Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Existence of Nerve Growth Factor Receptors, Tyrosine Kinase A and p75 Neurotrophin Receptors in Intervertebral Discs and on Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons Innervating Intervertebral Discs in Rats

Study Design. We evaluated 2 types of nerve growth factor (NGF) receptors on dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells and nerve fibers innervating rat lumbar intervertebral discs. Objective. To examine the NGF receptors, tyrosine kinase A (TrkA) and p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) on DRG cells and nerve fibers innervating rat lumbar intervertebral discs using immunohistochemistry and a retrograde neurotracing method. Summary of Background Data. Nerve innervation of intervertebral discs is thought to be a pathology of discogenic low back pain. NGF is also important for mediating inflammatory pain from intervertebral discs via the high affinity receptor, TrkA. Recent research has also revealed that the low affinity NGF receptor, p75NTR plays an important role in inflammatory pain. However, the presence of TrkA and p75NTR-immunoreactive (NTR-IR) DRG neurons innervating the rat L5/6 intervertebral disc, and p75NTR-IR nerve fibers in rat intervertebral discs, has not been explored. Methods. The Fluoro-gold neurotracer was applied to rat L5/6 intervertebral discs to determine the DRG neurons innervating the discs (n = 20). Fourteen days after surgery, bilateral DRG from the L1–L6 levels were harvested, sectioned, and immunostained for TrkA and p75NTR. The percentages of TrkA and p75NTR-IR DRG neurons were counted, and p75NTR-IR nerve fibers in L5/6 discs evaluated. Results. p75NTR-IR nerve fibers were found in superficial layers in the annulus fibrosus in L5/6 intervertebral discs. Fluoro-gold-labeled neurons innervating the L5/6 discs were distributed throughout DRG from the L1–L6 levels. The percentage of TrkA-immunoreactive (TrkA-IR) neurons was 75.1% ± 3.9% (mean ± SE) and that of p75NTR-IR neurons was 75.8% ± 5.1%. These percentages were similar for each level. Conclusion. Rat L5/6 intervertebral discs were innervated by multisegmental levels of DRG. Most DRG neurons innervating the discs were positive for 2 types of NGF receptors.
Labour market effects of parental leave in Europe

We investigate the aggregate-level effects of parental leave legislation on various labour market outcomes of women in 16 European countries for the period between 1970 and 2010. The paper updates and extends previous findings in the literature. The results show increases in participation rates that diminish with length and generosity of leave schemes. While pure participation numbers may not increase dramatically, there is strong evidence of increases in weekly working hours. On the other hand, a decrease in wages for high-skilled women and amplified occupational segregation are possible results of long parental leave schemes. We conclude with a discussion of the recent debates over extending minimum maternity and parental leave rights on the European level. Copyright , Oxford University Press.
The Interaction between Efficiency Wage Theories and Labour Turnover Costs

We develop a simple model to illustrate how the effects of turnover costs on wages can be reinforced by an efficiency wage effect. The insider-outsider theory explains why labour turnover costs allow the insiders to earn higher wages than outsiders. According to the efficiency wage theory, higher wages enhance the insiders' productivity. Therefore, the costs of replacing an insider by a low-paid, low-productivity outsider are increased, which allows the insiders to raise their wages further. Again, higher wages increase insiders' productivity, which allows them to earn still higher wages, and so on. Thus, the existence of a link between effort and wages can reinforce the effects of labour turnover costs on wages. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the Board of Trustees of the Bulletin of Economic Research 2003.
In Vivo Resistance and in Vitro Cellular Reactivity against Lymphosarcoma Cells in Immunized Mice 1

