Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Consequences of Mutations in the Reproductive Endocrine System

The reproductive activity in male mammals is well known to be regulated by the hypothalamus-pituitary- gonad axis. The hypothalamic neurons secreting gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) govern the reproductive neuroendocrine system by integrating all the exogenous information impinging on themselves. The GnRH synthesized and released from the hypothalamus arrives at the anterior pituitary through the portal vessels, provoking the production of the gonadotropins(follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH)) at the same time. The gonadotropins affect the gonads to promote spermatogenesis and to secret testosterone. Testosterone acts on the GnRH neurons by a feedback loop through the circulatory system, resulting in the balance of all the hormones by regulating reproductive activities. These hormones exert their effects by acting on their own receptors, which are included in the signal transduction pathways as well. Unexpected aberrants are arised during this course of action of each hormone. This review summarizes these abnormal phenomena, including various mutations of molecules and their actions related to the reproductive function.
Insulators: many functions, many mechanisms.

Eukaryotic genomes are organized into domains containing individual genes and gene clusters that have distinct patterns of expression both during development and in differentiated cells. These genomes contain regulatory elements such as enhancers that are able to activate target genes in cis over considerable distances. They may also contain extended regions of condensed chromatin capable of encroaching on adjacent domains to perturb gene expression. There are a number of ways in which individual domains could be maintained independent of their surroundings through the establishment of boundaries. These boundaries might be variable in position, and established through a balance between countervail
Impact of Hearing Aid Technology on Outcomes in Daily Life III: Localization

Objective: Compared to basic-feature hearing aids, premium-feature hearing aids have more advanced technologies and sophisticated features. The objective of this study was to explore the difference between premium-feature and basic-feature hearing aids in horizontal sound localization in both laboratory and daily life environments. We hypothesized that premium-feature hearing aids would yield better localization performance than basic-feature hearing aids. Design: Exemplars of premium-feature and basic-feature hearing aids from two major manufacturers were evaluated. Forty-five older adults (mean age 70.3 years) with essentially symmetrical mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss were bilaterally fitted with each of the four pairs of hearing aids. Each pair of hearing aids was worn during a 4-week field trial and then evaluated using laboratory localization tests and a standardized questionnaire. Laboratory localization tests were conducted in a sound-treated room with a 360°, 24-loudspeaker array. Test stimuli were high frequency and low frequency filtered short sentences. The localization test in quiet was designed to assess the accuracy of front/back localization, while the localization test in noise was designed to assess the accuracy of locating sound sources throughout a 360° azimuth in the horizontal plane. Results: Laboratory data showed that unaided localization was not significantly different from aided localization when all hearing aids were combined. Questionnaire data showed that aided localization was significantly better than unaided localization in everyday situations. Regarding the difference between premium-feature and basic-feature hearing aids, laboratory data showed that, overall, the premium-feature hearing aids yielded more accurate localization than the basic-feature hearing aids when high-frequency stimuli were used, and the listening environment was quiet. Otherwise, the premium-feature and basic-feature hearing aids yielded essentially the same performance in other laboratory tests and in daily life. The findings were consistent for both manufacturers. Conclusions: Laboratory tests for two of six major manufacturers showed that premium-feature hearing aids yielded better localization performance than basic-feature hearing aids in one out of four laboratory conditions. There was no difference between the two feature levels in self-reported everyday localization. Effectiveness research with different hearing aid technologies is necessary, and more research with other manufacturers’ products is needed. Furthermore, these results confirm previous observations that research findings in laboratory conditions might not translate to everyday life.
Salvage therapy in recurrent germ cell cancer: ifosfamide and cisplatin plus either vinblastine or etoposide.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of the addition of ifosfamide to cisplatin plus etoposide (VIP), or vinblastine (VeIP), in patients with recurrent germ cell tumors. DESIGN Nonrandomized, prospective phase II trial. SETTING Tertiary referral university hospital. PATIENTS Fifty-six of fifty-eight entered patients with measurable and progressive recurrent germ cell tumors of testicular (46 patients), ovarian (1 patient), and extragonadal (9 patients) origin were evaluable for response after not being cured with cisplatin, vinblastine, and etoposide regimens. INTERVENTIONS Patients were administered cisplatin (20 mg/m2 body surface area daily for 5 days), ifosfamide (1.2 g daily for 5 days), plus either etoposide (75 mg daily for 5 days) or vinblastine (0.11 mg/kg body weight on days 1 and 2). In addition, vigorous intravenous hydration therapy with normal saline (100 to 125 mL/h) was administered during the treatment course. Uroepithelial protective agents, N-acetylcysteine (orally) or mesna (intravenously), were administered. Four courses were administered to responding patients every 3 weeks. When complete excision was feasible, surgical resection of residual tumor was done approximately 6 to 8 weeks after chemotherapy. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Twelve of fifty-six evaluable patients had a complete remission with chemotherapy alone, whereas 8 additional patients were free of disease after resection of teratoma (3 patients) or carcinoma (5 patients) for a total disease-free rate of 36% (95% CI, 23.4 to 49.6). The 95% CI median duration of remission for these patients is 34 months (range, 3 to more than 42; 95% CI, 9 months to infinity), and the median survival for all eligible patients is 12.7 months (95% CI, 10 months to 26 months), with 15 of the 20 patients who achieved disease-free status alive 18 to 53 months or more. Nine of fifty-eight patients remain free of disease, including 7 patients for 2 years or longer. Hematologic and nephrotoxicity were the predominant drug-related toxicities, with one drug-related death secondary to pneumonia. CONCLUSIONS Ifosfamide combination chemotherapy as third-line or greater therapy can produce durable complete remissions in heavily pretreated patients with recurrent germ cell tumors.
Practice parameter: pharmacologic treatment of spasticity in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (an evidence-based review): report of the quality standards subcommittee of the american academy of neurology and the practice committee of the child neurology society.

