Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heterogeneous Economic Returns to Post-Secondary Degrees: Evidence from Chile

We analyze the economic returns to post-secondary degrees in Chile. We posit a schooling decision model with unobserved ability, degree-specific tuition costs, and earnings. We use administrative records to carry out our empirical analysis. Our results show positive average returns to post-secondary education, especially for five-year degrees. However, we also uncover significant heterogeneity. We document how unobserved characteristics (ability) determine the economic benefits of first- and second-best choices, even leading to negative returns to post-secondary degrees. Our findings illustrate the importance of allowing for heterogeneous treatment effects and individuals’ choices when examining the returns to education.
Flexible Modeling of Malignant Melanoma Survival

Summary Objectives: This paper compares the diagnostic capabilities of flexible ensemble methods modeling the survival time of melanoma patients in comparison to the well established proportional hazards model. Both a random forest type algorithm for censored data as well as a model combination of the proportional hazards model with recursive partitioning are investigated. Methods: Benchmark experiments utilizing the integrated Brier score as a measure for goodness of prediction are the basis of the performance assessment for all competing algorithms. For the purpose of comparing regression relationships represented by the models under test, we describe fitted conditional survival functions by a univariate measure derived from the area under the curve. Based on this measure, we adapt a visualization technique useful for the inspection and comparison of model fits. Results: For the data of malignant melanoma patients the predictive performance of the competing models is on par, allowing for a fair comparison of the fitted relationships. Newly introduced MODplots visualize differences in the fitting structure of the underlying models. Conclusion: The paper provides a framework for comparing the predictive and diagnostic performance of a parametric, a non-parametric and a combined approach.
MR‐visible lipids and the tumor microenvironment

MR‐visible lipids or mobile lipids are defined as lipids that are observable using proton MRS in cells and tissues. These MR‐visible lipids are composed of triglycerides and cholesterol esters that accumulate in neutral lipid droplets, where their MR visibility is conferred as a result of the increased molecular motion available in this unique physical environment. This review discusses the factors that lead to the biogenesis of MR‐visible lipids in cancer cells and in other cell types, such as immune cells and fibroblasts. We focus on the accumulations of mobile lipids that are inducible in cultured cells by a number of stresses, including culture conditions, and in response to activating stimuli or apoptotic cell death induced by anticancer drugs. This is compared with animal tumor models, where increases in mobile lipids are observed in response to chemo‐ and radiotherapy, and to human tumors, where mobile lipids are observed predominantly in high‐grade brain tumors and in regions of necrosis. Conducive conditions for mobile lipid formation in the tumor microenvironment are discussed, including low pH, oxygen availability and the presence of inflammatory cells. It is concluded that MR‐visible lipids appear in cancer cells and human tumors as a stress response. Mobile lipids stored as neutral lipid droplets may play a role in the detoxification of the cell or act as an alternative energy source, especially in cancer cells, which often grow in ischemic/hypoxic environments. The role of MR‐visible lipids in cancer diagnosis and the assessment of the treatment response in both animal models of cancer and human brain tumors is also discussed. Although technical limitations exist in the accurate detection of intratumoral mobile lipids, early increases in mobile lipids after therapeutic interventions may be useful as a potential biomarker for the assessment of treatment response in cancer. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Identification of novel microsatellite markers <1 Mb from the HBB gene and development of a single‐tube pentadecaplex PCR panel of highly polymorphic markers for preimplantation genetic diagnosis of beta‐thalassemia

Beta (β)‐thalassemia is one of the most common monogenic diseases worldwide. Affected pregnancies can be avoided through preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), which commonly involves customized assays to detect the different combinations of β‐globin (HBB) gene mutations present in couples, in conjunction with linkage analysis of flanking microsatellite markers. Currently, the limited number of reported closely linked markers hampers their utility in indirect linkage‐based PGD for this disorder. To increase the available markers closely flanking the HBB gene, an in silico search was performed to identify all markers within 1 Mb flanking the HBB gene. Fifteen markers with potentially high polymorphism information content (PIC) and heterozygosity values were selected and optimized into a single‐tube pentadecaplex PCR panel. Allele frequencies and polymorphism and heterozygosity indices of each marker were assessed in five populations. A total of 238 alleles were observed from the 15 markers. PIC was >0.7 for all markers, with expected heterozygosity and observed heterozygosity values ranging from 0.74 to 0.90 and 0.72 to 0.88, respectively. Greater than 99% of individuals were heterozygous for at least seven markers, with at least two heterozygous markers on either side of the HBB gene. The pentadecaplex marker assay also performed reliably on single cells either directly or after whole genome amplification, thus validating its use in standalone linkage‐based β‐thalassemia PGD or in conjunction with HBB mutation detection.
Open-Economy In‡ation Targeting

