Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
One-year results of the ANCHOR trial of EndoAnchors for the prevention and treatment of aortic neck complications after endovascular aneurysm repair

Objectives EndoAnchors have been used to address proximal aortic neck complications including type Ia endoleaks and endograft migration after endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). Methods The study population included 100 patients with one-year follow-up in the ANCHOR study. A primary cohort (N = 73) comprised patients who underwent EndoAnchor implantation at the time of an initial EVAR and a Revision cohort (N = 27) included patients treated remote from EVAR. A hostile neck was defined for neck length <10 mm, neck diameter >28 mm, angulation >60°, conical configuration or significant mural thrombus or calcium. Results Baseline anatomy included neck length of 17 ± 14 mm, diameter of 27 ± 5 mm, and angulation of 35 ± 18°; 83% of patients had hostile necks. Over 18 ± 4 months of clinical follow-up, six patients (6%) underwent aneurysm-related reinterventions. There were no aneurysm ruptures. Over 13 ± 2 months of imaging follow-up, freedom from type Ia endoleak was 95% in the Primary Arm and 77% in the Revision Arm (P = .006). Aneurysm sacs regressed > 5 mm within one year in 45% of the Primary cases and in 25% of the Revisions. Aneurysm expansion > 5 mm occurred in one revision patient. Conclusion Despite a high frequency of hostile neck anatomy, proximal neck complications were relatively infrequent after EndoAnchor use.
Positive and Normative Aspects of Food Policy and the Market in Indian Agriculture-An Empirical Analysis of Government Policy Interventions in Food Management

This paper begins by outlining the views of economists on food management and contemporary food policy issues in the backdrop of largely unchanging dynamics of slow growth of the farm sector in India. First we deal with the manner in which the changing situation is dealt with in terms of cycles in the wheat market. We also outline the analysis of how the effects of government policy including subsidizing import is dealt with in the policy literature. We then empirically examine the welfare impacts of the policy of subsidies on imports alongside high Support Prices. Finally debates on high support prices are discussed. We sum up this paper with the argument that the need for food management in India, under conditions of global volatility, risk and uncertainty is obvious to any sensitive analyst of Indian Agriculture. Efficiency and reform in food management policies and administration in relation to clearly stated welfare objectives is the need of the hour.
Effect of a modified stepped osteotomy on the primary stability of dental implants in low-density bone: a cadaver study.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to examine the effect of an alternative surgical technique on endosseous dental implant stability parameters in Class D4 bone. Differences between insertion torque (IT) and implant stability quotient (ISQ) produced by a conventional osteotomy versus a modified stepped osteotomy were examined. Correlations between IT, density in Hounsfield units (HU), and ISQ were also examined. MATERIALS AND METHODS Computed tomographic scans were taken of 16 cadaver heads to determine bone density at maxillary implant recipient sites, which ranged from 173.4 to 312.1 HU. Twenty-two implants were placed in sites with Misch Class D4 bone; control sites received 11 conventional osteotomies and test sites 11 modified stepped osteotomies. Maximum IT was recorded with an implant motor and confirmed with a torque driver, and ISQs were measured. Significant differences were analyzed with a Wilcoxon signed rank test, and correlations were analyzed with the Pearson test. RESULTS The mean IT in the control group was 15.91 Ncm, and in the test group it was 26.82 Ncm. The modified stepped osteotomy had a significantly greater mean IT than the conventional osteotomy, but no significant difference in ISQ was found between groups. Pearson correlations showed a significant positive correlation between IT in the control and test groups. Significant correlations were found between ISQ and HU in the test group. No other significant correlations between HU, IT, and ISQ were found. CONCLUSION Within the limits of this cadaver study, the modified stepped osteotomy resulted in significantly greater implant stability in terms of IT than the conventional osteotomy in soft bone. Significant correlations were found between the IT produced in the modified stepped osteotomy and bone density. No significant correlations were found between IT and ISQ.
FDI in CEECs: How do Western investors survive?

