Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The internationalization of the financial system and the developing countries : the evolving relationship

The evolution of the international financial system is determined to a large extent by the development of the financial system in the dominant country or countries. Domestic financial systems pass through three different stages: the bank-oriented phase, the market-oriented phase, and the strongly-market-oriented phase. The world financial system is now in the bank-oriented phase but is moving into a strongly market-oriented phase now beginning to characterize the United States and the United Kingdom. The other major European countries and Japan are entering the market-oriented phase. Until the 1930s developing countries raised the bulk of their external funds on capital markets in Britain and the other industrial countries. Since then they have come increasingly to rely on bank funds. They can benefit most from the now changing international system by acquiring a full knowledge of the way it functions and applying its principles to their own fund raising operations. By so doing they will strengthen the financial links between the developing countries and the rest of the world as well as promote the economic integration of the world economy at large.
Altered Responsiveness to Cortisol, Epinephrine, and Glucagon in Insulin-infused Juvenile-onset Diabetics: A Mechanism for Diabetic Instability

To evaluate the mechanism of rebound and stress hyperglycemia in diabetes, cortisol, epinephrine, and glucagon were infused into normal and juvenile-onset diabetic subjects for 5–6 h in doses designed to simulate the increments observed in insulin hypoglycemia or severe stress. Plasma glucose and glucose kinetics were normalized in the diabetics before each experiment by infusion of insulin (0.25–1.0 U/h) for 4–6 h, which was then continued during anti-insulin hormone administration. Infusion of cortisol and epinephrine produced comparable elevations in plasma cortisol (35–45 /μg/dl) and plasma epinephrine (350–450 pg/ml) in normal and diabetic subjects. However, the increment in plasma glucose in diabetics after cortisol (86 ± 15 mg/dl) and epinephrine (129 ± 12 mg/dl) infusion was fivefold to sevenfold greater than it was in normals (P < 0.001), despite ongoing insulin infusion. Whereas cortisol failed to alter glucose production in normals, in diabetics there was a progressive 35% increase in glucose production (P < 0.001). Similarly, epinephrine produced only a transient (<90 min) 60% rise in glucose production in normal subjects, but caused a sustained 50%–90% rise in glucose production in diabetics throughout the entire 5-h study. In contrast, both cortisol and epinephrine infusion was accompanied by a 25%–40% (P < 0.001) decline in glucose clearance, no different than in normal and diabetic subjects. Glucagon infusion produced a transient 35%–40% rise in glucose production, which was of comparable magnitude and duration in normal controls and diabetics. However, the glucagon-induced rise in plasma glucose was threefold greater in the diabetics due to failure of endogenous insulin secretion and consequent lack of an increase in glucose clearance as observed in normal controls. When saline was administered to the insulin-infused diabetics, neither plasma glucose nor glucose production were altered from baseline values. It is concluded that (1) the hyperglycemic effect of each of the anti-insulin hormones is increased in diabetics, in spite of prior normalization of plasma glucose concentration, by continuous insulin infusion and (2) hyperglycemia is particularly exaggerated by elevations of cortisol and epinephrine in diabetes as a consequence of an altered response of the liver to these hormones.
Extent of clinical improvement after surgical treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND A subgroup of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy remain severely symptomatic despite optimal medical therapy. Septal myectomy reduces or eliminates left ventricular outflow obstruction and produces marked symptomatic improvement. With the recent advent of alternative methods for treatment of this disorder, such as dual-chamber pacing, it is necessary to establish the risks and benefits of septal myectomy in the modern surgical era. METHODS AND RESULTS The clinical, ECG, echocardiographic, cardiac catheterization, and surgical data were analyzed for 65 patients 20 to 70 years old with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy who had surgical treatment between 1986 and 1992. Specific symptoms and overall functional status were evaluated before surgery and at the end of the first postoperative year. Subsequent long-term clinical postoperative follow-up was also obtained. The extent of postoperative improvement was measured by the presence and severity of persistent symptoms, overall New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, and patients' self-perceptions of overall improvement. Of the patients, 95% were in NYHA functional class III or IV before surgery: 95% had dyspnea, 62% had angina, 63% had near-syncope, and 23% had syncope. The overall early mortality rate was 4.6%; there was no mortality among the 45 patients who underwent isolated septal myectomy. At the 1-year postoperative evaluation, 89% of survivors were in NYHA functional class I or II, and 47% believed that they had 100% improvement. Significant improvement (as defined) was seen in 67% of patients with dyspnea, 90% with angina, 86% with near-syncope, and 100% with syncope. The 5-year survival rate was 92%. CONCLUSIONS The results of the present study reaffirm the efficacy of surgical treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy in patients who are severely symptomatic despite optimal medical therapy and serve as a useful reference by which the surgical approach can be compared with new and potentially promising treatment alternatives.
Nanofiltration fouling propensity caused by wastewater effluent organic matters and surface-water dissolved organic matters

