Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determination of the minimum infusion rate of alfaxalone during its co-administration with fentanyl at three different doses by constant rate infusion intravenously in goats.

OBJECTIVE To determine the minimum infusion rate (MIR) of alfaxalone required to prevent purposeful movement of the extremities in response to standardized noxious stimulation during its co-administration with fentanyl at three different doses by constant rate infusion (CRI) intravenously (IV) in goats. STUDY DESIGN Prospective, blinded, randomized crossover, experimental. ANIMALS Eight healthy goats; four does and four wethers. METHODS For induction of anaesthesia, a bolus of fentanyl was administered at 0.005 mg kg(-1) (LFent), 0.015 mg kg(-1) (MFent) or 0.03 mg kg(-1) (HFent) followed by alfaxalone at 2.0 mg kg(-1) . For maintenance, the goats received alfaxalone at an initial infusion rate of 9.6 mg kg(-1) hour(-1) and one of three fentanyl treatments: 0.005 mg kg(-1) hour(-1) (LFent), 0.015 mg kg(-1) hour(-1) (MFent) or 0.03 mg kg(-1) hour(-1) (HFent). The MIR of alfaxalone was determined during fentanyl CRI by testing for responses to stimulation (clamping on a digit with Vulsellum forceps) every 30 minutes. Some cardiopulmonary parameters were measured. RESULTS The alfaxalone MIR median (range) was 6.7 (6.7-8.6), 2.9 (1.0-6.7) and 1.0 (1.0-4.8) mg kg(-1) hour(-1) during LFent, MFent and HFent, respectively. Alfaxalone MIR was significantly lower during MFENT and HFENT compared to LFENT. Significantly low oxygen haemoglobin saturation (SaO2 ) and arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2 ), observed 2 minutes into anaesthesia after all fentanyl treatments, were the most remarkable adverse cardiopulmonary effects observed. Recovery from anaesthesia was severely affected by high doses of fentanyl with excitatory behavioural signs predominant for up to 2 hours post-administration after MFent and HFent. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Fentanyl reduces alfaxalone MIR in goats in a dose-dependent manner. Immediate oxygen supplementation after induction of general anaesthesia is recommended to prevent hypoxaemia. Doses of fentanyl equal to or greater than 0.015 mg kg(-1) hour(-1) tend to be associated with severe excitatory behaviour and should be avoided when fentanyl is administered to goats.
Mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate suppresses aromatase transcript levels and estradiol production in cultured rat granulosa cells.

The female reproductive toxicity of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and its active metabolite mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) is attributed to suppression of ovarian granulosa cell estradiol production. In these studies, several structurally related phthalates (0-200 microM) and Wy-14,643 (0-100 microM) were compared to MEHP for their effects on granulosa cell estradiol production and transcript levels of cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP 19, also known as aromatase (P450arom), the rate-limiting enzyme in the conversion of androgens to estrogens. Granulosa cells were obtained from 28-day-old Fisher 344 rats and were cultured for 48 h. Test chemical or DMSO was added at the time of culture, along with testosterone as a substrate for aromatase. 17beta-Estradiol production was measured by standard radioimmunoassay, mRNA was measured by fluorescent RT-PCR, and protein was measured by Western blot analysis. MEHP was unique among the phthalates in its ability to decrease estradiol production, while Wy-14,643 had effects similar to MEHP at 100 microM. MEHP and Wy-14,643 also significantly decreased aromatase mRNA levels. The decrease in mRNA was concentration dependent and was paralleled by a decrease in aromatase protein. MEHP did not alter levels of CYP 11A1, the cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc). Treatment with a cAMP analogue increased expression of P450scc in the presence of MEHP (100 to 200 microM) while the decrease in aromatase remained. Thus, these studies suggest that MEHP is distinct from several structurally related phthalates but similar to the peroxisome proliferator Wy-14,643 in its action on granulosa cell estradiol production. Moreover, the suppression of estradiol by MEHP is likely mediated through its action on aromatase transcript levels independent of cAMP-stimulated regulation.
Body-Driven Enhanced-Impedance Current Source: An Approach to the Implementation of Low-Voltage Current-Steering D/A Converters

Regular Current-Steering D/A Converters (CS-DACs) using high-swing cascode current-source structures fail to operate with very-low supply voltages. In this paper, body- driven enhanced-impedance current cells have been employed to satisfy required characteristics of CS-DAC in low headroom voltage. In this technique, a body-driven amplifier increases the output impedance of a cascode current source without degrading its high-frequency behavior. A 1-V 10- bit 100 MHz CS-DAC using the proposed current source structure has been designed and simulated in a 0.18 mum CMOS technology. Monte-Carlo simulations show that the probability of Spurious Free Dynamic Range (SFDR) of more than 60 dB is more than 90% for input frequencies up to Nyquist frequency, which confirms the proper operation of the converter in very low supply voltages.
Cultural differences in travel guidebooks information search

