Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Good Maintenance of High‐Impact Activity‐Induced Bone Gain by Voluntary, Unsupervised Exercises: An 8‐Month Follow‐up of a Randomized Controlled Trial

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether premenopausal women's voluntary unsupervised aerobic and step training could maintain the skeletal benefits obtained by an 18‐month supervised high‐impact training, and if so, to what extent. Thirty women of the original 39 study subjects (i. e., persons who completed the preceding 18‐month randomized training intervention and who volunteered to continue the training on their own for a further 8 months) and 19 women of the 45 original control subjects (i.e., persons who volunteered to continue as controls) were included. The study group trained an average of twice per week and the training consisted of regular aerobic and step classes provided by local fitness centers. Areal bone mineral density (BMD, g/cm2) was measured from the lumbar spine, femoral neck, trochanter area of the femur, distal femur, patella, proximal tibia, calcaneus, and dominant distal radius at baseline and after 18 and 26 months. During the extended 8‐month follow‐up, the BMD of the study group increased more at the femoral neck (the intergroup change was +0.9% at 18 months and +2.8% at 26 months, p = 0.004 for the change between 18 and 26 months) and remained at the 18‐month level at the distal femur, patella, proximal tibia, and calcaneus. In these sites, the statistically significant changes during the entire 26 months of training were 1.7–4.0% in the training group as compared with the changes of −0.9–1.5% in the control group. In the lumbar spine, BMD decreased from the 18‐month level in both groups. In conclusion, the significant BMD increases that were obtained by supervised 18‐month high‐impact training were effectively maintained with subsequent unsupervised regular aerobic and step classes (twice per week). The finding emphasizes the effectiveness and feasibility of self‐controlled aerobic and step exercises in the primary prevention of osteoporosis among healthy premenopausal women.
Cross-cultural and cognitive aspects of web site navigation

The Web is intrinsically a global medium. Consequently, deciding how a Web site should express potentially culturespecific content to worldwide visitors is an important consideration in Web site design. In this article, the authors examine some of the site content characteristics that can lead Web site visitors to an optimal navigation experience, or flow, in a cross-cultural context. In particular, a cognitive framework focuses on the effect of culture on attitudes toward the site and flow. The authors suggest that the congruity of a Web site with a visitor’s culture is a site content characteristic that influences the likelihood of experiencing flow. The authors develop a conceptual model to account for the impact of culture and other site content characteristics on flow and describe preliminary evidence supporting their model.
International marketing behaviour amongst exporting firms

Purpose – The increasing internationalisation and globalisation of business has forced many firms to reconsider what contributes to international success. The purpose of this paper is to study international marketing behaviour of firms within the exporting industry.Design/methodology/approach – The main study was conducted by a questionnaire within the Swedish manufacturing industry with respect to firms' exports to Europe. Data was then analysed in relation to four areas – export stimuli, factors affecting market entry, market barriers and need for changes in the marketing strategy.Findings – The findings in this study indicate no general difference in the international marketing behaviour among small and large firms. The main factors affecting market entry relate to proximity due to local representation and a need for service in the local market. The main obstacles are administrative and technical impediment and a fierce competitive situation. Changing market conditions also have an impact on a need to .
Seasoned Capital Offerings: Earnings Management and Long-Run Operating Performance of Indian Firms

The present study examines the behavior of seasoned offering firms surrounding their issue period for the capital issues offered during the period 1995-96 to 1998-99. Analysis of earnings management practices of firms though show apparent differences in terms of discretionary current accruals between issuers and non-issuers as well as between debt issuers and equity issuers, these differences are not statistically significant. This finding is consistent with Korean findings of Yoon and Miller (2002). Perhaps earnings management is all pervasive and is not just confined to seasoned offering firms in emerging markets unlike the markets in developed countries. Analysis of adjusted operating performance of firms show important differences for equity offering and debt offering seasoned firms. Similarly earnings management appears to have negative impact on the immediate post-issue operating performance while in the long-term it appears to have a positive impact for equity issuers. The latter result contradicts the findings of Rangan (1998) and Teoh et, al (1998). Analysis of influence of earnings management on stock market performance of seasoned offerings shows insignificant role of discretionary current accruals in explaining post-issue stock returns. Similarly analysis of determinants of SEO decision shows that run up in adjusted operating performance prior to offer has no impact - thus contradicting the view that seasoned offerings are timed to meet better operating performance - and that information asymmetry has positive influence on the decision to issue seasoned equity.
The Oxidant and Antioxidant Status in Pityriasis Rosea

