Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cognitive remediation in the early course of schizophrenia: a critical review.

BACKGROUND The aim of cognitive remediation is to target the cognitive impairments of patients with psychosis, including attentional deficits, memory problems, and limitations in planning and problem solving. It is hoped that by addressing these deficits, patients will be more able to take advantage of other interventions and will be more able to function in social and other domains. Many results in controlled trials of cognitive remediation in adult patients affected by schizophrenia have demonstrated its effectiveness on different cognitive domains and on patient's functioning. Some researchers speculate that deficits in cognition are more amenable to remediation during earlier phases of illness than when chronicity has developed. For these reasons cognitive rehabilitation should be a key component of early intervention programs, seeking to produce durable functional changes in the early course of schizophrenia. Although there is strong evidence that cognitive remediation is effective in adult schizophrenia, there is little evidence about its efficacy and long-term generalized effectiveness in the early course of the disease, and its possible application in the prodromal phase of the disease. PURPOSE OF REVIEW The aim of this paper is to review the available literature on cognitive remediation in the prodromal phase and in the early course of schizophrenia. This review summarizes especially findings of cognitive changes induced in the early course or in the prodromal phases of schizophrenia by different remediation methods. Controlled studies of cognitive training are discussed in more detail. CONCLUSION Few studies on the effects of cognitive training programs have been conducted in first episode or in early schizophrenia and only one study has been conducted in the prodromal phase of the disease. Although preliminary positive results have been achieved, more empirical research is needed to confirm the efficacy of cognitive remediation in the early course of schizophrenia, and future studies should address the issue of the usefulness of cognitive remediation in the prodromes of psychosis.
The Association between Corporate Governance Guidelines and Risk Management and Internal Control Practices: Evidence from a Comparative Study

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the weaker focus on risk management and internal control within the Belgian corporate governance guidelines is associated with less developed risk management and internal control systems within Belgian companies, when compared to Australian companies. Design/methodology/approach - Theoretical arguments were drawn from institutional theory. Data for the study were collected through a questionnaire that was sent out to chief audit executives in Australia and Belgium. Findings - The paper finds that the weaker focus of the Belgian corporate governance guidelines on risk management and internal control is associated with less developed risk management and internal control systems in Belgian companies than in Australian companies. Originality/value - The paper contributes to the literature on corporate governance, as it suggests that the specific content of corporate governance guidelines is an important variable to take into account. This paper also confirms that institutional theory is a relevant framework to study on the one hand, corporate governance practices in a “comply or explain” context, and on the other hand, corporate governance practices within unlisted companies.
Co-worker trust and knowledge creation: A multilevel analysis

Abstract Prior research on trust and knowledge creation has primarily focused on organisational or team-level knowledge creation and the dyadic nature of trust without considering social contexts. This study explores how the extent to which team members are trusted by teammates in their networks (co-worker trust) is associated with the creation of new knowledge in a knowledge-intensive team setting. In addition, the study investigates the moderational effects of task interdependence on the relationship between co-worker trust and knowledge creation. Using a sample of 194 research scientists working in 48 knowledge-intensive teams, our results reveal that team members who are highly trusted by co-workers are more likely to create new knowledge. The positive relationship between co-worker trust and knowledge creation was strongest under conditions of high task interdependence. The discussion addresses the importance of understanding the role of co-worker trust in enhancing knowledge creation and highlights the importance of task contexts. Practical implications for knowledge-intensive teams are discussed.
Heuristics Behaving Badly: Party Cues and Voter Knowledge

Party cues provide citizens with low‐cost information about their representatives’ policy positions. But what happens when elected officials deviate from the party line? Relying on the 2006 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), we examine citizens’ knowledge of their senators’ positions on seven high‐profile roll‐call votes. We find that although politically interested citizens are the group most likely to know their senator's position when she votes with the party, they are also the group most likely to incorrectly identify their senator's position when she votes against her party. The results indicate that when heuristics “go bad,” it is the norm for the most attentive segment of the public to become the most misinformed, revealing an important drawback to heuristic use.
Salvage surgery for chemorefractory gestational trophoblastic disease.