Objective: To evaluate published evidence of efficacy and safety of pharmacologic treatments for childhood spasticity due to cerebral palsy. Methods: A multidisciplinary panel systematically reviewed relevant literature from 1966 to July 2008. Results: For localized/segmental spasticity, botulinum toxin type A is established as an effective treatment to reduce spasticity in the upper and lower extremities. There is conflicting evidence regarding functional improvement. Botulinum toxin type A was found to be generally safe in children with cerebral palsy; however, the Food and Drug Administration is presently investigating isolated cases of generalized weakness resulting in poor outcomes. No studies that met criteria are available on the use of phenol, alcohol, or botulinum toxin type B injections. For generalized spasticity, diazepam is probably effective in reducing spasticity, but there are insufficient data on its effect on motor function and its side-effect profile. Tizanidine is possibly effective, but there are insufficient data on its effect on function and its side-effect profile. There were insufficient data on the use of dantrolene, oral baclofen, and intrathecal baclofen, and toxicity was frequently reported. Recommendations: For localized/segmental spasticity that warrants treatment, botulinum toxin type A should be offered as an effective and generally safe treatment (Level A). There are insufficient data to support or refute the use of phenol, alcohol, or botulinum toxin type B (Level
Searching for Opportunities of Refactoring Sequences: Reducing the Search Space

During software development and evolution activities, the developers focus the refactoring efforts on choosing and applying refactoring patterns (or sequences of patterns) that are likely to improve the software quality. Considering the search for opportunities of refactoring sequences,the main problem is the size of the search space (there are too many possible sequences to be evaluated). We propose an approach to narrow the number of refactoring sequences by discarding those that semantically does not make sense and avoiding those that lead to the same results. We provide a detailed example of the approach considering sequences for method manipulation, showing how the number of sequences can be significantly reduced.
[Inhibition of mixture of lucid garoderma and lucid garoderma spore on tumor cell in vitro and in vivo].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Garoderma lucidum (lingzhi) is a kind of medicinal fungus with a long history in China as a valuable tonic folk remedy. It has been demonstrated that lingzhi had growth inhibition effect against implanted mice tumors. It is generally regarded that anti-tumor action of lingzhi is induced by promoting function of immune system. Recently, we found that mixture of lucid garoderma and lucid garoderma spore (MLGLGS) could markedly inhibit activities of topoisomerase I and II, so this study was designed to further evaluate the inhibition effects of MLGLGS on tumor cell in vitro and in vivo. METHODS Inhibition of MLGLGS on tumor cell were detected by MTT or SRB method in vitro study and by human tumor nude mice xenografts as models in vivo study. RESULTS Among them, the IC50 values were lower than 2 mg/ml in P388, U-937, and HL-60 leukemias, and lower than 4 mg/ml in 2 human lung cancer and 2 human gastric cancer cells, respectively. In vivo study revealed that MLGLGS had certain experimental therapeutic action on human lung tumor xenograft LAX-83 (dose: 1 g/kg, inhibitory rate: 49.47%) and gastric xenograft SGC-7901 (dose: 2 g/kg, inhibitory rate: 43.09%). CONCLUSION MLGLGS has inhibitory action on tumor cell at high concentration and high dosage.
Hybrid Algorithm for Precise Recommendation from Almost Infinite Set of Websites