ABSTRACT Rejection of dissolved organic matters (DOMs) from wastewater treatment plant effluent (EfOM) and surface reservoir water (RW-DOM) by nanofiltration (NF) was comparatively studied to evaluate their influence on membrane fouling and to unveil the major causations. EfOM and RW-DOM were fractionated to determine the major components that preferentially form fouling layer and initiate biofouling. The results indicated that EfOM induced a rapid membrane permeability loss and a more complicated biofilm diversity than RW-DOM did. Hydrophilic components with small molecular weight (<3 kDa), and SMP in EfOM made a crucial contribution to membrane flux decline, while the hydrophobic large-molecular-weight components (>50 kDa) resulted in initially quick membrane fouling. The complex biofouling resulted from EfOM closely related with significant retention of SMP on the non-porous NF membrane surface, where the Proteobacteria phylum dominated the biofouling formed by microbial community growth and accumulation that gave rise to serious irreversible membrane fouling.
Energy consumption comparison for mobile video streaming encryption algorithm

Video streaming services over the Internet are being widely used in mobile networks. Currently, service providers are relying more and more on securing data transferred between the service provider, namely the video streaming server, and the end user. However, securing video content includes at least the use of video encryption algorithm requiring processing and memory capabilities, provoking more delay and energy consumption. In any other context, energy consumption may not be a very important issue, but when using a mobile device, it will certainly become one. In this paper, we are dressing a comparison between different symmetric encryption algorithms, in terms of energy consumption, while decrypting and viewing a video stream on mobile device.
Asia-Latin America Free Trade Agreements: An Instrument for Inter-Regional Liberalization and Integration?

Trade integration and free trade agreement (FTA)-led cooperation between Asia and Latin America has increased since the early 2000s. Using new criteria, this paper examines whether Asia-Latin America FTAs have facilitated market-led integration by liberalizing trade and behind the border regulatory barriers. Overall Asia-Latin America FTAs provide the foundations for inter-regional integration by liberalizing goods and services trade as well as some regulatory barriers. Future FTAs can support deeper integration by reducing residual regulatory barriers. Other policy priorities include forming a large inter-regional FTA, stimulating business use of FTAs and accelerating structural reforms.
The identification of future risks to the safety of foods with emphasis on game meat

Early identification or prediction of food safety incidents is fundamental to the implementation of timely, proportionate and decisive corrective and preventive actions to protect consumers. The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is looking at how one can use the data available to make predictions about emerging food safety risks that we may face. By sharing this information and working better with key stakeholders, we are developing a more innovative and proactive approach to food safety risk management. FSA's emerging risk programme has been established to provide a co-ordinated approach to the collation and analysis of intelligence relating to food safety and is helping us to develop a clearer picture of when, why and how food safety issues develop. The analyses are being used to identify new and re-emerging risks to food safety thereby providing: (1) an early warning system for future food safety risks; (2) intelligence-led sampling plans supporting the agency’s enforcement activities; (3) targeted research and surveillance activities to fill gaps in food safety knowledge; (4) support to policy making in the UK and across the EU; and, finally (5) support to key agency initiatives including our food-borne disease and imported foods strategies. This paper describes FSA’s overall approach and how it can be applied to game meat with a view to identify potential vulnerabilities in this food chain thereby enabling suitable preventive actions to be taken. Consideration is given to vulnerabilities from both naturally occurring and accidental contamination as well as deliberate contamination resulting from financial extortion or ideological gain.
Sex differences in distress: the impact of gender and work roles.

