Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pdgfrα functions in endothelial-derived cells to regulate neural crest cells and the development of the great arteries

ABSTRACT Originating as a single vessel emerging from the embryonic heart, the truncus arteriosus must septate and remodel into the aorta and pulmonary artery to support postnatal life. Defective remodeling or septation leads to abnormalities collectively known as conotruncal defects, which are associated with significant mortality and morbidity. Multiple populations of cells must interact to coordinate outflow tract remodeling, and the cardiac neural crest has emerged as particularly important during this process. Abnormalities in the cardiac neural crest have been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple conotruncal defects, including persistent truncus arteriosus, double outlet right ventricle and tetralogy of Fallot. However, the role of the neural crest in the pathogenesis of another conotruncal abnormality, transposition of the great arteries, is less well understood. In this report, we demonstrate an unexpected role of Pdgfra in endothelial cells and their derivatives during outflow tract development. Loss of Pdgfra in endothelium and endothelial-derived cells results in double outlet right ventricle and transposition of the great arteries. Our data suggest that loss of Pdgfra in endothelial-derived mesenchyme in the outflow tract endocardial cushions leads to a secondary defect in neural crest migration during development. Summary: Loss of Pdgfrα in endothelial-derived mesenchyme results in defective neural crest behavior and is associated with conotruncal defects including, surprisingly, transposition of the great arteries.
Brewing Justice: Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival

List of Figures List of Tables Preface Introduction 1. A Movement or a Market? 2. Coffee, Commodities, Crisis 3. One Region, Two Markets 4. The Difference a Market Makes: Livelihoods and Labor 5. A Sustainable Cup? Fair Trade, Shade-Grown Coffee, and Organic Production 6. Eating and Staying on the Land: Food Security and Migration 7. Dancing with the Devil? 8. Mejor, Pero No Muy Bien Que Digamos": The Limits of Fair Trade 9. Strengthening Fair Trade Conclusion Acknowledgments Appendix: Research Methods Notes Bibliography Index
Prevalence of childhood obesity and hypertension in south of Iran.

INTRODUCTION Obesity is a growing problem worldwide and is likely a major cause of the increased prevalence of high blood pressure in children. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of pediatric obesity and its association with hypertension in a sample of children and adolescents in Fars province (south of Iran). MATERIALS AND METHODS This cross-sectional study was carried out in Shiraz during a period from 2010 to 2011. A total of 2000 healthy students aged 11 to 17 years were included. Data on weight, height, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (measured 3 times with 5-minute intervals), and parental history of hypertension and educational level were obtained. The 95th percentile body mass index for age and sex was considered obesity. RESULTS Overall, 7% and 11.8% of the students were obese and hypertensive, respectively. Blood pressure was associated with body mass index. Maternal education level was not associated with hypertension in the child. CONCLUSIONS In this study, obesity was an important risk factor for hypertension. Our data showed that prevalence of obesity has not been changed in the recent 5 years in Iran, but that of hypertension has risen significantly. The high prevalence of hypertension in overweight and obese children emphasizes the need for prevention and control of childhood obesity and hypertension in early stages.
Tumour necrosis factor production in vivo and in vitro in response to Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and the cell wall fractions thereof

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) was detected in scrum from mice challenged with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. The scrum TNF levels of mice challenged with an avirulent strain were significantly higher than those of mice challenged with a virulent strain, and the same was observed for the TNF levels of mice challenged with a cell wall fraction (F1) from the two fungal strains. Fraction F1 consisted of chitin and β‐glucan; but although the chitin contents were similar for the two strains, the avirulcnt strain allowed a greater content of β‐glucan. The β‐glucan, purified from both strains, increased serum TNF levels in an identical dose‐dependent manner, whereas purified chitin did not induce scrum TNF levels. P. brasiliensis, the F1 fractions and β‐glucan induced macrophages to secrete TNF in vitro. The differences in TNF levels, induced by the different fungal strains, were correlated with the β‐glucan concentrations in the cell walls of both the avirulent and virulent strains of P. brasiliensis. These findings support a role for TNF in the pathogenicity of P. brasiliensis.
The role of banking sector in the Arab economic development

