Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Temporary contracts, precarious employment, employees’ fundamental rights and EU employment law

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Petitions, was prepared to assess the nature and extent of employment precariousness in the framework of EU fundamental rights and employment law. The analysis focuses on two broad areas, namely atypical forms of employment and franchising. The report identifies a number of ‘protective gaps’ at various levels of regulation and puts forward policy recommendations that are informed by the need to adopt holistic and comprehensive action for addressing what emerges as a constantly moving target.
Vasoactive effects of neurokinin B on human blood vessels.

OBJECTIVES Preeclampsia (PE) is a multisystem disease unique to human pregnancy. Abnormal placentation results in placental hypoperfusion leading to the secretion of a factor(s) by the placenta. Our aim was to investigate whether neurokinin B (NKB) is the circulating factor associated with PE. STUDY DESIGN Vascular effects of NKB were assessed in blood vessels dissected from myometrial and omental biopsy specimens obtained at caesarean section from normal pregnant women (n = 26) or in mesenteric blood vessels obtained from nonpregnant female Wistar rats (n = 4). RESULTS Incubation with NKB did not alter endothelial-dependent relaxation of omental or myometrial arteries. NKB produced a dose-dependent relaxation in preconstricted omental arteries and veins. NKB did not affect vasoactive responsiveness of rat mesenteric arteries. CONCLUSION We conclude from these observations that NKB is not the circulating factor associated with increased vascular resistance in PE.
Dimensions of Self-Serving Misrepresentation in Forensic Assessment

I conducted an exploratory principal components analysis of 15 scales that evaluate a variety of possible self-serving biases using assessment data from 101 general forensic clients. Three distinct factors emerged, representing exaggeration of psychiatric symptoms versus exaggeration of personal adjustment, exaggeration of virtue, and exaggeration of physical health difficulties. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the findings. The surprising fact that none of the scales contained a significant number of items representing the affirmation or exaggeration of positive mental health adjustment precluded the possibility of finding a specific factor in that area. The factor structure was similar to previous results based on personal injury evaluations alone, suggesting that this 3-factor categorization of self-serving misrepresentation has some degree of generality, at least in forensic settings.
Direct and indirect pathways from the amygdala to the frontal lobe in rhesus monkeys

To elucidate the anatomical relationships between the frontal association cortex and the limbic system in primates, projections from the amygdala to frontal cortex were studied in the rhesus monkey using retrograde and anterograde tracing methods. Following injections of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) into the orbital prefrontal cortex, the gyrus rectus, the superior frontal gyrus, and the anterior cingulate gyrus of the frontal lobe, labeled neurons were found in the basolateral, basomedial, or basal accessory nuclei of the amygdala. None of these nuclei contained labeled neurons following HRP injections into the principal sulcus or the lateral inferior convexity of the frontal lobe. This selective distribution of amygdala connections was confirmed by injecting tritiated amino acids into the amygdala. Silver grains were present only over the orbital cortex and gyrus rectus on the ventral surface of the frontal lobe and over the superior prefrontal gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus on the medial wall of the hemisphere, while the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was free of radioactivity. The isotope injection of the amygdala also revealed a projection to the magnocellular moeity of the mediodorsal nucleus (MDmc) which is known to innervate the same ventromedial regions of the frontal lobe that receive direct connections from the amygdala. Although MDmc and amygdala project to the same cortical regions, their terminal fields are different. The direct amygdala input terminates in layer 1 in orbital cortex and gyrus rectus and layer 2 in the dorsomedial cortex and cingulate gyrus, while the thalamic input is primarily to layer 3 and, in some areas, also to the superficial half of layer 1.
Influence of growth rate on occurrences of pale muscle in broilers.

