Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanism of action of doxepin in the treatment of chronic urticaria

Summary— The present study examined 15 patients previously resistant to conventional antihistamines, in which doxepin at doses in the range of 50–75 mg/day was shown to be effective in treatment of chronic urticaria and without significant adverse side effects. However, some controversy remains about its mechanism of action in this particular disease. The aim of the present study was to examine the muscarinic, H1 and H2 blocking activity of doxepin. The following methods were used: a) gastric acid hypersecretion induced by histamine and carbachol in the pylorus‐ligated rat preparation; b) contractile dose‐response curves to histamine and carbachol in the guinea pig ileum; c) dimaprit‐stimulated guinea pig atrium in vitro. pA2 values were determined for atropine, mepyramine, cimetidine and doxepin. As regards histamine, doxepin (50 mg/kg, po) increased gastric pH and decreased secretion volume, gastric acid concentration and total acid output; with carbachol, doxepin weakly antagonized those values. In the ileum, doxepin competitively antagonized carbachol (pA2 = 7.08) and histamine (pA2 = 9.72); pA2 values for atropine and mepyramine against carbachol and histamine were 9.11 and 8.82, respectively. In the atria, the dose‐response curve to dimaprit was also competitively displaced by cimetidine (pA2 = 6.69) and doxepin (pA2 = 6.00). Doxepin displayed a very high affinity for H1 histaminic receptor, being 8‐fold more potent than mepyramine. Doxepin showed significant H2 blocking activity which was 5 times less potent than that of cimetidine. Doxepin competitively antagonized carbachol in the guinea pig ileum, and was 107 times less potent than atropine. The combined H1, H2 and muscarinic blocking activities of doxepin may contribute towards explaining its clinical efficacy in the treatment of chronic urticaria.
Factors Contributing to All-cause 30-day Readmissions: A Structured Case Series Across 18 Hospitals

Objective:To understand factors leading to all-cause 30-day readmissions in a community hospital population. Research Design:Structured case series of 537 readmissions using chart reviews, interviews with treating physicians, patients and family caregivers, and overall case assessment by a nurse-physician team. Setting:Eighteen Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals. Results:Forty-seven percent (250) of readmissions were assessed as potentially preventable; 11% (55) were assessed as very or completely preventable; and 36% (195) as slightly or moderately preventable. On average, 8.7 factors contributed to each potentially preventable readmission. Factors were related to care during the index stay (in 143 cases, 57% of potentially preventable readmissions), the discharge process (168, 67%), and follow-up care (197, 79%). Missed opportunities to prevent readmissions were also related to quality improvement focus areas: transitions care planning and care coordination, clinical care, logistics of follow-up care, advance care planning and end-of-life care, and medication management. Conclusions:Multiple factors contributed to potentially preventable readmissions in an integrated health care system with low baseline readmission rates. Reducing all-cause 30-day readmissions may require a comprehensive approach addressing these areas. Future quality improvement efforts and research should identify existing and new tactics that can best prevent readmissions by addressing missed opportunities we identified.
Exploiting the opportunities of Internet and multi‐channel pricing: an exploratory research

Smart firms are not worried about the impact of the Internet on pricing, but realise that they have the unique opportunity to exploit new options and improve their marketing performance. Multi‐channel pricing is one of the most interesting opportunities firms can exploit in the digital economy. Reviews the existing literature on pricing on the Internet and on multi‐channel pricing. Presents the results of an exploratory research on price opportunities perceived by firms. Offers a picture of the possible multi‐channel options available to firms and highlights the importance of the value for and of the customer.
In vitro studies of HIV‐1 expression in thymocytes from infants and children

ObjectiveTo determine whether thymocytes from infants and young children can be infected with and their maturation capability altered by HIV-1, and to examine the effects of interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-4 on this process. DesignSerum-free culture medium was used so that cytokine effects could be studied under defined conditions. The primary virus isolates HIV-1JR-CSF and HIV-1JR-FL were used because their effects should most closely resemble those of viruses which might be found in an infected child. MethodsThymocytes from infants and young children were infected with virus and cultured in serum-free medium with the cytokines IL-2 and IL-4 alone or in combination. HIV-1 expression was measured after 12 days by p24 levels in culture supernatants. Thymocyte maturation was determined by changes in surface phenotype, as measured by flow cytometry. ResultsHIV-1 expression by thymocytes, which increased with time of culture, occurred when thymocytes were cultured with each cytokine. p24 levels were slightly increased when cultured with IL-2, compared with IL-4. Virus expression was remarkably increased when the cytokines were combined in culture. This expression was synergistic rather than additive. The synergy, evident in mature, but not immature thymocytes, was demonstrated with both pharmacologie and physiologic concentrations of cytokines. T-cells from peripheral blood cultured under the same conditions demonstrated lower virus expression in the presence of cytokines and synergy was not shown. Cytokine-induced thymocyte maturation and thymocyte survival in vitro was unimpaired by infection with HIV-1. ConclusionsThese findings indicate that the cytokines IL-2 and IL-4, which are normally present in the thymic environment, can synergize to promote HIV-1 expression by thymocytes infected in vitro. This occurs without impairing the maturation induced by these cytokines. Thus, the mature thymocyte may provide a continuous supply of virus-expressing T-cells to the peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues of the infected child.
Hemodynamic Changes

