Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sports in extreme conditions: The impact of exercise in cold temperatures on asthma and bronchial hyper-responsiveness in athletes

Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) and bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) are frequently reported among elite athletes of outdoor endurance winter sports, particularly in cross-country and biathlon skiers. The pathogenesis of EIA is related to water loss and heat-loss through the increased respiration during exercise, leading to mediator release, airways inflammation and increased parasympathetic nervous activity in the airways, causing bronchial constriction and BHR. In the competing elite athlete this is presently considered to be due to the frequently repeated increased ventilation during training and competitions in combination with the repeated environmental exposure to cold air in outdoor winter sports. It is important that athletes at risk of asthma and BHR are monitored through regular medical control with assessment of lung function and BHR, and when BHR or asthma is diagnosed, optimal controlling treatment through anti-inflammatory treatment by inhaled steroids should be started and relieving treatment (inhaled ipratropium bromide and inhaled β2-agonists) should be used to relieve bronchial constriction if present.
Chronic liver allograft rejection and obliterative arteriopathy: possible pathogenic mechanisms.

Chronic rejection is a major cause of late liver allograft failure. Generally accepted pathologic features of this condition include chronic obliterative arteriopathy (COA) and bile duct loss. The mechanisms involved in graft damage are poorly understood. Bile duct loss has been attributed to direct lymphocytotoxic attack, which seems reasonable considering the histologic appearance of rejection. However, ischemia due to COA has been largely overlooked as a cofactor in the pathogenesis of bile duct loss. It is known that the hepatic artery is the only blood supply to the intra-hepatic biliary tree. In this study, we studied the effect of ischemia on bile duct loss by studying the relationship between the degree of COA and intensity of bile duct loss. Furthermore, in order to get a greater understanding of the pathogenesis of COA, we analyzed the lineage of cells comprising COA lesion in heart, liver and kidney allografts. Special attention was focused on detecting cells with phenotypic characteristics of dendritic cell (DC) lineage. DC play a pivotal role in the initiation of immunological reactions.
Safety and tolerability of serelaxin, a recombinant human relaxin‐2 in development for the treatment of acute heart failure, in healthy Japanese volunteers and a comparison of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in healthy Japanese and Caucasian populations

Serelaxin, a recombinant form of the human relaxin‐2 hormone, is currently under clinical investigation for treatment of acute heart failure. This double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, dose‐ranging study investigated the effect of Japanese ethnicity on the pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and safety and tolerability of serelaxin. Japanese healthy subjects (n = 32) received 10, 30, or 100 µg/kg/day of serelaxin, or placebo, administered as a 48‐hour intravenous infusion. A Caucasian cohort (n = 8) receiving 30 µg/kg/day open‐label serelaxin was included for comparison. In all subjects, serum serelaxin concentrations increased rapidly after the start of infusion, approached steady state as early as 4 hours, and declined rapidly upon treatment cessation. Serum exposure to serelaxin increased with increasing doses. Statistical dose proportionality was shown for AUCinf over the entire dose range. A significant increase in estimated glomerular filtration rate from baseline to Day 2 (30 and 100 µg/kg/day) and to Day 3 (10 and 100 µg/kg/day) was observed compared with placebo. Serelaxin was well tolerated by all subjects. In conclusion, PK, PD, and safety profiles of serelaxin were generally comparable between Japanese and Caucasian subjects, suggesting that no dose adjustment will be required in Japanese subjects during routine clinical use of this agent.
Gamebird responses to anthropogenic forest fragmentation and degradation in a southern Amazonian landscape

Although large-bodied tropical forest birds are impacted by both habitat loss and fragmentation, their patterns of habitat occupancy will also depend on the degree of forest habitat disturbance, which may interact synergistically or additively with fragmentation effects. Here, we examine the effects of forest patch and landscape metrics, and levels of forest disturbance on the patterns of persistence of six gamebird taxa in the southern Brazilian Amazon. We use both interview data conducted with long-term residents and/or landowners from 129 remnant forest patches and 15 continuous forest sites and line-transect census data from a subset of 21 forest patches and two continuous forests. Forest patch area was the strongest predictor of species persistence, explaining as much as 46% of the overall variation in gamebird species richness. Logistic regression models showed that anthropogenic disturbance—including surface wildfires, selective logging and hunting pressure—had a variety of effects on species persistence. Most large-bodied gamebird species were sensitive to forest fragmentation, occupying primarily large, high-quality forest patches in higher abundances, and were typically absent from patches <100 ha. Our findings highlight the importance of large (>10,000 ha), relatively undisturbed forest patches to both maximize persistence and maintain baseline abundances of large neotropical forest birds.
Odd-Lot Transactions around the Turn of the Year and the January Effect