This article emphasizes that knowledge transfer across a firm's boundaries, in a transition context, implies a specific involvement of Western investors. They need to promote specific relationships within affiliates. This article emphasizes two points. First, partners have few common practices and do not share the same perception of the firm. This is the problem with building new capabilities. Second, Western firms have to mobilize organizational resources to build efficient affiliates (new human resources management, introduction of new functions, management by expatriates). Setting up new management rules to run an affiliate in transition countries is costly and often underestimated by foreign investors.
Localizing women's experiences in academia: multilevel factors at play in the Arab Middle East and North Africa

This article explores the localized experiences of women at work in higher education in the under-researched context of the Arab Middle East and North Africa. Our main research questions are: What is the current status of academic women between and across the countries of this region? How can human resources play a developmental role for women at work in academic institutions, as well as for the region in general? We adopt a two-part research method in this study. First, through a critical review of the literature, we develop a regionally relevant macrolevel hypothetical model to localize a gender perspective on women at work. Second, we engage in a focused empirical examination of publicly available university data to document the: (1) representation of women across ranks; and (2) specific content of pertinent human resource policies. On the basis of these data, we propose a more complete multilevel hypothetical model upon which we put forward a critical discussion and directions for future research on gender, human resource management and regional development more broadly.
Production of transforming growth factor‐beta 1 (TGF‐β1) by blood monocytes from patients with different clinical forms of leprosy

In the present study, the concentration of TGF‐β1 secreted by adherent cells isolated from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and either stimulated with PGL‐1 or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or left unstimulated was determined by ELISA. The cells were isolated from untreated patients with different clinical forms of leprosy and healthy individuals. The adherent cells exhibited spontaneous release of TGF‐β1 in all clinical forms of leprosy and in healthy individuals; however, lepromatous leprosy/borderline leprosy (LL/BL) patients presenting erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) displayed significantly higher concentrations of TGF‐β1 than either the other patients studied or the controls. These high TGF‐β1 levels were consistently observed when LL/BL ENL cells were stimulated with phenolic glycolipid (PGL‐1) or LPS, and even in the absence of a stimulus (P < 0·01). The most significant differences in TGF‐β1 levels were observed when comparing the results in the presence of PGL‐1 from ENL with, in order of significance: tuberculoid leprosy (TT) patients (P < 0·001), LL/BL patients without ENL (P < 0·01), healthy individuals (P < 0·01) and borderline‐borderline/borderline‐tuberculoid (BB/BT) patients with reversal reaction (RR) (P < 0·01). The BB/BT patients produced equivalent levels of TGF‐β1 compared with LL/BL patients without ENL, for all types of stimuli (P > 0·05). In contrast, TT patients produced the lowest levels of TGF‐β1 among all the subjects studied (both patients and healthy controls), especially following PGL‐1 stimulation (P < 0·001, and P < 0·05, respectively). In conjunction with our previous data regarding TGF‐β1 expression in dermal lesions, it appears that TGF‐β1 probably plays different roles in leprosy: (i) to mediate a suppressive action locally, associated with the presence of PGL‐1, and (ii) to induce proinflammatory effects when secreted systemically by monocytes, thereby acting as a modulatory cytokine in the acute inflammatory reactions of ENL and associated with the Th2 immune response in multibacillary forms of leprosy.
PROFIT-SHARING AND PRODUCTIVITY: SOME FURTHER EVIDENCE*

New estimates for West Germany indicate overall productivity differentials of 20-30 percent in favor of firms practicing profit sharing. These compare with estimates of 3-8 percent for comparable British firms reported in a recent issue. Like the U.K. results, they reveal important interactions between profit sharing and other firm-specific characteristics, reinforcing the view that profit sharing be regarded as an integral element of overall organizational design. But the fact that in Germany profit sharing is apparently used in a different way than in the United Kingdom by different kinds of firms, suggests that there is no single, uniquely appropriate context and role for profit sharing. Copyright 1990 by Royal Economic Society.
Fiduciary Duty in Transitional Civil Law Jurisdictions Lessons from the Incomplete Law Theory

