Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea

something they continued to do, for example through Occupy Sandy, after the occupation was forcibly dispersed. Similarly, Krastev argues that “If a citizen today seeks to criticize, say, rising inequality, to what should he turn to find those responsible? The market? The government? New technologies? Could any government succeed in reducing inequality on its own without destroying his country’s competitiveness? ” (p. 69) This is just silly. Protesters in many countries (Greece, Spain, the US, among others) were demanding clearly that government act to control themarket in order to reduce inequality, rejecting outright the capitalist claim that “competitiveness” makes action impossible. Krastev makes one excellent point, about the decline of citizenship as a status. As citizen armies are replaced by professional soldiers and drones, and the labor market is outsourced, the relevance of the citizen-voter is reduced (p. 68). Had he developed this point more fully, and been more rigorous about contradictory examples, this would have been a better book.
Protease inhibitor use during pregnancy: is there an obstetrical risk?

with the use of combination ART during pregnancy have been assessed through the analysis of observational or clinical databases collected using a variety of methods, often across eras of varying HIV management and in accordance with varying standards of scientific rigor. Analyses have yielded inconsistent results with respect to pregnancy outcomes. In particular, whether or not combination ART, most specifically that including protease inhibitors (PIs), is associated with an excess of preterm deliveries is in question. In general, analyses of data from European cohorts [3-6] have demonstrated an association between preterm delivery and combination ART, but similar analyses from the United States and France have shown no association [2, 7-9] or, in some cases, a beneficial effect. A summary of the findings relative to preterm delivery from these studies is provided in table 1. The study by Cotter et al. [10] in this issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases is, to our knowledge, the first analysis from the United States to associate combination
Effects of Changing Roughness on Acoustic Scattering: (1) Natural Changes

High resolution (~0.1-1 cm) measurements of seafloor roughness with underwater stereo photogrammetry were performed during the shallow-water SAX99 acoustic experiment. Changes in morphology due to hydrodynamic and biological processes were observed, and documented by changes in the values of measured slope and spectral strength of the seafloor roughness power spectrum. Roughness spectral and geoacoustic parameters were used in the first-order perturbation model to make backscatter predictions, which were compared with measured acoustic data.
Effects of dietary esfenvalerate exposures on three aquatic insect species representing different functional feeding groups

Given the chemical properties of synthetic pyrethroids, it is probable that compounds, including esfenvalerate, that enter surface waters may become incorporated into aquatic insect food sources. We examined the effect of dietary esfenvalerate uptake in aquatic insects representing different functional feeding groups. We used three field‐collected aquatic insect species: A grazing scraper, Cinygmula reticulata McDunnough (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae); an omnivorous filter feeder, Brachycentrus americanus Banks (Trichoptera: Brachycentridae); and a predator, Hesperoperla pacifica Banks (Plecoptera: Perlidae). Laboratory‐cultured algae were preexposed for 24 h to esfenvalerate concentrations of 0, 0.025, 0.05, and 0.1 μg/L and provided to two C. reticulata age classes (small and final‐instar nymphs). Reduction in small nymph growth was observed following three weeks of feeding on algae exposed to 0.05 and 0.1 μg/L of esfenvalerate, and the highest dietary exposure reduced egg production in final‐instar nymphs. The diet for B. americanus and H. pacifica consisted of dead third‐instar Chironomus tentans larvae preexposed for 24 h to esfenvalerate concentrations ranging between 0.1 and 1.0 μg/L. Consumption of larvae exposed to 0.5 to 1.0 μg/L of esfenvalerate caused case abandonment and mortality in B. americanus caddisfly larvae. Although H. pacifica nymphs readily consumed esfenvalerate‐exposed larvae, no adverse effects were observed during the present study. Furthermore, no evidence of esfenvalerate‐induced feeding deterrence was found in any of the species tested, suggesting that aquatic insects may not be able to distinguish between pyrethroid‐contaminated and uncontaminated food sources. These findings indicate that feeding deterrence is not a factor in regulating aquatic insect dietary exposures to synthetic pyrethroids.
Robust transmit eigen-beamforming with imperfect knowledge of channel correlations

Transmit beamforming is a powerful approach to enhance the performance of wireless communication systems employing multiple antennas at the transmitter. Using channel covariance information, transmit beamforming has been pursued based on various criteria. A major drawback of existing techniques is that most of them require nearly perfect knowledge of the channel covariance matrix at the transmitter, which is not necessarily possible in practice. In this paper, we propose a more robust framework in which we take this issue into account and design a robust transmit beamformer to have the best performance under the worst-case mismatch. We show that, for small mismatches, eigen-beamforming along the eigenvectors of the presumed channel correlation matrix offers the best worst-case performance. We also combine eigen-beamforming with robust power loading that is achieved by spatial water-filling-type strategy in which the water level is determined in a simple form.
Natriuretic role of endogenous oxytocin in male rats infused with hypertonic NaCl.