The paper extends previous analysis of closed-economy in‡ation targeting to a small open economy with forward-looking aggregate supply and demand with some microfoundations, and with stylized realistic lags in the dierent transmission channels for monetary policy. The paper compares targeting of CPI and domestic in‡ation, strict and ‡exible in‡ation targeting, and in‡ation-targeting reaction functions and the Taylor rule. The optimal monetary policy response to several dierent shocks is examined. Flexible CPI-in‡ation targeting stands out as successful in limiting not only the variability of CPI in‡ation but also the variability of the output gap and the real exchange rate. Somewhat counter to conventional wisdom, negative productivity supply shocks and positive demand shocks have similar eects on in‡ation and the output gap, and induce similar monetary policy responses. The model gives limited support for a so-called monetary conditions index, MCI, of the monetary-policy impact on aggregate demand, but the impact on in‡ation is too complex to be captured by any single index. The index diers from currently used indices in combing (1) a long rather than a short real interest rate with the real exchange rate and (2) expected future values rather than current values. Because of (2), the index is not directly observable and veri…able to external observers. JEL Classi…cation: E52, E58, F41.
Data and perception of the development of an online teachers' community of pratice: the case of “Don Milani” middle school

Since 2005, teachers at Don Milani Middle School in Genoa have been using an online communication-cooperation system that the school provides for their exclusive use. The system operates via a web platform, and all members of the teaching staff are required to log in and use it. The hypothesis of this research paper is that, over time, the exchange of good practices and knowledge on this professional development platform has fostered a cultural, professional and community identity, adding quality to the participatory processes and balancing face-to-face and online work. In order to assess how the school’s teaching community has evolved, we have carried out a participatory research project based on a statistical analysis of communication flows, a special questionnaire for teachers, and comparative analysis of the results from that questionnaire with results from an earlier questionnaire submitted in 2008. Comparison of the collected quantitative and qualitative data points to the progressive consolidation of a participatory dimension and a gradual development of a collaboration-based community of practice.
Effect of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 gene expression on graft function in mouse islet transplantation

This study investigated the effect of local glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) production within mouse islets on cytoprotection in vitro and in vivo by gene transfer of GLP‐1. Transduction of recombinant adenovirus vector expressing GLP‐1 (rAd‐GLP‐1) induced a significant increase in bioactive GLP‐1 in the mouse islet culture, whereas transduction with adenovirus vector expressing β‐galactosidase (rAd‐LacZ), as a control, had no effect on GLP‐1 secretion. Islets transduced with rAd‐GLP‐1 were protected from H2O2‐induced cell damage in vitro. In addition, glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion was significantly increased in rAd‐GLP‐1‐transduced islets. When transplanted under the kidney capsule of diabetic syngeneic mice, islet grafts retrieved 4 or 7 days after transplantation revealed that the rAd‐GLP‐1‐transduced group had significantly more Ki67‐positive cells as compared with the rAd‐LacZ‐transduced group. Regarding blood glucose control, diabetic mice transplanted with a marginal mass of rAd‐GLP‐1‐transduced islets became normoglycemic more rapidly and 78% of the recipients were normoglycemic at 35 days post‐transplant, whereas only 48% of the mice transplanted with rAd‐LacZ‐transduced islets were normoglycemic (P < 0.05). In conclusion, delivery of the GLP‐1 gene to islets enhanced islet cell survival during the early post‐transplant period, and preserved islet mass and functions over time in the transplants.
Long-Term (>8 Years) Evaluation of Progression in Patients with Low-Pressure Glaucoma

Purpose To describe the long-term clinical course of patients with low-pressure glaucoma (LPG) and to assess the risk factors for disease progression. Methods The Wills Eye Glaucoma Research Center retrospectively reviewed the charts of LPG patients with documented follow-up of >8 years between 2000 and 2013. Medical records were evaluated for systemic diseases, family history of glaucoma, best-corrected visual acuity, refractive error, treatments, central corneal thickness (CCT), intraocular pressure (IOP), IOP change after pupil dilation, optic disc evaluation, visual field (VF) mean deviation (MD), VF grading, and time to progression. Progression was determined when both disc and VF appeared to have worsened. Results From 850 charts classified as LPG between 2000 and 2013, 49 eyes of 49 patients were included in our analysis. The mean (± SD) follow-up time was 9.3 (± 1.9) years. Glaucoma progressed in 25 eyes and remained stable in 24 eyes over the follow-up period. Eyes with progression had higher peak IOP (p = 0.043). There was a trend towards progression in patients with thinner CCT (p = 0.085) and disc hemorrhage (p = 0.098). Estimated annual change in MD was −0.57 dB in the progressing group and −0.10 dB in the stable group (p<0.0001). Conclusions Nearly half of the patients with LPG showed glaucoma progression despite treatment after >8 years. High peak IOP was a significant risk factor for progression. Identifying patients at risk may warrant closer follow-up and more aggressive treatment in order to preserve visual function in patients with LPG.
Thyroid cancer: A computer-assisted review of 5287 cases

