Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of carcinoembryonic antigen-producing cells circulating in the blood of patients with colorectal carcinoma by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

BACKGROUND: Application of the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to identification of circulating tumour cells in colorectal cancer. AIMS: To assess whether circulating malignant cells in patients with colorectal liver metastasis could be identified by RT-PCR recognition of mRNA coding for the tumour marker carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). PATIENTS: A total of 31 with colorectal liver metastases and 22 no-cancer controls. METHODS: Specific cDNA primers for CEA transcripts were used to apply RT-PCR to tissue biopsy specimens, colon carcinoma cell lines, and peripheral blood samples from patients with colorectal liver metastases. A strongly CEA-expressive HT115 colorectal carcinoma cell line was used to spike blood samples from no-cancer control subjects. RESULTS: The limit for detection of CEA cDNA by Southern blotting using HT115 cells was 50 cells per 14 ml of spiked blood. There was a significant difference (p = 0.007) in RT-PCR positive expression between patients with liver metastasis (26/31) compared with controls (5/22). There was no significant relation between the prevalence of CEA cDNA amplification and serum CEA level or metastasis volume in patients with liver metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to suggest that identification of circulating colorectal cancer cells using RT-PCR for detection of CEA cDNA is feasible.
Under What Conditions Do Public Managers Favor and Pursue Organizational Change?

Managerial leaders play a prominent role in organizational change--as champions for change and as key players in its implementation. This study seeks to understand why public managers choose to support change and initiate it within their organizations. A model of change-related attitude and behavior is developed and tested in the study. The results indicate that a complex pattern of internal and external factors influence a public manager's attitude and behavior relating to change. The results also suggest that top-down and bottom-up drivers of change work simultaneously to influence a public manager's decision to assume the role of a change agent.
Information Sources Used by Millennial Restaurant Wine Consumers

An on-line survey was used to identify information sources used by U.S. Millennials for restaurant wine purchases based on experience, involvement, and subjective and objective wine knowledge. The most to least used information sources include wine list, server, self, and friends, respectively. Standard multiple regression determined that level of experience influenced the use of personal information sources. More experience and higher levels of subjective knowledge and objective knowledge all pointed to the use of self as an information source. No significant differences were found among generational segments.
Patient education and the prevention of incisional hernia

Abstract Laparoscopic or ‘key hole’ surgery has become an acceptable technique for abdominal surgery. This technique is utilised by surgeons who work in tertiary hospitals as well as those in private, day only, surgical facilities. Despite the increasing use of this technique in Australia, a paucity of information is available in the journals about the real or potential complications the patient may suffer following this method of surgery. The first author of this paper who works in the operating room practice domain, observed over three years a number of patients readmitted for repair of incisional hernia following abdominal laparoscopic surgery. A review of the international literature and dialogue with operating nurses from institutions in Sydney and Hong Kong confirmed there was enough evidence to warrant examining the complication of incisional hernia as a clinical problem. It would appear from the literature that incidence rate is unknown in Australia. Several reasons may account for this. First, it appears that few surgeons are documenting patient outcomes of laparoscopic surgery, not withstanding the proliferation of its use in the last five years. The second possible reason is the paucity of published information available in the journals, perhaps because the technique is still viewed as relatively new and experimental. This paper outlines a brief history of laparoscopic surgery and some responsibilities nurses have in relation to patient education and the prevention of post-operative complications.
CD8+ lymphocyte intratumoral infiltration as a stage-independent predictor of Merkel cell carcinoma survival: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVES Intratumoral CD8+ lymphocytes (IT-CD8s) have shown promise as a prognostic indicator for Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). We tested whether IT-CD8s predict survival among a population-based MCC cohort. METHODS One hundred thirty-seven MCC cases that had not previously been analyzed for IT-CD8s were studied. RESULTS Three-year MCC-specific survival rates were 56%, 72%, and 100% for patients with absent (n = 46), low (n = 85), and moderate or strong (n = 6) IT-CD8s, respectively. Increased IT-CD8s were associated with improved MCC-specific survival in a multivariate competing risk-regression analysis including stage, age, and sex (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.3-0.9). Although a similar trend was observed for overall survival, statistical significance was not reached (HR = 0.8; 95% CI = 0.6-1.0), likely because of the high rate of non-MCC deaths among older patients. CONCLUSIONS This study of prospectively captured MCC cases supports the concept that cellular immunity is important in MCC outcome and that CD8+ lymphocyte infiltration adds prognostic information to conventional staging.
Collective Water Management and Technical Efficiency in Rice Production: Evidence from China

