Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Short-term exposure to air pollution and lung function in the Framingham Heart Study.

RATIONALE Short-term exposure to ambient air pollution has been associated with lower lung function. Few studies have examined whether these associations are detectable at relatively low levels of pollution within current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. OBJECTIVES To examine exposure to ambient air pollutants within EPA standards and lung function in a large cohort study. METHODS We included 3,262 participants of the Framingham Offspring and Third Generation cohorts living within 40 km of the Harvard Supersite monitor in Boston, Massachusetts (5,358 examinations, 1995-2011) who were not current smokers, with previous-day pollutant levels in compliance with EPA standards. We compared lung function (FEV1 and FVC) after previous-day exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3) in the "moderate" range of the EPA Air Quality Index to exposure in the "good" range. We also examined linear relationships between moving averages of pollutant concentrations 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 days before spirometry and lung function. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Exposure to pollutant concentrations in the "moderate" range of the EPA Air Quality Index was associated with a 20.1-ml lower FEV1 for PM2.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], -33.4, -6.9), a 30.6-ml lower FEV1 for NO2 (95% CI, -60.9, -0.2), and a 55.7-ml lower FEV1 for O3 (95% CI, -100.7, -10.8) compared with the "good" range. The 1- and 2-day moving averages of PM2.5, NO2, and O3 before testing were negatively associated with FEV1 and FVC. CONCLUSIONS Short-term exposure to PM2.5, NO2, and O3 within current EPA standards was associated with lower lung function in this cohort of adults.
Effect of vitamin D supplementation on oral glucose tolerance in individuals with low vitamin D status and increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes (EVIDENCE): A double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled clinical trial

Low serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin‐D (25(OH)D) concentrations are associated with insulin resistance, β‐cell dysfunction and type 2 diabetes. We conducted a 24‐week double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial to examine the effect of 28 000 IU of vitamin D3 once weekly on plasma glucose after a 2 hour‐75 g oral glucose tolerance test (2hrPC glucose), insulin sensitivity and β‐cell function.
A Quantitative Trade Model with Unemployment

I employ search-and-matching to a multi-country and multi-sector Ricardian model with input-output linkages, trade in intermediate goods, and sectoral heterogeneity, in order to quantify the welfare effects from tariff changes. The paper shows that labor market frictions can be a source of comparative advantage in the sense that better labor market conditions contribute to lower cost in production. Labor market frictions play a critical role in determining the probability of exporting goods to trading partners, and interact with bilateral trade share, price, expenditures, etc. Unemployment and changes in unemployment rates due to tariff reductions contribute welfare changes across countries, implying that welfare effects based on quantitative trade models with full-employment are likely to be biased. I confirm the biased welfare effects by revisiting Caliendo and Parro (2015), who conduct an analysis of the welfare effects from the NAFTA from 1993 to 2005. I show that the welfare gap between theirs and mine has a positive correlation with changes in observed unemployment rates across countries. With the constructed model, I further conduct counterfactual exercises by asking what would happen if China’s tariffs remain unchanged from 2006 to 2015. It turns out that there are mild welfare effects to trading partners in the world trading system.
Conceptualization and identification of depression in adults with brain damage by clients and rehabilitation clinical staff

Primary objective : To explore reasons used by staff and clients to identify depression and examine how each group differs. Research design : A between group comparison on both quantitative and qualitative data. Methods and procedure : Thirty-seven individuals with brain injury and 18 non-psychologist rehabilitation professionals participated in this study. The Inventory for Depressive Symptomatology (IDS), a 28-item instrument of client self-report and clinician ratings was used for comparison. Additionally, qualitative data on presence and reason for identification of depression were collected from both parties. Results : There is substantial disagreement between clinicians and clients with regard to overall identification of depression. However, both groups based diagnoses on mood/cognitive symptoms rather than anxiety or vegetative symptoms. Conclusion : The results point to a discrepancy in client and clinician identification and understanding of depression after brain injury, indicating a potential need for education for both groups.
The Impact of Transportation Infrastructure on Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Saudi Arabia

