Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Virtual reality exposure in anxiety disorders: Impact on psychophysiological reactivity

Abstract Objectives. Anxiety disorders are among the most frequently encountered psychiatric disorders. Recommended treatments include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and/or medication. In recent years, beneficial effects of virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy have been shown, making this technique a promising addition to CBT. However, the ability of VR to mimic threatening stimuli in a way comparable to in vivo cues has been discussed. In particular, it has been questioned whether VR is capable of provoking psychophysiological symptoms of anxiety. Since psychophysiological arousal is considered a prerequisite for effective exposure treatment, this systematic review aims to evaluate the evidence for the potential of VR exposure to evoke and modulate psychophysiological fear reactions. Methods. PubMed and PsycINFO/Academic Search Premier databases were searched. Thirty-eight studies investigating challenge or habituation effects were included. Results. VR exposure does provoke psychophysiological arousal, especially in terms of electrodermal activity. Results on psychophysiological habituation in VR are inconclusive. Study design and methodological rigour vary widely. Conclusions. Despite several limitations, this review provides evidence that VR exposure elicits psychophysiological fear reactions in patients and healthy subjects, rendering VR a promising treatment for anxiety disorders, and a potent research tool for future investigations of psychophysiological processes and their significance during exposure treatment.
The Moral Justification of Benefit/Cost Analysis

Benefit/cost analysis is a technique for evaluating programs, procedures, and actions; it is not a moral theory. There is significant controversy over the moral justification of benefit/cost analysis. When a procedure for evaluating social policy is challenged on moral grounds, defenders frequently seek a justification by construing the procedure as the practical embodiment of a correct moral theory. This has the apparent advantage of avoiding difficult empirical questions concerning such matters as the consequences of using the procedure. So, for example, defenders of benefit/cost analysis (BCA) are frequently tempted to argue that this procedure just is the calculation of moral Tightness – perhaps that what it means for an action to be morally right is just for it to have the best benefit-to-cost ratio given the accounts of “benefit” and “cost” that BCA employs. They suggest, in defense of BCA, that they have found the moral calculus – Bentham's “unabashed arithmetic of morals. ” To defend BCA in this manner is to commit oneself to one member of a family of moral theories (let us call them benefit/cost moral theories or B/C moral theories) and, also, to the view that if a procedure is (so to speak) the direct implementation of a correct moral theory, then it is a justified procedure. Neither of these commitments is desirable, and so the temptation to justify BCA by direct appeal to a B/C moral theory should be resisted; it constitutes an unwarranted short cut to moral foundations – in this case, an unsound foundation. Critics of BCA are quick to point out the flaws of B/C moral theories, and to conclude that these undermine the justification of BCA. But the failure to justify BCA by a direct appeal to B/C moral theory does not show that the technique is unjustified. There is hope for BCA, even if it does not lie with B/C moral theory.
The Role of Metro Fares, Income, Metro Quality of Service and Fuel Prices for Sustainable Transportation in Mexico City

ABSTRACT This paper uses time series and panel cointegration techniques to estimate the effect that fares, income, quality of service and fuel prices have on the demand for the Mexico City metro. Fares and fuel prices are not cointegrated with patronage, income or quality of service. We estimate zero own and cross price elasticities of demand suggesting either that fares are too low relative to incomes or that the vast majority of users are metro-dependent. The results also show that income elasticities are negative and close to unity in the long run while service elasticities have a positive but less than proportional effect on demand. This suggests that, in the interest of promoting sustainable mobility, quality of service will need to improve at higher rates than income.
A Diagnostic Laboratory-Based Study on Frequency and Distribution of Viral Hepatitis B and C Among Sudanese

Background: Hepatitis B infection is an alarming public health problem. Almost two billion people of the population alive today, would have been infected at some time in their lives by hepatitis B. Hepatitis C virus is another life threatening condition, and about 425,000 deaths occur each year due to its complications. The current study was carried out to provide care givers and health planners basic epidemiological data regarding the frequency and distribution of HBV and HCV based on age and sex during a time period of more than 5 years. Result: A total of 2109 different patients were found to be infected by HBV during the study period; 1641 (77.81%) were males and 468 (22.19%) were females with the age group of 20-39 years predominating (64%). In addition,16% of patients tested for HBeAg were found reactive. Conclusion: There were significant correlations observed between the levels of HBV DNA and ALT, AST and AFP. Regarding HCV, 70 males (54.9%) and 63 females (45.1%) were found to be infected, with preponderance of the age group 41 - 60 years and the genotype 4. Designing knowledge raising campaigns is appreciated as well as repetition of similar studies among larger populations in the following few years will help track a way to improvement.
Business Cycle Synchronization and Regional Integration: A Case Study for Central America

