Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pre‐purchase decision‐making for a complex service: retirement planning

Purpose – This purpose of this paper is to respond to calls for further research into consumer pre‐purchase decision‐making, and investigate the factors that cause a customer to make a decision to save for retirement.Design/methodology/approach – Exploratory research using eight focus groups was undertaken in Sydney, Australia with a total of 55 participants. The data were analysed using the approach suggested by Cresswell and includes coding into chunks, development of themes, interpreting, and validating findings.Findings – Three key findings emerged from the research. First, there are certain internal, external, and risk factors that have a major impact on propensity to save for retirement. These are: involvement level, motivation, needs and wants, family influence, marketer influence, competitive options, financial risk, functional risk, and psychological risk. Second, no clear and universal gender differences in the pre‐purchase decision‐making process emerged during the focus group discussions. Fina.
Effects of dyadic vocal interactions on other conspecific receivers in nightingales

During vocal interactions birds can time their song output so that their songs overlap those of a conspecific. Such overlapping is usually interpreted as a directed signal of arousal or as a signal of readiness to escalate contests. Inevitably, these interactions can often be heard by other conspecifics. To investigate if these conspecifics would perceive and use information derived from listening to others' interactions we conducted playback experiments in the field on male territorial nightingales, Luscinia megarhynchos. We tested whether asymmetric interactions, in which one bird overlaps the song of another individual, influences the behaviour of additional, passive conspecific receivers. To test the influence of song overlapping on a third individual, each subject received one playback treatment in which two intruders were simulated by a dual speaker playback design. Songs broadcast from one loudspeaker overlapped those from the other loudspeaker. Subjects responded more intensely at the side of the overlapper than at the side of the loudspeaker from which the song that was overlapped was broadcast. These differences in response persisted in a second test in which songs of only one of the formerly interacting rivals were played. The results suggest that, even if song overlapping is a signal directed towards the singer whose song is overlapped, this information is perceived and used by additional receivers. Such information on rivals' behaviour during an interaction might help an individual decide which strategies to adopt in possible future interactions with these conspecifics.Copyright 1997 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour
Rhythmic habit patterns in infancy: their sequence, age of onset, and frequency.

KRAVITZ, HARVEY, and BOEHM, JOHN J. Rhythmic Habit Patterns in Infancy: Their Sequence, Age of Onset, and Frequency. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1971, 42, 399-413. The onset of hand to mouth sucking was studied in 140 normal newborn infants, and in 79 newborn infants of normal and low birth weight with low Apgar scores and neonatal disease. Results indicate a significant delay in hand sucking in abnormal newborn infants. The sequence, age of onset, and the frequency of other common rhythmic habit patterns was also recorded in 200 older infants. There is a marked delay in the onset of the common rhythmic habit patterns in infants with Down's Syndrome and cerebral palsy. Rhythmic habit patterns may be of value in the diagnosis of developmental retardation in infants.
Extended‐field radiotherapy and high–dose‐rate brachytherapy in carcinoma of the uterine cervix

It has long been recognized that many patients with locally advanced carcinoma of the cervix harbor occult paraaortic metastases. A randomized study demonstrated that elective paraaortic irradiation improved survival and reduced distant metastases. More recently, concomitant chemotherapy with pelvic irradiation has improved survival among patients with locally advanced carcinoma of the cervix. This has led to a reexamination of the role of extended‐field irradiation. An important issue is the toxicity of concomitant chemotherapy and extended‐field radiotherapy. The authors report a retrospective analysis of their experience with extended‐field radiotherapy and high–dose‐rate brachytherapy with or without concomitant chemotherapy.
Virulence of Salmonella typhimurium

In comparing the antigenic structure, the virulence and the immunizing capacity of smooth and rough strains of Salmonella typhimurium (Mackenzie, Fitzgerald and Pike, 1935) we observed that a large decrease in virulence may occur without demonstrable changes in other biological characters, and that the smooth somatic antigen may be qualitatively and quantitatively the same in strains of high virulence and strains of low virulence. With regard to active immunization our findings confirmed the observations of others-immunization is accomplished only with strains containing the smooth somatic antigen. Our failure to identify with virulence any of the common biological characters of smooth strains led to the experiments reported in this paper; they represent (1) a more complete study of the virulence of the strains of Salmonella typhimurium used and (2) an attempt to evaluate as possible determinants of virulence certain other biological characters, namely, invasiveness, resistance to phagocytosis, ability to survive, and ability to multiply in the host.
Vitamin A deficiency and protein-energy malnutrition in a sample of pre-school age children in the Kivu Province in Zaire.

