Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Menopausal symptoms among healthy, middle-aged Omani women as assessed with the Menopause Rating Scale

Objective:The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and severity of climacteric symptoms and associated risk factors among a cohort of healthy, middle-aged Omani women. Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 472 healthy Omani women between 40 and 60 years old from the representative regions of Omani society were surveyed using the Menopause Rating Scale. The scores obtained were plotted against their demographic data and menopausal stage. Results:Overall, 39.6% of the participants were premenopausal, 15.2% were perimenopausal, and 43.6% were postmenopausal. The Menopause Rating Scale scoring showed that somatic and psychological symptoms occurred more frequently than did urogenital symptoms in all three stages. Muscle and joint pain was the most common symptom (73.3%), followed by mental and physical exhaustion (47.2%) and anxiety (46.6%). An increase in the mean scores for both somatic and psychological symptoms and their severity was observed when the following factors were present: progression of menopausal stage (mean ± SD, 22.5 ± 2.6, 3.6 ± 2.9, 4.5 ± 3.2), old age (4.2 ± 3.2) versus young age (2.9 ± 2.6), single (4.3 ± 3.3) versus married (3.3 ± 2.9), illiterate (3.9 ± 3.1) versus educated (2.7 ± 2.6), and sexually inactive (4.4 ± 3.4) versus sexually active (3.1 ± 2.7). Conclusions:Omani women were found to exhibit highly atypical symptoms of menopause. Increased severity of symptoms was found to be related to age, advanced stage of menopause, and lower educational level.
The North American Third Party Logistics Industry in 2010: the Provider Ceo Perspective

This paper discusses the results of a 2010 survey of the CEOs of 16 of the largest 3PL service providers operating in the North American marketplace. Collectively these companies generated more than $21 billion in North American 3PL revenues during 2009. For the second year in a row, more than half of the respondent companies failed to meet their revenue projections during 2009. Nevertheless, 13 of them were at least marginally profitable for the year. Reflecting optimism about the recovery, 14 of the 16 companies reported introducing new services in the past year.
Efficient Generation of Astrocytes from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells in Defined Conditions

Astrocytes can be generated from various tissue sources including human pluripotent stem cells (PSC). In this manuscript, we describe a chemically defined xeno‐free medium culture system for rapidly generating astrocytes from neural stem cells derived from PSC. We show that astrocyte development in vitro, mimics normal development in vivo, and also passes through a CD44+ astrocyte precursor stage. Astrocytes generated by our method display similar gene expression patterns, morphological characteristics and functional properties to primary astrocytes, and they survive and integrate after xenotransplantation. Whole genome expression profiling of astrocyte differentiation was performed at several time points of differentiation, and the results indicate the importance of known regulators and identify potential novel regulators and stage‐specific lineage markers. STEM CELLS 2013;31:941–952
Natural killer cells are polarized toward cytotoxicity in chronic hepatitis C in an interferon-alfa-dependent manner.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection display great variability in disease activity and progression. Although virus-specific adaptive immune responses have been characterized extensively and found to be impaired in chronic hepatitis C, the role of innate immune responses in disease activity and progression of chronic hepatitis C is not well understood. METHODS We studied 42 HCV-infected patients and 12 healthy uninfected controls. RESULTS We found an increased frequency of natural killer (NK) cells expressing tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), NKp44, NKG2C, and CD122 in chronic hepatitis C as compared with healthy controls (P < .05 for all markers) and stronger activation of NK cells in the liver than in the blood (P < .05). This NK cell phenotype was associated with polarization of NK cell function toward CD107a expression as a marker of degranulation, but with not increased interferon (IFN)-gamma production of CD56(dim) NK cells. The polarized NK cell phenotype correlated with alanine aminotransferase levels (r(2) = 0.312, P = . 03). To investigate whether in vivo exposure of NK cells to HCV-induced type I IFN was causing this NK cell phenotype, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 10 healthy controls and 8 HCV-infected patients were stimulated in the presence of IFN-alfa, which resulted in increased NK cell expression of TRAIL and CD107a (P < .001), but not IFN-gamma. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, these results describe a polarized NK cell phenotype induced by chronic exposure to HCV-induced IFN-alfa. This phenotype may contribute to liver injury through TRAIL expression and cytotoxicity, whereas the lacking increase in IFN-gamma production may facilitate the inability to clear HCV.
A Monopoly Reason Why Autarky Might Be Best for a Large Country

