Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Waiting for Surgery on Patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Introduction The waiting time for surgical procedures is becoming longer in most specialities. This may have adverse effect on patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) with additional procedures being required or more complex surgery being performed. Material and Method This retrospective study was performed in the period between December 2007- January 2010 looking on the surgical waiting time on patients with AIS and its effect on curve progression and the type of surgery performed and the final outcome. Results 215 patients met the inclusion criteria and have complete medical records to be included in the study. Mean age was 13.6 years, 184 patients (86%) were females, 172 were treat in public hospitals and 43 in a private hospital, mean cobb angle of the main curve was 71°. During the study period, 55 patients underwent surgery for scoliosis correction, with a statistical difference in the waiting time between public and private hospitals (36 and 9 weeks respectively), average curve progression was 24° during the waiting period with additional fusion levels being required in 15 cases. Patients with underlying intra spinal pathology and young patients showed the most significant curve progression. Conclusion Our study support the previous report of the optimal waiting time for surgical correction of scoliosis being less than 6 months and it suggest that younger patients and those with intra spinal pathology and the ones at higher risk for progression.
Exploring the role of market learning capability in competitive strategy

It has been argued that a firm's capacity to learn from its market is a source of both innovation and competitive advantage. However, past research has failed to conceptualize market‐focused learning activity as a capability having the potential to contribute to competitive advantage. Prior innovation research has been biased toward technological innovation. However, there is evidence to suggest that both technological and non‐technological innovations contribute to competitive advantage reflecting the need for a broader conceptualization of the innovation construct. Past research has also overlooked the critical role of entrepreneurship in the capability building process. Competitive advantage has been predominantly measured in terms of financial indicators of performance. In general, the literature reflects the need for comprehensive measures of organizational innovation and competitive advantage. This paper examines the role of market‐focused learning capability in organizational innovation‐based competitive strategy. The paper contributes to the strategic marketing theory by developing and refining measures of entrepreneurship, market‐focused learning capability, organizational innovation and sustained competitive advantage, testing relationships among these constructs.
Access to Sustainably Produced Food: An Investigation of Organic Food Availability in Manhattan, New York

Increasing access to food and improving the sustainability of producing and marketing food are both goals of the "food movement. " One problem embedded in these dual goals is that improving access relies on low-priced food, while increasing sustainability of the food system necessarily raises prices. Further complicating the discussion is the fact that while the definition of a sustainable food system is intuitive, it is also vague, which does not make an analysis of sustainable food simple. Thus we use organic food as a case study to provide insight into the availability of a sustainably produced (but not necessarily sustainably marketed) food. This paper is a first step toward exploring potential links among availability, access, and consumers. Using a new data set of in-store organic food availability in Manhattan, mapping suggest that stores that carry a wider range of organic products are located in neighborhoods with populations that are both highly educated and affluent. Neighborhoods with a higher proportion of black households have little access to organic food. Bivariate correlation coefficients find that the relationship between education and organic food access increases as the level of education rises, that median household income is positively associated with organic food availability, and that the relationship between the proportion of black residences is weakly and negatively correlated with organic food availability.
Harnessing the Creative Potential among Users

User involvement in the development of new products may offer a novel approach to improved methods of meeting customer needs. These users are considered to offer possibilities for generating original, valuable, and realizable ideas leading to successful innovation. However, the merit of users’ ideas compared to ideas generated by the company itself has not been investigated empirically. In the present study, advanced users, ordinary users, and professional product developers were given the task of creating ideas for future mobile phone services. The main purpose was to examine the benefit of involving users in suggesting new product ideas in an innovation project. An experimental three-group design was used in order to assess the output in terms of its original, valuable, and realizable merit. The results indicated that ordinary users create significantly more original and valuable ideas than professional developers and advanced users. Professional developers and advanced users created more easily realizable ideas, and ordinary users created the most valuable ideas. The results were discussed from the viewpoint of divergent thinking. It was suggested that divergent thinking was facilitated through the opportunity to combine different information elements that appeared separate at the outset, such as personal needs coupled with the functionality of mobile phone services.
The Market Valuation of Outsourcing New Product Development

