Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender difference in the association between social support and metabolic syndrome in Japan: the ‘enkai’ effect?

Background Recent reports have found an association between social support and reduced prevalence of metabolic syndrome (or its components) in the West; however, no study has been carried out in Asian populations. Methods The authors examined 12 537 men and women who were part of the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study initiated in 1993. Perceived emotional support was assessed through questionnaire as receipt of confidant support and esteem support from family members or friends. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on the modified criteria of the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF), while its components were obtained through health examinations conducted during the same year as the questionnaire. Results The authors found an association between social support and metabolic syndrome among Japanese men that was in the opposite direction to what has previously been reported in western studies. Among men, the multivariate ORs and 95% CIs for metabolic syndrome in the lowest versus highest level of social support was 0.75 (0.58 to 0.97) based on AHA/NHLBI criteria and 0.69 (0.51 to 0.92) based on IDF criteria. Among women, the authors found no association between social support and metabolic syndrome. Conclusions In this study, men with higher social support appeared to engage in heavier drinking and also reported a higher fat intake pattern, both of which may increase the risk of metabolic syndrome mainly through overweight. Our findings lend weight to the notion that the pattern of association between social support and health outcomes is both culturally contingent and gender-specific.
The Influence of Corneal Collagen Crosslinking on Conjunctival Flora

ABSTRACT Purpose: To investigate the influence of corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) on conjunctival flora. Materials and Methods: Included in this study were 42 patients, all of whom were treated with CXL for progressive keratoconus (KC). Conjunctival swab samples were collected under operating-room conditions immediately before and immediately after the procedure. Samples were quickly immersed in Amies Transport Medium (ATM), transferred to the microbiology laboratory, diluted, and inoculated into three areas each of blood agar, chocolate agar, eosin methylene blue (EMB) agar, and Saboraud–Dextrose agar plates. Inoculated plates were incubated at 35°C for 24–48 h. Preliminary species identification of isolated bacterial colonies was based on catalase and oxidase tests, Gram staining, and colony morphology. Definitive identification of isolates was made with Vitek-II fully automated identification kits. Results: Cultures were positive in 24 (57.1%) preoperative and 10 (23.8%) postoperative samples (p ˂ 0.05). Microorganisms isolated from preoperative conjunctival samples included coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) spp. in 23 (54.8%) samples, S. aureus in three (7.1%), Moraxella spp. in two (4.8%), Streptococcus spp. in three (7.1%), Corynebacterium spp, in one (2.4%), Micrococcus spp. in one (2.4%), and Candida spp. in one (2.4%). Microorganisms isolated from postoperative conjunctival samples included CNS spp. in nine (21.4%) samples, S. aureus in one (2.4%), Corynebacterium spp. in two (4.8%), and Acinetobacter spp. in one (2.4%). Conclusions: CXL appears to have a significant impact on conjunctiva flora.
Three essays on households' location decisions: analysis of the processes of gentrification and rural-urban migration

Using econometric, theoretical and modeling approaches, this dissertation studies how the processes of gentrification and interregional migration affect the location decisions of individuals. The first paper analyzes the effect of gentrification on the housing price premium distribution using data from Chicago. Assuming a monotonic relationship between housing prices and income, the results suggest that gentrification causes displacement of the low-income population because the appreciation of houses in the lower tail of the distribution is greater in properties located in gentrified neighborhoods. The estimations correct for endogeneity of the gentrification definition, and for the spatial correlation of housing prices. The second paper develops a general equilibrium model of workers’ interregional allocation. The model considers an economy with two sectors called manufacturing and violence, and mobile labor and capital. Workers choose their location by observing the wage differentials and two distortions in the economy: the existence of unemployment in the cities and a distortion in the violence sector related to the “guilt and fear” faced by individuals working there. An increase in the manufacturing wage increases the unemployed labor in the cities, but the effect is lower when the initial unemployment is high. On the other hand, an increase in the manufacturing wage could either increase or decrease the violence labor, and these changes are less positive (or more negative) with high initial levels of violence. Finally, the third paper uses a CGE-microsimulation model to analyze the effects of an ex ante legalization of drugs on the Colombian economy. Changes in wages and migration are estimated using a labor participation model, and households demand and welfare measures are calculated using the Almost Ideal Demand System. The impacts of legalizing drugs are analyzed under different scenarios with different assumptions regarding the changes in drug price, government investment and the termination of the armed conflict. If the legalization of drugs ends the armed conflict, economic welfare is only improved if the government reinvests the military expenditures into other productive sectors. If the armed conflict does not end with legalization, the legalization of drugs could improve economic welfare in rural and urban areas. These welfare effects are not monotonic with income; the lowest income deciles benefit more than the highest deciles, with rural areas benefiting more than urban areas.
Residential Satisfaction of the Elderly in Cooperatively Owned Housing and Rental Housing

