Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevention of Atrial Tachyarrhythmias After Non-Cardiac Thoracic Surgery by Infusion of Magnesium Sulfate

The possible role of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) infusion in the prevention of atrial tachyarrhythmias after non-cardiac thoracic surgery was evaluated through a prospective study of two hundred patients who underwent non-cardiac thoracic surgery. The patients (who fulfilled the following requirements among others: no myocardial infarction in the previous six months, normal renal function, no use of digitalis or antiarrhythmic drugs, not undergone emergency operations or video-assisted thoracic surgery), were randomly assigned to receive MgSO4 infusion in all circumstances (Mg group), or either no treatment or, if aged over 70 or in cases of pneumonectomy or an intrapericardial procedure, application of digoxin starting on the day of operation (control group). 95 patients were enrolled in the Mg group and 105 in the control group. 93 patients in the Mg group and 101 in the control group were evaluated. Post-operative atrial tachyarrhythmias, mainly atrial fibrillation, occurred in 10 patients (10.7%) in the Mg group and in 27 (26.7%) patients in the control group (chi 2 = 7.009, df = 1. p = 0.008). It is concluded that infusion of MgSO4 is an effective means of reducing the incidence of atrial tachyarrhythmias after non-cardiac thoracic surgery.
ERK1/2-Egr-1 Signaling Pathway-Mediated Protective Effects of Electroacupuncture in a Mouse Model of Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion

Early growth response- (Egr-) 1 is an upstream master switch in controlling inflammatory responses following myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). Activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase-1 and kinase-2 (ERK1/2) signaling is known to upregulate Egr-1. ERK1/2 pathway has been previously shown to mediate the therapeutic action of electroacupucture (EA). Thus, we hypothesized that EA would reduce myocardial I/R injury and inflammatory responses through inhibiting Egr-1 expression via the ERK1/2 pathway. Mice were pretreated with EA, U0126, or combination of EA and U0126 and then underwent 1 h myocardial ischemia and 3 h reperfusion. We investigated that EA significantly attenuated the I/R-induced upregulation of both Egr-1 and phosporylated-ERK1/2 (p-ERK1/2), decreased myocardial inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and reduced the infarct size and the release of cardiac troponin I (cTnI). U0126 treatment also exhibited the same effect as EA on Egr-1 level and subsequent cardioprotective effects. There was no additive effect of cotreatment with EA and U0126 on the expression of Egr-1 and its downstream target genes (TNF-α, IL-1β) or serum cTnI level. Collectively, these observations suggested that EA attenuates myocardial I/R injury, possibly through inhibiting the ERK1/2-Egr-1 signaling pathway and reducing the release of proinflammatory cytokines.
Purchasing motives and profile of the Greek organic consumer: a countrywide survey

The present study attempts to offer more insights into the Greek organic market. It examines the organic products as “eco‐products”, suitable for “green” consumers, who are ecologically/environmentally ecology‐aware and who are concerned with health and quality‐of‐life issues. Analysing a countrywide sample, the survey concludes that three consumer types exist in terms of attitude towards, purchase intention and awareness of organic products: the “unaware”, the “aware non‐buyers”, and the “(aware) buyers” (or simply buyers) of organic food products. After developing a detailed profile of the first two, the “aware buyers” type is segmented in terms of five groups of personality and behavioural factors, defined in the international literature as the driving forces of organic purchasing.
Cognitive and Emotional Processes as Predictors of a Successful Transition Into School

ABSTRACT Research Findings: The aim of this research was to delineate developmental processes that contribute to early school success. To achieve this aim, we examined emotion regulation, executive functioning, emotion knowledge, and metacognition at ages 3 and 4 as distal and proximal predictors of age 5 achievement and school adjustment in a sample of 263 children (42% non-White). We also explored mediational pathways among these 4 processes in the prediction of the age 5 outcomes. Results revealed that all 4 processes affected achievement and school adjustment, but in different ways, with executive functioning emerging as a key predictor. Practice or Policy: Executive functioning was found to be a key factor in predicting achievement and school performance in the kindergarten year. This finding provides support for the development of executive functioning training programs that can be applied in the preschool classroom, particularly for promoting reading development. However, additional emphasis should be placed on both cognitive and emotional processes in the preschool years to promote optimal development.
IT strategizing of small firms in Malta : a grounded theory approach

