Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does practice size matter? Review of effects on quality of care in primary care.

BACKGROUND There is a trend towards consolidating smaller primary care practices into larger practices worldwide. However, the effects of practice size on quality of care remain unclear. AIM This review aims to systematically appraise the effects of practice size on the quality of care in primary care. DESIGN AND SETTING A systematic review and narrative synthesis of studies examining the relationship between practice size and quality of care in primary care. METHOD Quantitative studies that focused on primary care practices or practitioners were identified through PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane Library, CRD databases, ProQuest dissertations and theses, conference proceedings, and MedNar databases, as well as the reference lists of included studies. Independent variables were team or list size; outcome variables were measures of clinical processes, clinical outcomes, or patient-reported outcomes. A narrative synthesis of the results was conducted. RESULTS The database search yielded 371 articles, of which 34 underwent quality assessment, and 17 articles (13 cross-sectional studies) were included. Ten studies examined the association of practice size and clinical processes, but only five found associations of larger practices with selected process measures such as higher specialist referral rates, better adherence to guidelines, higher mammography rates, and better monitoring of haemoglobin A1c. There were mixed results for cytology and pneumococcal coverage. Only one of two studies on clinical outcomes found an effect of larger practices on lower random haemoglobin A1 value. Of the three studies on patient-reported outcomes, smaller practices were consistently found to be associated with satisfaction with access, but evidence was inconsistent for other patient-reported outcomes evaluated. CONCLUSION There is limited evidence to support an association between practice size and quality of care in primary care.
The Rôle of the Fundamental

T HAT there is nothing fundamental is now regarded as such a truism that fundamentals have ceased to have even respectable standing in the sphere of "enlightened" action. It is no longer necessary to prove the assertion; to mention it is quite sufficient. The proposition meets with ready assent among intelligent people. Nevertheless, the statement needs interpretation. That there is no absolute fundamental is true but it does not follow from this that nothing is fundamental. There may be something that is fundamental even though there is nothing that is absolutely fundamental. The fundamental is not necessarily an antiquated ethical term because of the present logical status of absolutes. Thus it is still legitimate to talk about Good, Right, Virtue and Justice, recognizing the fact that their absolutes have been thrown out of court. It will be a sorry day for the world when these moral concepts are no longer a fit subject for inquiry and so with the Fundamental. The fundamental occupied a most important place in systems of absolute ethics. To believe in God and to obey the Ten Commandments were once fundamental. They were fundamental to salvation. Salvation having become an obsolete goal for humanity from the standpoint of the "intellectuals," these fundamentals have been thrown overboard and with them have perished all fundamentals in many instances. With the relegation of absolutism in ethics along with absolutism in politics to the scrap heap has gone the banishment of fundamentals. The fundamental born of absolutism has no place in democratic morals. But was not democracy itself born of absolutism? Why reject the fundamental because of its ancestry and proclaim democracy as the only legitimate heir to the throne of absolutism?
Dendritic Cell–Dependent In Vivo Generation of Autoregulatory T Cells by Antidiabetogenic MHC Class II

Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain how certain MHC class II molecules afford dominant resistance to autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, it remains unclear how protective MHC types can blunt autoreactive T cell responses directed against a diverse repertoire of autoantigenic epitopes presented by disease-promoting MHCs. In this study, we show that expression of I-E on dendritic cells (DCs) of NOD mice promotes the differentiation of MHC promiscuous autoreactive CD4+ clonotypes into antidiabetogenic autoregulatory T cells. We expressed an I-EαkloxP transgene in NOD mice and used cell type–specific I-E ablation to show that I-E–expressing DCs, but not B cells, promote the generation of autoreactive CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) and their accumulation in the pancreas-draining lymph nodes. There, these Tregs suppress the presentation of β cell Ags to naive autoreactive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells restricted by diabetogenic MHC molecules in an I-E–independent manner. Whereas selective removal of I-E on DCs abrogated autoregulatory Treg formation and T1D protection, selective removal of I-E on B cells was inconsequential. These results explain how certain MHC class II molecules can completely suppress antigenically complex autoimmune responses in an Ag-nonspecific manner.
Methodology for the Assessment of Spatial Economic Impacts of Transport Projects and Policies

In this study we develop an integrated econometric and CGE modelling framework for transport projects and transport policies at the European level by integrating network, regional economic and macro-economic impacts. The paper presents the formal structure of the integrated econometric and CGE modelling framework, explains the calibration and applies it to the policy evaluation. The effects of infrastructure investments are modelled by simulating trade cost changes in a comparative static analysis, using estimates of trade cost changes due to new infrastructure links, obtained from a transport network model. By performing a systematic and quantitative analysis of the spatial, network and socio-economic impacts of transport investments and policy and carrying out scenario simulations we improve the under-standing of the impact of transportation policies on short- and long-term spatial development in the EU.
Strategic Leadership and Leaders in Entrepreneurial Contexts: A Nexus for Innovation and Impact Missed?

