Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Obesity, hypertension, and the risk of kidney cancer in men.

BACKGROUND Obesity and hypertension have been implicated as risk factors for the development of renal-cell cancer. METHODS We examined the health records of 363,992 Swedish men who underwent at least one physical examination from 1971 to 1992 and were followed until death or the end of 1995. Men with cancer (renal-cell cancer in 759 and renal-pelvis cancer in 136) were identified by cross-linkage of data with the nationwide Swedish Cancer Registry. Poisson regression analysis was used to estimate relative risks, with adjustments for age, smoking status, body-mass index, and diastolic blood pressure. RESULTS As compared with men in the lowest three eighths of the cohort for body-mass index, men in the middle three eighths had a 30 to 60 percent greater risk of renal-cell cancer, and men in the highest two eighths had nearly double the risk (P for trend, <0.001). There was also a direct association between higher blood pressures and a higher risk of renal-cell cancer (P for trend, <0.001 for diastolic pressure; P for trend, 0.007 for systolic pressure). After the first five years of follow-up had been excluded to reduce possible effects of preclinical disease, the risk of renal-cell cancer was still consistently higher in men with a higher body-mass index or higher blood pressure. At the sixth-year follow-up, the risk rose further with increasing blood pressures and decreased with decreasing blood pressures, after adjustment for base-line measurements. Men who were current or former smokers had a greater risk of both renal-cell cancer and renal-pelvis cancer than men who were not smokers. There was no relation between body-mass index or blood pressure and the risk of renal-pelvis cancer. CONCLUSIONS Higher body-mass index and elevated blood pressure independently increase the long-term risk of renal-cell cancer in men. A reduction in blood pressure lowers the risk.
Suxamethonium – Electromyographic Studies in Children

Suxamethonium was administered to 225 children aged from one to sixteen years, in doses varying from 0.1 to 0.5 mg/kg. Dose responses were determined. ED95 was 445 μg/kg in one to four year olds, 454 μg/kg in the five to ten years group and 270 μg/kg in eleven to fifteen year olds (P < 0.05). There is a wider variability in patient responses to 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg than to the higher doses. Sixty-two children in the three age groups were given suxamethonium 1 mg/kg. The time from injection to maximum block and to 50% recovery increased with increasing age (P< 0.05).
Journal of Applied Medical Sciences ( SJAMS ) ISSN 2320-6691 ( Online )

Many imaging modalities are available for the evaluation of the temporal bone of which high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) plays a crucial role in demonstrating the detailed anatomy of the temporal bone and assessing the disease extent. Careful and thorough evaluation is needed for middle and inner ear lesions for the early diagnosis and treatment of the disease, to prevent complications and to determine the best surgical approach. The purpose of this study is primarily to understand the capability of HRCT in diagnosis and detection of pathologies of the temporal bone.
Cytoreductive antitumor activity of PF-2341066, a novel inhibitor of anaplastic lymphoma kinase and c-Met, in experimental models of anaplastic large-cell lymphoma

A t(2;5) chromosomal translocation resulting in expression of an oncogenic kinase fusion protein known as nucleophosmin-anaplastic lymphoma kinase (NPM-ALK) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL). PF-2341066 was recently identified as a p.o. bioavailable, small-molecule inhibitor of the catalytic activity of c-Met kinase and the NPM-ALK fusion protein. PF-2341066 also potently inhibited NPM-ALK phosphorylation in Karpas299 or SU-DHL-1 ALCL cells (mean IC50 value, 24 nmol/L). In biochemical and cellular screens, PF-2341066 was shown to be selective for c-Met and ALK at pharmacologically relevant concentrations across a panel of >120 diverse kinases. PF-2341066 potently inhibited cell proliferation, which was associated with G1-S–phase cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis in ALK-positive ALCL cells (IC50 values, ∼30 nmol/L) but not ALK-negative lymphoma cells. The induction of apoptosis was confirmed using terminal deoxyribonucleotide transferase–mediated nick-end labeling and Annexin V staining (IC50 values, 25–50 nmol/L). P.o. administration of PF-2341066 to severe combined immunodeficient-Beige mice bearing Karpas299 ALCL tumor xenografts resulted in dose-dependent antitumor efficacy with complete regression of all tumors at the 100 mg/kg/d dose within 15 days of initial compound administration. A strong correlation was observed between antitumor response and inhibition of NPM-ALK phosphorylation and induction of apoptosis in tumor tissue. In addition, inhibition of key NPM-ALK signaling mediators, including phospholipase C-γ, signal transducers and activators of transcription 3, extracellular signal-regulated kinases, and Akt by PF-2341066 were observed at concentrations or dose levels, which correlated with inhibition of NPM-ALK phosphorylation and function. Collectively, these data illustrate the potential clinical utility of inhibitors of NPM-ALK in treatment of patients with ALK-positive ALCL. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(12):3314–22]
Key Elements in Building Relationships in the Higher Education Services Context