Retrospective computer analysis of all reportable cases of thyroid cancer for the Rocky Mountain Cancer Data Systems between 1973 and 1983 was undertaken. Follow-up data were available for periods of 5 to 10 years. All major histologic findings are reviewed with regard to distribution, prognostic factors, mortality rates, and some treatment modalities. Interesting observations determined by this study include: (1) the significantly greater mortality rates seen in patients with thyroid cancer after 50 years; (2) the lack of increased mortality rates in young patients with differentiated cancer; (3) the poorer prognosis of male patients of equivalent age to female patients in all histologic types of cancer in the first 5 years; (4) the lack of sexual difference in influencing mortality rates after the first 5 years in differentiated cancers and lack of sex as a prognostic indicator in undifferentiated cancers; (5) the excellent prognosis of patients with localized differentiated and medullary cancers and a better-than-expected prognosis in the undifferentiated group; (6) the clear need for combined therapy (surgery and irradiation) in regional medullary cancer; (7) the observation that localized thyroid lymphoma had a higher mortality rate than had regional thyroid lymphoma; and (8) a significantly higher mortality rate in patients pider than 79 years with differentiated cancer.
Ultrasonically guided percutaneous splenic tissue core biopsy in patients with malignant lymphomas

Ultrasonically [US] guided percutaneous tissue core biopsy of the spleen was done on 46 patients with malignant lymphomas. The biopsies were undertaken as a staging procedure in 32 patients, as a restaging procedure in 7, during follow‐up in 2, and as a diagnostic step in 5 [previously undiagnosed cases with clinically and ultra‐sonographically suspected lymphoma]. In 45 patients, the tissue core specimens obtained by US‐guided biopsies were sufficient for a correct histologic examination; in one patient, the specimen was considered inadequate. The tissue core specimens showed splenic involvement in 12 patients and normal splenic tissue in the other 33. These latter cases were confirmed by splenectomy, by lap‐aroscopy with larger splenic biopsy needles, and by clinical and US follow‐up over a period of 6 to 30 months. In all previously undiagnosed patients [five], splenic biopsies allowed histologic subtyping. Additional immuno‐logic subclassification into B‐cell and T‐cell types of lymphomas was done in two instances. There were no complications in this series. These results suggest that percutaneous US‐guided splenic tissue core biopsy is a useful and safe technique for the diagnosis, staging, and follow‐up of malignant lymphoma.
Three-dimensional Reconstructions of Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent (CaM) Kinase IIα and Truncated CaM Kinase IIα Reveal a Unique Organization for Its Structural Core and Functional Domains*

Studies of the structural organization of calcium/ calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIα (CaM KIIα) and truncated CaM KIIα by three-dimensional electron microscopy and protein engineering show that the structures consist of 12 subunits that are organized in two stacked hexameric rings with 622 symmetry. The body of CaM KIIα is gear-shaped, consisting of six slanted flanges, and has six foot-like processes attached by narrow appendages to both ends of the flanges. Truncated CaM KIIα that lacks functional domains has a structure that is very similar to the body of CaM KIIα. Thus, the functional domains reside in the foot-like processes, and the association domain comprises the gear-shaped core. The ribbon diagram of the bilobate structure of CaM KI fits nicely in the envelope of the foot-like component and indicates that the crevice between the two lobes comprising the functional domains is near the middle portion of the foot. The clustering of the functional domains provides a favorable arrangement for the autophosphorylation reaction, and the unusual arrangement of the catalytic domain on extended tethers appears to be significant for the remarkable functional diversity of CaM KIIα in cellular regulation.
Prediction model for hypertension in pregnancy in nulliparous women using information obtained at the first antenatal visit