Background: Pityriasis rosea (PR) is usually an asymptomatic and self-limiting papulosquamous skin disease with acute onset. The etiology has not been clarified yet. Recently, increased oxidative stress was found to play a role in etiopathogenesis of multiple cutaneous diseases with T cell-mediated immune response. However, there are no studies demonstrating the oxidative stress status in PR. Aim: The aim of the study is to determine the status of oxidative stress (OS) and paraoxonase (PON) 1/arylesterase enzyme activities in PR. Materials and Methods: Study included 51 patients with active PR lesions, and 45 healthy volunteers. Serum levels of total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), and PON1/arylesterase (ARES) activity were determined and oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated in all patients and controls. Results: TAS levels and ARES activities in the patient group were significantly lower than the control group. On the other hand, TOS and OSI levels were significantly higher in patients compared with controls. There was no significant correlation between the duration of disease and TAS, TOS, OSI levels, and ARES activities. Conclusion: A systemic oxidative stress exists in PR, which suggests that OS may be involved in the etiopathogenesis of disease.
Endogenous urocortins reduce vascular tone and renin-aldosterone/endothelin activity in experimental heart failure.

AIMS To investigate the role of the endogenous urocortin peptides in heart failure (HF) through blockade of the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 2 (CRF-R2). METHODS AND RESULTS Eight sheep were administered the CRF-R2 antagonist CRF(9-41) (1.5 mg bolus) before (Normal) and after development of pacing-induced HF. Compared with controls, CRF(9-41) in HF significantly increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) (71+/-2 vs. 75+/-2 mmHg, P=0.0024) and calculated total peripheral resistance (CTPR) (33.3+/-5.2 vs. 39.4+/-5.9 mmHg/L/min, P=0.0455). Similar trends were observed in the Normal state (MAP 87+/-1 vs. 89+/-2 mmHg, P=0.0689; CTPR 21.9+/-2.0 vs. 24.4+/-2.4 mmHg/L/min, P=0.0731). Left atrial pressure was elevated similarly in both states (Normal P=0.0013; HF P=0.0298), whereas cardiac output tended to be reduced (Normal P=0.0614). CRF(9-41) increased plasma urocortin-I (Normal 10.3+/-0.8 vs. 19.8+/-1.3 pmol/L, P<0.001; HF 14.4+/-0.9 vs. 25.3+/-0.8 pmol/L, P<0.001), renin (Normal 0.34+/-0.06 vs. 0.41+/-0.02 nmol/L/hr, P=0.013; HF 1.14+/-0.29 vs. 1.57+/-0.36 nmol/L/hr, P=0.0326), aldosterone (Normal 370+/-62 vs. 563+/-99 pmol/L, P=0.0813; HF 662+/-141 vs. 1024+/-209 pmol/L, P=0.095), and endothelin-1 (HF 3.18+/-0.18 vs. 4.74+/-1.04 pmol/L, P=0.0087). MAP, CTPR, renin, and endothelin-1 responses to CRF-R2 antagonism were significantly greater in HF than in the Normal state (P=0.049, 0.0427, 0.0311, and 0.0412, respectively). CONCLUSION These data suggest that the endogenous urocortin peptides contribute to the suppression of vascular tone and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone/endothelin activation in HF and thus, play a protective compensatory role in this disorder.
Market segmentation for competitive brands

