Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Cushing syndrome with life-threatening infectious complications].

HISTORY AND ADMISSION FINDINGS During treatment of phlegmon of the face, which involved the cornea, a 54-year-old man was transferred to the medical ward because of dyspnoea of rapid onset. He was known to have arterial hypertension with heart failure and diabetes mellitus, and to have sustained a fracture of the femur after minimal trauma. He had central cyanosis, ankle oedema, cushingoid appearance and ecchymoses. Loud rales ware heard over both lungs. Body temperature was 38.9 degrees C. INVESTIGATIONS Laboratory tests indicated acute inflammation and he had signs of global respiratory failure. X-ray of the thorax showed cardiomegaly and an infiltrate in the right lung. The ECG indicated an old myocardial infarct and left heart strain. TREATMENT AND COURSE Mechanical ventilation with intubation became necessary because of deteriorating respiratory function. Broad-spectrum antibiotics and antibiotics against suspected fungal pneumonia were administered; he was extubated after 28 days. Cortisol excretion of more than 3300 micrograms/24 h and failure of cortisol suppression after 1 mg dexamethasone were diagnostic of hypercortisolism. Other endocrine tests revealed an adrenal lesion, shown by computed tomography to be an adrenal tumour, 3 cm in diameter. It was excised and histologically proved to be an adenoma. INTERPRETATION Nowadays infectious complications due to cortisol-associated immunosuppression are rare in Cushing disease, because of its early recognition and treatment. But hypercortisolism should be considered in patients with severe and prolonged infections.
The Liquidity Effect in the Federal Funds Market: Evidence from Daily Open Market Operations

We use forecast errors made by the Federal Reserve while preparing open market operations to identify a liquidity effect at a daily frequency in the federal funds market. We find a liquidity effect on most days of the reserve maintenance period in addition to settlement day. The effect is nonlinear; large changes in supply more consistently have a measurable effect than do small changes. In addition, a higher aggregate level of reserve balances in the banking system is associated with a smaller liquidity effect during the maintenance period but a larger liquidity effect on the last days of the period.
Propranolol for Severe Infantile Hemangiomas: Follow-Up Report

OBJECTIVE: Infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are the most-common soft-tissue tumors of infancy. We report the use of propranolol to control the growth phase of IHs. METHODS: Propranolol was given to 32 children (21 girls; mean age at onset of treatment: 4.2 months) after clinical and ultrasound evaluations. After electrocardiographic and echocardiographic evaluations, propranolol was administered with a starting dose of 2 to 3 mg/kg per day, given in 2 or 3 divided doses. Blood pressure and heart rate were monitored during the first 6 hours of treatment. In the absence of side effects, treatment was continued at home and the child was reevaluated after 10 days of treatment and then every month. Ultrasound measurements were performed after 60 days of treatment. RESULTS: Immediate effects on color and growth were noted in all cases and were especially dramatic in cases of dyspnea, hemodynamic compromise, or palpebral occlusion. In ulcerated IHs, complete healing occurred in <2 months. Objective clinical and ultrasound evidence of longer-term regression was seen in 2 months. Systemic corticosteroid treatment could be stopped within a few weeks. Treatment was administered for a mean total duration of 6.1 months. Relapses were mild and responded to retreatment. Side effects were limited and mild. One patient discontinued treatment because of wheezing. CONCLUSION: Propranolol administered orally at 2 to 3 mg/kg per day has a consistent, rapid, therapeutic effect, leading to considerable shortening of the natural course of IHs, with good clinical tolerance.
Measuring college students' choice criteria of credit cards: scale development and validation

Despite the growing debate about college students' credit card debt (Roberts 1998; Manning 1999; Warwick and Mansfield 2000; Palmer et al. 2001; McNamara 2003) and students' choice criteria of retail banks (Thwaites and Vere 1995), few attempts have been made to uncover the actual underlying factors explaining college students' attraction to credit cards. Specifically, the simple question that appears to have been overlooked in the literature is what is the compelling reason for a college student to want to own and use a credit card? This paper aims to contribute to the marketing literature by developing and validating a scale that measures college students' choice criteria of credit cards. The findings identify four key choice criterions that were named (1) "buying power," (2) "incentives," (3) "firm's reputation," and (4) "good credit rating. " The reliability and validity of the scale were assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The paper concludes by discussing theoretical and managerial implications, limitations and future research directions.
The Dissociation between Monetary Assessments and Predicted Utility