Aging is accompanied with numerous transitions in life, and residential environment becomes a pivotal part of the elderly’s lives. Physically supportive housing linked with services emerges in midst of the reality that retrofitting housing with special features has been seriously underfunded. The purpose of this study was to examine the residential satisfaction of the elderly in two types of independent living arrangements specially designed for the elderly. The indices of residential supportiveness were developed, and the questionnaire survey was adopted for data collection. Two hundred eighty residents living in two different kinds of senior housing participated in the survey, and all the collected responses were used for data analysis. The finding showed that almost all of the elderly positively assessed their senior living. That is, the statistical analysis illustrated that satisfaction indices of senior living significantly and positively contributed the satisfaction with overall residential environment. Satisfaction with physical environment was the only strong predictor in explaining current residential satisfaction of the elderly in senior rental housing, and accounted for a small proportion of the variance in the dependent variable. Since affordability was the biggest concern among residents in senior housing, it was of significance that long-term housing affordability was ensured and reduction in service cost by utilizing economies of scale was pursued.
Characterization of a G Protein -Coupled Guanylyl Cyclase -B Receptor from Bovine Tracheal Smooth Muscle

A G protein-coupled natriuretic peptide-guanylyl cyclase receptor-B (NPR-B) located in plasma membranes from bovine tracheal smooth muscle shows complex kinetics and regulation. NPR-B was activated by natriuretic peptides (CNP-53 > ANP-28) at the ligand extracellular domain, stimulated by Gq-protein activators, such as mastoparan, and inhibited by Gi-sensitive chloride, interacting at the juxtamembrane domain. The kinase homology domain was evaluated by the ATP inhibition of Mn2+-activated NPR-B, which was partially reversed by mastoparan. The catalytic domain was studied by kinetics of Mn2+/Mg2+ and GTP, and the catalytic effect with GTP analogues with modifications of the /γ phosphates and ribose moieties. Most NPR-B biochemical properties remained after detergent solubilization but the mastoparan activation and chloride inhibition of NPR-B disappeared. Our results indicate that NPR-B is a highly regulated nano-machinery with domains acting at cross-talk points with other signal transducing cascades initiated by G protein-coupled receptors and affected by intracellular ligands such as chloride, Mn2+, Mg2+, ATP, and GTP.
Mining the antibodyome for HIV-1–neutralizing antibodies with next-generation sequencing and phylogenetic pairing of heavy/light chains

Next-generation sequencing of antibody transcripts from HIV-1–infected individuals with broadly neutralizing antibodies could provide an efficient means for identifying somatic variants and characterizing their lineages. Here, we used 454 pyrosequencing and identity/divergence grid sampling to analyze heavy- and light-chain sequences from donor N152, the source of the broadly neutralizing antibody 10E8. We identified variants with up to 28% difference in amino acid sequence. Heavy- and light-chain phylogenetic trees of identified 10E8 variants displayed similar architectures, and 10E8 variants reconstituted from matched and unmatched phylogenetic branches displayed significantly lower autoreactivity when matched. To test the generality of phylogenetic pairing, we analyzed donor International AIDS Vaccine Initiative 84, the source of antibodies PGT141–145. Heavy- and light-chain phylogenetic trees of PGT141–145 somatic variants also displayed remarkably similar architectures; in this case, branch pairings could be anchored by known PGT141–145 antibodies. Altogether, our findings suggest that phylogenetic matching of heavy and light chains can provide a means to approximate natural pairings.
A comparison of pressure‐ and volume‐controlled ventilation at different inspiratory to expiratory ratios *

Background: Inverse ratio ventilation (IRV) is frequently used in severe acute respiratory failure. IRV may lead to intrinsic positive end‐expiratory pressure (PEEP) and is thought to improve oxygenation and to have advantageous effects on lung mechanics. Published data to support the use of IRV are scarce. This animal study compares external PEEP with intrinsic PEEP in pressure‐ and volume‐controlled ventilation.
Evidence that recBC-dependent degradation of duplex DNA in Escherichia coli recD mutants involves DNA unwinding

