Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cross Sectional Facts for Macroeconomists *

This paper provides an introduction to the special issue of the Review of Economic Dynamics on “Cross Sectional Facts for Macroeconomists”. The issue documents, for nine countries, the level and the evolution, over time and over the life cycle, of several dimensions of economic inequality, including wages, labor earnings, income, consumption, and wealth. After describing the motivation and the common methodology underlying this empirical project, we discuss selected results, with an emphasis on cross-country comparisons. Most, but not all, countries experienced substantial increases in wages and earnings inequality, over the last three decades. While the trend in the skill premium differed widely across countries, the experience premium rose and the gender premium fell virtually everywhere. At a higher frequency, earnings inequality appears to be strongly counter-cyclical. In all countries, government redistribution through taxes and transfers reduced the level, the trend and the cyclical fluctuations in income inequality. The rise in income inequality was stronger at the bottom of the distribution. Consumption inequality increased less than disposable income inequality, and tracked the latter much more closely at the top than at the bottom of the distribution. Measuring the age-profile of inequality is challenging because of the interplay of time and cohort effects. JEL classification codes : D31, D91, E21 Author
An Anti-Phishing Approach that Uses Training Intervention for Phishing Websites Detection

Phishing scams have become a problem for online banking and e-commerce users. This paper proposes and evaluates a novel anti-Phishing approach that uses training intervention for Phishing websites detection (APTIPWD). The proposed approach helps users to make correct decisions in distinguishing Phishing and legitimate websites. It brings information to end-users and helps them immediately after they have made a mistake in order to recognize Phishing websites by themselves. This paper reports that there is a significant positive effect of using the new approach in comparison with an old approach of sending anti-Phishing tips by email. The new approach is better in helping users properly judge legitimate and Phishing websites.
InflammationMurine Model of Allergic Airway Uptake of Lung Dendritic Cell Subsets in a Regulates Migratory Pattern and Antigen Fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3 Ligand

Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (Flt3L) reverses the features of allergic airway inﬂammation and increases a Th2-suppressive regulatory lung CD11c high CD11b low dendritic cell (DC) subset in a mouse model. We examined the migratory pattern and Ag uptake efﬁciency of lung DC subsets in the therapeutic effect of Flt3L. Lung CD11c high CD11b low and CD11c low CD11b high DCs from PBS-treated, OVA-sensitized, and Flt3L-treated/OVA-sensitized BALB/c mice were sorted using MACS and FACS for phenotype analysis. Lymphatic chemokine expression in thoracic lymph nodes was determined by immunohistochemistry. Migration of two lung DC subsets to lymphatic chemokines was examined in vitro using a Transwell chemotaxis assay. Labeled Ag was intranasally delivered into mouse lung to track the migration and Ag uptake of lung DCs. The in vitro cytokine secretion of mediastinal lymph node cells was determined using ELISA. CD11c low CD11b high DCs have higher expression of CCR5, CCR6, and CCR7, but lower expression of CCR2 than CD11c high CD11b low DCs. CD11c low CD11b high DCs in Flt3L-treated/OVA-sensitized mice demonstrated a less mature phenotype, inefﬁciency in Ag uptake, and impaired migration in vitro to lymphatic chemokine than those in OVA-sensitized mice. Administration of Flt3L decreased the expression of CCR5 and CCR7 in CD11c low CD11b high DCs in OVA-sensitized mice. Fewer Ag-carrying cells were detected in the lungs and lymph nodes in Flt3L-treated/OVA-sensitized mice than OVA-sensitized mice with a greater decrease in CD11c low CD11b high DCs. Mediastinal lymph node cells from Flt3L-treated mice secreted higher levels of Th1 cytokines and IL-10 than OVA-sensitized mice in vitro. In conclusion, Flt3L-generated lung immunogenic CD11c low CD11b high DCs have a less mature phenotype, impaired Ag uptake, and impaired migration to draining lymph nodes. The Journal of Immunology, 2009, 183: 7531–7538.
A satiety index of common foods.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to produce a validated satiety index of common foods. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS Isoenergetic 1000 kJ (240 kcal) servings of 38 foods separated into six food categories (fruits, bakery products, snack foods, carbohydrate-rich foods, protein-rich foods, breakfast cereals) were fed to groups of 11-13 subjects. Satiety ratings were obtained every 15 min over 120 min after which subjects were free to eat ad libitum from a standard range of foods and drinks. A satiety index (SI) score was calculated by dividing the area under the satiety response curve (AUC) for the test food by the group mean satiety AUC for white bread and multiplying by 100. Thus, white bread had an SI score of 100% and the SI scores of the other foods were expressed as a percentage of white bread. RESULTS There were significant differences in satiety both within and between the six food categories. The highest SI score was produced by boiled potatoes (323 +/- 51%) which was seven-fold higher than the lowest SI score of the croissant (47 +/- 17%). Most foods (76%) had an SI score greater than or equal to white bread. The amount of energy eaten immediately after 120 min correlated negatively with the mean satiety AUC responses (r = -0.37, P < 0.05, n = 43) thereby supporting the subjective satiety ratings. SI scores correlated positively with the serving weight of the foods (r = 0.66, P < 0.001, n = 38) and negatively with palatability ratings (r = -0.64, P < 0.001, n = 38). Protein, fibre, and water contents of the test foods correlated positively with SI scores (r = 0.37, P < 0.05, n = 38; r = 0.46, P < 0.01; and r = 0.64, P < 0.001; respectively) whereas fat content was negatively associated (r = -0.43, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION The results show that isoenergetic servings of different foods differ greatly in their satiating capacities. This is relevant to the treatment and prevention of overweight and obesity.
Phenomenological Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Relaxation in Bolted Composite Joints