In a context of globalized higher education, new stakeholders have emerged, and building stronger relationships between them is of the utmost relevance in today's environment. The approach from the graduate perspective helps reinforce bonds and manage lifelong learning in an innovative way. This study empirically tests a model that includes variables such as university image, student–professor interaction, satisfaction, identification, and loyalty, which are topics of increasing relevance for competitive and innovative universities. The results show the relationships among the variables, which can explain loyalty behavioral intentions. The article concludes with the managerial implications of the study.
Director Networks, Firm Performance, and Shareholder Base

Although often criticized for their inefficiency, director networks are observed in many economies of the world. This raises two questions: What is the empirical effect of director networks on firm performance and what are the determinants of director networks? We empirically examine both issues drawing on a unique dataset covering German firms from 1999 to 2007. We find that network embeddedness negatively affects firm performance. Moreover, while foreign investors actively disentangle the network, German institutional investors foster it. Our findings are consistent with the social class hypothesis arguing that well-connected directors feel more committed to their network than to the firms in which they sit on the board. Our findings have important implications for corporate governance research and the regulation of capital markets.
Comparison of reaction forces on the anterior cruciate and anterolateral ligaments during internal rotation and anterior drawer forces at different flexion angles of the knee joint

Having a complicated anatomy, the knee joint has been further detailed and a new formation defined, the anterolateral ligament (ALL), in recent studies. While the importance of this ligament, which previously was associated with Segond fractures, was explained via clinical, radiologic and biomechanical studies, and basically, is thought to be a fixator structures for the tibia against internal rotation stress. Although in recent studies efficient surgical treatment was applied to patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) operation, some patients having a positive pivot test highlights the clinical importance of the ALL. The aim of this study is to evaluate reaction forces of different flexion angles on the tibia during internal rotation and anterior drawer tests on both the ALL and ACL, and to examine theimportance of this ligament in knee biomechanics by a finite element analysis method.
Image motion analysis using inertial sensors

Understanding the motion of a camera from only the image(s) it captures is a di cult problem. At best we might hope to estimate the relative motion between camera and scene if we assume a static subject, but once we start considering scenes with dynamic content it becomes di cult to di↵erentiate between motion due to the observer or motion due to scene movement. In this thesis we show how the invaluable cues provided by inertial sensor data can be used to simplify motion analysis and relax requirements for several computer vision problems. This work was funded by the University of Bath.
Treating coronaries, at home or away?

Direct angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction is either an unnecessary luxury or the greatest thing since sliced bread, depending on your persuasion.1 It has been argued by proponents of thrombolysis that it is impractical to consider angioplasty in most instances because the majority of patients with acute infarction present to hospitals without the facilities to perform it. In this edition of Heart , Zijlstra et al challenge this premise.2 They compared the outcome of 104 patients with acute infarction referred for direct angioplasty from peripheral hospitals, with 416 patients who presented to the tertiary institution. Despite the fact that the patients transferred were generally of higher risk, they did just as well as those who presented directly. Importantly, the overall ischaemic time was similar in both groups. Careful organisation meant that the time lost in transportation was made up by avoiding delays in vacating catheter laboratories. There are obvious limitations to the study that the authors acknowledge. Essentially it was a non-randomised, retrospective audit, conducted in a demographically compact part of the Netherlands. For more than 90% of patients, the distance between the hospitals was less than 50 km. Restoration of coronary flow was achieved in 78% of the transferred group …
Use of general medical services among Medicaid patients with severe and persistent mental illness.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine patterns of use of general medical services among persons with a severe and persistent mental illness enrolled in Medicaid from 1996 to 1998. METHODS A total of 669 persons with a severe and persistent mental illness were identified by using statewide clinical criteria. A three-year database of Medicaid claims was developed to examine service use. The main outcome measures were use of outpatient services for a general medical problem, use of dental and vision services, and use of screening tests for women. Service use was examined by primary psychiatric diagnosis (schizophrenic, affective, paranoid, and anxiety disorders), and analyses controlled for the presence of a chronic medical condition, age, race, and sex. RESULTS This study found high levels of service use for outpatient services but very low levels for primary and preventive services. Although 78 percent of persons with a schizophrenic disorder had an office-based visit during the three-year period, all persons with an anxiety disorder had such a visit. Sixty-nine percent of persons with a schizophrenic disorder had at least one emergency department visit, whereas 83 percent of those with an anxiety disorder had such a visit. Dental and vision visits and the use of mammograms and pap tests followed the same pattern; persons with a schizophrenic disorder had fewer visits and had less overall use than the other diagnostic groups. The use patterns across the four groups were significantly different in outpatient service use, dental and vision service use, and screening tests for women. Compared with persons with a schizophrenic disorder, those with an anxiety disorder were more likely to have had an office-based visit and to have received vision services, those with a paranoid disorder were more likely to have used dental services or received a mammogram, and those with an affective disorder were more likely to have had a pap test. CONCLUSION Although this group of Medicaid patients with severe and persistent mental illness had access to providers, they received an unacceptably low level of preventive care. Use of health services for general medical problems differed somewhat by primary psychiatric illness.
U.K. cross-sectional equity data: The case for robust investability filters