The current consumer trend away from package tourism towards more individually organized travel, including special interest travel, is likely to have an impact on the structure and organization of the travel industry, the channels of distribution, booking systems, business and destination suppliers from private sources such as the internet and published travel guidebooks. In planning their holidays, tourists are increasingly likely to demand greater destination information. If they are to be made aware of the available range of product options and to make appropriate product choices they will need information. The extent and type of the required information will depend on the type of vacation, on the consumer's destination knowledge, prior travel experience, and cultural background. The present study reports the findings of a quantitative survey administered to Japanese, Korean, Chinese and North American travellers. The researchers aimed to investigate the need for information across Western and Asian cultures. The study has focused on the need for information in travel guidebooks and examines the extent to which culture influences the type of information sought.
Teacher Unions and No Child Left behind Reconstitution: The Calm before the Storm

This article examines the intersection of teacher unions, school reform and the No Child Left Behind Act. Specifically, this article highlights the legal challenges that school leaders are likely to experience as they attempt to implement No Child Left Behind Act's reconstitution mandates in failing schools, while not infringing on teachers’ legal rights. There is also a discussion of the discriminatory impact of NCLB reconstitution mandates on teachers of color and the legal and policy implications.
Optimal trade, industrial, and privatization policies in a mixed duopoly with strategic managerial incentives

Abstract This paper examines optimal trade, industrial, and privatization policies in a home-market model of mixed international duopoly with strategic managerial incentives. Under linear demand and constant marginal costs, the optimal degree of privatization is shown to depend crucially on cost and demand parameters and on the availability of strategic trade and industrial policies. If both firms are equally efficient, optimal trade and industrial policies drive out the foreign firm and the privatization policy loses its effect on national welfare; however, if the home firm is less efficient, then full privatization combined with an import tariff and a production subsidy is optimal for the home country, while an export subsidy is optimal for the foreign country. If trade and industrial policies are unavailable and if both firms are equally efficient, full state-ownership, which drives out the foreign firm, becomes optimal; however, if the home firm is less efficient, only partial privatization is optimal, The state-ownership share is increased if either the market size grows, the home firm's efficiency increases, or the foreign firm's efficiency decreases. Further, the paper demonstrates the potential conflict between privatization and trade liberalization policies.
Autoimmune diseases in parents of children with infantile autism: a case—control study

This register study compared the rates and types of autoimmune disease in the parents of 111 patients (82 males, 29 females; mean age at diagnosis 5y 5mo [SD 2y 6mo]) with infantile autism (IA) with a matched control group of parents of 330 children from the general population. All parents were screened through the nationwide Danish National Hospital Register. We inquired about 35 autoimmune diseases during an observation period of 27 years. At follow‐up the case and control mothers were identical in age (65y 7mo [SDs 9y 7mo and 9y respectively]). For case and control fathers the figures were 70 years 2 months (SD 10y 2mo) and 69 years 1 month (SD 10y 1mo) respectively. A similar proportion of case and control mothers had a diagnosis of any autoimmune disease: 10.8% versus 9.1%. For case fathers the proportion was 8.6% versus 4.6%. Two autoimmune conditions were associated with IA: ulcerative colitis in mothers (p=0.05) and type 1 diabetes in fathers (p=0.02). Additional studies are required to determine whether there is a true association between a parental history of autoimmune disease and pervasive developmental disorder in their offspring.
Options using a collective lottery to ration vaccines during an influenza pandemic

For many countries, the best way to counter an influenza pandemic is to provide citizens with a pandemic vaccine. However, since the global supply of the vaccines is far smaller than the quantity demanded, how to allocate the limited vaccines can be a very challenging task for them. In this study, we introduce a collective lottery mechanism that allocates vaccines as fairly as the traditional lottery, while also offering more options for family members or those who are close so that they can choose the joint probability of successes that can maximize their welfare. This mechanism thus gives rise to a Pareto improvement over the traditional lottery. Our empirical study uses the US and the UK as examples in sequential collective lotteries that are simulated to prove that such an improvement while maintaining fairness, in fact, exists.
Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase and repertoire development

Summary: In mice, the absence of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (Tdt) expression during fetal and neonatal life provides a window in development where clones of lymphocytes are generated that provide protective immunity. Introducing premature Tdt activity interferes with the development of these clones and results in an impaired ability to make protective antibodies. Conversely, gene‐targeted disruption of Tdt prevents N additions at all stages of T and B‐lymphocyte development and promotes the development of fetal‐like T and B‐cell clones into adulthood, with accompanying alterations in repertoire. The alternative splice forms of Tdt may be necessary to provide regulatory mechanisms to restrict N addition to appropriate stages of the developmental pathways, the details of which are being revealed. The evidence continues to build that Tdt is a key player in influencing the outcome of V(D)J recombination during lymphocyte and repertoire development.
Is Coordination a Means to Collaboration?

