Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lack of Evidence of Sexual Transmission of Hepatitis C among Monogamous Couples: Results of a 10-Year Prospective Follow-Up Study

The risk of sexual transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was evaluated among 895 monogamous heterosexual partners of HCV chronically infected individuals in a long-term prospective study, which provided a follow-up period of 8,060 person-years. Seven hundred and seventy-six (86.7%) spouses were followed for 10 yr, corresponding to 7,760 person-years of observation. One hundred and nineteen (13.3%) spouses (69 whose infected partners cleared the virus following treatment and 50 who ended their relationship or were lost at follow-up) contributed an additional 300 person-years. All couples denied practicing anal intercourse or sex during menstruation, as well as condom use. The average weekly rate of sexual intercourse was 1.8. Three HCV infections were observed during follow-up corresponding to an incidence rate of 0.37 per 1,000 person-years. However, the infecting HCV genotype in one spouse (2a) was different from that of the partner (1b), clearly excluding sexual transmission. The remaining two couples had concordant genotypes, but sequence analysis of the NS5b region of the HCV genome, coupled with phylogenetic analysis showed that the corresponding partners carried different viral isolates, again excluding the possibility of intraspousal transmission of HCV. Our data indicate that the risk of sexual transmission of HCV within heterosexual monogamous couples is extremely low or even null. No general recommendations for condom use seem required for individuals in monogamous partnerships with HCV-infected partners.
Protective Effect of Viscoelastics against Retina Lipid Peroxidation

Viscoelastics or ophthalmic viscosurgical devices are routinely used during anterior segment surgery and also in posterior segment surgery. Studies of the harmful effects of phacoemulsification on corneal endothelial cells suggest that much of this damage is mediated by free radicals. In this study, we compare the possible effects against lipid peroxidation in the retina of three different viscoelastic substances: Viscoat, Healon and Visiol. Herein we demonstrate for the first time that viscoelastics are effective to protect the retina against lipid peroxidation, as can be seen by the slight increase of malondialdehyde in the homogenates incubated with viscoelastic exposed to light and to a temperature of 37°C when compared with the control homogenates.
Corporate Incentives to Disclose Carbon Information: Evidence from Global 500

We investigate how the Global 500 companies respond to the challenge of climate change with regard to carbon disclosure strategy. This paper is motivated by a growing body of research that examines the role of large companies in carbon disclosure responsibility and practices. Based on the previous research, we consider the impact of economic, regulatory, social and financial market factors on motivation of Global 500 to voluntarily disclose carbon information in Carbon Disclosure Project in 2009. We find that the economic factor is significantly associated with the voluntary carbon disclosure decision. That is, companies that face direct economic consequence are more likely to disclose carbon related information. Companies in carbon intensive sectors show the same tendency. In addition, large companies have more propensity to disclose carbon information, suggesting social or political pressure plays an important role in such a decision. In addition, we provide evidence of why a large proportion of our sample Global 500 firms refuse to disclose carbon information. Our results suggest the information needs of investors for carbon footprints do not appear relevant to the carbon disclosure decision. In sum, the tendency of Global 500 to disclose carbon information is likely explained by economic and social pressure, and the major driving force for climate change disclosure comes from the general public and government, rather than other major stakeholders such as shareholders and debtholders. Our results are robust after controlling other influences.
Reassessing the Role of Child Care Costs in the Work and Care Decisions of Australian Families

This paper reassesses how the costs associated with child care influence Australian families’ decisions about their work and child care arrangements. Using data from the Negotiating the Life Course Survey, we suggest that the cost of care may not be an important barrier to labour market participation. Non-employed mothers do not cite child care as the barrier preventing them from working and many two-earner families appear to be able to adjust their schedules so as to avoid paying child care costs at all. Instead, factors such as the cost structures associated with formal, informal and parental care; attitudes regarding work and child rearing; and the work arrangements of working couples to be more important in the labour-supply decision. In addition, the data suggests there are important differences in the cost structure of different types of care. While costs in formal care appear to be fixed, informal and parental care has a larger variable cost component. Results indicate that the relative importance of fixed costs influence the decision about which type of child care arrangement is utilised.
High Frequency Trading and the New-Market Makers