OBJECTIVE To assess pre-school age children's vitamin A status in a population where protein-energy malnutrition is endemic and serum retinol binding protein and transtyretin concentrations are low. DESIGN A cross-sectional study. SETTING Health district of Katana, South-Kivu, Zaire. SUBJECTS 415 pre-school age children. METHODS Three methods were used to assess vitamin A status: ophtalmological examination, retinol serum concentration and Relative Dose Response (RDR) test. RESULTS The only ophthalmological signs of vitamin A deficiency appeared in two cases of night blindness, which represents a prevalence of 0.7%. Deficient serum retinol concentration (< 0.35 mumol/l) was found in 19.7% of the whole study population and in 10.4% of non-infected children in good nutritional status. RDR test carried out on a reduced sample of 79 subjects was abnormal for 7.6% of the children but showed a low sensitivity when compared with serum retinol concentration. CONCLUSION This survey suggests that in this population of the South-Kivu Province in Zaire, vitamin A deficiency co-exists with protein-energy malnutrition and is a public health problem even with non-malnourished and non-infected children.
Friends Don't Let Friends … or do They? Developmental and Gender Differences in Intervening in Friends' Atod Use

This study focused on the strategies adolescents endorsed for situations in which friends were experimenting with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Four hypothetical vignettes (concerning a friend smoking, using drugs, getting drunk at a party, or deciding whether to attend a party with alcohol and drugs) were presented to 2697 5th-12th graders. Whereas younger students were more likely to choose proactive strategies (talking to the friend or an adult or ending the friendship), older students were more inclined to say they would ignore a friend's smoking and drug use although they would take the car keys away from a friend drinking alcohol. Among those 13 years old and older, the more dangerous the substance, the more inclined the youth were to intervene. Females were more inclined than males to talk to friends about smoking, drinking, and drugs and less inclined to ignore the behaviors or stop being a friend.
Attitudes of US doctors and dentists towards advertising: a comparative study

The days when medical professionals could simply 'hang out their shingle' and be assured of success are over. In today's dynamic, competitive and turbulent healthcare environment, medical professionals need to embrace marketing tools and techniques to survive and prosper (Paul and Honeycutt, 1996; Yavas and Shemwell, 1996). Thanks to key rulings in the late 1970s which forced the relaxation of advertising bans formulated by the American Medical Association in the nineteenth century, one marketing tool medical professionals can now turn to is advertising (Leventhal, 1995). However, advertising in professions in general, and medical fields in particular has been and continues to be a controversial issue (for excellent reviews of arguments against and in favour of advertising in the professions, see Hite and Fraser, 1988; Stafford, 1988). Given the premise that ultimately the propriety of advertising depends on practitioners' attitudes and that advertising's ultimate effectiveness hinges on the public's sentiments towards it, a flurry of writings has examined attitudes towards professional advertising and related issues from the perspectives of both the medical professionals and the consumers (Meskin, 1978; Miller and Waller, 1979; Bloom and Stiff,
Interpretation of Macrocytes in Peripheral Blood Smears

Background‘Macrocytes’ refers to larger erythrocytes with increased mean corpuscular volume (MCV) in routine blood smears. It can be either an incidental finding or may be associated with underlying disease. Aim of the studyto identify the underlying cause for macrocytosis and also to analyse the haematological features of macrocytosis in routine haemogram and peripheral blood smear. Resultsout of 89 adult patients, alcoholism was the major etiological factor of macrocytosis, followed by Vitamin B12 deficiency and drug intake. Isolated macrocytosis without anaemia was seen in 20 cases. Peripheral smear examination revealed hypersegmented neutrophils and macroovalocytes predominantly in megaloblastic conditions. ConclusionsMacrocytes on peripheral blood smears has to be evaluated even in absence of anaemia. Careful analysis of routine haemograms and peripheral blood smears assist in identifying the underlying cause for macrocytosis.
Corporate social responsibility, market competition, and shareholder wealth

ABSTRACT This paper examines the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR), product market competition (PMC) and shareholder wealth by analysing CSR and market data from January 2006 to December 2012 (excluding 2009) in Korea. We focus on the role of PMC, which has been ignored in previous studies of CSR. Our empirical analyses indicate that PMC plays a significant role in explaining the relationship between a firm’s CSR activity and its stock returns. More specifically, we find that CSR activities significantly increase stock returns when PMC is low. This result implies that when competition is low, the effect of CSR is consistent with the stakeholder value maximisation theory.
TLR2 Activation Is Essential to Induce a Th1 Shift in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells by Plant Stanols and Plant Sterols