PURPOSE To investigate and define better the role of salvage surgery for patients with chemorefractory gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD). PATIENTS AND METHODS A retrospective review of medical records at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center identified 33 patients with chemorefractory GTD who underwent salvage surgery between 1962 and 1991. The end points selected for analysis were serologic response and survival. RESULTS Initial salvage procedures consisted of 29 hysterectomies, four thoracotomies, and one nephrectomy (in conjunction with a hysterectomy). Fourteen patients (42%) had a serologic complete response (CR) to surgery (normalization of human chorionic gonadotropin [hCG]), 10 (30%) had a partial response (> 50% decrease in hCG level), and nine had no response (< or = 50% decrease in hCG level). Of 19 patients who received further chemotherapy, eight (42%) attained a CR. Four patients underwent a second salvage surgery: two thoracotomies, one craniotomy, and one partial hepatectomy. All achieved a CR. The probability of achieving a CR was influenced by the time from diagnosis to surgery, number of preoperative disease sites, preoperative World Health Organization (WHO) score, and histologic type. Survival was influenced by the type of antecedent pregnancy, number of preoperative regimens, number of preoperative disease sites, time from diagnosis to surgery, and preoperative WHO score. CONCLUSION Based on the findings of this study, it appears that a select subset of patients with chemorefractory GTD who have a limited number of clinically detectable tumor foci may benefit from salvage surgery.
Youth Suicide Attempts: A Social and Demographic Profile

Objective: The social and demographic characteristics of a New Zealand sample of young people making medically serious suicide attempts were examined and compared with those of a control sample of similar age. Method: Using a case control design, 129 young people making serious suicide attempts were contrasted with 153 randomly selected community controls on a series of social and demographic characteristics including educational achievement, socioeconomic status, income, occupation, religious affiliation and ethnicity. The age and gender distribution of the sample, and the methods of suicide attempt, were examined. Results: Almost equal numbers of young males (45.7%) and females (54.3%) made medically serious suicide attempts. The clear majority of serious suicide attempts were by overdose or poisoning (78.3%), with tricyclic antidepressants (38.6%) and paracetamol (37.6%) together accounting for three-quarters (76.2%) of all drug overdoses. Young people who were less well educated and who were from lower socio-economic backgrounds had elevated risk of serious suicide attempts. Conclusions: Young people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds have elevated risk of serious suicide attempt.
The school superintendent : the profession and the person

Very few books on the superintendency, if any, address the position in the manner of The School Superintendent: The Profession and the Person. This book covers how to become a superintendent and be successful at it and presents a personal view of the superintendency. It also details: the history of the superintendency, the relationship between the superitendent and the school board, the different types of leadership styles. Authors Sharp and Walter, both former superintendents, offer practical advice, discussion questions, and examples throughout this book. There is also a chapter written by spouses of superintendents in his/her point of view. Intended for use in graduate education classes on the superintendency as well as practicing and aspiring superintendents.
Slacks determinants in Brazilian railways: a distance friction minimization approach with fixed factors

This study investigates the drivers for output-increasing/input-saving potentials in the Brazilian railway industry, which has undergone significant transformations since its privatization in the mid-1990s. The main research objective is to determine whether or not different types of cargoes and geographic regions serviced present a significant impact on railway slacks by applying a distance friction minimization (DFM) approach with fixed factors. Based on a balanced panel model, secondary data from the period 2004 to 2012 were collected and analysed. Results support anecdotal evidence regarding a heterogeneous impact of types of cargo and geographic location on input-reducing and output-increasing potentials, besides network length and average speed. Policy implications for railway authorities are also addressed by focusing on the specifics of each railway operator.
Consumption‐based Material Flow Accounting

In 2007, imports accounted for approximately 34% of the material input (domestic extraction and imports) into the Austrian economy and almost 60% of the GDP stemmed from exports. Upstream material inputs into the production of traded goods, however, are not yet included in the standard framework of material flow accounting (MFA). We have reviewed different approaches accounting for these upstream material inputs, or raw material equivalents (RME), positioning them in a wider debate about consumption‐based perspectives in environmental accounting. For the period 1995–2007, we calculated annual RME of Austria's trade and consumption applying a hybrid approach. For exports and competitive imports, we used an environmentally extended input‐output model of the Austrian economy, based on annual supply and use tables and MFA data. For noncompetitive imports, coefficients for upstream material inputs were extracted from life cycle inventories. The RME of Austria's imports and exports were approximately three times larger than the trade flows themselves. In 2007, Austria's raw material consumption was 30 million tonnes or 15% higher than its domestic material consumption. We discuss the material composition of these flows and their temporal dynamics. Our results demonstrate the need for a consumption‐based perspective in MFA to provide robust indicators for dematerialization and resource efficiency analysis of open economies.
From Security to Uncertainty: The impact of economic change on child welfare in central Asia

