Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intracoronary transplantation of non-expanded peripheral blood-derived mononuclear cells promotes improvement of cardiac function in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND Transplantation of non-expanded peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) enhances neovessel formation in ischemic myocardium and limbs by releasing angiogenic factors. This study was designed to examine whether intracoronary transplantation of PBMNCs improves cardiac function after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS AND RESULTS After successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for a ST-elevation AMI with occlusion of proximal left anterior descending coronary artery within 24 h, patients received an intracoronary infusion of PBMNCs within 5 days after PCI (PBMNC group). PBMNCs were obtained from patients by COBE spectra-apheresis and concentrated to 10 ml, 3.3 ml of which was infused via over-the-wire catheter. The global left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) change from baseline to 6 months followup in th ePBMNC group that underwent standard PCI for similar AMI [corrected]. The primary endpoint was the global left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) change from baseline to 6 months' follow-up. The data showed that the absolute increase in LVEF was 7.4% in the control group and 13.4% (p=0.037 vs control) in the PBMNC group. Cell therapy resulted in a greater tendency of DeltaRegional ejection fraction (EF) or significant improvement in the wall motion score index and Tc-99m-tetrofosmin perfusion defect score associated with the infarct area, compared with controls. Moreover, intracoronary administration of PBMNCs did not exacerbate either left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic and end-systolic volume expansion or high-risk arrhythmia, without any adverse clinical events. CONCLUSION Intracoronary infusion of non-expanded PBMNCs promotes improvement of LV systolic function. This less invasive and more feasible approach to collecting endothelial progenitor cells may provide a novel therapeutic option for improving cardiac function after AMI.
Insulin: discovery and controversy.

During the first two decades of the 20th century, several investigators prepared extracts of pancreas that were often successful in lowering blood sugar and reducing glycosuria in test animals. However, they were unable to remove impurities, and toxic reactions prevented its use in humans with diabetes. In the spring of 1921, Frederick G. Banting, a young Ontario orthopedic surgeon, was given laboratory space by J.J.R. Macleod, the head of physiology at the University of Toronto, to investigate the function of the pancreatic islets. A student assistant, Charles Best, and an allotment of dogs were provided to test Banting's hypothesis that ligation of the pancreatic ducts before extraction of the pancreas, destroys the enzyme-secreting parts, whereas the islets of Langerhans, which were believed to produce an internal secretion regulating sugar metabolism, remained intact. He believed that earlier failures were attributable to the destructive action of trypsin. The name "insuline" had been introduced in 1909 for this hypothetic substance. Their experiments produced an extract of pancreas that reduced the hyperglycemia and glycosuria in dogs made diabetic by the removal of their pancreases. They next developed a procedure for extraction from the entire pancreas without the need for duct ligation. This extract, now made from whole beef pancreas, was successful for treating humans with diabetes. Facilitating their success was a development in clinical chemistry that allowed blood sugar to be frequently and accurately determined in small volumes of blood. Success with purification was largely the work of J.B. Collip. Yield and standardization were improved by cooperation with Eli Lilly and Company. When the Nobel Prize was awarded to Banting and Macleod for the discovery of insulin, it aggravated the contentious relationship that had developed between them during the course of the investigation. Banting was outraged that Macleod and not Best had been selected, and he briefly threatened to refuse the award. He immediately announced that he was giving one-half of his share of the prize money to Best and publicly acknowledged Best's contribution to the discovery of insulin. Macleod followed suit and gave one-half of his money award to Collip. Years later, the official history of the Nobel Committee admitted that Best should have been awarded a share of the prize.
EFEITOS DO CAPITAL INTELECTUAL SOBRE O DESEMPENHO FINANCEIRO EM EMPRESAS BRASILEIRAS E CHILENAS

The objective of the research was to investigate the influence of intellectual capital measured by the Intellectual Capital Value Added (VACI) on financial performance in Brazilian and Chilean companies in 2013. We conducted a descriptive, documentary, with a quantitative approach through statistical canonical correlation technique. Data were collected in the Tomnson® database. The results of the study showed existing canonical correlation between the variables that make up the VACI with the financial performance variables in Brazil and Chile. Thus, it was concluded that the intellectual capital significantly influences the financial performance of the Brazilian and Chilean companies.
Financial factors and firm growth: evidence from financial data on Taiwanese firms

