Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Goserelin acetate with or without antiandrogen or estrogen in the treatment of patients with advanced prostate cancer: a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial in Japan. Zoladex Study Group.

OBJECTIVE The aims of this randomized, controlled study were to investigate the efficacy and safety of long-term monotherapy with the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist goserelin acetate compared with both short- and long-term combined androgen blockade. METHODS Patients with advanced prostate cancer (n = 371) were randomized to treatment with goserelin acetate alone or a combination of goserelin acetate plus either long-term or short-term antiandrogen (chlormadinone acetate) or short-term estrogen (diethylstilbestrol diphosphate). RESULTS There were no significant differences between the treatment groups with respect to objective progression, overall survival or disease-specific survival. Nevertheless, subgroup analysis suggested that patients with minimal disease or a good prognosis might benefit more from combined androgen blockade than other patients. Combined androgen blockade significantly reduced the incidence of disease flare compared with goserelin acetate treatment alone. CONCLUSIONS Neither short- nor long-term combined androgen blockade had a survival advantage over goserelin acetate alone.
Alcohol and drug usage in parents soon after stillbirth, neonatal death or SIDS

The behaviour of bereaved parents with respect to their drug and alcohol ingestion was examined 2 months following the loss of an infant from stillbirth (SB) neonatal death (NND) or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Responses from bereaved families (99 SB, 109 NND, 52 SIDS) were compared with 252 control families (who had a liveborn infant). There was no difference in self‐medication using aspirin as the example. The use of sedative drugs was significantly higher in all bereaved mothers (but especially the SIDS group). Use of sedatives by fathers was significantly higher only in the SIDS group. There was also a greater frequency of heavy drinking of mothers in all the bereaved groups and fathers in the SIDS group. These results have implications for the understanding and care of families following infant loss.
Pre-existing weakness is critical for the occurrence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction in mice of the same age

Occurrence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is age-dependent and heterogenous. Factors deciding the occurrence of POCD in patients of the same age undergone same surgeries remain unclear. Here we investigated the effects of pre-existing weakness on the occurrence of POCD in mice of the same age. Pre-existing weakness of mice was induced by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (8mg/kg) and was evaluated by physical frailty index (by open field test), neuroinflammation level (by Iba1 immunostaining and inflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-1β), and neuronal activity (by p-CREB immunostaining). POCD was induced by partial hepatolobectomy and was evaluated by puzzle box test and Morris water maze test. The brains were collected to detect the levels of neuroinflammation, synaptophysin and NMDA receptor subunits NR2A, NR2B and NR1 (by western blot), and oxidative stress (by Dihydroethidium). Compared to the normal adult mice of the same age, LPS pretreated mice had increased physical frailty index, higher levels of neuroinflammation, and lower neuronal activity. Partial hepatolobectomy induced obvious impairments in executive function, learning and memory in LPS pretreated mice after surgery, but not in normal mice of the same age. Partial hepatolobectomy also induced heightened neuroinflammation, obvious loss of NMDA receptor subunits, strong oxidative stress in LPS pretreated mice on the 1st and 3rd postoperative day. However, the POCD-associated pathological changes didn’t occur in normal mice of the same age after surgery. These results suggest that pre-existing weakness is critical for the occurrence of POCD in mice of the same age.
COMPARISON OF BOTTOM-UP AND TOP-DOWN APPROACHES TO CALCULATING THE WATER FOOTPRINTS OF NATIONS

The water footprint has been introduced as a potential sustainability indicator for human-induced water consumption, and has frequently been studied at local, national and international scales during the last decade. While water footprints are sometimes understood as a measure that includes environmental impact assessment, the water footprint as used in this paper refers to volumes of water consumed, without including weighting procedures to allow for the assessment of impacts. Two types of approaches have been applied to calculate the water footprint in the literature: bottom-up and top-down approaches. This study compares and discusses advantages and limitations of the water footprint of nations based on two input–output top-down approaches (Water Embodied in Bilateral Trade (WEBT) and Multi-regional Input–Output Analysis (MRIO)) and of the existing national water footprint accounts from the literature based on the bottom-up approach. The differences in the bottom-up and WEBT approaches are caused by inter-sectoral cut-off, because bottom-up approaches do not consider the entire industrial supply chains, while the WEBT method covers the water footprint by tracing the whole domestic supply chain of each country. The differences in the WEBT and MRIO approaches are due to an inter-regional cut-off effect, as the WEBT approach only traces domestic supply chains whereas the MRIO approach traces entire global supply chains. We found that both bottom-up and top-down approaches are heavily dependent on the quality of existing datasets, and differ substantially. The total water footprints of nations based on different approaches vary by up to 48%, and this variation is even larger at the sector level.
Regulatory Uncertainty and Market Liquidity: The 2008 Short Sale Ban's Impact on Equity Option Markets

