Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-model assessment of stratospheric ozone return dates and ozone recovery in CCMVal-2 models

Abstract. Projections of stratospheric ozone from a suite of chemistry-climate models (CCMs) have been analyzed. In addition to a reference simulation where anthropogenic halogenated ozone depleting substances (ODSs) and greenhouse gases (GHGs) vary with time, sensitivity simulations with either ODS or GHG concentrations fixed at 1960 levels were performed to disaggregate the drivers of projected ozone changes. These simulations were also used to assess the two distinct milestones of ozone returning to historical values (ozone return dates) and ozone no longer being influenced by ODSs (full ozone recovery). The date of ozone returning to historical values does not indicate complete recovery from ODSs in most cases, because GHG-induced changes accelerate or decelerate ozone changes in many regions. In the upper stratosphere where CO2-induced stratospheric cooling increases ozone, full ozone recovery is projected to not likely have occurred by 2100 even though ozone returns to its 1980 or even 1960 levels well before (~2025 and 2040, respectively). In contrast, in the tropical lower stratosphere ozone decreases continuously from 1960 to 2100 due to projected increases in tropical upwelling, while by around 2040 it is already very likely that full recovery from the effects of ODSs has occurred, although ODS concentrations are still elevated by this date. In the midlatitude lower stratosphere the evolution differs from that in the tropics, and rather than a steady decrease in ozone, first a decrease in ozone is simulated from 1960 to 2000, which is then followed by a steady increase through the 21st century. Ozone in the midlatitude lower stratosphere returns to 1980 levels by ~2045 in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and by ~2055 in the Southern Hemisphere (SH), and full ozone recovery is likely reached by 2100 in both hemispheres. Overall, in all regions except the tropical lower stratosphere, full ozone recovery from ODSs occurs significantly later than the return of total column ozone to its 1980 level. The latest return of total column ozone is projected to occur over Antarctica (~2045–2060) whereas it is not likely that full ozone recovery is reached by the end of the 21st century in this region. Arctic total column ozone is projected to return to 1980 levels well before polar stratospheric halogen loading does so (~2025–2030 for total column ozone, cf. 2050–2070 for Cly+60×Bry) and it is likely that full recovery of total column ozone from the effects of ODSs has occurred by ~2035. In contrast to the Antarctic, by 2100 Arctic total column ozone is projected to be above 1960 levels, but not in the fixed GHG simulation, indicating that climate change plays a significant role.
Sexual Dysfunctions in Patients with Neurodermatitis and Psoriasis

We investigated sexual dysfunction and accompanying depression in patients with neurodermatitis and psoriasis. Patients with neurodermatitis (n = 31) and psoriasis (n = 24) were compared to control cases (n = 33) with Beck depression scale (BDS) and Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX). Beck Depression Scale and ASEX scores varied between three groups. In two group comparisons, the neurodermatitis group had more sexual problems than the psoriasis group and the control group. Patients with neurodermatitis and psoriasis have sexual dysfunction and depression in the course of these chronic diseases and the higher frequency of sexual problems was seen in patients with neurodermatitis.
The Discovery and Exploitation of Opportunities in the Dairy Industry

This research takes an exploratory approach to look at the process of discovery of business opportunities and what firms in the dairy industry are doing to become more innovative. Data is collected through qualitative tools, including a semi-structured questionnaire through in-depth interviews of dairy producers from Saskatchewan, Canada and Aguascalientes, Mexico. Such data collection provides this research with specific insights as to how opportunities are discovered and through what process. It also indicates which managerial practices moderate the successful discovery and exploitation of business opportunities in the dairy industry.
Eosinophil inflammation of the nasal mucosa in allergic and non‐allergic rhinitis measured by eosinophil cationic protein levels in native nasal fluid and serum

Eosinophil inflammation is essential in many cases of allergic and non‐allergic rhinitis. Activated eosinophils release toxic granule proteins. In this study, we compared the degree of local nasal and systemic eosinophil activation by the determination of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) in serum and native nasal fluid from 119 patients. We found no significant differences in serum ECP levels of the various patient groups. In all patient groups, except in the vasomotor rhinitis group, nasal fluid ECP levels differed significantly from normal controls. We found a nasal fluid ECP (mean ± SEM) of 32·6 ± 81 ng/ml for normals, 106 ± 39·7 for non‐rhinitic atopics, 87·6 ± 20·8 ng/ml for patients with chronic non‐allergic sinusitis, 101·3 ± 40·4 ng/ml for patients with a history of pollinosis, 150·5 ± 35·1 ng/ml for patients with acute pollinosis, 84·7 ± 24·7 ng/ml for individuals with perennial allergic rhinitis and 112·9 ± 25·6 ng/ml for patients with both perennial and seasonal allergy. Patients with nasal polyps had mean nasal ECP levels of 146·9 ± 57·7 ng/ml in absence of allergy and 147·9 ± 54·9 ng/ ml in the presence of allergy. Nasal ECP was 67·0 ± 22·4 for patients with hyperreactive rhinitis. We found a significant correlation of 0·95 between nasal eosinophils and nasal ECP. Nasal ECP and a subjective symptom score only correlate significantly for chronic sinusitis. We conclude that monitoring native nasal fluid ECP levels may be useful in the diagnosis and mangement of nasal inflammation. Elevated ECP in nasal secretion may originate from upregulated eosinophil degranulation and thus is a marker for local inflammation although not specific for any particular nasal disease.
Managing Operational Risk : 20 Firmwide Best Practice Strategies

