Housing and stock market nexus in the US

Purpose: The research aims to study the causality between the US stock and housing markets in the period from 1890 to 2014. Design/Methodology/Approach: The Granger-Causality bootstrap rolling-window test is used for studying the causality between the stock as well as real estate markets in the US. Findings: The results provide robust evidence that the causality running from the housing in the stock markets has positive effects between 1918 and 1922, 1926 and 1931, 1953 and 1955 but negative effects between 1932 and 1934 and from 1971 to 1972, displaying the occurrence of a credit-price effect. In contrast, the S&P 500 stomped the housing market between 1965 and 1970, when the wealth effect dominated in the US economy. Specifically, when the negative causality of both markets happens, investors gain by allocating housing and stocks assets as various portfolios. Practical Implications: This finding specifies that housing markets may be employed to predict stock markets and vice versa in the US. Studying both markets’ causality offers policymakers and practitioners more situation on where the market may be going and how it works over time. Originality/Value: Original research.peer-reviewe

Advancing primary care to promote equitable health: implications for China

China is a country with vast regional differences and uneven economic development, which have led to widening gaps between the rich and poor in terms of access to healthcare, quality of care, and health outcomes. China's healthcare reform efforts must be tailored to the needs and resources of each region and community. Building and strengthening primary care within the Chinese health care system is one way to effectively address health challenges. This paper begins by outlining the concept of primary care, including key definitions and measurements. Next, results from a number of studies will demonstrate that primary care characteristics are associated with savings in medical costs, improvements in health outcomes and reductions in health disparities. This paper concludes with recommendations for China on successfully incorporating a primary care model into its national health policy, including bolstering the primary care workforce, addressing medical financing structures, recognizing the importance of evidence-based medicine, and looking to case studies from countries that have successfully implemented health reform

Sodium vanadate combined with l-ascorbic acid delays disease progression, enhances motor performance, and ameliorates muscle atrophy and weakness in mice with spinal muscular atrophy

BACKGROUND: Proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a neurodegenerative disorder that causes infant mortality, has no effective treatment. Sodium vanadate has shown potential for the treatment of SMA; however, vanadate-induced toxicity in vivo remains an obstacle for its clinical application. We evaluated the therapeutic potential of sodium vanadate combined with a vanadium detoxification agent, L-ascorbic acid, in a SMA mouse model. METHODS: Sodium vanadate (200 μM), L-ascorbic acid (400 μM), or sodium vanadate combined with L-ascorbic acid (combined treatment) were applied to motor neuron-like NSC34 cells and fibroblasts derived from a healthy donor and a type II SMA patient to evaluate the cellular viability and the efficacy of each treatment in vitro. For the in vivo studies, sodium vanadate (20 mg/kg once daily) and L-ascorbic acid (40 mg/kg once daily) alone or in combination were orally administered daily on postnatal days 1 to 30. Motor performance, pathological studies, and the effects of each treatment (vehicle, L-ascorbic acid, sodium vanadate, and combined treatment) were assessed and compared on postnatal days (PNDs) 30 and 90. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate the survival rate, with P < 0.05 indicating significance. For other studies, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Student's t test for paired variables were used to measure significant differences (P < 0.05) between values. RESULTS: Combined treatment protected cells against vanadate-induced cell death with decreasing B cell lymphoma 2-associated X protein (Bax) levels. A month of combined treatment in mice with late-onset SMA beginning on postnatal day 1 delayed disease progression, improved motor performance in adulthood, enhanced survival motor neuron (SMN) levels and motor neuron numbers, reduced muscle atrophy, and decreased Bax levels in the spinal cord. Most importantly, combined treatment preserved hepatic and renal function and substantially decreased vanadium accumulation in these organs. CONCLUSIONS: Combined treatment beginning at birth and continuing for 1 month conferred protection against neuromuscular damage in mice with milder types of SMA. Further, these mice exhibited enhanced motor performance in adulthood. Therefore, combined treatment could present a feasible treatment option for patients with late-onset SMA

Developing the Ideal Profile of OCAs and IT Usage in the Foodservice Chain

In recent years, the number of the branches of the foodservice chain rapidly increases, and every branch wants to be successful. Thus, how to use information technology to support Organizational Critical Activities (OCAs) has become an important issue. This research found out ten Organizational Critical Activities (OCAs) of the foodservice chain and three types of information technology usage, Defender Type, Follower Type, and Innovator Type. Furthermore, after the revision of two experts, the ten Organizational Critical Activities (OCAs) are divided into three categories, Internal Management, External Management, and Product Service. The analytical result found out that Defender Type matches Internal Management, External Management matches Innovator Type, and Product Service matches Follower Type. Finally, this study hopes that companies in the foodservice chain can develop appropriate IT strategies according to this research result to enhance their core competitiveness

Prevalence and Correlates of Depression among Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Taiwan

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive disease that causes a permanent impairment of renal function and premature mortality. The associated prognosis may result in serious psychological distress to the affected individual. However, there are limited data on the psychological correlates, and in particular depression, in Chinese CKD patients. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of depression, as well as the influence of other psychosocial factors on depression, among Taiwanese CKD patients. Methods: We used a cross-sectional research design to recruit 270 CKD patients who were not undergoing dialysis treatment at a hospital in southern Taiwan during 2011. The structured questionnaire used in this study gathered information on respondent demographic and disease characteristics, and information obtained from the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire. Factors associated with depression were examined by a multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The crude and age-standardized prevalence of depression were 22.6% and 20.6%, respectively. Those who had sleep disturbances, reported having no religious beliefs, followed no regular exercise regimen, and were diagnosed with stage III or above CKD demonstrated a significantly higher risk of depression. Conclusion: Our findings are beneficial to healthcare providers, as they identify both the prevalence of depression and several of its correlates. By identifying CKD patients with a higher risk of depression, healthcare providers may be better able to ensure the provision of appropriate rehabilitation to this population