This paper discusses the possible pathways between macroeconomic change and child welfare and develops a typology of the risks that children may face at different stages of the lifecycle. Adopting a multi-dimensional view of child well-being, trends in both economic measures of poverty, based on incomes and expenditures, and in selected capability-based indicators are then examined. The indicators selected reflect the health and survival, education and personal development of children and their social inclusion/exclusion. Not all the news is bad but the data show that the human cost of economic transition has been high and children, far from being protected from its impact, have been amongst those who have suffered the most.
IgG THYROTROPHIN RECEPTOR ANTIBODY ACTIVITY IN GRAVES' DISEASE; A STUDY OF TSH AGONIST AND ANTAGONIST ACTIVITIES BY ISOELECTRIC FOCUSING

The distribution of TSH receptor antibody activity in the 7S and 19S fractions of Graves' sera has been re‐evaluated. Serum fractions were obtained by gel filtration from 12 Graves' sera and assayed for TSH receptor binding activity in a radioreceptor assay. Thyroid stimulating activity was determined in a cultured porcine thyroid cell bioassay. In apparent contrast to the findings of Baker et al. (1983) TSH receptor binding activity was confined to the 7S gel filtration fraction, containing IgG, and was not detected in the 19S fraction, containing IgM. Similarly thyroid stimulating activity was detected only in the 7S fraction. 7S fractions from seven Graves' sera were fractionated by isoelectric focusing and the fractions analysed for TSH receptor binding activity and TSH agonist and antagonist activities. Five of the IgGs showed TSH agonist activity and in all five, the peak thyroid stimulating activity (measured by stimulation of cyclic AMP release from isolated porcine thyroid cells) was in fractions with a pI of between 8.0 and 9.5. In four of these five IgGs, TSH receptor binding activity showed similar isoelectric distribution to the thyroid stimulating activities. High levels of TSH receptor binding activity without associated TSH agonist or antagonist activity were however observed in some isoelectric fractions of the fifth stimulating Graves’IgG studied. All the isoelectric fractions from the fifth IgG with thyroid stimulating activities contained TSH receptor binding activity. Two of the Graves' IgGs showed TSH antagonist activity and both the TSH receptor binding and TSH antagonist activities of these IgGs showed similar isoelectric distribution with the peak activities at a pI of around 9.0. Consequently, it was not possible to separate TSH agonist or TSH antagonist activities from TSH receptor binding activity in seven Graves' sera by isoelectric focusing although in one IgG several isoelectric fractions contained isolated receptor binding activity. These findings are in keeping with the hypothesis that the biological activities of Graves' IgGs are intimately related to their ability to bind to the TSH receptor.
Analyst Reaction to Negative Earnings for Large Well-Known Firms

RICHARD J. DOWEN is a professor in the department of finance at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb (IL 60015). o add to our understanding of the market performance of firms after the announcement of negative earnings, we investigate the T differences in security research analyst forecasts for firms with negative earnings and firms with non-negative earnings as well as the market reaction to those differences. There is a substantial literature in this area. Jaffe, Keim, and Westerfield [1989] find that firms with negative earnings tend to have positive abnormal returns. Ettredge and Fuller [1991] studied 4,294 individual annual observations of firms in the period from 1973 to 1982, of which 227 were negative earnings. They find that negative earnings firms had, on average, positive market model cumulative residuals. Their results are consistent with the market overreaction hypothesis developed by De Bondt and Thaler [1985, 19871. Ali and Klein [1994] observe that the abnormal returns do not exist when measured by market or size adjustment. They hypothesize that the market model excess returns could be explained by negatively biased alphas caused by the inclusion of the negative earnings announcement month in the estimation period for the market model parameters. In a rejoinder, Ettredge and Fuller [1994] speculate that the time period studied may be part of the cause of the different findings. They point out that the negative earnings companies reported large earnings increases in the subsequent year, but that the abnormal returns are unrelated to the increases.
Contingency factors influencing the availability of internal intellectual capital information

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore several contingency variables, namely environmental uncertainty, business strategy, technological advancement, market to book ratio, size, profitability and industry type in the context of management accounting and the availability of internal intellectual capital (IC) information.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was developed and posted to the managers of Malaysian companies. A multiple regression statistical technique was employed to analyse the data.Findings – It is found that business strategy and technological advancement of customer service relate positively to the availability of internal IC information in Malaysian companies.Research limitations/implications – The relatively small response of usable replies to the questionnaire survey is a limitation of this paper. The finding implies that companies with more internal IC information are more likely to be those of product differentiators and those who have undergone technological advanc.
An Efficient Ant-based Routing Algorithm for MANETs