The factors influencing collective water management and their impact on technical efficiency in rice production were investigated. The analysis was based on a group- and household-level data set collected in 2006-2007 in Hubei, China. We found that water user groups with high social capital and with high homogeneity of crop varieties cultivated can successfully operate a collective water management. Our stochastic frontier analyses showed that successful collective water management had a significant positive effect on improving technical efficiency in rice production because it provides sufficient irrigation water at critical stages of rice cultivation. According to the results of this study, the government should play active roles in associations' accumulation of social capital, to improve the ability of collective water management and the technical efficiency of rice production.
Arab Economic Integration: Missing Links

This paper surveys the recent literature on Arab economic integration and discusses the goals and progress that has been made to date and some of the key policy, regulatory, and political factors that underpin the segmentation of Arab markets. It argues that there has been an excessive focus by both analysts and policy makers on trade in goods and that the prospects for – and returns to – efforts to deepen integration of other markets (services, labour, and capital) are likely to be higher.
Financing preferences of ethnic minority owner/managers in the UK

– The purpose of this research is to show that while mainstream finance for small businesses has been researched, hard to reach segments of the UK owner/manager population have eluded empirically rigorous investigation. The authors investigate the financing preferences of owner/managers in small ethnic minority businesses in the UK and examine their access to both formal and informal finance as well as the use of personal funding networks. The emergent results are compared with the findings from a matched “control sample” of white small business owner/managers. , – Identical, in‐depth, face‐to‐face interviews were used with a sample of ethnic minority small business owner/managers and a matched control sample of white respondents in the West Midlands region of the UK. , – Family and close associate networks were very important for the support of both ethnic minority and white owner/managers. All the respondents required loans from banks and other financial institutions, both at the start‐up stage and in subsequent years. For the ethnic minority owner/managers, the initial importance of financial institutions declined over the years. In contrast, in the control sample, institutional borrowing needs increased considerably. Ethnic minority owner/managers showed a preference for less intrusive and more “user friendly” financing options that allow them to remain in full control of their businesses. , – Caution is advised in the use and generalisation of results emerging from qualitative research that involves small samples of respondents chosen from a restricted area of the UK. , – The research shows the importance of “user‐friendly” financing options for owner/managers.
The competition and market structure in the Saudi Arabia banking

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is twofold: to investigate the market structure of Saudi Arabia banking industry; and to evaluate the monopoly power of banks during the years 1993-2006. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is examining the market structure using the most frequently applied measures of concentration Findings - The results show that Saudi Arabia has a moderately concentrated market and is moving to a less concentrated position. Both the concentration indices indicate that the country is moving toward a better position in terms of the market concentration. The Panzar and Rosse “ Research limitations/implications - These findings may be a temporary effect, evident during the sampled period only. To draw firmer conclusions a longer sample period is needed. Originality/value - Studies of banking market structure in the developed economies' banking are commonplace, however, very few studies are conducted for Saudi Arabia's banking industry.
Profitabilitas Strategi Investasi Kontrarian di Bursa Efek Indonesia

This objectives of this research are investigate the stock portfolio performance with high price earning ratio (PER) and low PER following ownership period compared to the portfolio performance of the formation period; to investigate the stock portfolio performance of high PER compared to that of low PER; and to investigate the stock portfolio performance of high PER and low PER stock compared to market portfolio return. The sample used in this research is the go-public companies whose stocks are listed at Indonesian Stock Exchange. The finding of the research shows that the high PER stock portfolio performance of the following period is desreasing and lower than the low PER stock portfolio performance and market portfolio return; on the other hand, the low PER stock portfolio of the following period is increasing and higher than the high PER stock portfolio performance and market portfolio return. The research finding showing that the stocks possessing either high PER or low PER at the beginnings experiences return reversal at the following period indicates market anomaly related to the overreaction hyphotesis “PER Effect”. Then this popularizes the contrarian investment strategy in Indonesian Stock Exchange. Abstrac in Bahasa Indoensia: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji kinerja portofolio saham price earning ratio (PER) tinggi dan PER rendah periode kepemilikan berikutnya dibandingkan dengan kinerja portofolio saham periode formasinya, menguji kinerja portofolio saham PER tinggi dibandingkan dengan PER rendah, dan menguji kinerja portofolio saham PER tinggi dan PER rendah dibandingkan dengan return portofolio pasar. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa, kinerja portofolio saham PER tinggi pada periode berikutnya menurun dan lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan kinerja portofolio saham PER rendah dan return portofolio pasar; sebaliknya kinerja portofolio saham PER rendah pada periode berikutnya meningkat dan lebih tinggi dibandingkan dengan kinerja portofolio saham PER tinggi dan return portofolio pasar. Temuan yang menunjukkan saham-saham yang pada mulanya memiliki PER tinggi atau PER rendah mengalami pembalikan return pada periode berikutnya, mengindikasikan terjadi anomali pasar yang berkaitan dengan hipotesis overreaction “Efek PEER. Sehingga ini mempopulerkan strategi investasi kontrarian di Bursa Efek Indonesia. Kata kunci: kinerja portofolio, return portofolio pasar dan anomali pasar.
The study of the European Union II: the ‘new governance’ agenda and its rival