This paper aims to explore the role of banking system in enhancing the economic growth in the Arab economy. The paper selected nine Arab states using the coefficient correlation between domestic credit as the main engine factor of financial sector and the GDP and capital fixed formation as measures of economic growth for the period 1975 to 2005. The study concluded that there was a significant association between domestic credit and both GDP and fixed capital formation. The study also found that there were different predicted variables found in each of the selected Arab states.
A New Test of Money-Income Causality

This paper investigates the prima facie causal relationship between money and income employing a methodology--the multiple rank F test--the results of which are invariant to monotonic transformations of all variables and robust over alternative distributions of the errors. In contrast to prior functional-form dependent parametric analyses, evidence of prima facie causality between money and income is found for the 1970-88 time period. This evidence is consistent with an elementary theoretical framework in which the direction and strength of causality is dependent upon the definition of money. Copyright 1992 by Ohio State University Press.
International and Domestic Collateral Constraints in a Model of Emerging Market Crises

We build a model of emerging markets crises which features two types of collateral constraints. Firms in a domestic economy have limited borrowing capacity from international investors. They also have limited borrowing capacity with respect to each other. We study how the presence of and changes in these collateral constraints affect financial and real variables. A binding international constraint in the aggregate leads to a sharp rise in interest rates and fire sales of domestic assets, while limited domestic collateral can lead to wasted international collateral. These two collateral constraints can interact in important ways. The first is disintermediation: a fire sale of domestic assets causes banks to fail in their function of reallocating resources across the economy leading to wasted international collateral. The second is a dynamic effect. We show that firms in an economy with limited domestic collateral and a binding international collateral constraint will not adequately precaution against adverse shocks, increasing the severity of these shocks. Our approach is distinctive in that, while much of the literature on the role of financial constraints in macroeconomics draws their insights within either of these collateral deficiencies, we argue that their static and dynamic interactions have important consequences for emerging markets' performance.
The Impact of the 2008 Crisis on BM&FBovespa's term Structure of Conditional Correlations

This article uses a BEKK-MGARCH model to identify the historical behavior of the term structure of covariance of the Brazilian BM&FBovespa stock exchange when compared to other exchanges in the American continent. The purpose of this research is to analyze the impact of the 2008 crisis on the cohesion of the Brazilian stock exchange when compared to the other exchanges in the sample. To this end, historical series were collected from five different stock market indexes ranging from the pre-crisis period until 2011. The bivariate modeling results indicate the presence of increased cohesion in the stock market indexes during the crisis period and the non-return of this cohesion to pre-crisis levels. They also indicate that, among the pairs analyzed, the pair of indexes IBOV x IPSA are the most appropriate choice for portfolio diversification.
3-Acetylpyridine: Effects in vitro Related to Teratogenic Activity in Chicken Embryos

Production of skeletal muscle hypoplasia by 3-acetylpyridine and its complete reversal by nicotinamide in developing chicken embryos have been confirmed. Cultures of developing embryonic chicken muscle show degenerative effects produced by 3-acetylpyridine; these effects are reversed by nicotinamide. Cartilage production in cultured chondrogenic cells is potentiated by 3-acetylpyridine; this potentiation is completely reversed by nicotinamide. It is suggested that nicotinamide-or pyridine-nucleotide-dependent reactions influence normal differentiation of limb mesoderm cells by inhibiting chondrogenic-cell and potentiating muscle-cell expression or proliferation.
High frequency of epithelial chimerism in liver transplants demonstrated by microdissection and STR‐analysis