We investigate the possible predictability of firm growth in Taiwan using cross-sectional data of financial factors for the years 1997 and 2003 via principal component analysis. Our results reveal that the 18 financial variables (sales growth rate, total assets, total sales, return on assets, return on equity, gross margin, operating cost minus depreciation divided by sales plus other trading income, acid test ratio, debt–equity ratio, time interest earned, average receivables per average daily sales, inventory, average payables per average daily sales, working capital, working capital as a fraction of total assets, long-term liabilities as a fraction of total assets, and sales as a fraction of net worth of the firm) that we employ bunch together into five different financial ratios for the years 1997 and 2003 that are stable between these years. These financial factors are short-term liquidity, return on investment, long-term liquidity, firm size and capital turnover. Regressing these ratio groups (extracted principal components) on firm growth, we find return on investment in the year 1997 was positively and significantly related to firm growth, while long-term solvency was negatively related to firm growth. In addition, smaller firms tended to grow faster. By 2003, larger firms grew faster than smaller ones and short-term liquidity was positively and significantly related to firm growth, while return on investment was no longer a significant determining factor. Our findings suggest that firms that finance internally or do not rely too heavily on indebtedness may end up growing slower during boom periods but they are the ones that survive and outperform after the bust.
EXPLORING ALL VAR ORDERINGS FOR CALCULATING SPILLOVERS? YES, WE CAN!—A NOTE ON DIEBOLD AND YILMAZ (2009)

SUMMARY Diebold and Yilmaz (Economic Journal 2009; 119; 158–171) introduce the spillover index to measure linkages between international financial markets. As their index depends on the ordering of the variables in the underlying VAR model, they check robustness by computing the index for a small number of randomly chosen permutations, stating that it was impossible to explore the huge number of renumerations. Building on a new divide-and-conquer strategy, we provide an algorithm for swiftly calculating the spillover index's maximum and minimum over all renumerations. Using this new algorithm, we find that the true range of the spillover index can be up to three times as large as estimated by Diebold and Yilmaz. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Public perception of actual changes in New Zealand government spending

New Zealand student and general public samples reported their perception of changes in spending and quality in eight areas of government spending between 2002 and 2007. The actual considerable shift in spending towards education, health and cultural goods was not perceived. They perceived some improvement in quality of areas that had received increased spending. Respondents who had recently used health services reported both a greater increase in spending and a greater quality increase in health services than non-users. Overall, the results suggest but by no means prove that the increased spending has produced little noticeable public benefit.
Outcomes of customer verbal aggression among hotel employees

Purpose – The central purpose of this study is to develop and test a model which examines the effects of customer verbal aggression on emotional dissonance, emotional exhaustion, and job outcomes such as service recovery performance, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. The model also investigates the impact of emotional dissonance on emotional exhaustion and the effects of emotional dissonance and exhaustion on the above‐mentioned job outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered from a sample of frontline hotel employees in Northern Cyprus via self‐administered questionnaires. A total number of 204 questionnaires were obtained.Findings – As hypothesized, emotional dissonance and emotional exhaustion were found to be significant outcomes of customer verbal aggression. The results demonstrated that emotional dissonance amplified exhaustion. The results further revealed that customer verbal aggression and emotional dissonance intensified turnover intentions. As expected, emotional exhaust.
Dairy products and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies.

BACKGROUND The association between intake of dairy products and the risk of type 2 diabetes has been investigated in several studies, but the evidence is not conclusive. OBJECTIVE We conducted an updated systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of dairy product intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes. DESIGN We searched the PubMed database for prospective cohort and nested case-control studies of dairy product intake and risk of type 2 diabetes up to 5 June 2013. Summary RRs were estimated by use of a random-effects model. RESULTS Seventeen cohort studies were included in the meta-analysis. In the dose-response analysis, the summary RRs (95% CIs) were 0.93 (0.87, 0.99; I(2) = 33%) per 400 g total dairy products/d (n = 12), 0.98 (0.94, 1.03; I(2) = 8%) per 200 g high-fat dairy products/d (n = 9), 0.91 (0.86, 0.96; I(2) = 40%) per 200 g low-fat dairy products/d (n = 9), 0.87 (0.72, 1.04; I(2) = 94%) per 200 g milk/d (n = 7), 0.92 (0.86, 0.99; I(2) = 0%) per 50 g cheese/d (n = 8), and 0.78 (0.60, 1.02; I(2) = 70%) per 200 g yogurt/d (n = 7). Nonlinear inverse associations were observed for total dairy products (P-nonlinearity < 0.0001), low-fat dairy products (P-nonlinearity = 0.06), cheese (P-nonlinearity = 0.05), and yogurt (P-nonlinearity = 0.004), and there was a flattening of the curve at higher intakes. CONCLUSIONS This meta-analysis suggests that there is a significant inverse association between intakes of dairy products, low-fat dairy products, and cheese and risk of type 2 diabetes. Any additional studies should assess the association between other specific types of dairy products and the risk of type 2 diabetes and adjust for more confounding factors.
A historical review and assessment of urban heat island research in Singapore