In Anglo-American law, fiduciary duty is the core legal concept to address conflicts among directors/managers and shareholders. The concept is developed and constantly refined by courts in the process of adjudication. By contrast, most civil law jurisdictions, including many transition economies, either lack the procedural rules that would enable parties to bring such cases to courts, or have not developed a sufficient body of case law to determine the contents and meaning of this concept. This paper asks, whether courts should be allocated the right to define and enforce fiduciary duty principles. Based on our theory of the incompleteness of law, this paper argues that when law is highly incomplete, but the expected harm can be contained and does not cause externalities, allocating lawmaking and law enforcement to courts is optimal. Breaching fiduciary duty is such an area, as harm is typically limited to shareholders of a given company. While courts in transition economies may have difficulties living up to the task of exercising lawmaking rights in this area, we propose that there are few alternatives and that encouraging an active learning process should therefore be encouraged. We investigate emerging case law on the duty of loyalty in Poland and Russia and draw some comparisons to German case law.
Do Business Cycles Alter the Composition of Research and Development Expenditures

Do business cycles cause firms to alter the composition of research and development (R&D) expenditures? This article uses aggregate data on U.S. firm‐financed R&D expenditures during the 1956–96 period to address this issue. The mix of R&D expenditures changes over the business cycles with firms increasing the amount of basic R&D and reducing the amount of development R&D during recessions. Though the effects are small, the results raise the possibility that business cycles influence the rate of long‐run growth. (JEL E33, O30)
Foreign direct investment and economic growth in less developed countries: an empirical study of causality and mechanisms

We examine the causality between foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth for 66 developing countries, taking into account their interaction with exports and technological change. Time series analysis for each country is conducted, based on a method introduced by Toda and Yamamoto (1995) for testing Granger causality in the presence of nonstationary time series. The main findings of this article are: FDI causes growth in several of the developing countries, but the mechanism through which this works differs across countries and reverse causality from growth to FDI exists for many countries.
Comparative morphological and palynological study on poorly known Viola sandrasea and its closest relative V. kizildaghensis

The relationships between the closely related Turkish endemic species, Viola sandrasea Melchior and V. kizildaghensis M. Dinç & Ş. Yıldırımlı, are discussed in the present study. Viola sandrasea has been known only from a few gatherings and insufficient description since 1939. Morphological and palynological properties of it are determined in detail and compared to its closest relative V. kizildaghensis in this study. The special habitats these species occupy, their typical associates and some other ecological features are also briefly discussed. The obtained data suggests that the morphological differences between them are sometimes subtle, but the petal colour, the leaf wrinkles and the pattern of indument are distinct. The pollen characteristics clearly appear to have taxonomic value. The pollen exine ornemantion of V. sandrasea characterized by the rugulate clearly differs from that of V. kizildaghensis characterized by psilate-perforate. Moreover, the two species are seasonally and geographically isolated from each other.
Health Policy and Equity of Health Care Financing in Australia: 1973–2010

Using data from Australian Taxation Statistics and Household Expenditure Surveys we analyze the distribution of health care financing in Australia over almost four decades. We compute Kakwani Progressivity indices for four sources of health care financing: general taxation, Medicare Levy payments, Medicare Levy Surcharge payments, and direct consumer payments, and estimate the effects of major policy changes on them. The results demonstrate that the first three of these sources of health care financing are progressive in Australia, while the distribution of direct payments is regressive. Surprisingly, we find that neither the introduction of Medicare in Australia in 1984 nor the Extended Medicare Safety Net in 2004 had significant effects on the progressivity of health care financing in Australia. By contrast, the Lifetime Cover scheme-introduced in 2000 to encourage people to buy and hold private health insurance-had a progressive effect on health care financing.
Managerial Opportunism During Corporate Litigation