Abstract Assuming that individual investors account for most odd-lot transactions, we examine oddlot purchases and sales around the turn of the year and find a pattern that is related to the well-known January effect in stock returns. A significant change in the ratio of odd-lot sales to odd-lot purchases occurs at the turn of the year, which supports the hypothesis that the January effect results from trading by individual investors. The trading patterns that we find are not due entirely to tax considerations.
Job quality in the customer contact centre: conceptual foundation and scale development

To develop a comprehensive framework of dimensions of job quality in a customer contact centre (CCC), this study adopts the employee's perspective and proposes 12 dimensions. Previous studies suggest conceptualizations of the dimensions of job quality, but have failed to address the specific dimensions that need to be taken into account in a CCC setting. With its multiple dimensions, the proposed job quality scale achieves high internal validity, reliability and generalizability in the CCC setting. Yet the increasing role of such centres for service delivery makes them and their employees critical to customers' quality perceptions, and the findings of this study offer managers clear guidelines adjusted to the CCC environment.
Negative regulators of T‐cell activation: potential targets for therapeutic intervention in cancer, autoimmune disease, and persistent infections

Summary: The generation of productive adaptive immune responses depends on the antigen‐specific activation of T and B cells. The outcome of T‐cell receptor engagement is influenced by signals from both positive and negative regulatory molecules that can either activate or inhibit T‐cell function. CD28 and cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte antigen‐4 are the prototypical members of an immunoglobulin domain‐containing protein family that play important roles in the control of T‐cell responses against infection, cancer, and in autoimmune disease. Although the precise molecular details of their functions are still under active investigation, tumors and chronic pathogens seem to have exploited these pathways to achieve immune evasion. Furthermore, malfunction of the inhibitory arm of the immune response appears responsible for the development of multiple autoimmune pathologies. As a result, the negative regulators of T‐cell activation have become attractive targets for therapeutic intervention in cancer, chronic infection, and autoimmune disease. The application of findings from basic research has provided insight into the manipulation of these pathways in the clinic and offers promising strategies for the treatment of disease.
Global Imbalances and Structural Change in the United States

Since the early 1990s, as the United States borrowed heavily from the rest of the world, employment in the US goods-producing sector has fallen. We construct a dynamic general equilibrium model with several mechanisms that could generate declining goods-sector employment: foreign borrowing, nonhomothetic preferences, and differential productivity growth across sectors. We find that only 15.1 percent of the decline in goods-sector employment from 1992 to 2012 stems from US trade deficits; most of the decline is due to differential productivity growth. As the United States repays its debt, its trade balance will reverse, but goods-sector employment will continue to fall.
American Thyroid Association consensus review and statement regarding the anatomy, terminology, and rationale for lateral neck dissection in differentiated thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND Cervical lymph node metastases from differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) are common. Thirty to eighty percent of patients with papillary thyroid cancer harbor lymph node metastases, with the central neck being the most common compartment involved. The goals of this study were to: (1) identify appropriate methods for determining metastatic DTC in the lateral neck and (2) address the extent of lymph node dissection for the lateral neck necessary to control nodal disease balanced against known risks of surgery. METHODS A literature review followed by formulation of a consensus statement was performed. RESULTS Four proposals regarding management of the lateral neck are made for consideration by organizations developing management guidelines for patients with thyroid nodules and DTC including the next iteration of management guidelines developed by the American Thyroid Association (ATA). Metastases to lateral neck nodes must be considered in the evaluation of the newly diagnosed thyroid cancer patient and for surveillance of the previously treated DTC patient. CONCLUSIONS Lateral neck lymph nodes are a significant consideration in the surgical management of patients with DTC. When current guidelines formulated by the ATA and by other international medical societies are followed, initial evaluation of the DTC patient with ultrasound (or other modalities when indicated) will help to identify lateral neck lymph nodes of concern. These findings should be addressed using fine-needle aspiration biopsy. A comprehensive neck dissection of at least nodal levels IIa, III, IV, and Vb should be performed when indicated to optimize disease control.
Explaining the Difference of Work Attitudes Between Public and Nonprofit Managers

Work attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, etc.) have long been important indicators for managers and researchers in evaluating whether one is motivated to work. Existing empirical studies tend to suggest that public managers are less likely to exhibit positive work attitudes as compared with their private sector peers. However, literature about the comparison of work attitudes between public and nonprofit managers is scant. The current study addresses this topic. By using the National Administrative Studies Project-III (NASP-III) survey data, the author found that nonprofit managers are more likely than public managers to show positive work attitudes. This attitudinal difference, based on the results of mediation tests, originates from two important reasons. First, higher levels of rule constraints (i.e., red tape and personnel flexibility) in the public sector undermine managers’ work attitudes. Second, individuals attracted to work in the public sector have stronger extrinsic motivation, stronger amotivation, and weaker intrinsic motivation. These motivation styles compromise their work attitudes.
The Role of Distance in Gravity Regressions: Is There Really a Missing Globalisation Puzzle?