We propose a novel approach to cross-sectional equities sample selection, derived from best market practice in index construction and focused on investability. Using the U.K. market as a template, we first demonstrate how the popular Datastream dataset is plagued by data deficiencies that would surely invalidate statistical inferences, and that are not addressed by commonly used filters. We show the benefits and need for a supplementary data source. We then develop robust investability filters to ensure statistical results from cross-sectional analysis are economically meaningful, an issue overlooked by most studies on cross-sectional risk pricing
Gender differences in minor morbidity among full time employees of a British university.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine gender differences in minor morbidity among men and women working in similar circumstances, and to test whether the relation between reported working conditions and health is similar for men and women. DESIGN: Multivariate analysis of data collected from a postal questionnaire distributed to full time employees in white collar jobs within a single organisation. SETTING: A British university. PARTICIPANTS: 1641 employees (1009 men and 632 women) working full time in white collar occupations in the university. MAIN RESULTS: Overall, female university employees reported more "physical" symptoms (2.0 v 1.7, p < 0.001) and more "malaise" symptoms (1.4 v 1.1, p < 0.001) than male employees, but mean scores on a measure of minor psychiatric morbidity did not differ by gender. Poor perceived working conditions (and particularly lack of job stimulation, job drain and poor physical conditions) were consistently related to all three measures of minor morbidity, and these variables accounted for most of the variance in these health measures in this sample. When the analysis controlled for occupational grade, perceived working conditions and orientation to gender roles, there was no difference between men and women for any of the health measures. The relations for the predictor variables were generally the same for men and women (and there were no interactions with gender for any of the work related variables). CONCLUSIONS: Although small gender differences in recent experience of malaise and physical symptoms remain when examining men and women in as similar working circumstances as possible, these differences are cumulatively eroded by taking account of occupational grade, reported working conditions and orientation to gender. These results lend support to a differential exposure, rather than a differential vulnerability, model of gender differences in health.
Understanding the high profitability of Chinese banks

The big Chinese state-owned banks came as winners out of the global financial crisis. According to the Banker ranking, Chinese banks led the global banking profitability ranking through the years from 2008 to 2010 and contributed one fifth of global banking profits in 2010. The Chinese banking sector, which was deemed as wholly insolvent ten years ago, was reborn like a phoenix from the fire of the Asian financial crisis and the current financial crisis. The banking reform in the last decade with large-scale capital injection, assets carve-outs, restructuring and public listing celebrated great success. However, the low efficiency in Chinese banks is still persistent, as evident in many empirical studies (e.g. Feyzioglu, (2009)). The contradiction of high profitability and low efficiency causes great confusion in understanding banking in China. Our paper aims to reveal the real sources of the high profitability of the big Chinese banks. We compare their profitability pattern with peer banks from Asia, Europe and North America. We first test the hypothesis that the average asset return of the big five Chinese banks will fall below the international comparative level if the current high net interest margin given by the managed interest system in China falls to the international peer average level. Surprisingly, the hypothesis has to be rejected. Instead, our results show that the profitability of Chinese banks stays at international comparative level, despite the high inefficiency in Chinese banks. We therefore test a second hypothesis stating that the profitability of Chinese banks will fallbelow their international peers if staff costs increase by 30 percent in average to reach the international level, with the joint condition of margin decrease. This hypothesis can be proved, which means that the big five Chinese banks compensate its inefficiency by a combination of a non-competitive high interest margin and unsustainable lower labor cost. The above results of course raise the question how the big Chinese banks can stay competitive if China continues to liberalize its interest rate system and labor cost increases. In our concluding remarks, we discuss the possibility that Chinese banks change their business model towards universal banking with additional non-interest income to compensate the drop in interest margin.
Payout Policy in Taiwan: Cash Dividends, Stock Repurchases and Capital Reduction

