Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rituximab using a thrice weekly dosing schedule in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma demonstrates clinical activity and acceptable toxicity.

PURPOSE Rituximab has been reported to have little activity in small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL)/chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and to be associated with significant infusion-related toxicity. This study sought to decrease the initial toxicity and optimize the pharmacokinetics with an alternative treatment schedule. PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty three patients with SLL/CLL received dose 1 of rituximab (100 mg) over 4 hours. In cohort I (n = 3; 250 mg/m(2)) and cohort II (n = 7; 375 mg/m(2)) rituximab was administered on day 3 and thereafter three times weekly for 4 weeks using a standard administration schedule. Cohort III (n = 23; 375 mg/m(2)) administered rituximab similar to cohort II for the first two treatments and then over 1 hour thereafter. RESULTS A total of 33 CLL/SLL patients were enrolled; only one patient discontinued therapy because of infusion-related toxicity. Thirteen patients developed transient hypoxemia, hypotension, or dyspnea that were associated with significant changes in baseline interleukin-6, interleukin-8, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interferon gamma compared with those not experiencing such reactions. Infusion-related toxicity occurred more commonly in older (median age 73 v 62 years; P =.02) patients with no other pretreatment clinical or laboratory features predicting occurrence of these events. The overall response rate was 45% (3% CR, 42% PR; 95% CI 28% to 64%). Median response duration for these 15 patients was 10 months (95% CI, 6.8-13.2; range, 3 to 17+). CONCLUSION Rituximab administered thrice weekly for 4 weeks demonstrates clinical efficacy and acceptable toxicity. Initial infusion-related events seem to be cytokine mediated and resolve by the third infusion making rapid administration possible. Future combination studies of rituximab with other therapies in CLL seem warranted.
Essays on International Non-Market Strategy and the Political Economy of Environmental Regulation

This article contains an abstract of Dr. Sanjay Patnaik’s dissertation as well as a commentary essay on the research process in the appendix. In his dissertation, Dr. Patnaik examines the importance of the non-market environment for firm strategy and performance within the context of newly introduced regulations for greenhouse gases in Europe. The dissertation abstract contains a description of each dissertation chapter, including research questions, methodologies, and results. The commentary essay describes the author’s perspective on conducting research as an emerging scholar.
Integrated quality and sustainability assessment in construction: a conceptual model

Abstract In today's world, the definition of quality has been extended to more comprehensive level, which also comprises sustainable performance. The paper systematically builds an integrated model that includes quality as well as sustainable performance of the built environment and accompanying construction processes. This model for the “Integrated Quality and Sustainability Performance Assessment in Construction” presents a three-level arrangement, namely: the structure, process/ project, and construction product. We propose a holistic sustainability assessment methodology based on the authors’ previous research work for structures. The strict implementation of quality and environmental management systems in the participating organisations and in the whole construction project guarantees quality and environmental performance at project/process level. On the construction product level, we complement the existing requirement of providing a statement of conformity for each product of the structure with the.
The Role of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection in Non-Anogenital Cancer and the Promise of Immunotherapy: A Review

Over the past 30 years, human papilloma virus (HPV) has been shown to play a role in the development of various cancers. Most notably, HPV has been linked to malignant progression in neoplasms of the anogenital region. However, high-risk HPV has also been suggested to play a significant role in the development of cancers in other anatomic locations, such as the head and neck, lung, breast and bladder. In 2006, the first vaccine for HPV, Gardasil, was approved for the prevention of subtypes 6, 11, 16 and 18. A few years later, Cevarix was approved for the prevention of subtypes 16 and 18, the HPV subtypes most frequently implicated in malignant progression. Although increased awareness and vaccination could drastically decrease the incidence of HPV-positive cancers, these approaches do not benefit patients who have already contracted HPV and developed cancer as a result. For this reason, researchers need to continue developing treatment modalities, such as targeted immunotherapies, for HPV-positive lesions. Here, we review the potential evidence linking HPV infection with the development of non-anogenital cancers and the potential role of immunotherapy in the prevention and eradication of HPV infection and its oncogenic sequela.
Low Voter Turnout in the United States

America’s turnout problem is among the worst of any of the established democracies. Even a reform as sweeping as the NVRA (Motor Voter Act) has failed to remedy it. Adopting an empirically informed normative approach, the author proposes and defends an ambitious solution: compulsory voting. Anticipating considerable resistance to this proposal, the article explores likely cultural, practical, political and legal barriers to its introduction and, in some cases, suggests strategies for overcoming them. It is concluded that most of the likely impediments are not technically, but rather, culturally and politically intractable. Yet, compulsory voting could have many benefits. Not only could it improve turnout more effectively than any other measure, but it could also close America’s yawning SES voting gap, limit some of the problems associated with campaign finance and break the cycle of low efficacy, alienation, non-participation and exclusion that characterizes American politics. Finally, compulsory voting can serve and protect such important democratic values as representativeness, legitimacy and political equality.
New characterizations of fusion bases and Riesz fusion bases in Hilbert spaces