Objective To develop a prediction model for the occurrence of hypertension in pregnancy using clinical variables obtained routinely at the antenatal booking visit prior to 16 weeks gestation. Methods We studied 2334 nulliparous pregnant women participating in two population-based prospective cohort studies. Potential predictors included maternal age, blood pressure, body weight, height, previous miscarriage and smoking history, assessed at the visit booking prior to 16 weeks gestation. The outcome measure was the development of hypertension before 36 weeks of gestation. A prediction model was derived from the regression model using discrimination, calibration, bootstrapping approaches and transformed into a prediction model usable in clinical practice. Results One hundred and forty-one of 2334 women (6.0%) developed hypertension. Main predictors were systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and weight. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the model was 0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.75–0.82. Among women with a very low score (19% of the population) the risk of hypertension was 0.5%. In those with a high score (13% of the population) the risk was 22.9%. Conclusion Among nulliparous and initially normotensive women, the use of three simple clinical variables obtained routinely at the antenatal booking visit prior to 16 weeks, can accurately identify women at very low and very high risk of becoming hypertensive before 36 weeks of gestation. When confirmed in recent cohorts, application of the prediction model may lead to a reduction in frequency of antenatal visits for low-risk and increased surveillance for high-risk women.
Moving from At Risk to At Promise A Paradigm Shift for Community Colleges Addressing Underprepared Students

A special thanks to the DCCL faculty for their guidance and support. Introduction Perception and semantics play an important role in the success or failure of students who are under-prepared for higher education. Among community colleges nationwide, the challenges of open-entry have moved from preparing students for transfer education and careers in emerging industries to addressing remedial needs in basic academic areas and study skills. Yet the term “at risk,” a commonly used phrase describing students with educational needs below college level, may undermine the success of these students by implying that they are starting from a deficit point of overcoming obstacles. Instead of creating an empowering environment that promotes students’ potential, the label “at risk” perpetuates the belief that these students are damaged and personally flawed where “psychological character, physiological makeup, and cultural patterns of students are called into question and labeled deficient. ” (Franklin, 2000, p.3).
Syntactic Complexity Effects of Russian Relative Clause Sentences in Children with and without Developmental Language Disorder

ABSTRACT We investigated relative clause (RC) comprehension in 44 Russian-speaking children with typical language (TD) and developmental language disorder (DLD) (M age = 10;67, SD = 2.84) and 22 adults. Flexible word order and morphological case in Russian allowed us to isolate factors that are obscured in English, helping us to identify sources of syntactic complexity and evaluate their roles in RC comprehension by children with typical language and their peers with DLD. We administered a working memory and an RC comprehension (picture-choice) task, which contained subject- and object-gap center-embedded and right-branching RCs. The TD group, but not adults, demonstrated the effects of gap, embedding, and case. Their lower accuracy relative to adults was not fully attributable to differences in working memory. The DLD group displayed lower than TD children overall accuracy, accounted for by their lower working memory scores. While the effect of gap and embedding on their performance was not different from what was found for the TD group, children with DLD exhibited a diminished effect of case, suggesting reduced sensitivity to morphological case markers as processing cues. The implications of these results to theories of syntactic complexity and core deficits in DLD are discussed.
How close are we to individualized medicine for Parkinson’s disease?

ABSTRACT Introduction: There is a considerable inter-individual heterogeneity in clinical features, disease course, and treatment response in Parkinson’s disease (PD), which can be explained not only by disease process and clinical variables, but also by an impact from genetic factors. Evidence-based medicine relies on large randomized control trials and meta-analysis-average medicine, which ignores individual differences. However, we are now in the early phases of a paradigm shift in medicine relating to individuality and variability. The purpose of individualized medicine is to predict patients’ responses to targeted therapy using diagnostic tests based on genetics or other molecular mechanisms, thus providing the right drug at the right dose at the right time. Areas covered: In this article, we outline current state of individualized medicine for PD. Expert Commentary: Pharmacogenomics, an important element of individualized medicine, is just beginning to be considered in PD. To advance the clinical use of pharmacogenomics, big data cohort for genomic research and multidisciplinary team approaches are necessary.
Chemokines: extracellular messengers for all occasions?

Movement of leukocytes from peripheral blood into tissues, also called leukocyte extravasation, is absolutely essential for immunity in higher organisms. Over the past decade, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in white blood cell extravasation during both normal immune surveillance and the generation of protective immune responses has taken a great leap forward with the discovery of the chemokine gene superfamily. Chemokines are low‐molecular‐weight cytokines whose major collective biological activity appears to be that of chemotaxis of both specific and overlapping subsets of leukocytes. They are therefore likely to play a critical role in the directed movement of leukocytes from the bloodstream into tissue. These molecules are almost exclusively secreted and act as extracellular messengers for the immune system. However, emerging data also show that various members of the chemokine gene superfamily exert other biological effects outside the immune system. All nucleated cells and all tissues examined to date are capable of expressing at least some chemokines, and it seems likely therefore that by the time all the chemokines are identified, and all their biological functions elucidated, we will find that, as a family, these molecules perform an extracellular messenger role in all tissues and systems of the body. BioEssays 1999;21:17–28. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.