Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pulsatile Administration of Oxytocin for Augmentation of Labor

In a randomized study, 94 patients with term pregnancies underwent augmentation of labor with either continuous or pulsed (every 8 minutes) intravenous oxytocin infusion. There were no significant differences with respect to the maternal characteristics, cervical dilatation and effacement, induction-to-labor interval, induction-to-delivery interval, cesarean section rate, analgesia for labor, or low Apgar scores. No hyperstimulation was noted in either group. In each group, 20% of the patients had dysfunctional labor patterns, with coupling and tripling of the uterine contractions. The mean ± SEM oxytocin administered in the pulsed-infusion group was significantly lower than that in the continuous-infusion group (2.1 ± 0.4 versus 4.1 ± 0.4 mU/minute; P < .001). The mean ± SEM total amount of oxytocin administered was 1300 ± 332 mU for the pulsed group and 1803 ± 302 mU for the continuous group, indicating that lower amounts of oxytocin were required for pulsed administration. Our study demonstrates that pulsatile administration of oxytocin is similar in efficacy to our standard continuous oxytocin infusion and requires a lower total amount and rate of oxytocin administered, which may afford a greater margin of safety.
The evolution of percutaneous spinal endoscopy and discectomy: state of the art.

OBJECTIVE The author relates his 7 years' experience with endoscopic spine surgery for lumbar disc herniations and conditions previously treated only with more invasive methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS Five hundred (500) patients were treated with the Yeung endoscopic spine system, which features an endoscope with a 2.8 mm operating channel. The protocol included preoperative or intraoperative discography in all cases. Adjuvant therapies were employed in various clinical conditions when dictated by the visualized spinal pathology--KTP laser (Laserscope, San Jose, CA) in 100 patients, radiofrequency by electrothermal probe in 400 patients, chymopapain in 50 cases, and intraoperative steroids in 100 cases. A newer slotted tube system allowed for foraminoplasty and removal of osteophytes or extruded fragments. RESULTS Good-to-excellent results were recorded in 432 of the 500 patients (86.4%). Separate analysis was made of the first 100 cases when the KTP laser was in use. CONCLUSIONS The 2.8 mm operating channel scope produced clear visualization of annular tears, disc fragments, foraminal osteophytes, and the epidural space. Monitoring of the microinstruments in the disc space and spinal canal was readily accomplished. The quality of the imaging provided by discography improved the definition of the disc pathology. Adjuvant use of lasers, radiofrequency, chymopapain, and intradiscal steroids and the newer slotted tube system, have contributed to the advances in minimally invasive technique for endoscopic discectomy.
Vapor sensing properties of a conductive polymer composite containing Nickel particles with nano-scale surface features

This paper presents an unusual conductive polymer composite, produced by Peratech Ltd under the trademark QTC™, which has many vapor sensing applications. Nickel particles are intimately coated by an elastomeric binder such that no percolative conduction can occur. However, the nickel particles are shown to possess spiky nanoscale surface features, which promote conduction by a field-assisted quantum tunneling mechanism. Granular QTC™ can be dispersed into a polymer matrix to produce a vapor sensor. Under exposure to vapor, the polymer swells and the resistance of the composite increases. In this work, granular sensors are subjected to acetone and tetrahydrofuran (THF) vapors. The response for THF shows an increase in resistance of a factor of 108, over a time-scale of a few seconds. This response is larger and faster than many conventional vapor sensing composites. This is a significantly larger response than that obtained historically for the same sensor, suggesting that some degree of sensor aging is desirable. The response and subsequent recovery can be explained by a case II diffusion model, and linked to Hildebrand solubility parameters of the vapor and polymer components.
The Origins and Effects of Macroeconomic Uncertainty