Research at the nexus of strategic leadership and entrepreneurial contexts has been encouraging, but some of the more innovative and impactful questions remain underexplored. The purpose of the Special Issue was to provide a forum for works that build on the constraints, challenges, characteristics, and other salient elements of entrepreneurial settings to advance theory and testing on strategic leadership effects, as well as enrich our understanding of firm behaviour and outcomes in entrepreneurial contexts. We first provide an overview and background of the Special Issue. We then provide a summary of the process and outcomes, including a synopsis of the accepted manuscripts. The discussion finally traces the implications of the Special Issue for future research directions on strategic leadership and leaders in entrepreneurial contexts.
The Impact of Organizational Orientations on Medium and Small Firm Performance: A Resource‐Based Perspective

Recent studies suggest that market, entrepreneurial, and learning orientations individually improve firm performance. In this study, we suggest that each of the orientations can enhance company success, but the potential of each orientation should not be viewed in isolation. Instead, we draw on the resource‐based view of the firm, looking at these three orientations as capabilities of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). The analysis was carried out on a sample of 164 SMEs. The results indicate that market, entrepreneurial, and learning orientations jointly give rise to positional advantage, which, in turn, is positively related to the performance of the firm.
Land use, multifunctionality and the common agricultural policy

Abstract The aim of the article is to analyse a couple of arguments for decentralisation of the common agricultural policy (CAP) in an abstract economic model. The CAP in the European Union has changed its focus towards supporting the multifunctional character of European agriculture. From an economic-theoretical point of view, this policy change will have to be founded in supporting positive external effects, but we show in a theoretical model that this is not straightforward. If the policy covers more than one country, the domestic value attached to an external effect can be different from one country to another. For landscape preservation it can be optimal to subsidise agriculture in countries where arable land is scarce and to tax agriculture (or support nature) in countries with less nature. In general, the most efficient level of policy provision depends on the nature of the external effect. If there are considerable differences in the evaluation of a certain multifunctional policy between countries, it can be more efficient to administer and implement the policy at a decentralised level of government where regional differentiation is possible.
Minimum Advertised Price

This paper examines minimum advertised price (MAP), a vertical restraint that is observed in manufacturer-retailer interactions. Under MAP, the manufacturer announces that it will reimburse retailers for a fraction of their advertising expenditures if retailers do not advertise the product at below a specified price. MAP can be considered a combination of resale price maintenance (RPM) and a cooperative advertising subsidy. Current antitrust law treats RPM as illegal per se, whereas MAP is judged according to a rule of reason. A framework is presented within with neither a minimum retail price nor a cooperative advertising subsidy is individually sufficient to enable maximization of profits in the complete manufacturer-retailer structure, but the two instruments together are. MAP is therefore a sufficient instrument for the maximization of joint profits. We argue that MAP can also be designed as a second-best instrument that replicates RPM. Copyright (c) 1998 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Capital Structure Choice: A Case Study on New Zealand Unlisted Firms

This paper investigates the determinants of capital structure in unlisted firms in New Zealand. Hypotheses utilising pecking order theory, trade-off theory and agency costs theory and the effects of firm ownership structure, firm characteristics and industry on small business capital structure determinants are empirically examined. 11 years of data for 120 unlisted small businesses are collected and 1320 observations are analysed using dynamic panel GMM estimation. The results indicate that managerial ownership, firm characteristics and industry are important determinants of capital structure. Moreover, this study finds firm ownership and characteristics have opposing relationships with long- and short-term capital structure choices. Though the results generally support pecking order theory, they indicate a potential need for different capital structure theories for long-term debt choice and short-term debt choice, in small firms.
Screening for Somatoform Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Until now, no German diagnostic instrument existed for somatoform disorders in children and adolescents. Therefore the Screening for Somatoform Disorders in Children and Adolescents (SOMS-CA) was developed based on the SOMS-2 (Screening for Somatoform Disorders 2) (Rief & Hiller, 2008). This study investigates to what extent the SOMS-CA can differentiate significantly between children and adolescents with clinically diagnosed somatoform disorders and a control group and whether the SOMS-CA is superior to the GSCL-C (Giessen Subjective Complaint List for Children) (Braehler, 1992). 30 patients (11 - 17 years) with somatoform disorders and a control group (n = 31) were examined with the SOMS-CA (N = 61). The results from the SOMS-CA in both groups were compared with one another by means of a contingency analysis (chi-square test). The sensitivity and specificity were calculated and an optimal cut-off value was determined (Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (ROC-curve) analysis). A comparison analysis of the ROC-curves of the SOMS-CA and the GSCL-C followed. The sum score of complaints in the patients was significantly higher than that in the control group. The ROC-curve for the SOMS-CA demonstrates its excellent ability to differentiate between the two groups with an AUC (area under the curve) = 0.983 (SE = 0.14; N = 61). The sensitivity was 97.6%, the specificity 96.8%. In comparison to the AUC of the GSCL-C the SOMS-CA shows a much higher result. The SOMS-CA successfully identifies patients with somatoform disorders from a paediatric population and differentiates from healthy test subjects. A comparison to the GSCL-C shows a considerable superiority of the SOMS-CA. Further studies on the validity of the SOMS-CA are necessary.
Obligatory Role of Src Kinase in the Signaling Mechanism for TRPC3 Cation Channels*

