Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selexipag, an Oral Prostacyclin-Receptor Agonist for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Objective: To evaluate the data supporting the approval of selexipag and discuss its potential place in therapy for managing pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Data Sources: A systematic review of the literature for all relevant articles was performed through January 16, 2017, using MEDLINE and SCOPUS. A manual search of references from reports of clinical trials, review articles, and recent conference abstracts was performed to identify additional relevant studies. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Eligible citations included in vitro or in vivo evaluations of selexipag, with no restrictions on patient population or indication. Data related to the patient populations and outcomes of interest were extracted from each citation. Data Synthesis: Single phase II and phase III trials have been published evaluating selexipag in patients with PAH. In 43 patients, the phase II trial showed that selexipag significantly reduced pulmonary vascular resistance by 30% versus placebo (P = 0.0045) and improved 6-minute walk distance by 24 m (P < 0.05). The larger phase III trial enrolled 1156 patients with PAH, showing that selexipag lowered the incidence of death or PAH-related complications by 40% versus placebo (P < 0.001). Selexipag also improved 6-minute walk distance and lowered hospitalization risk. Common adverse events included headache, diarrhea, nausea, and jaw pain. Conclusions: The specific role of selexipag for managing PAH patients is unclear because of its modest efficacy, lack of mortality reduction, and cost similar to intravenous prostacyclins. Additional clinical trials exploring combination therapy as well as its role in other types of pulmonary hypertension are needed.
Parental Intervention Choices for Children Undergoing Repeated Surgeries

No studies have examined parental preference for a preoperative intervention in healthy children undergoing subsequent surgeries. We collected data prospectively from 83 children who previously underwent surgery and were part of an investigation by our study group, then returned for a subsequent surgery. At the initial surgery, children were assigned (no parental intervention) to receive oral midazolam (n = 13), or parental presence during the induction of anesthesia (PPIA, n = 27), or PPIA + midazolam (n = 10) or no intervention (n = 33). At a subsequent surgery, parents chose the preoperative intervention. We found that >80% of all parents chose PPIA (with or without midazolam) at the subsequent surgery regardless of the intervention they received previously. Of parents whose children received PPIA at the initial surgery, 70% chose PPIA again. In contrast, only 23% of the patients who received midazolam at the initial surgery requested midazolam at the subsequent surgery and only 15% of the patients who received no intervention at the initial surgery requested no intervention at the subsequent surgery. All parents of very anxious children at the initial surgery chose some intervention at the subsequent surgery (P = 0.022). Parents of children who underwent a subsequent surgery preferred PPIA regardless of any previous intervention. Also, parents’ intervention preferences at the subsequent surgery were influenced by children’s anxiety at the initial surgery.
Customer relationship management in the banking sector: impact of internet usage by the customer

Banks in India have succeeded in promoting new services to its customers. The likelihood of current customers is tempted to do business online. Based on extant literature on bank marketing, a questionnaire was designed. Then, in a large-scale survey by means of personal and telephone interviews, data was obtained from bank customers. This paper focuses on the adoption of internet banking by existing banks customers through an investigation of the factors that influence customer's acceptance of internet banking service. The questionnaire was designed from the literature review. It included 29 variables which will help in enhancing the satisfaction of the customer with usage of internet banking in India. Six Indian banks were chosen where the questionnaire was randomly administered to 210 respondents who were also customers of the bank. Out of 210 questionnaires, 196 were completed questionnaires. The banks chosen for the purpose of the study were the ones who have strong retail presence and offer comprehensive range of information to the customer. An exploratory study of the Indian customers in six banks is conducted to identify the factors which lead to adoption of internet banking services with the help of data reduction technique called factor analysis.
Marine Stingers: Review of an Under-Recognized Global Coastal Management Issue

Dangerous marine stingers (jellyfish) are an emotive issue in tropical Australia, where they are widely regarded as the number one marine health threat. However, numerous severe and fatal stings have been reported throughout the tropical and temperate seas of the world, indicating that marine stingers are a global health problem. Further, life-threatening jellyfish stings are more frequently reported globally now compared to earlier decades, possibly as a result of improved recognition and reporting, or increased spatial and/or temporal distribution or densities. As stinging incidents may also have significant financial implications (lost tourism revenues and liability settlements), and the treatment of envenomed patients comes at high cost to the taxpayer, this issue is also a management challenge. This article outlines suggested approaches, based largely on Australian experience, for dealing with this under-recognized global coastal management issue.
The impact of dyspnoea and leg fatigue during exercise on health‐related quality of life in patients with COPD

