Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The interrelationships between relationship marketing constructs and customer engagement dimensions

ABSTRACT The study examines the interrelationships between selected relationship marketing constructs, namely customer satisfaction, trust, perceived value and commitment, and their effect on the dimensions underlying customer engagement. The study is quantitative and an explanatory research design was followed. A total of 489 self-administered questionnaires were collected from customers of short-term insurance providers on the basis of convenience. Customer satisfaction impacts positively on affective commitment and trust. Customer value also impacts positively on affective commitment and trust, while trust impacts positively on affective commitment. Affective commitment in turn impacts positively on the four customer engagement dimensions: interaction, attention, absorption and affection. The research findings offer an initial understanding of the interrelationships between key relationship marketing constructs and their ultimate effect on various customer engagement dimensions. These matters have received little attention in marketing research, and knowledge of the proposed relationships may lead to further research on this topic.
Energy Cost of Walking and Its Association With Gait Parameters, Daily Activity, and Fatigue in Persons With Mild Multiple Sclerosis

Background. Energy cost of walking (Cw) is elevated in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), perhaps because of gait impairment, and may impact daily activity and fatigue. Objective. The authors examined for associations between Cw, spatiotemporal gait parameters, daily activity, and perceived fatigue in persons with mild MS. Methods. Forty-four participants completed 4 trials of walking on a GAITRite mat and one 6-minute trial of walking on a treadmill at a constant, controlled speed of 54 m min−1 while expired gases were analyzed for oxygen consumption. Participants also completed the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and wore a waist-mounted accelerometer for 7 days. Results. C w was significantly and inversely associated with gait speed (r = −.25) and stride length (r = −.32) and positively associated with double limb support (r = .27). C w was significantly and inversely associated with daily accelerometer activity counts (r = −.35) and positively associated with FSS scores (ρ = .31). Conclusion. The results support the development and application of rehabilitation strategies to address impaired gait parameters as an approach to improve Cw, daily activities, and fatigue.
Long‐term follow‐up of immunosuppressive monotherapy in liver transplantation: tacrolimus and microemulsified cyclosporin

Cholongitas E, Shusang V, Germani G, Tsochatzis E, Raimondo ML, Marelli L, Senzolo M, Davidson BR, Patch D, Rolles K, Burroughs AK. Long‐term follow‐up of immunosuppressive monotherapy in liver transplantation: tacrolimus and microemulsified cyclosporin. Clin Transplant 2011: 25: 614–624. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Changing travel behaviour of high-speed rail passengers in China

ABSTRACT This paper studies the impact of high-speed rail on travellers’ behaviour in China through the study of travellers’ characteristics and their satisfaction with the railway. A sample of 328 passengers from the Shenzhen-Xiamen Railway (XSR) is surveyed by questionnaires. The results confirm that the XSR development has partly changed the respondents’ decision to take the railway or choose its tourism-related products. Socio-demographic characteristics including age, occupation, monthly personal income, and annual travel expenditure show a significant influence on the changed travel behaviour though the tendency of such influence is not very apparent. Convenience and comfort lead to travellers’ satisfaction and these two aspects shorten the duration of stay of travellers and provide more short-haul rail-connected destination options. However, railway satisfaction is not highly associated with XSR-related product and service provision, but is related to the condition and the quality of the railway itself.
On the Spatial Averaging of Multiple Narrowband Electromagnetic Field Measurements: Methods and Uncertainty Estimation

Methods of computational prediction can be used or specific measurements have to be performed for the estimation of human exposure to nonionizing electromagnetic fields at a certain place. According to the exposure standards, the predicted or the measured values have to be spatially averaged in an area representing the dimensions of the human body and compared with the adopted maximum permissible levels of exposure. In this paper, methods for spatial averaging nonionizing electromagnetic fields are discussed. Moreover, methods for estimating spatial average uncertainty of the total field strength values and of the summation of exposure quotients when narrowband measurements are performed in a multiple-frequency environment are proposed. Furthermore, since maximum field values have to be averaged according to the most widely accepted exposure standards, the traffic-dependent power level variation issue is also addressed. In particular, for GSM systems, an extrapolation method to the maximum possible field levels using data from real-time measurements when the frequency allocation per operator base station and the spatial distribution of the exposure sources are unknown is also proposed. Finally, an uncertainty estimation procedure associated to the extrapolated levels is presented.
An examination of the relationship between the disposition effect and stock return, volatility, and trading volume: the evidence in US stock markets