In this paper we investigate a new notion of bases in Hilbert spaces and similar to fusion frame theory we introduce fusion bases theory in Hilbert spaces. We also introduce a new denition of fusion dual sequence associated with a fusion basis and show that the operators of a fusion dual sequence are continuous projections. Next we dene the fusion biorthogonal sequence, Bessel fusion basis, Hilbert fusion basis and obtain some character- izations of them. we study orthonormal fusion systems and Riesz fusion bases for Hilbert spaces. we consider the stability of fusion bases under small perturbations. We also general- ized a result of Paley-Wiener (16) to the situation of fusion basis.
Keeping both eyes on the competition: Strategic adjustment to multiple targets in the UK mobile phone industry

Research suggests that firms avoid excessive differentiation or conformity by using industry competitors as reference targets in a process that Snow and Hambrick call ‘strategic adjustment’. To date explanations of strategic adjustment have focused on the influence of one of two sources: (1) firms base targets on the collective strategic decisions of other firms in the industry; and (2) firms base targets on the strategic decisions of the market leader. This article explores how both these sources influence strategic adjustment by looking at the product portfolio strategies of firms in industries where competitive positions depend on periodically launching models with multiple features and functionalities. The authors develop hypotheses on when firms use targets based on collective industry product decisions and/or the market leader product decisions. These hypotheses are tested using data on 570 mobile phone models launched in the UK by 14 firms from 1997 to 2008.
An Investigation of Analysts' Praise of Management During Earnings Conference Calls

ABSTRACT Through the textual analysis of a large sample of earnings conference calls, the authors find that analysts praise management on over half of earnings conference calls by saying complimentary phrases such as “congratulations on the great quarter. ” The results show that analysts' complimentary phrases reflect the nature of the information released at the earnings announcement. The authors find that the amount of praise by analysts on an earnings conference call is strongly associated with the earnings surprise and to a greater extent the earnings announcement stock return. They also find that there is value to investors in tracking analysts' flattery of management during earnings conference calls, as it predicts abnormal stock returns over the following quarter. The findings, which are incremental to prior research on the tone of earnings conference calls, highlight a previously ignored aspect of analyst feedback.
No Man Left Behind: Effects of Emigration Prospects on Educational and Labour Outcomes of Non�?Migrants

The development impacts of emigration are largely determined by the education of those who stay behind. Departure of workers leads to a direct loss of human capital but opportunities for emigration also raise expected returns to education. I examine these effects by considering the introduction of education as a selection criterion to recruit Nepalese men in the British Army. This change raised educational investments by 1.15 years and increased the average education of men living in Nepal even after allowing for emigration. Despite not being selected in the British Army or emigrating elsewhere, these non‐migrants benefited directly from additional schooling. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Utilising Oesophageal Biodegradable Stent in Benign Pyloric Stenosis: Novel Technique

Background: Benign pyloric stenosis in not uncommon problem. Different treatment modalities can be implemented each has its drawbacks. In this present a new technique of placement of biodegradable oesophageal stent for treating gastric outlet obstruction secondary to benign peptic stricture Method: 23 year old lady had long history of gastric outlet obstruction secondary to pyloric stenosis requiring recurrent hospitalisation; she had multiple admissions with repeated endoscopic dilatation which relieves her symptoms of short period. Decision was made of placement of pyloric biodegradable (BD) stent as a salvage treatment prior to resorting to surgery, biodegradable stents are designed for oesophageal placement and the delivery system is short to reach the pylorus in a dilated chronic obstructed stomach.
Project scope and project performance: the effect of parts strategy and supplier involvement on product development

This paper examines the effect on product development of project scope: the extent to which a new product is based on unique parts developed in-house. Using data from a larger study of product development in the world auto industry, the paper presents evidence on the impact of scope on lead time and engineering productivity. Studies of the automotive supplier industry suggest that very different structures and relationships exist in Japan, the U.S., and Europe. Yet there has been little study of the impact of these differences on development performance. Further, little is known about the effects of different parts strategies (i.e. unique versus common or carryover parts) on development. The evidence presented here suggests that project scope differs significantly in the industry, even for comparable products. These differences in strategy, in turn, explain an important part of differences in performance. In particular, it appears that a distinctive approach to scope among Japanese firms---high levels of unique parts, intensive supplier involvement in engineering---accounts for a significant fraction of their advantage in lead time and cost.
Cell Membrane Fatty Acid Composition of Chryseobacterium frigidisoli PB4T, Isolated from Antarctic Glacier Forefield Soils, in Response to Changing Temperature and pH Conditions