Firms are increasingly outsourcing new product development (NPD), yet little is known about the financial performance implications of this decision. An empirical test shows that there is considerable variation in the performance implications of NPD outsourcing. The authors develop a contingency framework to explain when taking a minority equity participation in the outsourcing provider versus selecting a provider to whom the outsourcing firm has outsourced NPD in the past (i.e., prior tie selection) may increase the outsourcing firm's performance. They find that the superior governance mechanism depends on two forms of uncertainty: technological uncertainty and cultural uncertainty.
Correlation between blood glucose fluctuations and activation of oxidative stress in type 1 diabetic children during the acute metabolic disturbance period

Background Studies have shown that complications in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children are mainly due to oxidative stress (OS). Lipid peroxidation is the main marker of OS and iso‐prostaglandin is a reliable biomarker of lipid peroxidation in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, there have been few studies on OS in T1DM children with hyperglycemia and glucose fluctuations. Methods We prospectively enrolled 23 newly diagnosed T1DM patients and 23 age and sex matched healthy controls in Beijing Children's Hospital from May 2010 to January 2011. They were treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin injection (CSII) and monitored by continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS). Twenty‐four‐hour urine samples were collected to measure the concentration of 8‐iso prostaglandin F2&agr; (8‐isoPGF2&agr;). Samples taken from diabetic children were collected at days 8 to 10 after insulin treatment. Intraday glucose fluctuations were assessed by mean amplitude of glucose excursions (MAGE), largest amplitude of glycemic excursions (LAGE), standard deviation of blood glucose (SDBG) and number of glycemic excursions (NGE). The correlations between glucose parameters and the index of oxidative stress were analyzed. Results Urine 8‐isoPGF2&agr; in the T1DM group was higher than that in the control group ((967.70±412.68) ng vs. (675.23±354.59) ng, P=0.019). There was a correlation between urine 8‐isoPGF2&agr; level and MAGE (r=0.321, P=0.039), a significant correlation between low‐density lipoprotein and urine 8‐isoPGF2&agr; level (r=0.419, P=0.03). There was no significant correlation between urine 8‐isoPGF2&agr; level and blood pressure, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting C‐peptide or other lipid indices. Conclusion A correlation between urine 8‐isoPGF2&agr; levels and MAGE and low‐density lipoprotein was found in children newly diagnosed with T1DM.
13C‐urea breath test without a test meal is highly accurate for the detection of Helicobacter pylori infection in Chinese

Conventional 13C‐urea breath testing (13C‐UBT) includes a test meal to delay gastric emptying, which, theoretically, improves the accuracy of the test. Citric acid has been proposed as the best test meal. However, recent studies have suggested that a test meal may not be necessary.
Comparison of Decision Making in Adopting E-Commerce between Indonesia and Chinese Taipei (Case Study in Jakarta and Taipei City)

The number of people using internet has increased due to advances in information technology, and the growth of electronic commerce (e-commerce) is increasingly growing. This study aims to investigate the factors that influence consumer intention to adopt e-commerce in Jakarta and Taipei. In this paper, additional variables such as trust, costs, social influences, various services, and control variables such as age, educational level, and gender of consumers become work extension of traditional model of technology acceptance (TAM) and the diffusion of innovation (DOI) models. By comparing consumers from both Jakarta and Taipei, this research is able to form a comparison model based on two different cultural settings. Data are collected from 192 Jakarta consumers and 184 Taipei consumers, and ANCOVA is employed to test the research model. The results show that trust, cost, social in? uence, and variety of services, perceived usefulness and trialability have significant influence to Jakarta consumer decisions to adopt e-commerce. All of variables except variety of services have significant influence to Taipei consumer decisions to adopt e-commerce. Demographic profile such as age, gender and education level have no significant influence to both cities consumers. Results from this study will be useful for online companies in formulating marketing strategy, especially for companies that will operate in Indonesian market, since Indonesia is a huge and growing market.
NFATc 3 regulates BK channel function in murine urinary bladder smooth muscle

Layne JJ, Werner ME, Hill-Eubanks DC, Nelson MT. NFATc3 regulates BK channel function in murine urinary bladder smooth muscle. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 295: C611–C623, 2008. First published June 25, 2008; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00435. 2007. —The nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) is a Ca -dependent transcription factor that has been reported to regulate the expression of smooth muscle contractile proteins and ion channels. Here we report that large conductance Ca -sensitive potassium (BK) channels and voltage-gated K (KV) channels may be regulatory targets of NFATc3 in urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM). UBSM myocytes from NFATc3-null mice displayed a reduction in iberiotoxin (IBTX)-sensitive BK currents, a decrease in mRNA for the poreforming -subunit of the BK channel, and a reduction in BK channel density compared with myocytes from wild-type mice. Tetraethylammonium chloride-sensitive KV currents were elevated in UBSM myocytes from NFATc3-null mice, as was mRNA for the Shab family member KV2.1. Despite KV current upregulation, bladder strips from NFATc3-null mice displayed an elevated contractile response to electrical field stimulation relative to strips from wild-type mice, but this difference was abrogated in the presence of the BK channel blocker IBTX. These results support a role for the transcription factor NFATc3 in regulating UBSM contractility, primarily through an NFATc3-dependent increase in BK channel activity.
Football supporters’ perceptions of their role in the home advantage

