Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An empirical investigation and users' perceptions on intellectual capital reporting in banks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study of intellectual capital (IC) reporting by private commercial banks in the developing economy of Bangladesh, together with the perceptions of a range of stakeholders' with respect to such disclosures. Design/Methodology/Approach – The paper was informed by the results of a study carried out in relation to Bangladeshi banks. Initially, the annual reports of 20 selected banking institutions listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange were subjected to a content analysis exercise. A questionnaire survey was subsequently conducted to explore stakeholders' perceptions about the practice of IC disclosure within this sector. Findings – The findings in the paper indicate that the managements of Bangladeshi commercial banks are not currently enthusiastic about the necessity for such voluntary disclosure activity. The key focus for IC reporting is on human capital elements. Stakeholders' are in favour of such reporting across a wider range of IC items than is currently disclosed. Research Limitations/Implications – The results of these exploratory studies can be used by researchers to explore further the different types of IC reporting initiatives pursued across a wider spectrum of industries and any differences in users perceptions by industry, as well as over time. Originality/Value – The paper contributes to the IC literature by presenting empirical evidence on IC disclosures and users' perceptions about such practices in the context of the Bangladeshi banking sector.
Saturation biopsies on autopsied prostates for detecting and characterizing prostate cancer

To evaluate a 36‐core saturation biopsy scheme on autopsied prostate glands to estimate the detection rate based on the true cancer prevalence, and to compare the cancer features on biopsy with whole‐mount pathological analysis, as saturation biopsies have been proposed as a tool to increase the prostate cancer detection rate, and as a staging tool to identify potentially insignificant cancers before surgery.
VALUE AND DISTRIBUTION IN THE CLASSICAL ECONOMISTS AND MARX

1. THE theory of value and distribution is at present in a situation of unease and uncertainty: we no longer find the same general agreement about its basic elements which obtained until a few decades ago. Two main theoretical developments have undermined the dominant theory which explained distribution and relative prices by means of the "equilibrium" of the two "opposing sets of forces", demand and supply for factors of production. The first development in order of time has been Keynes's refutation of the doctrine according to which a competitive economic system tends towards the full employment of labour, i.e. towards that equilibrium between "demand and supply" of labour, which was to determine the wage. Keynes' concentration on the short period, and the persistence in the General Theory of many traditional premises favoured the successive attempts to reconcile his results with orthodox long-period analysis: but the weakening of the dominant theory which nonetheless resulted from his work can be seen both in the uneasiness which, in ever-changing forms, characterizes the renewed orthodoxy, and in the tendency of Keynes' direct followers towards a more radical departure from traditional theory. The second development consists in the critique of the notion of capital as a "factor of production" measurable independently of distribution.2 This critique has shown the invalidity of some propositions of the theory, like the inverse relation between the rate of interest (rate of profit) and the "quantity of capital" per worker, which are basic for the explanation of distribution in terms of demand and supply for "factors of production". The uncertainty which has resulted from these developments finds its expression in authors who think that new theoretical approaches should be explored. It is also revealed by the nature of some of the work carried out by those who adhere to the traditional approach.3 1 This paper which develops under the impact of Sraff a's production of commodities by means of commodities some propositions contained in a Ph.D dissertation of 1955-1958, is based on notes delivered at a conference on "Marx's Transformation of Values into Prices of Production" held in Siena in 1972, and used then for lectures given in Cambridge and elsewhere since
Breaking the Low-Pay, No-Pay Cycle: Final Evidence from the UK Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) Demonstration

This report presents the final results on the implementation, impacts, costs, and economic benefits of the UK Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) programme. ERA’s distinctive combination of post-employment advisory support and financial incentives was designed to help low-income individuals who entered work sustain employment and advance in the labor market. Launched in 2003 in selected Jobcentre Plus offices, ERA targeted three groups: unemployed lone parents receiving Income Support and volunteering for the New Deal for Lone Parents welfare-to-work programme, lone parents working part time and receiving Working Tax Credit, and long-term unemployed people aged 25 or older receiving Job seeker’s Allowance who were required to participate in the New Deal 25 Plus welfare-to-work programme. The effectiveness of the programme was evaluated using a random assignment research design.The evaluation found that ERA produced short-term earnings gains for the two lone parent target groups. The early gains resulted from increases in the proportion of participants who worked full time (at least 30 hours per week). However, these effects generally faded after the programme ended, largely because the control group caught up with the ERA group.More impressive were the results for the long-term unemployed participants (mostly men) in the New Deal 25 Plus target group. For them, ERA produced modest but sustained increases in employment and substantial and sustained increases in earnings. These positive effects emerged after the first year and were still evident at the end of a five-year follow-up period. The earnings gains were accompanied by lasting reductions in benefits receipt. ERA proved cost-effective for this group from the perspectives of the participants themselves, the Government budget, and society as a whole.
SegMap: 3D Segment Mapping using Data-Driven Descriptors

