Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Meta-Study on the Effects of Adopting and Using the ITIL Reference Framework on IS/IT Service Organizations: Implications for Service Design and Management beyond the IT Domain

Based on the aggregated findings of 25 studies from the literature, this paper presents a comprehensiv e overview of the impacts, motivation, and success factors of the adopt ion of the IS/IT service management reference frame work ITIL in IS/IT service organizations in practice. Positive effects across studies include increased customer satisfac tion, service quality, and the increase of time and cost efficiency for servic e provision. For the introduction of ITIL, top mana gement support, dedicated change management, and the introduction of “quick win” processes were key success factors. Based on these findings, the author discusses several implications for further r esearch on service design and management beyond the domain of IT service management.
Clinical Characteristics of Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction Who Did Not Undergo Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention- Report From the MIYAGI-AMI Registry Study.

BACKGROUND In the current era of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), some patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) still do not undergo primary PCI. METHODSANDRESULTS To examine the clinical characteristics of AMI patients who did not undergo primary PCI, we analyzed patients enrolled between 2002 and 2010 in the MIYAGI-AMI Registry Study, in which all AMI patients in the Miyagi prefecture have been prospectively registered. Among a total of 8,640 patients, 1,879 (21.7%) did not undergo primary PCI and their in-hospital mortality was significantly worse compared with those who did (21.4% vs. 6.4%, P<0.01). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that female sex was significantly associated with non-performance of primary PCI [odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 1.40 (1.22-1.61), P<0.001], along with age [1.01 (1.01-1.02), P<0.001] and heart failure on admission [2.69 (2.29-3.16), P<0.001]. When dividing by age, the non-performance rate of primary PCI in females showed a U-shaped prevalence, whereas it simply increased with aging in males. Importantly, female patients aged <80 years had a significantly higher non-performance rate of primary PCI compared with male patients, regardless of the severity of AMI. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that in the current PCI era, various factors, including aging, heart failure on admission and sex differences, are associated with non-performance of primary PCI, which remain to be resolved in order to further improve critical care of AMI.
Relationship of firm attributes, ownership structure and business network on climate change efforts: evidence from Malaysia

Climate change has become an increasingly important issue in Malaysia. The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between firm characteristics, firm ownership, business networks and climate change mitigation activities in Malaysia. Firms' annual report and corporate social reporting (CSR) content analysis are used to obtain the climate change mitigation activities. Five main themes adopted from Freedman and Jaggi (2005) were measured using the weighted weighting schemes. The 2009 annual reports and CSR of 100 companies from seven industry memberships were selected. Of the 100 companies, 35 were members of the sustainable business networks in Malaysia. Size, profitability, industry membership, government ownership and business network were found to be positively and significantly related to climate change mitigation efforts. Only foreign ownership was found to be negatively related. This research suggests that climate change mitigation efforts from members of sustainability business network are higher compared to those of non-members. This implies that such networks could help to promote better sustainability practices.
Platelet‐rich plasma impairs osteoclast generation from human precursors of peripheral blood

Platelet‐rich plasma is used to accelerate bone repair for the release of osteogenic growth factors from activated platelets. To date, the effects on osteoclasts have been only scarcely investigated, even though these cells are crucial for bone remodeling. The aim of this research was the evaluation of the effects of thrombin‐activated platelets (PRP) on osteoclastogenesis from human blood precursors. We evaluated both the ability to influence osteoclast differentiation induced by the receptor activator of nuclear factor‐kappaB ligand (RANKL), and the ability to induce osteoclast differentiation without RANKL. In both assays, the incubation with PRP supernatant at 10% did not significantly affect the formation of tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP)‐positive multinucleated cells that were able to form the F‐actin ring. However, when PRP at 25 and 50% was added to the medium without RANKL, the generation of TRACP‐positive multinucleated cells was inhibited. PRP, even at 10%, reduced the osteoclast‐mediated bone collagen degradation, suggesting inhibition of osteoclast activation. Similarly, after incubation with PRP supernatant, calcitonin receptor mRNA was lower than the untreated samples. In conclusion, PRP at 10% interfered with the complete differentiation process of human osteoclast precursors. At higher concentration it impaired osteoclast formation also at an early stage of differentiation. © 2010 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 28:792–797, 2010
Search Engine Guided Neural Machine Translation