We estimate a production‐based general equilibrium model featuring demand‐ and supply‐side uncertainty and an endogenous term premium. Using term structure and macroeconomic data, we find sizable effects of uncertainty on risk premia and business cycle fluctuations. Both demand‐ and supply‐side uncertainty imply large contractions in real activity and an increase in term premia, but supply‐side uncertainty has larger effects on inflation and investment. We introduce a novel analytical decomposition to illustrate how multiple distinct endogenous risk wedges account for these differences. Supply and demand uncertainty are strongly correlated in the beginning of our sample, but decouple after the Great Recession.
Assessing the Impact of Structural Reforms Through a Supply-Side Framework: The Case of Argentina

The paper uses a supply-side framework based on a production function approach to assess the role of structural reforms in boosting long-term GDP growth in Argentina. The impact of product, labor, trade, and tax reforms on each supply-side channel—capital accumulation, labor utilization, and total factor productivity, proxied with an efficiency estimate—is assessed separately and then combined to derive the total impact on growth. The largest effect of structural reforms, involving regulatory changes that promote competition and facilitate flexible forms of employment, comes through the productivity/efficiency channel. Pro-competition regulation also improves labor utilization, while lower entry barriers and trade tariffs are important for capital accumulation. Structural reforms could have substantial effects on Argentina’s long-term GDP growth; for example, an ambitious reform effort to improve business regulatory environment would add 1–1½ percent to average annual growth of GDP.
Gambling in the Stock Market: The Motivations behind Excessive and Speculative Trading

Active stock trading by individual investors is hard to explain, as investors who trade more actively tend to perform worse. We investigate to what extent gambling motives can explain excessive and speculative trading. We use five different proxies for gambling motives, ranging from fairly innocent, such as aspiring a small chance to become rich, to quite severe, namely compulsive gambling. We find that especially compulsive gambling can explain frequent trading by individual investors well, in addition to indicators for recreational gambling (e.g., in casinos). Further, investors driven by gambling motives tend to be in a significantly worse financial situation. JEL Classification: G11; G02; L83
Monetary Policy and Cyclical Systemic Risk - Friends or Foes?

We explore the procyclicality of monetary policy decisions towards the financial cycle in the 1995-2015 period on a sample of seven central banks. Using the real interest rate gap and the credit-to-GDP gap, we provide evidence that monetary policy procyclicality is a material issue occurring in more than 50% of observations in expansionary phase of financial cycle. It indicates that the central bank faces conflicting objectives of price and financial stability (as proxied by cyclical systemic risk). Nevertheless, taking into consideration all financial cycle phases, complementariness between price and financial stability is more frequent than cases with conflicting objectives in the UK, Euro Area and the US. The occurrence of potential procyclical behaviour of monetary policy (especially in the financial cycle expansion phases) underlines the need for proactive macroprudential policy.
Sense, seize, reconfigure: Online communities as strategic assets

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and illustrate how organizations may use online communities strategically to adapt to a changing business environment, specifically from a dynamic capabilities perspective. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents empirical evidence from three cases. Findings Online communities may help organizations to adapt to a changing business environment by allowing them to sense opportunities and threats, seize opportunities and reconfigure organizational assets. Research limitations/implications The paper contributes to both the strategy and the information systems literatures by providing empirical insights into the strategic use of online communities. Practical implications The results of the paper are relevant for managers, helping them to understand the strategic role online communities (may) play and illustrating ways to use them accordingly. Originality/value The paper addresses a previously defined gap in the literature and provides novel empirical evidence. As online communities become integral parts of digital strategy and open innovation initiatives, the paper is both timely and relevant.
Bayesian Nonparametric Modeling Using Mixtures of Triangular Distributions

Summary. Nonparametric modeling is an indispensable tool in many applications and its formulation in an hierarchical Bayesian context, using the entire posterior distribution rather than particular expectations, increases its flexibility. In this article, the focus is on nonparametric estimation through a mixture of triangular distributions. The optimality of this methodology is addressed and bounds on the accuracy of this approximation are derived. Although our approach is more widely applicable, we focus for simplicity on estimation of a monotone nondecreasing regression on [0, 1] with additive error, effectively approximating the function of interest by a function having a piecewise linear derivative. Computationally accessible methods of estimation are described through an amalgamation of existing Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms. Simulations and examples illustrate the approach.
Does modern helicopter construction reduce noise exposure in helicopter rescue operations?