We examine how the confusion and regulatory uncertainty generated by the imposition of short sale restrictions in September 2008 impacted equity option markets. We uncover three primary findings. First, investors seeking short exposure in financial stocks did not migrate to the option market to avoid the short sale ban. Second, the short sale restrictions are associated with dramatically increased bid ask spreads for options on banned stocks that are not solely attributable to inflated bid ask spreads on the underlying stocks. We conservatively estimate that over the course of the ban, liquidity demanding investors trading options on banned stocks paid an additional $505 million in transactions costs due to inflated bid ask spreads. Third, synthetic share prices for banned stocks become significantly lower than actual share prices. Our results provide a reminder that regulations imposed in the middle of the night in response to political pressure are likely to have severe unintended consequences.
Relationships among milk production, reproductive traits, and herd life for Tunisian Holstein-Friesian cows

The objective of this study was to link productive life of Tunisian dairy cows to their performances of milk, fat, and protein yields and fertility traits. Data included 128,652 records collected from 1990 to 2004 on 47,276 Holstein-Friesian cows in 142 herds. A linear model that included fixed effects of herd-calving year, calving season, parity, and age at first calving was used to study variations of milk production, fertility, and herd life. Relations among yield and fertility traits and herd life were examined by computing linear correlations between residuals from fitting respective linear models. Under Tunisian conditions, a dairy cow averages 5905, 180, and 167 kg of milk, fat, and protein, respectively. Intervals between successive calving and from calving to first service, and days open were 427, 90, and 163 days, respectively. True herd life was 41.99 (SD = 24.6) months. The optimal age at first calving ranged between 23 and 27 months. Cows with intermediate yields tended to stay longer in the herd than low or high producing ones. The mean lactation number was 2.6 with more than 57% of cows culled after the first two lactations and only 7.14% of them reached their fifth lactation. Phenotypic correlations of true herd life with milk, fat, and protein yields were 0.07, 0.11, and 0.09, respectively. Those with fertility parameters ranged from -0.04 (with days open) to 0.06 (with calving interval). Key words: Milk production, reproductive traits, herd life, dairy cattle.
University quality and labour market outcomes

This paper uses proxies for university quality derived from the Research Assessment Exercise and the Teaching Quality Assurance Agency to assess the impact of university quality on the labour market outcomes of a cohort of UK graduates. The impacts on job quality and earnings were mainly limited to graduates in particular disciplines or those obtaining ‘poor’ degrees from ‘good’ universities. The results suggest that, after controlling for pre-entry qualifications, labour market outcomes for most graduates depended more on the subject studied and degree classification awarded than on the university attended.
Estimates of the Size and Source of Price Declines Due to Nearby Foreclosures

Using new data on real estate listings, we provide new evidence that foreclosures have a causal effect on nearby house prices and disentangle the effect into two sources: competition and disamenities. We identify the causal effect by showing that sellers respond to new REO listings in the exact week of listing, not a week before and not a week after. We disentangle competition and disamenity effects by examining the spillover effect across various stages of the foreclosure process. We find that competition effects are important in all areas, but only find evidence for disamenity effects in high density, low price neighborhoods.
Actigraphy Correctly Predicts Sleep Behavior in Infants Who Are Younger than Six Months, When Compared with Polysomnography

Actigraphy has been widely used in adults and children. In infants, validation of actigraphy has typically used a comparison with behaviorally determined sleep state classification rather than polysomnography (PSG). This study validated actigraphy against PSG for determining sleep and waking states in infants who were younger than 6 mo. Twenty-two healthy infants, 13 term and 9 preterm, were studied at three different matched postconceptional ages. Actigraph data were compared with PSG recordings in 1-min epochs. Agreement rate (AR), predictive value for sleep, predictive value for wake, sensitivity. and specificity were calculated and compared between activity thresholds and across ages with two-way ANOVA for repeated measures. Thirty-two validation studies were analyzed. Overall AR with PSG of 93.7 ± 1.3 and 91.6 ± 1.8 were obtained at 2–4 wk and 5–6 mo, respectively, at the low activity threshold setting, whereas the auto activity threshold gave the best agreement with PSG at 2–4 mo (AR 89.3 ± 1.3%). Sensitivity values of 96.2 ± 1.1% at 2–4 wk, 91.2 ± 1.5% at 2–4 mo, and 94.0 ± 1.9% were obtained at these same settings. There was no difference across ages in AR or sensitivity. PVW and specificity values were low in this study. We conclude that actigraphy is a valid method for monitoring sleep in infants who are younger than 6 mo.
Exchange rate pass-through and its determinants in Canadian manufacturing industries