The disposition effect in stock markets is one of the most robust behavioural regularities documented in studies of trading behaviour. The aim of this study was to seek a direct link between the disposition effect and asset price dynamics. We connect our work to the theoretical literature on the implications of the disposition effect on stock return and test the relationship between the disposition effect and the volatility, trading volume and turnover. Using daily data of 432 stocks traded on the NYSE and NASDAQ during the 2006-2015 periods, we found a negative and significant correlation, as the theory requires. The regressions results show that the disposition proxy is associated with lower returns, less volatility and smaller trading volume at the stock level. These findings are coherent with the presence of a common disposition effect-related factor. The exposure of a stock to this factor is related to lower ex post returns.
[Nursing Activity Score (NAS). Our experience with a nursing load calculation system based on times].

INTRODUCTION The load calculation systems of nursing work in the ICU has not had the same success in its introduction as the prognostic survival estimation systems. It causes may be: a medical design not oriented towards nursing (Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System--TISS in all its versions), lack of adaptation to the calculating of staff (Nursing Manpower Use Score--NEMS, care levels) and demand for permanent technological up-dating. In 2003, NAS was published in an attempt to obviate all the problems expressed. Its result expresses the percentage of nursing work time required for attention to each patient. Our objective has been to apply the method in our ICU and evaluate its results. PATIENTS AND METHODS During the last quarter of 2004, NAS was systematically applied to all the patients admitted to our ICU, regardless of the reason for admission and stay time in the Unit. The analysis of this application was done by SPSS/PC 11. RESULTS NAS calculations of 350 patients, which represents 1880 total registers, were collected during the mentioned period. The NAS result of the first day was analyzed, 40.8 +/- 14.1, comparing it with its evolution during all the stay days of each patient, until reaching the ICU discharge date (39.3 +/- 12.7). The mean stay of our series has been 4.3 +/- 5.4 days during this period and the total accumulated NAS per patient was 196.2 +/- 279.8. There was no good correlation (R2: 0.273) between the NAS score on the first day of stay in the ICU but there was between total NAS and total stay of each case (R2: 0.958). Translated into times, this implies that one nurse can care for (by shift and average) 2.5 patients in our ICU. CONCLUSIONS This system adapts, without demands of periodic up-dating, to the real nursing work in the ICU. Its design is oriented to nursing work, regardless of the disease that justifies admission to the ICU. It is useful to adequately evaluate the nursing staff in the conventional ICU.
Gonadotrophin-releasing hormones agonist therapy increases peritoneal fibrinolytic activity and prevents adhesion formation after myomectomy

The aim of this study was to evaluate uterine adhesions after myomectomy and peritoneal fibrinolytic capacity in women treated with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) before surgery. A prospective observational study comprised 15 infertile women who underwent myomectomy. Before surgery, 10 were treated with buserelin acetate (900 μg/day) for 10 – 12 weeks followed by additional postoperative treatment with GnRHa for 4 weeks (GnRHa group) and five received no treatment (control group). Peritoneal fluid specimens were taken at the beginning of myomectomy and the adhesions were estimated by second-look surgery (caesarean section or laparoscopy). Levels of plasminogen activator (PA) and PA inhibitor (PAI) were determined by enzyme-immunosorbent assays. Pre- and postoperative GnRHa therapy significantly reduced adhesion formation compared with control groups (adhesion scores; 0.2 ± 0.4 vs. 2 ± 1, P < 0.0001). GnRHa group showed a significant decrease in PAI level (P < 0.0001) but no significant change in PA level, suggesting increased fibrinolytic capacity in peritoneal fluid from GnRHa-treated patients. These data suggest that GnRHa therapy is successful in preventing adhesion formation after myomectomy. GnRHa-induced shift to more fibrinolytic activity, mainly because of a decreased level of PAI, may play a critical role in the mechanism of the GnRHa's action on postoperative adhesion development.
Perceptions of Career and Technical Education by Pre-Service Students.