In an earlier report we have shown that an allogeneic but not a syngeneic immunization of mice with lymphoma cells evoked a humoral complement-dependent cytotoxic response against lymphoma cells syngeneic with the serum. Here we report the results of an investigation, using the same experimental model, on the cellular antitumor response in vitro and the in vivo tumor resistance. Both the allogeneic and the syngeneic antitumor immunizations induced a cellular immune response that was detectable in vitro and that was not inhibited by the correspondent antiserum that was obtained with the same type of immunization. The humoral and cellular immune responses evoked in our system seem, therefore, directed against different antigenic determinants. In the in vivo experiments the maximal antitumor protection was obtained in mice immunized syngeneically, whereas the allogeneic immunization gave a protection that was similar to that obtained in mice immunized with normal allogeneic thymus cells. However, mitomycin-C-blocked thymus cells were unable to induce any protection against the tumor challenge, whereas blocked allogeneic tumor cells conferred the same degree of protection as that obtained with untreated cells. The in vivo transfer in untreated mice of sera obtained with syngeneic or allogeneic antitumor immunization did not give any protection against the tumor challenge.
Axonal bias at a representational border in adult rat somatosensory cortex (S1)

The cortex is a highly organized structure and this organization is integral to cortical function. However, the circuitry underlying cortical organization is only partially understood, thus limiting our understanding of cortical function. Within the somatosensory cortex, organization is manifest as a map of the body surface. At the level of the cortical circuitry the horizontal connections of Layer 2/3 express a physiological bias that reflects discontinuities within the somatosensory map. Both excitation and inhibition are smaller when evoked from across a representational border, as compared to when they are evoked from within the representation. This physiological bias may be due to a bias in either the strength or number of synapses and/or the number of axons that cross this border and the extent of their arborization. In this study we used both an anterograde (Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin) and a retrograde (cholera toxin B) tracer to examine Layer 2/3 horizontal projections in rat S1. We determined that there is a bias in the amount of horizontal axonal projections that cross the forepaw/lower jaw border as compared to projections remaining within an individual representation. This bias in axonal projection and the correlated bias in excitation and inhibition may underlie the expression of the representational border. J. Comp. Neurol. 500:634–645, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Myocardial diastolic impairment caused by left ventricular hypertrophy involves basal septum more than other walls: analysis by pulsed Doppler tissue imaging.

OBJECTIVE To assess regional diastolic function in patients with hypertension with or without left ventricular hypertrophy using Doppler tissue imaging, a new tool that analyzes myocardial wall motion 'on-line'. METHODS Ten normotensive subjects, 20 hypertensive patients without hypertrophy and 20 with hypertrophy (left ventricular mass index >50 g/m2.7), all men, underwent Doppler echocardiography and Doppler tissue imaging, which was performed in apical view by placing pulsed sample volume at the level of the basal and middle septum, basal and middle lateral wall, and infero-posterior wall. Peak velocities and time-velocity integrals of myocardial early (Em) and late (Am) waves and their ratios, regional deceleration time and regional relaxation time were measured in each segment. RESULTS Transmitral peak E/A ratio was 1.37 in normotensive subjects, 1.01 in hypertensive patients without hypertrophy and 0.77 in those with hypertrophy (P < 0.00001). The myocardial diastolic indexes derived by Doppler tissue imaging worsened at all levels in hypertensive patients without hypertrophy compared with normotensive subjects. In hypertensive patients with hypertrophy, the majority of myocardial diastolic indexes were further impaired at the basal septal level, but only marginal differences were found in other regions, compared with indexes in hypertensive patients without hypertrophy. The main diastolic indexes were found, using separate intra-group analyses, to be more compromised at the basal septum than at other levels only in hypertrophic hypertensive patients. The prevalence of regions having peak Em/Am ratios < 1 increased significantly from normotensive subjects to hypertensive patients without hypertrophy, but not significantly from these to the hypertrophic group. Among pooled hypertensive patients, after adjusting for heart rate and diastolic blood pressure using multivariate models, the septal wall thickness was shown to be an independent determinant of the diastolic indexes of the basal and middle septum. CONCLUSIONS In hypertensive patients without hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction is uniform along the ventricular walls, whereas in those with hypertrophy it is more evident at the basal septal level than in other walls. Overall among hypertensive patients, the diastolic properties of the interventricular septum worsen as the thickness of the septal wall increases, in the presence and in the absence of hypertrophy.
Collection of rete testis fluid from rats without previous efferent duct ligation.