The effects of various bolt preloads, viscoelasticity, and external applied static and dynamic loads on bolt load relaxation in a carbon/epoxy composite bolted joint have been studied. Both phenomenological modeling and finite element analysis (FEA) of bolt-connected three-point bending specimens were employed in the studies. Relaxation of 1.25—4.25% over a period of 30 h was observed depending on the initial preload and applied external loads. Both static and dynamic applied loads were considered. It was observed that for any magnitude of external load the bolt load relaxation decreases with increasing initial preload. These findings emphasize the importance of the magnitude of the preload. Comparing the bolt load relaxation in steel and composite joints for the duration of 30 h, it was concluded that only about 1/3 of the relaxation in composite specimens is due to viscoelastic behavior of the polymer matrix in the composite, and the remaining 2/3 of the relaxation is due to other mechanisms such as bolt thread slip, plasticity and/ or external excitation.
From green to clean: a promising and sustainable approach towards environmental remediation and human health for the 21st century

Phytotechnologies are ecotechnologies relating to the use of vegetation, to resolve environmental problems in a watershed management, by prevention of landscape degradation, remediation and restoration of degraded ecosystems, kontrol of environmental processes, and monitoring and assessment of environmental quality. They are beginning to offer efficient tools and environmentally friendly solutions for the cleanup of contaminated sites and water, the improvement of food chain safety, and the development of renewable bioenergy, contributing to a sustainable use of water and land. In the framework of COST Action 859, a European-wide integration and expansion of research and development efforts have been established to use phytotechnologies as instruments for management and removal of environmental pollutants, as well as for improving food quality and safety. This network aims to contribute to the implementation, assessment and integration of appropriate and efficient phytotreatments for sustainable land use management, ecosystem restoration and mitigation strategies applicable to different environmental compartments. However, each of these goals requires a sound understanding of how plants can specifically accumulate or exclude essential elements, toxic metals, and organic pollutants. This includes knowledge on the bioavailability of metals and xenobiotics in the rhizosphere, their uptake by roots, translocation to and detoxification/storage in the above-ground parts of the plant, at physiological, biochemical and molecular levels. The purpose of the present position paper, based on recent publications by members of COST Action 859, is to sum up major outlines, outcomes and outlook from the network and to highlight some critical points where significant progress has been made in Europe over the last few years to overcome bottlenecks in the plant removal and detoxification of pollutants. Four topics are developed here, pointing out the specific items addressed by the different Working Groups: environmental pollution and potential of phytoremediation; improving nutritional quality and safety of food crops; plant uptake/exclusion and translocation of nutrients and contaminants; exploiting “omics” approaches in phytotechnologies.
Ev3: A Library for Symbolic Computation in C++ using n -ary Trees