This historical review of 20 studies since the 1960s examines the influence of urban development on the thermal environment in Singapore, a fast growing tropical island city-state. Past observations are critically assessed with regard to experimental controls and station metadata. Given the availability of historical climate and developmental data spanning almost 50 years, changes in urban heat island (UHI) intensity and spatial coverage can be traced temporally. Rapid urban expansion in Singapore is clearly reflected in spatially and temporally changing air and surface temperature patterns. The nocturnal canopy-layer UHI intensity – measured as the difference between the commercial urban core and undeveloped areas close to primary or secondary rainforests for example – doubled in magnitude between 1965 and 2004. At the same time, the spatial extent of the nocturnal UHI has also expanded with the development of new housing and industrial districts. The influence of the growing city is also reflected in surface temperature. Two satellite images dated 13 years apart demonstrate the encroachment of areas with high surface temperatures into previously cooler areas during daytime corresponding with new public housing estates and low-rise residential areas or facilities being built. The results from our study contribute to the growing body of tropical heat island research. They provide baseline data for future research and urban development in the Singapore context and, more generally, offer important cues for urban planners to make tropical cities more sustainable.
Agency Theory Meets Social Capital: The Failure of the 1984-91 New Zealand Economic Revolution

The failure of the New Zealand Economic Revolution of 1984-91 to generate improved economic performance is puzzling and important, since the reforms enacted then have often been cited as a 'textbook' example of how to liberalise an economy, and since the preconditions for success (such as good government, secure property rights and stable capitalist institutions) were all in place, in contrast to the economies of the former Soviet bloc. This paper first documents the extent of failure, and then attempts to explain it theoretically. This is the story: The reform program can be seen as a massive application (or mis-application) of Principal/Agent Theory. The Principal is the small group of economic revolutionaries. The Agents are the people of NZ. The Principal_s sole object is economic efficiency. The Agents enjoy the fruits of efficiency, but also emjoy other things ('slack'), which conflict with efficient behaviour. The Principal introduces policies (deregulation, liberalisation, commercialisation) which raise the opportunity cost of non- efficient behaviour in both private and public sectors. Unfortunately, the Principal has the 'wrong model' of how the economy functions. Slack does not just enter Agents' utility functions, it is also an input into production, where it appears as 'Forbearance' _ the flow variable associated with the stock concept known as Social Capital (the ability of agents to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes through trusting and trustworthy behaviour). Thus, the Reforms actually reduced economic efficiency, for two reasons (1) they forced noncooperative behaviour on agents, and (2) they incurred direct costs of monitoring and enforcement to bring agents' behaviour into line with the principal's objectives. And the total welfare costs exceed the loss of economic efficiency (GDP), since disproportionately more utility-enhancing slack, or forbearance is wiped out. The prediction of increased resources devoted to transaction cost activities, in particular management, is tested in a comparison of New Zealand and Australia (which did not go through such a radical reform process). The data do indeed show a substantial increase in the number of managers in NZ, relative to Australia.
The Impact of Marginal Tax Rates on Taxable Income: Evidence from State Income Tax Differentials

The relationship between marginal tax rates and taxable income is analyzed with a large cross section of income tax returns filed by individuals who face different marginal tax rates because of state income tax differentials. The empirical results suggest that an increase in the marginal tax rate reduces taxable income primarily because taxpayers claim larger deductions. High-income taxpayers are found to be more responsive to tax rate changes than lower-income individuals. The findings are compared to those of other recent studies incorporating a wider range of taxpayer responses to tax rate changes than considered in this study.
Enhancers Located in Heavy Chain Regulatory Region (hs3a, hs1,2, hs3b, and hs4) Are Dispensable for Diversity of VDJ Recombination*