A method has been developed for collection of rete testis fluid from a rat efferent duct without prior efferent duct ligation. Flow rates averaged 0.64 ± 0.04 SD mI/mm. Pressure in the unligated efferent duct ranged from 1.8-4.5 cm H20. After 14 h of ligation, duct pressure reached 40 cm 1120. Emptying of the rete contents after 16-29 h of efferent duct ligation was biphasic with 30-40% of accumulated fluid draining within 40 mm and a further 20-40% imerging at a much slower rate over the next 4 h. Recovery of more than 60% of theoretical fluid stored within 5 h was rare. Sperm counts from 2 rats with unligated efferent ducts yielded sperm production rates of 28.2 and 34.4 X 10’ sperm/day. After 16-29 h efferent duct ligation sperm concentrations were highest in the initial drainage and fell by 3 1-78% during the early fast drainage phase. Testosterone concentration averaged 24.2 ± 4.0 SD and 20.0 ± 3.5 SD ng/ml for rats without and with efferent duct ligation respectively with no significant difference between the two groups. Testosterone concentration remained constant in successive volume increments of rete fluid after 16 h efferent duct ligation. When sufficient rete fluid volume was available for detection, concentrations of estradiol-17i3 averaged 248 ± 95 pg/mI in unligated rats and 68 ± 42 pg/mI in ligated rats (P<0.05). Additionally, estradiol-17a levels increased more than 5-fold during 3 h drainage of rete fluid after 23 h efferent duct ligation suggesting that estradiol secretion may be suppressed by efferent duct ligation. These studies suggest that collection of rete fluid from laboratory animals without recourse to efferent duct ligation may provide a more physiologic preparation for study of the fluid environment for testicular spermatozoa.
Uncertainties collide: lawyers and money laundering, terrorist finance regulation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the tentative, highly contingent nature of the contemporary press to impose stringent anti‐criminal finance regulatory obligations onto Canadian legal counsel.Design/methodology/approach – The approach used in this work is to bring together problems associated with different areas of the anti‐criminal finance project in order to demonstrate how these problems compound in the context of the fusion of Canadian lawyers and anti‐criminal finance regulation. It draws chiefly on Canadian law and Canadian and international scholarship.Findings – This paper shows that the tasking of Canadian legal counsel with additional regulatory burdens continues the pattern of developing legal strategies without paying sufficient attention to the actual results that the strategies produce.Practical implications – This paper suggests that any continued construction of an anti‐criminal finance apparatus should be accompanied by enhanced study of its actual ability to generat.
Ex Vivo Nanofiber Expansion and Genetic Modification of Human Cord Blood-Derived Progenitor/Stem Cells Enhances Vasculogenesis

The stem cell therapy for treating ischemic diseases is promising; however, the limited availability and compromised quality of progenitor cells in aged and diseased patients limit its therapeutic use. Here we report a nanofiber-based ex vivo stem cell expansion technology and proangiogenic growth factors overexpression of human umbilical cord blood (UCB)-derived progenitor cells to enhance angiogenic potential of therapeutic stem cells. The progenitor cells were expanded ~225-fold on nanofiber-based serum-free ex vivo expansion culture technique without inducing differentiation. The expanded cells express high levels of stem cell homing receptor, CXCR4, and adhesion molecule, LFA-1. The nanofiber-expanded stem cells uptake AcLDL effectively, and migrate efficiently in an in vitro transmigration assay. These expanded cells can also differentiate into endothelial and smooth muscle cells in vitro. In a NOD/SCID mouse hind limb vascular injury model, nanofiber-expanded cells were more effective in blood flow restoration and this effect was further augmented by VEGF164 and PDGF-BB, growth factor overexpression. The data indicate that nanofiber-based ex vivo expansion technology can provide an essential number of therapeutic stem cells. Additionally, proangiogenic growth factors overexpression in progenitor cells can potentially improve autologous or allogeneic stem cell therapy for ischemic diseases.
Opinion of the zakat recipients on their food security: a case study on Bangladesh

