Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ocular findings in Loeys-Dietz syndrome

Background Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS), an autosomal-dominant connective tissue disorder, is characterised by systemic manifestations including arterial aneurysm and craniofacial dysmorphologies. Although ocular involvement in LDS has been reported, detailed information on those manifestations is lacking. Methods Retrospective chart review of patients with diagnosed LDS and comparison with age-matched control patients. Results Mean age was 37.8±14.6 years (patients with LDS) and 38.4±13.5 years (controls). Patients with LDS less frequently had iris transillumination, cataract and glaucoma compared with controls. Scleral and retinal vascular abnormalities were not found in any of the LDS eyes. Ectopia lentis was found in one patient with LDS. The eyes of patients with LDS tended to be more myopic (spherical equivalent, −2.47±2.70 dioptres (dpt) vs −1.30±2.96dpt (controls); P=0.08) and longer (24.6±1.7mm vs 24.1±1.5mm (controls); P=0.10). Central corneal thickness was significantly reduced in LDS eyes (521±48µm vs 542±37µm (controls); P=0.02). Corneal curvature (43.06±1.90dpt (LDS) versus 43.00±1.37dpt (controls); P=0.72) and interpupillary distance (65.0±6.0mm (LDS) vs 64.3±4.8mm (controls); P=0.66) did not differ significantly between both groups. Visual acuity was similar between both groups (0.03±0.09logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) for LDS eyes and 0.05±0.17logMAR for control eyes, P=0.47). Conclusions Ocular features of LDS include decreased central corneal thickness and mild myopia. Ectopia lentis may be slightly more common than in controls but appears less common than in Marfan syndrome. Hypertelorism, scleral and retinal vascular abnormalities were not features of LDS.
Cranial evolution in sakis (Pithecia, Platyrrhini) II: evolutionary processes and morphological integration

Patterns of interspecific differentiation in saki monkeys (Pithecia) are quantitatively described and possible evolutionary processes producing them are examined. The comparison of species correlation matrices to expected patterns of morphological integration reveal significant and similar patterns of development‐based cranial integration among species. Aspects of the facial region are more heavily influenced by general size variation than features of the neural region. The comparison of pooled within‐ and between‐groups V/CV matrices suggests that genetic drift might be a sufficient explanation for saki cranial evolution. Differential natural selection gradients are also reconstructed because selection may also have caused population differentiation through evolutionary time. These gradients illustrate the inherent multivariate nature of selection, being a consequence of the interaction between existing morphological integration (correlation) among traits and the action of natural selection. Yet, our attempt to interpret selection gradients in terms of their functional significance did not result in any clear association between selection and function. Perhaps this is also an indication that morphological evolution in sakis was mostly neutral.
In Through The Out Door: Critiquing The Internal Labour Market Concept

Abstract The institutional approach to studying labour markets has been hamstrung by its dual purpose of explaining labour markets and countering neoclassical labour market theory. We argue that institutional labour market theory should relinquish its usual opening critique of neoclassical economics and that it would benefit significantly by drawing from the disciplines of organisation theory and geography. Such an approach builds a conceptualisation of labour markets that does not use the concept of an external labour market drawn from neoclassical economics. We build our argument through an examination of the central institutionalist internal labour market concept. In doing so, we challenge the idea that labour markets can be understood in internal and external terms. Instead, we propose that the labour market at the level of a single employer is interconstitutive with the level of labour markets of employers collectively. Through this analysis, this article offers insights into related spatial challenges facing institutional labour market theory that centre on the organisation-environment relation.
Establishment of microglial cell cultures derived from postmortem human adult brain tissue: Immunophenotypical and functional characterization

Cell cultures have become an integral part of the daily routine in most biological research laboratories. Because they are very dynamic and highly accessible, cell cultures permit direct experimental manipulations where cause‐effect relations can be more definitely assayed. We have developed cultures of microglial cells from rapid autopsies (range 3–10 hours) of non‐ demented elderly patients and Alzheimer's disease patients. Cultures were derived from the subcortical white matter, corpus callosum, and frontal, temporal, and occipital cortex. The adherent microglial cells were immunoreactive for CD68, CD45, CD11c, and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II markers, and were not immunoreactive for astrocyte or oligodendrocyte markers. In addition, some functional characteristics of the isolated microglial cells were also studied. Upon stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), microglial cells secreted pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory mediators, i.e., interleukin‐ (IL)‐6, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and IL‐10, indicating the functional capacity of cultured microglia. Microsc. Res. Tech. 54:34–39, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Relationship marketing: strategic and tactical implications