Infection of Escherichia coli with phage T4 gene 2am was used to transport 3H-labeled linear duplex DNA into cells to follow its degradation in relation to the cellular genotype. In wild-type cells, 49% of the DNA was made acid soluble within 60 min; in recB or recC cells, only about 5% of the DNA was made acid soluble. Remarkably, in recD cells about 25% of the DNA was rendered acid soluble. The DNA degradation in recD cells depended on intact recB and recC genes. The degradation in recD cells was largely decreased by mutations in recJ (which eliminates the 5' single-strand-specific exonuclease coded by this gene) or xonA (which abolishes the 3' single-strand-specific exonuclease I). In a recD recJ xonA triple mutant, the degradation of linear duplex DNA was roughly at the level of a recB mutant. Results similar to those with the set of recD strains were also obtained with a recC++ mutant (in which the RecD protein is intact but does not function) and its recJ, xonA, and recJ xonA derivatives. The observations provide evidence for a recBC-dependent DNA-unwinding activity that renders unwound DNA susceptible to exonucleolytic degradation. It is proposed that the DNA-unwinding activity causes the efficient recombination, DNA repair, and SOS induction (after application of nalidixic acid) in recD mutants. The RecBC helicase indirectly detected here may have a central function in Chi-dependent recombination and in the recombinational repair of double-strand breaks by the RecBCD pathway.
Topographic Organization of Nonlinear Interdependence in Multichannel Human EEG

This paper investigates the spatial organization of nonlinear interactions between different brain regions in healthy human subjects. This is achieved by studying the topography of nonlinear interdependence in multichannel EEG data, acquired from 40 healthy human subjects at rest. An algorithm for the detection and quantification of nonlinear interdependence is applied to four pairs of bipolar electrode derivations to detect posterior and anterior interhemispheric and left and right intrahemispheric interdependences. Multivariate surrogate data sets are constructed to control for linear coherence and finite sample size. Nonlinear interdependence is shown to occur in a small but statistically robust number of epochs. The occurrence of nonlinear interdependence in any region is correlated with the concurrent presence of nonlinear interdependence in other regions at high levels of significance. The strength, direction and topography of the interdependences are also correlated. For example, posterior interhemispheric interdependence from right-to-left is strongly correlated with right intrahemispheric interdependence from back-to-front. There is a subtle change in these correlations when subjects open their eyes. These results suggest that nonlinear interdependence in the human brain has a specific topographic organization which reflects simple cognitive changes. It sometimes occurs as an isolated phenomenon between two brain regions, but often involves concurrent interdependences between multiple brain regions.
WEAK FORM EFFICIENCY OF INDIAN STOCK MARKET: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Market efficiency of Indian stock market based on the daily return of NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex form 1 January 1994 to 31 December 2015 is tested by applying Unit root, Autocorrelation, Run test and Variance ratio methodologies for seven sub-periods based on the trends and patterns in the movements of Indian market. The unit root tests like ADF and PP proved that the Indian stock market is non-stationary and contains a unit root. The auto correlation results are also revealed high degree of dependence on previous prices, which means that previous prices are related with current prices. The strong autocorrelation behaviour of the variable leads to non stationarity situation in data series, which means that the stock market movements are not in predictable manner. The run test results also proved that there is no randomness in Indian stock market. The results from the sub periods for each test are also giving the results which support the whole study period results. It clearly proved real behaviour of Indian stock market. From the results, it is clear that the Indian stock market does not follow random walk and it is in inefficient in its weak form.
Developing renewable energy in developing countries: A lesson from Indonesia

ABSTRACT Global energy consumption grows faster than world population. It is projected that the next growth will be driven by developing countries in Asia region. As energy consumption rises, the awareness of environmental issues related with fuel and energy consumption gradually grows. One solution for these issues is the use of renewable energy. However, it has its own challenges. Besides its high up-front cost, the technological barriers of renewable energy are different from one country to another. Therefore, in this study, we took the learning curve in Indonesia as a lesson. The energy supply in Indonesia is dominated by nonrenewable energy resources. The government however is committed to renewal energy, and its growth is promising. We conclude that two markets are potential in developing countries. First is the implementation of renewable energy in rural area. This implementation should take into account rural entrepreneurship. Second is the implementation of renewable energy for grid-connected power production. Policy must overcome political and institutional obstacles and consider utility-sector issues.
Fundamentalism and Democracy: A Dynamic Perspective

We analyse the dynamics of the distribution of democratic values in a population where agents have heterogeneous preferences about democracy, distinguishing between fundamentalist-antidemocratic agents and pro-democracy agents. Cultural traits and norms are acquired through a process of intergenerational cultural transmission and socialization. The driving force in the equilibrium selection process is the education effort exerted by parents; this depends on the distribution of democratic values in the population and on expectations about future policies affecting formal and informal institutions. The main result is that when fundamentalism is sufficiently diffused in all institutional dimensions of social life, the imposition of formal democratic rules do not significantly affect social preferences. On the other hand the model shows how a cruel fundamentalist dictatorship cannot wholly destroy democratic preferences in the population; the sole result is a fictitious homologation of manifested attitudes, with no preferences dynamics and the previous real attitudes immediately emerging as soon as dictatorship falls.
Effects of outflow pressure and vascular volume loading on thoracic duct lymph flow in adult sheep.