Objective: COPD patients frequently complain of symptoms such as dyspnoea and leg fatigue during exercise. However, the impact of these symptoms on the health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) is not known. This study tested whether dyspnoea and leg fatigue during exercise affects the HRQoL of patients with COPD.
A low but functionally significant MDR1 expression protects primitive haemopoietic progenitor cells from anthracycline toxicity

Pgp is expressed on normal haemopoietic progenitor cells. The significance of the efflux pump in protecting normal progenitors for anthracycline toxicity is not defined and is the subject of this study. Pgp was measured in CD34+ progenitors with a rhodamine efflux assay. A high efflux, modulated by verapamil, was only found in a distinct subpopulation (20–30%). Pgp measured by the monoclonal antibody antibody (MoAb) MRK‐16 was low in the rhodamine dull, but significantly (P < 0.04) higher than in the rhodamine bright cells. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) of MDR1 mRNA showed a very weak signal in both populations. In a single‐cell clonogenic assay, rhodamine dull cells appeared less sensitive to anthracyclines (IC50 daunorubicin 0.005 μg/ml; adriamycin 0.03 μg/ml) compared to rhodamine bright cells (IC50 daunorubicin 0.0025 μg/ml; adriamycin 0.01 μg/ml). Furthermore, verapamil significantly (P < 0.05) potentiated anthracycline toxicity only in the rhodamine dull cells, proving its Pgp‐specific modulating effect. Rhodamine dull cells gave larger and more mixed colonies compatible with a more primitive origin. Although detection with MoAbs and RT‐PCR revealed a low Pgp level, functionally this Pgp appeared to be very important in protecting primitive progenitors against anthracycline toxicity. This protection can be jeopardized by administration of Pgp modulators.
Immigration and Informal Labor

We develop state‐level proxies for informal employment using differences between measures of self‐reported employment and officially sanctioned employment. In construction and landscaping, industries associated with under‐the‐table labor, we develop proxies for informal work based on productivity per officially sanctioned worker. We relate each set of proxies for informal employment to changes in immigrant population and composition. We find some evidence that immigration is associated with informal employment generally and in the construction industry when prevailing wages are low. States with high concentrations of low‐skilled male immigrants have higher levels of informal employment in the landscaping industry.
CAPTURING PARENTS' UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE HEALTH BEHAVIORS THEY PRACTICE WITH THEIR PRESCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN

This qualitative, descriptive study first explored parents' concept of health and then examined the health practices they undertook for their preschool-aged children. The purposive sample of 11 parent couples and 3 single parents (14 parent sets in total) with preschool-aged children attending long daycare and preschool/kindergarten centers was equally distributed between parents from two different socioeconomic groups in two suburbs of western Sydney, Australia. Consenting parents were interviewed and transcripts were analyzed concurrently in accordance with a grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Results revealed the presence of three themes, and practice implications for community nurses stem from them. These themes were Educating About Family Health, The Dynamic, Multidimensional Nature of Teaching Child Health Behavior, and The Intergenerational Theme. There was only minimal support for health-related socioeconomic differences. The study also found that most families with preschool-aged children were engaged in illness prevention rather than health promotion. Unlike those families focused on illness prevention, families focused on a health promotion mode were more sophisticated in their educational strategies and used more educational strategies associated with developing their child's health behaviors. This research validated the importance of the intergenerational transmission of values, particularly by mothers. The health behaviors that mothers considered important, and that they reinforced with their children, were transmitted equally to their daughters and sons.
Looking beyond HRM practices in enhancing employee retention in BPOs: focus on employee–organisation value fit

This paper argues that the effectiveness of HRM practices in tackling employee retention can be enhanced by improving the compatibility between employee and organisational values. We test our hypothesis using structural equation modelling on a sample of 258 employees in business process outsourcing (BPO) firms in the Philippines. The results show that the fit between employee and organisation values positively and partially mediates the effects of HRM practices on employee retention. However, employee–organisation value clash in US-owned BPOs was found to have a negative effect on employee retention. Because employees are less likely to leave when they share similar values as their organisations, HRM practices can be used strategically to improve the employee–organisation value fit to improve retention. The implications of the findings for HR managers of BPOs in developing countries are fully discussed.
The proximate determinants of exceptionally high fertility.