Typically, recommendation systems are used for increasing users' activity and spending. Most of them select a recommendation from a finite set of objects (e.g. News, products etc.) but in some cases the number of objects is so huge that standard approach based on similarity of objects will not work. The paper presents recommendation algorithms which work with an almost infinite set of websites by utilizing inherent characteristic of web pages and services delivered by search engines. Proposed algorithms were validated with the help of data from an Article Feedback Tool used on English Wikipedia for evaluating trustworthiness of articles. As the algorithms were developed to meet the special requirements of the Reconcile plug in, a community based websites' credibility evaluation system, performance of proposed solutions have been measured not only as precision and recall but also in terms of increasing inflow of credibility assessments for new websites. Gathered results show that is possible to create effective recommendation systems, which offer better scalability and lesser computational complexity than standard recommendation systems.
Nanogap MEMS micro-relay with 70 ns switching speed

This paper presents Micro-electro-mechanical relays for very fast switching applications. Prototype relays have been fabricated tested and demonstrated reconfiguration capabilities as fast as 70 ns with a 300 ns additional settling time once electrical contact is fully stabilized. Such switching speed has been previously demonstrated on capacitive RF-MEMS switches, but this is the first time that such a fast mechanical switching is reported on relays, i.e. ohmic contact switches. The ability to open or close a contact at such speed can lead to many applications such as ultra low power electromechanical computing, or harsh environment electronics.
Creative development in the early years: some implications of policy for practice

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the identifying of ‘creative development’ as a desirable early years learning outcome by the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority (SCAA, 1997). The article begins with a rationale for the inclusion of ‘creativity’ in the curriculum of young children in a post‐modern world at the turn of the century. It then goes on to look at the way in which ‘creative development’ is characterized by SCAA as a desirable learning outcome, and to unpick some of the messages which its inclusion in the curriculum may signify. There are several challenges posed by this part of the early years curriculum, which are then explored. Finally it proposes a framework for interpreting and translating it into practice.
The Epididymis: Embryology, Structure, Function and Its Role in Fertilization and Infertility

The anatomic segments of the epididymis include the initial segment, the caput, the corpus and the cauda. Each region consists of a lumen and a polarized epithelium composed mostly of principal and basal cells (Lasserre et al., 2001; Dacheux et al., 2005). Although these four anatomical regions of the epididymis are easily identified in most adult male mammals (Yanagimachi et al., 1985; Smithwick & Young, 2001), histological and ultrastructural segmentation of this organ varies among the different phylogenies of mammals. The rat epididymis is most commonly adopted as an experimental model of study (Figure 1).
Tourism and Memory

Experience of place significantly informs where the past is understood in the present day. When Maurice Halbwachs introduced the notion of collective memory (1925), he noted the way in which social groups are constantly involved in a process of “implacement”; collectives are partly constituted by collaborative experiences of place, thus rendering it a key component of collective memory. Landscapes are frequently perceived to function as archives of human history and experience; this perhaps e.
Transnational Linkages and Movement Communities

To conceptualize the emergence and maintenance of transnational movements and linkages among supporters, we identify three types of movement communities: professional communities, grassroots communities and conscience communities, which are differentiated on bases of location, repertoire and networks. We argue that these ‘imagined communities’ are all critical to the construction of transnational social movement identities and campaigns. Based on this approach, research is needed to show how different types of movement communities are activated by campaigns, what parts they play in the mobilization and outcomes of campaigns, and how linkages are created and maintained among these communities.
Simulated Internet traffic behavior under different QoS management scenarios

The Internet does not offer a priori definition and maintenance of quality of service to applications. Efforts to change this reality are being deployed by IETF, with IntServ and Diffserv. However, traffic behavior is still not well known. Consequently, each management mechanism has its advantages and disadvantages, and its applicability may depend on service behaviors. The objective of this article is to present simulated behavior of distinct network services submitted to different traffic management mechanisms. We also empirically evaluate mechanisms' behaviors when traffic conditions change. Traffic behavior is varied in terms of charge and nature. Finally, we map traffic conditions with best-fit mechanisms and configurations.
Creating the experience economy in e-commerce