Using a large sample of litigation events involving publicly listed defendants, we document a surprising fact. The resolution of litigation through a court's decision dominates settlement of litigation from the shareholders' point of view, even when the firm loses. We develop a model using agency costs within the firm to explain why the market views settlement as a negative outcome on average and find empirical evidence supporting the implications of the model. Specifically, firms with weak corporate governance settle litigation more quickly, and the market reacts more negatively to settlements involving firms with higher agency costs. Copyright 2005 by The American Finance Association.
The Mediated Horserace: Campaign Polls and Poll Reporting

Abstract. Although “horserace journalism” is thought to be central to contemporary election news coverage and has generated a great deal of criticism, there is no general model of the nature and dynamics of horserace journalism or “poll reporting. ” This paper proposes and empirically evaluates such a model. The model builds on and extends John Zaller's “theory of media politics” to consider specifically what citizens demand from polls and what journalists supply. Aside from the generic motivations of politicians, citizens and journalists, the model emphasizes the unique features of polls as objects of news coverage. The paper finds considerable support for the model in an analysis of newspaper coverage of horserace polls (that is, vote intention polls) in the Canadian general election of 2006. Our findings from this one case have potentially broad implications for our understanding of the relationship between polls and electoral democracy both empirically and normatively. Résumé. Même si le journalisme de course (“horserace journalism”) est vu comme étant une composante centrale de la couverture électorale et qu'il a généré sa part de critiques, il n'existe pas de modèle général de la nature et de la dynamique de ce type de journalisme. Cet article propose, et évalue empiriquement, un tel modèle. Prenant comme point de départ la « Theory of Media Politics » de John Zaller, ce modèle considère plus spécifiquement ce que les citoyens demandent des sondages et ce que les journalistes leurs procurent. Au-delà des motivations génériques des politiciens, citoyens et journalistes, le modèle met l'accent sur les caractéristiques uniques des sondages en tant qu'objet de couverture journalistique. L'article présente des résultats supportant considérablement le modèle à travers une analyse de la couverture des sondages par les journaux (c'est-à-dire des sondages sur les intentions de vote) durant l'élection générale canadienne de 2006. Nos résultats émanant de ce cas ont potentiellement des implications beaucoup plus grandes pour notre compréhension de la relation entre les sondages et la démocratie électorale, à la fois sur le plan empirique et sur le plan normatif.
Phosphatidylinositol 4-Phosphate 5-Kinase α Activation Critically Contributes to CD28-Dependent Signaling Responses

CD28 is one of the most relevant costimulatory receptors that deliver both TCR-dependent and TCR-independent signals regulating a wide range of signaling pathways crucial for cytokine and chemokine gene expressions, T cell survival, and proliferation. Most of the CD28-dependent signaling functions are initiated by the recruitment and activation of class IA PI3Ks, which catalyze the conversion of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-biphosphate (PIP2) into phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate, thus generating the docking sites for key signaling proteins. Hence, PIP2 is a crucial substrate in driving the PI3K downstream signaling pathways, and PIP2 turnover may be an essential regulatory step to ensure the activation of PI3K following CD28 engagement. Despite some data evidence that CD28 augments TCR-induced turnover of PIP2, its direct role in regulating PIP2 metabolism has never been assessed. In this study, we show that CD28 regulates PIP2 turnover by recruiting and activating phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinases α (PIP5Kα) in human primary CD4+ T lymphocytes. This event leads to the neosynthesis of PIP2 and to its consumption by CD28-activated PI3K. We also evidenced that PIP5Kα activation is required for both CD28 unique signals regulating IL-8 gene expression as well as for CD28/TCR-induced Ca2+ mobilization, NF-AT nuclear translocation, and IL-2 gene transcription. Our findings elucidate a novel mechanism that involves PIP5Kα as a key modulator of CD28 costimulatory signals.
Small Firm Innovation, Growth and Performance