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of zakat fund on the food expenditure of the households to assess the impact of zakat fund on the agricultural production of the households and to assess the opinion of the zakat recipients on food security status under zakat program. Design/methodology/approach - – Samples were selected for this study using the simple random sampling (SRS) technique. A total of 149 households were selected from 196 households. A survey was conducted during January to March 2011 among the project beneficiaries using questionnaire. The ordinary least squares technique was used to assess the impact of zakat on food security status of the zakat recipients. Heteroscedasticity problem was detected in this study which was corrected using White's method. Logit model was used to assess the opinions of the zakat recipients on their food security status under the Hasana project. Findings - – This study shows that amount of zakat provided to the poor recipients failed to create any significant influence on their agricultural production, food expenditure and food security status. The study also shows that household income, family members’ involvement in agricultural activities and numbers of income-generating activities pursued by the households were the key determinants of households’ food consumption. Originality/value - – This study helps in assessing the opinion of the zakat recipients about the effectiveness of the zakat program on their living standard in terms of household agricultural production and food security and also assisting in policy planning for alleviating rural poverty in Bangladesh through the zakat system.
Primary Commodity Prices and the Terms of Trade

This paper provides a survey of a range of issues involved in the analysis of primary commodity prices and the terms of trade. Particular emphasis is placed upon the long-run behavior of the terms of trade between primary commodities and manufactures, and the paper presents some new evidence regarding the long-run behavior of Australia's terms of trade. Copyright 1990 by The Economic Society of Australia.
Effects of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Outbreaks on U.S. Cattle and Beef Prices

U.S. trade of beef and live cattle declined substantially after the discoveries of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada and the United States in 2003. In this study, an econometric model is developed to estimate the effects of lifting trade restrictions on U.S. cattle and beef prices. Results show that increases in imports of Canadian cattle and beef would lower prices of slaughter steers, feeder steers, and retail beef, but these negative impacts would be more than negated by the positive effects on prices that would result if beef exports return to near pre-BSE levels. Copyright 2007, Oxford University Press.
Are internal auditing practices related to the age of the internal audit function?: Exploratory evidence and directions for future research

Purpose - This study seeks to analyze and explore whether the organizational profile, the size of the internal audit function (IAF) and internal audit (IA) practices are related to the age of the IAF. Design/methodology/approach - This study is based on data collected from the Common Body of Knowledge study conducted by the Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation in 2006. In total, 9,366 practitioners completed the questionnaire, representing 92 countries. Findings - This study has identified three clusters of IAF based on their age. The findings show that: the organizational profile is significantly different between these three clusters; the current size of the IAF is related to the age of the IAF; those IAFs that were set up in the early days of the IIA (established in 1941) are more likely to use the IIA Standards and have more internal auditors with internal auditing qualifications; a quality assurance and improvement program is more common within older IAFs; and older IAFs have a more diversified IA agenda and more frequently perform advanced IA activities. Research limitations/implications - This paper does not allow conclusions to be reached on causality: the results in this paper are based only on univariate association tests. Given that age of the IAF is not a proxy for its maturity, a multidimensional measure of the maturity of an IAF could be developed. Practical implications - The results reported in this paper can be useful for practitioners who wish to benchmark their IAF and for the IIA to continue implementing their mission “progress through sharing”. Originality/value - This is the first large-scale study focusing on the age of the IAF. The results of this study have resulted in interesting directions for future research.
sICAM-1 as a serum marker in the diagnosis and follow-up of treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVE To detect the value of sICAM-1 in the diagnosis and follow-up of treatment of tuberculosis. DESIGN sICAM-1 levels were evaluated before and after treatment in 30 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, only before treatment in five patients with pneumonia, five with lung cancer, and five with bronchiectasis, and in 10 healthy volunteers. RESULTS sICAM-1 levels were as follows: 436.2 +/- 194.4 ng/ml in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, 274 +/- 32.1 ng/ml in lung cancer patients, 268 +/- 41.9 ng/ml in bronchiectasis patients, 199.6 +/- 43.1 ng/ml in pneumonia patients, and 146.5 +/- 20.2 ng/ml in healthy individuals. sICAM-1 levels of tuberculosis cases before treatment were higher than in both the healthy group and in all the other groups. The levels in the healthy group were lower than in all other groups. CONCLUSION The cut-off point (298 ng/ml) obtained by adding the standard deviation to the mean sICAM-1 value of patients without tuberculosis had 83.3% sensitivity, 86.6% specificity and 84.4% accuracy in differentiating pulmonary tuberculosis from other pulmonary diseases. sICAM-1 can be used as an auxiliary marker in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis.
On the Neutrality of Inside and Outside Money