Coordinated multiple view (CMV) approaches have become commonplace in the development of visual tools for information visualization and visual analytics. However, research and development in CMV has focused almost exclusively on the exploratory and analytic needs of individual users working in traditional interactive desktop environments. Current understanding of collaboration in terms of perception, interaction, conceptualization, and social organization begs for integrated approaches to exploration and analysis that support visualization of information in multiple coordinated views by multiple actors working across time and space in multiple roles and environments. This statement outlines two key aspects of a possible strategy for achieving acquisition, exploration, communication, and management of information in a collaborative exploratory visualization environment built on top of a solid foundation of well-established CMV techniques.
Executive Compensation: The Fallacy of Disclosure

Incentive compensation has been used through history by those in charge as a means of achieving performance goals and positive financial objectives. Since the early 1990s, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has approached executive compensation as a matter of disclosure. In 1992, the Commission adopted its new executive compensation proxy disclosure rules; the regulatory changes were adopted in response to complaints that the compensation paid to corporate executives had become excessive, and in the hope that the new regulation could produce an increased shareholder awareness that would make executives more accountable to the shareholders. Data on executive pay shows that SEC-mandated, detailed disclosure of information of executive compensation has not reduced the United States level of compensation of officers. While, arguably, disclosure generates a greater understanding of corporate executive pay for the shareholders, the availability of these numbers constitutes also an enormous advantage for CEOs and CFOs. Indeed, unless paid at a level equal to, or above the market average, a CEO/CFO may well decide to move to a different corporation. This problem makes retention a crucial issue in all public corporations and contributes to further driving executive pay to excessive levels. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley has not directly assessed, nor really improved, the mechanisms for compensation. Instead of decreasing excessive executive pay, public knowledge of salaries has created in the United States a sort of "race to the bottom" in which companies have to be willing to pay unjustifiable amounts of money to retain good management. While this history should have shown the Commission that disclosure will not suffice in the area of executive compensation, its staff, once again, has decided to enhance disclosure of executive pay in order to curb the problem of excessive pay packages. This paper argues that there is no reason to believe that enhanced disclosure will produce the desired effect.
Restructuring or Destructuring?

The distinction between deindustrialization with destructuring—the disintegration of an economic structure - and deindustrialization with restructuring is missing from much of the debate over deindustrialization in metropolitan areas and the appropriate policy responses to it. Empirical research must account for different sequencing of destructuring and restructuring in different cities. Buffalo experienced destructuring with little or no restructuring, whereas Pittsburgh experienced them simultaneously. Both cities experienced deindustrialization well before the usual period of study. These issues are illustrated by a comparison of Pittsburgh and Buffalo, and some political and policy consequences are noted.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, AND REDUCED LEISURE: REVISITING “END OF HISTORY”

The highly productive Information and Communications Technology industry has sharply divided the opinions between those who believe that it represents a radical transformation of the capitalist order and those who believe that it is just more of the same. This study draws attention to a critical indicator: The balance of work and leisure in the daily life of a worker that has gradually evolved in the course of capitalist development is now tilting significantly against leisure despite productivity growth. Here, this paradox is explained by the quality composition of knowledge workers as well as—in contrast to what neoliberalism makes us believe—the growing hegemony of business organizations over that of market. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, work became separated from the home and the resolution of the work‐leisure dichotomy a social agenda. The labor movement, in part, arose to battle against the long, rigid workdays imposed by the factory‐system production. Their goal was to reduce the standard workweek in order both to increase time for leisure and to prevent the feared technological unemployment. The shorter-hours crusade eventually led the governments to reform, establishing maximum hours of work, beginning with the English Factory Act of 1802 and more particularly the Factory Act of 1850. However, capitals accepted it as rise in labor productivity, or in other words increase in per-hour productivity, compensated for fewer hours of work in a day or week. During the so-called “Progressive Era” (1890‐1913), several American states limited the work hours for women and children. The shorterhours movement in the U.S. culminated in the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, establishing forty hours as a standard workweek as well as overtime pay premium to deter employers from exceeding it. Hence, as industrial capitalism matured over time, work hours became shorter, leaving more time for leisure, social interaction, and cultural pursuits. Workers earlier required fewer hours to spend at the workplace to earn the decent livelihood as their marginal value product increased. To a great extent, technological progress has determined the trade-off point between leisure and income or work. As income reaches the level required for a comfortable standard of living, workers put forward greater demands (in labor
Integrated decision strategies for skin sensitization hazard

