Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spanish nurses' attitudes towards research and perceived barriers and facilitators of research utilisation: a comparative survey of nurses with and without experience as principal investigators.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE To examine attitudes towards research and perceived barriers and facilitators of research utilisation in clinical practice in a broad cross-section of Spanish nurses. BACKGROUND Nurses' attitudes towards research are critical in determining whether study findings are used to improve practice. DESIGN Cross-sectional comparative survey in Hospitals, Primary Care Centres and University-affiliated schools of nursing. METHODS Surveys were completed by 917 nurses: 69 who received funding from the Spanish national agency (1998-2004) and a nationally representative sample of 848 nurses who did not have the same research experience (the Comparison group). Two instruments (BARRIERS and Attitudes towards nursing research) were translated and culturally adapted for use in Spain. A descriptive analysis of demographic and practice characteristics was performed. Total scale scores, as well as subscale scores, were computed and compared across the two groups using one-way analysis of variance (anova) and multivariate analysis of variance (manova) with post hoc tests. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were computed between the total tool scores and subscales measuring barriers and attitudes in both groups. RESULTS The investigators differed from other nurses on several demographic and work characteristics (more males, older age and more likely to work a fixed day shift schedule). On the whole, investigators showed more favourable attitudes but perceived several elements as posing greater barriers to research utilisation than the Comparison groups. Across all respondents, issues related to the quality of research were rated as the greatest barriers to research utilisation, followed by organisational barriers, barriers involving the communication of findings and finally, those related to nurses' values, awareness and skills. CONCLUSIONS Very similar profiles of perceptions and attitudes regarding research were found in these samples of Spanish nurses relative to those from other countries in earlier reports. Nurses who had experience conducting research demonstrated more favourable research-related attitudes and perceived barriers differently than those without such experience. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Understanding different organisational and experience perspectives is important to identify challenges and opportunities to ensure research utilisation in clinical practice.
Identification of a plasma proteomic signature to distinguish pediatric osteosarcoma from benign osteochondroma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common malignant bone tumor in children. To identify a plasma proteomic signature that can detect OS, we used SELDI MS to perform proteomic profiling on plasma specimens from 29 OS and 20 age‐matched osteochondroma (OC) patients. Nineteen statistically significant ion peaks that were differentially expressed in OS when compared with OC patients were identified (p < 0.001 and false discovery rate < 10%). Using the proteomic profiles, we constructed a multivariate 3‐nearest neighbors classifier to distinguish OS from OC patients with a sensitivity of 97% and a specificity of 80% based on external leave‐one‐out crossvalidation. Permutation test showed that the classification result was statistically significant (p < 0.00005). One of the proteins (m/z 11 704) in the proteomic signature was identified as serum amyloid protein A (SAA) by PMF. The higher plasma level of SAA in OS patients was further validated by Western blotting when compared to that of osteochrondroma patients and normal subjects as reference. The classifier based on this plasma proteomic signature may be useful to differentiate malignant bone cancer from benign bone tumors and for early detection of OS in high‐risk individuals.
Men and women as public relation managers in Greece and Turkey: A comparison study of background variables, job‐related factors and activities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare gender differences of Greek and Turkish public relations (PR) managers. In addition to that, the background variables, the job‐related factors and activities of the PR managers are examined.Design/methodology/approach – In the present paper, a cross cultural study between Greece and Turkey is undertaken. A mail survey is adopted as the most efficient data gathering technique and a total of 138 questionnaires are collected from companies of the service sector in both countries.Findings – There are minor differences between male and female Greek and Turkish PR managers of the service sector, since there is a standardized type of scientific management. The role of PR managers is shown to be evolving, following a similar route internationally.Research limitations/implications – Difficulties are encountered in specifying the firms that use PR managers in Turkey. A list of service companies known to use PR managers in Greece as well as in Turkey is p.
R&D Spillovers and Endogenous Absorptive Capacity

This paper derives a three-stage Cournot duopoly game for research cooperation, research expenditures, and product-market competition. The amount of knowledge firms can absorb is made dependent on their own research efforts, e.g., firms' absorptive capacity is treated as an endogenous variable. It is shown that cooperating firms invest more in R&D than noncooperating firms if spillovers are sufficiently large. The degree of market competition is a key determinant of the effects of research cooperation on research efforts, implying that existing models, which usually assume perfect competition, might be too restrictive.
Knowledge management, relational learning, and the effectiveness of innovation outcomes