Abstract The main aim of this paper is to investigate the role of distance in gravity regressions in relation to the missing globalisation puzzle cited by Coe et al. (2002). These authors claimed that the fact that distance coefficients do not fall over time is another puzzle that should have been added in Obsfeld and Rogoff's (2000) paper, in which six major puzzles in international macroeconomics were cited. In order to do so, a linear and a non-linear gravity model are estimated for a cross-section of 65 countries over the period 1980-1999. Non-linear specifications of the gravity model have been recently used in the literature to address the issue of non-declining transport costs over time (Coe et al., 2002 and Croce et al., 2004). However, we claim that there is no missing globalisation puzzle once the linear specification results are correctly interpreted. The main findings are that distance has a different effect for developed and developing countries and that the grounds for using a non-linear specification are not clear since the linear specification, in general terms, shows better performance than the non-linear one.
Wear-Insensitive Sidewall Microprobe With Long-Term Stable Performance for Scanning Probe Microscopy Lithography

In this paper, a wear-insensitive sidewall microprobe with long-term stable performance is proposed. The proposed microprobe helps to reduce probe-tip wear and improve patterning stability in scanning probe microscopy lithography. The microprobe tip with a uniform cuboid-shape consists of a microscale mechanical contact and two nanoscale electrical contacts formed on the sidewall of the mechanical contact. The microscale mechanical contact reduces tip wear by dispersing the force applied to the tip, while the nanoscale electrical contact enables the sketching of nanoscale features. The uniform shape of the probe tip enables the probe to maintain its stable performance, even when it is mechanically worn. A prototype of the proposed microprobe with an 80-μm long mechanical line contact and a 30-nm long electrical line contact is fabricated using microelectromechanical systems techniques. The patterning stability of the fabricated microprobe in local anodic oxidation (LAO) lithography is investigated in terms of the change in the dimensions of the drawn lines and the shape of the probe tip before and after a 2-m scan. The results of the LAO lithography show that the fabricated microprobe could maintain a stable patterning performance after 2-m scan, which is an improvement of several thousand times over a conventional probe.
Span of control and the significance for public sector managers’ job demands: A multilevel study

The aim of this article is to investigate how span of control influences seven job demands common amongst operational public sector managers. Self-administrated surveys were collected from 434 managers organized in 37 municipal operations, i.e. management teams in a set of public organizations in Sweden, and complemented with register data. Multilevel analyses were performed and it was shown unfavorable to have a large number of subordinates for the majority of job demands investigated. Furthermore, managers who were members of management teams with a higher average span of control experience some job demands to an even higher extent. Thus, the results of this study demonstrate that span of control is a key upstream component of managers’ job demands and emphasize the value of a reasonable number of subordinates.
Lifetime Prevalence and Characteristics of Child Sexual Victimization in a Community Sample of Spanish Adolescents

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate the lifetime prevalence and characteristics of self-reported child sexual victimization and associations between sexual victimization and sociodemographic characteristics and victimological profiles in community adolescents in Spain. The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (Finkelhor, Hamby, Ormrod, & Turner, 2005) was applied to a sample of 1,105 community adolescents (M = 14.52 years, SD = 1.76). Experience of sexual victimization (with or without physical contact) was reported by 8.8% of the sample, at a mean age of 13 years old. Sexual victimization was more prevalent in girls (14.2%) and in older adolescents (10.6%). Offenders were mainly male (87.6%) and were mostly friends, neighbors, or schoolmates (52.6%). No injuries resulted from victimization (4.3%), although the percentage of penetration or attempted penetration was very high (30.6%). Only 9.3% of victims reported the incident to the police or the justice system. In regard to victimological profiles, sexual victims also experienced other forms of victimization (M = 7.16; SD = 3.39): boys reported more conventional crimes, peer and sibling victimization, and witnessing community violence than other victims, whereas sexually victimized girls reported more caregiver victimization and property crimes. Sexually victimized youth present a distinctive sociodemographic and victimological profile. Professionals need to be aware of these characteristics in order to conduct adequate prevention programs. We also need to assess a wide range of victimization experiences when treating sexual abuse victims in order to make adolescents less vulnerable to violence.
A comparison of multiple drug resistance in salmonellas from humans and food animals in England and Wales, 1981 and 1990