A not uncommon but simplistic view of changing reproductive behavior during the transition from high to low fertility holds that a rise in the practice of contraception is virtually the only proximate cause of fertility decline. Supporting evidence for this view of the transition in reproductive behavior includes the high degree of correlation (r=0.92) between the total fertility rate and the contraceptive prevalence level in contemporary populations. There are a number of developing countries however that have fertility rates far in excess of what one would expect on the basis of the level of contraceptive use. Clearly contraceptive prevalence is not the only proximate determinant of fertility rates. A plausible hypothesis to explain the high fertility in Yemen Kenya Syria Jordan and Zimbabwe is that marriage and breastfeeding behaviors in these societies exert less restraint on fertility than is the case in other societies with the same level of contraceptive prevalence. In each of these countries except Zimbabwe both breastfeeding and the marriage pattern exerted smaller fertility-inhibiting effects than in other societies with the same level of contraceptive prevalence and these differences account for a large part of the excess fertility. This brief review of the dynamics of fertility and its proximate determinants indicates that there is no necessary connection bertween trends in fertility and contraceptive prevalence at the onset of the fertility transition. It is quite possible for fertility to remain constant or even rise temporarily as contraceptive use increases because other proximate determinants can exert offsetting upward pressure on fertility.
The relationship between charter value and bank market concentration: the influence of regulations and institutions

This article analyses the influence of regulations and institutions on the relationship between market concentration and bank charter value by applying a simultaneous equations model to a sample of 276 banks in 27 countries. Results highlight that the role of the structure–conduct–performance (SCP) and the efficient-structure (EFS) hypotheses in explaining a positive relationship between bank charter value and market concentration depends on a country's regulatory and institutional set-up. The validity of EFS forecasts compared to SCP forecasts increases in line with the quality of the legal environment and enforceability of contracts, with the increased weight of the markets compared to banks and with the share of banking assets held by banks that are majority-owned by foreign owners and by the government. In contrast, tighter legal restrictions on the activities banks are allowed to pursue limit the validity of both the EFS and SCP hypotheses.
Survival chances of new businesses: do regional conditions matter?

This article analyses the effects of industry-, regional- and firm-level characteristics on the post-entry performance of new businesses by means of an econometric survival time model. First preference is given to an accelerated failure time model assuming a log-logistic distribution. The data involve a representative sample of businesses in the private sector of West Germany during 1993 to 2002 period. The results demonstrate that the regional dimension is most important; whereas firm-level characteristics play a subordinated role.
Reexamining Growth Effects: Are All Types of Asset Growth the Same?

Asset growth has been shown to be negatively associated with future returns. Cooper, Gulen, and Schill (2008. Asset Growth and the Cross-Section of Stock Returns. Journal of Finance) argue that an aggregation of all asset growth components as total asset (TA) growth leads to the strongest association with future negative returns. Based on their study, the literature now employs TA growth as an umbrella proxy for “the growth effect. ” I hypothesize that not all types of growth imply negative future returns. Specifically, I show that growth financed by suppliers is positively associated with future performance and returns. Removing this growth component from TA growth makes it evident that the TA growth anomaly is simply a noisy manifestation of the net operating asset (NOA) growth anomaly. Consequently, I suggest caution when using TA growth to control for the growth effect.
Non-Serum-Dependent Chemotactic Factors Produced byCandida albicans Stimulate Chemotaxis by Binding to the Formyl Peptide Receptor on Neutrophils and to an Unknown Receptor on Macrophages

ABSTRACT Serum-free culture filtrates of six Candida species andSaccharomyces cerevisiae were found to contain chemoattractants for human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) and a mouse macrophage-like cell line, J774. The chemotactic factors differed for the PMN and J774 cells, however, in terms of heat stability, kinetics of liberation by the yeast cells, and divalent cation requirements for production. The chemoattractant in Candida albicans culture filtrates appeared to act through the formyl peptide receptor (FPR) of PMNs, since it was found to induce chemotaxis of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells that were expressing the human FPR but did not induce chemotaxis of wild-type CHO cells. The C. albicans culture filtrates also induced migration of PMNs across confluent monolayers of a human gastrointestinal epithelial cell line, T84; migration occurred in the basolateral-to-apical direction but not the reverse direction, unless the epithelial tight junctions were disrupted. J774 cells did not migrate toward the formylated peptide (fMet-Leu-Phe; fMLF), and chemotaxis toward the C. albicansculture filtrate was not inhibited by an FPR antagonist (t-butoxycarbonyl-Met-Leu-Phe), suggesting that a different receptor mediated J774 cell chemotaxis. In conclusion, we have identified a receptor by which a non-serum-dependent chemotactic factor (NSCF) produced by C. albicans induced chemotaxis of PMNs. Additionally, we have shown that NSCF was active across epithelial monolayers. These findings suggest that NSCFs produced by C. albicans and other yeast species may influence host-pathogen interactions at the gastrointestinal tract mucosal surface by inducing phagocytic-cell infiltration.
The innovator's non-dilemma: the case of next-generation lithography