We study the dissociation between two common measures of value—monetary assessment of purchase options versus the predicted utility associated with owning or consuming those options, a disparity that is reflected in well-known judgment anomalies and that is important for interpreting market research data. We propose that a significant cause of this dissociation is the difference in how these two types of evaluations are formed—each is informed by different types of information. Thus, dissociation between these two types of measures should not be interpreted as failure to map utility onto money, as such mapping is not really attempted. We suggest that monetary assessment tends to focus on the transaction in which the purchase alternative would be acquired or forgone (e.g., how fair the transaction seems), failing to adequately reflect the purchase alternative itself (e.g., the expected pleasure of owning or consuming it), which is what informs predicted utility judgments. We illustrate the value of this idea by deriving and testing empirical predictions of disparities in the impact of different types of information and manipulations on the two types of value assessment.
Macrophage Tropism of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Isolates from Brain and Lymphoid Tissues Predicts Neurotropism Independent of Coreceptor Specificity

ABSTRACT The viral determinants that underlie human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) neurotropism are unknown, due in part to limited studies on viruses isolated from brain. Previous studies suggest that brain-derived viruses are macrophage tropic (M-tropic) and principally use CCR5 for virus entry. To better understand HIV-1 neurotropism, we isolated primary viruses from autopsy brain, cerebral spinal fluid, blood, spleen, and lymph node samples from AIDS patients with dementia and HIV-1 encephalitis. Isolates were characterized to determine coreceptor usage and replication capacity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM), and microglia. Env V1/V2 and V3 heteroduplex tracking assay and sequence analyses were performed to characterize distinct variants in viral quasispecies. Viruses isolated from brain, which consisted of variants that were distinct from those in lymphoid tissues, used CCR5 (R5), CXCR4 (X4), or both coreceptors (R5X4). Minor usage of CCR2b, CCR3, CCR8, and Apj was also observed. Primary brain and lymphoid isolates that replicated to high levels in MDM showed a similar capacity to replicate in microglia. Six of 11 R5 isolates that replicated efficiently in PBMC could not replicate in MDM or microglia due to a block in virus entry. CD4 overexpression in microglia transduced with retroviral vectors had no effect on the restricted replication of these virus strains. Furthermore, infection of transfected cells expressing different amounts of CD4 or CCR5 with M-tropic and non-M-tropic R5 isolates revealed a similar dependence on CD4 and CCR5 levels for entry, suggesting that the entry block was not due to low levels of either receptor. Studies using TAK-779 and AMD3100 showed that two highly M-tropic isolates entered microglia primarily via CXCR4. These results suggest that HIV-1 tropism for macrophages and microglia is restricted at the entry level by a mechanism independent of coreceptor specificity. These findings provide evidence that M-tropism rather than CCR5 usage predicts HIV-1 neurotropism.
Measuring the Impact of Direct and Indirect R&D on the Productivity Growth of Industries: Using the Yale Technology Concordance

This paper investigates the impact of direct and indirect R&D on the productivity growth of 30 French industries during the period 1978-92. The main aim of this paper is to assess the appropriateness of the Yale Technology Concordance (YTC) as a proxy for indirect R&D flows. We compare the effect on productivity growth of the Yale proxy with the traditional proxy based on goods input-output flows, and assess their suitability for different groups of industries. Results indicate that the indirect YTC proxy performs slightly better than the traditional proxy, as a result of superior performance in the high-tech and service sectors in particular.
Anthropometry, strength and benchmarks for development: A basis for junior rowers' selection?