Ev3 is a callable C++ library for performing symbolic computation (calculation of symbolic derivatives and various expression simpliﬁcation). The purpose of this library is to furnish a fast means to use symbolic derivatives to third-party scientiﬁc software (e.g. nonlinear optimization, solution of nonlinear equations). It is small, easy to interface, even reasonably easy to change; it is written in C++ and the source code is available. One feature that makes Ev3 very eﬃcient in algebraic manipulation is that the data structures are based on n -ary trees.
Consequences and Therapeutic Implications of Macrophage Apoptosis in Atherosclerosis: The Importance of Lesion Stage and Phagocytic Efficiency

Macrophage apoptosis occurs throughout all stages of atherosclerosis, yet new findings in vivo suggest that the consequences of this event may be very different in early versus late atherosclerotic lesions. In early lesions, where phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells appears to be efficient, macrophage apoptosis is associated with diminished lesion cellularity and decreased lesion progression. In late lesions, however, a number of factors may contribute to defective phagocytic clearance of apoptotic macrophages, leading to secondary necrosis of these cells and a proinflammatory response. The cumulative effect of these late lesional events is generation of the necrotic core, which, in concert with proatherogenic effects of residual surviving macrophages, promotes further inflammation, plaque instability, and thrombosis. Thus, the ability or lack thereof of lesional phagocytes to safely clear apoptotic macrophages may be an important determinant of acute atherothrombotic clinical events. Further understanding of the mechanisms involved in macrophage apoptosis and phagocytic clearance might lead to novel therapeutic strategies directed against the progression of advanced plaques.
One-year health care costs associated with delirium in the elderly population.

BACKGROUND While delirium has been increasingly recognized as a serious and potentially preventable condition, its long-term implications are not well understood. This study determined the total 1-year health care costs associated with delirium. METHODS Hospitalized patients aged 70 years and older who participated in a previous controlled clinical trial of a delirium prevention intervention at an academic medical center between 1995 and 1998 were followed up for 1 year after discharge. Total inflation-adjusted health care costs, calculated as either reimbursed amounts or hospital charges converted to costs, were computed by means of data from Medicare administrative files, hospital billing records, and the Connecticut Long-term Care Registry. Regression models were used to determine costs associated with delirium after adjusting for patient sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS During the index hospitalization, 109 patients (13.0%) developed delirium while 732 did not. Patients with delirium had significantly higher unadjusted health care costs and survived fewer days. After adjusting for pertinent demographic and clinical characteristics, average costs per day survived among patients with delirium were more than 2(1/2) times the costs among patients without delirium. Total cost estimates attributable to delirium ranged from $16 303 to $64 421 per patient, implying that the national burden of delirium on the health care system ranges from $38 billion to $152 billion each year. CONCLUSIONS The economic impact of delirium is substantial, rivaling the health care costs of falls and diabetes mellitus. These results highlight the need for increased efforts to mitigate this clinically significant and costly disorder.
Statin therapy might be beneficial for patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Therapeutic options for patients with the chronic inflammatory disease ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are limited. Treatment was, until recently, mainly based on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and physical therapy. The efficacy of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs, such as sulfasalazine and methotrexate, is less beneficial in AS than in other rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.1 Recently, tumour necrosis factor α blocking agents, have been proved to be very effective in a high proportion of patients with AS. However, these agents are expensive and their use is sometimes accompanied by severe adverse events, as opportunistic infections. Moreover, tumour necrosis factor α blocking agents are not effective in about 30% of patients.2 Hence, there is a continuing need for alternative therapeutic options. There is growing evidence that statins possess anti-inflammatory properties, as indicated by lowering of C reactive protein …
Histogram analysis of whole-lesion enhancement in differentiating clear cell from papillary subtype of renal cell cancer.

