Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dog tick-borne diseases in Sicily.

In Sicily many tick borne diseases are endemic, in particular way those that see like main carrier ticks that prefer, for their vital cycle, climatic conditions characterized by high temperatures and a warmth-humid atmosphere. The more important pathologies transmitted by ticks causing diseases in dogs are babesiosis and ehrlichiosis. Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia conorii, Coxiella burnetii and tick transmitted encephalitis virus assume particular relevance because they are agents of zoonosis. Our centre, C.R. A.Ba. R.T, have conducted many researches and carried out many tests for diagnostic aim in order to estimate the spread of the main tick borne diseases in Sicilians' dogs. A study lead on 342 dogs has evidenced seroprevalence for Babesia canis, Ehrlichia canis and Rickettsia respective of 5.17%, 21.70% and 53.43%. A study on zoonotic agent seroprevalences in dogs gave the following percentages: C. burnetii 31.50%, R. conorii 73.60% and A. phagocytophilum 32.80%. The data carried out from IZS Sicily diagnostic service on 5,634 tests done in 2004-2005, confirm the experimental results on the presence of B. canis, E. canis, R. conorii, A. phagocytophilum, C. burnetii, Rickettsia spp. , Anaplasma spp. and Ehrlichia spp. in all the Sicilian areas.
Structural Change in MLB Competitive Balance: The Depression, Team Location, and Integration

No detectable break points in within-season competitive balance (1901--99) occur after 1937 in the National League or after 1962 in the American League, despite expansion, free agency, and the growth of local TV revenue disparity since then. Instead, a continual improvement in competitive balance has occurred since those years. Associated with break points prior to these years, (1) the AL emerged from the depression much more unbalanced than the NL, (2) team movement and league expansion alter balance in well-known ways, and (3) discriminatory preferences were stronger in larger-revenue markets than in smaller-revenue markets in both leagues. (JEL C32, L83) Copyright 2005, Oxford University Press.
On the Effects of Barriers to International Investment

A simple model is presented in which it is costly for domestic investors to hold foreign assets. The implications of the model for the composition of optimal portfolios at home and abroad are derived. It is shown that all foreign assets with a beta larger than some beta ,/* plot on either one of two security market lines. Some foreign assets with a beta smaller than /* are not held by domestic investors even if their expected return is increased slightly. WHILE IT IS OBVIOUSLY not true that asset markets are completely segmented between countries, there is evidence of barriers to international investment. Although reality seems to lie in that grey area between complete segmentation and no segmentation at all, most international asset pricing models are concerned with the extreme case of no barriers to international investment. No effort seems to have been made to study the effect on portfolio choice of such barriers, which make it costly to hold foreign securities, as opposed to domestic securities, but which do not, in general, render international diversification so onerous that investors avoid foreign securities completely. ' Casual empiricism suggests that models without barriers to international investment should be suspect; those models cannot explain why it appears that in every country investors, on average, hold more domestic securities than would be required if they held the world market portfolio.2 This paper constructs a model of international asset pricing in which there is a cost associated with holding-either long or short-risky foreign securities. For the sake of simplicity, in most of the paper we assume that while domestic investors face barriers to international investment, foreign investors face no such barriers. It turns out that nothing significant is lost with such an assumption. The main conclusions of this paper for the case in which foreign investors face no barriers to international investment are: 1. In the presence of barriers to international investment, some risky foreign
The analgesic effect of sucrose in full term infants: a randomised controlled trial