The developing chick embryo has been shown to be an acceptable model for studying human cardiac morphogenesis. Ablation of premigratory neural crest in these embryos results in a variety of cardiac malformations with the type of defect seen dependent upon the location and the size of the neural crest ablation. '. ' For example, loss of neural crest cells destined for the third and fourth aortic arches specifically interferes with aorticopulmonary and truncal septation as well as aortic arch development, yielding an estimated 95% cardiovascular anomaly rate. This includes a 65% incidence of persistent truncus arteriosus and a 50% incidence of aortic arch anomalies. ' By using a microcinephotography system of filming the developing chick embryo, we have previously demonstrated dilated ventricular chambers and altered conotruncal dimensions in 3.5-day-old, neural crest-ablated chick embryos? These changes occurred in early cardiogenesis long before septation of the outflow tracts began. ',' These embryos also had depressed ventricular function as evidenced by a decreased shortening fraction: 53% in ablated embryos versus 76% in nonablated embryos? Embryos with neural crest ablation also demonstrated an increased incidence of absence of the right fourth aortic arch artery. Loss of an aortic arch artery might lead to an increase in the resistance to blood flow across this vascular network. Therefore, it was hypothesized that such an increase in resistance would increase the afterload experienced by the heart, which in turn would elevate ventricular wall stress and might lead to altered ventricular dimensions and depressed indices of ventricular performance. The purpose of the present study was to test this hypothesis by estimating ventricular wall stress from ventricular pressure and dimension measurements, and by assessing the pressure
What a Waste: Outsourcing and How it Goes Wrong

This is the first ever book to analyse outsourcing ? contracting out public services to private business interests. It is an unacknowledged revolution in the British economy, and it has happened quietly, but it is creating powerful new corporate interests, transforming the organisation of government at all levels, and is simultaneously enriching a new business elite and creating numerous fiascos in the delivery of public services. What links the brutal treatment of asylum-seeking detainees, the disciplining of welfare benefit claimants, the profits effortlessly earned by the privatised rail companies, and the fiasco of the management of security at the 2012 Olympics? In a word: outsourcing. This book, by the renowned research team at the Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change in Manchester, is the first to combine ? follow the money? research with accessibility for the engaged citizen, and the first to balance critique with practical suggestions for policy reform.
Chemical probes of turbulence in the diffuse medium: the TDR model

Context. Tens of light hydrides and small molecules have now been detected over several hundreds sight lines sampling the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) in both the Solar neighbourhood and the inner Galactic disk. They provide unprecedented statistics on the first steps of chemistry in the diffuse gas. Aims. These new data confirm the limitations of the traditional chemical pathways driven by the UV photons and the cosmic rays (CR) and the need for additional energy sources, such as turbulent dissipation, to open highly endoenergetic formation routes. The goal of the present paper is to further investigate the link between specific species and the properties of the turbulent cascade in particular its space-time intermittency. Methods. We have analysed ten different atomic and molecular species in the framework of the updated model of turbulent dissipation regions (TDR). We study the influence on the abundances of these species of parameters specific to chemistry (density, UV field, and CR ionisation rate) and those linked to turbulence (the average turbulent dissipation rate, the dissipation timescale, and the ion neutral velocity drift in the regions of dissipation). Results. The most sensitive tracers of turbulent dissipation are the abundances of CH+ and SH+, and the column densities of the J = 3, 4, 5 rotational levels of H2 . The abundances of CO, HCO+, and the intensity of the 158 $\mu$m [CII] emission line are significantly enhanced by turbulent dissipation. The vast diversity of chemical pathways allows the independent determinations of free parameters never estimated before: an upper limit to the average turbulent dissipation rate, $\overline{\varepsilon}$ < 10$^{-23}$ erg cm$^{-3}$ s$^{-1}$ for $n_H$=20 cm$^{-3}$, from the CH+ abundance; an upper limit to the ion-neutral velocity drift, $u_{in}$ < 3.5 km s$^{-1}$, from the SH+ to CH+ abundance ratio; and a range of dissipation timescales, 100 < $\tau_V$ < 1000 yr, from the CO to HCO+ abundance ratio. For the first time, we reproduce the large abundances of CO observed on diffuse lines of sight, and we show that CO may be abundant even in regions with UV-shieldings as low as $5 \times 10^{-3}$ mag. The best range of parameters also reproduces the abundance ratios of OH, C2H, and H2O to HCO+ and are consistent with the known properties of the turbulent cascade in the Galactic diffuse ISM. Conclusions. Our results disclose an unexpected link between the dissipation of turbulence and the emergence of molecular richness in the diffuse ISM. Some species, such as CH+ or SH+, turn out to be unique tracers of the energy trail in the ISM. In spite of some degeneracy, the properties of the turbulent cascade, down to dissipation, can be captured through specific molecular abundances.
Consensus, diversity, and learning in organizations.