This paper proposes a conceptual model to test the moderating effect of relational learning on the link between knowledge strategies and innovation. To accomplish this, this study is carried out on healthcare organizations. It has been generally accepted that both explicit and tacit knowledge play a basic role in organizational innovation. However, although there are plenty of research works that study the existing relationship between knowledge management (KM) and the effectiveness of the innovation process, there are certain peculiarities with regard to this link, which have yielded some inconclusive results. This paper revisits this research topic with data on KM, relational learning and innovation outcomes from a sample of Spanish hospitals. The results show that a deep and broad knowledge base leads to better innovation outcomes. In addition, this study found that hospitals and/or units that invest and involve themselves in relational learning mechanisms are more likely to foster innovations.
The intended and unintended consequences of benzodiazepine monitoring programmes: a review of the literature

What is known and Objective: Concern has been expressed regarding the potential over‐prescription of benzodiazepines (BZDs) and their potential for misuse and abuse. Patterns of BZD use can be tracked by prescription monitoring programmes (PMPs). This study reviews the literature examining the impact of PMPs on the use of BZDs.
Does free/open source software enable new forms of entrepreneurship? An analysis of the start-ups created to exploit the business opportunities stemming from free/open source software

Many scholars have examined the free/open source software (FLOSS) strategies of large software houses. However, few studies have focused on the start-ups that enter the market just to exploit the new business opportunities stemming from the freely available technological knowledge developed by the FLOSS community (FLOSS-based start-ups). This paper aims to fill this gap by providing descriptive evidence about these firms. We address two main research questions: 1) What are the main features of FLOSS-based start-ups? ; 2) What is their innovation process? We show that FLOSS-based start-ups follow a typical open innovation model that enables them to serve market niches that large incumbents are not structurally able to cover, profiting from the local production, distribution, and use of technological knowledge.
Revitalisation of the Main Street of a Distinguished Old Neighbourhood in Istanbul

Abstract This study investigates the revitalisation of the main street of Beyoglu, which was the westernised part of Istanbul's CBD in the nineteenth century. Beyoglu started to develop in the sixteenth century with the introduction of embassy buildings of European countries. Its development reached a climax during the nineteenth century as a result of increased European trade and cultural influence, remaining the most distinguished quarter of Istanbul until the 1960s. Thereafter, it suffered from decay, disinvestment and abandonment as a result of later suburbanisation and the multi-centre development of Istanbul. Revitalisation of the quarter started with the pedestrianisation of the main street. This study investigates the functional transformation and changes in land prices along the main street and surrounding neighbourhoods after the pedestrianisation. The factors which effect land prices are investigated by the use of regression analysis. According to the results, access to mass transit is the most important factor. Besides its convenient central-city location, with easy access to the city's main transportation arteries, no doubt also its distinguished architectural character contributed to its revitalisation. Although the revitalisation of the main street as a cooperative movement of public and private sectors, effectively, it was a market-lead restructuring afterwards. At the same time, international companies opening up stores reflecting the globalisation movement increased the attractiveness of the main street. The results of the study can be used by urban planners, policy-makers and investors for the revitalisation of other historical neighbourhoods in Istanbul and other cities. For further research, hierarchical analysis of spatial impacts of revitalisation areas is suggested.
Is there an equilibrium rate of unemployment in the long run?

This paper examines the existence and stability of a long‐run equilibrium rate of unemployment in a Post‐Keynesian growth model and contrasts it with the NAIRU model. In the latter the equilibrium rate of unemployment determines unanticipated inflation in the short run and actual unemployment and output in the long run. The real balance effect plays the pivotal role in the transition from the short run to the long run. For the Keynesian model we take the Marglin–Bhaduri (1990) model as our starting point and complement it by Okun's Law for the labor market and a wage curve type of relation for distribution. The distinction between wage‐led and profit‐led growth regimes in the Marglin–Bhaduri model turns out to be crucial for the long‐run equilibrium rate of unemployment. In the profit‐led regime, there is a stable equilibrium rate of unemployment that, NAIRU‐like, determines growth. In the wage‐led regime, however, the equilibrium rate of unemployment is not stable. The long run is thus but a succession of short‐run equilibria. Therefore the goods market dominates the labor market even in the long run.
Odd-Lot Costs and Taxation Influences on Stock Dividend Ex-Dates