ABSTRACT The article reviews the current study of the European Union (EU), where a new agenda is emerging under the umbrella of ‘new governance’. Despite its eclecticism, this agenda argues that the EU is not a state, but is a unique system of non-hierarchical, regulatory and deliberative governance. This agenda also conceptualizes the EU as sui generis, explains its development primarily by (new) institutional theory, and suggests that legitimacy is guaranteed through transparent, pareto-efficient and consensual outputs. Nevertheless, this agenda is open to criticism on empirical, methodological, theoretical and normative levels. Such a dialectic suggests a new duality in the study of the EU: between the new governance approach, and a less developed rival agenda, which treats EU politics and government as not inherently unique, compares the EU to other political systems, explains outcomes through rational strategic action, and suggests that legitimacy can be guaranteed through classic democratic competit.
Book Review: Keeping the Family Business Healthy: How to Plan for Continuing Growth, Profitability, and Family Leadership

Several books examining family business published in the past 25 years may legitimately be labeled seminal. Some of our earliest exposures were through autobiographies and biographies of well-known families: the Rothschilds, DuPonts, Fords, and others. Consultants such as Léon Danco, Gerald Le Van, and David Bork wrote books describing their observations and recommendations, giving readers perspectives on the relationships between families and their enterprises. In 1987, John Ward was among the first to produce a guide for family firms that was derived from a research base. Keeping the Family Business Healthy: How to Plan for Continuing Growth, Profitability, and Family Leadership proved to be influential to both practitioners and scholars, being reissued and updated. As we track the evolution of the field, other authors have also been influential. Generation to Generation: Life Cycles of the Family Business by Kelin Gersick, John Davis, Marion McCollom Hampton, and Ivan Lansberg is one of the most important contributions from the 1990s, and Managing for the Long Run: Lessons in Competitive Advantage From Great Family Businesses by Danny Miller and Isabelle Le Breton-Miller helped direct researchers in new ways as we entered the 21st century. Each of these three books has been reviewed previously in Family Business Review (Aronoff, 1996; Guzzo, 1988; Sharma, 2005). In this anniversary issue, we take another look at these bodies of work and the roles they have played in advancing knowledge, including reflections by the authors. Ward and the 1980s
The Impact of Enlargement: Europeanization of Polish Foreign Policy? Tracking Adaptation and Change in the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

This article analyses the process of adaptation of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to EU membership and participation in CFSP, both before and after EU accession. It addresses changes in organizational structure, but also in institutional culture and everyday practices. Despite the initial ambiguity, Polish decision-makers tend to perceive CFSP as an opportunity rather than a constraint on national foreign policy. It is argued that the turning point of the Europeanization process took place in 2003, when Poland became an active observer to the EU and its diplomats were allowed to attend meetings inside the Council. The article also identifies and analyses the gaps in experience and knowledge between the diplomats posted to Brussels and those that stayed in Warsaw. Finally, it examines the various challenges that EU membership held for the MFA and how they have been dealt with so far.
Why Good Guys Wear White

Affect is a somewhat abstract concept that is frequently linked to physical metaphor. For example, good is often depicted as light (rather than dark), up (rather than down), and moving forward (rather than backward). The purpose of our studies was to examine whether the association between stimulus brightness and affect is optional or obligatory. In a series of three studies, participants categorized words as negative or positive. The valence of the words and the brightness of the letters were varied orthogonally. In Studies 1, 2, and 3, we found that categorization was inhibited when there was a mismatch between stimulus brightness (e.g., light) and word valence (e.g., negative). Studies 4 and 5 reveal boundary conditions for the effect. The studies suggest that, when making evaluations, people automatically assume that bright objects are good, whereas dark objects are bad.
Responses to a Governance Mandate

