Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regional blood flow effects of ANP in conscious dogs: preferential gastrointestinal vasoconstriction.

We studied total and regional blood flow responses to human atrial natriuretic peptide (alpha-hANP) using radioactive microspheres in six conscious dogs. Hemodynamic responses to infusions of alpha-hANP at 75 ng.kg-1.min-1 were determined in each dog in the presence and absence of autonomic reflexes using the ganglion blocking agent pentolinium. When autonomic reflexes were blocked, alpha-hANP caused a substantial reduction in gastrointestinal (GI) vascular conductance (35%) but had no significant effects in brain, kidneys, liver, skeletal muscle, or skin. This alpha-hANP-induced fall in GI conductance contributed more than 40% to the fall in total peripheral conductance (TPC) of 24% occurring after autonomic blockade. A fall in myocardial vascular conductance, most prominent in the left ventricle, contributed a further 40% to the fall in TPC. When autonomic reflexes were intact, alpha-hANP caused vasoconstriction in the GI region (29% fall in vascular conductance), had no significant effects on myocardial vascular conductance but significantly increased splenic vascular conductance. In addition to these systemic responses, alpha-hANP infusion also significantly reduced pulmonary vascular conductance, independent of autonomic reflex activity or changes in pulmonary artery pressure. Thus our results in conscious dogs demonstrate that alpha-hANP causes a systemic vasoconstriction, most pronounced in the GI region.
Low-Molecular-Weight Heparins and Thrombocytosis

BACKGROUND: A possible association between low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) and thrombocytosis was suspected from spontaneous reports to the French Pharmacovigilance System. This association is not mentioned in LMWH's summary of product characteristics. METHODS: All case records in the French Pharmacovigilance database were reanalyzed for relevance and causality, and the case/noncase approach was used including reports of thrombocytosis as cases and all other reports as noncases. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients treated with LMWHs had platelet counts >500 × 103/mm3. All patients were asymptomatic, and 1 had a positive rechallenge. There were 143 cases of thrombocytosis among the 174 213 reports in the database, with 61 of 4644 involving LMWHs. The calculated relative reporting ratio is 27.5 (p < 0.0001; 95% CI 19.5 to 38.9). CONCLUSIONS: There is a highly significant association of thrombocytosis reported with LMWH treatment.
Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program: An Empirical Analysis for Coastal Properties

A perennial question about the National Flood Insurance Program is: how can participation be increased? An empirical analysis of individual-level data reveals that in a sample of coastal areas the participation rate is 49 percent of eligible properties. Participation responsiveness to price is inelastic, but it has been increased by the mandatory purchase requirements for mortgage borrowers. Easing conditions for participation in the program would probably not reduce flood control measures, such as seawalls, which may degrade beach conditions and coastal ecosystems.
The Sydney Olympic Games announcement and Australian stock market reaction

On 23 September 1993 the International Olympic Committee announced that Sydney would host the 2000 Olympic Games. Given the keen competition between rival cities bidding for the Olympics it could be argued that the winning city anticipates economic benefits to accrue from hosting the games. To the extent that this is valid, some stock market reaction may be found to the Olympic announcement. Testing the hypothesis for Australia the following results are found. First no overall impact on the stock market is found. Second, only a limited number of industries portfolios show a significant positive impact to the Olympic games announcement. Specifically the industry portfolios are: building materials, developers and contracts, engineering and miscellaneous services. This is consistent with the economic boost for the Olympics being in infrastructure and development and thus in the general building and construction sector. Third the results clearly demonstrate that for the industries where there was a significant positive stock market reaction to the Olympic Games announcement, that significant positive stock market reaction is confined to stocks based in the state which will host the games, New South Wales.
Diminished production of interleukin‐6 in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B‐CLL) cells from patients at advanced stages of disease

The production of the cytokines interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) in B‐CLL cells from 24 patients at different stages of chronic lymphocytic B‐cell leukaemia (B‐CLL) was investigated in vitro. In the majority of these cases, low spontaneous IL‐6 production was measured. Mitogenic stimulation with phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate (PMA) or PMA plus interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) resulted in a tremendous increase in TNF‐α and IL‐6 production in cells representing early stage (Binet A) disease. In contrast, very little, if any, production took place in cells from patients with advanced stage (Binet C) B‐CLL. The results from stage B patients were intermediate. The most remarkable difference was recorded in PMA‐stimulated (1 ng/ml) IL‐6 production. In stimulated 72 h cultures, IL‐6 concentrations were 1280 ± 1080 pg/ml for Binet A (n = 11), 757 ± 597 pg/ml for Binet B (n = 8) and 46.0 ± 84.0 pg/ml for Binet C (n = 5). The differences in IL‐6 production between stage C v B and stage C v A were both statistically significant (P = 0.025). Similar effects, but to a lesser extent, were observed in TNF‐α production. These results suggest that the varying capacity to produce IL‐6 and TNF‐α may play a role in B‐CLL progression and in clinical manifestations of the disease.
Predicting the Crises of the Greek Drachma

