Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The influence of oral contraceptives on overnight 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test.

BACKGROUND In suspected hypercortisolism, the 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test is the usual initial test. In fertile women, false-positive test results are often due to the use of oral contraceptives. By elevating cortisol-binding globulin these contraceptives increase the total serum cortisol concentration. The aim of this study was to assess the duration and degree of influence of oral contraceptives on the low-dose dexamethasone suppression test. METHODS Thirteen healthy female volunteers without symptoms or signs of overt hypercortisolism, aged 18-55 years, who were using oral contraceptives, underwent a 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test. Tests were repeated one and six weeks after withdrawal of the contraceptive. In addition, 24-hour urinary cortisol excretion and late-night salivary cortisol were measured. RESULTS Of the 13 volunteers (62%) eight had inadequate suppression of cortisol by 1 mg dexamethasone while using oral contraceptives. One week after the contraceptive was withdrawn, the number of false-positive results significantly decreased to 1 (8%, p < 0.02). Six weeks after discontinuation, all tests were normal. None of the 24-hour urinary cortisol samples and just one late-night salivary cortisol level was elevated. CONCLUSION The results of the 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test performed one week after cessation of oral contraceptives are accurate in almost all subjects. In case of inadequate suppression, a second test may be performed after six weeks. In this manner the 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test can reliably be done at the end of a seven-day break from contraceptive use in nearly all cases.
LABOUR M ARKETS A ND M ONETARY U NION: A S TRATEGIC A NALYSIS

This paper shows that the effects of a monetary union depend on several labour market features. In particular, the switch from national monetary policies to a common monetary policy usually affects both inflation and unemployment, even when all structural parameters of the economy and of unions’ and policymakers’ preferences remain the same. The benchmark case of a monetary union between identical countries suggests that the switch to a monetary union is likely to make labour unions more aggressive, increasing unemployment. Qualifications to this result are provided under alternative institutional scenarios, like cross-country asymmetries, (pre-union) ERM membership and wage leadership. This paper investigates the effects of the establishment of a monetary union on real wages, inflation and unemployment in the presence of unionised labour markets. Conventional wisdom, as embodied in the neutrality of money paradigm, would seem to suggest that the formation of a monetary union (MU) per se should not affect real variables. However, this point of view
Diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by DNA amplification of tissue obtained by fine-needle aspiration.

BACKGROUND In nasopharyngeal carcinoma the primary lesion is often difficult to find. Metastatic lesions occur frequently but are difficult to distinguish from other head and neck tumors. The viral genome of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can be identified in the cells of this carcinoma. METHODS We used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to test for the presence of EBV genomes in 15 samples of metastatic squamous-cell carcinoma of the neck obtained by fine-needle aspiration and in 26 samples obtained by biopsy of lymph nodes. For controls we used disease-free lymph nodes from 10 patients with various head and neck tumors, tonsillar tissue from 46 subjects, blood from 59 EBV-seropositive blood donors, and mononuclear cells from 8 patients with fatal lymphoproliferative lesions. RESULTS Of the 41 malignant lesions examined, only the nine nasopharyngeal carcinomas (one primary lesion and eight metastases) contained EBV genomes. None of the 20 nodes with other types of cancer, the 10 disease-free nodes, or any of the 105 normal control samples contained detectable EBV. In two patients with suspected metastases from occult primary tumors, the presence of EBV was predictive of nasopharyngeal carcinoma; in both cases overt nasopharyngeal carcinoma developed within one year. CONCLUSIONS In patients with suspected nasopharyngeal carcinoma, fine-needle aspiration can provide tissue for diagnosis by DNA amplification of EBV genomes. The presence of EBV in metastases from an occult primary tumor is predictive of the development of overt nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Estrogen elevates the peak overnight production rate of acylated ghrelin.

