Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Single and Multiple Courses of Prenatal Corticosteroids on 17-Hydroxyprogesterone Levels: Implication for Neonatal Screening of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

Measurement of 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) from filter-paper blood is widely used to screen for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). However, in pregnancies with an expected preterm delivery, prenatal treatment with steroids to induce pulmonary maturation could suppress the fetal adrenals and interfere with this screening. In 160 infants who were born between 25 and 35 wk of gestation, we measured 17-OHP in filter-paper blood at 72–96 h and compared the values between those who had not received antenatal steroids (n = 50) and those who had (n = 110). A single course of steroids was two 12-mg injections of betamethasone given within a 24-h interval: 30 infants received a half single course, 45 received a full single course, and 35 received multiple courses. Results are expressed as medians (25th percentile; 75th percentile). Blood 17-OHP differed significantly among groups: 23.7 (14.2; 30.7) nmol/L, 26.1 (15.0; 50.1) nmol/L, 20.1 (13.8; 29.1) nmol/L, and 14.9 (9.5; 26.2) nmol/L (for, respectively, no steroid, half a single course, a full single course, and multiple courses; p < 0.05, multiple comparisons with the Kruskal-Wallis test). However, only infants who were treated with multiple antenatal courses of steroids had lower blood 17-OHP than those who were untreated (p < 0.05 with the Mann-Whitney U test). In multiple regression analysis, steroid treatment and intrauterine growth retardation were significant negative predictors of blood 17-OHP, whereas respiratory distress syndrome was a significant positive predictor (multiple R = 0.50, p < 0.001). Multiple courses of steroids in preterm infants decrease 17-OHP values by ∼30% in filter-paper blood, thus raising the risk of false-negative results in screening programs for CAH.
Simultaneous scheduling, binding and floorplanning in high-level synthesis

With small device features in sub-micron technologies, interconnection delays play a dominant part in cycle time. Therefore, it is important to consider the impact of physical design during high level synthesis. In this paper, an efficient floorplanning algorithm which takes into account the effect of interconnect delays on the overall cycle time of a given schedule is presented. A simultaneous scheduling, binding and floorplanning algorithm is also presented. In comparison to a traditional approach which separates high-level synthesis from physical design, our algorithm is able to make these stages interact very closely, resulting in solutions with lower latency and area. In addition, a detailed model is considered, taking into account multiplexer and register areas and delays.
Choosing Teaching Profession as a Career: Students' Reasons.

The success of educational change inevitably depends on the quality and performance of teachers. Therefore, the importance of employing high quality teachers is crucial for educational systems. Choosing talented and committed brains to teaching career depends on making it an attractive profession. It is considered that there are some reasons why student teachers choose teaching as a career. Many studies reveal that while some students choose this profession with altruistic-intrinsic and extrinsic reasons, some others choose it under the influence of others. This study aims to determine for what reasons student teachers choose teaching profession as a career. The study was carried out quantitively and 1410 student teachers participated in this research. Results revealed that students chose teaching mostly with altruistic-intrinsic reasons. In this respect, while the female students chose it with altruistic-intrinsic reasons, the students from poor and crowded families and the male counterparts chose it with extrinsic reasons.
Introduction to Elites from the ‘Problematic of the Proletariat’ to a Class Analysis of ‘Wealth Elites’

This introductory paper argues that it is vital to reorient class analysis away from its long term preoccupation with class boundaries in the middle levels of the class structure towards a focus on the class formation at the top. This will permit sociological analysis to engage more effectively with concerns about the ‘1 percent’ and accentuating wealth which are increasingly evident. Accordingly I sketch out the persistence of the ‘problematic of the proletariat’ in sociological analysis before considering theoretical resources which might permit an engagement with the ‘wealth elite’. This paper serves to introduce the other papers of this special issue which use the GBCS to explore different facets of the wealth elite in Britain today.
Employee attitudes toward job changes: An application and extension of Rusbult and Farrell's investment model

The present study applied and extended Rusbult and Farrell's (1983) investment model to investigate employees' attitudes toward different job changes, that is, changing job content, changing department, relocation, and voluntary turnover. Employees of three hospitals filled out a questionnaire (N = 953; response rate 55%). The data generally supported the model. Employees who perceived a more favourable job rewards-costs ratio reported greater satisfaction and affective commitment, and were less positive toward changing their present working situation. The same was true for employees who reported less job alternatives, more investments, and a larger continuance commitment. In addition, employees' expectations of the benefits and costs associated with job changes, weighed by their valence, were related to job change attitudes. Although the predictors' impact varied with job change, the results suggested that attitudes toward different, internal and external, job changes may have similar determinants. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
COMPETITIVE REACTIONS AND THE CROSS-SALES EFFECTS OF ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION

How do competitors react to each other's price-promotion and advertising actions? How do these reactions influence the net sales impact we observe? We answer these questions by performing a large-scale empirical study of the short-run and long-run reactions to promotion and advertising shocks in over 400 consumer product categories, over a four-year time span. Competitive reaction can be passive, accommodating or retaliatory. We first develop a series of expectations on the type and intensity of reaction behavior, and on the moderators of this behavior. These expectations are assessed in two ways. First, vector-autoregressive models quantify the short-run and long-run effect of a promotion or advertising action on competitive sales and on competitive reactions. By cataloging the numerical results, we are able to formulate empirical generalizations of reaction behavior ("how do they react? "). Second, we estimate structural models of reaction intensity, in function of various market and competitive characteristics ("what are the drivers of reaction? "). Finally, by comparing our findings on reaction behavior with those on promotion and advertising effectiveness, we are able to evaluate competitive reaction behavior ("are they reacting as they should? "). A major finding is that competitive reaction is predominantly passive. When it is present, it is usually retaliatory in the same instrument, but accommodating or retaliatory in a different instrument. There are very few long-run consequences of any type of reaction behavior. We also report on several moderating effects that are in line with expectations, and that support the presence of a certain amount of rationality in competitive reaction behavior. The net impact of the over-time effects of advertising and price-promotion attacks, competitive reactions and the sales effectiveness of each, is that competitors' sales are generally not affected, and especially not in the long run. We weigh the evidence that this sales neutrality is "natural" (i.e., due to the nature of consumer response) versus "managed" (i.e., due to the vigilance and effectiveness of competitors), and conclude in favor of the former.
Alloreactivity but Failure to Reject Human Islet Transplants by Humanized Balb/c/Rag2−/−gc−/− Mice

A human islet transplant can cure patients with type 1 diabetes. A drawback of islet transplantation is the life‐long immunosuppressive medication, often associated with severe side effects. Moreover, in spite of the immunosuppressive therapy, islets are lost in the majority of transplanted patients over time. An improved small animal model for studies on human islet allograft rejection mechanisms and the development of new measures for its prevention is clearly warranted. Here, we evaluated the potential of Balb/cRag2−/−γc−/− mice carrying a human‐like immune system (so‐called humanized mice) as a tool for studies on the rejection of transplanted human islets. Human T cells from Balb/cRag2−/−γc−/− mice, which as neonates had been transplanted with CD34+ human cord blood haematopoietic stem cells (HIS mice), proliferated in response to allogeneic human dendritic cells, but failed to reject a human islet allograft transplanted to the renal subcapsular space as assessed by immunohistochemistry and analysis of human serum C‐peptide levels. Histological analysis revealed that few if any T cells had migrated to the grafted tissue. These observations question the usefulness of the HIS mouse model for studies on human islet allograft rejection mechanisms and highlight the need for further improvements.
Teaching Inclusiveness via TV Narratives in the US

The central hypothesis was that children's interpretations of pro-tolerance TV content explain why such content may be ineffective or counterproductive. The goal was to examine whether comprehension and ensuing attitudes could be improved by adding short explanatory inserts. A total of 128 children aged 4–6 were randomly assigned to watch one of two episodes depicting initial hostility followed by friendliness (either with or without inserts), or to watch a control episode unrelated to tolerance. There were significant effects of the inserts, but also of the episodes. For one of the episodes, there were no significant differences in inclusiveness relative to the control group unless the inserts were included; for the other, there were significant negative effects on inclusiveness unless the inserts were included. Children's interpretations of the content mediated the effects of inserts and episode on levels of inclusiveness.
Standards Performance Continuum: Development and Validation of a Measure of Effective Pedagogy

Abstract The authors present the development and validation of the Standards Performance Continuum (SPC), a measure for assessing teacher performance of the Standards for Effective Pedagogy. The authors created the SPC to serve as an instrument for research on the relationship between teachers' use of these standards and instructional effectiveness, as a guide for teacher professional development, and as a tool for education reform. The goal of this research was to construct a quantitative instrument that is practical, easily scored, and readily interpretable. The standards are discussed, and 3 studies provide evidence of interrater reliability, concurrent validity, and criterion-related validity supporting the validity of interpretations of data gathered with the SPC.
Decreased Vβ8.2 T-cells in neonatal rats exposed prenatally to Staphylococcal enterotoxin B are further deleted by restimulation in an in vitro cultured thymus.

Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) administration during adulthood can cause the anergy or deletion of variable portion of the ? chain (V? )? expressing T cells. However, the effect of maternal SEB administration during pregnancy on the thymocytes of neonatal rats remains to be elucidated. In the present study, pregnant rats at gestational day 16 were intravenously injected with 15 µg SEB. The present study revealed that prenatal exposure of SEB significantly increased the proportion of cluster of differentiation (CD)4? single positive (SP) T cells and decreased the proportions of CD8? SP, CD4+ V? 8.2+ and CD8+ V? 8.2+ T cells in the thymus of neonatal rats between day 0 and 5 after delivery. In an in vitro cultured thymus, SEB restimulation significantly increased the proportion of double positive cells and decreased the proportions of CD4? SP, CD8? SP, CD4+ V? 8.2+ and CD8+ V? 8.2+ T cells. Furthermore, the decreased V? 8.2+ T? cells in neonatal rats exposed prenatally to SEB were further deleted by SEB restimulation in an in vitro cultured thymus. These data suggested the special response pattern of the remaining SEB? specific T cells to SEB restimulation in neonatal rats exposed prenatally to SEB.
IL-1/TNF-α Inflammatory and Anti-Inflammatory Synchronization Affects Gingival Stem/Progenitor Cells' Regenerative Attributes

Cytokines play major roles in tissue destruction/repair. The present study investigates proliferative and osteogenic differentiation potentials of gingival mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (G-MSCs), influenced by IL-1/TNF-α inflammatory/anti-inflammatory conditions. Human G-MSCs were isolated, characterized, and cultured in basic medium (control group, M1), in basic medium with IL-1β, TNF-α, and IFN-γ (inflammatory group, M2) and with IL-1ra/TNF-αi added to M2 (anti-inflammatory group, M3). MTT tests at days 1, 3, and 7 and CFU assay at day 12 were conducted. Osteogenic differentiation was analyzed by bone-specific transcription factors (RUNX2), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), type I collagen (Col-I), osteopontin (OPN), and osteonectin (ON) expression at days 1, 3, 7, and 14 and Alizarin red staining at day 14. At day 3, the control group showed the highest cell numbers. At day 7, cell numbers in inflammatory and anti-inflammatory group outnumbered the control group. At day 12, CFUs decreased in the inflammatory and anti-inflammatory groups, with altered cellular morphology. The anti-inflammatory group demonstrated elevated bone-specific transcription factors at 14 days. After 14 days of osteogenic induction, calcified nodules in the anti-inflammatory group were higher compared to control and inflammatory groups. For regeneration, initial inflammatory stimuli appear essential for G-MSCs' proliferation. With inflammatory persistence, this positive effect perishes and is followed by a short-term stimulatory one on osteogenesis. At this stage, selective anti-inflammatory intervention could boost G-MSCs' differentiation.
Elevated carbon dioxide increases soil nitrogen and phosphorus availability in a phosphorus‐limited Eucalyptus woodland

Free‐air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments have demonstrated increased plant productivity in response to elevated (e)CO2, with the magnitude of responses related to soil nutrient status. Whilst understanding nutrient constraints on productivity responses to eCO2 is crucial for predicting carbon uptake and storage, very little is known about how eCO2 affects nutrient cycling in phosphorus (P)‐limited ecosystems. Our study investigates eCO2 effects on soil N and P dynamics at the EucFACE experiment in Western Sydney over an 18‐month period. Three ambient and three eCO2 (+150 ppm) FACE rings were installed in a P‐limited, mature Cumberland Plain Eucalyptus woodland. Levels of plant accessible nutrients, evaluated using ion exchange resins, were increased under eCO2, compared to ambient, for nitrate (+93%), ammonium (+12%) and phosphate (+54%). There was a strong seasonality to responses, particularly for phosphate, resulting in a relatively greater stimulation in available P, compared to N, under eCO2 in spring and summer. eCO2 was also associated with faster nutrient turnover rates in the first six months of the experiment, with higher N (+175%) and P (+211%) mineralization rates compared to ambient rings, although this difference did not persist. Seasonally dependant effects of eCO2 were seen for concentrations of dissolved organic carbon in soil solution (+31%), and there was also a reduction in bulk soil pH (‐0.18 units) observed under eCO2. These results demonstrate that CO2 fertilization increases nutrient availability – particularly for phosphate – in P‐limited soils, likely via increased plant belowground investment in labile carbon and associated enhancement of microbial turnover of organic matter and mobilization of chemically bound P. Early evidence suggests that there is the potential for the observed increases in P availability to support increased ecosystem C‐accumulation under future predicted CO2 concentrations.
Body Image and the Appearance Culture Among Adolescent Girls and Boys