Although market segmentation is widely described as a major marketing tool, questions whether brands which are broadly similar and competitive are bought by identifiably different consumer segments. Notes that few, if any, examples of marked brand segmentation are cited in the literature. Reports on a new international study of the characteristics of brand purchasers in over 20 grocery product categories using consumer panel data, which reveals that there is little brand segmentation. Finds that the consumer profiles of competitive brands differ little in terms of the commonly‐used classification measures such as socio‐demographic characteristics, and that brands in the same product category tend to be bought by similar kinds of people.
MEG3 Long Noncoding RNA Contributes to the Epigenetic Regulation of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Lung Cancer Cell Lines*

Histone methylation is implicated in a number of biological and pathological processes, including cancer development. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism for the recruitment of Polycomb repressive complex-2 (PRC2) and its accessory component, JARID2, to chromatin, which regulates methylation of lysine 27 of histone H3 (H3K27), during epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cancer cells. The expression of MEG3 long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), which could interact with JARID2, was clearly increased during transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-induced EMT of human lung cancer cell lines. Knockdown of MEG3 inhibited TGF-β-mediated changes in cell morphology and cell motility characteristic of EMT and counteracted TGF-β-dependent changes in the expression of EMT-related genes such as CDH1, ZEB family, and the microRNA-200 family. Overexpression of MEG3 influenced the expression of these genes and enhanced the effects of TGF-β in their expressions. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) revealed that MEG3 regulated the recruitment of JARID2 and EZH2 and histone H3 methylation on the regulatory regions of CDH1 and microRNA-200 family genes for transcriptional repression. RNA immunoprecipitation and chromatin isolation by RNA purification assays indicated that MEG3 could associate with JARID2 and the regulatory regions of target genes to recruit the complex. This study demonstrated a crucial role of MEG3 lncRNA in the epigenetic regulation of the EMT process in lung cancer cells.
Pick-up of Early Visual Information to Guide Kinetics and Kinematics within a Group of Highly Skilled Baseball Batters

This pilot study integrated sport expertise and biomechanics methodologies within a baseball batting task. Purpose was to examine differences within a highly skilled group of baseball batters to use visual information to guide weight transfer and bat movements. One batter who played at Major League Baseball (MLB) level was compared to five batters who played at Australian Baseball League (ABL) level in a case-control design. Batters faced pitchers in a simulated competition and attempted to hit pitches, while vision was temporally occluded during ball flight or not occluded. Time of weight transfer (kinetics), as well as bat downswing initiation and duration (kinematics) from the point of ball release, were compared between the MLB batter and ABL batters. Results indicated that the MLB batter coordinated his striking pattern by completing his weight transfer earlier than the ABL batters. His bat downswing was also initiated earlier than some ABL batters, but there was no difference in duration of bat downswing between batters. All batters initiated bat downswing prior to completion of weight transfer. Understanding of motor expertise is furthered using a novel methodology.
Initial Ionization Rates in Shock‐Heated Argon, Krypton, and Xenon

The rates of ionization behind strong shock waves in argon, krypton, and xenon are observed by a transverse microwave probe over a range of electron densities low enough that atom-atom inelastic collisions are the rate determining mechanism. Shocks of Mach number 7.0 to 10.0 propagate down a 5 cm square aluminum shock tube into ambient gases at pressures of 3 to 17 mm Hg, heating them abruptly to atomic temperatures of 5500°K to 9600°K. The subsequent relaxation toward ionization equilibrium is examined in its early stages by the reflection, transmission, and phase shifts of a 24.0 Kmc (1.25 cm) transverse microwave beam propagating between two rectangular horns abreast a glass test section. The data yield effective activation energies of 11.9 +/- 0.5 ev for argon, 10.4 +/- 0.5 ev for krypton, and 8.6 +/- 0.6 ev for xenon. These coincide, within experimental error, with the first excitation potentials, rather than the ionization potentials of the gases, indicating that in this range, ionization proceeds via a two-step process involving the first excited electronic state. Within experimental error, the pressure dependence is found to be proportional to the number density squared.
The Effect of Explicit and Implicit Vocabulary Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of University Students via Online Classroom