In this paper the pass-through of exchange rate changes into the real prices of domestically produced and imported goods in Canadian manufacturing industries is examined through industry estimates of the pass-through elasticities and a cross-section analysis of their determinants. We find that the domestic pass-through elasticity increases with the effect of the exchange rate on domestic costs of production, the export share, the elasticity of substitution between imports and domestic goods, and the domestic advertising intensity. The import elasticity increases with the elasticity of substitution and the rate of price protection and decreases with advertising intensity.
Motivational Priming Predicts How Noxious Unconditioned Stimuli Influence Affective Reactions to Emotional Pictures

Motivational priming theory (MPT) and preparedness theory generate competing hypotheses about the impact of an aversive US on responses to an affective foreground. MPT predicts the aversive US will facilitate negative emotional reactions to unpleasant pictures and inhibit positive emotional reactions to pleasant pictures. Preparedness theory predicts an aversive US will increase negative emotional reactions to unpleasant pictures, but will not impact responses to pleasant pictures. The present study (N = 125) compared these competing hypotheses by assessing how noxious shocks and non-noxious noises influence responses to emotional pictures. Following each picture, participants rated how the picture made them feel using the Self Assessment Manikin. Results supported MPT - noxious USs, but not non-noxious USs, facilitated negative emotional reactions to unpleasant pictures and inhibited positive emotional reactions to pleasant pictures.
The didactisation practices in primary school mathematics teachers through modelling

Mathematics teacher development is a source of national and international concern. This study describes how primary school mathematics teachers develop didactisation practices. In considering how teachers could develop, so that student learning is optimised; the concepts of didactisation and the mathematical work of teaching were sourced from existing literature. The concept didactisation is explored and defined; and is incorporated with the concept of mathematical work of teaching. Nine practices were made explicit through this incorporation: active students, differentiation, mathematisation, vertically aligned lessons, access, probe, connect and assess student thinking, and teacher reflection. These nine practices become the framework for the professional development program and the data generation structure. Five primary school teachers were involved in a professional development program that used model-eliciting activities (MEAs) as a point of departure. A modelling perspective to teacher learning was chosen for the professional development program. The methodology followed the principles of design research and from this, a three phase teaching experiment was designed and implemented. The teachers and researcher met for development sessions and teachers were observed in practice at intervals throughout the program. Their developing didactisation practices were documented through a qualitative analysis of the data. It was established that teachers’ didactisation practices did develop during the nine-month program. Furthermore it was found that didactisation practices developed at different rates and consequently, a hierarchy of didactisation practice development is presented. The impact of the program was also gauged through teachers’ changing resources, goals and orientations. These three aspects also evolved over time. The program proposed in this study may be a suitable model to develop in-service and pre-service mathematics teachers. The study contributes to understanding teacher action in a classroom and how teachers can change their own thinking and practice.
The performance of popular stochastic volatility option pricing models during the subprime crisis

Using daily options prices on the Eurostoxx 50 stock index over the whole year 2008, we compare the performance of three popular Stochastic Volatility (SV) models (Heston, 1993; Bates, 1996; Heston and Nandi, 2000), in addition to the traditional Black–Scholes model and a proprietary trading desk model. We show that the most consistent in-sample and out-of-sample statistical performance is obtained for the internal model. However, the Bates model seems to be better suited to Short Term (ST, out-of-the-money) options while the Heston model seems to perform better for medium or Long Term (LT) options. In terms of hedging performance, the Heston and Nandi model exhibits the best average, albeit most volatile, result and the Heston model outperforms the Black–Scholes model in terms of hedging errors, mainly for option contracts that mature in-the-money.
Joint Encoding of Object Motion and Motion Direction in the Salamander Retina

The processing of motion in visual scenes is important for detecting and tracking moving objects as well as for monitoring self-motion through the induced optic flow. Specialized neural circuits have been identified in the vertebrate retina for detecting motion direction or for distinguishing between object motion and self-motion, although little is known about how information about these distinct features of visual motion is combined. The salamander retina, which is a widely used model system for analyzing retinal function, contains object-motion-sensitive (OMS) ganglion cells, which strongly respond to local motion signals but are suppressed by global image motion. Yet, direction-selective (DS) ganglion cells have been conspicuously absent from characterizations of the salamander retina, despite their ubiquity in other model systems. We here show that the retina of axolotl salamanders contains at least two distinct classes of DS ganglion cells. For one of these classes, the cells display a strong preference for local over global motion in addition to their direction selectivity (OMS-DS cells) and thereby combine sensitivity to two distinct motion features. The OMS-DS cells are further distinct from standard (non-OMS) DS cells by their smaller receptive fields and different organization of preferred motion directions. Our results suggest that the two classes of DS cells specialize to encode motion direction of local and global motion stimuli, respectively, even for complex composite motion scenes. Furthermore, although the salamander DS cells are OFF-type, there is a strong analogy to the systems of ON and ON-OFF DS cells in the mammalian retina. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The retina contains specialized cells for motion processing. Among the retinal ganglion cells, which form the output neurons of the retina, some are known to report the direction of a moving stimulus (direction-selective cells), and others distinguish the motion of an object from a moving background. But little is known about how information about local object motion and information about motion direction interact. Here, we report that direction-selective ganglion cells can be identified in the salamander retina, where their existence had been unclear. Furthermore, there are two independent systems of direction-selective cells, and one of these combines direction selectivity with sensitivity to local motion. The output of these cells could assist in tracking moving objects and estimating their future position.
Private Renting After the Global Financial Crisis