We study how New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) firms adopted governance committees on their boards of directors. The drive to adopt started as a social movement but was facilitated greatly by the collapse of Enron Corporation and a subsequent mandate by the NYSE that all of its traded firms must have governance committees. Using institutional theory and a sample of NYSE firms, we develop and test hypotheses about the speed of governance committee adoption, the likelihood of committee adoption by the NYSE deadline, and the types of directors that were placed on the inaugural governance committee. Our study adds to theory about how organizations respond to external pressures when responding is contrary to the interests of executives.
The complexities of educational policy dissemination in the South African context : a case study of teachers' experiences of inclusive education policy in selected schools in greater Durban.

The study reported in this thesis is a qualitative case study of teachers' experiences of the dissemination of Education White Paper 6 on Special Needs Education Building an Inclusive Education and Training System in two districts in the Greater Durban area, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Located in three primary schools, the study aimed to examine the process adopted by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education to disseminate the policy and prepare schools (mostly teachers and other stakeholders) for its implementation , by 1) investigating teachers ' understandings and experiences of the policy and the concept of inclusive education in three primary schools , 2) examining the factors that impact on the teachers ' understandings of the innovation; and 3) investigating the teachers' views regarding the nature of support provided by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education and its sub-systems: the Greyville and Shelley Beach districts and the schools themselves to prepare for the implementation of inclusive education in schools . Data analysis in the study is informed by social constructionism as the overarching framework , as well as the systems theory and the theory of innovation diffusion . In addition, two conceptual frameworks are also used , the philosophy of inclusion and reculturing. These are used as lenses to understand the nature of teachers' understandings of the policy and concept of inclusive education , and the ways in which the province is diffusing the innovation , and preparing and supporting teachers for the implementation of inclusive education in their schools and classrooms.
Precision, Accuracy and Linearity of Radiometer EML™ 105 Whole Blood Metabolite Biosensors

The analytical performance of a new, whole blood glucose and lactate electrode system (EML™ 105 analyser, Radiometer Medical A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark) was evaluated. Between-day coefficients of variation were ≤1·9% and ≤3·1% for glucose and lactate, respectively. Recoveries of glucose were 100 ± 10% using either aqueous or protein-based standards. Recoveries of lactate depended on the matrix, being underestimated in aqueous standards (≈ −10%) and 95–100% in standards containing 40 g/L albumin at lactate concentrations of 15 and 30 mmoI/L. However, recoveries were high (up to 180%) at low lactate concentrations in protein-based standards. Carry-over, investigated according to National Clinical Chemistry Laboratory Standards EP10-T2, was negligible (α = 0·01). Glucose and lactate biosensors equipped with new membranes were linear up to 60 and 30 mmol/L, respectively. However, linearity fell upon daily use with increasing membrane lifetime. We conclude that the Radiometer metabolite biosensor results are reproducible and do not suffer from specimen-related carry-over. However, lactate recovery depends on the protein content and the lactate concentration.
Flow Toxicity and Liquidity in a High Frequency World

Order flow is toxic when it adversely selects market makers, who may be unaware they are providing liquidity at a loss. We present a new procedure to estimate flow toxicity based on volume imbalance and trade intensity (the VPIN toxicity metric). VPIN is updated in volume time, making it applicable to the high-frequency world, and it does not require the intermediate estimation of non-observable parameters or the application of numerical methods. It does require trades classified as buys or sells, and we develop a new bulk volume classification procedure that we argue is more useful in high-frequency markets than standard classification procedures. We show that the VPIN metric is a useful indicator of short-term, toxicity-induced volatility. The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. , Oxford University Press.
Family Business and Market Orientation

Market orientation refers to the collection, dissemination, and utilization of market information that promotes a sustainable competitive advantage. Despite the contribution of the market orientation construct to both the strategic management and marketing literatures, little attention has been devoted to exploring how market orientation relates to family businesses and how these relationships might differ from nonfamily businesses. To address this gap and stimulate further research in this area of inquiry, this study develops and validates a market orientation measure using content analysis of CEO letters from the S&P 500 and tests for differences between family businesses and nonfamily businesses.