CONTEXT Acylated ghrelin is the putatively bioactive GH secretagogue. HYPOTHESIS Estradiol (E2) stimulates the synthesis rather than inhibits the metabolic clearance of acylated ghrelin. SETTING The study took place at an academic medical center. SUBJECTS Healthy postmenopausal women participated. INTERVENTIONS Interventions included prospectively randomized, double-blind separate-day iv infusions of saline or five graded doses of ghrelin in estrogen-deficient (n=12) and E2-supplemented (n=8) women. OUTCOMES Metabolic clearance rate (MCR), volume of distribution, half-life, and secretion rate of acylated ghrelin were assessed. RESULTS In pilot iv bolus ghrelin infusions, the median half-lives of acylated and total ghrelin were 21 and 36 min (P<0.01), MCRs 58 and 8.1 liters/kg.d (P<0.01), and volumes of distribution of 1.0 and 0.32 liters/kg (P<0.01), respectively. Transdermal E2 supplementation for 3 wk increased peak nighttime acylated ghrelin concentrations from 99+/-12 to 141+/-34 pg/ml (P=0.039). Exposure to E2 did not alter the linear relationships between 1) plasma acylated ghrelin concentration and ghrelin infusion rate (638+/-12 slope units), 2) MCR of acylated ghrelin and ghrelin infusion rate (10+/-2.5 slope units), and 3) MCR and plasma concentration of acylated ghrelin (0.017+/-0.004 slope units). These data predict peak nighttime production rates of acylated ghrelin of 3.8+/-0.9 (E2) and 1.9+/-0.2 (no E2) ng/kg.min (P=0.039). CONCLUSION Acylated ghrelin has a multifold larger distribution volume and MCR than total ghrelin. An estrogenic milieu augments synthesis and/or acylation of ghrelin peptide without altering its MCR.
Prophylaxis and Therapy of Inhalational Anthrax by a Novel Monoclonal Antibody to Protective Antigen That Mimics Vaccine-Induced Immunity

ABSTRACT The neutralizing antibody response to the protective antigen (PA) component of anthrax toxin elicited by approved anthrax vaccines is an accepted correlate for vaccine-mediated protection against anthrax. We reasoned that a human anti-PA monoclonal antibody (MAb) selected on the basis of superior toxin neutralization activity might provide potent protection against anthrax. The fully human MAb (also referred to as MDX-1303 or Valortim) was chosen from a large panel of anti-PA human MAbs generated using transgenic mice immunized with recombinant PA solely on the basis of in vitro anthrax toxin neutralization. This MAb was effective in prophylactic and postsymptomatic treatment of rabbits exposed to aerosolized anthrax spores, and a single intramuscular injection of 1 mg/kg of body weight fully protected cynomolgus monkeys challenged with aerosolized anthrax spores. Importantly, MAb 1303 defines a novel neutralizing epitope that requires Fc receptor engagement for maximal activity. F(ab′)2 fragments of MAb 1303, which retain equivalent affinity for PA, are 10- to 100-fold less potent in neutralizing anthrax toxin in vitro. Addition of Fc receptor-blocking antibodies also greatly reduced the activity of MAb 1303. Moreover, we found that the neutralizing activity of mouse, rabbit, and human antisera elicited by PA vaccines was effectively abrogated by blocking Fc receptors. Selection of an anti-PA MAb by using a functional assay that is a surrogate for protection has resulted in the identification of a fully human MAb with potent activity in vivo and uncovered a previously unrecognized mechanism of antibody-mediated toxin neutralization that is important for currently used anthrax vaccines.
Active autoimmune gastritis without total atrophy of the glands.

To date, autoimmune gastritis has been diagnosed for the most part only when total atrophy of the oxyntic glands is detected. On the basis of 40 patients without total atrophy of the glands, and with parietal cell antibodies in the serum, we show that the diagnosis of type A gastritis is also possible in the pre-atrophic stage. The histological criteria for the diagnosis of active autoimmune gastritis without total atrophy of the glands are 1. usually dense, diffuse locally emphasized lymphocytic infiltration of the lamina propria between the glands in the oxyntic mucosa, 2. focal destruction of individual glands in the corpus of the stomach by lymphocytes, and 3. reactive pseudohypertrophy of the parietal cells. A comparison with a group of patients with autoimmune gastritis and total atrophy of the glands shows that in active autoimmune gastritis, too, women are more frequently affected than men (in both groups, the sex ratio is approximately 3:1). Patients without atrophy of the glands are, on average, about 12 years younger than those with "burnt out" type A gastritis (average age 69.98:57.80 years). While in the case of burnt out type A gastritis, no colonisation with Helicobacter pylori was to be found, such colonisation was demonstrated for the corpus mucosa in 22.5%, and for the antral mucosa in 15.0%. In 27.5% a minimal or low-grade inactive superficial gastritis, as may be seen after eradication of Helicobacter pylori, was additionally diagnosed in the antrum. A knowledge of the histological appearance of the pre-atrophic stage of type A gastritis might be of importance for the possible prevention of pernicious anaemia. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Leveraging Demonstrations for Deep Reinforcement Learning on Robotics Problems with Sparse Rewards