The paper investigates the role of fundamentals in the speculative episodes experienced by the Greek drachma during the 1990s, and examines whether the openness of the Greek economy has altered the role of fundamentals in the likelihood of a currency crisis. An interesting aspect of the empirical analysis is that the crises are related significantly to macroeconomic fundamentals of the Greek economy. The analysis shows that the openness of the Greek economy has introduced new elements and concerns in the predictability of speculative attacks on the drachma.
A memory-based model for planning target reach postures in the presence of obstructions

Existing posture prediction and motion simulation models generally lack the capability of simulating human obstruction avoidance during target reach. This compromises the utility of digital human models for ergonomics, as many design problems involve interactions between humans and obstructions. To address this problem, this paper presents a novel memory-based posture planning (MBPP) model, which plans reach postures that avoid obstructions. In this model, the task space is partitioned into small regions called cells. For a given human figure, each cell is linked to a memory that stores various alternative postures for reaching the cell. When a posture planning problem is given in terms of a target and an obstruction configuration, the model examines postures belonging to the relevant cell, selects collision-free ones and modifies them to exactly meet the hand target acquisition constraint. Simulation results showed that the MBPP model is capable of rapidly and robustly planning reach postures for various scenarios.
Rewarding improvements: optimal dynamic contracts with subjective evaluation

We study a T-period contracting problem where performance evaluations are subjective and private. We find that the principal should punish the agent for performing poorly in the future even when the evaluations were good in the past; at the same time, the agent should be given opportunities to make up for poor evaluations in the past with better performance in the future. Optimal incentives are thus asymmetric. Conditional on the same number of good evaluations, an agent whose performance improves over time should be better rewarded than one whose performance deteriorates.
Controlling the time evolution of mAb N‐linked glycosylation, Part I: Microbioreactor experiments

N‐linked glycosylation is of key importance for the efficacy of many biotherapeutic proteins such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Media components and cell culture conditions have been shown to significantly affect N‐linked glycosylation during the production of glycoproteins using mammalian cell fed‐batch cultures. These parameters inevitably change in modern industrial processes with concentrated feed additions and cell densities beyond 2 × 107 cells/mL. In order to control the time‐dependent changes of protein glycosylation, an automated microbioreactor system was used to investigate the effects of culture pH, ammonia, galactose, and manganese chloride supplementation on nucleotide sugars as well as mAb N‐linked glycosylation in a time‐dependent way. Two different strategies comprising of a single shift of culture conditions as well as multiple media supplementations along the culture duration were applied to obtain changing and constant glycosylation profiles. The different feeding approaches enabled constant glycosylation patterns throughout the entire culture duration at different levels. By modulating the time evolution of the mAb glycan pattern, not only the endpoint but also the ratios between different glycosylation structures could be modified. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 32:1123–1134, 2016
Calcified pulmonary consolidations in pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis: Uncommon computed tomographic appearance of a rare disease

Lung India • Volume 34 • Issue 3 • May June 2017 297 Mantoux test was negative. Pulmonary function test studies revealed severe restrictive lung disease with a forced vital capacity (FVC) of 1.4 L (43% predicted) and a forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) of 1.3 L (46% predicted). The FEV1/FVC ratio was 93%. The total lung capacity was 2.25 L (51% predicted). Diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide was 29%. The patient desaturated on a 6-minute walk test with the pulse oximetry showing a fall in arterial oxygen saturation from 94% at rest to 86% on walking. The 6-minute walk distance was 60 m. Serum Angiotensin-converting enzyme was elevated (99 U/ml). Fiberoptic bronchoscopic examination revealed a normal appearing tracheobronchial tree. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was negative for acid-fast bacilli and other pathogens with an unremarkable cytology. A transbronchial lung biopsy from the right lower lobe was noncontributory due to inadequate tissue. Two-dimensional and color Doppler echocardiography showed normal wall motion, chamber sizes, and cardiac valves, a left ventricular ejection fraction of 61% and an estimated high mean pulmonary artery pressure of 39 mm Hg.
A Study of Alternative Single Factor Short Rate Models: Evidence from United Kingdom (1975-2010)

This study reviews and compares the performance of alternative short rate models for one-month UK interbank rate from 1 January 1975 to 1 January 2010 using Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). Controlling for structural break in the data set, this study finds mixed conclusion about the best single factor short rate model. The result also shows that the more restricted model is not preferable to the less restricted one. Moreover, the volatility factor plays more important role than the drift factor in explaining the dynamics of UK short rates.
In the here and now: Enhanced motor corticospinal excitability in novices when watching live compared to video recorded dance