Football fans' views on their role in the home advantage were obtained by placing links to an internet questionnaire on supporters' websites. Altogether, 461 fans from clubs which had been promoted, relegated or unchanged in the past season of the English football leagues rated crowd support as significantly more influential than familiarity, travel, territoriality and referee bias in contributing to the home advantage. Fans felt responsible for inspiring their team to victory, took credit for distracting opponents, and believed that they could influence officials into making decisions in their team's favour. However, they did not accept personal blame for poor results. No effects for gender, age or the team's outcome in the promotion/relegation battle emerged, though season ticket holders were more extreme in their feelings of responsibility overall. Furthermore, it was suggested that mechanisms such as the perception of being superior to rivals can encourage fans to retain their allegiance to their teams, even when outcomes are disappointing. Indeed, affiliation may become so incorporated into self-identity that supporters may not have the option of abandoning their team, but instead perceive a reciprocal relationship in which both they and the team are expected to do their best to achieve success.
Effect of divided attention on the production of false memories in the DRM paradigm: a study of dichotic listening and shadowing

The Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm comprises the study of lists in which words (e.g., bed, pillow, etc.) are all associates of a single nonstudied critical item (e.g., sleep). The probability of falsely recalling or recognising nonstudied critical items is often similar to (or sometimes higher than) the probability of correctly recalling or recognising studied associates. False memories produced throughout this paradigm are usually seen as vivid, long lasting, and difficult to consciously avoid. Our experiment aimed to analyse the effect of dichotic listening and shadowing procedures on the production of false memories in the DRM paradigm. The results showed that the production of false memories under a divided attention condition during processing was not eliminated, independently of the type of memory task ‐ recall or recognition. Moreover, the proportion of false memories produced in our study was similar to the amounts of correct recall and recognition in both encoding conditions. Therefore, our study confirms the robustness of this type of memory distortion (e.g., Gallo, Roediger, & McDermott, 2001), because even when the encoding conditions are impoverished, participants are prone to falsely remember the critical words, reinforcing the theoretical assumption of the automatic activation of critical lures.
Do switching costs really provide a first‐mover advantage?

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to present a model that compares the switching costs that consumers face when they buy pioneering and follower products.Design/methodology/approach – A study of 255 new products indicates that switching costs are actually higher when switching from an existing product to a pioneering product.Findings – The study shows that people who buy a pioneering product may also face switching costs, if the pioneering product is launched in an existing category where consumers are already familiar with similar products.Research limitations/implications – The results help to reinforce the view that first movers have advantages and demonstrate that switching costs do not lead to a higher level of consumer retention.Practical implications – This study provides interesting managerial implications on how to launch new products more effectively when they suffer from switching costs.Originality/value – Researchers commonly view switching costs as a barrier to market entry that prote.
Stock Market Efficiency and Economic Efficiency: Is There a Connection?

In a capitalist economy prices serve to equilibrate supply and demand for goods and services, continually changing to reallocate resources to their most efficient uses. However, secondary stock market prices, often viewed as the most 'informationally efficient' prices in the economy, have no direct role in the allocation of equity capital since managers have discretion in determining the level of investment. What is the link between stock price informational efficiency and economic efficiency? We present a model of the stock market in which: (i) managers have discretion in making investments and must be given the right incentives; and (ii) stock market traders may have important information that managers do not have about the value of prospective investment opportunities. In equilibrium, information in stock prices will guide investment decisions because managers will be compensated based on informative stock prices in the future. The stock market indirectly guides investment by transferring two kinds of information: information about investment opportunities and information about managers' past decisions. The fact that stock prices only have an indirect role suggests that the stock market may not be a necessary institution for the efficient allocation of equity. We emphasize this by providing an example of a banking system that performs as well.
Implicit memory and people with Alzheimer's disease: Implication for caregiving