This paper characterizes the trading strategy of a large high frequency trader (HFT). The HFT incurs a loss on its inventory but earns a profit on the bid–ask spread. Sharpe ratio calculations show that performance is very sensitive to cost of capital assumptions. The HFT employs a cross-market strategy as half of its trades materialize on the incumbent market and the other half on a small, high-growth entrant market. Its trade participation rate in these markets is 8.1% and 64.4%, respectively. In both markets, four out of five of its trades are passive i.e., its price quote was consumed by others.
Sustainable supplier selection and order lot-sizing: an integrated multi-objective decision-making process

Within supply chains activities, selecting appropriate suppliers based on the sustainability criteria (economic, environmental and social) can help companies move toward sustainable development. Although several studies have recently been accomplished to incorporate sustainability criteria into supplier selection problem, much less attention has been devoted to developing a comprehensive mathematical model that allocates the optimal quantities of orders to suppliers considering lot-sizing problems. In this research, we propose an integrated approach of rule-based weighted fuzzy method, fuzzy analytical hierarchy process and multi-objective mathematical programming for sustainable supplier selection and order allocation combined with multi-period multi-product lot-sizing problem. The mathematical programming model consists of four objective functions which are minimising total cost, maximising total social score, maximising total environmental score and maximising total economic qualitative score. The proposed model is developed based on the parameters achieved through the preprocessing of suppliers’ social, environmental and economic data by a rule-based weighted fuzzy approach and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process. The proficiency and applicability of the proposed approach is illustrated by a case study of packaging films in food industry. Considering sustainability criteria in the proposed model reveals that a higher value of sustainable purchasing is achievable in comparison with a single-objective cost-based model.
PERBEDAAN PERSEPSI MAHASISWA AKUNTANSI TERHADAP ETIKA PENYUSUNAN LAPORAN KEUANGAN

One of the goals of accounting education in Indonesia is to introduce the stu­ dents to the ethics and values of accounting profession. This research focused on the effectiveness of accounting curriculum in developing students ’responsibility towards the financial statement s users. We find that accounting students oppose earnings management more strongly than do students from other disciplines, even though there are not any significant differences in their view of financial report ethics. This similar view on ethics also occurs between the new accounting students and senior accounting students. These results show that there are needs to reform the account­ ing curriculum - particularly in Indonesia - to emphasize more on ethics and values of the accounting profession.
Increased Organ Damage Associated with Deterioration in Volumetric Bone Density and Bone Microarchitecture in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus on Longterm Glucocorticoid Therapy

Objective. To evaluate bone quality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who were undergoing longterm glucocorticoid (GC) therapy, and to focus on the correlation between bone quality and organ damage. Methods. Seventy-eight female patients with SLE and organ damage taking longterm GC, and 72 age-matched SLE patients without damage taking longterm GC were recruited for study. Clinical variables of interest included disease activity, cumulative organ damage (by Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index; SDI), major organ involvement (musculoskeletal damage and neuropsychiatric damage, etc.), and use of medication. Areal bone mineral density (aBMD) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Bone geometry, volumetric BMD (vBMD), microarchitecture, and biomechanical properties were measured by high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT). Results. Patients were mean age of 45 years (SD 10) and 54% were postmenopausal. The median SDI score of the cohort was 1 (interquartile range 1−2, range 1−5). Compared with patients without damage, the prevalence of osteopenia at either total hip or lumbar spine was significantly higher, and there were trends of deterioration of bone geometry, vBMD, microarchitecture, and biomechanical properties in patients with organ damage. Potential risk factors for bone quality in patients with damage were screened by univariate analysis. During multiple regression analysis, SDI was the only clinical variable consistently associated with deterioration of vBMD and microarchitecture. Conclusion. Cumulative organ damage consistently correlated with deterioration of vBMD and bone microarchitecture in SLE patients with damage on longterm GC therapy. HR-pQCT provides an insight into the underlying mechanism of bone loss in SLE.
Ischemia-modified albumin as a marker of vascular dysfunction and subclinical atherosclerosis in β-thalassemia major