Introduction. Operational Risk Management 101: An Executive Summary. The Best Practice Strategies. What is Operational Risk? The Real Opportunity: Creating More Effective Companies. Operational Risk and Market Perception: Franchise, Reputation, and Brand Risk. The Enterprise-Wide Framework: Corporate Governance, Mandate, and Roles. The Operational Risk Management Group. Risk Response Framework and Strategies. Risk Assessment Strategies. Database and Consortia: Working Through the Details. Risk Indicators and Scorecards: Cornerstones for Operational Risk Monitoring. Operational Risk Analysis and Measurement: Practical Building Blocks. Dynamic Risk Profiling and Monitoring. Insurance and Operational Risks: Aligning Conventional Programs. Operational Risk Finance: The Re-Engineering Process. Economic Risk Capital Modeling: Allocation and Attribution. Regulatory Capital and Supervision. An Operational Risk Management Case Study: Managing Internet Banking Risk. Operational Risk Technology and Systems. The Game Plan and Action Steps. Additional Readings. Operational Risk Management: Bibliography of Sources. Endnotes. Index.
Customer Expectations of Service Quality in the Hotel Industry, Central Region of Ghana

To build a successful business in recent times, regardless of the industry; a company must effectively manage customer expectations. Customers have become more demanding because they have more alternatives than before. If a business cannot meet their expectations, they will go elsewhere. Based on this premise, this study, using an aspect of the SERVQUAL model sought to examine what the expectations of customers are and further employing multiple comparism analysis tests found that the difference between customers’ expectations in service quality and management’s perceptions of customers’ expectations of service quality in hotels in the Central Region was not significant but the ranking of the dimensions of customers’ expectations and what managers thought customers expected proved to be different. This implies that managers do not understand what customers expect. Consequently, their provision of quality service is challenged by this lack of knowledge.
The quality of care provided to patients with cirrhosis and ascites in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Ascites are the most common complication of cirrhosis. Evidence-based guidelines define the criteria and standards of care for patients with cirrhosis and ascites. However, little is known about the extent to which patients with ascites meet these standards. METHODS We evaluated the quality of ascites care, measured by 8 explicit Delphi panel-derived quality indicators, in 774 patients with cirrhosis and ascites, seen at 3 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers between 2000 and 2007. We also conducted a structured implicit review of patients' medical charts to determine whether patient refusal, outside care, or other justifiable exceptions to care processes account for nonadherence to the quality indicators. RESULTS Quality scores (maximum 100%) varied among individual indicators, ranging from 30% for secondary prophylaxis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, to 90% for assays for cell number and type in the paracentesis fluid. In general, care targeted at treatment was more likely to meet standards than preventive care. Only 33.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 29.9%-32.9%) of patients received all recommended care. Patients with no comorbidity (Deyo index 0 vs >3; odds ratio = 2.21; 95% CI: 1.43-3.43), who saw a gastroenterologist (odds ratio = 1.33; 95% CI, 1.01-1.74), or were seen in a facility with academic affiliation (odds ratio = 1.73; 95% CI: 1.29-2.35) received higher-quality care. Justifiable exceptions to indicated care, documented in charts, were common for patients with paracentesis after diagnosis with ascites, patients that received antibiotics for gastrointestinal bleeding, and patients that required diuretics. However, most patients did not have an explanation documented for nonadherence to recommended care. CONCLUSIONS Health care quality, measured by whether patients received recommended services, was suboptimal for patients with cirrhosis-related ascites. Care that included gastroenterologists was associated with high quality. However, for some of the quality indicators, too many denominator exceptions existed to allow for accurate automated measurement.
Ultrasound-induced cell permeabilisation and hyperthermia: Strategies for local delivery of compounds with intracellular mode of action

