Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outsourcing and Inter/lntra Supply Chain Dynamics: Strategic Management Issues

This article analyzes the outsourcing of information technology services, using an action inquiry methodology. Research spanned the disengagement and beginning of IT service functions transferred from work groups in the parent company to outsource teams. Results identified the importance of addressing strategic issues and inter/intra relationships between parent company team members and their outsource-counterparts. Conclusions indicate that behavioral issues such as psychological contracts within inter/intra work groups, power and trust are highly significant managerial issues in the success or failure of an outsourcing strategy.
Market Manipulation and Innovation

We study the impact of suspected market manipulation, including end-of-day manipulation and insider trading around information leakage events, on patents based on a sample of 9 countries spanning the years 2003-2010. The data indicate that end-of-day dislocation mitigates the number of patents and citations received, due to the associated short-termism of the firm’s orientation, long-term harm to a firm’s equity values, and commensurate reduced incentives for employees to innovate. Unlike prior literature that shows a negative relation between patenting and liquidity in the U.S. in an earlier time period, we observe a robust and significantly positive effect of liquidity on patenting in the U.S. and across the 9 countries in our sample over each of the 8 years studied. The positive effect of liquidity on innovation, however, is mitigated by the harmful presence of end-of-day dislocation. The data also confirm the importance of country-level factors such as intellectual property rights across countries that encourage patenting. Our findings are robust to numerous robustness checks on subsamples of the data, propensity score matching analyses, difference-in-differences tests for firms with and without dislocation, among other things.
Clinical Field Testing of Vulcanized Jaipur Rubber Feet for Trans-Tibial Amputees in Low-Income Countries

The purpose of this study was to check out the performance and durability of vulcanized Jaipur rubber feet in tropical areas of the developing world. Forty-one MUKTI and 40 NISHA feet were followed for 16 (8 – 17) months. The user compliance was high and nearly all were satisfied. Failure of the prosthetic foot with the need for exchange at the end of the study amounted to 27% (22/81), which is equivalent to a mixed series of rubber feet previously reported (Jensen et al. 2006b). Failures were mostly related to skin fracture and gliding between sponge rubber layers of the heel block.
Out-of-Pocket Burden of Health Care Spending and the Adequacy of the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy

Background:Evaluating the adequacy of Medicare prescription drug program (Part D) and its low-income subsidy (LIS) requires a comprehensive understanding of drug spending in relation to household resources. Objective:To estimate out-of-pocket health care costs in the year before Part D, in context of total household spending, health status, and LIS eligibility. Research Design:Nationally representative cross-sectional study. Subjects:Two thousand two hundred thirty-one Medicare families in the 2005/2006 Health and Retirement Study. Methods:We assessed health care costs as a share of household resources remaining after spending on essential housing, food, personal care, and transportation. Burdensome health care costs were defined as exceeding 40% of nonessential resources. We used logistic regressions to assess the probability of incurring burdensome health expenditures, controlling for LIS eligibility. Results:In the year before Part D, more than half of Medicare families [56.0%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 55.3–59.9] experienced burdensome health care costs. Families in poor health allocated a median of 68.1% [interquartile range (IQR): 35.1–82.9] of nonessential resources to health care (compared with 34.0% median; IQR 11.9–52.2 among families in excellent health, P < 0.011). Most (64%) out-of-pocket health care spending was allocated to health insurance premiums and medications. As many as 26% of Medicare families had burdensome health care costs but were not eligible for LIS assistance. Conclusions:Before Part D, burdensome health care expenditures were common in Medicare families. Our estimates of Part D and LIS benefits indicate a limited scope of relief.
Success and predictors of blood pressure control in diverse North American settings: the antihypertensive and lipid-lowering treatment to prevent heart attack trial (ALLHAT).