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the effects of different sucrose concentrations on measures of neonatal pain. Design: Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial of sterile water (control) or one of three solutions of sucrose—namely, 12.5%, 25%, and 50% wt/vol. Setting: Postnatal ward. Patients: 60 healthy infants of gestational age 37-42 weeks and postnatal age 1-6 days randomised to receive 2 ml of one of the four solutions on to the tongue two minutes before heel prick sampling for serum bilirubin concentrations. Main outcome measure: Duration of crying over the first three minutes after heel prick. Results: There was a significant reduction in overall crying time and heart rate after three minutes in the babies given 50% sucrose as compared with controls. This was maximal one minute after heel prick in the 50% sucrose group and became statistically significant in the 25% sucrose group at two minutes. There was a significant trend for a reduction in crying time with increasing concentrations of sucrose over the first three minutes. Conclusion: Concentrated sucrose solution seems to reduce crying and the autonomic effects of a painful procedure in healthy normal babies. Sucrose may be a useful and safe analgesic for minor procedures in neonates. Key messages Key messages Little is done to minimise the discomfort of these procedures Placing 2 ml of a 25% or 50% sucrose solution on the tongue before heel prick significantly reduces crying time There is a dose-response effect in the reduction of crying with increasing concentrations of sucrose Sucrose on the tongue may be a useful and safe form of analgesia in newborn infants
A multi-dose pharmacokinetic study of dalteparin in haemodialysis patients

Summary Low-molecular-weight heparins undergo renal elimination, and therefore the proper dosing in hemodialysis (HD) patients is unclear. It was the objective of this study to evaluate the pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters of dalteparin in patients receiving chronic HD for end-stage renal disease. We performeda multidose PK study with prophylactic doses of dalteparin in twelve HD patients. Dalteparin 5,000 IU was administered subcutaneously daily for four consecutive days, with HD performed on day2 and day 4. Anti-factor Xa activity was determined daily and at multiple blood samples after the 3rd and 4th dose. Eleven of 12 patients completed the study. The mean (range) PK parameters determined after the 4th dose were as follows: i) maximum concentration (Cmax) was 0.31 IU/ml (0.06 to 0.55 IU/ml); ii) time to Cmax was 3.55 hours (2.59 to 4.96 hr); iii) area under the curve was 3.24 IU*hr/ml (0.64 to 6.44 IU*hr/ml); iv) half-life was 3.82 hr (2.03 to 9.63 hr); and v) trough anti-factor Xa activity 0.04 IU/ml (0.02 to 0.08 IU/ml). No major bleeding was observed. In general, patients with lower body weight exhibited a higher Cmax. From this pilot PK study, we have determined initial PK parameters for dalteparin in HD patients. Although a standard prophylactic dose was used, we found that in this patient population differences in body weight influenced the Cmax. Future studies to evaluate the PK parameters of dalteparin in patients receiving chronic HD may have to use weight-based dosing and will need to be performed over a longer period of time.
Regulation of Insurance with Adverse Selection and Switching Costs: Evidence from Medicare Part D

I take advantage of regulatory and pricing dynamics in Medicare Part D to empirically explore interactions among adverse selection, switching costs, and regulation. I first document novel evidence of adverse selection and switching costs within Part D using detailed administrative data. I then estimate a contract choice and pricing model in order to quantify the importance of switching costs for risk-sorting, and for policies that may affect risk sorting. I first find that in Part D, switching costs help sustain an adversely-selected equilibrium and are likely to mute the ability of ACA policies to improve risk allocation across contracts, leading to higher premiums for some enrollees. I then estimate that, overall, decreasing the cost of active decision-making in the Part D environment could lead to a substantial gain in consumer surplus of on average $400-$600 per capita, which is around 20%-30% of average annual per capita drug spending.
Nationalisms and Anti-immigrant Sentiment in Spain

This article explores links between nationalism and immigrant exclusionism in Spain's 17 Comunidades Autónomas. Drawing from social identity and marginality theories and using Análisis Sociológicos, Económicos y Políticos (ASEP), 1991–2000 data results show that strong national–regional identification is a predictor of anti-immigrant sentiment among Basques, Catalans and Galicians, but not in the remaining Comunidades Autónomas. Basques, Catalans and Galicians who strongly identify with region of residence are more likely to express immigrant exclusionism than those identifying ‘as regional as Spanish’. Simultaneously, ‘Spanish only’ respondents did not yield statistically significant results in favouring exclusionism as compared with those with dual identification across all regions.
Iodine biokinetics and radioiodine exposure after recombinant human thyrotropin-assisted remnant ablation in comparison with thyroid hormone withdrawal.