The transport sector is an important factor of economic activity, where it contributes directly to economic activities and employment. The road has a large indirect impact on all the other sectors and activities in the economy. The study aims to investigate the causality relations between road land and economic growth in Saudi Arabia. The study is based on secondary data gained from Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency and World Bank over the period of1988 to2017. The Granger causality test was used to investigate the relationship between the variables with Akiake Lag Length Selection Information Criteria, while Vector Autoregtression (VAR) model was used in order to find the causality. The result reveals unidirectional causality form real GDP to road; however, there is no evidence to support that transportation infrastructure is the cause of economic growth. Granger causality from GDP to investment in infrastructure indicates that reinvestment in infrastructure is caused by economic growth and not vice versa. Economic growth drove pressures on existing transport infrastructure and required additional investment. The finding is in line with the commonly accepted notion advocating that economic growth or development provide necessary financial and technical support for transportation infrastructure investment and improvement.
Labour market adjustments to real exchange rate fluctuations

This paper evaluates the response of employment, hours worked and wages to real exchange rate shocks in the Canadian manufacturing industries and provides an empirical study of the adjustment of employment, hours worked and wages in such industries. The analysis is based on a dynamic model applied to a panel of 21 manufacturing industries from 1987 to 2006. The net effect of the Canadian dollar’s appreciation was found to be statistically significant and negative for employment, hours worked and wages, although the effect on hours worked is more pronounced. Furthermore, the negative impact of the high dependency of Canadian manufacturing industries on export, in combination with the negative effect that the appreciation have on the import of foreign inputs that are substitute to labour input, enhance the negative effects on the latter, since the substitution and the output channels are going in the same direction.
The effects of inhibitors of sarcoplasmic reticulum function on the systolic Ca2+ transient in rat ventricular myocytes.

1. The effects of thapsigargin, ryanodine and caffeine were examined on systolic Ca2+ transients in indo‐1‐loaded rat ventricular myocytes. 2. Thapsigargin (1‐10 microM) decreased the magnitude of the Ca2+ transient. This was accompanied by a decrease of the rate constant of decay of the transient. 3. Ryanodine (1‐10 microM) decreased the magnitude of the Ca2+ transient. Initially there was no change in the rate of decay but further reduction of the magnitude was accompanied by a slowing. 4. Caffeine (0.5‐10 mM) decreased the magnitude of the Ca2+ transient and its rate of decay. These effects were graded with caffeine concentration. 5. For a given submaximal reduction of the magnitude of the Ca2+ transient, the effect on the rate of decay was greatest for thapsigargin, least for ryanodine and intermediate for caffeine. 6. The above data are reproduced by a model in which all three agents decrease the magnitude of the Ca2+ transient by decreasing the calcium content of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) (thapsigargin by inhibiting the Ca2+ pump and ryanodine and caffeine by increasing the leak of Ca2+ from the SR). The decreased contribution of the SR will thereby slow relaxation. The fact that thapsigargin inhibits the SR Ca2+ pump accounts for the observation that, for a given decrease of amplitude, it has more effect than the other agents on the rate of decay. The difference between caffeine and ryanodine is suggested to arise because caffeine potentiates Ca2+ release from the SR and thereby attenuates the effect of the decreased SR calcium content on the magnitude of the Ca2+ transient.
Dynamic Compression of the Signal in a Charge Sensitive Amplifier: Experimental Results