CONTEXT Blood pressure control (<140/90 mm Hg) rates for hypertension fall far short of the US national goal of 50% or more. Achievable control rates in varied practice settings and geographic regions and factors that predict improved blood pressure control are not well identified. OBJECTIVE To determine the success and predictors of blood pressure control in a large hypertension trial involving a multiethnic population in diverse practice settings. DESIGN The Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial is a randomized, double-blind, active-controlled clinical trial with a mean follow-up of 4.9 years. Participant enrollment began in February 1994 and follow-up was completed in March 2002. SETTING A total of 623 centers in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. PARTICIPANTS A total of 33,357 participants (aged > or =55 years) with hypertension and at least one other coronary heart disease risk factor. INTERVENTIONS Participants were randomly assigned to receive (double-blind) chlorthalidone, 12.5-25 mg/d (n=15,255), amlodipine 2.5-10 mg/d (n=9048), or lisinopril 10-40 mg/d (n=9054) after other medication was discontinued. Doses were increased within these ranges and additional drugs from other classes were added as needed to achieve blood pressure control (<140/90 mm Hg). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The outcome measures for this report are systolic and diastolic blood pressure, the proportion of participants achieving blood pressure control (<140/90 mm Hg), and the number of drugs required to achieve control in all three groups combined. RESULTS Mean age was 67 years, 47% were women, 35% black, 36% diabetic; 90% were on antihypertensive drug treatment at entry. At the first of two pre-randomization visits, blood pressure was <140/90 mm Hg in only 27.4% of participants. After 5 years of follow-up, the percent controlled improved to 66%. Systolic blood pressure was <140 mm Hg in 67% of participants, diastolic blood pressure was <90 mm Hg in 92%, the mean number of drugs prescribed was 2.0+/-1.0, and the percent on > or =2 drugs was 63%. Blood pressure control varied by geographic regions, practice settings, and demographic and clinical characteristics of participants. CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate that blood pressure may be controlled in two thirds of a multiethnic hypertensive population in diverse practice settings. Systolic blood pressure is more difficult to control than diastolic blood pressure, and at least two antihypertensive medications are required for most patients to achieve blood pressure control. It is likely that the majority of people with hypertension could achieve a blood pressure <140/90 mm Hg with the antihypertensive medications available today.
FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS, THE USER COST OF CAPITAL AND CORPORATE INVESTMENT IN AUSTRALIA

This paper examines the factors that drive corporate investment in Australia using a panel of listed companies covering the period from 1990 to 2004. Real sales growth is found to be a significant determinant of corporate investment. The user cost of capital, which incorporates both debt and equity financing costs, also appears to be an important determinant. The paper also explores the effects of cash flow on investment, allowing for the possibility that the availability of internal funding could significantly affect the investment of financially constrained firms. Cash flow is found to affect investment, though the effects appear more complicated than previously reported in empirical research using Australian data. One innovation of this study is that it distinguishes financially distressed firms from financially constrained firms. The presence of financially distressed firms appears to bias downwards the sensitivity of investment to cash flow. Once separate account has been taken of firms experiencing financial distress, and in contrast to theory, cash flow is found to matter for the investment of both financially constrained and unconstrained firms. Interestingly, the estimated degree of sensitivity appears to be roughly the same for both groups.
Influence of the fusiform gyrus on amygdala response to emotional faces in the non-clinical range of social anxiety

Background Social anxiety often involves a combination of hypervigilance and avoidance to potentially warning signals including the facial expression of emotions. Functional imaging has demonstrated an increase in amygdala response to emotional faces in subjects with social anxiety. Nevertheless, it is unclear to what extent visual areas processing faces influence amygdala reactivity in different socially anxious individuals. We assessed the influence of the fusiform gyrus activation on amygdala response to emotional faces in the non-clinical range of social anxiety. Method Twenty-two normal subjects showing a wide range in social anxiety scores were examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the processing of happy and fearful faces. A dimensional analysis approach was used involving voxel-wise mapping of the correlation between subjects' social anxiety scores and amygdala activation, before and after controlling for fusiform gyrus activation. Results We observed that only after controlling for subjects' level of activation of the fusiform gyrus was there an association between social anxiety ratings and amygdala response to both happy and fearful faces. The fusiform gyrus influence was more robust during the fear condition. Of note, fusiform gyrus response to fearful faces showed a negative correlation with additional behavioral assessments related to avoidance, including social anxiety scores, harm avoidance and sensitivity to punishment. Conclusions Relevant interactions among the emotional face-processing stages exist in the non-clinical range of social anxiety that may ultimately attenuate amygdala responses. Future research will help to establish the role of this effect in a clinical context.
Large Synoptic Survey Telescope: From Science Drivers to Reference Design

In the history of astronomy, major advances in our understanding of the Universe have come from dramatic improvements in our ability to accurately measure astronomical quantities. Aided by rapid progress in information technology, current sky surveys are changing the way we view and study the Universe. Next-generation surveys will maintain this revolutionary progress. We focus here on the most ambitious survey currently planned in the visible band, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). LSST will have unique survey capability in the faint time domain. The LSST design is driven by four main science themes: constraining dark energy and dark matter, taking an inventory of the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, and mapping the Milky Way. It will be a large, wide-field ground-based system designed to obtain multiple images covering the sky that is visible from Cerro Pachon in Northern Chile. The current baseline design, with an 8.4 m (6.5 m effective) primary mirror, a 9.6 deg{sup 2} field of view, and a 3,200 Megapixel camera, will allow about 10,000 square degrees of sky to be covered using pairs of 15-second exposures in two photometric bands every three nights on average. The system is designed to yield high image quality, as well as superb astrometric and photometric accuracy. The survey area will include 30,000 deg{sup 2} with {delta} < +34.5{sup o}, and will be imaged multiple times in six bands, ugrizy, covering the wavelength range 320-1050 nm. About 90% of the observing time will be devoted to a deep-wide-fast survey mode which will observe a 20,000 deg{sup 2} region about 1000 times in the six bands during the anticipated 10 years of operation. These data will result in databases including 10 billion galaxies and a similar number of stars, and will serve the majority of science programs. The remaining 10% of the observing time will be allocated to special programs such as Very Deep and Very Fast time domain surveys. We describe how the LSST science drivers led to these choices of system parameters.
A Communications Strategy for Kerbside Recycling