Will all countries gain from free trade? Two countries, one with a large and the other a small population, are modeled. Once trade is opened, real income rises in the small country and falls in the large one. The intuition is that, without trade, the large country's local monopoly makes profits at the expense of its consumers. With trade, the foreign duopolist earns some of the profits, even though the industry profits are smaller. Average home consumption falls, even though all the home citizens, except the producer, benefit. This can explain the objections to the lifting of economic barriers.
Opportunistic Breast Cancer Education and Screening in Rural Honduras

Purpose In Honduras, the breast cancer burden is high, and access to women’s health services is low. This project tested the connection of community-based breast cancer detection with clinical diagnosis and treatment in a tightly linked and quickly facilitated format. Methods The Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth College partnered with the Honduran cancer hospital La Liga Contra el Cancer to expand a cervical cancer screening program, which included self-breast exam (SBE) education and clinical breast exams (CBEs), to assess patient attitudes about and uptake of breast cancer education and screening services. The cervical cancer screening event was held in Honduras in 2013; 476 women from 31 villages attended. Results Half of the women attending elected to receive a CBE; most had concerns about lactation. Clinicians referred 12 women with abnormal CBEs to La Liga Contra el Cancer for additional evaluation at no cost. All referred patients were compliant with the recommendation and received follow-up care. One abnormal follow-up mammogram/ultrasound result was negative on biopsy. One woman with an aggressive phyllodes tumor had a mastectomy within 60 days. Multimodal education about breast cancer screening maximized delivery of women’s health services in a low-tech rural setting. Conclusion The addition of opportunistic breast cancer education and screening to a cervical cancer screening event resulted in high uptake of services at low additional cost to program sponsors. Such novel strategies to maximize delivery of women’s health services in low-resource settings, where there is no access to mammography, may result in earlier detection of breast cancer. Close follow-up of positive results with referral to appropriate treatment is essential.
Business Tax Interactions Among Local Governments: An Empirical Analysis of the French Case

We study the business tax ("taxe professionnelle") behavior of the intermediate level (department) of local government in France and test in the same model the two hypotheses that department tax rates are explained by upper tier (region) tax rates and by tax rates chosen by other departments. We first reject the hypothesis of tax interactions between departments and regions, the two upper levels of local governments. Second, we provide evidence that business tax interactions among departments are significant. Including the vertical dimension in the estimated model does not lead to a decrease in the horizontal tax interactions parameter, nor to its nonsignificance.
Illiquidity Effects in Optimal Consumption-Investment Problems

We study the effect of liquidity freezes on an economic agent optimizing her utility of consumption in a perturbed Black-Scholes-Merton model. The single risky asset follows a geometric Brownian motion but is subject to liquidity shocks, during which no trading is possible and stock dynamics are modified. The liquidity regime is governed by a two-state Markov chain. We derive the asymptotic effect of such freezes on optimal consumption and investment schedules in the two cases of (i) small probability of liquidity shock; (ii) fast-scale liquidity regime switching. Explicit formulas are obtained for logarithmic and hyperbolic utility maximizers on infinite horizon. We also derive the corresponding loss in utility and compare with a recent related finite-horizon model of Diesinger, Kraft and Seifried (2009).
On the Relationship between Length of Stay and Total Trip Expenditures: A Case Study of Instrumental Variable (IV) Regression Analysis