Investigators have suggested that social roles, particularly gender roles, may explain the tendency for women to have higher rates of demoralization than men. Results of studies comparing employed women, employed men, and housewives have been mixed, however, and investigators have begun to consider additional explanatory factors. This paper focuses on a potential source of gender differences in distress that has received relatively little attention: the workplace itself. I consider the extent to which work conditions and the sexual segregation of occupations are related to two measures of distress: demoralization, which is more prevalent among women, and drinking, which is more prevalent among men. Multiple regression analyses indicate that the only work-related factors associated with demoralization are substantive complexity and full-time work, and these have an effect among women only. Full-time work and low levels of complexity are associated wiMh higher levels of demoralization among women. Substantive complexity is also associated with drinking, but only among men; as complexity declines, levels of drinking increase. These findings indicate the importance of considering work-related factors and measures of distress associated differentially with gender when investigating gender differences in distress.
Autoantibodies to insulin, IA-2 and ZnT8 improve the prediction of early insulin requirement in adult-onset autoimmune diabetes

Title Autoantibodies to insulin, insulinoma-associated antigen-2, and zinc transporter 8 improve the prediction of early insulin requirement in adultonset autoimmune diabetes Author(s) Kawasaki, Eiji; Nakamura, Kan; Kuriya, Genpei; Satoh, Tsuyoshi; Kuwahara, Hironaga; Kobayashi, Masakazu; Abiru, Norio; Yamasaki, Hironori; Eguchi, Katsumi Citation Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 95(2), pp.707-713; 2010
COX-2 , and p 53 in epithelial ovarian cancer and its clinical significance

1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Materials and methods 3.1. Patients ad clinical data 3.2. Immunohistochemistry 3.3. Image analysis 3.4. Statistical analysis 4. Results 4.1. CD24 expression in EOC cells 4.2. The correlation of CD24 expression with COX-2 and p53 in EOC 4.3. The relationship between CD24 expression and the survival rate of EOC patients 4.4. The factors that affected tumor-free survival rate 5. Discussion 6. Acknowledgements 7. References
Acute and Chronic Effects of Endurance Running on Inflammatory Markers: A Systematic Review

In order to understand the effect of endurance running on inflammation, it is necessary to quantify the extent to which acute and chronic running affects inflammatory mediators. The aim of this study was to summarize the literature on the effects of endurance running on inflammation mediators. Electronic searches were conducted on PubMED and Science Direct with no limits of date and language of publication. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized controlled trials (NRCTs) investigating the acute and chronic effects of running on inflammation markers in runners were reviewed by two researchers for eligibility. The modified Downs and Black checklist for the assesssments of the methodological quality of studies was subsequently used. Fifty-one studies were finally included. There were no studies with elite athletes. Only two studies were chronic interventions. Results revealed that acute and chronic endurance running may affect anti- and pro-inflammatory markers but methodological differences between studies do not allow comparisons or generalization of the results. The information provided in this systematic review would help practitioners for better designing further studies while providing reference values for a better understanding of inflammatory responses after different running events. Further longitudinal studies are needed to identify the influence of training load parameters on inflammatory markers in runners of different levels and training background.
Comparative acute and combinative toxicity of aflatoxin B1 and T‐2 toxin in animals and immortalized human cell lines