Agricultural education programs are one component of Career and Technical Education (CTE). For CTE to be effective, educators teaching CTE courses must be able to make connections between the curriculum and real-life situations. This qualitative study explored self-reported perceptions of CTE by pre-service students. Wigfield and Eccles’ expectancy-value model of achievement was used as the framework for this study. Findings indicated that career and technical education provides benefits for everyone because it helps develop career skills. With the shortage of educators and budget cuts, career and technical education cannot continue to survive. Participants also describe characteristics of successful career and technical education teachers.
Dietary sugars, serum and the biocide chlorhexidine digluconate modify the population and structural dynamics of mixed Candida albicans and Escherichia coli biofilms

Despite the increasing recognition of the role played by mixed species biofilms in health and disease, the behavior and factors modulating these biofilms remain elusive. We therefore compared the effect of serum, two dietary sugars (sucrose and galactose) and a biocide, chlorhexidine digluconate, on a dual species biofilm (DSB) of Candida albicans and Escherichia coli and, their single species biofilm (SSB) counterparts. Both modes of biofilm growth on polystyrene plastic surfaces were quantified using a viable cell count method and visualized using confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM). Present data indicate that co‐culture of C. albicans with varying initial concentrations of E. coli leads to a significant inhibition of yeast growth (r=−0.964; p<0.001). Parallel ultrastructural studies using CSLM and a Live/Dead stain confirmed that E. coli growth rendered blastospores and hyphal yeasts non‐viable in DSB. SSB of C. albicans showed pronounced growth when its growth surface was pretreated with serum and by sugar supplements in the incubating medium (p<0.05). Intriguingly, C. albicans in DSB was more resistant to the antiseptic effect of chlorhexidine digluconate. Taken together, the current data elucidate some features of the colonization resistance offered by bacteria in mixed bacterial/fungal habitats and how such phenomena may contribute to the development of fungal superinfection during antimicrobial therapy.
Everolimus and Mycophenolate Mofetil Sensitize Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells to Gemcitabine in vitro: A Novel Adjunct to Standard Chemotherapy?

Background/Aims: Gemcitabine improves survival in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. A variety of drugs have been tested to potentiate gemcitabine treatment for pancreatic cancer cells. Two major immunosuppressive drugs, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and everolimus (RAD001) have been shown to exert an anti-tumoral effect, but their ability to sensitize human pancreatic cell lines during gemcitabine treatment remains unclear. We examined the effects of everolimus and MMF on gemcitabine-treated MiaPaCa and Panc-1 cell lines. Methods: MiaPaCa and Panc-1 human pancreatic tumor cell lines were subjected to everolimus (0.001–1 µg/ml) or MMF (0.1–100 µg/ml) treatment in combination with gemcitabine (1–106 nM). Western blot analysis was performed for Panc-1 cells in the presence or absence of TGF-β1 and different treatments: 0.1–100 µg/ml MMF and 0.1–100 µg/ml everolimus. The antiproliferative effect of the treatment was assessed by BrdU test. The results were evaluated by two-way analysis of variance followed by post-hoc tests, and nonlinear regression analysis for dose-response rates. Results: As expected, standard treatment doses of gemcitabine decreased proliferation dose-dependently. Everolimus increased the actual EC50 response to gemcitabine treatment (1–103 nM) to as much as 83.1 and 82.1% in MiaPaCa and Panc-1 cell lines, respectively. Likewise, concomitant administration with MMF altered the EC50 of gemcitabine treatment in MiaPaCa cell lines to values between 76.8 and 85.2% for doses of ≧1 µg/ml. Even the minor dose of MMF (0.1 µg/ml) increased the antiproliferative effect of gemcitabine by 43.5% for MiaPaCa and 42.4% for Panc-1 cells. In addition, treatment of Panc-1 cells with MMF (0.1–100 µg/ml) dose-dependently inhibited TGF-β1-induced collagen expression. Conclusion: We found an overadditive antiproliferative effect of both MMF and everolimus in gemcitabine-treated MiaPaCa and Panc-1 cells in vitro, and an additional inhibitory effect of MMF on TGF-β1-induced collagen type I expression. Interestingly, both the sensitizing effect of pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine treatment and the inhibition of collagen type I expression could be achieved by clinically feasible doses of everolimus and MMF. The use of these drugs is promising as a novel adjunct to standard chemotherapy.
Membrane fusion of Semliki Forest virus involves homotrimers of the fusion protein