CONTEXT A few prospective studies have evaluated the use of recombinant human TSH (rhTSH) for radioiodine remnant ablation. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to compare the effects of the both TSH regimens on iodine biokinetics in the thyroid remnant, dosimetry, and radiation protection. DESIGN We conducted a prospective randomized study. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty-eight patients were enrolled for radioiodine ablation to either the hypothyroid or rhTSH arms. A whole-body scan was performed at 48 and 144 h after therapy. Dose rates were assessed at 24, 48, and 144 h. Urinary samples were obtained during the first 48 h. Thyroglobulin was assessed before and after therapy. Iodine biokinetics in the remnants were calculated from gamma-count rates. Radiation-absorbed dose was calculated using OLINDA software. Exposure estimation was based on a validated model. RESULTS The effective half-life in the remnant thyroid tissue was significantly longer after rhTSH than during hypothyroidism (P = 0.01), whereas 48-h (131)I uptakes and residence times were similar. After therapy, thyroglobulin release (a marker of cell damage) was lower in the rhTSH arm. The mean total-body effective half-life and residence time were shorter in patients treated after rhTSH. Residence time was also lower for the colon and stomach. Absorbed dose estimates were lower in the rhTSH arm for the lower large intestine, breasts, ovaries, and the bone marrow. Dose rates at the time of discharge were lower in the rhTSH group with a reduction in cumulative radiation exposure to contact persons. CONCLUSIONS In comparison with thyroid hormone withdrawal, rhTSH is associated with longer remnant half-life of radioactive iodine while also reducing radiation exposure to the rest of the body and also to the general public who come in contact with such patients.
Evolutionary Relationships among the Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Vegetative Compatibility Groups

ABSTRACT Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, the causal agent of fusarium wilt of banana (Musa spp.), is one of the most destructive strains of the vascular wilt fungus F. oxysporum. Genetic relatedness among and within vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) of F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense was studied by sequencing two nuclear and two mitochondrial DNA regions in a collection of 70 F. oxysporum isolates that include representatives of 20 VCGs of F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense, other formae speciales, and nonpathogens. To determine the ability of F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense to sexually recombine, crosses were made between isolates of opposite mating types. Phylogenetic analysis separated the F. oxysporum isolates into two clades and eight lineages. Phylogenetic relationships between F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense and other formae speciales of F. oxysporum and the relationships among VCGs and races of F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense clearly showed that F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense's ability to cause disease on banana has emerged multiple times, independently, and that the ability to cause disease to a specific banana cultivar is also a polyphyletic trait. These analyses further suggest that both coevolution with the host and horizontal gene transfer may have played important roles in the evolutionary history of the pathogen. All examined isolates harbored one of the two mating-type idiomorphs, but never both, which suggests a heterothallic mating system should sexual reproduction occur. Although, no sexual structures were observed, some lineages of F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense harbored MAT-1 and MAT-2 isolates, suggesting a potential that these lineages have a sexual origin that might be more recent than initially anticipated.
Accounting Conservatism and Stock Price Crash Risk: Firm-Level Evidence

Using a large sample of U.S. firms over the period 1964–2007, we find that conditional conservatism is associated with the lower likelihood of a firm’s future stock price crashes. This finding holds for multiple measures of conditional conservatism and crash risk and it is robust to controlling for other known determinants of crash risk and firm fixed effects. Moreover, we find that the relation between conservatism and crash risk is more pronounced for firms with higher information asymmetries. Overall, our results are consistent with the notion that conditional conservatism limits managers’ incentive and ability to overstate performance and hide bad news from investors, which, in turn, reduces stock price crash risk.
Trichogramma pretiosum parasitism and dispersal capacity: a basis for developing biological control programs for soybean caterpillars