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and T‐2 toxin (T‐2) are important food‐borne mycotoxins that have been implicated in human health and as potential biochemical weapons threats. In this study the acute and combinative toxicity of AFB1 and T‐2 were tested in F‐344 rats, mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), immortalized human hepatoma cells (HepG2) and human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS‐2B). Preliminary experiments were conducted in order to assess the acute toxicity and to obtain LD50, LC50 and IC50 values for individual toxins in each model, respectively. This was followed by testing combinations of AFB1 and T‐2 to obtain LD50, LC50 and IC50 values for the combination in each model. All models demonstrated a significant dose response in the observed parameters to treatment. The potency of the mixture was gauged through the determination of the interaction index metric. The results of this study demonstrate that these two toxins interacted to produce alterations in the toxic responses generally classifiable as additive; however, a synergistic interaction was noted in the case of BEAS‐2B. It can be gathered that this combination may pose a significant threat to public health and further research needs to be completed addressing alterations in metabolism and detoxification that may influence the toxic manifestations in combination. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Assessment of pheromone production and response in fission yeast by a halo test of induced sporulation

We describe a rapid, sensitive and semi‐quantitative plate assay for monitoring pheromone activity in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. It is based on the observation that meiosis requires stimulation by pheromone and exploits diploid strains that will only sporulate after addition of exogenous pheromone. The tester strains are heterozygous for mating type, are non‐switching, and are mutated in one of the early subfunctions (either mat1‐Mc or mat1‐Pc), so that meiosis is only induced after exposure to exogenous pheromone (M‐factor or P‐factor, respectively). Pheromone activity is assessed as an iodine‐positive halo of sporulation surrounding the pheromone source, and the width of the halo is related to the amount of pheromone being produced. The assay is sufficiently sensitive to monitor the low amount of M‐factor produced by an M mam1 strain, and its sensitivity towards P‐factor is greatly increased by using a hyper‐sensitive tester strain lacking the Sxa2 protease that is believed to degrade this pheromone. We also demonstrate that the production of P‐factor is very much stimulated by exposure of P cells to M‐factor.
An assessment of treatment guidelines, clinical practices, demographics, and progression of disease among patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Japan, the United States, and Europe

Abstract Background: There is an increasing clinical research focus on neuroprotective agents in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, it is unclear how generalisable clinical study trial results are between different countries and regions. Objective: To assess similarities and differences in clinical practice and treatment guidelines for ALS, and also to compare the demographics and rate of progression of disease in patients with ALS enrolled in clinical trials in Japan, the US, and Europe. Methods: We performed a review of clinical studies published since 2000 to compare the demographics and characteristics of patients with ALS. Progression of ALS disease was assessed in patients receiving placebo. The changes per month in ALSFRS-R score were calculated and compared between the studies. Results: Overall, diagnostic criteria, recognition of ALS symptoms, comorbidities, use of riluzole, and nutritional, and respiratory support were similar. Regarding demographics and characteristics, there were no clear differences in the incidence of sporadic ALS (range 91–98%), bulbar onset (range 11–41%), and median time from onset to diagnosis (range 9–14 months) among the populations despite the difference in race between regions. However, use of tracheostomy-based invasive respiratory support was higher in Japan (29–38%) than in the US (4%) and Europe (1–31%). Rate of progression of disease was similar between the US and Europe study populations (range –0.89 to –1.60 points/month), and the Japanese study populations (range –1.03 to –1.21 points/month). Conclusion: There is evidence to support the generalisability of data from the Japanese ALS trial experience to the US and Europe populations in early to mid-stage of ALS.
HCV Peptide (C5A), an Amphipathic α-Helical Peptide of Hepatitis Virus C, Is an Activator of N-Formyl Peptide Receptor in Human Phagocytes