The involvement of endogenous oxytocin (OT) in the renal natriuretic response to an intravenous load of hypertonic and isotonic saline was investigated in anesthetized male rats with use of a selective OT-receptor antagonist [Mpa1,D-Tyr(Et)2,Thr4,Orn8]-OT (OT-ant). NaCl was infused (0.05 mmol.min-1.kg body wt-1 iv for 120 min) as a hypernatremic (HNa) solution or as an isotonic solution producing volume expansion (VE). HNa markedly increased sodium excretion from 0.25 +/- 0.06 to 10.04 +/- 0.62 mumol/min, whereas VE yielded only a moderate increase from 0.25 +/- 0.04 to 1.64 +/- 0.15 mumol/min. The increase in potassium excretion and urine flow rate during HNa was similar to that during VE. There were no significant changes in mean arterial pressure in either case. Administration of OT-ant delayed the natriuresis induced by HNa and reduced it by 60% but did not affect that induced by VE. Plasma OT concentration was significantly increased from 10.2 +/- 1.7 to 18.8 +/- 1.8 pg/ml at the end of HNa stimulation. In conclusion, the natriuresis in response to the intravenous sodium load was much more pronounced when NaCl was administered as a hypertonic solution than as an infusion inducing isotonic VE. Direct evidence was produced to assert that endogenous OT and its receptors are highly involved in the natriuresis elicited by systemic hypernatremic stimulation.
Longitudinal Co-site Optical Microscopy Study of the Chelating Ability of HEBP and EDTA Using a Comparative Single-tooth Model

In the present study the smear layer dissolution kinetics of 18% etidronate (HEBP), 9% HEBP, and 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) on human dentin were quantitatively and longitudinally analyzed by using a single-tooth comparative model. Coronal dentin disks were prepared from 3 maxillary human molars. A standardized smear layer was produced on the pulpal side of each disk. The smear layer-covered surface was divided into 3 similar areas. Each of these was then exposed to 1 of the 3 irrigants under investigation, whereas the others were covered with adhesive tape. Co-site image sequences of the areas under investigation were obtained after several cumulative demineralization times. Sixteen images were obtained from each dentin area of each tooth for each experimental time at 1000x magnification. An image processing and analysis sequence measured sets of images, providing data of area fraction for thousands of tubules over time and allowing us to quantitatively follow the effect of the chelating substances. The Kruskal-Wallis H test and Dunn multiple comparison test were used to analyze the data. Overall, it can be concluded that the demineralization kinetics promoted by both 9% HEBP and 18% HEBP were significantly slower than those of 17% EDTA (P < .05). In addition, the single-tooth model is advantageous over the first co-site optical microscopy dentin assessments when different chelator solutions are compared. Longitudinal Co-site Optical Microscopy Study of the Chelating Ability of HEBP and EDTA Using a Comparative Single-tooth Model
Monotherapy of Lamotrigine Versus Carbamazepine in Patients With Poststroke Seizure

Objectives: The incidence of seizures is known to be high in the elderly. The most common cause of an unprovoked seizure in the elderly population is stroke. These patients require effective and well-tolerated antiepileptic treatment because they frequently experience other medical conditions and use other medications that can interact with the antiepileptic treatment. The aim of the study was to analyze the tolerability and efficacy of lamotrigine (LTG) versus sustained-release carbamazepine (CBZ) treatment in newly diagnosed symptomatic poststroke seizure. Methods: Sixty-four patients with a first post episode of seizures were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either LTG or CBZ treatment and were followed up prospectively for up to 12 months for efficacy and tolerability of the drugs. Results: More patients in the LTG group were seizure-free (72%) versus those in the CBZ group (44%; P = 0.06), but the numbers did not reach statistical significance because of a relative small number of study patients. The number of patients who withdraw from the study because of adverse events was statistically significantly less in the LTG group (3%) compared with the CBZ group (31%; P = 0.02). Conclusions: The LTG treatment in poststroke seizures versus CBZ treatment is a relatively better-tolerated drug and can be acceptable as initial treatment in this specific group of patients.
A Phase I/II Study of Trimetrexate and Capecitabine in Patients With Advanced Refractory Colorectal Cancer