This paper is concerned with the experimental characterization of a charge sensitive amplifier featuring dynamic signal compression, fast recovery time, low noise, and reduced area occupancy. The device takes the advantage of the nonlinear characteristic of a feedback transistor that behaves like a voltage-controlled capacitance. This property has been exploited to fit a wide input dynamic range into the available output swing. The charge amplifier can be operated in synchronous mode at high frame rates, of the order of few megahertz, thanks to a wide bandwidth, an improved output stage, and a fast reset network. Thanks to the small area occupancy, the amplifier is suitable for integration in a $100\times 100\,\,\mu \text {m}^{2}$ pixel area. All these features make the device a good candidate for applications where a fast front end with a nonlinear response is required, such as in imaging instrumentation for free electron laser experiments. The aim of this paper is to present and discuss the experimental results coming from the characterization of the first prototype of the circuit, which has been designed in a 65-nm CMOS technology. This paper has been carried out in the frame of the PixFEL Project funded by the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Italy.
Collective investment in the CEE region: risk and return comparison

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze mutual fund performance in the Central and Eastern Europe CEE region. The author chose two countries from this geographic region, the Czech Republic and Poland. Using the econometric model that is based on CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) the author compares past performance of equity and bond oriented mutual funds. This thesis also examine the theory which states that most of mutual funds are not able to outperform the benchmarks in real terms as they charge relatively high fees.
Reflex Cardiovascular Regulation in Humans

Although studies of the cardiovascular control exerted by arterial baroreceptors in man are limited by technical and ethical problems, the variable-pressure neck-chamber technique has provided a considerable amount of information about this topic. This paper focuses on the carotid baroreceptor reflex as evaluated by studies using the neck-chamber technique and examines this control in a number of physiological and pathophys-iological states. The results of these studies suggest that in normotensive subjects the set-point of the reflex is located eccentrically toward its saturation, which makes this homeostatic mechanism more effective in counteracting a blood-pressure fall than a blood-pressure rise. They also suggest that the concept of an impairment of the arterial baroreflex in aging, exercise, and hypertension, though valid for the baroreceptor control of heart rate, is no longer tenable for the baroreceptor control of arterial pressure. The paper also reviews in humans the effects of arterial baroreceptors on regional circulations and on the excretion of humoral substances such as renin, and compares them with those of the cardiopulmonary receptors. It is suggested that the latter predominate over the former in the reflex modulation of plasma-renin activity, and that this is part of a homeostatic mechanism for blood-volume control.
Nicotine response genetics in the zebrafish

Tobacco use is predicted to result in over 1 billion deaths worldwide by the end of the 21st century. How genetic variation contributes to the observed differential predisposition in the human population to drug dependence is unknown. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an emerging vertebrate model system for understanding the genetics of behavior. We developed a nicotine behavioral assay in zebrafish and applied it in a forward genetic screen using gene-breaking transposon mutagenesis. We used this method to molecularly characterize bdav/cct8 and hbog/gabbr1.2 as mutations with altered nicotine response. Each have a single human ortholog, identifying two points for potential scientific, diagnostic, and drug development for nicotine biology and cessation therapeutics. We show this insertional method generates mutant alleles that are reversible through Cre-mediated recombination, representing a conditional mutation system for the zebrafish. The combination of this reporter-tagged insertional mutagen approach and zebrafish provides a powerful platform for a rich array of questions amenable to genetic-based scientific inquiry, including the basis of behavior, epigenetics, plasticity, stress, memory, and learning.
Neural basis of anhedonia as a failure to predict pleasantness in schizophrenia

Abstract Objectives. Anhedonia in schizophrenia results from a deficit in anticipatory pleasure rather than consummatory pleasure. This study aimed to determine the neural basis of the predictive and experiential components of anticipatory pleasure in schizophrenia. Methods. A hedonic rating task was performed by 15 patients with schizophrenia and 17 controls while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants evaluated the level of pleasantness for the preview/predictive phase, comprising a narration and adjunctive audiovisual stimuli for pleasurable experience, and the subsequent viewing/experiential phase, comprising a video clip for a pleasant event. Results. A significant group-by-phase interaction was seen in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and caudate, resulting from reduced activations in patients during the preview phase. Patients showed significantly reduced activation in the frontopolar cortex and rostral ACC during the preview phase. The signal changes in the caudate and frontopolar cortex were associated with increase in hedonic response during the sequential pleasure experiences. Conclusions. Augmentation of hedonic enjoyment between the predictive and experiential stages of anticipatory pleasure is reduced in schizophrenia because of diminished activity in the reward-related regions during the prediction of pleasure. During cued-emotional experiences of anticipatory pleasure, patients seem to have difficulties in the integration of emotional information.
The improvement of the shift-share analysis model and application in the industrial structure analysis of the Central Urban Agglomeration in Liaoning province