This paper is a case study that evaluated the effects of a communications campaign for increasing recycling rates and positively influencing recycling attitudes and the behaviour of residents in Rushcliffe. Household waste is growing by approximately 3% each year and there is a need for a planned and sustained strategy that is regularly evaluated and adapted in order to achieve positive environmental outcomes and a mutual understanding between a council and its residents. The research reported is longitudinal and involved large‐scale surveys that explored attitudes to the current refuse collection methods, the new recycling service and the effectiveness of the communications tools used.
Alcohol’s Effects on Female Reproductive Function

Mild-to-moderate alcohol use has numerous negative consequences for female reproductive function. Animal studies have shown that alcohol consumption disrupts female puberty, and drinking during this period also may affect growth and bone health. Beyond puberty, alcohol has been found to disrupt normal menstrual cycling in female humans and animals and to affect hormonal levels in postmenopausal women. Research has explored the mechanisms of these effects and the implications of these effects for bone health.
The Overhang Cost of Long and Short Term Debt in the Presence of Default Risk

This research studies the implications of short term debt for firm investment decisions on a sample of U.S. non-financial firms from 1985-2011. We argue that short term debt does not always help to reduce the overhang cost of leverage as is the case in Myers (1977) model. Our empirical results show that short term debt has a negative effect on subsequent investment, which is further amplified in the presence of high default risk. Moreover, a high proportion of short term debt also intensifies the negative impact of default risk on investment. This finding is consistent with our argument that short term debt overhang becomes more dominant than long term debt overhang when the firm faces high risk of bankruptcy. This finding provides another explanation for corporate failures during the 2007-2009 crisis in the U.S. It is the prolonged implications of the under-investment problem that delay recovery, and this problem is more severe for firms with short term debt because short term debt intensifies the negative impact of financial distress on firm investments. Finally, our results provide support for the model in Diamond and He (2011).
Autosomal dominant, familial spastic paraplegia, type I

Article abstract—“Familial spastic paraplegia” (FSP) refers to clinically and genetically diverse syndromes characterized by insidiously progressive lower extremity spasticity. We evaluated 126 members of a large kindred, including 31 affected subjects, in which FSP was transmitted as a stereotyped, autosomal dominant disorder that showed complete genetic penetrance. Affected subjects developed insidiously progressive gait disturbance between ages 12 and thirty-five. Neurologic examination revealed hyperreflexia and spasticity in the lower extremities, weakness of hip flexion and ankle dorsiflexion, extensor plantar response, diminished vibratory sense in the feet, and pes cavus. Using genetic linkage analysis, we excluded the FSPl locus on chromosome 14q 11.2 as the disease locus in this family. We present the clinical and genetic features of FSP type I, including the age-adjusted risk of developing the disorder in this family.
Review and Critical Assessment of Research on Marketing and the Environment

This paper provides a review and categorization of the environmentally related research published in the major English language marketing journals over the period from 1971 to 1997. It traces the development from the early research which focused predominantly on the characterization of the "green" consumer, conceptualization of environmental consciousness, environmentally related behaviours such as recycling, and attitudes towards environmental problems such as pollution. This was followed by a period in which energy conservation, legislation, and public policy issues were added to the agenda which remained predominantly managerialist in perspective. While the same issues were studied within the 1990s, the research agenda was expanded again to include broader issues such as environmental values and institutions. Most recently, the macro issues of sustainable marketing and its relationship to the dominant social paradigm have been introduced into the literature. The paper concludes by arguing that the exam.
A Service Perspective on the Drivers of Complaint Intentions

This study assesses the effects of service evaluations in a failed service experience on complaining intentions in a future encounter. A model is developed and tested that investigates the relationships between service quality, satisfaction, social justice, and future complaint intentions. A sample of 525 dissatisfied customers across numerous service industries is used to test the model. Results support the model and suggest that otherwise fair service in a failed service experience increases complaint intentions in future failed encounters. Specifically, the authors find that firms that are perceived to treat customers fairly during a service failure and that have employees perceived to be responsive are rewarded with higher future complaint intentions. They also find that service quality and satisfaction have significant, negative effects on future complaint intentions. Moderation analysis indicates that the findings do not depend on a customer’s attitude toward complaining. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Drivers of market orientation and performance in service firms