Members of the canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) subfamily of cation channels are candidates for capacitative and non-capacitative Ca2+ entry channels. When ectopically expressed in cell lines, TRPC3 can be activated by phospholipase C-mediated generation of diacylglycerol or by addition of synthetic diacylglycerols, independently of Ca2+ store depletion. Apart from this mode of regulation, little is known about other receptor-dependent signaling events that modulate TRPC3 activity. In the present study the role of tyrosine kinases in receptor- and diacylglycerol-dependent activation of TRPC3 was investigated. In HEK293 cells stably expressing TRPC3, pharmacological inhibition of tyrosine kinases, and specifically of Src kinases, abolished activation of TRPC3 by muscarinic receptor stimulation and by diacylglycerol. Channel regulation was lost following expression of a dominant-negative mutant of Src, or when TRPC3 was expressed in an Src-deficient cell line. In both instances, wild-type Src restored TRPC3 regulation. We conclude that Src plays an obligatory role in the mechanism for receptor and diacylglycerol activation of TRPC3.
The Nature of Ion Conduction in Methylammonium Lead Iodide: A Multimethod Approach

Abstract By applying a multitude of experimental techniques including 1H, 14N, 207Pb NMR and 127I NMR/NQR, tracer diffusion, reaction cell and doping experiments, as well as stoichiometric variation, conductivity, and polarization experiments, iodine ions are unambiguously shown to be the mobile species in CH3NH3PbI3, with iodine vacancies shown to represent the mechanistic centers under equilibrium conditions. Pb2+ and CH3NH3 + ions do not significantly contribute to the long range transport (upper limits for their contributions are given), whereby the latter exhibit substantial local motion. The decisive electronic contribution to the mixed conductivity in the experimental window stems from electron holes. As holes can be associated with iodine orbitals, local variations of the iodine stoichiometry may be fast and enable light effects on ion transport.
National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry laboratory medicine practice guidelines for use of tumor markers in testicular, prostate, colorectal, breast, and ovarian cancers.

BACKGROUND Updated National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry (NACB) Laboratory Medicine Practice Guidelines for the use of tumor markers in the clinic have been developed. METHODS Published reports relevant to use of tumor markers for 5 cancer sites--testicular, prostate, colorectal, breast, and ovarian--were critically reviewed. RESULTS For testicular cancer, alpha-fetoprotein, human chorionic gonadotropin, and lactate dehydrogenase are recommended for diagnosis/case finding, staging, prognosis determination, recurrence detection, and therapy monitoring. alpha-Fetoprotein is also recommended for differential diagnosis of nonseminomatous and seminomatous germ cell tumors. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is not recommended for prostate cancer screening, but may be used for detecting disease recurrence and monitoring therapy. Free PSA measurement data are useful for distinguishing malignant from benign prostatic disease when total PSA is <10 microg/L. In colorectal cancer, carcinoembryonic antigen is recommended (with some caveats) for prognosis determination, postoperative surveillance, and therapy monitoring in advanced disease. Fecal occult blood testing may be used for screening asymptomatic adults 50 years or older. For breast cancer, estrogen and progesterone receptors are mandatory for predicting response to hormone therapy, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 measurement is mandatory for predicting response to trastuzumab, and urokinase plasminogen activator/plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 may be used for determining prognosis in lymph node-negative patients. CA15-3/BR27-29 or carcinoembryonic antigen may be used for therapy monitoring in advanced disease. CA125 is recommended (with transvaginal ultrasound) for early detection of ovarian cancer in women at high risk for this disease. CA125 is also recommended for differential diagnosis of suspicious pelvic masses in postmenopausal women, as well as for detection of recurrence, monitoring of therapy, and determination of prognosis in women with ovarian cancer. CONCLUSIONS Implementation of these recommendations should encourage optimal use of tumor markers.
Electronic Screen Trading and the Transmission of Information: An Empirical Examination

We examine the lead-lag relation between intraday spot and futures prices for stock index where the component stocks are floor traded while the futures contract is screen traded. We find that futures prices lead spot prices by nearly 20 minutes. This is much longer than in markets where both the index and index futures are floor traded. We show that this lead-lag relation is unlikely to be an artifact of differences in liquidity between spot and future markets. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that screen trading accelerates the price discovery process.
Evaluation of trauma and prediction of outcome using TRISS method