with striking frequency, practitioners, family caregivers, and attorneys seem to be assuming that defects in the ability to recall the details of recent events and experiences mean that the person with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has no memory of those recent events and experiences. Second, there is relatively scant knowledge among practitioners, attorneys, and family caregivers about the phenomenon of implicit memory. An example of the confluence of these two points may be seen in the following interchange that I observed between some of my students and two practitioners. The students were about to begin an internship at an adult day center and were concerned that they might unknowingly “say the wrong thing” and cause distress to participants who have AD. One of the staff members expressed appreciation for the students’ sensitivity and then indicated that even if the participants in question might be distressed for the moment, they would quickly forget the experience (i.e., would not remember it). The idea being conveyed was that there would be no lasting negative effect due to the participants’ memory problems and, therefore, inability to remember the comments or their own reactions. Although the people with AD with whom my students were going to interact at the adult day center might well have had difficulty recalling a distressing event or comment, it is not necessarily the case that these same people would have no memory of the events in question. The logic here derives from the existence and meaning of implicit memory and it is, therefore, my purpose in this article to 1) provide a definition of implicit memory, 2) present two illustrative case examples of the issues in question, 3) present a brief summary of selected research findings in which implicit memory has been demonstrated in people with AD, and 4) discuss some implications for caregiving that follow directly from the two cases presented in light of the existence of implicit memory.
Does Firm Size Affect the Firm Profitability? Empirical Evidence from Romania

This study advances the understanding of the relationship between firm size and profitability, motivated by the question whether larger firms are more profitable. The nature of the relationship between firm size and firm profitability is examined by on data for 100 firms listed in 2010 at the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The results revealed that firm size has a significant negative influence on firm profitability. Additionally, results showed that leverage is statistically significantly, while liquidity didn’t prove to be an important explanatory variable of firms’ profitability.
Coordinated inventory control - A case study on its performance compared to the current system at IKEA

Coordinated inventory management is not widely used among companies today. Not even modern companies, which should have resources and ability to always be in the forefront of technological developments, prioritizes models that in theory can provide substantial savings. This report illustrates that a slightly more advanced method to calculate the safety stock can increase the service accuracy and significantly reduce inventory costs. The basic idea behind a coordinated inventory approach is to avoid sub optimization by optimizing jointly inventory locations that are dependent of each other, as opposed to optimizing each inventory alone. If information from one inventory is allowed to affect decisions in another, this can be used to together satisfy customers and reducing the total inventory. The study started with locating a simple goods flow within IKEA. This goods flow contains only one distribution center and a number of retail stores. Representative articles that pass through both levels were then chosen. No consideration has been given to these articles flow prior to the shipping to the distribution center. For the selected articles, new coordinated reorder points have been calculated using an analytical multi echelon inventory model. This coordinated solution has been compared to IKEA’s current solution (reorder points) by use of discrete event simulation. The model used to optimize the system in the project has been previously tested on real case scenarios but only on low demand spare articles. This is thus the first time it has been used on end consumer pattern with high demand. This project has resulted in evidence that the use of a coordinated inventory approach reduces inventory without decreasing service level. The largest relative reductions appear at the distribution center, while the mean inventory levels at the retail stores only decrease slightly.
Human DNA ligase i (ligi) gene and risk of cervical cancer in North Indian women.

AIM DNA repair genetic polymorphisms may affect cancer susceptibility as genetic variations in DNA repair genes may influence DNA repair capacity. In the present study, the association of polymorphic forms of DNA repair gene, DNA ligase I (LIGI) was examined with the risk of cervical cancer in case of North Indian women. MATERIALS AND METHODS Polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction - restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method and risk of cervical cancer was evaluated by calculating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) using a multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS No association was found between variant forms (AC, AA) of LIGI gene and risk of cervical cancer (OR - 0.8, 95% CI 0.46-1.53 and OR - 1.0, 95% CI 0.51-2.06, respectively). However, increased but statistically non-significant risk of adenocarcinoma was observed for cervical cancer patients having AC (OR - 4.6, 95% CI 0.62-33.82) and AA (OR - 5.0, 95% CI 0.63-39.58) genotypes. CONCLUSION It can thus be concluded that there is no association between LIGI polymorphisms and cervical cancer risk. However, they may be playing an important role in modulating the risk of cervical adenocarcinoma in North Indian women. Further investigations in larger studies need to be carried out for more analysis.