Objective:We tested the hypothesis that the combination of trimetrexate (TMTX) and capecitabine (CAP) would be active in patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). Because the optimum dose of this combination was unknown, we used a phase I/II design. Methods:In the phase I cohort, patients received 110 mg/m2 TMTX intravenously weekly ×6 and CAP starting at 750 mg/m2 orally twice daily from days 2 to 15 and 23 to 36 (one cycle). Cycles were repeated every 8 weeks. The phase II doses were 110 mg/m2 TMTX and 1000 mg/m2 CAP orally twice daily. Results:Thirty-two patients were entered. All patients had prior 5-fluorouracil therapy and 94% had prior exposure to irinotecan. Grade 3/4 toxicities included abdominal pain in 4 patients (12.5%) and vomiting in 3 patients (9.4%). Twenty-seven patients were evaluable for response: one patient each had a complete response and a partial response for an overall response rate of 7.4%. The median time to progression was 3.3 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6–3.7 months) and the median overall survival was 5.9 months (95% CI, 5.2–10.2 months). Conclusions:The combination of TMTX and CAP is well tolerated. However, recent studies have shown more active regimens in the second- and third-line metastatic setting.
A shooting argument approach to a sharp-type solution for nonlinear degenerate Fisher-KPP equations

In this paper we prove the existence and uniqueness of a travelling-wave solution of sharp type for the degenerate (at u = 0) parabolic equation u, = [D(u)ux]x + g(u) where D is a strictly increasing function and g is a function which generalizes the kinetic part of the classical Fisher-KPP equation. The original problem is transformed into the proper travelling-wave variables, and then a shooting argument is used to show the existence of a saddle-saddle heteroclinic trajectory for a critical value, c* > 0, of the speed c of an autonomous system of ordinary differential equations. Associated with this connection is a sharp-type solution of the nonlinear partial differential equation.
Population ecology of small rodents and marsupials in a semi-deciduous tropical forest of the southeast Pantanal, Brazil

The Pantanal is a South American biome characterized by extensive plains and stark environmental seasonality. Several habitats are subject to annual flooding, forcing small mammal species to aggregate in dry forest patches, which most likely influences their population dynamics and life history strategies. In order to investigate the seasonal influence on the life history traits of these small mammals, we conducted a 2-year mark-recapture study in the southeastern region of the Brazilian Pantanal (Nhecolândia) and analyzed the population dynamics of the most abundant small mammal species with the jackknife estimator. A trapping effort of 21,560 trap-nights resulted in 615 individuals in 1,171 captures (success = 5.43%). Three species of rodents – Oecomys mamorae (Thomas, 1906), Thrichomys pachyurus (Wagner, 1845), and Clyomys laticeps (Thomas, 1841) – and three species of marsupials – Gracilinanus agilis (Burmeister, 1854), Thylamys macrurus (Olfers, 1818), and Monodelphis domestica (Wagner, 1842) – were obtained. The most abundant species was O. mamorae, followed by G. agilis and T. pachyurus. Oecomys mamorae was more abundant in the wet season and presented an opportunistic reproductive strategy. Gracilianus agilis displayed increased population sizes in the dry season and synchronized, seasonal reproduction during the rainy season. Thrichomys pachyurus had a small population size, delayed response to variations in environmental conditions and higher reproductive rates in the dry season. All species revealed different life history strategies (seasonal, opportunistic or delayed response to environmental variations), coinciding with periods of higher resource availability in order to maximize survival.
Association between the interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist gene and negative symptom improvement during antipsychotic treatment †

The contribution of immune system to schizophrenia has been an important area of focus in schizophrenia research. Several genetic variants in the cytokine system have been associated with the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a pharmacogenetic relationship exists between a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism in the interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist gene (IL‐1RN) and clinical improvement during antipsychotic treatment in patients with a first non‐affective psychotic episode. One hundred and fifty‐four subjects presenting with a first non‐affective psychotic episode were randomly assigned to treatment with haloperidol, risperidone, or olanzapine and rated with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) both at baseline and after 6 weeks of treatment. A control sample of 336 blood bank donors was also included. No differences in genotype or allele distributions were found between patients and controls. However, after controlling for baseline SANS scores, the genotype in the VNTR polymorphism in the IL‐1RN gene significantly predicted negative symptom improvement, accounting for approximately 7% of the variance (F = 5.23, df = 2, P = 0.006). The mean decrease in SANS scores was 58% for the IL‐1RN* 2/2, 44% for the IL‐1RN* 1/2, and 14% for the IL‐1RN* 1/1 subjects, respectively. These results suggest that the VNTR polymorphism in the IL‐1RN gene may be a useful predictor of negative symptom improvement in schizophrenic patients treated with antipsychotic drugs. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
MITRAL VALVOTOMY IN YOUNG PATIENTS

There have been many reports in the past few years of the results of mitral valvotomy (Sellors, Bedford, and Somerville, 1953; Goodwin et al., 1955; Logan and Turner, 1953, 1959; Ellis, Harken, and Black, 1959; Baker and Hancock, 1960; and others). However, the majority of patients reported on are in the "older" group above 20 years. Reports on young patients who had mitral valvotomy are relatively few. Angelino et al. (1956) reported on 11, Gray (1958) on 3, and Borman et al. (1961) on 13 patients. In these three series the younger group formed only a small percentage of the total number of mitral valvotomies. This report is based on the first 126 patients below the age of 20 years (average 15-5 years) with mitral stenosis who were submitted to mitral valvotomy at the Christian Medical College Hospital from 1954 to 1961. These young patients formed 34 per cent of the total of 373 mitral valvotomies.
Enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species in monocytes from patients with common variable immunodeficiency

