Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Systematic Review of Cost-Effectiveness Analyses Alongside Randomised Controlled Trials of Acupuncture

Objective To summarise the evidence on the cost-effectiveness of acupuncture. Methods We identified full economic evaluations such as cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), cost-utility analysis (CUA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA) alongside randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the consequences and costs of acupuncture for any medical condition. Eleven electronic databases were searched up to March 2011 without language restrictions. Eligible RCTs were assessed using the Cochrane criteria for risk of bias and a modified version of the checklist for economic evaluation. The general characteristics and the results of each economic analysis such as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were extracted. Results Of 17 included studies, nine were CUAs that measured quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and eight were CEAs that assessed effectiveness of acupuncture based on improvements in clinical symptoms. All CUAs showed that acupuncture with or without usual care was cost-effective compared with waiting list control or usual care alone, with ICERs ranging from ¢3011/QALY (dysmenorrhoea) to ¢22 298/QALY (allergic rhinitis) in German studies, and from £3855/QALY (osteoarthritis) to £9951/QALY (headache) in UK studies. In the CEAs, acupuncture was beneficial at a relatively low cost in six European and Asian studies. All CUAs were well-designed with a low risk of bias, but this was not the case for CEAs. Conclusions Overall, this review demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of acupuncture. Despite such promising results, any generalisation of these results needs to be made with caution given the diversity of diseases and the different status of acupuncture in the various countries.
Alternative Common-Value Auction Procedures: Revenue Comparisons with Free Entry

The logic of revenue comparisons for different types of common-value auctions is substantially altered if the number of participants, rather than being fixed, responds endogenously to the expected profitability from participating. In a thoroughly symmetric model, a seller may prefer that competition be indirect: an auction procedure in which fewer participants are needed to drive the expected profitability from participating down to the level obtainable in other auctions in the economy can attain higher expected revenue if a sale is sufficiently likely. This insight allows a complete revenue ranking of standard auction procedures, with endogenous entry.
Regulation of Epstein-Barr Virus Promoters in Oral Epithelial Cells and Lymphocytes

ABSTRACT Hairy leukoplakia (HL) is a proliferative lesion of the tongue that supports abundant Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) replication. Previous work showed high-level expression of the EBV BMRF2 gene in HL. To characterize the regulation of BMRF2 expression in HL, we mapped the 5′ ends of the BMRF1 and BMRF2 transcripts and showed that BMRF2 is expressed from a novel internal promoter within the BMRF1 coding region. Mechanisms of BMRF2 regulation were compared in oral epithelial cells and B lymphocytes, as were those of BMRF1 and BDLF3, early and late EBV transcripts, respectively, that are also known to be expressed in HL. Basal activity of the putative BMRF2 promoter was 10-fold higher in HSC-3 epithelial cells than in B lymphocytes. The BMRF2 and the BDLF3 promoters were responsive to induction by phorbol ester, but unlike the BMRF1 promoter, they were not responsive to BZLF1 transactivation. By mutational analysis, the major activity of the BMRF2 promoter mapped to a 50-bp region, which includes a TATA-like element and a GC box. The BMRF2 promoter may be regulated differentially from the BMRF1 promoter and more closely resembles that of BDLF3. This novel BMRF2 promoter likely belongs to a class of viral promoters that is more responsive to mechanisms known to induce epithelial cell differentiation, consistent with its high level of expression in HL.
Long-term unrestrained measurement of stride length and walking velocity utilizing a piezoelectric gyroscope

Long-term monitoring of stride length and walking velocity is considered to provide useful information for making decisions on treatment of patients with gait disabilities. The purpose of this study was to develop a device with the following design criteria: lightweight, easy attachment, little hindrance to the natural gait pattern, sufficient memory to record for one day, and practicality in clinical use. The prototype consists of a piezoelectric gyroscope, which detects angular velocity of the thigh of one leg in the sagittal plane, and a microprocessor-based maximum/minimum detector/data logger of a cyclic analog signal associated with the gait cycle. The accuracy of the device was evaluated in 20 normal subjects, seven above-the-knee (A/K) amputees, and ten hemiplegic patients, and relative accuracy within /spl plusmn/15% was obtained, except for two special cases.
Attitudes towards business ethics: a cross-cultural comparison of students in Iran and Malaysia