The relationship between length of stay (LOS) and total trip expenditures (TTE) has been scrutinized many times within a micro-econometric framework, usually by means of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis. The author questions this practice because much evidence suggests that LOS is an ‘endogenous' independent variable. One of the basic assumptions of OLS regression is thus violated, and a new method — instrumental variable (IV) regression — is called for to produce a consistent, unbiased estimate of LOS. A non-technical case study on IV regression shows that the LOS—TTE relationship estimated by IV regression analysis is only about half the analogue OLS estimate. The study concludes with several important implications for the statistical modelling of micro-level tourism expenditures and for cross-sectional regression-based tourism studies in general.
Impact of Cervical Dystonia on Work Productivity: An Analysis From a Patient Registry

Cervical dystonia is thought to result in high disease burden, but limited information exists on its impact on employment and work productivity. We utilized data from the Cervical Dystonia Patient Registry for the Observation of OnabotulinumtoxinA Efficacy (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00836017) to assess the impact of cervical dystonia on employment and work productivity and examine the effect of onabotulinumtoxinA treatments on work productivity.
A Macro-Econometric Approach Explaining the Causes and Dynamics of Price Inflation in Ethiopia

Since 2004, Ethiopian economy had been continually facing unprecedented and double digit inflation growth. Using annual data over the past three decades (1980 to 2012), the study identified short run and long run dynamic interactions among key macroeconomic indicators involving structural and or domestic, monetary and external factors. The empirical strategy combines two separate estimations: the VECM and a multi factor single-equation model. The study found that the effect of supply side, monetary and external factors are highly significant to explain price inflation through their long run co-integrating (equilibriums) relationships. In the short run, changes in inflation are highly sensitive to the change in money growth, the cost of capital, exchange rate and inertia. Policies that geared towards concurrently maximizing agricultural growth, and flourishing structural rigidities on the one hand and pursuing monetary tightening and stable exchange rate polices on the other hand would enable to ensure stable inflation. Keywords: Inertia, Agricultural Goods Market, Money Market, Exchange rate, Structural rigidities, and VECM
Women workers in unorganized sector: A study on construction industry in Haryana

A vast majority of India's labour force is in unorganized sector. In the absence of economic opportunities in their own states, many workers migrate across the other states of India to seek employment. Construction industry depends almost entirely on migrant workers, majority of which are women. The main object of this paper is to shed light on the socio‐economic problems being faced by a section of the women workers in construction industry. These women workers have a very tough life. In spite of being actively involved in economic activities for survival, bearing and rearing of children remain their prime responsibility, and thus they end up with playing roles in both production and reproduction.
Brain Death in Canadian PICUs: Demographics, Timing, and Irreversibility*

Objectives: To determine any discordance between first and second brain death examinations and investigate the quality of brain death determination in Canadian PICUs. Design: Multicenter retrospective chart review. Setting: Four Canadian PICUs. Patients: All deaths from 1999 to 2003 were screened. Patients included were 36 wks corrected gestation to 17 yrs old and had at least one brain death examination documented in the chart. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Medical records were reviewed to determine demographics, results of the brain death examinations, ancillary tests, and time intervals between injury event, fixed dilated pupils, first brain death examination, second brain death examination, and terminal event. Discordance between brain death examinations was defined as the medical conclusion documented in the chart as brain death followed by no brain death. Prespecified subgroups were age <1 yr vs. ≥1 yr and organ donor vs. nonorgan donor. Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon and unpaired t tests compared time intervals between subgroups; p value ⩽ 0.05 was consi dered significant. Of those screened, 135 of 907 (15%) met the study eligibility criteria and 110 of 135 (81%) had at least two brain death examinations. The prevalence of discordance between brain death examinations was 1 of 110 (0.91%) (95% confidence interval <0.01%–5.5%). In those who had two apnea tests, the prevalence of discordance between brain death examinations was 1 of 63 (1.6%) (95% confidence interval <0.01%–9.3%). Twenty-five (19%) patients had only one brain death examination, and one of these became an organ donor without ancillary testing. Twenty-four (18%) patients did not have an apnea test. Of the 48 (36%) who had only one apnea test, 16 became organ donors without any ancillary test. Patients <1 yr old had a longer time interval between the first and second brain death examinations than those >1 yr old. Conclusions: Some brain death diagnoses were not based on two examinations, and some did not include an apnea test. In patients who had two brain death examinations, discordant results were uncommon.
Influences of in-cloud aerosol scavenging parameterizations on aerosol concentrations and wet deposition in ECHAM5-HAM