PURPOSE To compare histogram analysis of voxel-based whole-lesion (WL) enhancement to qualitative assessment and region-of-interest (ROI)-based enhancement analysis in discriminating the renal cell cancer (RCC) subtype clear cell RCC (ccRCC) from papillary RCC (pRCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS In this institutional review board-approved, HIPAA-compliant retrospective study, 73 patients underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging prior to surgery for RCC between January 2007 and January 2010. Three-dimensional fat-suppressed T1-weighted gradient-echo corticomedullary phase acquisitions, obtained before and after contrast agent administration, were transferred to a workstation at which automated registration followed by semiautomated segmentation of the RCC was performed. Percent enhancement was computed on a per-voxel basis: (SI(post) - SI(pre))/SI(pre) . 100, where SI(pre) and SI(post) indicate signal intensity before and after contrast enhancement, respectively. The WL quantitative parameters of mean, median, and third quartile enhancement and histogram distribution parameters kurtosis and skewness were computed for each lesion. WL enhancement parameters were compared with ROI-based analysis and qualitative assessment with regards to diagnostic accuracy and interreader agreement in differentiating ccRCC from pRCC. RESULTS There were 19 pRCCs and 55 ccRCCs at pathologic examination. ccRCC had significantly higher WL mean, median, and third quartile enhancement compared with pRCC and hade significantly lower kurtosis and skewness (all P < .001). Third quartile enhancement had the highest accuracy (94.6%; area under the curve, 0.980) in discriminating ccRCC from pRCC, which was significantly higher than the accuracy of qualitative assessment (86.0%; P = .04) but not significantly higher than that of ROI enhancement (89.2%; P = .52). WL enhancement parameters had higher interreader agreement (κ = 0.91-1.0) compared with ROI enhancement or qualitative assessment (κ = 0.83 and 0.7, respectively) in discriminating ccRCC from pRCC. CONCLUSION WL enhancement histogram analysis is feasible and can potentially be used to differentiate ccRCC from pRCC with high accuracy. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL http://radiology.rsna. org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1148/radiol.12111281/-/DC1.
Computationally-efficient winner determination for mixed multi-unit combinatorial auctions

Mixed Multi-Unit Combinatorial Auctions offer a high potential to be employed for the automated assembly of supply chains of agents offering goods and services. Their winner determination problem is an NP-hard problem that can be mapped into an integer program. Nonetheless, the computational cost of the current solution hinders the application of mixed multi-unit combinatorial auctions to realistic scenarios. In this paper we propose a new integer program for mixed multi-unit combinatorial auctions that severely simplifies the problem by taking advantage of the topological characteristics of the winner determination problem. Furthermore, we provide empirical evidence showing that the new IP allows to cope with much larger supply chain formation scenarios.
Neoadjuvant immunotherapy with chitosan and interleukin-12 to control breast cancer metastasis

Metastasis accounts for approximately 90% of breast cancer-related deaths. Therefore, novel approaches which prevent or control breast cancer metastases are of significant clinical interest. Interleukin-12 (IL-12)-based immunotherapies have shown promise in controlling metastatic disease, yet modest responses and severe toxicities due to systemic administration of IL-12 in early trials have hindered clinical application. We hypothesized that localized delivery of IL-12 co-formulated with chitosan (chitosan/IL-12) could elicit tumor-specific immunity and provide systemic protection against metastatic breast cancer while minimizing systemic toxicity. Chitosan is a biocompatible polysaccharide derived primarily from the exoskeletons of crustaceans. In a clinically relevant resection model, mice bearing spontaneously metastatic 4T1 mammary adenocarcinomas received intratumoral injections of chitosan/IL-12, or appropriate controls, prior to tumor resection. Neoadjuvant chitosan/IL-12 immunotherapy resulted in long-term tumor-free survival in 67% of mice compared to only 24% or 0% of mice treated with IL-12 alone or chitosan alone, respectively. Antitumor responses following chitosan/IL-12 treatment were durable and provided complete protection against rechallenge with 4T1, but not RENCA renal adenocarcinoma, cells. Lymphocytes from chitosan/IL-12-treated mice demonstrated robust tumor-specific lytic activity and interferon-γ production. Cell-mediated immune memory was confirmed in vivo via clinically relevant delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) assays. Comprehensive hematology and toxicology analyses revealed that chitosan/IL-12 induced transient, reversible leukopenia with no changes in critical organ function. Results of this study suggest that neoadjuvant chitosan/IL-12 immunotherapy prior to breast tumor resection is a promising translatable strategy capable of safely inducing to tumor-specific immunity and, in the long term, reducing breast cancer mortality due to progressive recurrences.
Multiphasic Perfusion CT in Acute Middle Cerebral Artery Ischemic Stroke: Prediction of Final Infarct Volume and Correlation with Clinical Outcome