The contribution of small firms towards the creation of economic value in a countrys Gross Domestic Product, employment and innovation is widely acknowledged. Relatively little is known on how small firms are adopting IT strategically to acheive business-IT alignment and how alignment changes over time. This study examines from a dynamic perspective IT adoption actions undertaken by owner-managers, in relation to business-IT alignment in small firms in the island state of Malta. To attain its research objectives, the methodological stance adopted in this research study is that of grounded theory. Moving away from a deductive approach, this study embraces a constructivist approach using a combination of inductive and abductive thought. No fewer than thirty-one in-depth interviews are conducted with owner-managers to observe alignment patterns of IT adoption behaviour in their respective small firms operating in Malta and employing up to 49 employees. Four business-IT alignment equilibrium states are identified, serving as markers to map out the common IT alignment paths that each firm pursued, not necessarily in linear form, during their operational years. A substantive model, which identifies four distinct IT alignment patterns, denotes each common path that a group of firms took in their movement from one alignment equilibrium state to another, throughout their life-cycle stages. This study has substantive application and comprises several implications for the development of IT adoption behaviour when small firms endeavour to strategically align business with IT. It provides policy-makers, academic researchers and small firms owner-managers with a theoretical framework that can provide them with factors that can predict the kind of alignment patterns that are likely to occur. Findings indicate that the quality of IT related technological solutions that are taken up by each small firm are reliant on the owner-managers characteristics that focus mainly on the knowledge of internal IT expertise and the project management capabilities to manage IT outsourcers. Given that few studies have been conducted to study and establish patterns of IT alignment in small firms, this research provides an important contribution to knowledge and to the existing academic literature.
Axillary nerve injury.

To the Editor. —In the March 1984 issue of theArchives, a clinical note by Aita 1 discussed an unusual compressive neuropathy. While he described circumstances that could result in an axillary neuropathy, there is no mention of the stimulation of the axillary nerve in the supraclavicular space and then distal to the site of neuropathy, which would be in the posterior aspect of the shoulder, to substantiate such a compression. A much more frequent cause of axillary nerve injury during hospitalization is an intramuscular injection high in the posterior shoulder, which can result in injury to the axillary nerve. Since no mention was made of intramuscular injections, I suggest that the author review the chart for that circumstance and report if he did complete stimulation both proximal and distal to the suspected compression to substantiate his inference on this patient's condition.
Intellectual Property Enforcement in Smaller UK Firms

Research into the attitudes and practices of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro firms with regard to the enforcement of intellectual property, as well as the cost implications of the present IP enforcement system in the UK. Uses both an online survey and a phone survey, and information on Patents and Registered Design cases listed for hearings in the Patents Court from 2003 to 2009.
Entry Strategies of Multinational Banks in Central and Eastern Europe: Institutions, Uncertainty and Competition

We leverage real option- and institutional theory to investigate the expansion strategies of multinational banks in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe. In particular, we examine the effects of host country institutional risk and environmental uncertainty on entry timing decisions of multinational banks, and assess the extent to which these effects are conditional on the level of international competition. Estimating hazard models on entry data of 39 multinational banks across 17 different countries in the period from 1990 to 2007, we find that both institutional risk and environmental uncertainty reduce the pace with which banks enter transition economies, although uncertainty seems to
Economies of Density, Network Size and Spatial Scope in the European Airline Industry

In this article we use four different indices to measure cost performance of the European Airline Industry. By using the number of routes as an indicator of Network Size, we are able to estimate indicators of Economies of Density, Network Size and Spatial Scope. By estimating total and variable cost functions we are also able to calculate an index of the excess capacity of the firms. For this purpose, we use data from the years 1984 to 1998, a period during which several deregulation measures were imposed on the European airline industry. Our results suggest that in the year 1998, almost all the firms had Economics of Density in their existing networks, while several of the firms also had Economies of Network Size and Economies of Spatial Scope. These results support our hypothesis that fusion, alliance, and merger strategies followed by the principal European airlines after 1998 are not just explained by marketing strategies, but also by the cost structure of the industry.
Earnings Management and the Performance of Seasoned Equity Offerings: A New Look Based on Agency Costs of Overvalued Equity ⁄

We test the implication of agency costs of overvalued equity for accounting practice of firms conducting seasoned equity offerings (SEO). We find that excessively high abnormal stock returns before SEO predict earnings management around SEO. The contemporaneous relation between earnings management and stock performance suggests that investors partially discount earnings quality around SEO. After controlling for normal accrual anomalies due to Sloan (1996), the inverse relation between earnings management and post-issue stock underperforemance disappears.
Implications of Openness: An assessment of the dynamics of open innovation engagement to the intrinsic characteristics of innovative small and medium enterprises

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The Association of Managerial Ownership with Dividend Policy and Leverage Policy: Indonesian Firms