We propose a general and model-free approach for Reinforcement Learning (RL) on real robotics with sparse rewards. We build upon the Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) algorithm to use demonstrations. Both demonstrations and actual interactions are used to fill a replay buffer and the sampling ratio between demonstrations and transitions is automatically tuned via a prioritized replay mechanism. Typically, carefully engineered shaping rewards are required to enable the agents to efficiently explore on high dimensional control problems such as robotics. They are also required for model-based acceleration methods relying on local solvers such as iLQG (e.g. Guided Policy Search and Normalized Advantage Function). The demonstrations replace the need for carefully engineered rewards, and reduce the exploration problem encountered by classical RL approaches in these domains. Demonstrations are collected by a robot kinesthetically force-controlled by a human demonstrator. Results on four simulated insertion tasks show that DDPG from demonstrations out-performs DDPG, and does not require engineered rewards. Finally, we demonstrate the method on a real robotics task consisting of inserting a clip (flexible object) into a rigid object.
Language Choice and Language Attitudes in a Multilingual Arab Canadian Community: Quebecâ€“ Canada A Sociolinguistic Study

This study aimed at investigating language choice among Arabs of Quebecâ€“ Canada. It also explored Arabs attitudes towards Arabic, French and English in particular and factors involved in using these languages. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers selected a sample that consisted of (100) Arab respondents who reside in Quebecâ€“ Canada, covering different age ranges, gender, and educational backgrounds. The instrument of the study was a sociolinguistic questionnaire. Results showed that Arabs of Quebecâ€“ Canada have positive attitudes towards Arabic, English and French. They freely use their Arabic language in the domain of home and with family members, in worship places and when listening to the radio. In addition, they use English and French in Governmental offices and formal applications and in educational institutions. Results also showed that Arabs of Quebec mix these languages in the domain of neighborhood, with friends, and media.
A novel, glycan-dependent epitope in the V2 domain of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp120 is recognized by a highly potent, neutralizing chimpanzee monoclonal antibody

An anti-gp120 monoclonal antibody (MAb), C108G (gamma 1, kappa), was isolated from a chimpanzee that had been infected with strain IIIB of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1IIIB) and subsequently immunized with the recombinant glycoprotein rgp160MN. This MAb is specific for the IIIB strain of HIV-1 and related clones and exhibits very potent neutralization of these viruses; e.g., 100% neutralization of approximately 8 x 10(3) infectious units of HXB2 was achieved with 125 ng of C108G per ml. Commensurate with this potent neutralizing activity, the apparent affinity of C108G for rgp160LAI was very high, i.e., approximately 3 x 10(10) liters/mol. The C108G epitope was not destroyed by reduction of gp120 disulfide bonds but was profoundly disrupted by removal of N-linked sugars from gp120. Despite the importance of a glycan(s) in forming the C108G epitope, specific binding of C108G to synthetic peptides overlapping in amino acids 162 to 169 of the V2 region was detected, albeit with an affinity approximately 2,000-fold lower than that of C108G's binding to glycosylated envelope protein. This epitope mapping correlated with results of competition assays using MAbs of known epitope specificities. To our knowledge, this is the first description of an anti-V2 MAb raised in response to HIV-1 infection. Its potent neutralizing activity and epitope specificity indicate that the V2 domain of gp120 may be an effective target of the protective immune response and, therefore, potentially an important component of HIV vaccines.
Social Networking and Informal Second Language Learning in Livemocha and Busuu Online Communities