Abstract. A diagnostic cloud nucleation scavenging scheme, which determines stratiform cloud scavenging ratios for both aerosol mass and number distributions, based on cloud droplet, and ice crystal number concentrations, is introduced into the ECHAM5-HAM global climate model. This scheme is coupled with a size-dependent in-cloud impaction scavenging parameterization for both cloud droplet-aerosol, and ice crystal-aerosol collisions. The aerosol mass scavenged in stratiform clouds is found to be primarily (>90%) scavenged by cloud nucleation processes for all aerosol species, except for dust (50%). The aerosol number scavenged is primarily (>90%) attributed to impaction. 99% of this impaction scavenging occurs in clouds with temperatures less than 273 K. Sensitivity studies are presented, which compare aerosol concentrations, burdens, and deposition for a variety of in-cloud scavenging approaches: prescribed fractions, a more computationally expensive prognostic aerosol cloud processing treatment, and the new diagnostic scheme, also with modified assumptions about in-cloud impaction and nucleation scavenging. Our results show that while uncertainties in the representation of in-cloud scavenging processes can lead to differences in the range of 20–30% for the predicted annual, global mean aerosol mass burdens, and near to 50% for accumulation mode aerosol number burden, the differences in predicted aerosol mass concentrations can be up to one order of magnitude, particularly for regions of the middle troposphere with temperatures below 273 K where mixed and ice phase clouds exist. Different parameterizations for impaction scavenging changed the predicted global, annual mean number removal attributed to ice clouds by seven-fold, and the global, annual dust mass removal attributed to impaction by two orders of magnitude. Closer agreement with observations of black carbon profiles from aircraft (increases near to one order of magnitude for mixed phase clouds), mid-troposphere 210Pb vertical profiles, and the geographic distribution of aerosol optical depth is found for the new diagnostic scavenging scheme compared to the prescribed scavenging fraction scheme of the standard ECHAM5-HAM. The diagnostic and prognostic schemes represent the variability of scavenged fractions particularly for submicron size aerosols, and for mixed and ice phase clouds, and are recommended in preference to the prescribed scavenging fractions method.
Is There Income Mobility in the Philippines?

Despite a more robust economic performance over the past decade compared with the 1980s and 1990s, growth in average household income is still far below what might be expected given the pace of economic expansion in the Philippines. Inequality of household income has also remained high, which leads to the question: is there income mobility in the Philippines? Using longitudinal data from three years of the redesigned Philippine Family Income and Expenditure Survey (2003, 2006, and 2009) and a variety of analytical tools, we examine the mobility of Filipino household income and show that it is less stagnant than is conventionally perceived. Empirical evidence suggests that significant positive and negative mobility exists; albeit, the two tend to offset each other, contributing to slow household income growth at the aggregate level. In addition, there is some evidence that transitory fluctuations contribute significantly to the observed level of income mobility. Overall, the findings are robust across different analytical tools used in measuring income mobility.
Why Include Warrants in New Equity Issues? A Theory of Unit IPOs

Abstract We develop a theory of unit IPOs in which the firm going public issues a package of equity with warrants. We model an equity market where insiders have private information about the riskiness as well as the expected value of their firm's future cash flows. We demonstrate that, in equilibrium, high risk firms issue underpriced “units” of equity and warrants; lower risk firms, on the other hand, issue underpriced equity alone. In contrast to the existing literature, underpricing arises as a signal in our model in the context of a one-shot equity offering. Though developed in the context of IPOs, our model can also explain the issuance of seasoned equity offerings packaged with warrants. Further, the intuition behind the model generalizes readily to provide a new rationale for packaging call-option-like claims with risky securities other than equity, including convertible debt and debt with warrants.
Allergic contact dermatitis in venous leg ulcer patients