This research evaluates the contributions of three dimensions of appearance culture (appearance magazine exposure, appearance conversations with friends, and peer appearance criticism) and body mass index (BMI) to internalization of appearance ideals and body image dissatisfaction. Four hundred thirty-three girls and 347 boys in Grades 7 through 10 responded to several measures on a self-report questionnaire. The results of path analyses indicated that Internalization mediated the relationship between Appearance Conversations With Friends and Body Dissatisfaction for both boys and girls. In addition, Internalization, Peer Appearance Criticism, and BMI made direct contributions to Body Dissatisfaction for boys and girls, although the strength of the relationships varied by gender. The proposed mediated relation between Appearance Magazine Exposure and Body Dissatisfaction was confirmed only for the girls. The findings provide needed information about the contributions of the peer appearance culture to internalization and body image disturbances for adolescent boys and girls.
Uncertainty and the Dynamics of R&D

Uncertainty varies strongly over time, rising by 50% to 100% in recessions and by up to 200% after major economic and political shocks. This paper shows that higher uncertainty reduces the responsiveness of R&D to changes in business conditions - a "caution-effect" - making it more persistent over time. Thus, uncertainty will play a critical role in shaping the dynamics of R&D through the business cycle, and its response to technology policy. I also show that if firms are increasing their level of R&D then the effect of uncertainty will be negative, while if firms are reducing R&D then the effect of uncertainty will be positive.
Positive CSF HSV PCR in patients with GBM: a note of caution.

To the Editor: Pradhan et al.1 report five cases of Japanese encephalitis (JE) with typical parkinsonian features. Of 52 patients with JE, five were selected based on isolated lesions in the substantia nigra on MRI. We also reported a rat model of PD2 induced by the JE virus, which revealed bradykinesia and predominant involvement of substantia nigra as the major pathologic changes. This parkinsonism model is made in rats infected with JE virus at 13 days after birth. We demonstrated that the susceptibility of the rat brain to JE virus infection was dependent on the age of animals at the time of infection, and this appeared to be related to the level of neuronal maturity in our other in vivo3 and in vitro4 study. The age at the JE infection of five cases with parkinsonian features reported by Pradhan et al., is between 7 and 16 years, and the average age is 12 years. The report that only patients infected with JE virus at the limited younger age manifest typical parkinsonism correlates with our parkinsonian model feature. These clinical findings are compatible with those of experimental models. We hope Pradhan et al. will examine whether the patients with parkinsonism at such young ages in India are infected with JE virus. Currently, we are investigating new antiparkinsonian treatments using this model.5
SMAD1 Deficiency in Either Endothelial or Smooth Muscle Cells Can Predispose Mice to Pulmonary Hypertension

A deficiency in bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 2 (BMPR2) signaling is a central contributor in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We have recently shown that endothelial-specific Bmpr2 deletion by a novel L1Cre line resulted in pulmonary hypertension. SMAD1 is one of the canonical signal transducers of the BMPR2 pathway, and its reduced activity has been shown to be associated with PAH. To determine whether SMAD1 is an important downstream mediator of BMPR2 signaling in the pathogenesis of PAH, we analyzed pulmonary hypertension phenotypes in Smad1-conditional knockout mice by deleting the Smad1 gene either in endothelial cells or in smooth muscle cells using L1Cre or Tagln-Cre mouse lines, respectively. A significant number of the L1Cre(+);Smad1 (14/35) and Tagln-Cre(+);Smad1 (4/33) mutant mice showed elevated pulmonary pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, and a thickening of pulmonary arterioles. A pulmonary endothelial cell line in which the Bmpr2 gene deletion can be induced by 4-hydroxy tamoxifen was established. SMAD1 phosphorylation in Bmpr2-deficient cells was markedly reduced by BMP4 but unaffected by BMP7. The sensitivity of SMAD2 phosphorylation by transforming growth factor-&bgr;1 was enhanced in the Bmpr2-deficient cells, and the inhibitory effect of transforming growth factor-&bgr;1–mediated SMAD2 phosphorylation by BMP4 was impaired in the Bmpr2-deficient cells. Furthermore, transcript levels of several known transforming growth factor-&bgr; downstream genes implicated in pulmonary hypertension were elevated in the Bmpr2-deficient cells. Taken together, these data suggest that SMAD1 is a critical mediator of BMPR2 signaling pertinent to PAH, and that an impaired balance between BMP4 and transforming growth factor-&bgr;1 may account for the pathogenesis of PAH.