This paper reports on a PhD study about learners’ construction of opportunities for second language (L2) use in online communities designed for L2 learning. The main objectives of this paper are to explain the dynamics generated within these online communities, to describe what types of experience learners make of these communities and, accordingly, to describe what kinds of behaviour they enact. This paper adopts a socio-cultural framework and an online ethnographic approach. The methods of the investigation ranged from online fieldwork, to online survey and online interviews, which allowed the cross-checking of the data obtained. The results showed the presence of different profiles of learners, different forms of peer assistance and provide information of learners’ engagement to online communities over time.
The cooperative roles of inflammation and oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of hypertension.

SIGNIFICANCE Innate and adaptive immunity play fundamental roles in the development of hypertension and its complications. As effectors of the cell-mediated immune response, myeloid cells and T lymphocytes protect the host organism from infection by attacking foreign intruders with bursts of reactive oxygen species (ROS). RECENT ADVANCES While these ROS may help to preserve the vascular tone and thereby protect against circulatory collapse in the face of overwhelming infection, aberrant elaboration of ROS triggered by immune cells in the absence of a hemodynamic insult can lead to pathologic increases in blood pressure. Conversely, misdirected oxidative stress in cardiovascular control organs, including the vasculature, the kidney, and the nervous system potentiates inflammatory responses, augmenting blood pressure elevation and inciting target organ damage. CRITICAL ISSUES Inflammation and oxidative stress thereby act as cooperative and synergistic partners in the pathogenesis of hypertension. FUTURE DIRECTIONS Pharmacologic interventions for hypertensive patients will need to exploit this robust bidirectional relationship between ROS generation and immune activation in cardiovascular control organs to maximize therapeutic benefit, while limiting off-target side effects.
Chronic scrotal pain caused by Mild Epididymitis:Report of a series of 44 cases

Objectives: Patients with idiopathic chronic scrotal pain are challenging to both the general practioner and urologist. In this study, we tried to recognize mild epididymitis as an underrecogniczed cause of idiopathic chronic scrotal pain. Methods : We described a consecutive series of 44 patients with idiopathic chronic scrotal pain characterized by mild scrotal pain, mild to moderate tenderness of epididymis without abnormal swelling of epididymis. We obtained a detailed history and physical examination along with routine urinalysis and Doppler ultrasound to identify the characteristics of this new clinical entity. Results : A consecutive series of 44 patients who were primarily diagnosed as "idiopathic chronic scrotal pain" came to our hospital. All had the sign of mild to moderate tenderness on the affected epididymis without epididymis enlargement. Doppler ultrasound showed the affected epididymis with normal size and no abnormal change. We treated them with antibiotics orally along with cessation of strenuous activity and all fully recovered from scrotal pain. Conclusion: In this study, we recognized mild epididymitis as an underrecogniczed cause of idiopathic chronic scrotal pain. It was characterized by mild scrotal pain, mild to moderate tenderness of epididymis without abnormal enlargement of epididymis.
The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation IV, a New Scoring System for Predicting Mortality and Complications of Severe Acute Pancreatitis

Objectives Severe acute pancreatitis is associated with significant morbidity/mortality; thus, the ability to predict hospital course is imperative. An updated version of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE), APACHE IV, has recently been validated. Unlike other versions, APACHE IV uses hepatobiliary parameters and accounts for multiple comorbid conditions and sedation. The intention of this study was to examine APACHE IV for predicting mortality and secondary outcomes for pancreatitis in a prospective cohort. In addition, we compared APACHE IV to APACHE II, Bedside Index for Severity in Acute Pancreatitis, and Ranson criterion. Methods We prospectively collected physiologic parameters for each scoring system in 266 patients with severe acute pancreatitis from August 2011 to April 2014. Prognostic value of each score was determined using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Results Among 266 patients, 59% were men, 52% were white, and 36.5% had alcohol-induced pancreatitis. Mortality occurred in 15 (5.6%), and an APACHE IV of 44 or greater predicted mortality in 100% of cases. The receiver operating characteristic curve for APACHE IV was 0.93 (confidence interval [CI], 0.88–0.97); APACHE II, 0.87 (CI, 0.80–0.94); Bedside Index for Severity in Acute Pancreatitis, 0.86 (CI, 0.78–0.94); and Ranson criterion, 0.90 (CI, 0.94–0.96). Conclusion The APACHE IV is a valid means for predicting mortality and disease-related complications in acute pancreatitis.
Familial segregation in the iron age community of Alfedena, Abruzzo, Italy, based on osteodental trait analysis.