Enhanced motor corticospinal excitability (MCE) in passive action observation is thought to signify covert motor resonance with the actions seen. Actions performed by others are an important social stimulus and thus, motor resonance is prevalent during social interaction. However, most studies employ simple/short snippets of recorded movements devoid of any real-life social context, which has recently been criticized for lacking ecological validity. Here, we investigated whether the co-presence of the actor and the spectator has an impact on motor resonance by comparing novices’ MCE for the finger (FDI) and the arm (ECR) with single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation when watching five-minute solos of ballet dance, Bharatanatyam (Indian dance) and an acting control condition either live or on video. We found that (1) MCE measured in the arm muscle was significantly enhanced in the live compared to the video condition, (2) differences across performances were only evident in the live condition, and (3) our novices reported enjoying the live presentations significantly more. We suggest that novice spectators’ MCE is susceptible to the performers’ live presence.
Bridging bureaucracy and democracy in Europe: A comparative study of perceived managerial excellence, satisfaction with public services, and trust in governance

The cross-country study of public administration based on citizens’ surveys in Europe is a relatively novel approach to analyzing the social and political dynamics of the continent. The goal of this study is to examine some aspects of bureaucracy and democracy as perceived by knowledgeable citizens in six countries (Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Norway, Slovakia, and Spain). A rationale is developed to support hypotheses about the relationship between democracy and bureaucracy. The study also proposes hypotheses about differences between the countries in terms of satisfaction with public services, trust in governance and public administration agencies, and a set of managerial-oriented variables of the public sector (i.e. perceived innovation, responsiveness, professionalism, organizational politics, leadership and vision, ethics and morality). The study’s findings indicate that various aspects of bureaucracy and democracy differ across countries and that democratic longevity may be a good explanation for these differences.
Enchanting the State: Benjamin in Indigenous Australia

The state, its institutions, practices and modes of authority over the territory and peoples it establishes as its own is well described as diminishing and dominating Indigenous Australians. Those who have attested to Indigenous diminishment in Australia are many and many point to the diverse aspects of colonialism that the state has fostered: removal policies, mission practices, welfare dependency, bureaucratic tyranny, unequal wages, land and resource theft and outright violence.1 But what might these diverse institutions and practices look like from an Indigenous point of view, not in the sense of a colonial consciousness, imitation or syncretism but in the shape of a power and realm of action that sits askance to the hegemonic practices of State functioning and takes seriously the ontological status of supernatural agency? 2 This question is posed as a response to the sorts of political discourse used amongst Indigenous Australians that draw on tropes of power deriving from sorcery, healing and supernatural agency that interpret and mediate the myriad, complex actions of the state in Indigenous lives. Torres Strait idioms of flight and penetration that have their origin in sorcery and war are directed by Islander men to people in positions of influence, notably government and bureaucratic figures, who have imbricated themselves in Islander lives since the advent of colonization there in the mid-19th century. Sorcery-talking the state is not restricted to Islanders but also appears in unique ways throughout Indigenous Australia and I will also refer to the
Suicide by Hydrogen Sulfide Inhalation

AbstractThe authors report a case of suicide by hydrogen sulfide in Australia. A young woman was located in a car wearing protective eyewear. A tub of foamy yellow substance and a quantity of hydrochloric acid and lime sulfur were also located in the rear of the vehicle. Morphological findings at autopsy were nonspecific. Toxicologic analysis of a specimen of leg blood detected elevated levels of methemoglobin.If Australia follows a similar trend to Japan and the United States, it is possible that incidences of such cases will rise, probably because of Internet dissemination. From a public health perspective, emergency service providers and forensic case workers should be aware of the potential hazards to themselves and others when dealing with such cases.
First Steps in Developing High-Frequency Trading Models

Confirmation of stylized facts and dimension reduction are key first steps in the subsequent development of specific high-frequency trading rules. This article demonstrates the application of these techniques using high-frequency foreign exchange (FX) data as a case study. The FX spot markets are well suited to high-frequency speculative trading. They are highly liquid, leveraged, and trade 24 hours a day, five days a week. This article describes the processes to follow for determining the applicability and robustness of known or suspected stylized facts to speculative trading; it also formalizes the technique of dimension reduction in high-frequency financial datasets.
Inflammatory signals in dendritic cell activation and the induction of adaptive immunity