BACKGROUND During helicopter rescue operations the medical personnel are at high risk for hearing damage by noise exposure. There are two important factors to be taken into account: first, the extreme variability, with some days involving no exposure but other days with extreme exposure; second, the extreme noise levels during work outside the helicopter, e.g. during winch operations. The benefit of modern, less noisier constructions and the consequences for noise protection are still unknown. OBJECTIVES We estimated the noise exposure of the personnel for different helicopter types used during rescue operations in the Alps and in other regions of the world with special regard to the advanced types like Eurocopter EC 135 to compare the benefit of modern constructions for noise protection with earlier ones. METHODS The rescue operations over 1 year of four rescue bases in the Alps (Raron and Zermatt in Switzerland; Landeck and Innsbruck in Austria, n = 2731) were analyzed for duration of rescue operations (noise exposure). Noise levels were measured during rescue operations at defined points inside and outside the different aircraft. The setting is according to the European standard (Richtlinie 2003/10/EG Amtsblatt) and to Class 1 DIN/IEC 651. With both data sets the equivalent noise level L(eq8h) was calculated. For comparison it was assumed that all rescue operations were performed with a specific type of helicopter. Then model calculations for noise exposure by different helicopter types, such as Alouette IIIb, Alouette II 'Lama', Ecureuil AS350, Bell UH1D, Eurocopter EC135, and others were performed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Depending on modern technologies the situation for the personnel has been improved significantly. Nevertheless noise prevention, which includes noise intermissions in spare time, is essential. Medical checks of the crews by occupational medicine (e.g. 'G20' in Germany) are still mandatory.
Compensation of IQ imbalance and phase noise in OFDM systems

Nowadays, a lot of effort is spent on developing inexpensive orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) receivers. Especially, zero intermediate frequency (zero-IF) receivers are very appealing, because they avoid costly IF filters. However, zero-IF front-ends also introduce significant additional front-end distortion, such as IQ imbalance. Moreover, zero-IF does not solve the phase noise problem. Unfortunately, OFDM is very sensitive to the receiver nonidealities IQ imbalance and phase noise. Therefore, we developed a new estimation/compensation scheme to jointly combat the IQ imbalance and phase noise at baseband. In this letter, we describe the algorithms and present the performance results. Our compensation scheme eliminates the IQ imbalance based on one OFDM symbol and performs well in the presence of phase noise. The compensation scheme has a fast convergence and a small residual degradation: even for large IQ imbalance, the overall system performance for an OFDM-wireless local area network (WLAN) case study is within 0.6 dB of the optimal case. As such, our approach greatly relaxes the mismatch specifications and thus enables low-cost zero-IF receivers.
Exendin-(9–39) Corrects Fasting Hypoglycemia in SUR-1–/– Mice by Lowering cAMP in Pancreatic β-Cells and Inhibiting Insulin Secretion*

