Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Natural Antisense Transcripts

The sequencing of whole genomes and the subsequent annotation of cDNAs revealed that about 20% of human and mouse genes overlap resulting in potential pairs of sense and antisense transcripts. An increasing number of experimentally identified antisense transcripts concurs with this predication. Characterization of overlapping transcripts in various species indicates that this form of RNA-mediated gene regulation represents a widespread phenomenon. However, the physiological relevance of natural antisense transcripts remains obscure. Genomic studies suggest that duplex formation between sense and antisense is required for biological function.Antisense transcripts play an established role in imprinting and X-chromosome inactivation and genomic rearrangements as observed in B- and T- leukocytes. Only a relatively small percentage of the predicted antisense transcripts are related to these biological phenomena that are also related to mono-allelic expression. Consequently, there are at least two categories of natural antisense transcripts that show significant differences with regard to their biological function as well as the potential mechanisms involved.
Psychiatric Disorder in the General Hospital

There have been many reports of psychiatric disorder in medical populations, but few have used standard methods on representative patient groups. Even so, there is consistent evidence for considerable psychiatric morbidity in in-patient, out-patient and casualty department populations, much of which is unrecognised by hospital doctors. We require a better classification of psychiatric disorder in the general hospital, improved research measures, and more evidence about the nature and course of the many different types of problem so that we can provide precise advice for their management of routine clinical practice.
Career Choice in Canadian Public Service

A recent survey of 19,261 university students in Canada revealed the Government of Canada as the employer of choice, among the millennial generation. Drawing on the employer knowledge framework, we explore how the Millennials make career choices, what they find attractive, and how public service may help them achieve their career goals, work values, and work/life choices. Specifically, the Millennials prioritized balancing personal life and career, pursuing further education, and contributing to society as their top career goals. Those who indicated a career choice in public service also rated high ethical standards, social responsibility, and a progressive working environment as ideal employer characteristics. Moreover, the Millennials also consider an inclusive work environment and having diverse colleagues to be important factors when accepting employment. Overall, there appears to be a good fit between the factors the Millennials find important and a career choice in public service. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Transient Coexpression of Nestin, GFAP, and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Mature Reactive Astroglia Following Neural Grafting or Brain Wounds

The spatial and temporal immunoexpression of the intermediate filament (IF) protein nestin and its relationship to glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and its receptor flt-1 (VEGF-R1) in reactive astroglia was examined following stab wounds or transplants of fetal CNS tissue into the adult brain. Since developmentally regulated proteins and gene transcripts can be reexpressed in reactive astroglia following certain brain injuries, we analyzed the nestin profile in these experimental paradigms in order to more fully understand the nature of the gliotic "scar. " Nestin expression was transiently up-regulated in some but not all astrocytes which often had a different morphology than the typical stout, stellate GFAP (+) cells; the processes of the nestin (+) cells tended to be slender and elongated. In reactive astroglia from the mature brain, nestin expression was robust but generally localized to the wound or graft site, peaked at 7-10 days postoperative, and was absent by 28 days, whereas GFAP (+) astrocytes were far more widespread and persisted for many months. Only nestin was strongly expressed immediately adjacent to early stab wounds, whereas GFAP (+) cells were located further from the wound sites. In contrast, there was marked nestin/GFAP colocalization at the graft/host interface. Semiquantitative analysis combined with confocal microscopy revealed a unique compartmentalization of protein expression; processes from single astrocytes could be entirely nestin (+), GFAP (+), or could show coexpression. At 4, 7, and 14 days postoperative, 41, 58, and 32% of the immunoexpression, respectively, was accounted for by nestin at the graft/host interface, and it was essentially undetectable at 28 days postoperative. In situ hybridization studies showed nestin transcripts within GFAP (+) cells primarily between 4 and 10 days postoperative and absent by 28 days. Many nestin (+) astrocytes, as shown by electron microscopy, were closely related to the vasculature. Therefore we further examined the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an endothelial cell mitogen associated with angiogenesis. Nestin colocalized with VEGF in some astrocytes (7%) but far more prominently with the VEGF flt-1 receptor (25%). Early astroglial activation may involve several different IF components and possibly a distinct astrocytic population that shows a rapid, transient nestin expression adjacent to injury sites. Expression of the nestin IF phenotype within affected astrocytes in the surgical vicinity may be indicative of a reversion to an immature phenotype that might be less susceptible to attendant hypoxia after injury. Since injured astrocytes are well known to express many bioactive compounds, such transient reexpression of early, developmentally regulated proteins may be a hallmark for the elaboration of growth factors such as VEGF.
Making sense of sovereign wealth funds: entrepreneurial and political wish-images in ‘building for the future’ of China and Singapore