Past research has revealed significant abnormal ex-date returns for stock dividends even though the ex-date is known in advance and the distribution contains no new information. Various researchers have suggested that the higher transaction cost of selling odd-lot share parcels compared to round-lot share parcels is a key driver in the abnormal returns. However, no study to date has directly compared the ex-date price reaction of stock dividends distributed when odd-lot transaction costs were charged to those issued when odd-lot costs were not evident. As odd-lot trade costs were eliminated from the New Zealand Stock Exchange on 1 October, 1991, the New Zealand market provides a unique opportunity to directly test the role, if any, that odd-lot transactions costs have in explaining stock dividend ex-date returns. We find that prior to October 1991 stock dividend ex-dates exhibit significantly positive returns, however, we do not find any significant ex-date return once the higher odd-lot transaction costs were removed. The New Zealand market also enables us to examine an imputation tax based argument of the ex-date price reaction and we find evidence that imputation tax credits have a value greater than zero.
Radioisotope determination of regional colonic transit in severe constipation.

EDITOR,-We were interested to see the article by van der Sijp et al (Gut 1993; 34: 402-8) on a scintigraphic method of colonic transit measurement compared with the conventional radiological method. There are, however, several points that we would like to raise. They have dismissed the method using methacrylate coated capsules as unnecessary and resulting in unpredictable release point. In an early study (30 patients, unpublished data) we examined the colonic transit without the use of pH sensitive capsules and often found overlap of the activity in the small and large bowel in the first day images particularly, if there was slow gastric emptying. Although this is not important in patients with severe chronic constipation, it is a problem when dealing with patients with normal or fast transit (such as some patients with inflammatory bowel disease). The method of methacrylate coating of the capsule, however, is important and in our preliminary studies using capsules with several coatings, there was delayed release in two of 10 patients. As we have modified the method of coating by reducing the number of coatings to two' only in one of 130 patients studied so far has the capsule failed to open before reaching the ascending colon. One should aim for capsule release somewhere in the small intestine, having passed intact through the stomach, as activity tends to collect in the terminal ileum before its release into the colon. In our experience there is no need to obtain release precisely in the terminal ileum. A fundamental problem arises in the use of 'centre of mass' (COM) to describe colonic transit and to compare the two methods of studying transit. COM is useful for examining groups of patients with colonic disorders. The radiologic and scintigraphic methods seem to be no different from each other in this study as only the COM is used to compare groups for both methods. It is of limited value, however, in reporting and treating individual patients, especially when a full range of colonic motility disorders is under study. COM ignores all detailed information obtained by the scintigraphic method, which is essential for correct classification of different patterns of colonic movement. This is best achieved using parametric images. A final point is the activity given for these investigations. We have found a four day study sufficient to identify all patterns of colonic motility disorders even in those with severe constipation. The shorter study allows us to use smaller "'In activity (2 MBq) and still obtain good image quality, reducing the whole body irradiation even further than that described by van der Sijp. A NOTGHI L K HARDING Physics and NuclearMedicine, Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham D KUMAR Department ofSurgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
Adaptive market hypothesis: evidence from the REIT market

We tests two important implications for Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) market efficiency from the adaptive markets hypothesis (Lo, 2004): first, market efficiency is not an all-or-none condition but is a characteristic that varies continuously over time; second, market efficiency is dependent upon market conditions. By using the automatic variance ratio test of Choi (1999), and the automatic portmanteau test of Escanciano and Lobato (2009), we confirm both implications for the US REIT market. The degree of REIT return predictability is found to be time varying. More specifically, it appears to be declining over time, which implies that the REIT market has become more efficient. Furthermore, we show that the return predictability is indeed influenced by market conditions. The level of market development appears to be the primary driver for REIT market efficiency. Other factors like inflation and the overall equity market volatility also have impacts. Finally, we demonstrate that the REIT regulatory changes in the early 1990s have greatly improved market efficiency.
Sources of Exchange Rate and Price Level Fluctuations in Two Commodity Exporting Countries: Australia and New Zealand*

Dynamic interactions between the exchange rate, domestic price level and terms of trade of Australia and New Zealand, relative to the United States, are evaluated. Under the restriction that a nominal shock has no long-run effect on the relative terms of trade, real shocks dominate nominal shocks in accounting for fluctuations in real and nominal exchange rates. For Australia, real shocks that improve the relative terms of trade have a negligible effect on the domestic price level relative to that of the United States but, for New Zealand, there is a significant permanent increase in the relative domestic price level.
Bimodal benefits of cochlear implant and hearing aid (on the non-implanted ear): a pilot study to develop a protocol and a test battery