BACKGROUND Pale broiler breast meat is a defect in commercial production operations. The incidence of pale broiler breast meat was examined in two commercial processing plants which had average growth rates of 59 g day(-1) and 46 g day(-1) and final average weights of 3.36 kg and 1.93 kg. Color measurements of dorsal and ventral surfaces and pH were completed to evaluate the impact of selection for growth on meat water-holding capacity. RESULTS L* greater than 60 were observed in 57% of broilers selected for greater yield and 26% of slower growing broilers. Average L* between 10 growers was significantly different (P = 0.001). Pearson's correlation coefficients for pH and L* were - 0.51 and - 0.27 for the faster growing broilers and slower growing broilers, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficients between water-holding capacity and L* and pH was - 0.35 and 0.42, respectively. There was a higher correlation between production factors (age, weight and grower) and a* and b* than L* for ventral surface measurements. CONCLUSION Breasts from broilers selected for faster growth tend to have lighter color. Weak correlation with water-holding capacity suggests that quality remains the same and light color is probably related to other factors.
The unpleasantness of tonic pain is encoded by the insular cortex

Objective: Muscle pain differs from skin pain with respect to quality, accuracy of localization, and unpleasantness. This study was conducted to identify the brain regions associated with the affective-motivational component of tonic skin and muscle pain. Methods: Forty healthy volunteers were investigated in three groups with different F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose PET activation scans. A verbal rating scale (VRS) was used to quantify pain intensity and unpleasantness. One group was investigated during painful infusion of an acidified phosphate buffer (pH 5.2) into either muscle or skin for 30 minutes. Muscle and skin infusions were adjusted to achieve pain intensity rating of VRS = 40. The second group received sham stimulation of muscle and skin by infusion of non-acidified phosphate buffer (pH 7.3 to 7.4, pain intensity = 0). The third group underwent only one PET scan without sensory stimulation. Results: Unpleasantness ratings were higher (VRS 38.3 vs 25.5) during IM compared to intracutaneous stimulation, despite the same pain intensity (VRS = 40). Sham stimulation revealed no pain or unpleasantness. Regional cerebral glucose metabolism during sham stimulation showed similar findings for intracutaneous and IM infusions with significant activations of the bilateral anterior cingulate, bilateral frontal (premotor) cortex, and the ipsilateral parietal operculum. The comparison of pain vs sham stimulation revealed activations of the bilateral insula for IM but not intracutaneous stimulation. The unpleasantness perception in skin and muscle stimulation was positively correlated to the bilateral insular metabolism. Conclusion: The data suggest that the insula represents one main structure where the unpleasantness of tonic pain perception is encoded.
Comprehensive expression atlas of fibroblast growth factors and their receptors generated by a novel robotic in situ hybridization platform

A recently developed robotic platform termed “Genepaint” can carry out large‐scale nonradioactive in situ hybridization (ISH) on tissue sections. We report a series of experiments that validate this novel platform. Signal‐to‐noise ratio and mRNA detection limits were comparable to traditional ISH procedures, and hybridization was transcript‐specific, even in cases in which probes could have hybridized to several transcripts of a multigene family. We established an atlas of expression patterns of fibroblast growth factors (Fgfs) and their receptors (Fgfrs) for the embryonic day 14.5 mouse embryo. This atlas provides a comprehensive overview of previously known as well as novel sites of expression for this important family of signaling molecules. The Fgf/Fgfr atlas was integrated into the transcriptome database (www.genepaint.org), where individual Fgf and Fgfr expression patterns can be interactively viewed at cellular resolution and where sites of expressions can be retrieved using an anatomy‐based search. Developmental Dynamics 234:371–386, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effectsof Estrogenon Mineral Metabolismin PostmenopausalWomen as Evaluated by Multiple Assays MeasuringParathyrinBioactivity

