Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spontaneous Remission of Paroxysmal Dystonia Coincides with Normalization of Entopeduncular Activity indtsz Mutants

Recent studies have shown a dramatically decreased spontaneous discharge rate of entopeduncular neurons in a unique animal model of idiopathic paroxysmal dystonia, the dt(sz) mutant hamster. These changes were found in animals at the age at which the most marked expression of dystonia is usually observed. In this rodent model, the age-dependent disappearance of stress-inducible dystonic attacks at an age of approximately 10 weeks allows investigations of the relevance of pathophysiological changes for the occurrence of dystonia by ontogenetic studies. Therefore, we examined the entopeduncular activity by extracellular single unit recordings in groups of dt(sz) mutants and nondystonic control hamsters at 17-22 weeks of age. In contrast to recent findings, after the complete remission of dystonia, the mean discharge rate of entopeduncular neurons in dt(sz) mutants (28.1 +/- 1.2 spikes/sec) was similar to that of age-matched nondystonic control hamsters (30.8 +/- 0.9 spikes/sec). Thus, the disappearance of paroxysmal dystonia is accompanied by a normalization of the entopeduncular activity in dt(sz) mutants. The present data clearly demonstrate the fundamental importance of a decreased basal ganglia output for the expression of paroxysmal dystonia.
Economic Theories of Voter Turnout

(i) The voting paradox Why would the rational individual bother to spend time and resources to become well informed, go to the polls on the election day and maybe even wait in a queue? Why would a rational voter vote? (Downs, 1957) (ii) The paradox of indeterminacy If they vote why do they care who they vote for? (Kirchgassner, 1992; Kirchgassner and Pommerehne, 1993) (iii) The paradox of ignorance To the extent that information is costly, the rational voter must be ignorant about relevant aspects of his decision making (Downs, 1957).
Cooperative Relaying with Imperfect Channel State Information

We consider relay cooperation with imperfect channel state information (CSI) in the downlink of wireless networks. In particular, we consider a two-phase transmission where in the first phase the base station broadcasts information to the relays; the relays decode the data fully or partially depending on the transmission rate and the quality of their corresponding communication links. During the second phase, the relays cooperate by jointly beamforming information to multiple users given that channel mean and covariance are available at the transmitter side. The goal is to optimize the total network throughput (taking into account both transmission phases) by proper choice of the transmission rates, cooperation architecture and beamforming transmit vectors from the relays. The key contribution of this paper lies in the consideration of the impact of CSI imperfections in such a system. We first formulate the problem of finding the optimum throughput, which is not amenable to analytical solution. We therefore derive a suboptimum adaptive beamforming strategy that maximizes a derived upper bound on the average system throughput. Even though the relays have imperfect CSI, it is shown that relay cooperation can significantly improve the overall system throughput.
Poverty, Inequality and the Role of Social Grants: An Analysis using Decomposition Techniques

Despite South Africa’s transition from apartheid in 1994, the social landscape is still fragmented along racial lines. However, South Africa has an impressive social grants system by international standards, with social assistance spending as a percentage of GDP comparing to Western European countries during the 1980s (the height of the welfare state). This paper investigates the impact of social grants poverty and inequality in South African. Using the Income and Expenditure Survey of 2005 (IES2005) the normalized Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) measure and the General Entropy (GE) measure (to assess the impact of social grants on poverty and inequality, respectively), it is found that social grants have a considerable impact on poverty, and that this impact increases as the poverty measure being used becomes more sensitive to the severity of poverty. In terms of inequality, it is found that social grants have a negligible impact. The reason for this is that inequality is largely driven by the upper end of the income distribution – a group who do not receive social grants.
Clinical implications of Eclipse analytical anisotropic algorithm and Acuros XB algorithm for the treatment of lung cancer

The aim of the present study was to investigate the dose-volume variations of planning target volume (PTV) and organs at risks (OARs) in 15 left lung cancer patients comparing analytical anisotropic algorithm (AAA) versus Acuros XB algorithm. Originally, all plans were created using AAA with a template of dose constraints and optimization parameters, and the patients were treated using intensity modulated radiotherapy. In addition, another set of plans was created by performing only dose calculations using Acuros algorithm without doing any reoptimization. Thereby, in both set of plans, the entire plan parameters, namely, beam angle, beam weight, number of beams, prescribed dose, normalization point, region of interest constraints, number of monitor units, and plan optimization were kept constant. The evaluated plan parameters were PTV coverage at dose at 95% volume (TV95) of PTV (D95), the dose at 5% of PTV (D5), maximum dose (D max ), the mean dose (D mean ), the percent volume receiving 5 Gy (V5), 20 Gy (V20), 30 Gy (V30) of normal lung at risk (left lung- gross target volume [GTV], the dose at 33% volume (D33), at 67% volume (D67), and the D mean (Gy) of the heart, the D max of the spinal cord. Furthermore, homogeneity index (HI) and conformity index were evaluated to check the quality of the plans. Significant statistical differences between the two algorithms, P < 0.05, were found in D95, D max , TV95, and HI of PTV. Furthermore, significant statistical differences were found in the dose parameters for the OARs, namely, V5, V20, and V30 of left lung-GTV, right lung (D mean ), D33, and D mean of the heart, and D max of the spine, respectively. Although statistical differences do exist, the magnitude of the differences is too small to cause any clinically observable effect.
Post—September 11 Human Resource Management in Nonprofit Organizations