Abstract In order to succeed in biological control programs, not only is it crucial to understand the number of natural enemies to be released but also on how many sites per area this releasing must be performed. These variables might differ deeply among egg parasitoid species and crops worked. Therefore, these trials were carried out to evaluate the parasitism (%) in eggs of Anticarsia gemmatalis and Pseudoplusia includens after the release of different densities of the egg parasitoid Trichogramma pretiosum. Field dispersal was also studied, in order to determine appropriate recommendations for the release of this parasitoid in soybean fields. The regression analysis between parasitism (%) and densities of the parasitoid indicated a quadratic effect for both A. gemmatalis and P. includens. The maximum parasitism within 24 h after the release was reached with densities of 25.6 and 51.2 parasitoids per host egg, respectively, for the two pests. Parasitism of T. pretiosum in eggs of P. includens decreased linearly as the distance of the pest eggs from the parasitoid release sites increased. For P. includens, the mean radius of T. pretiosum action and the area of parasitoid dispersal in the soybean crop were 8.01 m and 85.18 m2, respectively. We conclude that for a successful biological control program of lepidopteran pests using T. pretiosum in soybean fields, a density of 25.6 parasitoids per host egg, divided into 117 sites per hectare, should be used.
Relationships among Strategic Capabilities and the Performance of Women‐Owned Small Ventures

This study of small, life‐style ventures owned by women focuses on the strategic, firm‐level factors related to business performance. A theoretical model drawing on the resource‐based theory is developed and tested empirically. The model includes strategic capabilities, management styles, and their relation to performance. It is tested empirically on a sample of 220 Israeli female business owners. Analysis reveals that life‐style venture performance is highly correlated with certain aspects of the business owner's skills as well as the venture&apops;s resources. Paradoxically, the owner/managers in the sample rate their skills and their venture's resources as being weak in precisely those areas that correlate positively with business performance. These findings suggest that performance of life‐style ventures owned by women depends more on marketing, financial, and managerial skills than on innovation.
The Moderating Role of Water Park Service Quality, Environment, Image, and Food Quality on Perceived Value and Customer Loyalty: A South Korean Case Study

This study empirically examined not only the relationship between perceived value and customer loyalty, but also the moderating role of service quality, environment, image, and food quality at a water park, a segment of the tourism industry. In particular, the current study, using hierarchical regression analyses, examined the direct effects of perceived value on customer loyalties—loyalty and behavioral loyalty—as well as the moderating effect of four elements. As anticipated, this study showed that perceived value has significant and positive effect on both types of loyalty. In addition, the result of the interaction effects showed that service quality and food quality acted as moderators on the relationship between perceived value and attitudinal loyalty; however, water park image acted as a moderator on the relationship between perceived value and behavioral loyalty only. Finally, these results indicated that three elements—service quality, water park image, and food quality—have significant interaction on the relationship between perceived value and attitudinal/behavioral loyalty. These findings may provide water park operators with useful and detailed guidelines for satisfying customer loyalty levels, both attitudinally and behaviorally. More detailed findings and implications are also discussed.
The Incidence of Childhood IDDM in New South Wales, Australia

OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in children 0–14 years of age in the state of New South Wales, Australia, which has a total population of 5.73 million. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We established a prospective register, identifying 361 incident cases over a 2-year period (1990–1991) with two independent sources of case ascertainment. The primary source was the reporting of newly diagnosed patients by physicians and diabetes educators. The secondary source was a subsidized syringe scheme. RESULTS Using the capture-recapture method, ascertainment was estimated to be 99.4% complete. The age-standardized incidence rate was 14.5 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval: 13.0–16.0). No significant differences were found when comparing the first and second years of the register, boys and girls, geographical areas, or Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. There was seasonal variation in the onset (with more cases in winter), which was evident in the 10- to 14-year age-group (P = 0.01), but not in younger age-groups. A first-degree relative was already affected in 6.9% of the cases. No significant difference was noted in the age at onset when comparing cases with and without an affected first-degree relative. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of childhood IDDM in New South Wales is similar to rates found in other predominantly Anglo-Saxon populations. IDDM occurs in Aboriginal children with a frequency comparable to that in the rest of the population.
Flagellar region 3b supports strong expression of integrated DNA and the highest chromosomal integration efficiency of the Escherichia coli flagellar regions