Ontology-based Fuzzy Markup Language Agent for Student and Robot Co-Learning

An intelligent robot agent based on domain ontology, machine learning mechanism, and Fuzzy Markup Language (FML) for students and robot co-learning is presented in this paper. The machine-human co-learning model is established to help various students learn the mathematical concepts based on their learning ability and performance. Meanwhile, the robot acts as a teacher's assistant to co-learn with children in the class. The FML-based knowledge base and rule base are embedded in the robot so that the teachers can get feedback from the robot on whether students make progress or not. Next, we inferred students' learning performance based on learning content's difficulty and students' ability, concentration level, as well as teamwork sprit in the class. Experimental results show that learning with the robot is helpful for disadvantaged and below-basic children. Moreover, the accuracy of the intelligent FML-based agent for student learning is increased after machine learning mechanism.Comment: This paper is submitted to IEEE WCCI 2018 Conference for revie

Lead Exposure Is Associated with Decreased Serum Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) Activity and Genotypes

Lead exposure causes cardiac and vascular damage in experimental animals. However, there is considerable debate regarding the causal relationship between lead exposure and cardiovascular dysfunction in humans. Paraoxonase 1 (PON1), a high-density lipoprotein-associated antioxidant enzyme, is capable of hydrolyzing oxidized lipids and thus protects against atherosclerosis. Previous studies have shown that lead and several other metal ions are able to inhibit PON1 activity in vitro. To investigate whether lead exposure has influence on serum PON1 activity, we conducted a cross-sectional study of workers from a lead battery manufactory and lead recycling plant. Blood samples were analyzed for whole-blood lead levels, serum PON1 activity, and three common PON1 polymorphisms (Q192R, L55M, −108C/T). The mean blood lead level (± SD) of this cohort was 27.1 ± 15 μg/dL. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that blood lead levels were significantly associated with decreased serum PON1 activity (p < 0.001) in lead workers. This negative correlation was more evident for workers who carry the R192 allele, which has been suggested to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Taken together, our results suggest that the decrease in serum PON1 activity due to lead exposure may render individuals more susceptible to atherosclerosis, particularly subjects who are homozygous for the R192 allele

Recombinant VP1, an Akt Inhibitor, Suppresses Progression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Inducing Apoptosis and Modulation of CCL2 Production

BACKGROUND: The application of viral elements in tumor therapy is one facet of cancer research. Recombinant capsid protein VP1 (rVP1) of foot-and-mouth disease virus has previously been demonstrated to induce apoptosis in cancer cell lines. Here, we aim to further investigate its apoptotic mechanism and possible anti-metastatic effect in murine models of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most common human cancers worldwide. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Treatment with rVP1 inhibited cell proliferation in two murine HCC cell lines, BNL and Hepa1-6, with IC₅₀ values in the range of 0.1-0.2 µM. rVP1 also induced apoptosis in these cells, which was mediated by Akt deactivation and dissociation of Ku70-Bax, and resulted in conformational changes and mitochondrial translocation of Bax, leading to the activation of caspases-9, -3 and -7. Treatment with 0.025 µM rVP1, which did not affect the viability of normal hepatocytes, suppressed cell migration and invasion via attenuating CCL2 production. The production of CCL2 was modulated by Akt-dependent NF-κB activation that was decreased after rVP1 treatment. The in vivo antitumor effects of rVP1 were assessed in both subcutaneous and orthotopic mouse models of HCC in immune-competent BALB/c mice. Intratumoral delivery of rVP1 inhibited subcutaneous tumor growth as a result of increased apoptosis. Intravenous administration of rVP1 in an orthotopic HCC model suppressed tumor growth, inhibited intra-hepatic metastasis, and prolonged survival. Furthermore, a decrease in the serum level of CCL2 was observed in rVP1-treated mice. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The data presented herein suggest that, via inhibiting Akt phosphorylation, rVP1 suppresses the growth, migration, and invasion of murine HCC cells by inducing apoptosis and attenuating CCL2 production both in vitro and in vivo. Recombinant protein VP1 thus has the potential to be developed as a new therapeutic agent for HCC

Unusual case of spontaneous uterine rupture in a single gestational primipara

AbstractSpontaneous rupture of the primiparous uterus is a rare but catastrophic obstetrical emergency. It is usually associated with prior uterine surgery, trauma, or placental abnormality. To remind physicians to include this condition in their differential diagnosis of acute abdominal pain in pregnant patients, we describe an interesting case of spontaneous uterine rupture that clinically mimicked bowel perforation. A 27-year-old single primiparous pregnant woman presented with sudden onset of severe abdominal pain and peritoneal signs, with absence of vaginal bleeding at 26 weeks’ gestation. The usual risk factors for uterine rupture, such as advanced maternal age, scarred uterus due to mode of previous delivery, or unusual pregnancy, were not present in our patient. Based on clinical examination, abdominal sonography and magnetic resonance imaging, uterine rupture was suspected and eventually confirmed at exploratory laparotomy. No uterine pathological abnormality was noted on the microscopic examination The preterm newborn expired after surgery. Since surgical intervention is the only definitive treatment, emergency physicians should be aware of this rare complication. Emergency physicians should be aware of spontaneous uterine rupture in pregnant patients, even in the absence of risk factors