Microorganisms in Antarctic glacier forefields are directly exposed to the hostile environment of their habitat characterized by extremely low temperatures and changing geochemical conditions. To survive under those stress conditions microorganisms adapt, among others, their cell membrane fatty acid inventory. However, only little is known about the adaptation potential of microorganisms from Antarctic soil environments. In this study, we examined the adaptation of the cell membrane polar lipid fatty acid inventory of Chryseobacterium frigidisoli PB4T in response to changing temperature (0°C to 20°C) and pH (5.5 to 8.5) regimes, because this new strain isolated from an Antarctic glacier forefield showed specific adaptation mechanisms during its detailed physiological characterization. Flavobacteriaceae including Chryseobacterium species occur frequently in extreme habitats such as ice-free oases in Antarctica. C. frigidisoli shows a complex restructuring of membrane derived fatty acids in response to different stress levels. Thus, from 20°C to 10°C a change from less iso-C15:0 to more iso-C17:1ω7 is observed. Below 10°C temperature adaptation is regulated by a constant increase of anteiso-FAs and decrease of iso-FAs. An anteiso- and bis-unsaturated fatty acid, anteiso-heptadeca-9,13-dienoic acid, shows a continuous increase with decreasing cultivation temperatures underlining the particular importance of this fatty acid for temperature adaptation in C. frigidisoli. Concerning adaptation to changing pH conditions, most of the dominant fatty acids reveal constant relative proportions around neutral pH (pH 6–8). Strong variations are mainly observed at the pH extremes (pH 5.5 and 8.5). At high pH short chain saturated iso- and anteiso-FAs increase while longer chain unsaturated iso- and anteiso-FAs decrease. At low pH the opposite trend is observed. The study shows a complex interplay of different membrane components and provides, therefore, deep insights into adaptation strategies of microorganisms from extreme habitats to changing environmental conditions.
Separating Information about Cash Flows from Information about Risk in Losses

Prior literature interprets the weak earnings response coefficient (ERC) of accounting losses as a manifestation either of lack of forward-looking information in losses or of market mispricing of losses. Based on return decomposition theory, I predict that losses contain information not only about future cash flows (i.e., cash flow news) but also, about risk (i.e., expected returns and discount rate news). However, these informational components have offsetting valuation effects, resulting in a muted ERC. Consistent with the prediction, I show that, after controlling for information about risk (mainly expected returns), the ERC of losses becomes statistically significant with more negative returns for larger losses when returns are measured either annually or around earnings announcements. Moreover, loss firms will continue to have poor future earnings and operating cash flows, and larger losses are associated with more negative analyst forecast revisions in the loss-reporting year. I also document that losses provide more negative cash flow information when they are not because of research and development expensing, when they trigger operational curtailments, and when they are less likely to reverse to profits. Further tests confirm the robustness of my findings to considering future return drifts/reversals, alternative proxies for expected returns and discount rate news, alternative test portfolios, and alternative model specifications. Overall, my paper provides new insights into the information content of losses. This paper was accepted by Suraj Srinivasan, accounting.
Neural bases of reappraisal regulatory effect on negative emotion in high reappraisers

Previous studies have reported that individual differences in reappraisal use are associated with particular patterns of neural activity. We hypothesized that if ‘high reappraisers’ (individuals who use reappraisal well in a behavioral experiment) completed two training sessions, they would exhibit more reliable patterns of neural activity related to cognitive reappraisal. In the present study, 13 high reappraisers were selected from 27 healthy volunteers through an initial behavioral experiment (first training) followed by a functional MRI experiment (second training). Emotional images selected from the International Affective Picture System were used for both the behavioral and functional MRI sessions of the experiment. The behavioral results revealed that reappraisal reduced subjective unpleasantness. The functional MRI results revealed that the cognitive reappraisal used by high reappraisers decreased the activation of emotion-responsive regions, including the amygdala, insula, and cingulate gyrus, and increased the activation of regulation-related regions, including the inferior prefrontal cortex, orbital prefrontal cortex, and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest the involvement of inferior orbital and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex in constructing reappraisal strategies that modulate activity in emotion-processing systems.
Domestic Jobs and Foreign Wages

It is plausible that the labour demand decisions of multinational corporations (MNCs) depend not only on domestic, but also on foreign labour costs. This hypothesis is tested by estimating labour demand equations for a sample of Swedish MNCs. Indeed, higher foreign costs increase an MNC's Swedish employment and reduce its foreign employment. As MNCs become more important in many OECD countries, the responsiveness of domestic output and employment to foreign labour costs is likely to increase. Copyright 1998 by The editors of the Scandinavian Journal of Economics.
Viewpoint Diversity and Media Consolidation: An Empirical Study