Data on the effect of estrogen on immunoreactive parathyrin (iPTH) in postmenopausal women are conflicting. We administered estrogen or placebo to 21 postmenopausal women for 12 weeks and measured PTH bioactivity (bioPTH), using the renal cytochemical bioassay. Before treatment,therewas a negative correlation between nephrogenous cAMP and the tubular maximum for urinary phosphate excretion and a positive correlation between values measured by a midregion-specific PTH AlA and those measured in an immunoradiometric assay for intact PTH. Values measured by the midregion-specific AlA were also positively correlated with nephrogenous cAMP. BioPTH values were not correlated with other indicesof PTH activitybut were increasedcompared withvalues for youngersubjects.Afterestrogentreatmentthere was nochange in bioPTHactivitydespitean early decrease in serum osteocalcin and a later increase in nephrogenous cAMP. PTH concentrationsmeasuredby midregion-specific or intact RIAs were unchanged, but sample size may have been insufficient to exclude the possibility of significant changes in these values. The effects of estrogen on mineral metabolism in postmenopausal women are timedependent. Early effects are independent of PTH, and later effects are variably associated with increased PTH activity.
Effects of low temperature and hot steam on reliability of specialty optical fibers designed for avionics applications

Miscellaneous avionics applications of optical fibers require their use at extreme temperatures and harsh environments. It is important that fiber properties, including optical attenuation and mechanical strength are immune to the environment conditions. Exposing specialty optical fibers to extreme conditions and testing their properties during and after the exposures helps in optimizing the fiber designs for specific applications. In this work, optical fibers with different refractive index profiles and different coatings were immersed in liquid nitrogen (LN2) and hot steam and their main properties were analyzed.
A meta-analysis examining clinical predictors of hippocampal volume in patients with major depressive disorder.

BACKGROUND Some, although not all, studies report small hippocampal volume in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) relative to healthy controls. Here, we explore the contribution of key demographic and clinical variables to this difference. METHODS We used meta-analytic techniques to provide an updated analysis of data from 32 magnetic resonance imaging studies of hippocampal volume in patients with MDD. RESULTS Our analysis confirmed the difference in hippocampal volume, but only among patients with MDD whose duration of illness was longer than 2 years or who had more than 1 disease episode. We found no such effect in studies that included patients who did not fit these criteria. The effect was limited to children and middle-aged or older adults. Analyzed collectively, studies including young adult patients showed equivalent hippocampal volumes across MDD patients and controls, a result that may be attributable to a reduced burden of illness in this population. Age at onset of disease, severity of depression at the time of scanning, sex and slice thickness did not contribute to differences in hippocampal volume between patients with MDD and controls. LIMITATIONS The small size of many of the clinical and demographic subgroups may have limited statistical power to detect between-group differences. CONCLUSION Although all studies were cross-sectional, our results suggest that hippocampal volume reductions generally occur after disease onset in patients with MDD. These findings have implications for the timing of clinical interventions aimed at reducing the impact of MDD on neuronal structure and function.
And Who Is My Neighbor

I remember . about 1646 (or 1647) that Mr. John Maynard (now Sir John, and serjeant) came into Middle Temple hall, from Westminster-hall, weary with business, and hungry, when we had newly dined. He sate-downe by Mr. Bennet Hoskyns (the only son of Serjeant Hoskyns, the Poet) since Baronet, and some others; who having made an end of their Commons, fell unto various Discourse, and what was the meaning of the Text (Rom. v. 7.) "For a just man one would dare to die; but for a good man one would willingly die. " They askt Mr. Maynard what was the difference between a just man and a good man. He was beginning to eate, and cryed:-Hoh, you have eaten your dinners, and now have leisure to discourse; I have not. He had eate but a Bitt or two when he reply'd:-I'le tell you the difference presently: serjeant Rolle is a just man, and Mathew Hale is a good man; and so fell to make an end of his dinner. And there could not be a better interpretation of this Text. For serjeant Rolle was just, but by nature penurious; and his wife made him worse: Mathew Hale was not only just, but wonderfully Charitable and open handed, and did not sound a trumpet neither, as the Hypocrites doe. '
Some properties of invariant sets