In this paper, we extend an attention-based neural machine translation (NMT) model by allowing it to access an entire training set of parallel sentence pairs even after training. The proposed approach consists of two stages. In the first stage –retrieval stage–, an off-the-shelf, black-box search engine is used to retrieve a small subset of sentence pairs from a training set given a source sentence. These pairs are further filtered based on a fuzzy matching score based on edit distance. In the second stage–translation stage–, a novel translation model, called search engine guided NMT (SEG-NMT), seamlessly uses both the source sentence and a set of retrieved sentence pairs to perform the translation. Empirical evaluation on three language pairs (En-Fr, En-De, and En-Es) shows that the proposed approach significantly outperforms the baseline approach and the improvement is more significant when more relevant sentence pairs were retrieved.
Do Unions Benefit from Working in Partnership with Employers? Evidence from Ireland

Advocates and critics of voluntary workplace partnership have presented a series of theoretical arguments as to the potential consequences for unions working under partnership arrangements. A survey of Irish employees views is used to assess these competing claims. The study is timely on two counts: first, empirical investigations of the effects of partnership on union influence and members commitment to unions are rare; and, second, it is 11 years since employers, unions, and government in Ireland first signed a national framework agreement to promote the diffusion of partnership as a means for the handling of workplace change. The evidence provides support for the arguments as advanced by advocates.
Stock prices and exchange rate dynamics in selected African countries: a bivariate analysis

Purpose - The paper aims to investigate the relationship between stock prices and exchange rate movement in seven African countries. Design/methodology/approach - It uses vector autoregressive (VAR) cointegration and impulse response analysis to determine the long- and short-run linkages between stock prices and exchange rates. Findings - Cointegration analyses indicate a long-run relationship between stock prices and the exchange rate in Tunisia, where exchange rate depreciation drives down stock prices. A short-run error-correction model also shows similar results. Impulse response analyses for other countries show that stock returns in Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and Nigeria reduce when induced by exchange rate shocks but increase in Egypt and South Africa. Shocks induced by either stock prices or the exchange rate are more protracted in Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and Nigeria than in South Africa and Egypt. Originality/value - This is one of the few studies on Africa which tests for long-run dynamics and impulse response shock dynamics within a VAR framework. Again unlike other studies it also concentrates on more countries in the sample.
Two Essays on Liquidity Essay I: Information Related Trading on Two Nearly Identical Options Essay II: The Importance of the Liquidity Premium in the Presence of Declining Transactions Cost

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Comorbid risks of psychological disorders and gastroesophageal reflux disorder using the national health insurance service—National Sample Cohort

Abstract This study was performed to examine the comorbidity risks between psychological disorders, such as depression, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) using nationally representative data from a National Sample Cohort of the National Health Insurance Service in Korea. The National Health Insurance Service—National Sample Cohort (NHIS–NSC) database from 2010 to 2012 was used in this study. GERD patients were defined as those diagnosed with specific tests, with screened medication, and without any other gastrointestinal diseases. Propensity score matching for age, sex, and economic status was applied to form a control cohort. Incidence rate, relative risks, Cox proportional-hazards modeling, and Kaplan–Meier analysis were applied to examine the differences between the GERD and control cohorts with regard to the risk of subsequent psychological disorders. The results showed that patients in the GERD cohort (n = 9503) had significantly higher risks of psychological disorders than those without GERD (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07–1.47, P = .006). Specifically, the risk of depressive disorder was significantly higher for patients in the GERD cohort than in the control cohort (adjusted HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.04–1.91, P = .027). Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that the estimated probability of psychological disorders was significantly higher in the GERD cohort compared with the control cohort (log-rank test, P = .007). This study suggested that GERD may be a risk factor for subsequent psychological disorders, specifically, depressive disorder. The results of this study in GERD patients compared with non-GERD patients in Korea suggested that psychological disorders and GERD may be inter-related.
Radionuclide imaging in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis

Three patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE)—two with acute disease and one with an exacerbation—had abnormal radionuclide brain scans during periods of rapid neurologic deterioration. In two of the three patients radionuclide brain scan showed lesions of both cortex and deeper structures, indicating the panencephalic nature of the disease. There was no contrast enhancement on computerized tomography (CT) in the areas of radiopharmaceutical accumulation in the two patients studied. We feel that delayed radionuclide scanning is more sensitive in detecting acute SSPE than routine contrast-enhanced CT, because more time is allowed for tracer accumulation in lesions and for background activity to decrease.
Why Do Absolute Returns Predict Volatility So Well

Our objective is volatility forecasting, which is core to many risk management problems. We provide theoretical explanations for (i) the empirical stylized fact recognized at least since Taylor (1986) and Ding, Granger, and Engle (1993) that absolute returns show more persistence than squared returns and (ii) the empirical finding reported in recent work by Ghysels, Santa-Clara, and Valkanov (2006) showing that realized absolute values outperform square return-based volatility measures in predicting future increments in quadratic variation. We start from a continuous time stochastic volatility model for asset returns suggested by Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard (2001) and study the persistence and linear regression properties of various volatility-related processes either observed directly or with sampling error. We also allow for jumps in the asset return processes and investigate their impact on persistence and linear regression. Extensive empirical results complement the theoretical analysis. Copyright 2007, Oxford University Press.
Why Phase-Change Media Are Fast and Stable: A New Approach to an Old Problem