Organizational learning, like individual learning, involves the development of new and diverse interpretations of events and situations. Unlike individual learning, however, collective learning also involves developing enough consensus around those diverse interpretations for organized action to result. Traditional measures of organizational consensus are unable to capture the multiplex nature of collective agreement that encompasses both unity and diversity. Traditional wisdom thus suggests that to achieve unity in groups, one must sacrifice diversity. This study breaks the notion of consensus into two component parts: consensus around interpretations embedded in the content and in the framing of communications. Communicated content consists of the labels people use to convey their “pictures” of reality, e.g., pictures of issues as threats or as opportunities. The framing of communications refers to the form people use to construct a picture, regardless of its content, e.g., rigid or flexible perceptions.
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: THE KEY TO ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS

Employee engagement is a vast construct that touches almost all parts of human resource management facets we know hitherto. If every part of human resources is not addressed in appropriate manner, employees fail to fully engage themselves in their job in the response to such kind of mismanagement. The construct employee engagement is built on the foundation of earlier concepts like job satisfaction, employee commitment and Organizational citizenship behaviour. Though it is related to and encompasses these concepts, employee engagement is broader in scope. Employee engagement is stronger predictor of positive organizational performance clearly showing the two-way relationship between employer and employee compared to the three earlier constructs: job satisfaction, employee commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour. Engaged employees are emotionally attached to their organization and highly involved in their job with a great enthusiasm for the success of their employer, going extra mile beyond the employment contractual agreement.
The Value of Enterprise Risk Management: Evidence from the U.S. Insurance Industry

Enterprise risk management (ERM) has been the topic of increased media attention in recent years. Many organizations have implemented ERM programs, consulting firms have established specialized ERM units, and universities have developed ERM-related courses and research centers. Despite the heightened interest in ERM by academics and practitioners, there is an absence of empirical evidence regarding the impact of such programs on firm value. The objective of this study is to measure the extent to which specific firms have implemented ERM programs and, then, to assess the value implications of these programs. We focus our attention in this study on U.S. insurers in order to control for differences that might arise from regulatory and market differences across industries. We use a maximum-likelihood treatment effects framework to simultaneously model the determinants of ERM and the effect of ERM on firm value. In our ERM-choice regression we find ERM usage to be positively related to firm size and institutional ownership, and negatively related to reinsurance use and leverage. By focusing on publicly-traded insurers we are able to estimate the effect of ERM on Tobin’s Q, a standard proxy for firm value. We find a positive relation between firm value and the use of ERM. The ERM premium is statistically and economically significant and approximately 17% of firm value. JEL Classifications: G22; G32.
Nausea and vomiting in the immediate postanesthetic period.

Factors that might determine the incidence of nausea and vomiting were sought in a study of 1,602 patients recovering from general anesthesia. Vomiting was somewhat less frequent in older patients than in younger ones and much less frequent in men than in women. Comparisons between anesthetics were difficult because the type of operation influenced the choice of anesthetics, but under the conditions of this study the use of ether was followed by a slightly lower incidence of vomiting (23.3%) than was the use of cyclopropane (24.1 %). Endotracheal intubation and administration of relaxants had no appreciable effect, but insertion of a gastric tube reduced the incidence of vomiting from 25.3 to 15%.
A Consistent Deep-Level Hole Trapping Model for Negative Bias Temperature Instability