In early January 2003, the United States and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua launched official negotiations for the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), a treaty that would expand NAFTA-style trade barrier reductions to Central America. With deeper trade integration between Central America and the United States, it is expected that there will be closer links in business cycles between Central American countries and the United States. The paper finds a relatively low degree of business cycle synchronization within Central America as well as between Central America and the United States. The business cycle synchronization is expected to increase only modestly with further trade expansion, making the coordination of macroeconomic policies within CAFTA somewhat less of a priority.
Ants, Rationality, and Recruitment

This paper offers an explanation of behavior that puzzled entomologists and economists. Ants, faced with two identical food sources, were observed to concentrate more on one of these, but after a period they would turn their attention to the other. The same phenomenon has been observed in humans choosing between restaurants. After discussing the nature of foraging and recruitment behavior in ants, a simple model of stochastic recruitment is suggested. This explains the "herding" and "epidemics" described in the literature on financial markets as corresponding to the equilibrium distribution of a stochastic process rather than to switching between multiple equilibria.
Accelerated (9-mW/cm2) Corneal Collagen Crosslinking for Keratoconus—A 1-Year Follow-up

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of accelerated crosslinking (irradiance of 9 mW/cm2; 10 minutes) in keratoconus-affected eyes through topographical, visual, and refractive end points. Methods: Mild-moderate keratoconus-affected eyes that underwent accelerated corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) treatment and had 6 and 12 months of follow-up were reviewed retrospectively. Data regarding uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), manifest refraction, corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), and computerized corneal topography data before surgery and post-CXL treatment were extracted and analyzed. Results: Sixteen eyes of 14 patients were included in the study. The mean patient age was 24.9 ± 5.8 years (range: 17.1–38.3 years). No statistically significant changes were found in the mean CDVA, mean refractive cylinder, or mean manifest refraction spherical equivalent at either time point. There was a gain of 0.13 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution lines in the mean UDVA (P = 0.012) at 12 months. All corneal parameters including Ksteep, Kflat, average K (Km), corneal astigmatism (Kcyl), and maximal curvature reading at the corneal apex (Kmax) were stable at 6 and 12 months in all patients. No complications were observed during the follow-up period. Conclusions: Accelerated corneal CXL is effective in stabilizing topographic parameters after 12 months of follow-up in mild-moderate keratoconus-affected corneas. Improvement in the UDVA and stabilization of all tested corneal parameters were noted after the treatment. However, a longer follow-up with larger cohorts is necessary to validate these findings.
Environmental performance in China's agricultural sector: a case study in corn production

This article reviews environmental performance in China's corn production. It proposes that the improvement in environmental and technical efficiency of agricultural production is indispensable for the increased demand for green food and the increasing awareness of environmental protection. This article measures the environmental and technical efficiency of China's corn production. According to the result of estimate, the improvement of environmental performance in China's corn production is feasible, but it may encounter some difficulties with respect to the fragment of farming land blocks.
Trastuzumab use in breast cancer: clinical issues.

BACKGROUND Overexpression of the epidermal growth factor 2 HER2 in breast cancer tissue is associated with shorter survival. Trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody against HER2, can induce tumor responses when given alone and enhances the effectiveness of several chemotherapeutic agents. METHODS The recent clinical data on outcomes regarding testing for HER2 overexpression and the tolerance, toxicity, and antitumor effects of trastuzumab are reviewed. RESULTS Trastuzumab use is indicated either alone or with chemotherapy only in patients with IHC 3+ or FISH+ test results and survival is prolonged in patients with metastatic disease. Cardiac toxicity differs from anthracycline cardiac toxicity and is often reversible. CONCLUSIONS The safety and efficacy profile of trastuzumab in patients with metastatic disease has led to large-scale testing of addition of the intervention in the adjuvant setting.
Enhancement of the frequency of methotrexate resistance by gamma-radiation in Chinese hamster ovary and mouse 3T6 cells.

We have studied the effects of gamma-radiation on the frequency of methotrexate resistance and dihydrofolate reductase gene amplification. gamma-Irradiation of Chinese hamster ovary cells resulted in enhancement of the frequency of methotrexate resistant colonies (maximum enhancement: 2000-fold after 1000 rads). The enhancement of methotrexate resistance was dependent on the dose of gamma-radiation and increased with time after irradiation; a maximum enhancement was observed when methotrexate was added 18 h after irradiation. Methotrexate resistant clones of Chinese hamster ovary cells showed no increase in dihydrofolate reductase gene copy number but were found to be defective in methotrexate transport. However, when these experiments were extended to 3T6 murine cells, 54% of nonirradiated and 44% of gamma-radiation induced methotrexate resistant clones showed an increase in dihydrofolate reductase gene copy number. These results suggest that the cells that survive irradiation have a very high probability of becoming methotrexate resistant and may explain why some malignant tumors (e.g., head and neck cancer) either do not respond or respond poorly to chemotherapy if the patient had prior radiotherapy.
Applied general equilibrium models