Our aim was to determine the frequency and nature of contact sensitivity in venous leg ulcer patients in Lanarkshire. We performed patch testing with the European standard series, antimicrobials and medicaments on 200 patients referred to our leg ulcer clinics. Positive patch tests were found in 136 (68%) patients. Multiple allergies occurred in 102 (51%). The most frequent allergen groups were fragrances (30·5%), antimicrobials (19·5%), topical excipients (19·5%), rubber accelerators (13·5%) and topical corticosteroids (8%). We also found a high prevalence of positive patch tests to Intrasite® gel (9·5%) and Hioxyl® cream (8·5%), medicaments which are commonly used to treat leg ulcers in our area. Contact sensitivity is common in venous leg ulcer patients and has important implications for patient management. The allergens involved vary depending on local nursing practice. We suggest that all venous leg ulcer patients be patch tested with a locally relevant patch test series.
FX Modelling in Collateralized Markets: Foreign Measures, Basis Curves, and Pricing Formulae

We present a general derivation of the arbitrage-free pricing framework for multiple-currency collateralized products. We include the impact on option pricing of the policy adopted to fund in foreign currency, so that we are able to price contracts with cash flows and/or collateral accounts expressed in foreign currencies inclusive of funding costs originating from dislocations in the FX market. Then, we apply these results to price cross-currency swaps under different market situations, to understand how to implement a feasible curve bootstrap procedure. We present the main practical problems arising from the way the market is quoting liquid instruments: uncertainties about collateral currencies and renotioning features. We discuss the theoretical requirements to implement curve bootstrapping and the approximations usually taken to practically implement the procedure. We also provide numerical examples based on real market data.
Repeated Dilution of Diffusely Held Debt

Debt with many creditors is analyzed in a continuous‐time pricing model of the levered firm with opportunistic renegotiation offers and default threats. Dispersed creditors accept coupon concessions only in exchange for guaranteed liquidation rights, like collateral. In the ex ante optimal debt contract, this security is provided by assets that gradually become worthless as the firm approaches the preferred liquidation conditions. Dispersed debt offers larger debt capacity than single‐creditor debt and is preferable if the ex ante value of collateralizable assets is sufficiently low. Our model explains credit risk premia in excess of those supported by a single creditor with opportunistic renegotiation.
Genetic connectivity in the Florida reef system: comparative phylogeography of commensal invertebrates with contrasting reproductive strategies

Effective spatial management of coral reefs including design of marine protected areas requires an understanding of interpopulation genetic connectivity. We assessed gene flow along 355 km of the Florida reef system and between Florida and Belize in three commensal invertebrates occupying the same host sponge (Callyspongia vaginalis) but displaying contrasting reproductive dispersal strategies: the broadcast‐spawning brittle star Ophiothrix lineata and two brooding amphipods Leucothoe kensleyi and Leucothoe ashleyae. Multiple analytical approaches to sequence variation in the mitochondrial COI gene demonstrated a high degree of overall connectivity for all three species along the Florida reef system. Ophiothrix lineata showed significant genetic structuring between Florida and Belize, and a pattern of isolation by distance but no significant genetic structuring along the Florida coastline. Bayesian estimates of migration detected a strong southerly dispersal bias for O. lineata along the Florida reef system, contrary to the general assumption of northerly gene flow in this region based on the direction of the Florida Current. Both amphipods, despite direct development, also showed high gene flow along the Florida reef system. Multiple inferences of long‐distance dispersal from a nested clade analysis support the hypothesis that amphipod transport, possibly in detached sponge fragments, could generate the high levels of overall gene flow observed. However, this transport mechanism appears much less effective across deep water as connectivity between Florida and Belize (1072 km) is highly restricted.