The research examines the relationship of financial policy (dividend and leverage) influenced managerial ownership. Managerial ownership as dependent variable regressed with dividend and leverage policy that already separate the effect of agents and insiders wealth. Logit Model is use to examine the relationship because managerial ownership proxy by dummy variable. Hosmer-Lemeshow and Andrews Goodness-Of-Fit test used to conclude the model fitted. Result showed a significant relationship that financial policy influenced probability firm engages in managerial ownership program. Dividend policy is a substitute for managerial ownership. The lower dividend level will increase the probability of the firm engage in managerial ownership program and still maintain the effectiveness of reducing agency cost of equity. The lower leverage level will increase the probability of the firm engage in managerial ownership program to multiply the effect of reduced agency cost of debt with the reduction in agency cost of equity.
International hospital outshopping: a staged model of push and pull factors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a general model that examines the contextual factors underlying the decision‐making process of international hospital outshopping.Design/methodology/approach – Patients who chose medical treatment abroad were selected to analyze the drivers of internationalization in medical services. A total number of 27 international patients who traveled from developed countries to receive medical treatment at the largest hospital in Thailand were interviewed and their responses assessed through narrative analysis.Findings – The narrative analysis reveals that while high costs and the deteriorating conditions of health care in developed countries are initially driving consumers to leave their local service area and choose foreign service providers, pull factors such as innovation, organizational efficiency, emotional service quality and patient‐doctor relationships in service encounters are nurturing a real preference for choosing foreign health care providers.Research .
Opposing Roles of Dendritic Cell Subsets in Experimental GN.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are thought to form a dendritic network across barrier surfaces and throughout organs, including the kidney, to perform an important sentinel function. However, previous studies of DC function used markers, such as CD11c or CX3CR1, that are not unique to DCs. Here, we evaluated the role of DCs in renal inflammation using a CD11c reporter mouse line and two mouse lines with DC-specific reporters, Zbtb46-GFP and Snx22-GFP. Multiphoton microscopy of kidney sections confirmed that most of the dendritically shaped CD11c+ cells forming a network throughout the renal interstitium expressed macrophage-specific markers. In contrast, DCs marked by Zbtb46-GFP or Snx22-GFP were less abundant, concentrated around blood vessels, and round in shape. We confirmed this pattern of localization using imaging mass cytometry. Motility measurements showed that resident macrophages were sessile, whereas DCs were motile before and after inflammation. Although uninflamed glomeruli rarely contained DCs, injury with nephrotoxic antibodies resulted in accumulation of ZBTB46 + cells in the periglomerular region. ZBTB46 identifies all classic DCs, which can be categorized into two functional subsets that express either CD103 or CD11b. Depletion of ZBTB46 + cells attenuated the antibody-induced kidney injury, whereas deficiency of the CD103+ subset accelerated injury through a mechanism that involved increased neutrophil infiltration. RNA sequencing 7 days after nephrotoxic antibody injection showed that CD11b+ DCs expressed the neutrophil-attracting cytokine CXCL2, whereas CD103+ DCs expressed high levels of several anti-inflammatory genes. These results provide new insights into the distinct functions of the two major DC subsets in glomerular inflammation.
Prognostic factors in chondrosarcoma of bone. A clinicopathologic analysis with emphasis on histologic grading

The relationship between histopathology and tumor behavior was examined in 71 cases of chondrosarcoma. The tumors were grouped into Grades I, II, and III on the basis of mitotic rate, cellularity, and nuclear size. The five‐year survival rates of Grades I, II, and III are 90%, 81%, and 43%, respectively, while the corresponding 10‐year survival rates are 83%, 64%, and 29%. None of the Grade I chondrosarcomas metastasized, while metastasis was observed with 10% of the Grade II tumors and 71% of the Grade III tumors. No definite relationship between tumor grade and local recurrence was found. In addition, the significance of the extent of the original operative procedure was evaluated for chondrosarcoma, Grades I and II. Local recurrence which could not be controlled by additional surgery occurred in 46% of the patients treated initially by local excision, but in only 9.5% of those who were treated by amputation or resection of all or part of the involved bone. It is concluded that chondrosarcomas range from locally aggressive non‐metastasizing neoplasms to high‐grade malignancies with marked metastatic potential, and that these groups may be defined and separated by the use of histopathologic criteria. The rate of local recurrence, however, is primarily dependent on the adequacy of surgical therapy rather than histologic grade. Cancer 40:818–831, 1977.
The Role of Online Trading Communities in Managing Internet Auction Fraud