ABSTRACT Background: Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is an altered type of serum albumin that forms under conditions of oxidative stress and an independent predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events. Objectives: To measure the levels of IMA in 45 children and adolescents with β-thalassemia major (β-TM) compared with 30 healthy controls and assess its relation to lipid peroxidation, vascular complications and subclinical atherosclerosis. Methods: β-TM patients without symptoms of heart disease were studied focusing on transfusion history, chelation therapy, serum ferritin, malondialdehyde (MDA) and IMA levels. Echocardiography was performed and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) was assessed. Results: IMA and MDA levels were significantly higher in β-TM patients compared with controls (p < 0.001). IMA was higher among patients with heart disease, pulmonary hypertension risk and serum ferritin ≥2500 µg/l than those without. TM patients compliant to chelation had significantly lower IMA levels. IMA levels were positively correlated to MDA and CIMT while negatively correlated to ejection fraction and fractional shortening. Conclusion: Our results highlight the role of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of vascular complications in thalassemia. IMA could be useful for screening of β-TM patients at risk of cardiopulmonary complications and atherosclerosis because its alteration occurs in early subclinical disease.
DLX‐1, DLX‐2, and DLX‐5 expression define distinct stages of basal forebrain differentiation

The homeobox genes in the Dlx family are required for differentiation of basal forebrain neurons and craniofacial morphogenesis. Herein, we studied the expression of Dlx‐1, Dlx‐2, and Dlx‐5 RNA and protein in the mouse forebrain from embryonic day 10.5 (E10.5) to E12.5. We provide evidence that Dlx‐2 is expressed before Dlx‐1, which is expressed before Dlx‐5. We also demonstrate that these genes are expressed in the same cells, which may explain why single mutants of the Dlx genes have mild phenotypes. The DLX proteins are localized primarily to the nucleus, although DLX‐5 also can be found in the cytoplasm. During development, the fraction of Dlx‐positive cells increases in the ventricular zone. Analysis of the distribution of DLX‐1 and DLX‐2 in M‐phase cells suggests that these proteins are distributed symmetrically to daughter cells during mitosis. We propose that DLX‐negative cells in the ventricular zone are specified progressively to become DLX‐2‐expressing cells during neurogenesis; as these cells differentiate, they go on to express DLX‐1, DLX‐5, and DLX‐6. This process appears to be largely the same in all regions of the forebrain that express the Dlx genes. In the basal telencephalon, these DLX‐positive cells differentiate into projection neurons of the striatum and pallidum as well as interneurons, some of which migrate to the cerebral cortex and the olfactory bulb. J. Comp. Neurol. 414:217–237, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Can total quality management make small firms competitive

This paper explores how total quality management (TQM) can help small firms to compete. Based on the results of research into the implementation of TQM programmes by 44 small manufacturing firms in Valencia (Spain), the paper concentrates on the effectiveness of these programmes. Two different types of effectiveness measurement are used, and conclusions drawn on the achievement and performance of TQM in these firms. A group of high-performance firms was selected from within the sample, and by comparing this group with the entire sample it was concluded that the innovative nature of the programme, the intensity of change and improved management are decisive factors in the success of the programmes. Some reflections are also made on the future of TQM in improving the competitiveness of small firms.
The Effect of Global Company Animosity on Global Brand Attitudes in Emerging and Developed Markets: Does Perceived Value Matter?