Plant sterols may induce a Th1 shift in humans. However, whether plant stanols have similar effects as well as the underlying mechanism are unknown. We have now shown that (like sitosterol) sitostanol, both 4-desmethylsterols, induces a Th1 shift when added in vitro at physiological concentrations to human PBMCs. This conclusion was based on a higher IFNγ production, with no change in the production of IL-4 and IL-10. α-Amyrin, a 4.4-dimethylsterol, had comparable effects. Because 4.4-dimethylsterols cannot activate transcription factor LXR, this finding indicates that LXR activation was not involved. Sitosterol and sitostanol did not alter the production of IL-12 and IL-18 in PBMCs as well as in monocyte-derived U937 cells, suggesting that plant sterols directly affect T-helper cells, without activating APCs. However, in PBMCs treated with a TLR2 blocker (T2.5), IFNγ production was completely inhibited, whereas blocking TLR4 with HTA125 had no such effect. To confirm these findings, PBMCs from TLR2−/− mice were cultured in the presence of sitosterol and sitostanol. In these cells, no Th1 shift was observed. Our results, therefore, indicate that TLR2 activation is essential to induce a Th1 shift in human PBMCs by plant stanols and plant sterols.
Is Breast Milk Collected at Home Suitable for Raw Consumption by Neonates in Brazilian Public Neonatal Intensive Care Units?

This study was designed to verify if breast milk collected at home is appropriate for raw consumption by neonates in a Brazilian public neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). From May 1998 to February 2000, microbiological characteristics of breast milk samples collected at home were analyzed. The milk samples were considered appropriate for raw consumption if mesophilic bacteria count was < 2500 CFU/mL and potential pathogens were not detected. Of 90 milk samples collected from 32 mothers of hospitalized neonates, 36 (40%) were rejected because of potentially pathogenic bacteria (72.2%), mesophilic bacteria count ≥ 2500 CFU/mL (13.9%), and both conditions (13.9%). The most frequent nonpathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria isolated were Staphylococcus coagulase negative and Klebsiella pneumoniae, respectively. Using univariate analysis, demographic, socioeconomic, educational, and house characteristics were not found to be associated with milk contamination. Breast milk collected at home may not be appropriate for raw consumption in Brazilian NICUs. Pasteurization could improve its microbiological quality. Further studies are needed.
The Competitive Market Structure of the U.S. Lodging Industry and its Impact on the Financial Performance of Hotel Brands

The primary objective of this study was to explore the relationship among various market structure constructs (consisting of barriers to entry, competition, growth, and market share) and their potential impact on financial performance. By applying theoretical underpinnings from the disciplines of marketing, strategy and industrial organization economics, and adapting them to the unique characteristics of the U.S. lodging industry, the above constructs were linked to produce the Lodging Market Structure (LMS) Model. The study consisted of a cross-sectional analysis using a sample of 67 well-recognized hotel brands operating in the U.S. (representing 63 percent of the national guestroom inventory), covering a fouryear period between 1996 and 1999. Correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to examine the hypothesized relationships within the LMS model. This study represented the first comprehensive investigation of the competitive market structure of the U.S. lodging industry.
Factors Influencing the Adoption of Internet Banking

This thesis reports the findings of a study issues concerning the adoption of internet banking in Iran. This study investigates costumers’ adoption within the context of Iran Internet Banking services and research framework is based on the extension of Technology Acceptance Model with Theory of Planned behavior and Trust. Theory was developed to identify factors that would influence the adoption of Internet banking. The framework includes Attitude, subjective norm, Perceived behavioral control, Perceived usefulness, Perceived ease of use, Trust and intention constructs. Survey was conducted to gather the data. Partial Least Square was used to examine the entire pattern of inter- correlations among the thirteen proposed constructs and to test related propositions empirically. Results show that Attitude, Perceived behavioral control, Perceived usefulness, Perceived ease of use, Trust significantly influence customers’ intention toward adopting Internet banking. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.
IMPACT OF GREEN HUMAN RESOURCE FACTORS ON ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE IN MANUFACTURING COMPANIES: AN EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