There is an increasing clinical need for novel, externally triggered, local drug delivery methods since many drugs are characterised by high systemic toxicity and/or suffer from limited bioavailability. Thermosensitive liposomes (TSLs) demonstrate great potential for local delivery and release of the payload. They are particularly effective in combination with ultrasound (US) under magnetic resonance (MR) guidance that is known to induce hyperthermia locally in a precisely controlled manner. Bioeffects of hyperthermia include increased blood flow, blood volume and enhanced vascular permeability thus potentiating anti-tumoural efficacy of TSLs. However, bioeffects of ultrasound are not limited to hyperthermia only, and under certain parameters may include locally enhanced extravasation and permeabilisation of cell membrane for compounds. This opens up opportunities for delivery of cell-impermeable and weakly permeable drugs that can be employed together with thermosensitive liposomes. In the latter case US-mediated cavitation and/or radiation forces local permeabilisation of the cells and US-induced hyperthermia releases the drug. This review focuses on bioeffects of US such as hyperthermia, enhanced extravasation and cell permeabilisation utilised for local drug delivery.
Characterization of AKR murine leukemia virus sequences in AKR mouse substrains and structure of integrated recombinant genomes in tumor tissues

A specific cDNA probe of AKR murine leukemia virus (AKR-MLV) was prepared to detect AKR-MLV sequences in normal and tumor tissues in a variety of AKR mouse substrains. AKR strains contained up to six endogenous AKR-MLV genomes. All substrains tested had one AKR-MLV locus in common, and closely related substrains had several proviruses integrated in an identical site. Virus-induced tumors in the AKR/FuRdA and AKR/JS strains showed a reintegration pattern of AKR-MLV sequences unique for the individual animal, suggesting a monoclonal origin for the outgrown tumors. An analysis of tumor DNAs from the AKR/FuRdA and AKR/JS substrains with restriction enzymes cleaving within the proviral genome revealed a new EcoRI restriction site and BamHI restriction site not present in normal tissues. The positions of these sites corresponded both with cleavage sites of EcoRI and BamHI in integrated Moloney recombinants and with the structure of isolated AKR mink cell focus-forming viruses. All tumors analyzed to data contain nearly identical integrated recombinant genomes, suggesting a causal relationship between the formation of recombinants and the leukemogenic process.
Do Firm Characteristics Influence Mutual Fund Performance? An Empirical Study for European Mutual Funds

This study investigates the influence of fund management firm characteristics on mutual fund performance. Using a sample of European-domiciled open-end equity funds for the period 1998-2008, this study finds that the funds of private companies have performed better than the funds of public companies. The degree of focus, the volume of assets under management, and the number of funds offered by a fund management firm also have a positive impact on fund performance. In addition to these four firm characteristics, we find that non-European and U.K. fund managers had better performing funds.
The impact of security and its antecedents in behaviour intention of using e-government services

ABSTRACT One of the main challenges associated with e-government adoption is lack of security. Thus, the aim of this research is to investigate the role of security in e-government adoption by integrating security, trust and privacy with the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2). In addition, this research will also investigate the factors that influence the end users’ perception of e-government security. Thus, the research starts with a qualitative study to investigate security antecedents, and this is followed by a quantitative study to validate the qualitative study and determine the role of security in e-government adoption. Data from 625 Saudi citizens were gathered and used in the model assessment. The findings show that user interface quality, security culture and cybersecurity law positively affect security perception. In addition, security perception was found to have a strong effect on trust. Trust is ranked as the third most critical factor affecting behaviour intention after performance expectance and habit. The results make a significant contribution to academic research and have practical implications regarding understanding the role of security in e-government adoption and the factors that affect end users’ perception in e-government security.
May-Thurner syndrome complicating pregnancy: a report of four cases.

BACKGROUND May-Thurner syndrome is a common anatomic variant associated with deep venous thrombosis. There are few reports describing implications for and management in pregnancy. CASES We performed a retrospective review and description of 4 women with May-Thurner syndrome receiving complete or consultative obstetrical care in our practice. Presentations included (1) previous stroke from presumed paradoxical embolus, (2) chronic lower extremity venous congestion treated prepregnancy with stenting, (3) prior iliac thrombosis treated with thrombolysis, anticoagulation, and stenting, and (4) active third trimester iliac thrombosis. The first 3 patients received prophylactic anticoagulation, while the fourth was fully anticoagulated. CONCLUSION May-Thurner is an underappreciated cause of deep venous thrombosis in reproductive-aged women. Awareness may lead to improved recognition, treatment, and fewer long-term sequelae.
Environmental Scanning in Thai Food SMEs: The Impact of Technology Strategy and Technology Turbulence