In [1] two interesting invariance notions were introduced: the notions of a set of godel numbers being invariant to automorphisms of the structures (ω, ·) and (ω, E) respectively. Here, · and E are defined by n · m ≃ φn (m) and nEm if and only if n Є Wm, where {φn} and {Wn} are acceptable enumerations of the partial recursive functions and r.e. sets respectively. In this paper we continue the study of the invariant sets, and especially the invariant r.e. sets, of gödel numbers. We start off with an easy result which characterizes the Turing degrees containing invariant sets. We then take a closer look at r.e. sets invariant with respect to automorphisms of (ω,E). Using the characterization [1, Theorem 4.2] of such sets, we will derive a somewhat different characterization (which was stated, but not proved, in [1, Proposition 4.4]) and, using it as a tool for constructing invariant sets, prove that the r.e. sets invariant with respect to automorphisms of (ω, E) cannot be effectively enumerated. We will next discuss representations of r.e. sets invariant with respect to automorphisms of (ω, ·). Although these sets do not have as nice a characterization as the r.e. sets invariant with respect to automorphisms of (ω, E) do, the techniques of [1] can still profitably be used to investigate their structure. In particular, if f is a partial recursive function whose graph is invariant with respect to automorphisms of (ω, ·), then for every a in the domain of f, there is a term t(a) built up from a and · only such that f(a) ≃ t(a). This is an analog to [1, Corollary 4.3]. We will also prove an analog to a result mentioned in the previous paragraph: the r.e. sets invariant with respect to automorphisms of (ω, ·) cannot be effectively enumerated.
Metallo-GTPase HypB from Helicobacter pylori and Its Interaction with Nickel Chaperone Protein HypA*

Background: HypA and HypB are metallochaperones for the activities of [NiFe]-hydrogenase and urease in Helicobacter pylori. Results: Key residues are identified for the GTP-dependent dimerization of HypB. The HypA-HypB interfaces are also identified. Conclusion: Self-dimerization is critical for the regulation of GTPase activity. HypA-HypB interaction facilitates further downstream Ni2+ delivery. Significance: The study is important to understanding [NiFe]-hydrogenase and urease maturation. The maturation of [NiFe]-hydrogenase is highly dependent on a battery of chaperone proteins. Among these, HypA and HypB were proposed to exert nickel delivery functions in the metallocenter assembly process, although the detailed mechanism remains unclear. Herein, we have overexpressed and purified wild-type HypB as well as two mutants, K168A and M186L/F190V, from Helicobacter pylori. We demonstrated that all proteins bind Ni2+ at a stoichiometry of one Ni2+ per monomer of the proteins with dissociation constants at micromolar levels. Ni2+ elevated GTPase activity of WT HypB, which is attributable to a lower affinity of the protein toward GDP as well as Ni2+-induced dimerization. The disruption of GTP-dependent dimerization has led to GTPase activities of both mutants in apo-forms almost completely abolished, compared with the wild-type protein. The GTPase activity is partially restored for HypB(M186L/F190V) mutant but not for HypB(K168A) mutant upon Ni2+ binding. HypB forms a complex with its partner protein HypA with a low affinity (Kd of 52.2 ± 8.8 μM). Such interactions were also observed in vivo both in the absence and presence of nickel using a GFP-fragment reassembly technique. The putative protein-protein interfaces on H. pylori HypA and HypB proteins were identified by NMR chemical shift perturbation and mutagenesis studies, respectively. Intriguingly, the unique N terminus of H. pylori HypB was identified to participate in the interaction with H. pylori HypA. These structural and functional studies provide insight into the molecular mechanism of Ni2+ delivery during maturation of [NiFe]-hydrogenase.
The contribution of vitamin D receptor gene alleles to the determination of bone mineral density in normal and osteoporotic women

