agents. This suggests that alternative therapies and no treatment are also prevalent.
Innovative measuring system for wear-out indication of high power IGBT modules

Power converter failures are a major issue in modern Wind turbines. One of the key elements of power converters for high power application is the IGBT modules. A test bench capable of performing an accelerated wear-out test through power cycling of IGBT modules has been made. In the test bench it is possible to stress the IGBT module in a real life working point, controlling the voltage, current and phase of the device under test. An analysis of failure mechanisms has been carried out, indicating that VCE can be used as an sign of wear out of the IGBT module. Therefore an innovative measuring system for VCE monitoring with an accuracy as low as a few mV has been implemented. The measurements on the IGBT in the test bench show that it is possible to monitor VCE and use this as an indicator of wear-out.
The skills gap of Vietnamese graduates and final-year university students

ABSTRACT Complementing existing literature about graduate skills gaps from employers’ perspectives, this article reports a study that investigated the skills gaps of Vietnamese graduates and final-year students from their own perspectives. Firstly, 257 university graduates were invited to assess the importance level of 35 skills in the workplace. These graduates and 525 final-year university students were then asked to rate their levels of these 35 skills. Data were analysed using principal component analyses, descriptive statistics, independent samples T-tests, and one-way ANOVA tests. The analyses revealed that final-year students and recent graduates were severely lacking in the skills to effectively perform their work duties. Moreover, there were statistically significant differences in the attainment of these skills between some groups of graduates, but not between groups of final-year students. This article discusses the factors that could have caused such a skills gap and suggests some implications for developing graduate skills in general.
C2ORF40 suppresses breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion through modulating expression of M phase cell cycle genes

Recently, it has been suggested that C2ORF40 is a candidate tumor suppressor gene in breast cancer. However, the mechanism for reduced expression of C2ORF40 and its functional role in breast cancers remain unclear. Here we show that C2ORF40 is frequently silenced in human primary breast cancers and cell lines through promoter hypermethylation. C2ORF40 mRNA level is significantly associated with patient disease-free survival and distant cancer metastasis. Overexpression of C2ORF40 inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. By contrast, silencing C2ORF40 expression promotes these biological phenotypes. Bioinformatics and FACS analysis reveal C2ORF40 functions at G2/M phase by downregulation of mitotic genes expression, including UBE2C. Our results suggest that C2ORF40 acts as a tumor suppressor gene in breast cancer pathogenesis and progression and is a candidate prognostic marker for this disease.
Efficacy of Lansoprazole in Eradicating Helicobacter pylori: A Meta‐Analysis

The combination of lansoprazole with antibiotics either as double or triple therapy has demonstrated an H. pylori eradication rate of between 80 and 90%. With the aim of providing a complete revision of the results of these clinical studies and a quantification of the efficacy of lansoprazole in eradicating H. pylori and healing peptic ulcers, we have undertaken a meta‐analysis of all the controlled studies published in the literature.
The multi-ligand somatostatin analogue SOM230 inhibits ACTH secretion by cultured human corticotroph adenomas via somatostatin receptor type 5.

OBJECTIVE Currently, there is no effective medical treatment for patients with pituitary-dependent Cushing's disease. A novel somatostatin (SS) analogue, named SOM230, with high binding affinity to SS receptor subtypes sst(1), sst(2), sst(3) and sst(5) was recently introduced. We compared the in vitro effects of the sst(2)-preferring SS analogue octreotide (OCT) and the multi-ligand SOM230 on ACTH release by human and mouse corticotroph tumour cells. METHODS By quantitative RT-PCR the sst subtype expression level was determined in human corticotroph adenomas. In vitro, the inhibitory effect of OCT and SOM230 on ACTH release by dispersed human corticotroph adenoma cells and mouse AtT20 corticotroph adenoma cells was determined. In addition, the influence of dexamethasone on the responsiveness to OCT and SOM230 was studied. RESULTS Corticotroph adenomas expressed predominantly sst(5) mRNA (six out of six adenomas), whereas sst(2) mRNA expression was detected at significantly lower levels. In a 72 h incubation with 10 nmol/l SOM230, ACTH release was inhibited in three out of five cultures (range -30 to -40%). Ten nmol/l OCT slightly inhibited ACTH release in only one of five cultures (- 28%). In AtT20 cells, expressing sst(2), sst(3) and sst(5), SOM230 inhibited ACTH secretion with high potency (IC(50) 0.2 nmol/l). Dexamethasone (10 nmol/l) pre-treatment did not influence the sensitivity of the cells to the inhibitory effect of SOM230, suggesting that sst(5) is relatively resistant to negative control by glucocorticoids. CONCLUSIONS The selective expression of sst(5) receptors in corticotroph adenomas and the preferential inhibition of ACTH release by human corticotroph adenoma cells by SOM230 in vitro, suggest that SOM230 may have potential in the treatment of patients with pituitary-dependent Cushing's disease.
Do Corporate Tax Cuts Increase Income Inequality?

We study the effects of corporate taxes on income inequality. Using state corporate taxes as a setting, we provide evidence that corporate tax cuts lead to increases in income inequality. This result is robust across regression, matching, and synthetic controls approaches, and to controlling for a host of potential confounders. We use Statistics of Income data from the Internal Revenue Service to explore mechanisms behind this result. We find that tax cuts lead to higher income for both top and bottom earners, but the gains to capital income for top earners exceed the gains to total income for bottom earners. This result suggests that although all earners appear to benefit from a corporate tax cut, the relation between tax cuts and inequality is positive, in part, because high-income individuals shift their compensation to reduce taxes.