Analyses of the impact of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) on housing have largely focused on subprime mortgages and homeownership. By contrast, the impact of the financial crisis on the private rented sector has received much less attention. This paper helps to address that gap by examining the impact of the GFC on private renting in Britain. In recent years, the private rented sector (PRS) in Britain has grown in size after many years of decline; and the formal rules and informal practices that characterize this tenure have also changed significantly. This transformation began during the 1990s but the pace of change increased from the turn of the century and accelerated still further during the GFC. Drawing on an historical institutional perspective, it shows that the changes to private renting over this period were shaped not only by domestic events but also by developments in the international political economy.
Nest-Site Limitation and Nesting Resources of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Urban Green Spaces

ABSTRACT Urbanization impacts biodiversity, yet few studies examine general impacts of urbanization on insects. Furthermore, few studies examine availability and limitation of potential cavity nesting sites for ants, an important regulating factor in ant communities that may vary in different urban habitats. We compared three urban habitat types (gardens, vacant lots, and forests) in Toledo, OH, to examine availability and ant preferences for different cavity nesting resources (small and large hollow twigs and cavities). We added 72 artificial large hollow twigs (83 by 6 mm), small hollow twigs (140 by 2 mm), and spherical hollow cavities (6.52–31.1 cm3 in volume, 1-mm opening) to six sites from May to August 2007 to determine whether nest-site limitation impacts ant communities. We collected natural nests to compare natural abundance and occupancy of cavity nests in different urban habitats. We opened artificial and natural nests to calculate the percentage occupied by cavity-nesting ants. Across all habitats, small twigs represented 81.1% of natural nests, spherical nests represented 10.1%, and large twigs 8.2%. Ants occupied 8.1% of natural large twigs, 14.6% of cavities, and 4.1% of small twigs. For artificial nests, 21.5% of large twigs, 1% of small twigs, and 1% of spheres were occupied. The high percentage of occupied artificial large twigs could imply this is a preferred and limiting resource in urban habitats. The results show that certain types of nesting resources may be an important factor mediating ant communities in urban green spaces.
Clinical association of Spirochaetes and Synergistetes with peri-implantitis.

OBJECTIVES The microbial composition of peri-implantitis-associated biofilms may resemble that of periodontitis, with some distinctive differences, as identified by various conventional or molecular detection methods. Yet, the complete microbiome of peri-implantitis awaits further characterization. The present clinical study was undertaken with the aim to investigate the association of Spirochaetes, and the more recently identified phylum Synergistetes, with peri-implantitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Submucosal biofilms were obtained from single sites of patients with peri-implantitis (n = 43) or individuals with peri-implant health (n = 41). The samples were analysed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and epifluorescence microscopy, using 16S rRNA-based oligonucleotide probes for Synergistetes cluster A, subclusters A1 and A2, and Treponema groups I-III and IV. RESULTS Treponema group IV was barely detectable, whereas Treponema groups I-III were detected at low prevalence in health, but their prevalence and numbers were significantly increased in peri-implantitis by 48% and 2.4-log, respectively. Synergistetes cluster A was detected in half of the healthy sites, and its prevalence and numbers were significantly increased in peri-implantitis by 30% and 2.5-log, respectively. No quantitative differences were found between Synergistetes subclusters A1 and A2 numbers, as both increased by 2.8-log. Synergistetes cluster A displayed strong correlations with several clinical peri-implant parameters, but Treponema groups I-III only with probing pocket depth. CONCLUSION The present clinical cross-sectional study demonstrates that Spriochaetes of the Treponema groups I-III, but not group IV, and Synergistetes of the cluster A are highly associated with peri-implantitis. Synergistetes cluster A appears to display a stronger association with peri-implantitis than Spirochaetes.
Valuation Under Uncertainty

Broadly speaking there are two models to the problem of asset valuation under uncertainty and aversion to risk. Under one, the certaintyequivalent method, each future return is converted to its certainty equivalent and discounted at the pure rate of interest. Under the other, the risk-adjusted discount rate method, each future return is discounted at an appropriate discount rate. The interrelation and validity of these models of asset valuation have come under discussion in two important works on stock valuation.