It is true that vocabulary is central to language teaching as well as learning and is of paramount importance to a language learner. This article attempts to find out and compare the effects of the two vocabulary teaching methods on Reading ability of 60 students studying at Islamic Azad University of Tonekabon, Iran. Experimental group received implicit vocabulary teaching while Control Group instructed through explicit vocabulary teaching. During the online lessons different explicit vocabulary presentation techniques used including mind-mapping, Persian equivalents, and English synonyms as well as definitions. Subsequently, the teacher utilized an inferred method for teaching vocabulary implicitly which means students were supposed to guess the words from the passages by using context clues. The results of T-tests and ANCOVA for the comparison of the effect of implicit and explicit instruction on reading comprehension through online sessions indicated that there was no significant difference in the two methods at . 05 level of significance. The results of this study have several important implications for the classroom practice and make a strong case for explicit vocabulary instruction.
In through the out door: serology for atrophic gastritis

The condition of the gastric mucosa can be evaluated by serology. Helicobacter pylori immunoglobulin G antibodies provide the best parameter for the presence of gastritis. Serum pepsinogen and gastrin levels can diagnose atrophic gastritis with high specificity but low sensitivity. Antibodies to H. pylori or CagA can diagnose atrophic gastritis with high sensitivity but low specificity. A combination of two tests, e.g. H. pylori antibodies and pepsinogen I, may balance this issue and provide adequate screening tools. Nevertheless, there is a need for further improvement and simplification of serological testing for atrophic gastritis. Gastric cancer remains the second biggest cause of cancer death worldwide. The most common type of gastric cancer, the intestinal type, is usually preceded by chronic atrophic gastritis. Gastritis serology is therefore of crucial importance for population-based screening and prevention studies. Helicobacter pylori serum antibodies can adequately diagnose inflammation of the gastric mucosa, but the serological diagnosis of atrophic gastritis is more hazardous. Many tests have been used for this purpose, either alone or in various combinations. Depending on the population, pepsinogens and gastrin often have a high specificity but low sensitivity for the diagnosis of atrophic gastritis, whereas antibodies against H. pylori or CagA have a high sensitivity but low specificity. A combination of two tests, e.g. H. pylori antibodies and pepsinogen I, may balance this issue and provide adequate screening tools, although there is a clear need for further improvement and simplification of serological testing for atrophic gastritis.
The dark side of CRM: advantaged and disadvantaged customers

Purpose – CRM treats various profiles of customers or individual customers differently, purposively favoring certain customers while deliberately disadvantaging others. This research aims to provide insights into how advantaged (favored) and (non-favored) disadvantaged customers perceive fairness in retailers’ marketing tactics. Design/methodology/approach – A multiple study approach has been adopted, influenced by a three-stage process, which involved exploratory interviews, pilot tests, and the main survey. Findings – The results have provided marketers with a perspective on maintaining and enhancing relationships. Service and marketing communications concern the advantaged customers most, while pricing is the most important aspect for the disadvantaged customers. Practical implications – In terms of handling customers, there are important implications from recognizing how those who are favored and those who are not so advantaged perceive their treatment. Failure to appreciate the pitfalls for visibly t.
Neuroprotective Effects of the CRF1 Antagonist R121920 after Permanent Focal Ischemia in the Rat

The neuroprotective effects of a systemically active, highly selective, corticotropin-releasing factor-1 (CRF1) receptor antagonist, R121920 ((7-(dipropylamino)-2,5-dimethyl-3- [2-(dimethylamino)-5-pyridyl] pyrazolo [1,5-a] pyrimidine), was assessed in two rat models of permanent focal cerebral ischemia, where the middle cerebral artery (MCA) was occluded either through the subtemporal approach or using the intraluminal suture technique. R121920 rapidly crossed the blood–brain barrier after intravenous (IV) bolus administration (10 mg/kg), with peak brain concentrations at 5 minutes (2.26 ± 0.40 μg/mL), which were approximately 2-fold greater than those in plasma (0.98 ± 0.24 μg/mL). Treatment with R121920 (10 mg/kg IV followed by 5 mg/kg subcutaneously at hourly intervals for 4 hours) significantly (P < 0.001) reduced total (by 40%) and cortical (by 37%) infarct volume at 24 hours after subtemporal MCA occlusion (MCAO). In the intraluminal suture MCAO model, IV administration of R121920 (10 mg/kg) at the time of ischemia onset (and at multiple times thereafter) reduced both hemispheric infarct volume (by 34%, P < 0.001) and brain swelling (by 50%, P < 0.001) when assessed at 24 hours. In this model of focal ischemia, significant reduction (P < 0.05) in both outcome measures was obtained when R121920 administration was delayed up to 1 hour after MCAO. These results further define the antiischemic properties of selective CRF1 antagonists in two experimental models of permanent focal cerebral ischemia.
Viable or vital? Evaluation of IM services from patrons' perspectives