Edward C. Prescott was born in Glens Falls, New York in 1940. He is a Regents’ Professor at the University of Minnesota and a Senior Advisor to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. He has been a Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and Carnegie Mellon University, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a Guggenheim Fellow, and is a Fellow of the Econometric Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was awarded the year 2002 Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics and was the Richard T. Ely Lecturer at the American Economic Association Meetings in 2002.
Anticipatory guidance: what information do parents receive? What information do they want?

OBJECTIVE To determine whether parents are receiving anticipatory guidance, whether they could use more information on anticipatory guidance topics, and how receipt of anticipatory guidance relates to satisfaction with care. DESIGN AND SAMPLE Analysis of data from a telephone interview of 2017 respondents between July 1995 and January 1996. A stratified random-digit dialing design was used to obtain a nationally representative sample of parents with children between 0 and 3 years old. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Discussions with a physician or nurse about 6 anticipatory guidance topics and whether parents could use more information on these topics. Willingness of parents to pay extra to discuss these topics and receive additional care. Ratings of how well clinicians provide health care. RESULTS The percentage of parents who had not discussed each subject with a clinician varied by topic: newborn care (< 3 months old), 38%; crying, 65%; sleep patterns, 59%; encouraging learning, 77%; discipline (ages 6-36 months), 75%; and toilet training (ages 18-36 months), 66%. Thirty-seven percent of parents had not discussed any of these topics. Among parents who had not discussed a particular issue, the percentage who reported that they could use more information ranged from 22% for both newborn care and crying to 55% for encouraging learning; similar percentages who had discussed the topics could also use more information. Parents who had discussed more of these topics with a clinician were more likely to report excellent care. Parents who could use more information on a larger number of topics were much more willing to pay for additional care. CONCLUSIONS Although anticipatory guidance is considered an important component of well-child care, the majority of parents reported that they had not discussed most standard topics with a clinician. Many parents could use more information on these topics. Effort is required to provide parents with the information they need to take good care of their children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2000;154:1191-1198.
Signaling regulating inner ear development: Cell fate determination, patterning, morphogenesis, and defects

The membranous labyrinth of the inner ear is a highly complex organ that detects sound and balance. Developmental defects in the inner ear cause congenital hearing loss and balance disorders. The membranous labyrinth consists of three semicircular ducts, the utricle, saccule, and endolymphatic ducts, and the cochlear duct. These complex structures develop from the simple otic placode, which is established in the cranial ectoderm adjacent to the neural crest at the level of the hindbrain at the early neurula stage. During development, the otic placode invaginates to form the otic vesicle, which subsequently gives rise to neurons for the vestibulocochlear ganglion, the non‐sensory and sensory epithelia of the membranous labyrinth that includes three ampullary crests, two maculae, and the organ of Corti. Combined paracrine and autocrine signals including fibroblast growth factor, Wnt, retinoic acid, hedgehog, and bone morphogenetic protein regulate fate determination, axis formation, and morphogenesis in the developing inner ear. Juxtacrine signals mediated by Notch pathways play a role in establishing the sensory epithelium, which consists of mechanosensory hair cells and supporting cells. The highly differentiated organ of Corti, which consists of uniformly oriented inner/outer hair cells and specific supporting cells, develops during fetal development. Developmental alterations/arrest causes congenital malformations in the inner ear in a spatiotemporal‐restricted manner. A clearer understanding of the mechanisms underlying inner ear development is important not only for the management of patients with congenital inner ear malformations, but also for the development of regenerative therapy for impaired function.
Neovascularization Precedes Occlusion in Moyamoya Disease: Angiographic Findings in 172 Pediatric Patients

Background: Both basal collaterals (BC) and cortical microvascularization (CM) on angiography have been suggested as moyamoya disease (MMD)-specific findings; however, it is unknown whether the vascular network represents compensatory mechanisms for vascular occlusion or aberrant active neovascularization. Methods: We investigated the grade of antegrade MCA flow, the degree of BC, and the presence of CM on conventional angiography in relation to disease severity in pediatric MMD. CM was defined as enlarged and winding distal cortical arteries and categorized into anterior or posterior CM depending on their sources. Findings from basal and acetazolamide stress brain perfusion SPECT studies were also evaluated. Results: A total of 172 pediatric patients with MMD were enrolled in this study. As the severity of MMD increased, the grade of antegrade MCA flow gradually diminished. While the degree of BC peaked at Suzuki stage 3-4, CM was frequently observed at early MMD stages. About two-thirds of hemispheres with normal antegrade MCA flow on angiography and normal perfusion status on SPECT had anterior and/or posterior CM. Both anterior and posterior CM gradually decreased with the advancement of MMD. Conclusion: Our findings from a large cohort of angiographically confirmed pediatric MMD patients indicate that neovascularization may occur before significant hemodynamic impairment in MMD.
Trading Volume Reaction to the Earnings Reconciliation from IAS to U.S. GAAP