Taiwanese firms sometimes make stock repurchases or reduce capital as alternative forms of paying earnings in place of distributing cash dividends. Yet, distributing dividends is still the dominant payout form. In addition, we find some impressive evidence on Taiwan market. First, both the number of payout firms and the aggregate amount of payout value stably and significantly increase. Second, both earnings and payouts are highly concentrated among the largest firms. Third, payout firms are characterized by high profitability, large size and lower leverage, while no evidence of low growth is found among these firms. Forth, payout firms have significantly higher retained earnings to equity ratio, supporting the life-cycle theory of DeAngelo, DeAngelo and Stulz (2006). Fifth, firms making repurchases without distributing dividends seem to be less mature with lower retained earnings to equity ratio. Finally, firms reducing capital through repurchasing in the market are less mature than firms doing it through distributing cash to the shareholders. Hence, the last two findings provide further support for the life-cycle theory.
Aortic aneurysmal disease and cutis laxa caused by defects in the elastin gene

Background: Cutis laxa is an acquired or inherited condition characterized by redundant, pendulous and inelastic skin. Autosomal dominant cutis laxa has been described as a benign disease with minor systemic involvement. Objective: To report a family with autosomal dominant cutis laxa and a young girl with sporadic cutis laxa, both with variable expression of an aortic aneurysmal phenotype ranging from mild dilatation to severe aneurysm or aortic rupture. Methods and results: Histological evaluation of aortic aneurysmal specimens indicated classical hallmarks of medial degeneration, paucity of elastic fibres, and an absence of inflammatory or atherosclerotic lesions. Electron microscopy showed extracellular elastin deposits lacking microfibrillar elements. Direct sequencing of genomic amplimers detected defects in exon 30 of the elastin gene in affected individuals, but did not in 121 normal controls. The expression of mutant elastin mRNA forms was demonstrated by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis of cutis laxa fibroblasts. These mRNAs coded for multiple mutant tropoelastins, including C-terminally truncated and extended forms as well as for molecules lacking the constitutive exon 30. Conclusions: ELN mutations may cause severe aortic disease in patients with cutis laxa. Thus regular cardiac monitoring is necessary in this disease to avert fatal aortic rupture.
Harmful Interactions of Non-Essential Heavy Metals with Cells of the Innate Immune System

In trace amounts, some heavy metals are essential for optimum health, while exposure to others, which are non-essential, presents the potential hazard of acute or chronic organ toxicity. Cadmium, mercury, lead, vanadium, platinum and palladium are commonly encountered, non-essential heavy metals which mediate their toxic activities by various mechanisms. All have the potential to interact with extracellular and intracellular protein sulfhydryls, rendering them not only potentially allergenic, but also predisposing to oxidative stress, while displacement of essential elements from their protein carriers may result in deficiency disorders. In addition, several of these metals, especially cadmium, palladium, platinum, and vanadium interact pro-oxidatively with the phagocytic cells of the innate immune system, potentiating the reactivity and toxicity of phagocyte-derived reactive oxygen species. This review is focused on the pro-oxidative/pro-inflammatory interactions of non-essential heavy metals with the cells of the innate immune system, a somewhat under-appreciated mechanism of metal induced toxicity.
THE ROLE OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT ON STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY IN KENYA

Since performance management plays a vital role in strategy implementation, the extent to which an organization has been able to maintain a proper performance management system will have a direct impact on the success of implementing strategy. This study aimed to assess the role of performance management on strategy implementation. The general objective of this study is to determine the role of performance management on strategy implementation in the insurance industry in Kenya. The study was guided by the following research objectives performance contracting, performance monitoring, performance evaluation, performance related compensation, employee development plans and commitment of top level management. The study was limited to the Insurance companies in Kenya. This study adopted a descriptive survey design. To ensure fair representation and generalization of finding to the general population, stratified sampling methods were used; specifically random stratified sampling technique which will ensure different subgroups of the employees’ fraternity in the selected 5 insurance companies within Nairobi County are represented in the study. Primary data was collected through questionnaires which contained questions designed to elicit data in accordance with the research questions. The questionnaire contained both open and close ended questions. The regression model shows that, a goodness of fit as indicated by the coefficient of determination r² with value of 0.605. This implies that independent variables performance monitoring, performance evaluation; performance related compensation and employee development plans explain 60.5% of the variations as a result of the factors affecting the implementation of strategic plan in insurance industry in Kenya. 39.5% of variations are brought about by factors not captured in the objectives. The data findings analyzed also shows that taking all other independent variables at zero, a unit increase in performance monitoring will lead to a 0.191 increase in effect on strategy implementation. A unit increase in performance evaluation will lead to a 0.466 increase in effect on strategy implementation; a unit increase in employee development plans will lead to a 0.063 increase in effect strategy implementation while a unit increase in performance related compensation will lead to a 0.233 increase in effect on implementation of strategy implementation.