Monocyte and macrophage dysfunction may be important for both immunopathogenesis and clinical manifestations in subgroups of patients with primary hypogammaglobulinaemia. In the present study we examined the ability to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in isolated monocytes from these patients by two different methods: superoxide dismutase (SOD) inhibitable cytochrome c reduction by O2− and nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction. Monocytes from patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVI) demonstrated significantly enhanced ROS generation both unstimulated and stimulated (unopsonized zymosan and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)). The enhanced oxidative burst response in CVI patients was found both with and without scrum containing medium. Furthermore, serum from CVI patients did significantly enhance the oxidative burst response in monocytes from healthy blood donors compared with the effect of control serum. The enhanced ROS generation in CVI patients was significantly correlated with elevated serum levels of neopterin, reduced numbers of CD4+ lymphocytes in peripheral blood and occurrence of splenomegaly. In contrast to the CVI group, monocytes from patients with X‐linked agammaglobulinaemia (XLA) did not show enhanced ROS generation. The increased oxidative burst response in monocytes from CVI patients most probably reflects in vivo activation of these cells. Our observations indicate the presence of a subgroup of CVI patients characterized by chronic immune activation particularly of monocytes. The enhanced ROS generation might be involved in immunopathogenesis (e.g. T cell dysfunction) and in the pathogenesis of clinical manifestations (e.g. malignancies and autoimmune disorders) in these patients.
Tanycytic ependymoma arising from the right lateral ventricle: A case report and review of the literature

A 38‐year‐old man presented with a year‐long history of worsening headache. Neuroradiological findings showed that a solid cystic mass occupied the right lateral ventricle. Histologically, the tumor composed of nuclear dense zones consisting of a cluster of spindle cells and fibrillary zones consisting of streaming of cell processes. The tumor cells showed the characteristics of monopolar or bipolar processes. Some tumor cell processes extended to the vessel wall and formed ill‐defined perivascular rosettes. No mitoses or necrosis were found. The cells presented positive for GFAP, S‐100 protein, vimentin, Nestin and neurofilament, and dotlike positive for epithelial membrane antigen, but negative for Syn and NeuN. Four cases of tanycytic ependymoma arising from the lateral ventricle have been reported in literature. Histological differential diagnosis includes spindle‐shaped neuroepithelial tumors, such as pilocytic astrocytoma, fibrillary astrocytoma and schwannoma. Tanycytic ependymoma has slightly better prognosis than other ependymoma subtypes.
Arteriovenous fistula involving both coronary arteries and main pulmonary trunk.

Anomalous communication between the coronary arterial tree and a cardiac chamber or great vessel was first described by Krause in 1865. To date more than 100 cases have been reported. The earlier papers consisted of descriptions of necropsies but in the past few years, the introduction of heart catheterization, intracardiac phonocardiography, and angiocardiographic techniques has enhanced the interest in these anomalies. Several cases have been diagnosed during life and corrected by operation. The purpose of this paper is to present a patient with an unusual form of coronary arteriovenous fistula: both coronary arteries gave rise to an anomalous branch opening into an aneurysmal mass which overlay the main pulmonary artery and communicated with it.
Sensitivity of lumbar spine response to follower load and flexion moment: finite element study

Abstract The follower load (FL) combined with moments is commonly used to approximate flexed/extended posture of the lumbar spine in absence of muscles in biomechanical studies. There is a lack of consensus as to what magnitudes simulate better the physiological conditions. Considering the in-vivo measured values of the intradiscal pressure (IDP), intervertebral rotations (IVRs) and the disc loads, sensitivity of these spinal responses to different FL and flexion moment magnitudes was investigated using a 3D nonlinear finite element (FE) model of ligamentous lumbosacral spine. Optimal magnitudes of FL and moment that minimize deviation of the model predictions from in-vivo data were determined. Results revealed that the spinal parameters i.e. the IVRs, disc moment, and the increase in disc force and moment from neutral to flexed posture were more sensitive to moment magnitude than FL magnitude in case of flexion. The disc force and IDP were more sensitive to the FL magnitude than moment magnitude. The optimal ranges of FL and flexion moment magnitudes were 900–1100 N and 9.9–11.2 Nm, respectively. The FL magnitude had reverse effect on the IDP and disc force. Thus, magnitude for FL or flexion that minimizes the deviation of all the spinal parameters together from the in-vivo data can vary. To obtain reasonable compromise between the IDP and disc force, our findings recommend that FL of low magnitude must be combined with flexion moment of high intensity and vice versa.