This article serves as a warning, an exhortation, and a guide to nonprofit trustees, executives, and human resource (HR) managers. The United States has experienced cumulative national shock waves during the past 2 to 3 years of a magnitude not previously experienced before—at least not in the past 50 years. The tragic events of September 11, 2001, alone would have changed the environment faced by America's nonprofit organizations. But there have been other shock waves on top of September 11. Each added new strains to the existing ones. Thus, organizations in the nonprofit sector face difficult HR challenges that may continue to become more acute in the upcoming months and years. This environment requires skillful management, particularly of human resources. This article is an exploratory study to identify how the post-September 11 environment is affecting nonprofit organizations and tried-and-true management tools to help cope in this era of uncertainty.
WHERE THE STREETS ARE PAVED WITH PRAWNS

As the proportion of the gross domestic product of Southeast Asian countries accounted for by agriculture continues its long-term decline, it is natural in studying regional migration flows to emphasize the ways people are moving away from farming. Across the region, however, millions of people continue to migrate both within and across international borders to take part in agricultural production. Many of them are moving to grow “boom crops” like cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, and shrimp, all of which have seen rapid expansion over the last two decades. In this article, the author provides a comparative survey of the links between crop booms and migration in Southeast Asia, arguing that this migration has taken three main forms: relatively autonomous and “spontaneous” migration by households or individuals looking to set up as boom crop–growing smallholders; a “transmigration” model in which parastatal agencies or private corporations with state support help migrants to relocate so that they can take part in organized farming schemes with at least some smallholder component; and migration for the purpose of working as waged laborers for plantations or richer smallholders growing boom crops. The importance of these types of migration has varied across crops. In the conclusion, the author makes several points about the politics of migration and crop booms.
Assessment of the abuse of tapentadol immediate release: the first 24 months.

OBJECTIVE Prescription opioid analgesics play an important role in the management of moderate to severe pain. An unintended consequence of prescribing opioid analgesics is the abuse and diversion of these medications. The authors estimated abuse and diversion rates for tapentadol immediate release (IR) compared with oxycodone, hydrocodone, and tramadol during the first 24 months of tapentadol IR availability. METHODS The Researched Abuse, Diversion and Addiction-Related Surveillance (RADARS®) System measures rates of prescription opioid abuse and diversion throughout the United States. Quarterly data from the Poison Center, Drug Diversion, Opioid Treatment, and Survey of Key Informants' Patients (SKIP) programs were plotted to visually compare the rates of tapentadol IR abuse and diversion with those of other opioid analgesics from July 2009 through June 2011 using both cases per 100,000 population and per 1,000 unique recipients of dispensed drug (URDD) as denominators. Trends in abuse and diversion rates over time were determined using a linear regression model of rate versus time. RESULTS During the 24 months following its introduction, tapentadol IR had very low population-based rates of abuse and diversion that were similar to rates for tramadol and lower than rates for oxycodone and hydrocodone. Rates of tapentadol IR abuse and diversion based on URDD were variable by program due to changes in market share and had not stabilized as of June 2011. CONCLUSIONS Rates of tapentadol IR abuse and diversion have been low during the first 24 months after its launch. Continued monitoring of trends in these data is warranted.
Cisplatin plus Gemcitabine in patients with inoperable or metastatic pancreatic cancer