Internet auctions demonstrate that advances in information technologies can create more efficient venues of exchange between large numbers of traders. However, the growth of Internet auctions has been accompanied by a corresponding growth in Internet auction fraud. Much extant research on Internet auction fraud in the information systems literature is conducted at the individual level of analysis, thereby limiting its focus to the choices of individual traders or trading dyads. The criminology literature, in contrast, recognizes that social and community factors are equally important influences on the perpetration and prevention of crime. We employ social disorganization theory as a lens to explain how online auction communities address auction fraud and how those communities interact with formal authorities. We show how communities may defy, coexist, or cooperate with the formal authority of auction houses. These observations are supported by a qualitative analysis of three cases of online anticrime communities operating in different auction product categories. Our analysis extends aspects of social disorganization theory to online communities. We conclude that community-based clan control may operate in concert with authority-based formal control to manage the problem of Internet auction fraud more effectively.
Knowledge about cataract, glaucoma, and age related macular degeneration in the Hong Kong Chinese population

Aims: Patients’ knowledge and participation in their care are important in prevention of blindness from common eye diseases such as cataract, glaucoma, and age related macular degeneration (AMD). The aim of this study was to measure knowledge of these conditions in the Hong Kong Chinese population. Methods: Subjects aged 40 and above in the Shatin district of Hong Kong were randomly selected as part of a larger study of causes of adult visual loss. The subjects received eye examinations in which the primary cause of visual disability was recorded. The respondents were asked by trained interviewers in a standardised fashion about their knowledge of cataract, glaucoma, and AMD. Their answers were rated for accuracy by a senior ophthalmologist. Results: Out of the 2538 eyes examined, 7.0% had visual acuity less than 6/18. Fully 69.6% of the visual disability for those aged 60 or above was caused by cataract, AMD, or glaucoma. Awareness of cataract in particular was high, in that over 90% of respondents had heard of it. However, only 22.9% of them could describe cataract symptoms correctly, and these percentages were even lower in glaucoma (10.2%) and AMD (<1%). Over 40% of subjects did not know that surgery was an appropriate treatment for cataract. Conclusion: This sample of the Hong Kong Chinese population had limited knowledge of common eye diseases. Educational programmes to enhance public awareness may be needed to improve the effectiveness of health promotion and thus prevent unnecessary blindness.
Board Composition, Executive duality and Performance of Banks in the Post-Consolidation Era in Nigeria

The Nigerian banking system, as the nerve of financial activities in the country had undergone series of reforms from the decade of the 1980s to date. These reforms came at the hill of crises in the system; the crises were attributed to among other things, poor corporate governance. Codes were issued by the security and exchange commission in 2003 for all companies, including banks. The banking consolidation came afterwards. In 2006, the central bank of Nigeria issued another code after the consolidation exercise. Recently, evaluation of these codes in the banking sector revealed some banks were classified unhealthy. This study has, as a major objective to study the impact of board composition on the performance of banks considered healthy by the central bank of Nigeria. Furthermore, the study had also as an objective to establish whether such an impact was attributable to the existence of a corporate governance compliance officer. The 12 banks that emerged as healthy banks, made the sample of the study. Data covering the period 2006-2010 were extracted from their financial statements. The study employed two techniques to test for the two hypotheses formulated from the mathematical model outlined for the study; the multiple regressions (ANOVA), was employed to establish the relationship between the variables. The independent samples t-test was used to further determine the impact revealed. Findings revealed the absence of a significant relationship and impact that was not attributable to the mechanisms of corporate governance. However adherence to these codes promoted the overall effectiveness in functions of these banks i.e operational performance. Sustaining the use of the corporate governance code issued by the Central bank of Nigeria, security and exchange commission as well as the standards issued by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria should be further enhanced by complementary managerial policies that would promote the relationship and impact of governance mechanism on financial performance of banks.
The Economics and Potential Protectionism of Food Safety Standards and Inspections: An Application to the U.S. Shrimp Market

We formally investigate the effects of an inspection system influencing safety of foreign and domestic food products in the domestic market. Consumers purchase domestic and imported food and value safety. Potential protectionism a la Fisher and Serra (2000) can arise: inspection frequency imposed on foreign producers set by a domestic social planner would be higher than the corresponding policy set by a global social planner treating all producers as domestic. The domestic social planner tends to impose most if not all of the inspection on foreign producers, which improves food safety for consumers and limits the production loss for domestic producers. Despite this protectionist component, inspections address a potential consumption externality such as health hazard in the domestic country when unsafe food can enter the country undetected. We then calibrate the analytical framework to the U.S. shrimp market incorporating key stylized facts of this market. Identifying protectionist inspection requires much information on inspection, safety, damages, and costs. We also investigate how to finance the inspection policy from a social planner perspective. Financing instruments differ between the domestic and international welfare-maximizing objectives.