Bone mass and its mineral content are under genetic control. The vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene has been shown to be a major locus for genetic effects on bone mineral density (BMD), and polymorphisms in this gene accounted for a large proportion of genetic variance in BMD in an Australian population. In this study, we investigated whether similar associations are present in a North American population. We studied 139 normal healthy women (age 53.2 ± 14.5, mean ± SD) and 43 severely osteoporotic postmenopausal women (age 65.8 ± 5.9). In the 127 of them with complete genetic studies, the distribution of genotypes, determined by polymerase chain reaction on leukocyte DNA samples, agreed closely with that in the Australian population. BMD was strongly related to age and weight, and, thus was adjusted for these parameters prior to genetic analysis. We found that age modulated the effect of VDR genotypes on femoral neck BMD (FN‐BMD) (TaqI, p = 0.036;BsmI, p = 0.118; ApaI, p = 0.041) such that the effect of genotype was greatest among younger (premenopausal) women and declined with age so that there was no discernible difference by age 70. Among the younger women, a high FN‐BMD was associated with the TT (or aa or bb) genotype while low FN‐BMD was associated with the tt (or AA or BB) genotype. In osteoporotic women, although the difference in FN‐BMD between alternate TaqI homozygotes (TT vs. tt) was 0.13 g/cm2 (or about 18%), the overall difference among the genotype groups was not significant (TaqI, p = 0.13; BsmI, p = 0.21; ApaI, p = 0.09), possibly due to the small sample of osteoporotic women. There was no relationship of VDR genotype to lumbar spine BMD. We conclude that the VDR gene modulates differences in BMD in premenopausal women. Subsequent interaction of the gene and environmental factors and the role of VDR genotypes in predisposing to osteoporosis needs further study.
Socioeconomic status and risk of infant death. A population-based study of trends in Norway, 1967-1998.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to examine the association between socioeconomic status and risk of infant death in Norway from 1967 to 1998. METHODS Information from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway on all live births and infant deaths was linked to information from Statistics Norway on parents' education. There were 1777364 eligible live births and 15517 infant deaths. Differences between education groups were estimated as risk differences, relative risks, population attributable fractions, and index of inequality ratios. RESULTS The risk of infant death decreased in all education groups, and the level of education increased over time. The trends differed for neonatal and postneonatal death. For neonatal death the risk difference between infants whose mothers had high and low education was reduced from 3.5/1000 in the 1970s to 0.9/1000 in the 1990s. The relative index of inequality (RII) for maternal education decreased from 1.72 to1.32. The proportion of neonatal deaths that could be attributed to <13 years of education decreased from 22.3 to 8.4. For postneonatal death the risk difference between infants whose mothers had high and low education increased from 0.7/1000 in the 1970s to 2.0/1000 in the 1990s. The RII for maternal education increased from 1.31 to 4.00. The population attributable fraction increased from 9.7 to 39.5. CONCLUSIONS An inverse association between socioeconomic status and risk of postneonatal death persists, albeit there was a considerable reduction in risk between 1967 and 1998.
Lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin's lymphoma in children: therapeutic abstention after initial lymph node resection--a Study of the French Society of Pediatric Oncology.

PURPOSE To clarify treatment strategy for lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin's lymphoma (LPHL), the French Society of Pediatric Oncology initiated a prospective, nonrandomized study in 1988. Patients received either standard treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma or were not treated beyond initial adenectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS From 1988 to 1998, 27 patients were available for study. Twenty-four patients were male, and median age was 10 years (range, 4 to 16 years). Twenty-two, two, and three patients had stage I, II, and III disease, respectively. Thirteen patients (stage I, n = 11; stage III, n = 2) received no further treatment after initial surgical adenectomy (SA). Fourteen patients received combined treatment (CT; n = 10), involved-field radiotherapy alone (n = 1), or chemotherapy alone (n = 3). The two groups were comparable for clinical status, treatment, and follow-up. RESULTS Twenty-three of 27 patients achieved complete remission (CR). With a median follow-up time of 70 months (range, 32 to 214 months), overall survival to date is 100%, and overall event-free survival (EFS) is 69% +/- 10% (SA, 42% +/- 16%; CT, 90% +/- 8.6%; P <.04). If we considered only the patients in CR after initial surgery (n = 12), EFS was no longer significantly different between the two groups. Patients with residual mass after initial surgery (n = 15) had worse EFS if they did not receive complementary treatment (P <.05). CONCLUSION Although based on a small number of patients, our study showed that (1). no further therapy is a valid therapeutic approach in LPHL patient in CR after initial lymph node resection, and (2). complementary treatment diminishes relapse frequency but has no impact on survival.