Aim of the work: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of combination chemotherapy with cisplatin and gemcitabine in patients with inoperable or metastatic pancreatic cancer. Patients and Methods: the study included patients with histologically or cytologically confirmed inoperable or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Gemcitabine was given by IVI at a dose of 1000 mg/m 2 over 30 min on days 1 and 8 and cisplatin was given by IVI at a dose of 80 mg/m 2 over 150 min on day 1, of a 3-week cycle. Results: Twenty-five patients with previously untreated, unresectable or metastatic pancreatic cancer were enrolled in this study between August 2003 and December 2005 at the Kasr Al-Aini Center of Radiation Oncology and Nuclear Medicine (NEMROCK), Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University. The median age was 52 years; (range 36 -68). There were no complete responses. Five (20%) patients had partial responses, 16(64%) patients and 4(16%) patients had Stable and progressive disease, respectively. The median overall survival was 7.1 months; the median TTP was 4.6 months and 1- year survival was 20%. The Clinical benefit response was observed after the second cycle of chemotherapy, 8 of 19 patients (42%) experienced decreased pain intensity and reduced the daily dose of analgesics . At the same time, (33.3%) and (23.8%) patients experienced gain their weight and improvement in Kranofsky PS , respectively. The most common toxicities were myelosuppression, especially neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. Grade 3–4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia occurred in 52 and 48% of the patients, respectively. Conclusion: The combination of cisplatin and gemcitabine produced a good response rate associated with moderate but manageable toxicities in patients with inoperable or metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Price-Fixing Overcharges: Revised 3rd Edition

This paper surveys almost 600 published economic studies and judicial decisions that contain 1,517 quantitative estimates of overcharges of hard-core cartels, of which 8% are zero. The primary finding is that the median long-run overcharge for all types of cartels over all time periods is 23.3%. The median overcharge for international cartels (30.0%) is significantly higher than for domestic cartels (17.2%). Cartel overcharges are negatively skewed, pushing the mean overcharge for all successful cartels to 50.4%. Convicted cartels are on average slightly more effective at raising prices as unpunished cartels, whereas bid-rigging conduct displays lower mark-ups than price-fixing cartels. Because some jurisdictions fine illegal cartels on the presumption of a 10% overcharge, these averages suggest that penalty guidelines aimed at optimally deterring cartels ought to be increased.
FIRMS GROWTH, SIZE AND INNOVATION AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ITALIAN MANUFACTURING SECTOR

Abstract This article aims at understanding the determinants of Italian small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) turnover growth having in mind the fact that the Italian economic system relies substantially on small firms which have traditionally managed to stay competitive by adopting strategies such as the creation of well-integrated social and institutional clusters or specialising in the production of quality goods (the so called Made in Italy). However, the growing pressure coming from the Far East has rendered this production system vulnerable, challenging its international competitiveness. Building on a conceptual model, we found that, on average, young firms are more likely to experience positive growth; moreover, turnover growth is positively associated with firms’ size, process innovation, product innovation and organisational changes. In contrast, marketing innovation does not considerably affect Italian SMEs growth. When restricting our focus to a sub-sample of innovative firms, we found that those firms investing directly in innovating activities are almost 30% points more likely to experience positive growth, which is significantly affected also by workers and managers’ re-qualification. Finally, among innovative firms, process innovation and organisational changes are, by far, the most influential innovating strategies. The model was tested using a unique database which collects data for the year 2004, over a sample of 2600 SMEs.
Changing capitalisms?: Internationalization, institutional change, and systems of economic organization

An increasing number of studies in the last decade or so have emphasized the viability and persistence of distinctive systems of economic coordination and control in developed market economies. Over more or less the same period, the revival of institutional economics and evolutionary approaches to understanding the firm has focused attention on how firms create distinctive capabilities through establishing routines that coordinate complementary activities and skills for particular strategic purposes. For much of the 1990s these two strands of research remained distinct. Those focusing on the institutional frameworks of market economies were primarily concerned with identifying complementarities between institutional arrangements that explained coherence and continuity. On the other hand, those focusing on the dynamics of firm behaviour studied how firms develop new capacities and are able to learn new ways of doing things. This book aims to bring together these approaches. It consists of a set of theoretically motivated and empirically informed chapters from a range of internationally known contributors to these debates. In their chapters, the authors show how institutions and firms evolve. Ideas of path dependency and complementarity of institutions are subjected to critical scrutiny both by reference to their own internal logic and to empirical examples. Varieties of institutional integration, the surprising maintenance of 'deviant' or alternative traditions and processes, and the existence of unpredictable yet consequential policy options that can lead to breaks in path dependency are scrutinized with particular reference to how national and international firms may relate to institutions at various levels as a diverse arena of potential resources rather than as a singular and determinant constraining force. The book provides a set of theoretical and empirical challenges for researchers concerned with the relationship between national institutional contexts and firm dynamics. For those involved in teaching or studying at doctoral, Masters and higher level undergraduate courses, the book provides a structured entry into the debates about how institutions and firms are changing in the contemporary era.
The Rigidity of Prices