Introduction Advances in information technology together with the forces of globalization have accelerated the growth of service industries. In 2003, the OECD reported that service industries now account for over 60% of both employment and the gross domestic product (GDP) of OECD member countries. The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has forecast strong employment growth in the American service sector between 2004 and 2014. Although service industries are expanding, Gilmore and Pine argue that, the growing commoditisation of services offered has gradually transformed the competition for market share from focusing on the quality of services to the creation of memorable experiences. As a consequence, the competitive position of a firm now depends to a large extent on its ability to generate impressive experiences through innovative delivery channels. In this article, we adopt Gilmore and Pine's view that the economic value of the experience economy lies in co-producing the staging experiences via customer participation and connection. Furthermore, we suggest that current technologies and the growth of the Internet have both enabled and strengthened the opportunities for experience-oriented offerings beyond limitations of time and place. In following sections, we first describe the current practice of experience economy in electronic commerce. Taking the iCare health care service as an example, we demonstrate how collaborative pricing over the Internet can further provide added-value to the production of experiences offered in the electronic marketplace.
The golden section hypothesis from a developmental perspective

In previous experiments adult subjects have shown a tendency to use the positive poles of bipolar dimensions such as happy-sad to categorize persons approximately 62% of the time, which supports Benjafield and Adams-Webber's (1976) "golden section hypothesis". In this study, their hypothesis was tested further in terms of the social judgments of children. A repertory grid was administered to 126 subjects: 15 girls, 15 boys aged ten and 15 girls, 15 boys aged fifteen in Trinidad; and 16 girls, 15 boys aged ten and 18 girls, 17 boys aged fourteen in Canada. In both countries, ten-year-old children assigned significantly more persons to the positive poles of dimension than did mid-adolescents. The latter applied the positive poles of dimensions to persons approximately 62% of the time. These results, which are consistent with related findings, are discussed in terms of their developmental implications.
Potentially Preventable Strokes in High-Risk Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Who Are Not Adequately Anticoagulated

Background and Purpose— Warfarin is the most effective stroke prevention medication for high-risk individuals with atrial fibrillation, yet it is often underused. This study examined the magnitude of this problem in a large contemporary, prospective stroke registry. Methods— We analyzed data from the Registry of the Canadian Stroke Network, a prospective database of consecutive patients with stroke admitted to 12 designated stroke centers in Ontario (2003 to 2007). We included patients admitted with an acute ischemic stroke who (1) had a known history of atrial fibrillation; (2) were classified as high risk for systemic emboli according to published guidelines; and (3) had no known contraindications to anticoagulation. Primary end points were the use of prestroke antithrombotic medications and admission international normalized ratio. Results— Among patients admitted with a first ischemic stroke who had known atrial fibrillation (n=597), strokes were disabling in 60% and fatal in 20%. Preadmission medications were warfarin (40%), antiplatelet therapy (30%), and no antithrombotics (29%). Of those taking warfarin, three fourths had a subtherapeutic international normalized ratio (<2.0) at the time of stroke admission. Overall, only 10% of patients with acute stroke with known atrial fibrillation were therapeutically anticoagulated (international normalized ratio ≥2.0) at admission. In stroke patients with a history of atrial fibrillation and a previous transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke (n=323), only 18% were taking warfarin with therapeutic international normalized ratio at the time of admission for stroke, 39% were taking warfarin with subtherapeutic international normalized ratio, and 15% were on no antithrombotic therapy. Conclusions— In high-risk patients with atrial fibrillation admitted with a stroke, and who were candidates for anticoagulation, most were either not taking warfarin or were subtherapeutic at the time of ischemic stroke. Many were on no antithrombotic therapy. These findings should encourage greater efforts to prescribe and monitor appropriate antithrombotic therapy to prevent stroke in individuals with atrial fibrillation.
Absorption, distribution and excretion of the new thienopyridine agent prasugrel in rats

Prasugrel is converted to the pharmacologically active metabolite after oral dosing in vivo. In this study, 14C-prasugrel or prasugrel was administered to rats at a dose of 5 mg kg–1. After oral and intravenous dosing, the values of AUC0–∞ of total radioactivity were 36.2 and 47.1 µg eq. h ml–1, respectively. Oral dosing of unlabeled prasugrel showed the second highest AUC0–8 of the active metabolite of six metabolites analyzed. Quantitative whole body autoradiography showed high radioactivity concentrations in tissues for absorption and excretion at 1 h after oral administration, and were low at 72 h. The excretion of radioactivity in the urine and feces were 20.2% and 78.7%, respectively, after oral dosing. Most radioactivity after oral dosing was excreted in bile (90.1%), which was reabsorbed moderately (62.4%). The results showed that orally administered prasugrel was rapidly and fully absorbed and efficiently converted to the active metabolite with no marked distribution in a particular tissue.