Abstract The aims of this study were to establish whether anthropometry, muscle strength and endurance accounted for differences between junior and senior elite rowing ergometer performance, and to determine annual development rates for juniors associated with training. Twenty-six junior (8 females, age 18.0±0.3 years and 18 males, age 17.9±0.2 years) and 30 senior (12 females, 23.7±3.0 years and 18 males, 24.0±3.9 years) heavyweight rowers, were assessed anthropometrically, performed a 2000-m ergometer time-trial, and completed various muscular strength and endurance tests. There were no anthropometrical differences between males; however after controlling for body-fat and standing-height, senior females were of greater body-mass (70.5±4.6 kg and 77.2±5.9 kg, P = 0.01) and sitting-height (89.8±2.2 cm and 92.2±6.1 cm, P = 0.04) than juniors. Moderate to very large standardised differences in all strength and endurance tests were observed between juniors and seniors (effect size (ES) range 0.9–1.9). Greater development rates (5.0% to 6.0%) and adjusted 2000-m performance was associated with upper-body strength (males) and endurance (females). In conclusion, after identification of desirable anthropometry, the 2000-m ergometer potential of juniors may be accounted for by upper-body strength and endurance.
Intergenerational Income Persistence in Urban China

Intergenerational income elasticities are estimated using samples for urban China (covering many cities) for the years 1995 and 2002 and compared with results from other studies. We find that the income relation between the pairs - sons and fathers, sons and mothers, and daughters and mothers - are in 2002 all similar in magnitude. In contrast the relation between daughters' and fathers' income is weaker. The income relationship between offspring and mothers was weaker in 1995 than in 2002. Our preferred estimates of income persistence for the son/father pairs of 0.47 for 1995 and 0.53 for 2002 are higher than those which have been reported in the literature for several high‐income countries with large welfare states. The strength of the income link between sons and fathers in urban China appears to be not very different from what has been reported for countries such as Brazil, Chile, and the U.S.
Distance as asset? Knowledge collaboration in hybrid virtual communities

This article takes issue with the reification of proximity in the current debates about the geographies of knowledge production. It aims at developing a more differentiated view on the spatialities of learning by focussing on knowledge practices in which neither physical nor relational proximity are available. More specifically, the article explores on the basis of a ‘netnographic approach’ interactive knowledge collaboration in nine ‘hybrid virtual communities’ that reflect a broad spectrum of organizational set-ups from firm hosted over firm related to independent communities. Our empirical analysis reveals that hybrid virtual communities even in the absence of physical or relational proximity are able to produce economically useful knowledge; that despite the low importance of proximity the physical and material conditions play a crucial role for knowledge collaboration in hybrid virtual communities; and that hybrid virtual communities afford unique technical opportunities and social dynamics that foster learning processes unattainable in face-to-face contexts.
Microbial change in warming soils

Long-term reorganization of microbial communities leads to pulses in carbon release Soils are the largest single terrestrial source of carbon dioxide (CO2), but these emissions are highly sensitive to a range of factors associated with climate change and human land use (1). Researchers have long sought to better understand the underlying drivers of soil CO2 emissions, but the duration of experiments is all too often constrained by project deadlines and personnel contracts, hampering our ability to understand and predict the many gradual but important processes that occur in soils (2). On page 101 of this issue, Melillo et al. (3) report on an intriguing 26-year record of soil respiration responses to warming in a temperate forest. The results from this unusually long time series highlight both the potential pitfalls of drawing hasty conclusions from short-term studies and the importance of long-term experiments in ecosystem and climate science.
Cyber crime: A review of the evidence

This review focuses on evidence relating to cyber-dependent crimes (for example, the spread of viruses and other malware; hacking and DDoS attacks) and cyber-enabled crimes (for example, cyber-enabled fraud and theft; and sexual offending against children, including grooming and indecent imagery). The review also considers the available evidence regarding victims, offenders and the costs of cyber crime. The final chapter highlights various challenges with the cyber crime evidence base, and proposes further steps for improving the measurement of cyber crime.
Asymmetric Impact of Financial Integration to International Nonsynchronous Trading Effects in Developed and Emerging Equity Markets