The relationships between nominal inside money and real economic activity and nominal outside money and real economic activity are explored using data on checkable deposits, M2 excluding currency, the monetary base, and real income in the United States from 1900 to 1992. This is done by calculating the long-run elasticities of real output with respect to inside and outside components of the money stock. Small but significant deviations from neutrality are detected for inside money over a range of identifying assumptions. The evidence suggests, however, that the source of nonneutrality is not the one hypothesized by J. G. Gurley and E. S. Shaw (1960). Copyright 1997 by The London School of Economics and Political Science
Association mapping of drought tolerance genes

Association analysis through linkage disequilibrium is a useful new tool for the dissection of complex traits and identification of superior alleles at genes identified. Presented here are the results in the search for DNA polymorphisms associated with drought tolerance, a highly quantitative trait in maize, using the candidate gene approach. The drought association mapping test characterized 350 drought affected and well watered maize genotypes in 5 locations over 2 years. Drought tolerance and metabolic component traits from different tissues were measured and associated with 1536 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers from drought candidate genes. Fifteen SNPs were associated with field phenotypes, including grain yield under water stress, when analyzed singly, but only two were still associated with drought related traits when the experiment wide error rate was corrected to an acceptable level. One hundred and one SNPs were associated with the metabolic products, including genes for ABA and carbohydrate metabolism, transcription and signaling factors, and chromatin remodeling, when analyzed singly, but only 11 were still associated with the corrected error rate. The candidate gene approach for association analysis of quantitative traits appears to have the greatest chance of success when the trait can be broken down into component traits that are well characterized at the biochemical level, with known pathways that can be used to drive the choice of gene candidates. Lessons learned in this study will be used in a new association study to seek genes giving resistance to aflatoxin accumulation in maize, another highly quantitative trait, starting from candidate pathways.
Impact of macroeconomic indicators on Indian capital markets

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the long-run relationship between the Indian capital markets and key macroeconomic variables such as interest rates, inflation rate, exchange rates and gross domestic savings (GDS) of Indian economy. Design/methodology/approach - Quarterly time series data spanning the period from January 1995 to December 2008 has been used. The unit root test, the co-integration test and error correction mechanism (ECM) have been applied to derive the long run and short-term statistical dynamics. Findings - The findings of the study establish that there is co-integration between macroeconomic variables and Indian stock indices which is indicative of a long-run relationship. The ECM shows that the rate of inflation has a significant impact on both the BSE Sensex and the S&P CNX Nifty. Interest rates on the other hand, have a significant impact on S&P CNX Nifty only. However, in case of foreign exchange rate, significant impact is seen only on BSE Sensex. The changing GDS is observed as insignificantly associated with both the BSE Sensex and the S&P CNX Nifty. The paper, on the whole, conclusively establishes that the capital markets indices are dependent on macroeconomic variables even though the same may not be statistically significant in all the cases. Originality/value - This study emphasises on the impact of macroeconomic variables on the stock market performance of a developing economy, whose performance is measured by these variables.