It has recently been shown that epithelial cells derived from stem cells originating outside the liver are integrated into liver allografts. Whether epithelial intragraft chimerism protects transplants from rejection or chronic transplant dysfunction, and whether it interferes with recurrence of primary liver disease, is not known. Twenty‐seven sequential biopsies derived from 9 liver‐transplant recipients were studied for chimerism of hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. The target cells were isolated by laser microdissection after cytokeratin immunolabeling and genotyped using DNA analysis of a highly polymorphic short tandem repeat. Irrespective of whether early (up to 4 weeks) or late (more than 12 months) posttransplantation biopsies were studied, cholangiocyte chimerism was almost constantly found in 91% of the samples. No significant differences occurred between samples derived from patients with chronic organ dysfunction (n = 3), recurrent hepatitis (n = 3), or mild, unspecific changes (n = 3). By contrast, hepatocyte chimerism tended to occur later (55% vs. 22%) and appeared to be associated with recurrent hepatitis (67% vs. 27%). In this respect, chronic organ dysfunction did not differ from mild, unspecific changes. While cholangiocyte chimerism represents a constant and early phenomenon in liver transplantations, an enhanced chimeric integration of recipient‐derived hepatocytes can be observed in recurrent hepatitis, supporting the concept of an increased recruitment of extrahepatic progenitor cells to the liver in chronic hepatitis.
Educational Vouchers and Cream Skimming

Epple and Romano (1998) show equilibrium provision of education by public and private schools has the latter skim off the wealthiest and most-able students, and universal vouchers lead to further cream skimming. Here we study voucher design that injects private-school competition and increases technical efficiencies without cream skimming. Conditioning vouchers on student ability without restriction on participating schools' policies fails to affect significantly cream skimming. However, by adding restrictions like tuition constraints, such vouchers can reap the benefits of school competition without increased stratification. This is accomplished while allowing voluntary participation in the voucher system and without tax increases.
Assessment of office market in Hong Kong decentralized district versus CBD

Office decentralization has been developing rapidly in Hong Kong since the early 1980s. Office tenants relocated their businesses to the Decentralized District (DD) with the benefits of lower rent, higher flexibility of space use and better supporting facilities. This study examines office decentralization in Hong Kong's office market, both the upturn and downturn. It analyzes the vacancy trend of the Grade A office market in Hong Kong: DD versus Central Business District (CBD), based on a Decentralization Index. This study found that the CBD is a more stable office market sector than the non‐CBD. During a market upturn, the Grade A office market in Hong Kong DD has outperformed that in the CBD. However, during a market downturn, the vacancy rate in the DD tends to increase at a greater rate than that in the CBD. The study also found that periods with a sufficiently high index of decentralization generally experienced increases in CBD rent premiums.
PGE2, forskolin, and cholera toxin interactions in rabbit cortical collecting tubule.

To define further the mechanism whereby prostaglandin (PG) E2 inhibits the hydroosmotic response to ADH, we studied the interactions of PGE2 with ADH and two nonhormonal activators of adenylate cyclase, forskolin and cholera toxin, in the isolated perfused rabbit cortical collecting tubule. Forskolin increased hydraulic conductivity (LP) in a dose-dependent fashion and to a degree comparable with ADH-stimulated LP. Forskolin also augmented maximal ADH-stimulated LP, from 135 +/- 15 (SE) to 174 +/- 7 . 10(-7) cm . s-1 . atm-1. Following a 45-min lag phase, 10(-9) M cholera toxin at 37 degrees C increased LP to 107 +/- 12 . 10(-7) cm . s-1 . atm-1, a response that was stable with time. In paired studies at both 25 and 37 degrees C, PGE2 reversibly inhibited ADH-stimulated LP by 45 and 47%, respectively. However, the same protocols with PGE2 and forskolin failed to reveal any inhibitory effect of PGE2 on forskolin-stimulated LP. PGE2 reversibly inhibited cholera toxin-stimulated LP, from 124 +/- 15 to 100 +/- 15 . 10(-7) cm . s-1 . atm-1. These results support the view that PGE2 inhibits ADH-stimulated LP by inhibiting the synthesis of cAMP and suggest that this inhibition occurs at a functional site at or distal to the nucleotide regulatory protein of adenylate cyclase.
Do Individual Retirement Accounts Increase Savings