Discusses the logic of the re‐emerging relationship approach to marketing and presents key strategic as well as tactical implications for a firm attempting to apply a relationship marketing strategy. Notes that major changes in the business philosophy may be required if relationship marketing is truly to be adopted. Otherwise the firm may just be paying lip‐service to the new philosophy. Using direct marketing techniques and developing partnerships alone are not sufficient. Relationship marketing requires much more than that.
European Community Multicentre Trial “Fetal ECG Analysis During Labour”: the P-R Interval

The aim of the European Community Multicentre Trial on Fetal ECG Analysis During Labour was to collect a clinical database of electrocardiograms on which the different patterns of ST waveform and time interval changes, so far identified, could be studied. The aim of this paper was to study the PR-RR relationship and the P wave patterns during normal labour. One thousand three hundred fifty accelerations and 350 decelerations were analysed in 618 labours, all with normal fetal outcome. All ECGs were recorded with the STAN recorder and linked to a PC system for data acquisition and analysis. A positive relationship between P-R and R-R intervals was identified in all reactive fetal heart rate traces. A P-R shortening was identified also with all decelerations of more than 40 bpm from the baseline, resulting in a negative PR-RR relationship. Experimental works have described a P-R shortening concurrent with the maximal R-R lengthening during acutely induced hypoxemia in fetal lambs. In our study normal cord acid-base status indicated that the majority of bradycardia episodes recorded were not related to acute hypoxemia: PR-RR relationship changes seem therefore to indicate an intact physiological fetal heart adaptive response to rapid change in the environment of either hypoxemic or haemodynamic origin. A negative PR-RR relationship by itself seems to be nothing more than an indicator of decelerations during labour and seems unable to discriminate between decelerations of different origin. Finally the P wave was no longer detectable during decelerations of more than 800 msec: in this situation the P-R interval can not be reliably measured.
Major components of China’s anthropogenic primary particulate emissions

This paper presents the first comprehensive estimates of particulate emissions in China by size distribution and major components. Using a technology-based emission inventory approach, we are able to classify particulate emissions into three size ranges, TSP, PM10 and PM2.5, and identify the contributions of black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), Ca and Mg. Total particulate emissions are estimated to be 27.4 Tg for the year 2001, of which 17.8 Tg are PM10 and 12.7 Tg are PM2.5. Industrial processes are the major sources of particles over all three size ranges, but residential biofuel use and transportation sources become increasingly important for PM10 and PM2.5. The industrialized coastal provinces, such as Shandong, Jiangsu and Hebei, are the major sources of particulate emissions. The industrialized and developing regions show different characteristic emission ratios of PM2.5/TSP, (BC+OC)/PM2.5 and (Ca+Mg)/TSP. In the future, we can expect significant reductions in primary particulate emissions and major changes in the patterns of size and species.
Collapse of sustained long standing.

Thirty female physical education students of age 21-22 and 20 middle aged or elderly men and women of age 30-66 were required to keep an upright standing posture without any support for one hour. The posture was free from rigidity or tenseness. The physical, physiological and motion characteristics were compared between those who could sustain the standing posture for one hour and those who could not. Of the 50 subjects, 9 quit the posture and 5 fainted or collapsed. The subjects who collapsed were relatively tall and had less foot width. Their head sway increased and their respiratory rate decreased with time, the changes becoming apparent within 20 min of standing. Immediately prior to the collapse, the head sway was maximal and respiratory rate and heart rate decreased markedly. Spontaneous physical movements also increased in this stage. These changes contrasted remarkably with those of subjects who could sustain this posture for the full one hour. Thus the clearest difference was shown in physiological pa rameters during standing.
Dual mTORC2/mTORC1 Targeting Results in Potent Suppressive Effects on Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Progenitors

Purpose: To determine whether mTORC2 and rapamycin-insensitive (RI)-mTORC1 complexes are present in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells and to examine the effects of dual mTORC2/mTORC1 inhibition on primitive AML leukemic progenitors. Experimental Design: Combinations of different experimental approaches were used, including immunoblotting to detect phosphorylated/activated forms of elements of the mTOR pathway in leukemic cell lines and primary AML blasts; cell-proliferation assays; direct assessment of mRNA translation in polysomal fractions of leukemic cells; and clonogenic assays in methylcellulose to evaluate leukemic progenitor-colony formation. Results: mTORC2 complexes are active in AML cells and play critical roles in leukemogenesis. RI-mTORC1 complexes are also formed and regulate the activity of the translational repressor 4E-BP1 in AML cells. OSI-027 blocks mTORC1 and mTORC2 activities and suppresses mRNA translation of cyclin D1 and other genes that mediate proliferative responses in AML cells. Moreover, OSI-027 acts as a potent suppressor of primitive leukemic precursors from AML patients and is much more effective than rapamycin in eliciting antileukemic effects in vitro. Conclusions: Dual targeting of mTORC2 and mTORC1 results in potent suppressive effects on primitive leukemic progenitors from AML patients. Inhibition of the mTOR catalytic site with OSI-027 results in suppression of both mTORC2 and RI-mTORC1 complexes and elicits much more potent antileukemic responses than selective mTORC1 targeting with rapamycin. Clin Cancer Res; 17(13); 4378–88. ©2011 AACR.
Closing the Gap or Widening the Divide: The Effects of the G.I. Bill and World War II on the Educational Outcomes of Black Americans