One of the central predicates of legal regulation of media ownership is that ownership consolidation reduces substantive viewpoint diversity. Appellate courts and in turn the Federal Communications Commission have increasingly demanded evidence for this convergence hypothesis, but extant empirical measures of viewpoint diversity sidestep the problem, ignoring diversity, viewpoints, or both. Our article develops and offers a finely-tuned, time-varying statistical measure of editorial viewpoint diversity, based on a new database of over 1600 editorials in 25 top papers from 1988-2004. Using this new measure, we assess the validity of the convergence hypothesis by examining the evolution of editorial viewpoints over the course of five major mergers and acquisitions. Our data reveals complex patterns that defy extant accounts, showing stability, convergence and divergence of viewpoints in the face of - and depending on the circumstances of - consolidation. These findings fundamentally challenge extant empirical regulatory assumptions - pointing to the crucial role of editorial policies - and deeply inform the viability of the ownership regulations and the interpretation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
The strategic management of re‐innovation

Most studies of the management of the technological innovation process cover the range of activities that culminate in the commercial introduction of a new product. In certain sectors of industry, however, especially those characterised by extended product lifecycles, continued competitiveness depends on vigorous and continuous product improvement, i.e. on the process of ‘re-innovation’ to satisfy evolving user requirements. Ongoing research at SPRU has investigated the process of re-innovation in a number of industry sectors, and the paper presents material relating to two of the characteristic patterns of re-innovation identified in this research. The first characteristic pattern is re-innovation combining the existing with the new. Two brief case studies are presented. In both cases, the manufacturer and customer gained significant benefits from this re-innovation strategy. For the manufacturer there were reduced development and testing costs, scale and learning curve benefits, distributed inventories of spares and servicing experience. For the customer there were familiarity benefits and reduced entry risks associated with proven reliability of parts and sub-systems. The second, and more general pattern of re-innovation is based on the concept of the ‘robust design’. This is a basic design which has sufficient inherent technological slack or flexibility to enable it to evolve into a significant design family of variants. Product design families offer the producer economies of scale in RD they are strategically more flexible than leanly configured designs which satisfy only transient user requirements.
The Quantitative Analytics of the Basic Neomonetarist Model

This paper constructs a dynamic macroeconomic model with less- than-perfect price flexibility which has a real side consistent with Real Business Cycle Theory, augmented by investment adjustment costs, increasing returns to scale, and a new, flexible formalization of imperfect competition. A new mode of approximation is developedþuseful for any model in which one state variable adjusts quickly, while another state variable adjusts slowly. Even with investment adjustment costs, monetary expansions are found to raise the real interest rate. The determinants of real rigidity and the macroeconomic rate of price adjustment are investigated.
Isotope dilution assay in peptide quantification: The challenge of microheterogeneity of internal standard

Isotope dilution analysis allows quantitation of elements and different compounds in complex mixtures. The quantitation is based on a known amount of reference material (internal standard, IS) added to a sample that makes the result critically dependent on the value assigned to the standard. In the case of peptides, IS concentration is determined by nitrogen and amino acid analysis while purity is normally assessed by methods such as chromatography or electrophoresis that might not be able to detect many possible amino acid modifications, either naturally occurring or chemically induced. Microheterogeneity of the IS, if it is not accounted for when assigning a reference value to the standard, results in highly overestimated values in target analyte quantitation. In this viewpoint article, we illustrate the problem of internal standard microheterogeneity by analyzing synthetic human C‐peptide labeled analogs.
Full Length Research Article CHANGE AND GROWTH RATE ANALYSIS IN AREA, YIELD AND PRODUCTION OF WHEAT IN ETHIOPIA

The study measured the change and growth rate in area, production, and yield of wheat in Ethiopia based on secondary data during 1991/92-2012/13. Pared t-test was used to identify the significant change in area, production and yield of wheat between the periods 1991/92-2001/02 and 2002/03-2012/13. And semi-log model was applied to measure the compound annual growth rate of wheat for period I (1991/92 to 2001/02), period II (2002/03 to 2012/13) and the whole period (1991/92 to 2012/13). The results revealed that, yield and production of wheat increased satisfactorily from period I to period II. But area was not increased significantly. The compound growth rate in yield of wheat improved rapidly in period-II, whereas the growth rate in area and production decreased slightly. This shows us that increasing production through increasing the area may not be feasible without reducing the area share of other crops. Therefore to meet the growing demand of manufacturing industries, increasing the yield potential would be the solution in the long-run.