We explore the nature of two of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) by making sense of two of their controversial investments in US financial institutions. Drawing on core Benjaminian themes, we present an alternative view to purely financial accounts of those investments in terms of an unresolved struggle for influence between contrasting ‘wish-images’ – partly fulfilled ambitions that are shaped by the image holder's social experiences of nation-building and entrepreneurial reward-seeking in China and Singapore. While this struggle exposes the complex nature of our SWFs, we suggest how our reflections have unexpected implications for their development. Where Benjamin welcomed a ‘critical state’ in which hitherto ignored social experiences may exert a positive influence on social development, the critical state of both SWFs having ‘recovered’ an entrepreneurial dimension for investing has become entangled with, and may damage, their central purpose as sovereign investment houses.
Capital Flows, Asset Prices and Output in Emerging Market Economies

In this article we construct a simple open-economy macro model to examine how capital flows, monetary policy and dividend policies of firms influence asset prices, economic activity and inflation. In this model, we consider a three-asset framework based on domestic money, domestic equity and foreign bonds under flexible exchange rate. The model is based on the assumptions of imperfect asset substitutability and absence of sterilization. The model also incorporates an aggregate supply function in the presence of wage indexation. The model can apply to a large class of emerging market economies which have embarked on a programme of liberalization of the financial sector in general and stock market in particular.
The effects of cold therapy in the postoperative management of pain in patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

This prospective study assessed 54 consecutive ar throscopically assisted ACL reconstructions for the amount of postoperative pain relief provided by cold therapy, using the Hot/Ice Thermal Blanket. Twenty- six randomly selected patients undergoing this proce dure were compared to a control group consisting of 28 patients having the identical procedure in which the Hot/Ice unit was not used postoperatively. The initial ACL injury in both groups was sports related with the exception of three patients whose injury occurred while on the job. The Hot/Ice Thermal Blanket consists of two rubber pads (blankets) connected by a hose to the main cooling unit. The pads were applied to either side of the oper ated knee in the operative suite. The pads received fluid which was circulated from the main unit. The temperature of the fluid was set at 50° in the recovery room and the unit was run continuously until the time of discharge, which was approximately 4 days. Hot/Ice patients required 53% less injectable Demerol and 67% less oral Vistaril than patients in the control group. Hot/ Ice patients had made the conversion from injectable to oral pain medication an average of 1.2 days sooner than did their non-Hot/Ice counterparts. There was no appreciable difference in length of hospital stay. Physi cal therapy and nursing records documented a greater percentage of compliant patients in the Hot/Ice group. According to these records the Hot/Ice patients were more helpful in self-assistance, were out of bed and ambulating in the halls more quickly, and did their range of motion exercises with greater ease. The results of this study support the potential benefit in pain reduction by use of a Hot/Ice Thermal Blanket in the postopera tive recovery of patients undergoing ACL reconstruc tion.
Implementación del Kaizen en México: un estudio exploratorio de una aproximación gerencial japonesa en el contexto latinoamericano

en los ultimos anos, los terminos Lean Thinking y Kaizen han cobrado gran importanciaen la gestion operacional y estrategica de las organizaciones de este nuevo siglo. dicha relevanciase ha centrado en la busqueda constante por reducir los costos operativos mejorando con ello la productividady la competitividad de las organizaciones multinacionales. Por ello, parte de la preguntade investigacion que rige este articulo es: ? Como se presenta la implementacion del Kaizen en uncontexto organizacional como es una empresa multinacional en mexico? el proposito del estudio es,por tanto, explorar empiricamente la implementacion del Kaizen en algunas organizaciones multinacionalesde mexico, con el fin de analizarlas y compararlas con los esquemas teoricos del tema.la investigacion es de corte cualitativo siguiendo la estrategia de multiples casos de estudio. seseleccionaron dos empresas multinacionales ubicadas en la zona industrial de toluca del estado demexico, mexico. los resultados demuestran, con base en la evidencia empirica, que existe una brechaentre los esquemas teoricos del Kaizen y la realidad practica estudiada en los dos casos de estudiosseleccionados. Partiendo de estos resultados del estudio exploratorio fue posible proponer cuatroproposiciones teoricas que condensan el presente trabajo de investigacion. este articulo, a pesar deser de caracter exploratorio, busca generar un aporte teorico de lo que ocurre en las empresas multinacionalesubicadas en mexico en materia de la implementacion de una tecnica gerencial japonesacomo el Kaizen en un contexto latinoamericano.
Association of a Major Protein Antigen of Mycoplasma arthritidis with Virulence