Country-level animosity effects on foreign products from disliked countries are fairly well understood, but little is known about the role of global company animosity (GCA). Such understanding is important in a world increasingly dominated by global brands that are rapidly losing their associations with individual countries. This study proposes a nomological net that features GCA and perceived value of global brands (PVGB) as “dual process antecedents” to global brand attitudes and mediators of four relevant exogenous constructs (consumer ethnocentrism and localism through GCA and cosmopolitanism and materialism through PVGB). Using nonstudent consumers, the authors test the model in three diverse national markets ranging from emerging to developed: Brazil, South Korea, and Germany. The results show support for the importance of PVGB as a counterbalance to GCA in Brazil and Germany. The dominance of the PVGB path in South Korea is due to the country's unique socioeconomic milieu. Although replication is warranted, international marketing managers should benefit from strategic consideration of the antecedents and pathways from GCA and PVGB to global brand attitudes.
NEW SPACE VALUE OF THE SOLAR OBLATENESS OBTAINED WITH PICARD

The PICARD spacecraft was launched on 2010 June 15 with the scientific objective of studying the geometry of the Sun. It is difficult to measure solar oblateness because images are affected by optical distortion. Rolling the satellite, as done in previous space missions, determines the contribution of the telescope by assuming that the geometry of the Sun is constant during the observations. The optical response of the telescope is considered to be time-invariant during the roll operations. This is not the case for PICARD because an orbital signature is clearly observed in the solar radius computed from its images. We take this effect into account and provide the new space value of solar oblateness from PICARD images recorded in the solar continuum at 535.7 nm on 2011 July 4–5. The equator–pole radius difference is 8.4 ± 0.5 mas, which corresponds to an absolute radius difference of 6.1 km. This coincides with the mean value of all solar oblateness measurements obtained during the last two decades from the ground, balloons, and space. It is also consistent with values determined from models using helioseismology data.
Labor Rigidity and the Dynamics of the Value Premium

This paper documents that (i) the labor-share is a strong predictor of both the value and duration premia, (ii) these premia are highly correlated, and (iii) the labor-share does not forecast the component of the value premium orthogonal to the duration premium. A simple equilibrium model with labor rigidity and heterogeneity in cash-flow durations rationalizes these stylized facts. The economic channel is a term-structure effect: labor rigidity boosts short-run dividend risk because wages are more responsive to permanent than transitory shocks. This leads to downward-sloping equity risk and to a cross-sectional duration premium. In turn, value firms earn a compensation over growth firms which is predicted by labor-share variation.
Patterns of psychological responses in parents of children that underwent stem cell transplantation

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is curative in several life‐threatening pediatric diseases but may affect children and their families inducing depression, anxiety, burnout symptoms, and post‐traumatic stress symptoms, as well as post‐traumatic growth (PTG). The aim of this study was to investigate the co‐occurrence of different aspects of such responses in parents of children that had undergone HSCT.
Visit impacts and canyon management in the Blue Mountains, Australia: Canyoners’ perspectives and wilderness management

Recreation in natural areas has been promoted for numerous reasons (e.g., health, nature appreciation, education, financial gain) and leisure time spent in protected areas has increased substantially in popularity in recent decades. However, upkeep of such protected areas represents considerable financial outlay and to recoup these costs, tourism potentially provides a self-financing mechanism for ecological sustainability. In Australia, the adventure sport of canyoning has increased in popularity in the Blue Mountains National Park (Australia), part of a recently declared World Heritage Area, in parallel with an overall increase in wilderness recreation. This study sought canyoners’ perceptions of visit impacts, together with their attitudes to potential management of these unique areas. It also compares findings with American wilderness research outcomes. The results identify that the current level of traffic through the canyons was not considered to be detrimental to canyon visit enjoyment. While the findings were broadly similar, even at much lower visitation levels than American wilderness recreationists tolerate, Australian canyoners avoid heavily trafficked canyons. Although perceptions and attitudes differed with level of experience, overall, the conclusion is that the visitors encountered were tolerant of other canyoners and the discarded debris of past excursions. In this context, it is not surprising that most canyoners did not see an immediate need to implement further management restrictions.
Incentive Asymmetries in the Mergers and Acquisitions Process