Introduction: Trauma and injury severity score (TRISS), introduced in 1981 is a combination index based on revised trauma score (RTS), injury severity score (ISS) and patient's age. In this study we have used TRISS method to predict the outcome in trauma cases. Materials and Methods: 1000 consecutive cases of trauma of adult age group admitted in casualty of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital Ludhiana, from 1/7/2000 onwards. Revised Trauma Score, Injury Severity Score and Age Index were recorded from which TRISS was determined. The performance of TS, ISS and TRISS as predictors of survival was evaluated using the misclassification rate, the information gain and the relative information gain. Results: The majority of the patients were men (83.7%) and in the age group of 20-50 years. Road traffic collisions (72%) were the most common cause of trauma. The mortality rate was 4.1%. Using PER method, the TRISS method was found to have information gain of 0.049 and a relative information gain of 0.41. Conclusions: The revised trauma score (RTS) ranged from 2.746 to 7.8408. There was a graded increase in mortality with decreasing RTS score.
A test of the Linder hypothesis in Pacific NIC trade 1965-1990

This paper examines the degree to which the taste similarity (Linder) hypothesis explains trade patterns between the 'Four Tigers' East Asian New Industrial Countries (NICs), and their major OECD markets (and suppliers). The tests cover the period 1965-90, during which trade between these countries expanded at unprecedented rates. The tests employ an extensive disaggregated data set including all manufactured exports from the East Asian NICs to various major OECD markets. A new measure of trade intensity is employed, thus correcting a potentially critical bias affecting previous studies in this area. The results tend to support the applicability of the taste - differential (Linder) model as an important explainer of the changing pattern of trade for this sample of trade partners. The findings are generally consistent with other intertemporal studies (which 'neutralize' spatial effects on trade, such as Kennedy, T. and McHugh, R., Southern Economic Journal, 46 (3), 898-903, 1980); and support Hanink, D. (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, 126 (2), 257-67, 1990) hypothesis that the Linder hypothesis may provide a relatively good explanation of trade for countries above some per capita income threshold, and for Linder's original (An Essay on Trade and Transformation, John Wiley, New York, 1961), and Grey, H.P.'s (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, 116 (3), 447-70, 1980) suggestion that the hypothesis should prove especially applicable for trade in differentiated products.
A Generic IP Core of the Identical Forward and Inverse 12/36-Point MDCT Architecture and an Architectural Model Simulation Toolbox

Compression of digital audio signals has become very important audio computation process. Several compression schemes were developed and well established. Most of them adopt the MDCT/IMDCT. This paper presents a new FPGA-based generic IP core of an identical forward and inverse 12/36-point MDCT architecture and a new architectural model simulation toolbox. Several IP core parameters, that can be set by user, modify the data and constants' bitwidth and the number of parallel computation units used in the architecture. The architectural model simulation toolbox calculates the output computation precision and the estimated area of the architecture with parameters set by user. The toolbox was developed to speed up the process of finding the optimal parameters and is executable in the MATLAB environment.
Angles on angels: Financing technology-based ventures - a historical perspective

This paper reviews 20 years of research on the angel segment of the venture capital market. A lot has been learnt from one-shot studies of the attitudes, behaviour and characteristics of business angels. Taxonomies have been developed. However, we now need systematic insights into the dynamics of the angel market. The paper calls for longitudinal studies of angel and entrepreneurial behaviour, information flows, links to other market segments, information quality, formal and informal networks and the latent angel problem. The research base needs to be put on a solid theoretical and conceptual foundation. This research will provide the guidance required by public policy to unlock the capital and know-how of the millions of latent angels.
Using the competing values framework to investigate the culture of Qatar industries

The last decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in the level of awareness and the incidents of implementation of total quality management (TQM). However, not all the applications have been successful. Amongst the many reasons given for the failures, the literature often points to the constraining effects of an organization's culture as a major barrier. In fact, many published studies that deal with the implementation of TQM almost exclusively acknowledge the importance of cultural factors on the success or failure of the venture. The focus of this study was to investigate the degree of compatibility of the culture that exists in the industries of one of the Arab countries, Qatar, and that required for implementing TQM. This paper, in particular, discusses how the competing values framework (CVF) can be used in this respect. (The authors had already used the framework to help identify the necessary TQM cultural profile.) The medium used to gather the information was a questionnaire, which was completed by 141 organizations. The results indicated that many organizations in the country were not characterized by just one cultural type, but a mix of two, which did not match the cultural profile characteristics that support TQM. Implementing organizational culture change is not an easy task, but this assessment of the current position, using the CVF, has highlighted where changes are needed to support a total quality approach.