ABSTRACT Mycoplasma arthritidis causes acute polyarthritis in rats and chronic proliferative arthritis in mice. M. arthritidis-induced arthritis serves as a model for arthritis caused by infectious agents and as a model for examining the role of the superantigen MAM (M. arthritidis T-cell mitogen) in the development of autoimmunity. M. arthritidis strain 158-1 is a spontaneous mutant of strain 158 that has a drastic reduction in virulence. We show that the mutant is missing a major antigen of 47 kDa (P47) and has acquired a protein of 67 kDa (P67). P47 and P67 partitioned into the detergent phase by extraction with Triton X-114. Coomassie blue staining of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels show that P67 is produced in abundance. Analysis of gel-purified P67 by mass spectrometry led to its identification as a lipoprotein (the open reading frame [ORF] 619 gene product) predicted from the genome sequence of M. arthritidis. PCR analysis of genomic DNA from 158 and 158-1 indicates that P47 and P67 are encoded by the same ORF 619 gene and differ only in the number of repeats in a tandem repeat region. By two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel analysis, no protein differences were detectable between 158 and 158-1 other than P47 and P67. Collectively, the data suggest that the tandem repeat region of P47 and P67 influences disease outcome.
Aberrant cerebral network topology and mild cognitive impairment in early Parkinson's disease

The aim of this study was to assess whether mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with disruption in large‐scale structural networks in newly diagnosed, drug‐naïve patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Graph theoretical analyses were applied to 3T MRI data from 123 PD patients and 56 controls from the Parkinson's progression markers initiative (PPMI). Thirty‐three patients were classified as having Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment (PD‐MCI) using the Movement Disorders Society Task Force criteria, while the remaining 90 PD patients were classified as cognitively normal (PD‐CN). Global measures (clustering coefficient, characteristic path length, global efficiency, small‐worldness) and regional measures (regional clustering coefficient, regional efficiency, hubs) were assessed in the structural networks that were constructed based on cortical thickness and subcortical volume data. PD‐MCI patients showed a marked reduction in the average correlation strength between cortical and subcortical regions compared with controls. These patients had a larger characteristic path length and reduced global efficiency in addition to a lower regional efficiency in frontal and parietal regions compared with PD‐CN patients and controls. A reorganization of the highly connected regions in the network was observed in both groups of patients. This study shows that the earliest stages of cognitive decline in PD are associated with a disruption in the large‐scale coordination of the brain network and with a decrease of the efficiency of parallel information processing. These changes are likely to signal further cognitive decline and provide support to the role of aberrant network topology in cognitive impairment in patients with early PD. Hum Brain Mapp 36:2980–2995, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Combining Contingent Valuation and Travel Cost Data for the Valuation of Nonmarket Goods

The travel cost method (TCM) has long been used to infer the economic value of nonmarket resources and public goods. More recently, contingent valuation (CVM) survey methods have gained popularity for eliciting these values. Here, CVM survey responses are combined with TCM data on actual market behavior to estimate jointly both the parameters of the underlying utility function and its corresponding ordinary demand function. This is a prototypical empirical example of a new modeling strategy, variants of which should prove useful in many applications, especially where reliance on a single valuation method is undesirable.
Rice and risk: Decision-making among low-income farmers

of Galbraith and his critics, and a very useful synopsis of Friedman's major points. Professors Friedman and Galbraith are probably the two most widely read economists by the general public. In part their great appeal derives from excellent writing, an unusual trait for an economist to possess. In part their extreme confidence in their controversial proposals attracts many faithful followers. A short book review cannot settle the intellectual conflict between the ideas
Optical Coherence Tomography in Best Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy

Purpose To analyze spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT)-specific findings in the different stages of vitelliform macular dystrophy (VMD). Methods Thirty-seven patients were prospectively recruited. All the patients underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination, including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), biomicroscopy, and SD-OCT. The examined findings were vitelliform material, neurosensory detachment, intraretinal hyperreflective foci, and the status of external limiting membrane, ellipsoid zone, and retinal pigment epithelium. The primary outcome was the stratification of SD-OCT findings in each VMD stage. Secondary outcomes included the description of different characteristics related to intraretinal hyperreflective foci. Results Outer retinal layers were preserved almost exclusively in stage 1 (range 70%-100%), whereas their disruption and absence were typical of stages 2 to 4 (83%-100%) and stage 5 (67%-83%), respectively. Vitelliform material was found always in stages 2 and 3, 89% of stage 4, and rarely in stage 5 (33%). Neurosensory detachment was to some extent representative of stages 3 and 4 (80% and 72%, respectively) when compared with the other stages (p<0.001). Hyperreflective foci (16% of all eyes) demonstrated a progressive increase across stages 2 to 4, with slightly reduced figure in stage 5. These foci were located in the outer nuclear and plexiform layers, showed different sizes, and were not associated with a visual acuity reduction (p = 0.64). Conclusions A progressive deterioration of the outer retinal layers was noticeable in more advanced stages of VMD. The reduction of vitelliform material from stage 3 to 4 was paralleled by an increased evidence of neurosensory detachment. Although showing different size and location, hyperreflective foci did not correlate with worse BCVA.
Associations between exposure to fluoridated drinking water and dental caries experience among children in two Australian states.