When performing localization and mapping, working at the level of structure can be advantageous in terms of robustness to environmental changes and differences in illumination. This paper presents SegMap: a map representation solution to the localization and mapping problem based on the extraction of segments in 3D point clouds. In addition to facilitating the computationally intensive task of processing 3D point clouds, working at the level of segments addresses the data compression requirements of real-time single- and multi-robot systems. While current methods extract descriptors for the single task of localization, SegMap leverages a data-driven descriptor in order to extract meaningful features that can also be used for reconstructing a dense 3D map of the environment and for extracting semantic information. This is particularly interesting for navigation tasks and for providing visual feedback to end-users such as robot operators, for example in search and rescue scenarios. These capabilities are demonstrated in multiple urban driving and search and rescue experiments. Our method leads to an increase of area under the ROC curve of 28.3% over current state of the art using eigenvalue based features. We also obtain very similar reconstruction capabilities to a model specifically trained for this task. The SegMap implementation will be made available open-source along with easy to run demonstrations at this http URL. A video demonstration is available at this https URL.
Dendritic Cells Inhibit the Progression of Listeria monocytogenes Intracellular Infection by Retaining Bacteria in Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II-Rich Phagosomes and by Limiting Cytosolic Growth

ABSTRACT Dendritic cells (DC) provide a suboptimal niche for the growth of Listeria monocytogenes, a facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen of immunocompromised and pregnant hosts. This is due in part to a failure of large numbers of bacteria to escape to the cytosol, an essential step in the intracellular life cycle that is mediated by listeriolysin O (LLO). Here, we demonstrate that wild-type bacteria that failed to enter the cytosol of bone marrow-derived DC were retained in a LAMP2+ compartment. An isogenic L. monocytogenes strain that produces an LLO protein with reduced pore-forming activity had a severe escape and growth phenotype in DC. Few mutant bacteria entered the cytosol in the first 2 h and were instead found in LAMP2+, major histocompatibility complex class II+ (MHC-II+) H2-DM vesicles characteristic of MHC-II antigen loading compartments (MIIC). In contrast, the mutant had a minor phenotype in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMM) despite the reduced LLO activity. In the first hour, DC phagosomes acidified to a pH that was, on average, half a point higher than that of BMM phagosomes. Unlike BMM, L. monocytogenes growth in DC was minimal after 5 h, and consequently, DC remained viable and matured late in infection. Taken together, the data are consistent with a model in which phagosomal maturation events associated with the acquisition of MHC-II molecules present a suboptimal environment for L. monocytogenes escape to the DC cytosol, possibly by limiting the activity of LLO. This, in combination with an undefined mechanism that controls bacterial growth late in infection, promotes DC survival during the critical maturation response.
[Clinilal study of medical ozone therapy in chronic hepatitis B of 20 patients].

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of medical ozone in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. METHODS 42 patients with chronic hepatitis B were divided randomly into two groups. 22 patients treated with basic therapy were as a control group. 20 patients treated with basic therapy plus ozone therapy were taken as a treatment group. Index of biochemistry and virology were studied at initial and post-treatment 8 weeks. RESULTS After the treatment, liver function of the treatment group and the control group had more significant improvement. The treatment group complete effective and partial effective were 10% and 35% difference. The control group complete effective and partial effective were 4.6% and 13.6% (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Treatment of medical ozone on patients with chronic hepatitis B is effective.
Identification of Arabidopsis Mutants Impaired in the Systemic Regulation of Root Nitrate Uptake by the Nitrogen Status of the Plant1[C][W]