Numerous authors have studied human cemetery remains with an eye toward identifying different socially stratified ethnic or kinship groups within the same population. The interments of the protohistoric graveyard of Alfedena, Abruzzo, Italy, show recurrent organization in separate structures, suggesting to several involved archaeologists that these structures express family groups and/or differences in social function of the occupants. This has induced us to analyze the possible biological implications of specific models for kinship groups, lineages, or mating forms in graveyards. One hundred ninety-six metric and nonmetric skeletal and dental variables were collected. The analysis of metric features was performed by analysis of variance and by calculating divergences between each pair of individuals. The position parameters of the inter-and intragroup distance distributions were then compared by means of nonparametric tests. The nonmetric features were analyzed by contingency tables. The partition of intercircle variance is twice as frequently significant for males (20 variables) as for females (10). For metric variables in males, 20.9% displayed a probability level less than 5% for the null hypothesis of random distribution of individuals in the circles. Fewer (10.3%, but still more than expected at random) reached this level of significance for the females. In the male groups, 19% of nonmetric features showed significant frequency differences, but this was true in only 4.3% of the females. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Valuing cultural world heritage sites: an application of the travel cost method to Mont-Saint-Michel

ABSTRACT This article, using the zonal version of the travel cost method (ZTCM), provides the first economic valuation of recreational trips to Mont-Saint-Michel (MSM). The MSM was designated as United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site in 1979, and is the most visited coastal site in France. The potential effects on consumer surplus (CS) estimates of some aspects of the ZTCM are considered, namely the treatment of the multiple purpose/destination (MP/D) trips, the inclusion of the opportunity cost of time (OCT) in the recreation demand model and the heterogeneity in the preferences. The heterogeneity in the preferences is examined through a random parameters Poisson model (RPPM). The RPPM generalizes the standard Poisson model (SPM) by allowing coefficients of explanatory variables to vary randomly across geographical units rather than being fixed. Our results show that (1) substantial CS values are associated with the MSM; (2) excluding/ignoring MP/D trips result in biased CS estimates; (3) omitting OCT does not substantially bias CS estimates; (4) the RPPM provides richer information about the impact of explanatory variables on the demand for trips than the SPM, but (5) leads to statistically similar CS estimates than the SPM.
Corporate governance of state-owned enterprises: a systematic analysis of empirical literature

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to deliver further insights into empirical research on corporate governance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) by systematizing existing knowledge, identifying current investigation backlogs, and deriving specific implications for future empirical research to address the lack of empirical knowledge in this field. Design/methodology/approach The study follows a literature analysis approach through a systematic, quantitative analysis of broad-based database queries from EBSCOhost and Web of Science to derive recommendations for future empirical research on SOE-oriented corporate governance. Findings The results indicate that empirical SOE-oriented corporate governance research is a growing field with wide-ranging opportunities for investigation. Given the lack of qualitative empirical research (representing only 21.7 percent of the studies identified) and the massive focus on regression analyses (69.9 percent) and secondary database data (77.2 percent), future empirical approaches should consider different methods and data sources. More qualitative research is needed for exploratory designs and canonical correlation-based statistical methods seem helpful for confirmatory approaches. In addition, 50.4 percent of the studies identified have a Chinese background, indicating room for studies from different cultural contexts. Research limitations/implications Given the range of the research field and the eclectic nature of the analytical approach, it is unlikely that every relevant scientific publication is included. Originality/value Since this study is the first of its kind, it contributes to SOE-oriented corporate governance research by drawing on a wide-ranging selection of studies and analyzing them to derive straightforward recommendations for future empirical research.