OBJECTIVES This study assessed associations between exposure to fluoride in water and dental caries experience among children in two Australian states. METHODS Cross-sectional data were obtained from 9,690 South Australian children aged 5-15 years and 10,195 Queensland children aged 5-12 years. School dental service practitioners recorded DMFS and dmfs data. A questionnaire to parents gained information about residential history that was used to calculate children's percent of lifetime exposed to fluoridated water. RESULTS Greater exposure to fluoride in water was associated with lower dmfs and DMFS in both states (P < .01), although in South Australia the effect for DMFS was statistically significant only after controlling for extent of unknown fluoridation exposure and for fluoride supplements. Caries-fluoridation associations were stronger for dmfs compared with DMFS and for Queensland (5% of population fluoridated) compared with South Australia (70% of population fluoridated). Effects for DMFS persisted after controlling for socioeconomic factors. CONCLUSIONS Fluoridation was associated with lower caries experience. The weaker association with DMFS in South Australia may be due to less caries and more fissure sealants in that state, and is consistent with a "diffusion" effect, whereby a high proportion of the population exposed to fluoridation diminishes differences among exposure groups.
Long‐term efficacy of low‐dose all‐trans retinoic acid plus minimal chemotherapy induction followed by the addition of intravenous arsenic trioxide post‐remission therapy in newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukaemia

We evaluated the efficacy of low‐dose all‐trans retinoic acid (ATRA) plus minimal chemotherapy for induction in newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL). Furthermore, we compared its long‐term outcome with or without the addition of intravenous arsenic trioxide (ATO) in post‐remission therapy. From January 2004 to September 2011, a total of 109 patients with a median age of 41 years (range 14–73) were enrolled in the study. Two arms were assigned according to post‐remission protocols: ATO group cases were subsequently treated with intravenous ATO, standard chemotherapy, and ATRA. No‐ATO group cases were subsequently treated with chemotherapy and ATRA only. Patients were monitored of minimal residual disease (MRD) by reverse‐transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The haematologic complete remission (CR) rate was 96.3%. The early death rate was 0.9%. At a median follow‐up of 49 months (range 8–102 months), the Kaplan–Meier estimates of 5‐year relapse‐free survival were significantly better for patients in the ATO group than in the no‐ATO group, 94.4% vs 54.8% (p = 0.0001), and the 5‐year overall survival rate was 95.7% vs 64.1%, in the two groups (p = 0.003). Our data show that low‐dose ATRA plus minimal chemotherapy exhibits efficacy in induction therapy for untreated APL and suggest that the addition of ATO to post‐remission therapy significantly improves the long‐term outcome. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
External Debt Sustainability: Theory and Applications to Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

We present a conceptual framework for analyzing external debt sustainability in heavily indebted poor countries with predominantly concessional debt owed to official creditors. In the absence of a secondary market for official debt, the paper argues for the dynamic present value of debt as a proxy for assessing the real value of debt with below-market interest rates. It also models the current institutional mechanism of debt relief for low-income countries in the form of rescheduling on concessional terms. The analytical approach combines a stock analysis of external debt with a flow analysis of balance of payments in a parsimonious forward-looking framework suitable for projection of alternative scenarios and sensitivity analysis of key policy variables. Illustrative applications in two country cases show how the theory can be applied for policy formulation.
Equilibrium Search Models and the Transition from School to Work

This paper applies an equilibrium search to study the transition from schooling to work of U.S. high school graduates. We consider the case where there is heterogeneity in firm productivity and the number of firm types is discrete. For this case the estimation problem is non-standard and the likelihood function is non-differentiable. This paper provides a computational method to obtain the MLE and, through several Monte Carlo studies, characterizes the behavior of the estimator. Applying these methods to the transition from school to work, our results show that nonemployed blacks receive fewer offers than whites and employed blacks are more likely to lose their jobs. Importantly, employed blacks and whites receive job offers at the same rate. However, the difference in job destruction rates is so great that it accounts for three-quarters of the black-white wage differential.
The Effects of Unions on Employment and Productivity: An Unresolved Contradiction

The evidence that unions substantially increase productivity is contradicted by the evidence that the effect of unions on employment is small. It is shown in this paper that if the union is constrained by the firm's demand function, and it is the efficiency units of labor that are in the demand function, then essentially the only way to resolve this contradiction is for unions to raise the productivity of capital (and not of labor) under conditions where the substitutability between labor and capital is very limited. But estimates of the substitutability parameter are near unity, so that one of these effects must be wrong: either unions do not substantially increase productivity or they substantially reduce employment.