The Gram‐negative bacterium Escherichia coli is routinely used as the chassis for a variety of biotechnology and synthetic biology applications. Identification and analysis of reliable chromosomal integration and expression target loci is crucial for E. coli engineering. Chromosomal loci differ significantly in their ability to support integration and expression of the integrated genetic circuits. In this study, we investigate E. coli K12 MG1655 flagellar regions 2 and 3b. Integration of the genetic circuit into seven and nine highly conserved genes of the flagellar regions 2 (motA, motB, flhD, flhE, cheW, cheY and cheZ) and 3b (fliE, F, G, J, K, L, M, P, R), respectively, showed significant variation in their ability to support chromosomal integration and expression of the integrated genetic circuit. While not reducing the growth of the engineered strains, the integrations into all 16 target sites led to the loss of motility. In addition to high expression, the flagellar region 3b supports the highest efficiency of integration of all E. coli K12 MG1655 flagellar regions and is therefore potentially the most suitable for the integration of synthetic genetic circuits.
Overcoming barriers to innovation in SMEs in China: A perspective based cooperation network

Abstract Innovation has been one of the key drivers of sustainable competitive advantage for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). On the basis of a survey sample of 188 Chinese manufacturing SMEs, this paper explores barriers, cooperation networks and policy requirements in innovation for SMEs. This paper reveals that the ‘lack of technical experts’ is the most important barrier; the ‘customer’, the most important cooperation partner; and the ‘preferential tax policy’, the most favorable policy in innovation for SMEs. These findings reveal that many Chinese SMEs have difficulties in achieving successful innovation. Therefore, policies should be made based on internal and external constraints to facilitate innovation of SMEs, and varied depending on the size as well as the mode of ownership of firms.
Board Monitoring and Earnings Management: Do Outside Directors Influence Abnormal Accruals?

This paper examines whether the incidence of earnings management by UK firms depends on board monitoring. We focus on two aspects of board monitoring: the role of outside board members and the audit committee. Results indicate that the likelihood of managers making income-increasing abnormal accruals to avoid reporting losses and earnings reductions is negatively related to the proportion of outsiders on the board. We also find that the chance of abnormal accruals being large enough to turn a loss into a profit or to ensure that profit does not decline is significantly lower for firms with a high proportion of outside board members. In contrast, we find little evidence that outside directors influence income-decreasing abnormal accruals when pre-managed earnings are high. We find no evidence that the presence of an audit committee directly affects the extent of income-increasing manipulations to meet or exceed these thresholds. Neither do audit committees appear to have a direct effect on the degree of downward manipulation, when pre-managed earnings exceed thresholds by a large margin. Our findings suggest that boards contribute towards the integrity of financial statements, as predicted by agency theory.
Progressive supranuclear palsy Neuropathologic and clinical heterogeneity

To investigate potential heterogeneity in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), we examined 13 patients with neuropathologically diagnosed PSP. The clinical diagnosis of PSP was made in eight of these individuals, whereas probable AD was the primary diagnosis in the remaining five. In addition to PSP neuropathology, seven of the 13 patients (54%) showed concomitant pathologic changes of Alzheimer9s disease (AD), Parkinson9s disease (PD), or both disorders. These observations indicate that AD and PD changes coexist with PSP neuropathology in a substantive proportion of patients and provide further evidence of clinical and neuropathologic heterogeneity in neurodegenerative disorders. Moreover, our results suggest that PSP may be underdiagnosed and deserves more prominence in the differential diagnosis of dementing illness.