This paper investigates the impact of the international equity market integration to the international nonsynchronous trading effects (INTE). The paper finds that the financial market integration would increase INTE, in general, and the impact monotonically decreases over the lag length. However empirical evidence suggests that the increase is asymmetric among developed and emerging markets. Further theoretical investigation reveals that the level of volatility and autocorrelation are positively related to the increase in INTE. The paper concludes that the relatively higher level of volatility and autocorrelation in emerging markets could mitigate the increase in INTE from financial market integration.
Interest in Cosmetic Surgery and Body Image: Views of Men and Women across the Lifespan

Background: Little is known about interest in cosmetic surgery among the general public or how this interest is related to gender, age, relationship status, body mass index, or body image satisfaction. Methods: The present study tested these associations among a sample of 52,677 heterosexual men and women aged 18 to 65 years who completed the online “ELLE/MSBNC.com Sex and Body Image Survey” in 2003. Results: Many women were interested (48 percent) or possibly interested (23 percent) in cosmetic surgery. A substantial minority of men were also interested (23 percent) or possibly interested (17 percent) in cosmetic surgery. Individuals interested in cosmetic surgery did not report poorer global body image than individuals not interested in cosmetic surgery. Individuals specifically interested in liposuction, however, tended to have poorer body image, and interest in liposuction was greater among heavier individuals. Conclusions: The finding that many women and men are interested in cosmetic surgery has implications for research comparing cosmetic surgery patients to individuals drawn from the general population. Specifically, researchers conducting comparative studies should recognize that many individuals in their control group may be strongly interested in cosmetic surgery, even if they have not yet had any. Furthermore, individuals interested in different types of cosmetic surgery may differ from each other on such attributes as body mass index and body image.
Interest Rate and Business Cycles in a Credit Constrained Small Open Economy

Empirical evidence suggests that, in contrast to developed countries, emerging economies face exogenous world real interest rates that are countercyclical, lead macroeconomic cycles and generate excessive real macroeconomic volatility. Standard small open economy models, including extensions with working capital constraints, have been unable to match these regularities, due to weak propagation mechanisms. I develop a model of a relatively impatient, credit constrained small open economy that features a permanently binding collateral constraint on foreign liabilities. The constraint imposes an endogenous relationship between foreign net liabilities and accumulating capital which serves as collateral. The model reveals considerable propagation of interest rate shocks, matching impulse responses, business cycle moments and the negative serial correlation between output and lagged interest rate. Furthermore, interest rate shocks have realistic growth persistence, consistent with recession patterns. In line with the empirical evidence, they account for over 20% of output
By what measure? A comparison of French and US labor market performance with new indicators of employment adequacy