Present-day multimedia strongly relies on re-writable phase-change optical memories. We find that, different from current consensus Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST), the material of choice in digital versatile discs–random access memory (DVD-RAM), possesses a structure similar to ferroelectric GeTe, namely that Ge and Sb atoms are located off-center giving rise to a net dipole moment. Amorphisation of both GeTe and GST results in a significant shortening of covalent bonds and a decrease in the mean-square relative displacement concomitant with a drastic change in the short-range order. We demonstrate that the order-disorder transition in GeTe and GST is primarily due to a flip of Ge atoms from an octahedral position into a tetrahedral position without rupture of strong covalent bonds. It is this nature of the transformation that ensures large changes in reflectivity, fast disk performance and repeatable switching over millions cycles.
Carrageenan-induced ulceration of the large intestine in the guinea pig

A 5% aqueous solution of degraded carrageenan derived from the red seaweed Eucheuma spinosum was fed to guinea pigs in their drinking water over a period of 20-45 days. Occult blood in the faeces and multiple ulcers in the caecum, colon and rectum occurred in 100% of animals by the 30th day. The clinical and pathological features bear a close resemblance to human ulcerative colitis. The method provides a simple experimental model for the study of various aspects of the pathology of ulcerative lesions in the large intestine as well as the effects of therapeutic agents.
The interaction between C5a and both C5aR and C5L2 receptors is required for production of G‐CSF during acute inflammation

The complement activation product, C5a, is a key factor for regulation of inflammatory responses. C5a and C5adesArg bind to their receptors, C5aR and C5L2, but the functional roles of C5L2 remain controversial. We screened the patterns of 23 inflammatory mediators in cultures of LPS‐activated mouse peritoneal elicited macrophages (PEMs) in the presence or absence of recombinant mouse C5a. Production of most mediators studied was suppressed by C5a, whereas G‐CSF production was enhanced. G‐CSF gene expression and secretion from PEMs was amplified two‐ to threefold by C5a in a dose‐ and time‐dependent fashion. The degradation product C5adesArg promoted lower levels of G‐CSF. The effects of C5a on G‐CSF were associated with activation of PI3K/Akt and MEK1/2 signaling pathways. C5a did not enhance G‐CSF production in cultures of PEMs from either C5aR‐ or C5L2‐deficient mice, indicating that both C5a receptors are indispensable for mediating the effects of C5a in the production of G‐CSF. Finally, G‐CSF levels in plasma during polymicrobial sepsis after cecal ligation and puncture were substantially lower in C5aR‐ or C5L2‐deficient mice as compared with that in C57BL/6J WT mice. These findings elucidate the functional characteristics of the C5L2 receptor during the acute inflammatory response.
Knowing "What" to Do Is Not Enough: Turning Knowledge into Action

Why, in light of all the substantial resources firms devote to improving their performance, do so few management practices actually change? In fact, knowledge management at many companies often makes the "knowing-doing" gap worse. This article explains why firms find it so difficult to translate knowledge into practice and offers a set of guidelines that address the sources of this problem. Knowing what to do is not enough; the challenge for managers is to figure out how to do what they know needs to be done.
Monetary Policy in Central and Eastern Europe: Lessons after Half a Decade of Transition

The paper uses data from transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe to assess four questions: (i) Did the standard blueprint for stabilization work, and was it implemented? (ii) To what extent was normal macroeconomics impeded by solvency problems in banks, and how successful have been policies to improve incentives within banks? (iii) Could financial markets and other infrastructure for monetary policy have been developed more quickly? (iv) How should transition economies respond to the monetary inflows that typically accompany success? The paper concludes by evaluating the changing advice offered by external agencies during the 1990s.
Do firms obey the law when they fire workers? Social criteria and severance payments in Germany

Purpose - Employment protection legislation defines social criteria according to which firms can dismiss workers. If firms evade the law, then negotiation about compensation begins. To reduce the legal and financial uncertainty often associated with Design/methodology/approach - The probability of receiving compensation and the factors determining the amount of severance payment are estimated when it comes to private negotiations about the termination of an employment contract. In addition, the effect of the reform of the employment protection legislation on the probability of receiving compensation and the amount of redundancy pay is analysed. A stepwise estimation strategy is developed to account for sample selection bias when examining which workers receive severance payments and the determinants of severance pay variation. Empirical evidence is provided using German panel data for the period 2000-2006. Findings - The paper shows that workers protected by law have the lowest probability of being dismissed. The expected severance payment and firm size increase the probability of receiving compensation while the amount of severance payment depends significantly on the way the employment relationship is dissolved. Contrary to the intention of the legislator, the reform increases the level of compensation. Originality/value - The paper fills a gap in the literature by taking into account selectivity bias when estimating the probability of receiving redundancy pay and the size of compensation. The evidence also provides insights which may be useful for the ongoing discussion to reform employment protection legislation in Germany.
Interobserver Agreement of Interim and End-of-Treatment 18F-FDG PET/CT in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Impact on Clinical Practice and Trials