Previous studies have analyzed how incumbents may falter when they focus too narrowly on satisfying the needs of current customers at the expense of pursuing innovations that will ensure future market leadership. This paper examines this 'dilemma' faced by incumbents and considers cases where incumbents do spearhead innovation on the technology frontier thus enabling future product generations. In particular, we examine the case of the semiconductor industry confronting a technological discontinuity in the production of chips. In anticipation of a discontinuity in the lithography production module, leading firms in the semiconductor industry have initiated next-generation lithography (NGL) projects. These projects have exhibited an unprecedented level of horizontal and vertical cooperation. Our research analyzes how such cooperative research and development (R&D) programs allow incumbent innovators to mitigate four areas of uncertainty-leadership, preemption, performance, and industry adoption. We adapt a Hotelling location model to demonstrate the tension between mitigating these uncertainties through interfirm cooperation and the possibility of increased downstream competition. Such tensions have influenced cooperation within and across the R&D consortia pursuing NGL led by IBM, Intel, and Bell Labs. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Equity Home-Bias: A Suboptimal Choice for UK Investors?

In spite of the popularity of international portfolio diversification theory, extant empirical literature shows that investors prefer domestic assets and as a result, many studies argue that investors' portfolios are largely suboptimal. This paper examines whether British investors need to diversify their portfolios internationally to gain performance benefits from international markets or can they obtain these benefits by mimicking the portfolios with domestically traded assets. The results confirm that it is possible to mimic the performance of foreign equity with domestic equity. Indeed, the pay-offs from homemade portfolios outperform those from international portfolios regardless of the periodic variation in the overall performance of the UK market vis-a-vis foreign markets. The superiority of homemade portfolio is more prominent in recent years and is enhanced by the increased internationalisation of developed capital markets. Therefore, investors' home-bias is not suboptimal.
Measuring competitive advantage with an asset-light valuation model

Defining competitive advantage as the ability of a firm to generate returns in excess of its synthetic normal returns; the present study develops an “asset-light” valuation model to capture intangible strategic resources, that do not appear on balance sheets and could explain abnormal returns. Three propositions are derived from the model: (1) firms emphasizing light assets over tangible assets, generate superior performance; (2) at a given level of synthetic normal returns, firms possessing more “light” assets have superior performance; and (3) to achieve a given book rate of return, firms with more light assets require fewer tangible assets as inputs. An empirical study of the global semiconductor industry significantly supports all three propositions. The results show that, the excess returns observed across an industry reflect heterogeneity in the “light assets” possessed by the firms, and provide an explanation for observed differences in performance. Key words: Competitive advantage, asset-light valuation, semiconductor industry.
On the mother and child labor nexus under credit constraints: Findings from rural India

There is an emerging consensus that lack of credit is a major cause of child labor and inequality in the intrahousehold distribution of resources. At the same time, patterns in how children spend their time appear to be strongly influenced by maternal employment decisions. This paper includes an assessment of the effect of credit constraints on maternal employment and that of maternal employment on the intrahousehold allocation of labor, a nexus which has been left unexplored by existing studies. Three findings emerge: (1) a mother is more likely to work outside when a household lacks resources, and her domestic labor can be easily replaced by other members, (2) credit market accessibility is one of the major determinants of maternal labor, and (3) elder daughters assume a large part of the burden of maternal employment by providing domestic labor. Under binding credit constraints, results of this study support the collective as opposed to the unitary model of households.
Strategies for dealing with slacker and underperforming teammates in class projects

Although team projects are increasingly common in the engineering curriculum, faculty and students often lack effective strategies for handling problems that arise on these projects. This paper attempts to discover effective practices for handling “slacker” teammates - one of the most common problems reported on student teams - by completing discourse completion interviews with professionals, faculty, and students. Participants were given written scenarios and asked to comment on the pros and cons of different responses and specify what they thought was the ideal response. Professionals' responses often differed from those of students and faculty, suggesting particular areas in which teamwork training is needed. Specifically, students need to be coached to avoid the temptation to simply do slackers' work for them and to instead provide constructive, non-accusatory criticism grounded in clear criteria and focused on future steps. We also found that professionals used the team infrastructure to solve problems by assigning earlier deadlines, breaking the project into smaller chunks, reassigning responsibilities and confirming team members' buy-in for tasks and criteria. We end by recommending that team members be prompted at the end of the project to describe what steps they took to motivate and coach under-performing teammates.