This paper focuses on the relationship between incentive asymmetries and some potentially undesirable outcomes along the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) process which could potentially destroy the shareholder value of the merged corporate entity. Incentive asymmetries are seen as belonging to the three categories of 'risk-antecedent', 'information-antecedent' and 'pure self-interest antecedent'. We propose that incentive asymmetries are responsible for increases in the number of M&A projects and that they might create a 'lemons problem' with M&A candidates. Incentive asymmetries are also suggested to lead to prolonged contract-writing phases, biased financial evaluations and acquisition price escalation, as well as undermined post-M&A integration plans. If resolutions to these problems are sought, the use of high- and low-powered incentive schemes will need to reflect risk, information and pure self-interest. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2007.
The prognostic value of lymph node metastasis with grade 2 MCTs in dogs: 55 cases (2001-2010).

This study evaluates a series of dogs diagnosed with grade 2 cutaneous mast cell tumors (MCTs) with concurrent lymph node (LN) metastasis. All dogs had surgical excision of the primary tumor. The presence of metastasis was confirmed with either histopathology (n = 35) or cytology (n = 20). There was no significant difference in survival times (STs) between dogs with and without LN metastasis. Median survival time (MST) was not reached at 65.9 mo. LN palpation was a poor predictor of metastasis (sensitivity, .71; specificity, .54). Tumor location was the only prognostic factor for survival in this series of dogs. ST was greater for dogs that had removal of their metastatic LN. This study suggests that in dogs with grade 2 MCTs, outcome may not be affected by the presence of LN metastasis; however, removal of the metastatic LN may prolong survival.
Wall enhancement, edema, and hydrocephalus after endovascular coil occlusion of intradural cerebral aneurysms.

OBJECT Symptomatic local inflammation, aseptic meningitis, and hydrocephalus are reported in a group of patients treated with second generation/modified platinum coils. The purpose of this study was to define the frequency and determinants of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings of aneurysm wall enhancement, perianeurysmal edema, and hydrocephalus in a cohort of coil-embolized intradural cerebral aneurysms treated with bare platinum or modified platinum coils (Matrix or HydroCoils). METHODS The authors retrospectively reviewed 359 Gd-enhanced MR follow-up studies of 181 treated aneurysms (125 ruptured) for mural enhancement. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to define mural enhancement associations with demographic, clinical, angiographic, treatment, and follow-up data. Embolization-related edema and hydrocephalus were defined in 95 MR imaging studies of 56 unruptured aneurysms. RESULTS Asymptomatic wall enhancement was observed in lesions treated with all coil types, occurring in 21 (18.6%) of 113 bare platinum coil-treated aneurysms. Independent associations were HydroCoil treatment (odds ratio [OR] 9.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.45-30.75) and increasing aneurysm size (OR 3.58, 95% CI 1.99-6.95). Five (8.9%) unruptured aneurysms had asymptomatic de novo edema, and 3 (5.3%) demonstrated hydrocephalus; all had been treated with HydroCoils. Hydrocephalus presentation was delayed (8-31 months) and symptomatic in 2 patients. CONCLUSIONS Asymptomatic aneurysm wall enhancement occurred in 18.6% of embolizations performed with bare platinum coils, and probably represents a normal healing response. Perimural edema and hydrocephalus were observed only in patients treated with HydroCoils, but have been reported in patients treated with other modified platinum coils. These symptoms appear to represent an exaggerated inflammatory response during aneurysm healing. Increased vigilance for delayed hydrocephalus is required. Judicious clinical use of modified platinum coils is warranted until results of randomized trials are published.