This paper presents evidence on the amount of price rigidity that exists in individual transaction prices. Using the Stigler-Kindahi data, I examine the behavior of individual buyers' prices for certain products used in manufacturing. My most important findings are: 1.The degree of price rigidity in many industries is significant. It is not unusual in some industries for prices to individual buyers to remain unchanged for several years. 2.Even for what appear to be homogeneous commodities, the correlation of price changes across buyers is very low. 3.There is no evidence that there is an asymmetry in price rigidity. In particular, prices are not rigid down-ward. 4.The fixed costs of changing price at least to some buyers seem trivial. There are plenty of instances where small price changes occur. 5.The level of industry concentration is strongly correlated with rigid prices. The more concentrated the industry, the longer is the average spell of price rigidity. 6.There appears to be a relationship between price rigidity, size of price change, and the length of time a buyer and seller deal with each other.I interpret the findings as evidence that it is erroneous to focus attention on price as the exclusive mechanism to allocate resources. Nonprice rationing is not a fiction, it is a reality of business and may be the efficient response to economic uncertainty.
STR genetic diversity in a Mediterranean population from the south of the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract Sixteen Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs) (DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635 and GATA H4.1) were typed in DNA samples from 52 unrelated men and 15 autosomal STRs (CSF1PO, D2S1338, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D19S433, D21S11, FGA, TH01, TPOX, vWA) were also studied for a group of 90 individuals (men and women) from the same population (Andalusians from La Alpujarra, South of Spain). The Alpujarrenian population represents an example of an isolated population with remarkable geographical, cultural and historical characteristics. High haplotype diversities were observed for the studied polymorphisms, 0.98 and 1 for YSTRs and autosomal STRs, respectively. Population comparisons for the autosomal STR allele distributions revealed remarkable levels of global homogeneity among samples geographically related.
A review of regenerative endodontics: current protocols and future directions

This review outlines the biological basis and clinical protocols currently used in regenerative endodontic procedures (REPs) and discuss future directions in pulp regeneration approaches. The treatment of immature teeth with REPs has been described as a ‘paradigm shift’ as there is the potential for further root maturation. Clinically, REPs involve disinfection of the root canal system without damaging the endogenous stem cell potential present in the apical papilla and other tissues. These stems cells are introduced into the root canal space by inducing a blood clot followed by placement of an intracanal barrier to prevent microleakage. The biological concept of REPs involves the triad of stem cells, scaffold and signalling molecules. Currently, repair rather than true regeneration of the ‘pulp-dentine complex’ is achieved and further root maturation is variable. However, may clinicians consider the treatment of teeth with REPs as the optimal treatment approach for immature teeth with pulp necrosis.
Measuring International Economic Linkages with Stock Market Data

This article develops a new framework for measuring financial and real economic linkages between countries. Using U.S. and U.K. data from 1957 to 1989, the authors find closer financial linkages after the Bretton Woods currency arrangement was abandoned and Britain suspended exchange controls. In a pairwise application to fifteen countries over a shorter period, they also find that news about future dividend growth is more highly correlated between countries than contemporaneous output measures. This suggests that there are lags in the international transmission of economic shocks and that contemporaneous output correlation may understate the magnitude of integration. Copyright 1996 by American Finance Association.
Maternal Thiocyanate and Thyroid Status during Breast-Feeding

Cyanogenic glucosides are naturally present in plant foods especially in staple foods (cassava) consumed by millions of people in tropical countries. Most traditional processing methods are effective in detoxifying such goitrogens to safe levels of consumption. Nevertheless, residual cyanide (CN) is rapidly metabolized to thiocyanate (SCN) by existing metabolic pathways. There are concerns that goitrogens may reach the nursing infants through breast feeding or cow’s milk based formulas. SCN adverse effects are commonly observed in relation to cigarette smoking. Breast-feeding is effective in protecting infants from anti-thyroid effects of eventual or habitual maternal exposure to CN exposure in food (cassava) or recreation habits (cigarette smoking). SCN goitrogenic effects occur secondary to iodine deficiency in special circumstances of high consumption of incomplete detoxified cassava and insufficient protein intake. Only during inadequate protein nutrition can SCN aggravate endemic iodine-deficient disorders (IDD).
Developing leadership capabilities of global corporations: A comparative study in eight nations

Changing competitive dynamics are influencing the leadership capability requirements of global corporations. More than 1,200 managers from ten major global corporations in eight countries responded to an international survey on the core capabilities required for competitiveness. While the results highlighted six leadership capabilities that are globally valued, a comparative analysis of the data shows that culture affects the relative importance given to a leadership capability requirement. The article also investigates the most effective methods for developing each of the core leadership capabilities. Implications for HR professionals are suggested as they devise strategies for leadership development. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.