Summary: Pathogen invasion induces a rapid inflammatory response initiated through the recognition of pathogen‐derived molecules by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) expressed on both immune and non‐immune cells. The initial wave of pro‐inflammatory cytokines and chemokines limits pathogen spread and recruits and activates immune cells to eradicate the invaders. Dendritic cells (DCs) are responsible for initiating a subsequent phase of immunity, dominated by the action of pathogen‐specific T and B cells. As for the early pro‐inflammatory response, DC activation is triggered by PRR signals. These signals convert resting DCs into potent antigen‐presenting cells capable of promoting the expansion and effector differentiation of naive pathogen‐specific T cells. However, it has been argued that signals from PRRs are not a prerequisite for DC activation and that pro‐inflammatory cytokines have the same effect. Although this may appear like an efficient way to expand the number of DCs that initiate adaptive immunity, evidence is accumulating that DCs activated indirectly by inflammatory cytokines are unable to induce functional T‐cell responses. Here, we review the differences between PRR‐triggered and cytokine‐induced DC activation and speculate on a potential role for DCs activated by inflammatory signals in tolerance induction rather than immunity.
Distributed coupling in a circular dielectric disk resonator and its application to a square dielectric disk resonator to fabricate a low-profile dual-mode BPF

A novel method is proposed to calculate the distributed coupling of a circular disk resonator. New theoretical expressions are devised to calculate it and its validity is justified by FD-TD analysis and experiments. This coupling concept is applied to square disk resonator to calculate its resonant frequency. We have fabricated two types of low-profile dual-mode bandpass filter using square dielectric disk resonator.
Use of Tissue‐Engineered Skin to Study In Vitro Biofilm Development

BACKGROUND Biofilms are aggregations of microorganisms that have been identified as potential pathogens in the chronicity of nonhealing wounds. OBJECTIVE To develop an in vitro wound model to study biofilms using Graftskin, a tissue‐engineered skin equivalent. MATERIALS AND METHODS Graftskin constructs were divided into sections, and wounds were created on each section. Bacterial suspensions with a concentration of 106 CFU/mL were prepared from cultures of pathogenic isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. A 25‐μL aliquot of each suspension was deposited in the center of wounds created on the Graftskin. Sections were incubated at various time points, and a biopsy was then taken from the wounded and inoculated area. Sections were visualized with light (hematoxylin and eosin) and epifluorescent microscopy (calcofluor white and ethidium bromide). RESULTS Biofilm was observed on the wound model. Biofilm formation was dependent on time of Graftskin exposure to the bacteria. Biofilm was visualized in the S. aureus group at an earlier time point than in the P. aeruginosa group. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated biofilm formation in vitro using a wound model. This model may provide a basis on which future studies may explore therapeutic modalities to prevent and eradicate pathogenic bacterial biofilm.
An econometric analysis of the effects of generic advertising on the demand for tea in the U.K.

Examines the generic advertising campaign for tea conducted under the auspices of the Tea Council (UK) between 1965 and 1968. Contends that this innovation had a statistically significant effect on the trend of tea consumption, but was insufficient to halt the overall decline – this is attributed to the demand for coffee. Purports to investigate, as far as possible, the impact of this generic campaign on the demand for tea. States the analysis is concerned with the period from 1958 onwards and is based on quarterly data. Concludes that it seems unlikely that tea has been broadly competing with all drinks in any effective sense over the period studied.
Are There Adverse Inflation Effects Associated With Natural Gas Decontrol

The Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA) will decontrol gas prices in 1985, and there is concern about its inflation and output effects. In this investigation of these concerns, two misapprehensions are remedied. First, inflation is primarily a monetary phenomenon so that a rise in energy prices affects the price level, but any impact on inflation is temporary. Second, while analyses of NGPA have assumed that the price of gas will achieve parity with petroleum, they have neglected decontrol's effect on OPEC's optimal price, Our estimates of the decontrol effect demonstrate that energy prices will fall, not rise Copyright 1982 Western Economic Association International.
Price Transmission in Thai Aquaculture Product Markets: An Analysis Along Value Chain and Across Species

We have examined the presence of price transmission asymmetry along the value chain, and the price transmission across four main aquaculture species in Thai fish market using monthly data from January 2001 to October 2010. This is an attempt to contribute to the literature on horizontal and vertical price transmission in the seafood markets including the price transmission asymmetry in the developing countries. We did not find any evidence of asymmetric price transmission in walking catfish (except in long-run), vannamei shrimp and tilapia; however, it is evident in Thai Asian sea bass market; wholesalers exercising some market power. In general, price of one species is not found to significantly affect price of the other species at the same level of value chain.
Diazepam Effects on the P3 Event‐Related Potential

Cerebral event-related potentials arise from synchronous neural activity associated with cognitive processing. The P3 is a late positive component that is related to task complexity and is directly proportional to stimulus evaluation time. P3 latency and amplitude were examined after oral administration of diazepam, a commonly prescribed medication with known cognitive side effects. Latency of the P3 was significantly increased after a single dose of both 5 and 10 mg of diazepam but not after placebo. P3 amplitude decreased slightly, but not significantly after 10 mg of diazepam. Changes in P3 occurred in the absence of significant changes in the preceding evoked waves (N1, P2). These findings should be considered when the P3 is obtained for clinical or research purposes from medicated patients.