This paper examines trading volume reaction to the reconciliation of IAS-based earnings to U.S. GAAP-based earnings. The sample includes foreign firms listed in the U.S. that use IAS as their primary reporting standards and reconcile their earnings to U.S. GAAP during the period of 1995-2004. The research question is of particular interest to policy makers, especially the SEC, when evaluating the necessity of reconciling the earnings from IAS to U.S. GAAP. We find that the absolute magnitude of earnings reconciliation is significantly and positively associated with abnormal trading volume both in the U.S. markets and in the local markets around Form 20-F filing dates, which supports the assertion that earnings reconciliation provides additional information content to investors beyond that provided by IAS earnings. We also find limited evidence that investors use book value reconciliations in their trading decisions. These findings also hold for various event windows. Additional analyses after the Core Standards Project and for several model specifications generally show a stronger and faster reaction in the U.S. markets than in the local markets. Our results have implications for recent SEC consideration of eliminating the reconciliation requirement for foreign firms that use IFRS in preparing their financial statements.
Nature and nurture: the relation between number of siblings and earnings

In this study, we examine the relation between different kinds of siblings and earnings and find that both nature and nurture matter: full-siblings are equally negatively related to earnings regardless of whether one grew up with them or not. The number of step-siblings, on the other hand, also turns out significant if one grew up together.
Resurgent South Asia

This article analyses the performance of the South Asian economies in the context of the evolution of the world economy. Recent years have seen considerable liberalisation of trade and capital flows in practically all countries, particularly developing countries. Trade has, consequently, expanded and developing countries are relying more on private flows than on aid to finance their balance of payments deficits. The performance of most developing countries has suffered since the oil price rises in 1974–77. Asian countries are an exception to this as they have grown rapidly. Growth rates in South Asian countries, after lagging behind those in East Asia, now seem to be catching up. Savings and investment rates have been increasing, as also exports. India, among the South Asian countries, is most likely to maintain a rapid growth rate. Manufactured goods feature more prominently in its economic structure and exports, and manufactures tend to show more dynamism. Also, the rapid growth of exports of commercial services, which have been growing particularly rapidly in the world economy, augurs well for the future.
Interactions between Agricultural and Resource Policy: The Importance of Attitudes toward Risk

Using a method proposed by Meyer for deriving comparative statics results in the presence of risk, this paper analyzes the effects of various agricultural and environmental policy alternatives on the choices of a risk-averse producer with a Just and Pope production function. Many commonly held beliefs about policy effects are not supported unambiguously by economic theory. For example, a tax on pesticides will not necessarily reduce pesticide use or average output, and a reduction in price of agricultural output will not necessarily lead to a reduction in use of water or agricultural chemicals.
Environment sustainabilities: An analysis and a typology

Most approaches to the business of considering environmental sustainability have taken either a definitional or a discursive form. Both these approaches have their limitations. Better is an analytical strategy revolving around the distillation from the literature of the questions to which any theory of environmental sustainability would have to have an answer. This produces a framework for analysis which can be transformed into a typology by grouping the answers to those questions into four ‘conceptions of sustainability’. Two ‘diagnostic packages’ may be proposed for determining the causes of, and solutions to, unsustainability. These conceptions and packages are useful in themselves for orientation purposes in the increasingly complex territory occupied by discussions of environmental sustainability, but they also have potential for use as tools when considering the normative implications of sustainability policies.
Vertus et justice du marché chez Adam Smith

Cet article a pour objet de mettre en evidence la dimension morale du marche dans l’œuvre d’Adam Smith. La premiere partie reinterprete le prix naturel comme un prix juste. La deuxieme partie montre que la concurrence libre est pour Smith un cadre institutionnel incitant les agents economiques a cultiver les vertus de prudence, d’equite, de probite, de frugalite et d’industrie. La derniere partie vise a justifier la proposition par Smith d’un taux d’usure legerement superieur au taux courant le plus bas du marche par sa philosophie morale et ses analyses du desir de reconnaissance, de l’estime de soi excessive et du mensonge a soi-meme. La conclusion souligne le lien etroit entre politique, ethique et economie chez Smith, tel qu’il ressort de cette analyse.