Purpose – Some small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Thai food industry put a lot of effort into keeping up with changes of consumption patterns locally and in the South East Asia region. To see how successfully they are able to create competitive advantage, aims to examine the impact of environmental scanning practices on new product development (NPD) outcomes among SMEs in the Thai food industry. The technology strategy of the company influences how much it uses environmental scanning, and technology turbulence can play a role in exactly how critical is good knowledge of the external environment.Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research was conducted using semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with food experts and SME owners.Findings – Results suggest that SMEs that practice environmental scanning are better able to develop appropriate new food products. Technology strategy plays a role in how much scanning they use, with a more proactive technology strategy requiring more extensive s.
Teaching physical computing in family workshops

F amily workshops in which children together with a parent learn basic physical computing concepts and programming have proven very successful in popularizing computing in Santa Catarina/Brazil. During the hands-on workshops, participants learn step-by-step how to “give life” to an interactive superhero robot through a simple, low-cost, platform-independent, reliable, and stable strategy integrating a microcontroller, a few hardware parts and block-based visual programming languages. The results of several of these family workshops in Santa Catarina indicate that the workshops enable the learning of basic computing concepts (specifically programming) besides providing additional benefits through the involvement of the families.
Looking Into Saliency Model via Space-Time Visualization

We introduce a visual analytics method to analyze eye-tracking data and saliency models for dynamic stimuli, such as video or animated graphics. The focus lies on the analysis of the different performance of saliency models in contrast to human observers to identify trends in the general viewing behavior, including time sequences of attentional synchrony and objects with a strong attentional focus. By using a space-time cube visualization in combination with clustering, the dynamic stimuli and associated eye gazes as well as the attention maps from saliency models can be analyzed in a static three-dimensional representation. We propose algorithms to keep the appearance of the computer's attention data in line with the human's eye-tracking data. The analytical process is supported by multiple coordinated views that allow the user to focus on different aspects of spatial and temporal information in eye gaze data and saliency map. By comparing attention data from both human and computer incorporated with the spatiotemporal characteristics, we are able to find the different patterns within human and computer algorithms. We list our key findings to help developing better saliency detection algorithms.
No Association of Type 1 Diabetes with a Microsatellite Marker for CTLA-4 in a Japanese Population

Susceptibility to insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes mellitus is determined by both environmental and genetic factors. The primary gene associated with predisposition to type 1 diabetes is the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II gene (IDDM1). Recent studies have described linkage and association of type 1 diabetes to the cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) gene (IDDM12)m Caucasians. CTLA-4 is a candidate gene for T-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases because it is a negative regulator of T-cell proliferation. We investigated distribution of a CTLA-4 (AT)n microsatellite marker in 118 Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes and 195 control subjects. We also investigated association between this CTLA-4 gene polymorphism and GAD65 antibody positivity in 103 of the patients. CTLA-4 microsatellite marker loci were determined by polymerase chain reaction amplification of genomic DNA and resolution of the products on sequencing gels. GAD65 antibody was detected by radioligand binding assay. There was no significant difference in the distribution of CTLA-4 alleles between patients and controls, and no difference was observed in the prevalence of CTLA-4 alleles when GAD65 antibody-positive and -negative individuals with the type 1 diabetes were compared. The present study did not support an association between the CTLA-4 microsatellite marker and type 1 diabetes in our Japanese study population
Identification of a new promoter upstream of the murine dihydrofolate reductase gene

In vitro reactions identified a transcription initiation site located 740 nucleotides upstream of the dihydrofolate reductase translational start. Transcription from this site proceeded in the direction opposite to that of dihydrofolate reductase mRNA. Deletion mapping indicated that this new promoter can be separated from the dihydrofolate reductase promoter and that separation increased transcription at -740. Transcripts that initiate at -740 were also detected in cellular RNA, indicating that this is a bona fide transcription initiation site in vivo.
[Comparison between tympanoplasties with cartilage-perichondrium composite graft and temporal fascia graft in terms of hearing levels and healing].

OBJECTIVES We compared the extent of healing and hearing improvement following tympanoplasties performed with the use of cartilage-perichondrium composite grafts and temporalis muscle fascia grafts. PATIENTS AND METHODS Fifty consecutive patients (22 males, 28 females; mean age 30+/-14 years; range 11 to 63 years) with chronic otitis media were divided into two groups to receive cartilage-perichondrium composite grafts or temporal muscle fascial grafts. All the patients were evaluated by pure-tone audiometry and otomicroscopic examination in the 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 12th months. RESULTS At the end of the first year, graft survival was 92% in the cartilage group, and 85% in the fascia group. Hearing levels improved at the end of the first year; however, the two groups did not differ significantly in terms of hearing improvement and graft survival. Hearing gains were greater in central and subtotal perforations. In comparison with a steady increase in the cartilage group, hearing levels remained unchanged after the sixth month in the fascia group. CONCLUSION Cartilage-perichondrium composite grafts may be easily and safely used in type I tympanoplasties, with successful results including hearing improvement.