One of the top priorities of the Interagency Coordinating Committee for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) is the identification and evaluation of non‐animal alternatives for skin sensitization testing. Although skin sensitization is a complex process, the key biological events of the process have been well characterized in an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) proposed by the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD). Accordingly, ICCVAM is working to develop integrated decision strategies based on the AOP using in vitro, in chemico and in silico information. Data were compiled for 120 substances tested in the murine local lymph node assay (LLNA), direct peptide reactivity assay (DPRA), human cell line activation test (h‐CLAT) and KeratinoSens assay. Data for six physicochemical properties, which may affect skin penetration, were also collected, and skin sensitization read‐across predictions were performed using OECD QSAR Toolbox. All data were combined into a variety of potential integrated decision strategies to predict LLNA outcomes using a training set of 94 substances and an external test set of 26 substances. Fifty‐four models were built using multiple combinations of machine learning approaches and predictor variables. The seven models with the highest accuracy (89–96% for the test set and 96–99% for the training set) for predicting LLNA outcomes used a support vector machine (SVM) approach with different combinations of predictor variables. The performance statistics of the SVM models were higher than any of the non‐animal tests alone and higher than simple test battery approaches using these methods. These data suggest that computational approaches are promising tools to effectively integrate data sources to identify potential skin sensitizers without animal testing. Published 2016. This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.
Etude longitudinale de la névralgie cervico-brachiale dans le service de neurologie du CHU Gabriel Touré, Bamako (Mali)

Introduction La Névralgie Cervico-Brachiale (NCB) est une pathologie relativement fréquente dans la pratique courante. Elle est pourvoyeuse d'importants coûts médicaux et socio-économiques. Peu de données existent sur la NCB en Afrique. Méthodes Il s'agit d'une étude longitudinale, descriptive et prospective qui s'est déroulée du 1er novembre 2009 au 30 Août 2010 au CHU Gabriel Touré de Bamako, Mali. Elle a pour objectif d’étudier les caractéristiques épidémiologiques et cliniques de la NCB. Le diagnostic à été strictement clinique, et la DN4 a permis de déterminer les caractéristiques de cette névralgie. L'intensité de la douleur a été évaluée par l’échelle verbale simple (EVS). L’échelle concis de la douleur et l’échelle HAD ont permis d’étudier l'impact de la douleur sur la qualité de vie des patients. Résultats La fréquence de la NCB est de 10,9%. Les ménagères sont les plus touchées, 21(40,4%). L’âge moyen des patients est de 48 ±7 ans. La tranche d’âge de 50-59 ans représente la classe modale. La douleur est à prédominance nocturne chez 75,0% des patients. Les décharges électriques sont la caractéristique principale soit 48,1% des patients et 57,7% malades présentent une douleur intense. Sur le plan topographique, la racine C7, est la plus atteinte soit 50,0%. Sur la qualité de la vie, 44,2% des malades présentent des troubles du sommeil. Sur le plan thérapeutique l’évolution a été favorable chez 78,8% des patients sous AINS, Tramadol et Amitriptilline. Conclusion otre travail à l'instar des études antérieures sur la NCB montre que cette pathologie reste une entité clinique relativement courante. Le pronostic généralement favorable est fonction d'un diagnostic précoce et d'une prise en charge adaptée.
Information-theoretic term weighting schemes for document clustering and classification

We propose a new theory to quantify information in probability distributions and derive a new document representation model for text clustering and classification. By extending Shannon entropy to accommodate a non-linear relation between information and uncertainty, the proposed least information theory provides insight into how terms can be weighted based on their probability distributions in documents vs. in the collection. We derive two basic quantities for document representation: (1) LI Binary (LIB) which quantifies information due to the observation of a term’s (binary) occurrence in a document; and (2) LI Frequency (LIF) which measures information for the observation of a randomly picked term from the document. The two quantities are computed based on terms’ prior distributions in the entire collection and posterior distributions in a document. LIB and LIF can be used individually or combined to represent documents for text clustering and classification. Experiments on four benchmark text collections demonstrate strong performances of the proposed methods compared to classic TF*IDF. Particularly, the LIB*LIF weighting scheme, which combines LIB and LIF, consistently outperforms TF*IDF in terms of multiple evaluation metrics. The least information measure has a potentially broad range of applications beyond text clustering and classification.