Study about the business ethical attitude would help to understand the specific behavioural practices of a country, resulting in minimising the cost of doing business in that country through avoiding misunderstanding and conflicts. With the rapid globalisation of companies around the world, such studies on business ethical attitude would definitely help to understand the cultural differences across nations. This knowledge will help in reducing misunderstandings, aiding negotiations, and building trust and respect. Therefore, this study seeks to continue the investigation of cross-cultural differences in attitudes towards business ethics by comparing samples from Iran and Malaysia (n1 = 120, n2 = 100).
The Effect of Market Uncertainty and Strategic Feedback Systems on Emergent Marketing Strategies & Performance in Pakistan

The core objective of the study is to check the effect of market uncertainty (market dynamism and market complexity) and strategic feedback systems on emergent marketing strategies (7ps) & performance in Pakistan. The variables used in the study are Market Dynamism, Market Complexity, Strategic Feedback System, Emergent Scope of Marketing Strategic (7ps) and Marketing Performance. The study was conducted by the help of questionnaire made from interviews of strategic marketing managers of national and international firms in Pakistan. The Likert 7-scale questionnaire is used. 69 questionnaires were successfully returned. Results of the study are: Market Dynamism affects emergent scope of price and people. Market Complexity affects emergent scope of product, distribution, promotion and people. Strategic Feedback System affects product, price, place, promotion, process and physical evidence. Emergent scope of product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence affect Market Performance. Strategic Marketing Managers should focus on the above significant marketing mix while formulating Marketing Dynamics, Marketing Complexities and Strategic Feedback System. Marketing mix should be designed with particular focus on performance of market.
Intrasensory Attention: Kinaesthetic versus Cutaneous Inputs

Blindfolded participants felt pairs of raised-line drawings simultaneously, one with each index finger. The stimuli presented at each fingertip were 180° rotations of each other (eg 6 and 9). One finger moved (either actively or passively), and this in turn caused movement of a matched raised line underneath the stationary finger on the other hand, in a yoked manner. Thus, a 6 at the moving finger would be felt as a 9 on the stationary finger. On all trials there was a raised line moving underneath the stationary fully passive finger. For the moving finger, a raised line was present on only half of the trials. When a raised line could be felt at the moving fingertip, the shape followed by this finger was more often reported than was the shape present at the other (stationary) fingertip. However, when no line was present under the moving finger (ie when movement became the major cue for shape), subjects reported experiencing the shape moved under the stationary fingertip. Results are interpreted as an indication that cutaneous information can be more ‘attention-getting’ than kinaesthetic information, and are considered to support the modality-appropriateness theory.
Burden of Clostridium difficile infection in the United States.

BACKGROUND The magnitude and scope of Clostridium difficile infection in the United States continue to evolve. METHODS In 2011, we performed active population- and laboratory-based surveillance across 10 geographic areas in the United States to identify cases of C. difficile infection (stool specimens positive for C. difficile on either toxin or molecular assay in residents ≥ 1 year of age). Cases were classified as community-associated or health care-associated. In a sample of cases of C. difficile infection, specimens were cultured and isolates underwent molecular typing. We used regression models to calculate estimates of national incidence and total number of infections, first recurrences, and deaths within 30 days after the diagnosis of C. difficile infection. RESULTS A total of 15,461 cases of C. difficile infection were identified in the 10 geographic areas; 65.8% were health care-associated, but only 24.2% had onset during hospitalization. After adjustment for predictors of disease incidence, the estimated number of incident C. difficile infections in the United States was 453,000 (95% confidence interval [CI], 397,100 to 508,500). The incidence was estimated to be higher among females (rate ratio, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.25 to 1.27), whites (rate ratio, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.56 to 2.0), and persons 65 years of age or older (rate ratio, 8.65; 95% CI, 8.16 to 9.31). The estimated number of first recurrences of C. difficile infection was 83,000 (95% CI, 57,000 to 108,900), and the estimated number of deaths was 29,300 (95% CI, 16,500 to 42,100). The North American pulsed-field gel electrophoresis type 1 (NAP1) strain was more prevalent among health care-associated infections than among community-associated infections (30.7% vs. 18.8%, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS C. difficile was responsible for almost half a million infections and was associated with approximately 29,000 deaths in 2011. (Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.).
Antecedents of mass customization capability: Direct and interaction effects