The effects of the G.I. Bill on collegiate attainment may have differed for black and white Americans owing to differential returns to education and differences in opportunities at colleges and universities, with men in the South facing explicitly segregated colleges. The empirical evidence suggests that World War II and the availability of G.I. benefits had a substantial and positive impact on the educational attainment of white men and black men born outside the South. However, for those black veterans likely to be limited to the South in their educational choices, the G.I. Bill had little effect on collegiate outcomes.
Generic Product Strategies for Emerging Market Exports into Triad Nation Markets: A Mimetic Isomorphism Approach

Based on the concept of mimetic isomorphism, we theorize that, by imitating the home country MNE modal generic product strategy in each Triad nation, emerging market firms (EMFs) can improve their export performance satisfaction. We hypothesize that EMFs which: (1) target the EU and use a Premium strategy, (2) target Japan and use a Superior Value strategy, or (3) target the USA and use an Economy strategy will, on average, achieve higher levels of satisfaction with export performance than EMFs that enter emerging markets or EMFs that employ other product strategies in Triad nation markets. Our hypothesis is tested and supported on a sample of Romanian and Chinese exporters. Managerial implications of our theory and findings are discussed. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2005.
Societal Risk Assessment: How Safe is Safe Enough?

This volume constitutes the papers and discussions from a symposium on "Societal Risk Assessment: How Safe is Safe Enough? " held at the General Motors Research Laboratories on October 8-9, 1979. This symposium was the twenty-fourth in an annual series sponsored by the Research Laboratories. Initi- ated in 1957, these symposia have as their objective the promotion of the interchange ofknowledge among specialists from many allied disciplines in rapidly developing or changing areas ofscience or technology. Attendees characteristically represent the academic, government, and industrial institutions that are noted for their ongoing activities in the particular area of interest. The objective of this symposium was to develop a balanced view of the current status of societal risk assessment's role in the public policy process and then to establish, if possible, future directions of research. Accordingly, the symposium was structured in two dimensions; certainty versus uncertainty and the subjective versus the objective. Furthermore, people representing extremely diverse discip- lines concerned with the perception, quantification, and abatement of risks were brought together to provide an environment that stimulated the exchange of ideas and experiences. The keys to this exchange were the invited papers, arranged into four symposium sessions. These papers appear in this volume in the order of their presentation. The discussions that in turn followed from the papers are also included.
Patient satisfaction in hospital-based emergency departments: recommendation for healthcare management and policy

This study was aimed to examine patient satisfaction in Taiwan hospital-based emergency departments (ED). The 460 ED patients were surveyed – 66 from medical centres, 101 form regional hospitals and 293 from district hospitals. A structured questionnaire were developed covering three service dimensions including perceived waiting times, service quality of medical professionals and physical environments in the ED. The overall ED patient satisfaction and willingness to promote the ED were also measured. It found that perceived waiting times and professional service quality were the factors associated with the overall ED patient satisfaction and willingness to promote the ED. In addition, this study might be the first one to examine the ED about their physical environments. As expected, the issue of privacy, clearness, noises, air smell, temperature and direction signals had played important roles on the overall ED patient satisfaction and willingness to promote the ED.
Time-Series Behavior of Share Repurchases and Dividends

Abstract Given the growth in the importance and popularity of share repurchases, we use an alternative time-series approach to test two hypotheses on the motives for share repurchases and dividends: the flexibility hypothesis and the substitution hypothesis. By investigating both share repurchase and dividend payout policies in the context of a time-series vector autoregression, we account for the dynamic and multi-dimensional nature of the two payout policies. We find that share repurchases are associated with temporary components of earnings, whereas dividends are not, and that share repurchases and dividends are imperfect substitutes.
Prevention of Diabetes after Gestational Diabetes: Better Translation of Nutrition and Lifestyle Messages Needed