Background: We examined the effect of deletion of the heavy chain regulatory region (RR) on VDJ recombination in B-cells. Results: V, D, and J usage is unaffected by the absence of the IgH RR. Conclusion: The IgH RR is dispensable for V(D)J diversity. Significance: This region only orchestrates IgH locus activity during late stages of B-cell differentiation. V(D)J recombination occurs during the antigen-independent early steps of B-cell ontogeny. Multiple IgH cis-regulatory elements control B-cell ontogeny. IGCR1 (intergenic control region 1), the DQ52 promoter/enhancer, and the intronic Emu enhancer, all three located upstream of Cmu, have important roles during V(D)J recombination, whereas there is no clue about a role of the IgH regulatory region (RR) encompassing the four transcriptional enhancers hs3a, hs1,2, hs3b, and hs4 during these early stages. To clarify the role of the RR in V(D)J recombination, we totally deleted it in the mouse genome. Here, we show that V(D)J recombination is unaffected by the complete absence of the IgH RR, highlighting that this region only orchestrates IgH locus activity during the late stages of B-cell differentiation. In contrast, the earliest antigen-independent steps of B-cell ontogeny would be under the control of only the upstream Cmu elements of the locus.
Opportunity evaluation and changing beliefs during the nascent entrepreneurial process

This article explores an important but less understood part of the nascent entrepreneurial process, the changes that occur to beliefs associated with continuing evaluation of the opportunity and related learning. Using samples from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics, we demonstrate that engaging in planning activities by nascent entrepreneurs as they proceed through the process is associated with a decrease in perceptions of environmental uncertainty but an increase in perceived individual self-efficacy and business performance expectations. Overall, our evidence is consistent with a dynamic view of the nascent stage of the entrepreneurial process characterized by ongoing significant changes in beliefs.
Creative Retirement: Survey of Older Adults' Educational Interests and Motivations

The University of Manitoba's Continuing Education Division (CED) and Creative Retirement Manitoba (CRM) formed a partnership to promote applied research on lifelong learning and older adults, to develop new and to complement existing educational activities, and to explore new program models and instructional methods to meet the educational needs of older adult learners. A survey, the first in a larger research project of this partnership, was undertaken to identify the learning interests and motivations of a select group of active older adults who participate in CRM's activities. The results indicate that these learners prefer to learn only for interest, in non-educational settings or on their own; are interested, motivated, and physically and financially capable; confront situational and institutional barriers to learning; and consider learning important to their lifestyle. These findings are consistent with the notion that an active lifestyle, including continued learning, may lead to improved quality of life, and better health and wellness for older adults. University continuing education (UCE) has a role to play in developing and supporting learning opportunities and programs for older adult learners, albeit a measured one.
Estimating the impact of higher capital requirements on the cost of equity: an empirical study of European banks

The new regulatory framework imposes an increase in capital requirements for banks. Although core capital (equity) is more expensive than other liabilities (debt), it strengthens banks’ stability and improves its loss-absorbing capacity. In this paper, we investigate the link between high-quality capital requirements and systematic risk. We further analyze the extent to which an improvement in the quality of the banks’ balance-sheet will affect the expected return on equity. We show the impact of shifts in funding structure on information asymmetries (especially implicit guarantees) and on the average funding cost. Our results demonstrate that core capital is essential for increasing banks stability and for reducing the average funding cost for banks. Our empirical analysis provides support for the introduction of strengthened prudential requirements defined in Basel III.
The Earnings of REALTORS: Some Empirical Evidence

This paper explores the factors that influence the earnings of REALTORS. It presents estimates of a human capital earnings model estimated on the basis of a nationwide survey of REALTORS collected by the National Association of REALTORS in 1984. Estimates of this model are compared to previous studies that have been based on surveys of REALTORS in individual states.
Empirical Comparison of Input‐Output Methods for Life Cycle Assessment

This article empirically evaluates the results from input‐output (I‐O) life cycle assessment (LCA) models of the United States for 2002, based on different sources of data: demand‐side survey data; supply‐side data with homogeneous prices; and supply‐side data with heterogeneous prices. These I‐O‐based results are also compared with those from process LCA databases. The underlying approach is based on the theoretical insight previously developed. The results show significant differences and offer useful heuristic insight: The survey‐based data set seems better for sectors that use a large amount of resources and have large intrasectoral transactions. But, it exhibits many missing values. Homogeneous price‐based calculation with supply‐side data is easiest because of minimal data needs and simplifying assumption on prices. The result shows relatively complete coverage and obeys mass and energy balances. The heterogeneous price‐based data set overcomes the price homogeneity assumption, but the result is sensitive to price accuracy. Overall, it is not possible to declare any currently available data sets to be the best, although survey‐ and heterogeneous price‐based data sets may be improved with more information. This insight is based on comparing direct consumption of fossil resources. Comparison of cumulative consumption reduces the disparities among data sets from error cancellation. Further comparison of process‐ and I‐O‐based inventories shows that the former values are often larger than the latter, with the two supply‐side data sets being closer to process‐based data. These results should be useful for choosing between available data to build the best possible I‐O and hybrid LCA models and for further research on enhancing their quality.