Summary For Salmonella typhimurium from humans in England and Wales, the incidence of multiple resistance more than doubled over the 8-year period 1981–8 and, over the next 2 years, increased by a further 7%. From 1981 to 1988 both resistance and multiple resistance also increased significantly in S. virchow and although multiple resistance did not increase over the next 2 years, the overall incidence of resistance has continued to rise. In 1990 the majority of S. typhimurium from cattle were multiply-resistant and the occurrence of such resistance has quadrupled since 1981. Multiple resistance has also increased in S. typhimurium from pigs and, to a lesser extent, from poultry. In contrast, multiple resistance has remained uncommon in the poultry-associated serotype S. enteritidis. For S. virchow, multiple resistance was common in a phage type frequently associated with poultry meat imported from France. The continuing use of a range of different antimicrobials in calf husbandry has been an important factor in promoting the emergence of multiply-resistant strains of S. typhimurium in cattle. In contrast, multiple resistance has remained rare in those serotypes associated with poultry, where the use of such antimicrobials has been less intensive. It is hoped that recent recommendations discouraging, in veterinary medicine, the prophylactic use of antibiotics with cross resistances to those used in human medicine will result in a reduction in the occurrence of multiresistant strains in food animals and subsequently in humans.
On the Evolution of Competitive Balance: The Impact of an Increasing Global Search

The Coase theorem maintains that where free-market precepts exist, the allocation of property rights does not impact the distribution of resources. An application to Major League Baseball suggests that institutions such as free agency and the reverse-order amateur draft would not impact player distributions and therefore would not impact competitive balance. The present study finds that the distribution of wins is generally consistent with the precepts of the Coase theorem and therefore suggests a course for those who wish to alter the level of competitive balance: Major League Baseball should increase its focus on expanding the size of its labor pool. (JEL O15, L83, C22) Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.
Non-stationarities in Macro-economic Time Series--Further Evidence an d Implications

Two sources of non-stationarities in the mean of macro-economic time series are investigated. The empirical evidence for several countries clearly implies that differencing is to be preferred to the assumption of a deterministic linear time trend. This result is somewhat weaker with respect to the analogous choice between seasonal differencing and seasonal dummy variables. It is recommended that the time series properties of the variables considered in empirical work be carefully checked, because the estimated relationships may heavily depend on the chosen detrending procedure. Les non-stationarites dans ies chroniques macro-economiques : resultats supplmentaires et implications. L'auteur examine deux sources de non-stationarite dans la mnoyenne des chroniques macroeconomiques. Les resultats d'analyses de donnees pour plusieurs pays montrent clairement qu'on doit preferer l'usage d'un processus de differences finies a l'emploi d'une tendance lineaire deterministe. Ce resultat est un peu moins robuste pour ce qui est du choix analogue entre l'utilisation de differences saisonnieres par rapport a
Macular hole closure following intravitreal triamcinolone injection in a previously vitrectomized diabetic eye

Editor, W e read with interest the article ‘Macular hole closure following intravitreal triamcinolone injection in a previously vitrectomized diabetic eye’ (Kwon et al. 2009). We would like to make an observation regarding the aetiology of macular hole closure in this case. The serial optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans of the eye show the development of a full-thickness macular hole after pars plana vitrectomy which closed spontaneously following intravitreal triamcinolone injection. Notably, the post-injection OCT scan also shows the development of an epiretinal membrane (ERM), which was not evident in the previous scans and was not mentioned by the authors. Epiretinal membrane formation is a common occurrence after pars plana vitrectomy and more so in eyes with vitreous haemorrhage. As these membranes tend to be contractile, circumferential contraction may lead to narrowing of the gap and hence aid in subsequent closure of macular hole. We found at least two case reports in which macular hole closed following ERM formation (Lewis et al. 1986; Smiddy 2008). Thus the closure of macular hole in this case may be related to the development of ERM as evident on OCT and intravitreal triamcinolone injection may have been only a coincidental event.
Contact with armadillos increases the risk of leprosy in Brazil: a case control study.

BACKGROUND Mycobacterium leprae infection has recently been detected in wild armadillos in Brazil. Leprosy is still endemic in Brazil and although its transmission is mostly by person-to-person contact, many cases report no history of previously known leprosy contact. It has been suggested that other sources of M. leprae may contribute to the transmission of leprosy in some areas. AIM Our objective was to investigate whether contact with armadillos is associated with leprosy. METHODS A case-control study was carried out in Brazil. Data was collected from 506 leprosy patients and 594 controls on exposure to armadillos and age, sex, place of birth and living conditions. Univariate analysis and unconditional logistic regression were conducted to investigate whether leprosy was associated with exposure to armadillos. RESULTS Direct armadillo exposure was reported by 68% of leprosy cases and by 48% of controls (P < 0.001) roughly doubling the risk of leprosy, with odds ratio (OR) 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.36-2.99]. CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that direct exposure to armadillos is a risk factor for leprosy in Brazil.