Objective To assess the utility of multiphasic perfusion CT in the prediction of final infarct volume, and the relationship between lesion volume revealed by CT imaging and clinical outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients who have not undergone thrombolytic therapy. Materials and Methods Thirty-five patients underwent multiphasic perfusion CT within six hours of stroke onset. After baseline unenhanced helical CT scanning, contrast-enhanced CT scans were obtained 20, 34, 48, and 62 secs after the injection of 90 mL contrast medium at a rate of 3 mL/sec. CT peak and total perfusion maps were obtained from serial CT images, and the initial lesion volumes revealed by CT were compared with final infarct volumes and clinical scores. Results Overall, the lesion volumes seen on CT peak perfusion maps correlated most strongly with final infarct volumes (R2=0.819, p<0.001, slope of regression line=1.016), but individual data showed that they were less than final infarct volume in 31.4% of patients. In those who showed early clinical improvement (n=6), final infarct volume tended to be overestimated by CT peak perfusion mapping and only on total perfusion maps was there significant correlation between lesion volume and final infarct volume (R2=0.854, p=0.008). The lesion volumes depicted by CT maps showed moderate correlation with baseline clinical scores and clinical outcomes (R=0.445-0.706, p≤0.007). Conclusion CT peak perfusion maps demonstrate strong correlation between lesion volume and final infarct volume, and accurately predict final infarct volume in about two-thirds of the 35 patients. The lesion volume seen on CT maps shows moderate correlation with clinical outcome.
Treatment of severe ocular-surface disorders with corneal epithelial stem cell transplantation.

THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE Treatment of Severe Ocular-Surface Disorders With Corneal Epithelial Stem-Cell Transplantation Kazuo Tsubota, MD; Yoshiyuki Satake, MD; Minako Kaido, MD; Naoshi Shinozaki, MS; Shigeto Shimmura, MD; Hiroko Bissen-Miyajima, MD; Jun Shimazaki, MD Background Conditions that destroy the limbal area of the peripheral cornea, such as the Stevens-Johnson syndrome, ocular pemphigoid, and chemical and thermal injuries, can deplete stem cells of the corneal epithelium. The result is scarring and opacification of the normally clear cornea. Standard corneal transplantation cannot treat this form of functional blindness. Methods We performed and evaluated 70 transplantations of corneal epithelial stem cells from cadaveric eyes into 43 eyes of 39 patients with severe ocular-surface disorders and limbal dysfunction. Medical treatment had failed in all patients. The patients had a mean preoperative visual acuity of 0.004 (only being able to count the number of fingers presented by the examiner) in the affected eyes, which satisfies the criteria for legal blindness in most countries. In 28 eyes, we also performed standard corneal transplantation. Stem-cell transplantations were performed as many as four times on 1 eye if the initial results were not satisfactory; 19 eyes had multiple transplantations. Patients were followed for at least one year after transplantation. Results A mean of 1163 days after stem-cell transplantation, 22 of the 43 eyes (51 percent) had corneal epithelialization; of the 22 eyes, 7 eyes had corneal stromal edema and 15 eyes had clear corneas. Mean visual acuity improved from 0.004 to 0.02 (vision sufficient to distinguish the largest symbol on the visual-acuity chart from a distance of 1 m) (P Conclusions Transplantation of corneal epithelial stem cells can restore useful vision in some patients with severe ocular-surface disorders. N Engl J Med. 1999;340:1697-1703