Comparisons of national labor market performance have conventionally relied on standard unemployment and employment rates (UR and ER) and these two ‘quantity‐of‐employment’ indicators have framed policy debates on the merits of reforms that would move European labor markets closer to the ‘American Model. ’ This paper compares French and US performance using a variety of alternative indicators, including new measures that account for job quality. While the UR was much higher for France between 1984 and 2007, it was lower than the US rate before 1984 and the rates have since converged. It is also significant but not well‐known that both prime‐age ERs and youth unemployment‐to‐population rates have been quite similar in recent decades. We calculate two new summary indicators from each country’s main household survey for 1993–2005 designed to account for the adequacy of pay and hours of work as well as the number of unemployed and employed (the underemployed share of the labor force and the adequately employed share of the working age population). France shows superior performance on both, especially for less‐educated workers, and the French advantage has grown substantially since the late 1990s.
Five-year colon surveillance after screening colonoscopy.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Outcomes of colon surveillance after colorectal cancer screening with colonoscopy are uncertain. We conducted a prospective study to measure incidence of advanced neoplasia in patients within 5.5 years of screening colonoscopy. METHODS Three thousand one hundred twenty-one asymptomatic subjects, age 50 to 75 years, had screening colonoscopy between 1994 and 1997 in the Department of Veterans Affairs. One thousand one hundred seventy-one subjects with neoplasia and 501 neoplasia-free controls were assigned to colonoscopic surveillance over 5 years. Cohorts were defined by baseline findings. Relative risks for advanced neoplasia within 5.5 years were calculated. Advanced neoplasia was defined as tubular adenoma greater than > or =10 mm, adenoma with villous histology, adenoma with high-grade dysplasia, or invasive cancer. RESULTS Eight hundred ninety-five (76.4%) patients with neoplasia and 298 subjects (59.5%) without neoplasia at baseline had colonoscopy within 5.5 years; 2.4% of patients with no neoplasia had interval advanced neoplasia. The relative risk in patients with baseline neoplasia was 1.92 (95% CI: 0.83-4.42) with 1 or 2 tubular adenomas <10 mm, 5.01 (95% CI: 2.10-11.96) with 3 or more tubular adenomas <10 mm, 6.40 (95% CI: 2.74-14.94) with tubular adenoma > or =10 mm, 6.05 (95% CI: 2.48-14.71) for villous adenoma, and 6.87 (95% CI: 2.61-18.07) for adenoma with high-grade dysplasia. CONCLUSIONS There is a strong association between results of baseline screening colonoscopy and rate of serious incident lesions during 5.5 years of surveillance. Patients with 1 or 2 tubular adenomas less than 10 mm represent a low-risk group compared with other patients with colon neoplasia.
Simultaneous measurement of DNA content and cell-surface immunofluorescence of human bone marrow cells using a single laser flow cytometer.

This paper describes the measurement of S phase DNA content in human bone marrow subpopulations using a single laser method for bivariate analysis of DNA content and cell-surface immunofluorescence (s-IF). Low density (less than 1.077 g/ml) bone marrow cells were labeled with a panel of unconjugated monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) for the lymphoid (CD2 + CD19), T-lymphoid (CD2), B-lymphoid (CD19), erythroid (anti-glycophorin-A), myelomonocytic (CD13, CD33; single and as cocktail) and monocytic (CD14) lineages. A fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated goat anti-mouse label was used as second step. Unfixed, MoAb-labeled cells were incubated for 24 h with a hypotonic propidium iodide solution for DNA staining. Cells were analysed on a single-laser flow cytometer, operating at 488 nm. The effect of the combined staining protocol upon both s-IF and DNA stainability was evaluated. Only a slight decrease (mean: 29.0%) in s-IF intensity was observed after DNA staining. The percentages of immunofluorescent cells in the bone marrow samples of 10 normal individuals before and after DNA staining were essentially unchanged for all the MoAbs used. The DNA histograms of the immunophenotypically defined subpopulations were of excellent quality with a mean coefficient or variation of 1.8%. This procedure allows the assessment of very low levels of S-phase DNA content, as measured in normal low density blood cells of 8 healthy volunteers (mean 0.07%). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Calcium Phosphopeptides — Mechanisms of Action and Evidence for Clinical Efficacy

Phosphoproteins/phosphopeptides with clusters of acidic residues are found throughout nature, where they aid in the prevention of unwanted precipitation of solid calcium phosphates. The acidic residues, particularly phosphoserine, interact with calcium and stabilize clusters of calcium and phosphate. Saliva and milk are two examples of biological fluids that contain such phosphoprotein/phosphopeptide-stabilized calcium phosphates, and both share a similar evolutionary pathway. Saliva has been shown to have remineralization potential and is of critical importance in maintaining the mineral content of teeth in the oral environment. Milk can be enzymatically modified to release casein phosphopeptides that contain the clusters of residues that allow milk to stabilize high concentrations of calcium and phosphate. These casein phosphopeptide-stabilized amorphous calcium phosphate nanocomplexes (CPP-ACP) can stabilize even higher concentrations of calcium and phosphate than milk and can be considered a salivary biomimetic, since they share many similarities to statherin. The mechanisms of action and the growing body of scientific evidence that supports the use of CPP-ACP to augment fluoride in inhibiting demineralization and enhancing the remineralization of white-spot lesions are reviewed.