In this paper, the author reviews the basic form and summarizes the extension of the shift-share analysis (SSA) model committed in previous academic literature. Then, the dynamic analysis technique is introduced into the basic model and the dynamic shift-share analysis (DSSA) model is constructed. Based on the DSSA model, two indexes, industrial growth structure index and competitiveness index, and the calculation method are put forward. In order to test the validity and reasonable compatibility of the DSSA, the author selects the Central Urban Agglomeration in Liaoning province (CUAL) and its leaguer city, Fushun and Fuxin, two resource- dependent city, to do an empirical study. The explanation for the fluctuation of the two indexes of the CUAL between 1996 and 2007 is given in the empirical study. The research results indicate that the DSSA model is valuable in the regional analysis and deserves to be put into practice in more regions. As for the CUAL, its industrial structure and economy growth structure have become better up comparing to the contrasting region, Liaoning province. Much evidence has proved that the CUAL would become the growth pole and core area in the economy growth in the Liaoning province. Thus, the resource-dependent city, such as Fushun city, Fuxin city and so on, might take advantage of the priority of industry and interaction among urban system to realize its urban economic transformation strategy.
Neuron protection as a therapeutic target in acute ischemic stroke.

Involvement of various neurotransmitters and neuromodulators have been shown to contribute to the ischemic injury and neuronal death associated with stroke Role of excitatory amino acid receptor activation, calcium overload, nitric oxide, and oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of ischemic brain damage is well established. Several new strategies are currently emerging, based on recent advances in our understanding of molecular pathways that could be considered as potential therapeutic targets. For example reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important contributors to the secondary injury cascade following traumatic brain injury (TBI), and ROS inhibition has consistently been shown to be neuroprotective following experimental TBI and brain ischemia. Furthermore, more recently, some authors concluded that nonanticoagulant 3K3A-APC exhibits greater neuroprotective efficacy with no risk for bleeding compared with drotrecogin-alfa activated, a hyperanticoagulant form of APC. Excessive calcium entry into depolarized neurons contributes significantly to cerebral tissue damage after ischemia. Included in the sequence of events leading to neuronal death in ischemic tissue following stroke is an excessive and toxic rise in the intracellular Ca(2+)-concentration, predominantly due to an influx of Ca2+ through nonselective cation-channels as well as Ca(2+)-channels. Some authros conducted a study to investigate whether the enhancement of GABA receptor activity could inhibit NMDA receptor-mediated nitric oxide (NO) production by neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) in brain ischemic injury. The results showed that both the GABA(A) receptor agonist muscimol and the GABA(B) receptor agonist baclofen had neuroprotective effect, and the combination of two agonists could significantly protect neurons against death induced by ischemia/reperfusion. On this basis we conclude that neuroprotection for ischemic stroke refers to strategies, applied singly or in combination, that antagonize the injurious biochemical and molecular events that eventuate in irreversible ischemic injury. There has been a recent explosion of interest in this field, with over 1000 experimental papers and over 400 clinical articles appearing within the past 6 years. These studies, in turn, are the outgrowth of three decades of investigative work to define the multiple mechanisms and mediators of ischemic brain injury, which constitute potential targets of neuroprotection.
Genetic, biochemical, and morphological evidence for the involvement of N-glycosylation in biosynthesis of the cell wall β1,6-glucan of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Recent evidence indicates that Stt3p plays a central role in the recognition and/or catalytic step in N-glycosylation (asparagine-linked glycosylation) in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. It is known that stt3 mutants exhibit certain phenotypic features that are suggestive of a cell wall defect. To understand the basis of these phenotypes, we devised a genetic screen to isolate strains bearing mutations that lead to synthetic lethality in combination with the stt3–1 mutation. Using this screen, we were surprised to identify two KRE genes (KRE5 and KRE9) that are involved in the biosynthesis of the cell wall β1,6-glucan. This finding led us to propose that the N-glycosylation process is essential in the biosynthesis of cell wall β1,6-glucan. This proposal was supported by the observation that several stt3 mutants exhibited a 60–70% reduction in the content of cell wall β1,6-glucan as compared with WT cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the stt3 mutant strains exhibit a diffused cell wall with loss of the outer mannoprotein layer as compared with the WT cells. Thus, we provide genetic, morphological, and biochemical evidence for the critical involvement of N-glycosylation in some step in assembly of the cell wall β1,6-glucan in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
SSeCKS/AKAP12 scaffolding functions suppress B16F10-induced peritoneal metastasis by attenuating CXCL9/10 secretion by resident fibroblasts