The social concern about environment has led companies to adopt environmental management practices at an increasing rate. Companies voluntarily implement environmental management system (EMS) for this purpose. But only deploying EMS will not be effective in enhancing environmental performance until and unless employees are motivated for their environmental endeavors. Very few studies exist to guide managers in motivating employees to maximize their efforts in successful implementation of EMS. So the purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between green human resource factors i.e. factors pertaining to environmental issues and organizational environmental performance as perceived by the organization’s employees. Through literature review seven human resource factors –Top management commitment, employee environmental communication, employee environmental trainings, environmental teams, employee involvement, employee environmental rewards, green programs has been established. The impact of these f actors on environmental performance is measured in ISO 14001 certified manufacturing organizations as perceived by the employees. A questionnaire was distributed to 150 employees working at managerial and non-managerial positions in various departments within 9 manufacturing companies with ISO 14001 certification in Delhi-NCR region. A total of 133 complete questionnaires were received. The results of regression analysis suggest that top management commitment, employee trainings and green programs have a significant positive relationship to perceived environmental performance. However, the relationship between environmental communication, environmental teams and employee involvement was statistically insignificant. No significant difference was found in the perceptions of managers and non-managers with respect to different human resource factors affecting environmental performance.
Structural Optimization and Biological Screening of a Steroidal Scaffold Possessing Cucurbitacin‐Like Functionalities as B‐Raf Inhibitors

Inhibition of the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway by targeting the commonly occurring mutated B‐Raf in melanoma has become a practical method for the development of drugs and drug candidates. In order to expand upon the currently reported structural scaffolds used to target the MAPK pathway, molecular docking studies led to the installation an α,β‐unsaturated ketone side chain, related to the cucurbitacin class of natural products, on to an estrone core via an aldol condensation reaction, along with installation of the Δ9,11 olefin to assemble what has been defined as a pseudo‐cis configuration at the B/C ring juncture. Combination of these cucurbitacin‐like features resulted in a compound with an enhanced biological profile against the A‐375 mutant B‐Raf cell line, in regards to their cytotoxicity and inhibitory activity toward phosphorylated extracellular‐signal‐regulated kinase (ERK).
Measuring expenditure for the health workforce: evidence and challenges

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this background paper do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement.
Modelling effect of perceived service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction in Indian bank settings

The aim of the present study is to determine the dimensions of service quality that have a significant impact on overall customer satisfaction. Based on a review of the service quality literature, SERVPERF scale along with its five dimensions viz. tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, was considered appropriate for the present study. An English version of the questionnaire was developed and data was collected from 332 university students enrolled in various courses of reputed universities from national capital of India employing non-random purposive sampling technique. Analytical tools such as SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 20.0 have been used to extract factors relevant to service quality, mean scores and standardised factor loadings. The proposed model was empirically tested for dimensionality, reliability and validity using structural equation model (SEM) technique. The findings and suggestions, thereof, may be employed by banking industry in re-structuring and prioritising service quality dimensions and also developing appropriate promotional strategies by highlighting relevant aspects of service quality at banks.
Immunization with Live Promastigote Antigen of Leishmania donovani induces Protection against Experimental Visceral Leishmaniasis Infection in BALB / c Mice

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) also commonly known as kala-azar is a vector borne parasitic disease which is endemic in Indian subcontinent. At present treatment of this disease relies on chemotherapy and no vaccine is available for human use. Since chemotherapy has some side-effects therefore vaccination with long lasting immunity is the major hope to control leishmaniasis. It is presumed that if a vaccine candidate can activate immune system in a similar manner to the natural course of infection, it will be more successful in generating effective immune response. Also it is known from the previous studies that few numbers of parasites are required to be present in host system for the stimulation of appropriate immune response. Based on this approach we performed our present study in which BALB/c mice were immunized with viable low (103) dose of Leishmania donovani promastigotes. Challenge infection (107) was given to all animals after three weeks of last immunization. Mice were euthanized 15 days after immunization and on 90 post infection/challenge day. A remarkable decline in parasite load was noticed in immunized animals as compared to the infected controls after challenge infection as illustrated by the reduction in parasite burden (72%). Immunized animals showed enhanced DTH responses, elevated IgG2a antibody levels and up-regulated levels of IFN-γ and IL-12 over the infected controls which imply the generation of protective immunity. The present study indicates that such whole parasite vaccines are intrinsically safer and holds a promising potential as anti-leishmanial vaccine candidate.
An FDI-based development model for Hungary - new challenges?

Hungary has taken an FDI-oriented development path during its transition process. The economy has become highly internationalized and largely controlled by foreign-owned firms, which have contributed much by modernizing production, reorienting markets and transferring expertise. However, the initial surge of development seems to be ending, at least in the form it took in the 1990s. Signs of saturation are visible, and the question now is how to open a new chapter of FDIoriented development. Investment and operation will have to shift towards more sophisticated activities. To effect such changes, Hungary must offer enough qualified labour and an adequate infrastructure. Moreover the investment incentive system needs overhauling, as entry into the EU will outdate otherwise efficient incentives. Efforts must go into organizing the economy according to the National Development Plan, as a backbone for the EU assistance available.