Purpose – The goal of this study is to gather information from library patrons to answer the questions of whether real‐time reference services (instant messaging, IM) are beneficial to patrons and how valuable they are to fulfilling their task needs. The study was designed to elicit information about how patrons were dealing with the rapidly changing technological environment, and how helpful they felt IM reference services were to them.Design/methodology/approach – The investigation uses the technology acceptance model (TAM) as the basic framework and extends it by the variable of perceived relevance (PR) which intends to extend understanding of the adoption of IM services. The sample consisted of three university libraries' patrons on the basis of convenience, and 323 usable responses were obtained.Findings – This research found general support for TAM. Specifically, the findings show that perceived ease of use of IM services is the key factor for the patrons' attitudes about the IM service. Overall, th.
Investor Sentiment, Market Timing and Seasoned Equity Offering

This paper studies the impact of investor sentiment on the probability of firms conducting seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) and on stock performance around and subsequent to SEOs. We first show that investor sentiment is positively related to SEO probability, and that small, high volatility, high R&D intensity, and non-dividend-paying firms are more likely to issue SEOs. The interaction effects between investor sentiment and firms’ mispricing-related characteristics further suggest that the impact of investor sentiment on SEO probability is stronger for small and young firms. Moreover, we find that firms conducting SEOs during high sentiment periods experience less severe short-run price drops around the issuances, yet more severe post-issue long-run underperformance, compared to firms conducting SEOs during low sentiment periods. The effect of investor sentiment on stock performance is stronger for small, young, and high market-to-book ratio firms.
The Value Effect of Operational Hedging: Evidence from Foreign Takeovers

The paper examines cross-border takeovers using the lens of currency risk management. With a sample of 152 large, cross-border deals undertaken by listed French firms, the findings reveal that acquirers tend to be firms with greater exposure to the target currency prior to the takeover announcement. The value of the acquiring firm becomes less sensitive to the target currency after the transaction. Acquirer abnormal returns also are positively associated with a decrease in exposure to the target currency; this gain is economically substantial. For example, for an acquirer worth €100 million in equity, a one-unit decrease in currency exposure leads to a gain of €1.68 million.
Dorsal hippocampal function in unreinforced spatial learning

This study examined learning about the spatial environment by rats during a single 10 min period of exploration on an eight‐arm radial maze. Because no specific behaviors were learned during this procedure, the existence of learned spatial information was inferred from its retarding effect on subsequent conditioned cue preference (CCP) learning on the same maze. Previous experiments have shown that this form of spatial learning, measured in this way, requires an intact fimbria‐fornix and functional N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate receptors. However, in the present experiments, large neurotoxic lesions of the dorsal hippocampus that impaired win‐shift learning failed to eliminate the retarding effect of exploration on CCP learning. This result was obtained in three independent replications. These findings fail to confirm the hypothesis that the hippocampus is involved in spatial learning when that learning occurs in the absence of reinforcers and does not produce any specific learned behaviors. Previous work showed that this form of “pure” spatial learning requires an intact fimbria‐fornix for acquisition but not for expression; the present findings suggest that the hippocampus is not required for either of these processes. The fimbria‐fornix may interact with other temporal lobe structures in mediating this form of learning. The function of the hippocampus may be limited in some way to situations that involve reinforcers and/or situations in which specific behaviors are learned. Hippocampus 10:226–235, 2000 © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.