Research suggests that flexible manufacturing resources, customer involvement, and product management tools contribute to a high level of mass customization capability. Conceptualizing these antecedents as resource types, we examine hypotheses about their direct and complementary effects on mass customization capability. Analyzing secondary survey data from 238 plants in eight countries and three industries via hierarchical linear regression, we find that each individual resource type has a positive direct effect on mass customization capability, as long as the levels of the other two resources are at their sample mean value. Probing these results via conditional effects and marginal effects plots provides partial support for the complementarity argument, and unveil complex nonlinear interactions among the three resource types. When the level of one resource type is low, the two remaining resource types exhibit a strong bivariate complementary effect on mass customization capability. Conversely, when one resource type is at a high level, the complementary effect on mass customization capability of the two remaining resource types disappears and is replaced by a cancellation effect. The detection of complementary effects and of cancellation effects are two specific theoretical contributions to the literature on how manufacturers can enhance their capability to mass customize.
Clinical performance of bonded amalgam restorations at 42 months.

BACKGROUND Despite a lack of data based on clinical research, many positive characteristics have been attributed to the placement of amalgam restorations with an adhesive resin liner. METHODS For 42 months, and authors followed two groups of subjects who had amalgam restorations placed in a previous study. In this double-blind study, these subjects had been randomly assigned to have amalgam restorations placed with an adhesive liner or with a copal varnish placed under all restorations and a bulk base of zinc phosphate cement for deeper lesions. The authors evaluated anatomical form, marginal adaptation, retention and the presence of secondary caries at six, 18, 30 and 42 months. RESULTS At 42 months, the authors found that all restorations in both groups still were retained, were free of secondary caries and were rated clinically acceptable. No difference between the groups was found for any category (P > .05; analysis). CONCLUSIONS Placement of amalgam restorations with adhesive liners was found to produce results equivalent to that of traditional methods over a 42-month period. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Practitioners wary of using new methods that have not undergone thorough clinical testing can feel comfortable placing adhesive liners under amalgam restorations.
The Evidence for the Spread and Seeding Capacities of the Mutant Huntingtin Protein in in Vitro Systems and Their Therapeutic Implications

Neurodegenerative disorders are not only characterized by specific patterns of cell loss but the presence and accumulation of various pathological proteins—both of which correlate with disease evolution. There is now mounting evidence to suggest that these pathological proteins present with toxic, at times prion-like, properties and can therefore seed pathology in neighboring as well remotely connected healthy neurons as they spread across the brain. What is less clear, at this stage, is how much this actually contributes to, and drives, the core pathogenic events. In this review, we present a comprehensive, up-to-date summary of the reported in vitro studies that support the spreading and seeding capacities of pathological proteins, with an emphasis on mutant huntingtin protein in the context of Huntington's disease, although in vivo work remains to be performed to validate this theory in this particular disease. We have further reviewed these findings in light of their potential implications for the development of novel therapeutic approaches.
Post-Formation Processes in Eastern and Western European Joint Ventures