Nitrate uptake by the roots is under systemic feedback repression by high nitrogen (N) status of the whole plant. The NRT2.1 gene, which encodes a NO3− transporter involved in high-affinity root uptake, is a major target of this N signaling mechanism. Using transgenic Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants expressing the pNRT2.1::LUC reporter gene (NL line), we performed a genetic screen to isolate mutants altered in the NRT2.1 response to high N provision. Three hni (for high nitrogen insensitive) mutants belonging to three genetic loci and related to single and recessive mutations were selected. Compared to NL plants, these mutants display reduced down-regulation of both NRT2.1 expression and high-affinity NO3− influx under repressive conditions. Split-root experiments demonstrated that this is associated with an almost complete suppression of systemic repression of pNRT2.1 activity by high N status of the whole plant. Other mechanisms related to N and carbon nutrition regulating NRT2.1 or involved in the control of root SO4− uptake by the plant sulfur status are not or are slightly affected. The hni mutations did not lead to significant changes in total N and NO3− contents of the tissues, indicating that hni mutants are more likely regulatory mutants rather than assimilatory mutants. Nevertheless, hni mutations induce changes in amino acid, organic acid, and sugars pools, suggesting a possible role of these metabolites in the control of NO3− uptake by the plant N status. Altogether, our data indicate that the three hni mutants define a new class of N signaling mutants specifically impaired in the systemic feedback repression of root NO3− uptake.
The demand for rugby league: evidence from causality tests

During the last few years, there has been an upsurge of interest in the determinants of the demand for professional team sports. Typically, traditional demand estimation techniques are used to examine the determinants of attendance. This paper attempts to show that the use of these techniques may be misleading. Existing studies implicitly or explicitly assume a direction of causality. Econometric estimation techniques are then applied to examine this direction of causality. However, no account is taken of possible spurious regression and time series properties of the data are not fully explored. These omissions may have led to faulty policy recommendations. In attempting to rectify traditional approaches, this study will examine the time series properties of rugby league attendence and success prior to engaging in estimation.
Interleukin‐1β blockade improves cardiac remodelling after myocardial infarction without interrupting the inflammasome in the mouse

• What is the central question of this study? The formation of the cryopyrin inflammasome in the heart induces an intense inflammatory response during acute myocardial infarction, which mediates further damage and promotes adverse cardiac remodelling. The present study investigates the role of interleukin‐1β in mediating the pathological effects of the inflammasome in the heart. • What is the main finding and its importance? Blockade of interleukin‐1β improves cardiac remodelling after acute myocardial infarction in the mouse by inhibiting apoptosis without affecting the formation or the activity of the inflammasome in the heart. These findings suggest that interleukin‐1β mediates the deleterious effects on the heart during the sterile inflammatory response.
The association between obstructive sleep apnea and metabolic abnormalities in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Study Objectives In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to examine the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and metabolic abnormalities in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods Electronic databases (Medline, Embase, Cinahl, PsycInfo, Scopus, Web of Science, Opengrey, and CENTRAL), conference abstracts, and reference lists of relevant articles were searched. No restriction was applied for language or publication status. Results Six studies involving 252 participants were included. Women with PCOS and OSA had significantly higher body mass index (mean difference [MD]: 6.01 kg/m2, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 4.69-7.33), waist circumference (MD: 10.93 cm, 95% CI: 8.03-13.83), insulin resistance, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and worse lipids' profile and impaired glucose regulation compared with women with PCOS without OSA. Most studies did not adjust for weight in their between-groups analysis. Total and free testosterone levels were not significantly different between the two groups. The majority of studies were found to be at high risk of selection bias, did not account for important confounders, were conducted in one country (United States), and used different methodologies to assess testosterone levels (preventing a meta-analysis for this specific outcome). Conclusions OSA is associated with obesity and worse metabolic profiles in women with PCOS. However, whether the effects of OSA are independent of obesity remain unclear. As OSA is a treatable condition, research focused on the independent effects of OSA on key clinical outcomes in women with PCOS, including fertility, psychological health, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular risk, is lacking and needed. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42016048587.
Competitive Marketing Strategies Decision-Making Based on Marketing Resources and Capabilities: Evidence from the Hospitality Industry in Taiwan

This study attempts to identify specific resources and capabilities of tourist hotel by developing an evaluation framework of marketing strategy on the grounds of the resource-based view (RBV) and competitive advantage. Due to the complexity and difficulty of allocated specific resources and capabilities, selecting a competitive marketing strategy is a kind of multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. The analytic network process (ANP) method is a relatively new MCDM approach to overcoming the independent restrictions in traditional MCDM methods. This empirical study affirms that the differentiation strategy is the best competitive marketing strategy because it focuses on the allocation of specific and limited resources and capabilities toward sustainable competitive advantage. The results of this study also suggest that practitioners increase their ability to concentrate on different aspects in their decision-making process to capture synergy.
The rise of the audit committee in UK quoted companies: a curious phenomenon?