This article uses Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation techniques of a large-scale survey to examine the effect of firms’ innovation activities on their growth performance. The survey, covering 1347 respondents, is the largest and most definitive assessment of enterprise in Scotland and Northern England. In this article we employ four measures of growth: growth in employment; growth in turnover; growth in productivity; change in the profit margin. These measures of growth are analysed separately for manufacturing and service firms. The models are re-estimated with the current sales and profit levels adjusted for the number of employees. The most emphatic findings highlight a positive relationship between novel product innovation and employment growth and, for manufacturing firms, at least in the short term, a negative relationship between product innovation (both incremental and novel) and growth in sales or productivity. By contrast, growing sales and productivity appear positively associated with incremental process introductions in service firms.
THE NATURE OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN TRANSACTORS' EXPECTATIONS OF CAPITAL GAIN

A WIDELY ACCEPTED PROPOSITION in capital markets theory is that trades in a security result from transactors holding conflicting expectations for its return potential [11, 12]. No one has attempted to test this theory by surveying buyers' and sellers' return expectations. The present paper examines this unexplored area by reporting on an empirical investigation of the homogeneity of transactors' expectations for the future equilibrium prices of selected common stocks. Keenan [7], commenting upon the empirical methods of studying valuation models, has concluded that, "If measure variables of investor expectations are to be developed we may have to engage in survey sampling of transactors. " To advance the development and measurement of the cost of equity capital, Friend [5] has observed that, "To achieve any real progress in this area in the near-term future, it seems to be necessary to survey a comprehensive sample of investors to determine the anticipated rates of return on individual stocks which they buy, sell or otherwise follow. " More recently, Lease, Lewellen and Schlarbaum [8]; Cohn, Lewellen, Lease and Schlarbaum [4]; Baker and Haslem [2, 3]; and Gooding [6] have reported on surveys of individual investors' attitudes, attributes, portfolios, decision variables, and risk and return perceptions. The study reported here adds buyers' and sellers' probabilistic price expectations for three widely-held and actively-traded common stocks to this growing base of survey data. Observed differences in the risk and return characteristics of these measured expectations were generally consistent with the proposition that buyers of a stock are more optimistic about the nature of its future price behavior than sellers.
Trisomy 12 is a consistent chromosomal aberration in benign ovarian tumors

Clonal karyotypic abnormalities were detected in 7 of 42 cytogenetically analyzed benign ovarian tumors. An adenofibroma had –X and a mucinous cystadenoma had t(1;11)(q25;q23) as the sole abnormality. Trisomy 12 was found in the remaining five tumors. It was the only change in two fibromas and a serous cystadenoma; the fourth tumor, a mucinous cystadenoma, had one clone with + 12 and one with + 12 and + 10, and the fifth tumor, a fibrothecoma, had +4, +9, +12. The finding of trisomy 12 in five of seven karyotypically aberrant tumors suggests that this aberration characterizes a hitherto unrecognized cytogenetic subgroup of benign ovarian neoplasms.
MODELING THE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN ROMANIA. THE ROLE OF HUMAN CAPITAL

We simulate possible growth paths assuming that the Romanian economy behaves according to the hypothesis of the Uzawa-Lucas model. By calibrating the model to the Romanian economy, we are able to forecast the evolution of the Romanian GDP and the proportion of human capital which will be used in the production of goods and services. Although the population growth rate is considered to be zero, the average real GDP growth rate is around 6% due to the human capital accumulation, which improves the quality of labor.
Development and performance of domestic and foreign banks in GCC countries

An analysis of domestic and foreign banks’ internal performance by investigating their financial ratios shows that banks in Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (GCC countries) have improved their performance over the past several years. Commercial banks in these GCC economies are well capitalised and have adopted modern banking services. Most banks are found to be financially sound by international standards, measured by all key financial ratios. Their operations can be characterised by satisfactory asset quality, more than minimum BIS capital/asset ratio, and high level of profitability. External performance is measured by evaluating banks’ market shares, regulatory compliance and public confidence; and most of the banks show better progress. Harmonization of the banks’ supervisory and accounting systems towards IAS has contributed to the safety and competitiveness of the banking sector.