Ant-based routing algorithm is a class of ant colony optimization algorithms which are inspired by the behavior of ants in nature. In this paper, we propose an ant-based routing algorithm for mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs). The proposed algorithm which is based on the AntHocNet sets its goals to support multi-path routes, to reduce overheads by managing ants efficiently. The results obtained from the simulations proved that the proposed algorithm achieves the goals by reducing the overhead generated by the ants and end-to-end delay while providing comparable packet delivery ratio of AntHocNet.
Divergent Capitalisms: The Social Structuring and Change of Business Systems

The late twentieth century has witnessed the establishment of new forms of capitalism in East Asia as well as new market economies in Eastern Europe. Despite the growth of international investment and capital flows, these distinctive business systems remain different from each other and from those already developed in Europe and the Americas. This continued diversity of capitalism results from, and is reproduced by, significant differences in societal institutions and agencies such as the state, capital and labour markets, and dominant beliefs about trust, loyalty, and authority. This book presents the comparative business systems framework for describing and explaining the major differences in economic organization between market economies in the late twentieth century. This framework identifies the critical variations in coordination and control systems across forms of industrial capitalism, and shows how these are connected to major differences in their institutional contexts. Six major types of business system are identified and linked to different institutional arrangements. Significant differences in post-war East Asian business systems and the ways in which these are changing in the 1990s are analysed within this framework, which is also extended to compare the path-dependent nature of the new capitalisms emerging in Eastern Europe.
Angle Analysis of Haglund Syndrome and its Relationship with Osseous Variations and Achilles Tendon Calcification

Background: Haglund syndrome is a cause of posterior heel pain. The prominent posterosuperior projection into the retrocalcaneal bursa is thought to be a major etiology. Many methods have been proposed to measure the posterosuperior projection of the tuberosity into this bursa. The Fowler angle and the parallel pitch lines are the most frequently used. However, the relation between symptomatic Haglund syndrome and the measuring methods, especially the Fowler angle and parallel pitch lines, is not clear. The purposes of this paper were to study the predictive value of the most frequently used measurement methods to evaluate bursal impingement and to determine if other osseous variations and Achilles tendon calcification are associated with the development of Haglund syndrome. Methods: From October, 1996, to March, 2003, we evaluated 37 heels in 31 patients with symptomatic Haglund syndrome, and 40 heels in 27 individuals without posterior heel pain. On a lateral view radiograph, the Fowler angle, and the parallel pitch lines were measured, in addition to Achilles tendon calcification and the osseous variations, such as a posterior calcaneal step spur or plantar osseous projection. Results: The average Fowler angles in the control group and study group were 62.31 ± 7.79 degrees and 60.14 ± 7.01 degrees, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.490). The positive parallel pitch lines in the symptomatic group were 56.8% and in the control group 42.5%. There was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.474) between the groups. Conclusions: No statistically significant differences were noted between the groups concerning the Fowler angle and parallel pitch lines. The posterior calcaneal step spur and Achilles tendon calcification were statistically significant between these two groups. The Fowler angle and parallel pitch lines were of little predictive value for the Haglund syndrome.
Tiny Prices in a Tiny Market: Evidence from Portugal on Optimal Share Prices

The Portuguese stock market provides a natural experiment to analyze theories of optimal price per share. The particular characteristics of this market suggest that prices per share should be very low. Using a sample of 20 stocks from the main Portuguese Stock Index (PSI20) in Jan/1999-Jun/2010, we observe that Portuguese corporations indeed seek extremely low prices per share through stock splits and similar actions. However, we find that low-price stocks are actually less liquid than high-price stocks. Furthermore, low-price stocks trade at lower valuation ratios. Our results do not support any of the existing theories on optimal price per share and therefore increase the nominal share price puzzle.
Pareto and the 53 Percent Ordinal Theory of Utility

Vilfredo Pareto died more than seventy-five years ago. His last major contribution to economic theory, “Économie mathématique,” published in 1911 in the Encyclopedie des sciences mathematiques pures et appliques, is now ninety years old, and his earliest major contributions, the five-part “Considerazioni sui principii fondamentali dell’economia politica pura” (1892–93) and several other papers published at about the same time in the Giornale degli economisti, are now well over a century old. Pareto’s work has extensively influenced so much of modern economics, and intellectual historians have had ample time to digest and interpret his work. Nevertheless, confusion persists on at least one important aspect of Pareto’s contribution to modern economic theory. This confusion concerns the question of whether and to what extent Pareto adopted an ordinal theory of utility. The answers that intellectual historians have given to this question are decidedly mixed. At one extreme, many authors, perhaps the majority of those who have addressed the issue, have claimed with little or no