This paper reviews some of the factors that have led to the widespread acceptance of audit committees by major UK companies since 1970 as an integral part of corporate governance systems. The paper also reviews the literature on the effectiveness of audit committees and questions why they should be seen as essential when the evidence on their effectiveness is so limited. The discussion covers: the influence of North American practices; the growth in the number of non-executive directors over the same period; corporate failures; pressures exerted by accountancy and other bodies; attempts to legislate to make audit committees mandatory; and the pressures for alternative board structures.
Asthma control in London secondary school children

ABSTRACT Objective: The asthma control test (ACT) is a validated tool for assessing control in asthmatic children aged 12 years and older. Using the ACT, we sought to assess asthma control and knowledge in London secondary school children. Methods: Secondary schools in London, UK, participated in this study. Children with doctor-diagnosed asthma were invited to complete an online questionnaire that included the ACT and questions about asthma. Suboptimal asthma control was defined as an ACT score of ≤ 19 out of a maximum score of 25. Data are summarised as median and interquartile range (IQR), and were analysed by either Mann-Whitney test, or chi-square test. A p value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 799 children completed the questionnaire; 689 (86.2%) were included for analysis. Suboptimal asthma control was reported by 49.6% of students. Over a third (42.4%) of students prescribed a short-acting β2-agonist inhaler felt uncomfortable using it at school, and 29.2% (n = 173) reported not using this inhaler when wheezy. 56.4% (n = 220) of those with regular inhaled corticosteroids did not take them as prescribed, and 41.7% did not know what this inhaler was for. Suboptimal control was associated with a greater proportion of students reporting that they were ‘somewhat’, ‘hardly’ or ‘not at all’ comfortable using inhalers at school (52.7% vs 29.1%, p < 0.01) and outside school (22.8% vs. 14.8%, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Suboptimal asthma control and poor asthma knowledge are common in London schoolchildren.
Genetic Diversity and Variance of Stentor coeruleus (Ciliophora: Heterotrichea) Inferred from Inter‐Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) Fingerprinting

We used inter‐simple sequence repeat fingerprinting to analyze the genetic structure of 16 populations of Stentor coeruleus from three lakes and three ponds in China. Using 14 polymorphic primers, a total of 99 discernible DNA fragments were detected, among which 76 (76.77%) were polymorphic, indicating median genetic diversity in these populations. Further, both Nei's gene diversity (h) and Shannon's information index (I) between the different populations revealed a median genetic diversity. At the same time, gene flow was interpreted to be low. The main factors responsible for the median level of diversity and low gene flow within populations are probably due to a low frequency of sexual recombinations. Analysis of molecular variance showed that there was high genetic differentiation among the five water bodies. Both cluster analysis and a nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis suggested that genotypes isolated from the same locations displayed a higher genetic similarity than those from different ones, separating populations into subgroups according to their geographical locations. However, there is a weak positive correlation between the genetic distance and geographical distance.
Critical Illness Neuromyopathy and Muscle Weakness in Patients in the Intensive Care Unit

Neuromuscular complications of critical illness are common and can be severe and persistent in some patients. Neuromyopathy from critical illness and disuse atrophy from prolonged immobility contribute to muscle weakness acquired while in the intensive care unit. Although various risk factors (eg, severity of illness, corticosteroids, neuromuscular blocking agents) have been implicated in critical illness neuromyopathy (CINM), the evidence supporting these associations is inconsistent. Hyperglycemia may be an important risk factor for CINM, with tight glycemic control through intensive insulin therapy reducing the incidence of CINM. Early mobility in the intensive care unit may minimize disuse atrophy and possibly CINM, through exercise training and its anti-inflammatory effects. Although emerging data have demonstrated the safety, feasibility, and benefit of early mobility in critically ill patients, randomized controlled trials are needed to thoroughly evaluate its potential benefits on patients' muscle strength, physical function, and quality of life. Future studies are needed to elucidate the multiple mechanisms by which immobility, CINM, and other aspects of critical illness lead to muscle loss and neuromuscular dysfunction.