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and Gestational Diabetes (GDM) are important and escalating problems worldwide. GDM increases the risk of complications in pregnancy and birth, as well as a 1 in 2 chance of developing T2DM later in life. The burden of GDM extends to offspring, who have an increased risk of obesity and diabetes—further perpetuating the cycle of diabetes within families. Clinical trial evidence demonstrates T2DM incidence reduced by up to 50% for women with GDM with nutrition and physical activity changes and the economic modeling suggests cost effectiveness. The key diet-related changes to reduce T2DM risk are reviewed, in addition to breastfeeding. The difficulties associated with the delivery of dietary and lifestyle behaviour change to women after GDM are discussed and focus on: complex healthcare system interactions needed for care delivery; women finding postpartum self-care challenging; and low levels of awareness being present across the board. In addition, studies currently underway to improve care provision in this important area will be examined.
The internationalization of Austrian firms in Central and Eastern Europe

We test and expand the Uppsala model with a sample of 109 Austrian companies active in the CEE region, representing 1,271 entries. On the one hand, our expansion of the model is based on collective learning of firms from a specific context, an issue largely neglected in IB research. On the other hand, we expand the model by including two further strategic, i.e. dependent, variables. The paper contributes to research by finding three distinct internationalization processes in CEE, two of them new to the Uppsala Model. Furthermore, the paper strongly supports our argumentation with regard to collective learning and thereby draws new conclusions on learning processes that take place within and between firms over time.
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MAMMALIAN AND REPTILIAN ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY OF COMPLEMENT-MEDIATED KILLING OF THE LYME DISEASE SPIROCHETE (BORRELIA BURGDORFERI)

The potential bactericidal activity of the alternative complement pathway of mammalian and reptilian sera to Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) was evaluated in vitro. Complement-mediated killing was observed when cultured spirochetes were inoculated into sera from the western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) and from the southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata), but not when they were inoculated into serum from either the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) or from humans. Spirochetes were still alive after 4 hr in lizard serum that had been preheated at 56 C for 30 min to inactivate complement. Furthermore, when lizard serum was chelated with 10 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid to block all complement activation, borreliacidal activity was arrested. When lizard serum was chelated with 10 mM ethylene glycol-bis(β-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid plus 4 mM MgCl2 to block only classical complement pathway activation, >85% of spirochetes were immobilized within 1 hr. Differences in B. burgdorferi s.s. mortality were not observed when chelators with or without MgCl2 were added to serum from either deer mice or humans. Proteins comprising the alternative complement pathway are responsible for the borreliacidal activity observed in the blood of S. occidentalis and E. multicarinata.
On Cournot's theory of oligopoly with perfect complements

This paper provides a thorough characterization of the properties of Cournot's complemen- tary monopoly model (or oligopoly with perfect complements) in a general setting, including existence, uniqueness and the comparative statics eects of entry. As such, this serves to unify various results from the extant literature that have typically been derived with limited generality. In addition, several studies have suggested that Cournot's complementary monopoly model is the dual problem to the standard Cournot oligopoly model. This result crucially relies on the assumption that the …rms have no production costs. This paper shows that if the production costs of the …rms are dierent from zero, the nice duality between these two oligopoly settings breaks down. One implication of this breakdown is that, in contrast to the Cournot model, oligopoly with perfect complements can be a game of strategic complements in a global sense even in the presence of production costs.
The role of thymosin-β4 in kidney disease

Therapies that modulate inflammation and fibrosis have the potential to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). A promising avenue may be manipulating thymosin-β4, a naturally occurring peptide, which is the major G-actin sequestering protein in mammalian cells and a regulator of inflammation and fibrosis. Thymosin-β4 is already being tested in clinical trials for heart disease and wound healing. This editorial outlines the evidence that thymosin-β4 may also have therapeutic benefit in CKD.
Rapid rural appraisal: rationale and repertoire

SUMMARY Decision makers need the right information at the right time but in rural development much information generated is too costly and inappropriate. Rapid rural appraisal forms part of the attempt to learn about rural conditions in a cost effective way. Such appraisal involves avoiding the traps of quick and dirty or long and dirty methods and using instead methods that are more cost effective. To do this means ignoring inappropriate professional standards and instead applying a new rigour based on the two principles of optimal ignorance—knowing what it is not worth knowing—and proportionate accuracy—recognising the degree of accuracy required. The article reviews a range of approaches and techniques for rapid rural appraisal that are less rigid and exhaustive than many traditional methods and yet more rigorous in relation to cost and use. Time is emphasized as a critical factor in effective appraisal and rapid rural appraisal methods increase the chance of reducing the bias against the poorer rural people in the promotion of rural development.
Measuring Customer Perceptions of Hotel Service Quality Based on a SERVPERF Approach

The objective of the research was to empirically examine customer perceptions of service quality in the tourist hotel industry using a SERVPERF approach. To investigate this, 761 tourists visiting Beijing were interviewed. Among these tourists 195 were Chinese, 189 Korean, 192 Japanese, and 185 American. Validity and reliability analysis of data and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were adopted. Some suggestions were offered for improvement of international marketing strategies in the hotel industry.