Infection of cells with enveloped viruses is accomplished through membrane fusion. The binding and fusion processes are mediated by the spike proteins in the envelope of the virus particle and usually involve a series of conformational changes in these proteins. We have studied the low-pH-mediated fusion process of the alphavirus Semliki Forest virus (SFV). The spike protein of SFV is composed of three copies of the protein heterodimer E2E1. This structure is resistant to solubilization in mild detergents such as Nonidet P-40 (NP40). We have recently shown that the spike structure is reorganized during virus entry into acidic endosomes (J. M. Wahlberg and H. Garoff, J. Cell Biol. 116:339-348, 1992). The original NP40-resistant heterodimer is dissociated, and the E1 subunits form new NP40-resistant protein oligomers. Here, we show that the new oligomer is represented by an E1 trimer. From studies that use an in vitro assay for fusion of SFV with liposomes, we show that the E1 trimer is efficiently expressed during virus-mediated membrane fusion. Time course studies show that both E1 trimer formation and fusion are fast processes, occurring in seconds. It was also possible to inhibit virus binding and fusion with a monoclonal antibody directed toward the trimeric E1. These results give support for a model in which the E1 trimeric structure is involved in the SFV-mediated fusion reaction.
Dynamics of debt accumulation : three essays in applied macroeconomics

Debt and credit markets played a crucial role in recent economic history. This thesis is composed of three chapters, each of which explores some drivers of private and public debt accumulation throughout the past decade. The first two chapters are directly linked, and study some behavioural determinants of household debt accumulation in the United States in the run-up to the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The third chapter takes a different perspective, and focuses on the political economy of fiscal reforms. In the first chapter, I study whether the growth in US household debt ahead of the 2007-2008 financial crisis can be attributed to shifts in the distribution of personal income across the US population. The underlying theoretical mechanism is based on the idea that if individuals are concerned with status, rising income inequality within a given social group might lead its relatively poorer members to consume a larger proportion of their resources, due to a desire to emulate the consumption levels of richer individuals (Duesenberry [1949]; Frank, Levine and Dijk [2014]; Bertrand and Morse [2016]). I test this hypothesis by exploiting statelevel variation in top incomes over time, following the methodology proposed by Bertrand and Morse [2016]. The results I present in this chapter challenge the status-emulation theory of consumer behaviour during the 2000s credit boom. I show that, between 1996 and 2007, only low and middle-income homeowners increased their expenditure and debt-to-income ratios as a response to an increase in income inequality in their state of residence. I also show that the growth in income inequality was strongly correlated with house prices growth, across US states and metropolitan areas. The positive correlation between inequality and household debt in the pre-crisis US might therefore be simply explained by the wealth and collateral effects experienced by low and middle-income homeowners living in areas where inequality was growing at the fastest rates. The lifting of credit constraints due to rising house prices have been a major driver of household debt accumulation ahead of the 2007-2008 financial crisis (Mian and Sufi [2011]). However, this effect might have been coupled with a generalized optimistic belief that the growth in house prices was likely to continue in the future (Case, Shiller and Thompson [2012]). The second chapter therefore tests whether consumers hold realistic expectations about the housing market, and whether this is a driver of their consumption and saving decisions. Using the Michigan Survey of Consumers, I show that American
[Cefixime, the first oral third-generation cephalosporin].