Service industries are undeniably important in the USA. They account for 72 percent of GNP and 76 percent of employment. In recent years, service firms have been experiencing a changing and increasingly competitive market place. Until now, few top management teams (TMTs) of service businesses have accorded all three aspects of market orientation (customer‐orientation, competitive orientation, and interfunctional co‐ordination) as much importance as have their colleagues in manufacturing. Using data obtained from a diverse set of service industries, e.g. law firms, accounting firms, automobile glass replacement specialists, medical group practices, and advertising companies, a structural equations model was developed and analyzed. Results revealed: a strong positive relationship between top management team (TMT) cohesiveness and market orientation; a strong positive relationship between both low environmental munificence and high dynamism with market orientation, and most significantly, a strong positive r.
Cosmetic dermatitis – current perspectives

Background Increasing use of cosmetics by modern society has contributed alarming to an rise in the incidence of cosmetic dermatitis (CD). The causative agents are skin, hair, nail and eye cosmetics. Reported cases of cosmetic dermatitis represent only the tip of the iceberg, as most patients who experience an adverse reaction to cosmetics do not consult a physician but discontinue using the suspected items.
National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in India - A Review

This paper presents results on the participation of rural workers in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Program based on a pilot survey of three villages in Udaipur district, Rajasthan, India. Three villages (Dhundiya, Karanpur and Prithvisingh Ji Ka Khera) were covered. Total number of households interviewed in December, 2007, was 340. Here the focus is on participation in NREG of different socio-economic groups and the determinants of the participation of these groups. It is discovered that the mean participation was 59 days and that targeting was efficient with other labour, self employed in agriculture, SC and ST as well as those with smaller landholdings benefiting the most from the program. Thus the performance of the National Rural Employment Guarantee program has been far from dismal.
Clostridium Difficile Associated with Typhlocolitis in an Adult Horse

after injection or may remain permanent in some animals. Permanent titers were not seen in our study. The CF titers of horses tested intrapalpebrally on a second occasion may not disappear as rapidly as suggested by this study. The observation of decreasing CF titers during repeated testing for a few weeks while refraining from additional mallein priming is an indication of the final response an animal may make. Other serologic methods, such as the ELISA and western blotting of proteins, are being investigated for potential replacement of the mallein test as a supplemental test for glanders. Acknowledgement. We thank Ms. Judy Nicholson for technical assistance.
The Evolution Of Digital Currencies: Bitcoin, A Cryptocurrency Causing A Monetary Revolution

Bitcoin was not the first attempt at a digital currency, but it has been the most successful and it is now being accepted by a number of major retailers. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and operates as a peer-to-peer network. Its security is guaranteed by cryptographic algorithms instead of governments and has the potential to become a major means of payment for e-commerce and may even materialize as a viable challenge to traditional money-transfer providers. Instead of serving one country or some countries, Bitcoin serves the entire world.
Comparative Analysis of the Bactericidal Activities of Amphibian Peptide Analogues against Multidrug-Resistant Nosocomial Bacterial Strains

ABSTRACT Due to the widespread resistance of bacteria to the available drugs, the discovery of new classes of antibiotics is urgently needed, and naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered promising candidates for future therapeutic use. Amphibian skin is one of the richest sources of such AMPs. In the present study we compared the in vitro bactericidal activities of five AMPs from three different species of anurans against multidrug-resistant clinical isolates belonging to species often involved in nosocomial infections (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Acinetobacter baumannii). The peptides tested were temporins A, B, and G from Rana temporaria; the fragment from positions 1 to 18 of esculentin 1b [Esc(1-18)] from Rana esculenta; and bombinin H2 from Bombina variegata. When they were tested in buffer, all the peptides were bactericidal against all bacterial species tested (three strains of each species) at concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 48 μΜ, with only a few exceptions. The temporins were found to be more active against gram-positive bacteria, especially when they were assayed in human serum; Esc(1-18) showed fast and strong bactericidal activity, within 2 to 20 min, especially against the gram-negative species, which were killed by Esc(1-18) at concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 1 μΜ; bombinin H2 displayed similar bactericidal activity toward all isolates. Interestingly, while the activities of the temporins and bombinin H2 were almost completely inhibited in the presence of 20% human serum, the activity of Esc(1-18) against the gram-negative species was partially preserved in the presence of 40% serum. This property renders this peptide an attractive molecule for use in the development of new compounds for the treatment of infectious diseases.