SSeCKS/Gravin/AKAP12 (SSeCKS) is a kinase scaffolding protein known to suppress metastasis by attenuating tumor-intrinsic PKC- and Src-mediated signaling pathways [1]. In addition to downregulation in metastatic cells, in silico analyses identified SSeCKS downregulation in prostate or breast cancer-derived stroma, suggesting a microenvironmental cell role in controlling malignancy. Although orthotopic B16F10 and SM1WT1[BrafV600E] mouse melanoma tumors grew similarly in syngeneic WT or SSeCKS-null (KO) mice, KO hosts exhibited 5- to 10-fold higher levels of peritoneal metastasis, and this enhancement could be adoptively transferred by pre-injecting naïve WT mice with peritoneal fluid (PF), but not non-adherent peritoneal cells (PC), from naïve KO mice. B16F10 and SM1WT1 cells showed increased chemotaxis to KO-PF compared to WT-PF, corresponding to increased PF levels of multiple inflammatory mediators, including the Cxcr3 ligands, Cxcl9 and 10. Cxcr3 knockdown abrogated enhanced chemotaxis to KO-PF and peritoneal metastasis in KO hosts. Conditioned media from KO peritoneal membrane fibroblasts (PMF), but not from KO-PC, induced increased B16F10 chemotaxis over controls, which could be blocked with Cxcl10 neutralizing antibody. KO-PMF exhibited increased levels of the senescence markers, SA-β-galactosidase, p21waf1 and p16ink4a, and enhanced Cxcl10 secretion induced by inflammatory mediators, lipopolysaccharide, TNFα, IFNα and IFNγ. SSeCKS scaffolding-site mutants and small molecule kinase inhibitors were used to show that the loss of SSeCKS-regulated PKC, PKA and PI3K/Akt pathways are responsible for the enhanced Cxcl10 secretion. These data mark the first description of a role for stromal SSeCKS/AKAP12 in suppressing metastasis, specifically by attenuating signaling pathways that promote secretion of tumor chemoattractants in the peritoneum.
SoC and SiP, the Yin and Yang of the Tao for the New Electronic Era

ldquoMore than Moorerdquo is becoming the password for these coming years. New steps to overcome technology limitations to diffuse, on the same die, different chips to have a complete system have been developed. This approach is called system in package (SiP), a way to have in a package dies of logic, analog, memory, passive components, etc., assembled to obtain a miniaturized board. SiP performances and limitations are here analyzed to understand advantages versus system on chip (SoC). This paper is a discussion about the main items that can lead to the choice of the right approach-SiP or SoC-before a system design start. Three persons attend to our virtual meeting: an SoC technology development manager, expert in microcontroller embedded memories and technology integration; an SiP analog radio-frequency design senior expert; and a moderator that designed embedded memories and now SiP, all involved to understand how to reach a tradeoff among these two approaches. Like for the Yin and Yang, symbol of the equilibrium for the Taoist philosophy, the two opposites divide the circle of the life, with a piece of each in the other.