Cross Section Measurements of High-pTp_T Dilepton Final-State Processes Using a Global Fitting Method

We present a new method for studying high-$p_T$ dilepton events ($e^{\pm}e^{\mp}$, $\mu^{\pm}\mu^{\mp}$, $e^{\pm}\mu^{\mp}$) and simultaneously extracting the production cross sections of $p\bar{p} \to t\bar{t}$, $p\bar{p} \to W^+W^-$, and p\bar{p} \to \ztt at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 1.96$ TeV. We perform a likelihood fit to the dilepton data in a parameter space defined by the missing transverse energy and the number of jets in the event. Our results, which use $360 {\rm pb^{-1}}$ of data recorded with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, are $\sigma(t\bar{t}) = 8.5_{-2.2}^{+2.7}$ pb, $\sigma(W^+W^-) = 16.3^{+5.2}_{-4.4}$ pb, and \sigma(\ztt) =291^{+50}_{-46} pb.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, to be submitted to PRD-R

THE USE OF 16,16-DIMETHYL-TRANS-DELTA-2 PROSTAGLANDIN-E1 METHYL-ESTER VAGINAL SUPPOSITORIES FOR MANAGEMENT OF MISSED ABORTION AND FETAL DEATH

The effect of vaginal administration of a PgE1 analogue to terminate missed abortion and fetal death in utero was evaluated in 62 women with gestation ranging from the 13th to the 37th week. Abortion occurred in 85.4% of women with missed abortion and in 86% of women with fetal death. In both groups, the mean induction time was less than 12 h. The incidence of side effects, primarily gastrointestinal symptoms, was infrequent

Why is the history of heterosexuality essential? Beliefs about the history of heterosexuality and homosexuality and their relationship to sexual prejudice.

Heterosexual people with more positive attitudes to lesbians and gay men generally believe that homosexuality is immutable, is not a discrete social category, and that homosexuality exists in all cultures and time periods. Equivalent beliefs about heterosexuality and beliefs about components of sexuality have been less-often researched. 136 people with diverse sexualities described heterosexuality as more universal across history and culture than homosexuality (Study 1). 69 heterosexual-identified participants similarly believed that love, identity, behaviour and desire were more historically invariant aspects of heterosexuality than of homosexuality (Study 2). Less prejudiced participants thought all components of homosexuality – except for identity – were more historically invariant. Teasing apart beliefs about the history of components of heterosexuality and homosexuality suggests that there is no “essential” relationship between sexual prejudice and the tension between ‘essentialist’ and ‘constructivist’ views about the history of sexual identity

The efficacy and tolerability of long-term cabergoline therapy in hyperprolactinaemic disorders an open, uncontrolled, multicentre study

We assessed the efficacy and safety of the new, long-acting dopamine agonist drug cabergoline during long-term therapy of hyperprolactinaemia. Open, prospective, multicentre study. One hundred and sixty-two females with either a microprolactinoma (n =loo), idiopathic hyperprolactinaemia (n = 54), empty sella syndrome (n = 7) or residual hyperprolactinaemia after surgery for a macroprolactinoma (n = 1). All had previously been treated with cabergoline or placebo for 4 weeks as part of a dose-finding study. Menstrual pattern, adverse symptoms, blood pressure and pulse, serum PRL, blood count, liver and renal function were assessed after one month and subsequently at two-monthly intervals. Treatment was started at doses of 0.25 mg (n=3), 0.5 mg (n=8), 1 mg (n=150) or 2 mg (n=1) per week, given either as a single weekly dose (n=8) or divided into twice-weekly doses (n = 154), and was continued for at least 49 weeks in 123 patients. Final treatment doses ranged from 0.25 mg fortnightly to 2 mg twice weekly: most patients finished the study taking 0.5 mg once (n = 31) or twice (n = 77) weekly. Stable normalization of PRL levels was achieved in 138 subjects (85%), in 129 of whom the effective dose was < 1 mg per week. In the subset of 114 patients completing 49 weeks of therapy and having dose adjustments according to the protocol, the biochemical success rate was 92%. Fifty-nine of the 65 previously amenorrhoeic women (91%) and 44 of the 49 (90%) who were previously oligomenorrhoeic resumed regular menses andlor became pregnant during the study. Adverse events were reported in 64 patients (39.5%). In 84% of cases with adverse events, the symptoms were of mild or moderate severity and most occurred during the first few weeks of therapy; five patients (3%) discontinued treatment because of poor tolerance. The most frequent symptoms were dizziness (13% of patients), headache (13%), nausea (10%) and weakness and/or fatigue (10%). Of 27 patients who had previously been poorly tolerant of other dopamine agonists, 17 (63%) did not experience any side-effects and only one was intolerant of cabergoline. No adverse haematological or biochemical effects were detected except for a slight downward trend in haemoglobin which may have been related to the resumption of regular menses in previously amenorrhoeic or oligomenorrhoeic women. A mild hypotensive effect was observed, mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures falling by 5 and 4 mmHg respectively during treatment. The results provide evidence for the longterm effectiveness and safety of cabergoline in the treatment of hyperprolactinaemia. Its ability to normalize PRL and restore gonadal function compares favourably with reported data on reference compounds while its tolerability profile and simple administration schedule offer potential advantages in terms of patient acceptability