Congenital hyperinsulinism is a disorder of pancreatic β-cell function characterized by failure to suppress insulin secretion in the setting of hypoglycemia, resulting in brain damage or death if untreated. Loss-of-function mutations in the KATP channel (composed of two subunits: Kir6.2 and SUR-1) are responsible for the most common and severe form of congenital hyperinsulinism. Most patients are unresponsive to available medical therapy and require palliative pancreatectomy. Similar to the human condition, the SUR-1–/– mouse is hypoglycemic when fasted and hyperglycemic when glucose-loaded. We have previously reported that the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor antagonist exendin-(9–39) raises fasting blood glucose in normal mice. Here we examine the effect of exendin-(9–39) on fasting blood glucose in SUR-1–/– mice. Mice were randomized to receive exendin-(9–39) or vehicle. Fasting blood glucose levels in SUR-1–/– mice treated with exendin-(9–39) were significantly higher than in vehicle-treated mice and not different from wild-type littermates. Exendin-(9–39) did not further worsen glucose tolerance and had no effect on body weight and insulin sensitivity. Isolated islet perifusion studies demonstrated that exendin-(9–39) blocked amino acid-stimulated insulin secretion, which is abnormally increased in SUR-1–/– islets. Furthermore, cAMP content in SUR-1–/– islets was reduced by exendin-(9–39) both basally and when stimulated by amino acids, whereas cytosolic calcium levels were not affected. These findings suggest that cAMP plays a key role in KATP-independent insulin secretion and that the GLP-1 receptor is constitutively active in SUR-1–/– β-cells. Our findings indicate that exendin-(9–39) normalizes fasting hypoglycemia in SUR-1–/– mice via a direct effect on insulin secretion, thereby raising exendin-(9–39) as a potential therapeutic agent for KATP hyperinsulinism.
Spectral Analysis of Chronic Atrial Fibrillation and Its Relation to Minimal Defibrillation Energy

TAI, C‐T. , et al.: Spectral Analysis of Chronic Atrial Fibrillation and Its Relation to Minimal Defibrillation Energy. The average rate of fibrillatory activity may reflect the global activation pattern of AF. Electrical cardioversion is the most effective method of converting chronic AF to sinus rhythm. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between the minimal defibrillation energy requirement and the dominant frequency of chronic AF. Twenty‐nine patients with chronic AF (mean duration 57.9 ± 7.7 months) underwent external electrical cardioversion. Before cardioversion, the frequency content of the 60‐second AF in ECG lead V1 was quantified using digital signal processing. After band‐pass filtering, QRST complexes were cancelled using a recursive least squares algorithm. The resulting fibrillatory baseline signal was subjected to fast Fourier transform and was displayed as a power spectrum. The dominant AF frequency was found to range from 4.9 to 8.7 Hz (mean 6.7 ± 0.9 Hz). Twenty‐six patients had successful conversion of AF to sinus rhythm without immediate recurrence. There was a positive correlation between the minimal defibrillation energy and the dominant frequency of chronic AF (ρ= 0.414, P = 0.035). Thus, power spectral analysis of AF using the surface ECG is feasible and may be useful in predicting the minimal shock energy required for successful cardioversion of chronic AF.
Loss of clusterin both in serum and tissue correlates with the tumorigenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma via proteomics approaches.

AIM To identify the differentially secreted proteins or polypeptides associated with tumorigenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) from serum and to find potential tumor secreted biomarkers. METHODS Proteins from human ESCC tissue and its matched adjacent normal tissue; pre-surgery and post-surgery serum; and pre-surgery and normal control serum were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) to identify differentially expressed proteins. The silver-stained 2-DE were scanned with digital ImageScanner and analyzed with ImageMaster 2D Elite 3.10 software. A cluster of protein spots differentially expressed were selected and identified with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). One of the differentially expressed proteins, clusterin, was down-regulated in cancer tissue and pre-surgery serum, but it was reversed in post-surgery serum. The results were confirmed by semi-quantitative reverse-transcription (RT)-PCR and western blot. RESULTS Comparisons of the protein spots identified on the 2-DE maps from human matched sera showed that some proteins were differentially expressed, with most of them showing no differences in composition, shape or density. Being analyzed by MALDI-TOF-MS and database searching, clusterin was differentially expressed and down-regulated in both cancer tissue and pre-surgery serum compared with their counterparts. The results were also validated by RT-PCR and western blot. CONCLUSION The differentially expressed clusterin may play a key role during tumorigenesis of ESCC. The 2DE-MS based proteomic approach is one of the powerful tools for discovery of secreted markers from peripheral.
Physiological effects of chicory root preparations with various levels of fructan and polyphenolic fractions in diets for rats