Abstract This is a pilot study that aims (1) to help design a protocol for fitting and optimizing cochlear implants and hearing aids, (2) to help design a test battery that can help monitor children's progress and (3) to assess the benefit of using a cochlear implant with a contralateral hearing aid. Seven children between the ages of seven and 15 years completed the study. None of them had worn a contralateral hearing aid (HA) since cochlear implantation (five to seven years after implantation). The Listening Inventory for Education (LIFE), Life Situation Questionnaire (LSQ), and Client Orientated Scale of Improvement for Children (COSI-C) questionnaires together with subject's feedback were used as subjective measures, and speech perception tests – the City of New York (sentences list) (CUNY) and Bamford-Kowal-Bench (sentences list) (BKB) depending on child's speech perception skills – in quiet and in noise were used as objective measures. The results showed mixed subjective feedback, even though objectively all children improved their speech perception scores when wearing cochlear implants and hearing aids. The COSI-C proved to be the most successful tool to collect feedback from parents. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effect of salvaged blood on coagulation function as measured by thromboelastography

BACKGROUND: There is concern that salvaged blood has the potential to activate the coagulation system, which might place patients at risk of thrombotic complications. The aim of this study was to determine whether transfusion of salvaged blood after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) would lead to procoagulopathic changes as measured by thromboelastography (TEG) and furthermore if washing would reduce this risk.
Open Fields and Partible Inheritance on a Kent Manor

ince H. L. Gray's account in I 9 I 5 of English field systems, further studies have extended the limits within which the midland common field husbandry is known to have been practised.1 Ambiguity about the Kentish field system has remained, there being too few exhaustive studies of individual townships. M. D. Nightingale collected considerable evidence of the former existence of an open-field system of some sort in Kent and concluded that the Kentish-field system was homologous with the midland system, a view repeated by C. S. and C. S. Orwin in a revision of their book, The Open Fields, and lately by H. P. R. Finberg in a survey of recent progress in English agrarian history.2 Yet Nightingale's conclusion was based upon two assumptions: that Kentish open fields were common fields, i.e. a product of co-operative ploughing and subject to common grazing, and that partible inheritance had ceased to be the popular custom in Kent by the end of the eleventh century.3 Both assumptions require testing within individual townships before his conclusion becomes generally accepted. A useful township for study is Gillingham: from his study of a mid-fifteenth century survey of the manor, Gray concluded that the iuga or yokes in Gillingham were 'clearly rectangular' and he described the field system as 'one of non-contiguous, yet not widely scattered, parcels'. He then described these features observed at Gillingham as typical of the Kentish system as a whole.4 Considerable additional material relating to the manor has come to light since i 9I and it has therefore seemed worth while to inquire more closely into its field system.
Is ECB Communication Effective?

In its Monthly Bulletin of November 2002, the European Central Bank (ECB) stated that the monthly press conference held by its President represents one of its most important communication channels and that it provides a comprehensive summary of the policy relevant assessment of economic developments. After providing a glossary to translate the qualitative information of the press conferences into an ordered scale, we verify empirically whether and to what extent market expectations react to the information released by the ECB. We found that the public not only understand but also believe the signals sent by the European monetary authority.
Investment and CEO Compensation Under Limited Commitment

We extend the neoclassical investment model (Hayashi, 1982) to allow for limited commitment on compensation contracts. We consider three types of limited commitment: (i) managers cannot commit to compensation contracts that provide lower continuation utility than their outside options; (ii) shareholders cannot commit to negative net present value (NPV) projects; (iii) both the managers and the shareholders cannot commit. We characterize the optimal contract under general convex adjustment cost functions and provide examples for which closed-form solutions can be obtained. We show that, as in the data, small firms invest more, grow faster, and have a higher Tobin׳s Q than large firms under the optimal contract. In addition, the pattern of the dependence of chief executive officer (CEO) compensation on past performance implied by our model is also consistent with empirical evidence.
Regulation of the T helper cell type 2 (Th2)/T regulatory cell (Treg) balance by IL‐4 and STAT6

During the development of immune responses to pathogens, self‐antigens, or environmental allergens, naive CD4+ T cells differentiate into subsets of effector cells including Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells. The differentiation into these subsets is controlled by specific transcription factors. The activity of these effector cells is limited by nTregs and iTregs, whose differentiation and maintenance are dependent on the transcription factor Foxp3. The regulation of autoimmune diseases mediated by Th1 and Th17 cells by Tregs has been studied and reviewed extensively. However, much less has been presented about the interplay between Tregs and Th2 cells and their contribution to allergic disease. In this perspective, we discuss the regulation of Th2 cells by Tregs and vice versa, focusing on the interplay between the IL‐4‐activated STAT6/GATA3 pathway and Foxp3.