We aimed to assess the interobserver agreement of interim PET (I-PET) and end-of-treatment PET (EoT-PET) using the Deauville score (DS) in first-line diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients. Methods: I-PET and EoT-PET scans of DLBCL patients were performed in the HOVON84 study (2007–2012), an international multicenter randomized controlled trial. Patients received R-CHOP14 and were randomized to receive rituximab intensification in the first 4 cycles or not. I-PET was performed after 4 cycles (for observational purposes), and EoT-PET after 6 or 8 cycles. Two independent central reviewers retrospectively scored all scans according to the DS system, masked to clinical outcomes. Results were dichotomized as negative (DS of 1–3) or positive (DS of 4–5). Besides percentage overall agreement (OA), we calculated agreement for positive and negative scores, expressed as positive agreement (PA) and negative agreement (NA), respectively. Results: 465 I-PET and 457 EoT-PET scans were centrally reviewed; baseline 18F-FDG PET or PET/CT was available in 75%–77%, and CT in the remaining cases. Percentage OA for I-PET and EoT-PET were 87.7% and 91.7% (P = 0.049), with NA of 92.0% and 95.0% (P = 0.091), and PA of 73.7% and 76.3% (P = 0.656), respectively. Conclusion: Interobserver agreement using DS in DLBCL patients in I-PET and EoT-PET yields high OA and NA. The lower PA suggests that EoT-PET/CT treatment evaluation in daily practice and I-PET–adapted trials may benefit from dual reads and central review, respectively.
On the construction of static stabilizers and static output trackers for dynamically linearizable systems, related results and applications

It is shown that the property of dynamic linearizability, to be understood as linearizability by means of the dynamic extension algorithm, implies the existence of static, possibly time varying, control laws yielding asymptotic output tracking with arbitrary speed of convergence and asymptotic stabilization with a computable bound on the region of attraction. Similar results hold for systems which are only input/output linearizable by means of dynamic state feedback, provided that the inverse dynamics possess certain stability properties. Applications of these results to the problem of regional stabilization of a VTOL aircraft is considered, together with the tracking problem for a class of flexible joints robots. Moreover, a novel parameterization for flexible joint robots is also proposed.
Organizational Prospects, Influence Costs, and Ownership Changes

We augment efficiency-based theories of ownership by including influence costs. Our principal conclusion is that the prospect of organizational decline and layoffs creates additional influence costs in multiunit organizations that would be absent if there was no prospect of layoffs and would be lessened or eliminated in focused organizations. This helps explain the tendency of firms to divest poorly performing units, as well as the pattern of sales of such units to firms already in businesses related to that of the divested unit. Copyright 1992 by MIT Press.
Efficacy and safety of iron chelators in thalassemia and sickle cell disease: a multiple treatment comparison network meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis

ABSTRACT Background: To compare the efficacy and safety of desferrioxamine (DFO), deferiprone (DFP), deferasirox (DFX) and silymarin in patients with either thalassemia or sickle cell disorder through network meta-analysis. Methods: Electronic databases were searched for appropriate randomized clinical trials comparing iron chelators in patients with iron overload. Random effects model was used to generate direct, indirect and mixed treatment comparison pooled estimates for the following outcomes: serum ferritin, liver iron concentration (LIC), changes in serum ferritin, mortality, urine iron excretion, adverse events, neutropenia, agranulocytosis and number of patients withdrawing the chelating therapy. Results: Thirty-two clinical trials were included in the meta-analysis. DFX/DFO was associated with better serum ferritin levels compared to DFO, DFX, DFO/Silymarin and DFP/DFO. DFX/DFO also lower LIC significantly compared to DFO. DFP/DFO was associated with higher LVEF, low risk of adverse events and reduced end of serum ferritin compared to DFO. Combination of silymarin with either DFP or DFX was observed with reduced end of treatment serum ferritin compared to using either of the drugs alone. DFP was observed with better effects in sickle cell disease. The strength of evidence was very low for most of the comparisons. Conclusion: Relative estimates between the individual iron chelators have been established. However, this evidence should be considered preliminary and may change with the results of future head-to-head clinical trials.