This paper addresses a fundamental question on the physics of negative bias temperature instability (NBTI). Besides interface states, is oxide trapped charge (i.e., trapped holes) generated concurrently by NBTI stress? The discussion is made against a backdrop of critical questions, evolving from recent studies, which challenge the validity of the charge pumping method used commonly for quantifying and differentiating interface states from an oxide trapped charge. An objective and systematic analysis of dc current-voltage data reveals a broad energy distribution of stress induced positive trap states. Relative difference in the energy levels of these positive trap states determines their role as either interface states (trap states in the Si bandgap) or oxide trapped charge (deep-level trap states near and above the Si conduction band edge). This framework satisfactorily explains many electrical characteristics, known hitherto, of an NBTI-stressed p-MOSFET without specific regard to the exact origin of the traps. However, distinct relaxation characteristics of deep-level positive trap states, as compared to those of the interface states, imply a fundamental difference in the origin of these traps. Under positive gate biasing, the density of interface states is unchanged, but the density of deep-level positive trap states is significantly reduced. Electrical behavior of the deep-level positive trap states is shown to conform to that of oxide traps, implying that these trap states arise from hole trapping. However, a detailed temperature dependence study indicates that the mechanism, which is responsible for the generation of a substantial portion of the positive trap charge, has a very small activation energy (0.02 eV). This observation suggests that the generation of a significant portion of the positive trap charge is neither due to the breaking of bonds nor is rate-limited by matter transport. A possible mechanism involving a negative-field-induced loss of electronic charge from nitrogen donors is proposed.
Aggressive combination therapy with intra-articular glucocorticoid injections and conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in early rheumatoid arthritis: second-year clinical and radiographic results from the CIMESTRA study

Objective: To investigate whether clinical and radiographic disease control can be achieved and maintained in patients with early, active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during the second year of aggressive treatment with conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and intra-articular corticosteroid. This paper presents the results of the second year of the randomised, controlled double-blind CIMESTRA (Ciclosporine, Methotrexate, Steroid in RA) study. Methods: 160 patients with early RA (duration <6 months) were randomised to receive intra-articular betamethasone in any swollen joint in combination with step-up treatment with either methotrexate and placebo-ciclosporine (monotherapy) or methotrexate plus ciclosporine (combination therapy) during the first 76 weeks. At week 68 hydroxychlorochine 200 mg daily was added. From week 76–104 ciclosporine/placebo-ciclosporine was tapered to zero. Results: American College of Rheumatology 20% improvement (ACR20), ACR50 and ACR70 levels were achieved in 88%, 79% and 59% of patients in the combination vs 72%, 62% and 54% in the monotherapy group (p = 0.03, 0.02 and 0.6 between groups). The patients globally declined from 50 to 12 vs 52 to 9, with 51% and 50% in Disease Activity Score (DAS) remission, respectively. Mean (SD) progressions in total Sharp–van der Heijde scores were 1.42 (3.52) and 2.03 (5.86) in combination and monotherapy groups, respectively (not significant). Serum creatinine levels increased by 7% in the combination group (4% in monotherapy), but hypertension was not more prevalent. Conclusion: Continuous methotrexate and intra-articular corticosteroid treatment resulted in excellent clinical response and disease control at 2 years, and the radiographic erosive progression was minimal. Addition of ciclosporine during the first 76 weeks resulted in significantly better ACR20 and ACR50 responses, but did not have any additional effect on remission rate and radiographic outcome.
Is the seven‐year hitch premature in industrial markets?

Purpose – The paper reports on an exploratory study aimed at analysing a series of independent variables derived from international industrial marketing and channel management literature.Design/methodology/approach – The respondents represent a number of dyadic business‐to‐business relationships of different duration, and involve firms of different size (multinational enterprise buyers and their corresponding medium sized enterprise suppliers). Findings – Initial findings support much of the extant literature on relationship marketing, demonstrating that certain aspects of a relationship tend to change over time. In particular, the study revealed that: there is a high degree of optimism associated with dyadic relationships at early stages, and these are characterised by both parties having high initial perceptions of the relationship; in mid‐term relationships some negativity maybe apparent, where certain aspects regress; and in long‐term situations, there is a tendency for relationships to be well structu.
A health survey of perimenopausal syndrome and mood disorders in perimenopause : a cross-sectional study in Shanghai

We aimed to investigate the prevalence, severity, associations and risk factors of perimenopausal syndrome, depression and anxiety in perimenopausal women in Shanghai, China. A total of 2336 individuals aged 40 to 60 years were analyzed. The self-reported questionnaire was used to obtain useful information. Risk factors for perimenopausal syndrome, depression and anxiety were analyzed by multiple logistic regression. The prevalence of preimenopausal syndrome, depression and anxiety, most with mild symptoms, was 12.50%, 25.98% and 14.00%, respectively. The differences of the prevalence of perimenopausal syndrome, the prevalence and severity of depression, the severity of anxiety in different age groups were significantly different. The associations among perimenopausal syndrome, depression and anxiety were positive. The multiple logistic regression revealed age, employment status, family relationships, personality characteristics, menstruation, constipation, attitudes towards childbearing status, cesarean section times, perimenopausal syndrome, severity of perimenopausal syndrome were partially risk for perimenopausal syndrome, depression and anxiety. However, monthly household income, medical insurance and physical activity were partially protective factors for them. These findings suggested perimenopausal syndrome, depression and anxiety were common and substantial factors were associated with them in Shanghai perimenopausal women. Appropriate advice and support in improving the state of perimenopausal women is essential.