Do IRAs increase savings or are they merely a windfall for otherwise well-off taxpayers? A major objective of universal IRAs was to encourage saving for retirement. A spirited debate has ensued over the use of IRA tax deductions as a means of promoting private savings. The crucial policy issue is not whether IRA contributions were substantial; they clearly were, representing about 30 percent of personal savings from 1982 to 1986. Rather the important question is the source of IRA contributions. IRAs can be financed out of 1) tax savings themselves; 2) shifting existing assets into IRAs; 3) borrowing; 4) diverting new savings into IRAs; or 5) reducing consumption. The key question is how much of IRA savings comes from reduced consumption. For overall savings to increase, private savings must increase by more than the tax savings. Conventional economic theory and evidence strongly suggests that IRAs were not effective savings incentives. The challenge to this view rests largely on studies which have appealed to a variety of "psychological" factors not normally incorporated in economic analysis. This paper reviews both types of analysis and concludes that the conventional view remains sound. Thus, a dollar devoted to deficit reduction is likely to be a safer bet for increasing savings than a dollar devoted to IRA benefits.
Shifting dynamics of the welfare politics in Taiwan: from income maintenance to labour protection

Welfare expansion in Taiwan during the 1990s was driven by the democratization that focused on provision of social insurance to the marginalized population groups. Since the late 1990s, however, the dynamics of welfare reform has gradually shifted to tackling new social risks emerging from economic globalization and labour market changes. This article analyzes these structural changes and the relevant institutional features of labour market policies. It shows the intensive engagement of the Taiwanese welfare state with labour protection in the domains of unemployment assistance, employment activation, and collective bargaining. Furthermore, the rise of atypical work has equally caused wide concern regarding its low wage income and insufficient social protection, triggering debates about what policy measures can effectively tackle the problem of working poor. The changing nature of welfare politics in Taiwan requires the scholarship of the East Asian welfare state to rethink, both theoretically and empirically, the adequacy of the ‘developmental’ thesis that is used to characterize social policy development in this region.
Multi-Species Diffusion in CdTe

We studied theoretically chemical self-diffusion and the diffusion of extrinsic atoms in CdTe. We compiled a general model describing the multi-species diffusion of arbitrary amounts of elements in a form optimized for numerical calculations and applied it to a model system of CdTe doped with slow- or fast-diffusing elements. The diffusion of slowly diffusing atoms was analyzed and compared with experimental findings. We uncovered possible drawbacks in the experimental data that might affect the ensuing analysis by researchers, so generating incorrect conclusions. We suggest a method of purifying CdTe from fast-diffusing impurities based on a proper annealing/etching process.
The Use of Customer Surveys for Market Definition and the Competitive Assessment of Horizontal Mergers

In this paper, we discuss the U.K. Competition Commission's (CC) extensive use of customer surveys in merger control. We point out how the U.K.'s “phase two” merger regime compels the CC to decide upon, design, and commission a customer survey almost as soon as its merger investigation begins. We highlight the effect that this has on two areas of the CC's merger control process that use customer surveys—definition of the relevant market and assessment of the competitive effects of a merger in the relevant market. We illustrate how to avoid seven consequential pitfalls in using customer surveys with case-study examples from two recent CC horizontal merger inquiries. We suggest that customer surveys, carefully done, have provided useful insights for the CC, but the complications of doing them have meant that they always have been considered in the context of other evidence.
Antipsychotic Use in Australia: The Patients' Perspective