In the early 1980's parenteral third generation cephalosporins changed the hospital use of antibiotics. The MICs of these cephalosporins are several dozen times lower than those of first or second generation cephalosporins for Enterobacteriaceae and they are much more beta-lactamase stable than second generation cephalosporins. After years of research, is has finally been possible to develop orally active compounds possessing the same antibacterial activity as parenteral third generation cephalosporins, either through the use of prodrugs, or by modifying the molecular structure of drugs. Cefixime is an example of the latter. The vinyl group at the 3-position of the cephem nucleus is responsible for the intestinal absorption of the intact molecule, primarily by a carrier-mediated transport mechanism. The aminothiazole ring and the R-oxyimino group on the side-chain at the 7-position are associated with an antibacterial activity similar to that of third generation cephalosporins. Thousands of adults have been treated by cefixime for lower respiratory tract, ear-nose-throat and urinary tract infections, showing that cefixime is a safe and effective antimicrobial agent. The major clinical indications for cefixime in adults are bronchial and pulmonary infections, acute otitis or sinusitis, acute pyelonephritis with no underlying uropathy, and complicated or uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections excluding prostatitis. In all cases, the dosage is 200 mg b.i. d.
A less invasive treatment strategy to prevent intracranial hemorrhage in fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a less invasive treatment strategy results in a higher platelet count of the neonate and prevents intracranial hemorrhage in pregnant women who are at risk for fetal or neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia. STUDY DESIGN Between March 1989 and August 2000, 48 women with 56 pregnancies were treated. The population was divided into groups. A diagnostic fetal blood sample was taken in 7 cases that had a history of a sibling with an intracranial hemorrhage (group I; n = 8); treatment was provided, when necessary, with platelet transfusions and maternal administration of immunoglobulin. The other 48 cases, with a history of a sibling with severe thrombocytopenia but without intracranial hemorrhage, were retrospectively divided into group IIa (n = 16) and IIb (n = 32). In group IIa, at least 2 diagnostic fetal blood samples were taken, and when necessary, intrauterine platelet transfusion and immunoglobulin were administered (invasive treatment). In group IIb, no initial diagnostic fetal blood sampling was performed (noninvasive treatment). In 23 cases, immunoglobulin was administered, which was followed by predelivery fetal blood sampling in 8 cases. In 9 cases, only predelivery fetal blood sampling was performed, when necessary, followed by intrauterine platelet transfusion. RESULTS Results of our noninvasive treatment strategy were comparable to results of the invasive method in the prevention of intracranial hemorrhage (intracranial hemorrhage was not observed). In addition, there was an increasing trend in median platelet count and a lower number of cases with severe thrombocytopenia (<50 x 10(9)/L) in the noninvasive compared with the invasive treatment group (median platelet count, 92 and 31 x 10(9)/L, respectively). CONCLUSION Our results indicate that a less invasive treatment strategy in patients who are at risk for fetal or neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia and who have no history of a previous child who was affected with intracranial hemorrhage seems justified.
Does Insulin Removal Rate from Plasma Decline with Age?

The effect of age on the rate of insulin removal from plasma was studied in both rat and man. The experimental approach was based on measurement of the steady-state plasma insulin concentration achieved during a period in which endogenous insulin secretion was suppressed and exogenous insulin infused. Rats, 1½ and 12 mo of age, were infused with 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 μU/kg of insulin during a 180-min period in which endogenous insulin secretion was suppressed by epinephrine and propranolol. Steady-state plasma insulin concentrations were approximately twice as high in the older rats at every insulin infusion rate. Similar results were seen in man; significant correlations were observed between height of steady-state plasma insulin concentration and advancing age during infusion of exogenous insulin and suppression of endogenous insulin with either exogenous insulin (r = 0.66, P < 0.001) or epinephrine and propranolol (r = 0.47, P < 0.01). Since infusion rates of exogenous insulin were identical in all studies, these results suggest that there is an age-related decrease in insulin catabolism.