Studies have shown that lymph flow rate from several tissues depends on the pressure at the outflow end of the lymphatics. The left thoracic lymph duct is the largest lymphatic vessel and it transports a majority of the body's lymph. We varied outflow pressure for the left thoracic lymph duct independent of venous pressure in six unanesthetized, nonpregnant adult ewes with chronic lymphatic and venous catheters. When outflow pressure was negative, the thoracic duct lymph flow rate was independent of outflow pressure and averaged 0.040 +/- 0.004 (SE) ml.min-1.kg body wt-1. Lymph flow began to decrease with increasing outflow pressure only when outflow pressure was significantly greater than venous pressure. Above this breakpoint, lymph flow decreased linearly with outflow pressure and ceased at an outflow pressure of 25.6 +/- 4.2 mmHg. After vascular volume loading with lactated Ringer solution, steady-state thoracic duct lymph flow increased to 351 +/- 54% of control and was independent of outflow pressure when outflow pressure was negative. As outflow pressure was elevated, lymph flow began to decrease at the same breakpoint as before volume loading, and lymph flow ceased at the same outflow pressure as before volume loading. Thus this study shows that there is a plateau where thoracic duct lymph flow rate is independent of outflow pressure. In addition venous pressure under normal or volume-loaded conditions is not an impediment to thoracic duct lymph flow in unanesthetized sheep. Large increases in venous pressure are required to totally block thoracic duct lymph flow.
Detection of HTLV‐I tax‐rex and pol Gene Sequences of Thymus Gland in a Large Group of Patients With Myasthenia Gravis

&NA; We report in this study the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the amplification of the genomic DNA, isolated from thymic tissue, using the primers flanking HTLV‐I/II tax‐rex genes and the sequence method to analyze the HTLV‐I pol sequence of 27 Italian patients with myasthenia gravis. These molecular methods showed that 92.5% of patients tested positive for tax gene and 55% for pol genes; 55.5% samples were positive for both the tax gene of HTLV‐I/II, and the pol gene of HTLV‐I. Histologic investigation of the thymus showed that 15 samples had thymic hyperplasia, 93% tested positive for the tax gene, and 40% tested positive for both the tax and pol genes of HTLV‐I. In contrast, 91.6% of thymoma‐positive samples were positive for tax gene I/II and 75% positive for both genes, tax and pol type I. The sequence analysis of PCR product for tax and pol genes confirmed that these amplified products were HTLV‐I, with minimal variations. Our date suggested that either HTLV‐I or part of the virus genome is involved in the etiopathogenesis of myasthenia gravis.
A two-stage algorithm for core point detection in fingerprint images

Core point detection is a crucial task in fingerprint based biometric processing. In this paper, we propose a two-stage algorithm for core point detection in fingerprint images. The first stage determines the existence of core point region. The second stage determines the actual core point by ridge component identification followed by unwanted component elimination and core segment detection. To substantiate the efficacy of our approach, we have experimented with FVC-2004DB3 database. According to the experimental results, we are able to achieve more than 96% accuracy in core point detection.
How can companies succeed in forming CSR reputation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the channels companies use to communicate their corporate social responsibility (CSR) messages and to test the effectiveness of those channels – specifically, press releases, corporate websites, CSR reports, corporate Facebook pages, and TV advertising – on forming companies’ CSR reputations. Design/methodology/approach The two primary methods used in this study were secondary analysis of existing data and content analysis. The study sample was the 101 companies in the Reputation Institute’s 2014 CSR ranking of the 100 most highly regarded companies (two companies were tied) across 15 countries. Findings Corporate websites and CSR reports were the most common channels for CSR communications, but press releases – through their impact on news articles – and general corporate Facebook pages were the only effective channels in forming CSR reputation. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence of the effectiveness of various CSR communication channels; it not only focuses on CSR reputation, a specific aspect of corporate reputation which has not been studied in this context before, but also examines several different channels simultaneously, in contrast to previous studies which have only investigated one or two channels at a time.