Objective: To describe patterns of self-reported medication use in a population-based sample of people with psychotic disorders; to establish correlates with clinical variables; to determine perceived side-effect burden; and investigate patient perception of efficacy for different classes of antipsychotic agent. Methods: Using the Australian Low Prevalence (Psychosis) Study database we analysed patterns of psychotropic medication and examined their clinical correlates. We also determined rates of reported side-effects and perceived benefit or otherwise associated with the different antipsychotic drugs. Results: Of the 1126 persons interviewed, 88.6% were on psychotropic medication; 54.3% were using ‘typical’ antipsychotics (24.8% in depot form), while 8.3% were on clozapine, 13.3% on risperidone, and 8.8% on olanzapine. Around 30% of women, and 20% of men, were on mood stabilizers or antidepressants. Over half of respondents were on more than one agent. Of those on only one agent, nearly 80% reported at least one side-effect; the mean number of side-effects was 3.9 for typical antipsychotics, and 3.3 for atypicals. Atypicals, notably clozapine, tended to be rated by patients as more efficacious than typicals; depot preparations, in particular, tended to be seen as unhelpful, and were associated with a higher side-effect burden. Conclusions: This study presents an insight into patients’ perception of efficacy and sideeffects of antipsychotic medications. The findings have implications for clinicians, and can inform treatment options in people with psychotic disorders.
High prevalence of nasal MRSA carriage in slaughterhouse workers in contact with live pigs in The Netherlands

SUMMARY Livestock-associated MRSA has been found in various animals, livestock farmers and retail meat. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and determinants of nasal MRSA carriage in pig slaughterhouse workers. Three large pig slaughterhouses in The Netherlands were studied in 2008 using human and environmental samples. The overall prevalence of nasal MRSA carriage in employees of pig slaughterhouses was 5·6% (14/249) (95% CI 3·4–9·2) and working with live pigs was the single most important factor for being MRSA positive (OR 38·2, P<0·0001). At the start of the day MRSA was only found in environmental samples from the lairages (10/12), whereas at the end of the day MRSA was found in the lairages (11/12), the dirty (5/12) and clean (3/12) areas and green offal (1/3). The MRSA status of the environmental samples correlated well with the MRSA status of humans working in these sections (r=0·75). In conclusion, a high prevalence of nasal MRSA carriage was found in pig-slaughterhouse workers, and working with live pigs is the most important risk factor. Exact transmission routes from animals to humans remain to be elucidated in order to enable application of targeted preventive measures.
A second-order stochastic dominance portfolio efficiency measure

In this paper, we introduce a new linear programming second-order stochastic dominance (SSD) portfolio efficiency test for portfolios with scenario approach for distribution of outcomes and a new SSD portfolio inefficiency measure. The test utilizes the relationship between CVaR and dual second-order stochastic dominance, and contrary to tests in Post [Post] and Kuosmanen [Kuosmanen], our test detects a dominating portfolio which is SSD efficient. We derive also a necessary condition for SSD efficiency using convexity property of CVaR to speed up the computation. The efficiency measure represents a distance between the tested portfolio and its least risky dominating SSD efficient portfolio. We show that this measure is consistent with the second-order stochastic dominance relation. We find out that this measure is convex and we use this result to describe the set of SSD efficient portfolios. Finally, we illustrate our results on a numerical example.
Wage Inflation, Electoral Uncertainty and the Exchange Rate Regime: Theory and UK Evidence

The authors extend the "rational partisan" model of inflation to allow for the effects of unemployment persistence on the dynamics of inflation. The authors combine this model with the "exchange-rate-regime" model of inflation, and examine the experience of the United Kingdom. Outside the fixed exchange rate regime of Bretton Woods, persistently high inflation can be attributed to the failure of political parties to precommit to price stability, in the light of unemployment persistence. Election times are associated with higher inflation, with the exception of the Thatcher period. There is no evidence that the Labour party is in general more tolerant to inflation than the Conservatives. Copyright 1992 by Royal Economic Society.