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural 5A, a phosphorylated zinc metalloprotein, is an essential component of the HCV replication complex. An amphipathic α-helical peptide (HCV peptide [C5A]) derived from nonstructural 5A membrane anchor domain possesses potent anti-HCV and anti-HIV activity in vitro. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential of HCV peptide (C5A) to regulate host immune responses. The capacity of HCV peptide (C5A) in vitro to induce migration and calcium mobilization of human phagocytes and chemoattractant receptor-transfected cells was investigated. The recruitment of phagocytes in vivo induced by HCV peptide (C5A) and its adjuvant activity were examined. The results revealed that HCV peptide (C5A) was a chemoattractant and activator of human phagocytic leukocytes by using a G-protein coupled receptor, namely formyl peptide receptor. In mice, HCV peptide (C5A) induced massive phagocyte infiltration after injection in the air pouch or the s.c. region. HCV peptide (C5A) also acted as an immune adjuvant by enhancing specific T cell responses to Ag challenge in mice. Our results suggest that HCV peptide (C5A) derived from HCV regulates innate and adaptive immunity in the host by activating the formyl peptide receptor.
Genotypic Diversity among Brevibacillus laterosporus Strains

ABSTRACT In comparison with other entomopathogenic Bacillusspecies, the genome of Brevibacillus laterosporus is poorly characterized. The aim of this study was to examine genetic variability in B. laterosporus by using a range of typing methodologies. Strains of B. laterosporus were examined for variation in 13 chromosomal genes encoding enzymes by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis. Optimal conditions of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA were established that allowed analysis of the genome of B. laterosporus. None of these techniques allowed the identification of a convenient molecular marker for entomopathogenic strains, although one specific primer amplified only DNA from almost all mosquitocidal strains.
The Monophyletic Origin of the Orb Web

TWO VENERABLE groups of spiders spin orb webs: the cnbellate Ulobondae, weavers of calamistrated sticky silk, and the ecribellate Araneidae, weavers of true viscid silk (Figs. 12.2, 12.1). "Cnbellate" spiders possess a cnbellum and a calamistrum. The cnbellum is a flat, complex spinning plate from which the cnbellate silk issues; the calamistrum is a comb of bristles on the fourth metatarsi used to comb the cnbellate silk from the cnbellum. "Ecnbellate" spiders lack these structures. Other aspects of the morphology of the two families of spiders also differ considerably, yet both groups spin very similar orb webs. When juxtaposed to the morphological disparity between the spiders themselves, the similanty in the form of cheir webs and in the manner in which they are constructed has inspired a classic evolutionary controversy•the single versus the dual origin of the orb web. Behavioral evidence has defined one group, "orb weavers," including some but not all cnbellate spiders, but morphological evidence has defined another, "Cnbellatae," including some but not all orb weavers. The problem can be viewed as two contingent dilemmas. First, are all orb webs homologous as orb webs, and/or all cnbella homologous as cnbella? Second, if the answer to both of these questions is yes, then which homologuc is primitive and which derived, or do they both define the same group? There are several possible answers to these two dilemmas, and all have been suggested at one time or another in the history of the controversy. An additional problem contributing to the controversy over the orb web is secondary loss or complete modification of features in only some species of a monophyletic group. Occasionally, the species retaining the features are split off as a separate taxon defined by the retained primitive features. That taxon is not then synonymous with any real evolutionary lineage, and is
Client capabilities and capital works procurement policies: a comparative analysis of Australian jurisdictions

This chapter undertakes a case study of procurement in Australia and compares the capital works procurement policies of the federal, state and territory governments of Australia. A typology of approaches is advanced, following comparative analysis of the policies. The assumptions inherent in these policies, concerning the assessment of the capabilities of individual clients when planning and delivering capital works procurement, are outlined. A tentative proposition is made and possible avenues for future research are canvassed.
Genomics meets histamine receptors: new subtypes, new receptors.

Whether the job is waking the brain after a peaceful sleep, initiating gastric secretion when dinner is served or orchestrating the elements of inflammation after a mosquito bite, histamine has been a known biological messenger for decades ([Green, 1964][1]; [Eichler and Farah, 1966][2]). At the end