The experiment was aimed at studying the effects of easily fermentable oligosaccharides and phenolic compounds from chicory root meal (CRM) on the fermentative processes in the caecum, the antioxidative status and the lipoprotein profile of rats. Five different diets were fed ad libitum to 40 Wistar rats (eight animals per group, individually housed): a control group (C); group PCM (10% processed CRM, deprived of polyphenolic fraction); group PCMO (8% processed CRM and 1.6% oligofructose); group UCM (10% unprocessed CRM); and group FP (8.3% fructan-polyphenol concentrate from CRM). Diets PCM, PCMO, UCM and FP induced favourable metabolic changes in the caecum, blood lipid profile and the antioxidative status of the body. In the caecum, the experimental diets increased the production of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and acidification of digesta as well as a decrease in the ammonia concentration and bacterial β-glucuronidase activity. In blood serum, the total cholesterol concentration was reduced and, simultaneously, the proportion of HDL in the total cholesterol concentration was increased. The presence of the polyphenolic fraction in the unprocessed meal (diets UCM and FP) evoked a significant increase in the total antioxidative status in blood serum. Dietary fibre and the polyphenolic fraction present in diet UCM and the FOS-polyphenol concentrate in diet FP did not exhibit an antagonistic activity regarding the physiological parameters analysed, except for in the intensity of caecal fermentation. The results of the experiment point to the benefits of dietary supplementation with chicory preparations containing both prebiotic saccharides and polyphenolic compounds, which enable us to take advantage of the physiological traits of both components.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia in a Japanese population: varied immunophenotypic profile, distinctive usage of frequently mutated IGH gene, and indolent clinical behavior

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is relatively rare in Japan. Among 46 cases of mature B-cell leukemia, we identified 28 Japanese patients with CLL, including prolymphocytoid and lymphoplasmacytoid morphological variants. Compared with Western patients with CLL, only 52.0% of cases showed the typical immunophenotypic profile. IgG-bearing (15.4%) and clearly CD20-expressing (71.4%) cases were frequently observed. Most cases harbored a mutated immunoglobulin heavy-chain (VH) gene (88.5%) and commonly used a VH3 family member (61.5%) other than VH3-21. During the median follow-up period of 64 months, 20 cases (71.4%) showed an indolent clinical course without any treatment, and six cases (21.4%) were accompanied by other malignancies. Binet A stage (p = 0.003), low-risk category according to the modified Rai classification (p = 0.016), and ≤ 15 U/mL level of serum thymidine kinase activity (p = 0.016) were associated with prolongation of treatment-free status. Although Japanese cases of CLL showed heterogeneity in morphology and immunophenotype, most cases arose from post-antigen-selected B cells and presented with indolent clinical behavior.
Biomechanics of Transfixation in Pedicle Screw Instrumentation

Study Design The biomechanical role of transfixation in pedicle screw instrumentation was investigated using flexibility tests and finite element analyses. Objective To assess the stabilizing effect of use and position of transfixators. Summary of Background Data Transfixation is common in pedicle screw instrumentation, however, its biomechanical role and optimal position are not completely understood. Methods Specimens underwent nondestructive flexibility tests using a three‐dimensional motion analysis system. Tests compared the intact spine with instrumentation with and without transfixators. Rotational angles of the superior vertebra, resulting from the maximum moment of 6.4 Nm, were compared. Three‐dimensional finite element models investigated transfixator position. Rotations of the superior vertebra were compared for cases with and without transfixators to determine the position providing the greatest stability. Results Biomechanical test showed that only axial rotational stability significantly improved with transfixators compared with instrumentation alone. Finite element models predicted improvement in lateral bending and axial rotation with transfixators compared with the case with no transfixator. With one transfixator, the greatest improvement in axial rotation stability occurred with the transfixator at the proximal 1/4 position of the rods. When two transfixators were used, the optimal locations were with one transfixator in the middle and the second at the proximal 1/8 position. Conclusions Transfixators improved the stabilizing effects of pedicle screw instrumentation. The greatest axial rotation stability was obtained with two transfixators: one in the middle and the other at the proximal 1/8 position of the longitudinal rods.