This study examines the post-formation processes that firms use to create successful international joint ventures (IJVs). Scholars have suggested that IJV performance is dependent on the post-formation processes firms institute to overcome barriers to success created by differences in national culture, trust, ownership positions and control mechanisms. Based on a longitudinal study of eight eastern/western European IJVs, our study provides insights into these post-formation processes, how these processes relate to each other, and how they relate to managers' evaluations of IJV success.
Financial Constraints, Monetary Policy Shocks, and the Cross-Section of Equity Returns

We analyze the impact ofa unanticipated monetary policy changes on the cross-section of U.S. equity returns. Financially constrained firms earn a significantly lower (higher) return following surprise interest rate increases (decreases) as compared to unconstrained firms. This differential return response between constrained and unconstrained firms appears after a delay of 3 to 4 days. Further, unanticipated Federal funds rate increases are associated with a larger decrease in expected cash flow news, but not discount rate news, for constrained firms relative to unconstrained firms. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.
How EU Integration and Legacies Mattered for Foreign Direct Investment into Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract This essay uses the case of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Central and Eastern Europe to stipulate how European Union (EU) integration affected the economic globalisation of the post-socialist region. Existing studies argue that expectations of impending EU membership had a direct effect on raising FDI inflows because they reduced perceived investment risks for potential investors. In contrast, I show that the EU accession process worked through an indirect effect on FDI: it influenced post-socialist states' efforts to promote FDI as a desirable strategy of economic development and the behaviour of firms. These state efforts, in turn, increased FDI inflows, net of conventional risk and return factors. Further analyses indicate that decisions about state FDI-promotion have been influenced not only by EU conditionality but also, and importantly, by particular legacies, namely the countries' initial choice of privatisation strategies, extent of reform during socialism and history of state sovereignty. Overall, the results suggest that EU integration and legacies of the past shape both the structural and the ideational context for domestic decision-making elites in Central and Eastern Europe, and may act not only as constraints but also as enabling conditions facilitating the global economic integration of the region.
Instability of Glacial Climate in a Model of the Ocean- Atmosphere-Cryosphere System

In contrast to the relatively stable climate of the past 10,000 years, during glacial times the North Atlantic region experienced large-amplitude transitions between cold (stadial) and warm (interstadial) states. In this modeling study, we demonstrate that hydrological interactions between the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) and adjacent continental ice sheets can trigger abrupt warming events and also limit the lifetime of the interstadial circulation mode. These interactions have the potential to destabilize the THC, which is already more sensitive for glacial conditions than for the present-day climate, thus providing an explanation for the increased variability of glacial climate.
Using Digital Video for Professional Development in Urban Schools

Abstract This study used a variety of qualitative methods within the context of an exploratory single case study to examine the use of digital video as a means for a preservice teacher to capture personal teaching episodes and reflect on them as an integral part of her professional development. Results demonstrate how an urban preservice teacher’s work with digital video of her teaching promoted reflection and the development of teacher identity. Results also demonstrated how a teacher educator was able to use the digital video as a tool to help the beginning teacher identify effective practices.
New Results in Support of the Fiscal Policy Ineffectiveness Proposition

The authors demonstrate that previous tests of money and fiscal policy ineffectiveness are likely to be biased because they ignore interaction effects between policies. The authors' empirical analysis of U.S. experience supports the short-run ineffectiveness of anticipated and unanticipated fiscal policy, in contrast to other empirical research, but, similarly to most other studies, rejects the short-run neutrality of anticipated money. However, they find that in the longer run all policies--either anticipated or unanticipated--have had neutral effects on U.S. output growth. Copyright 1990 by Ohio State University Press.
Accounting for Creativity in the European Union: A multi-level analysis of individual competence, labour market structure, and systems of education and training

Some workplaces offer employees opportunities to creatively use their own ideas while engaged in learning and problem-solving activity without much interference from managers and bosses. In this paper we analyse the preconditions for creative work. Using multilevel logistic modelling we examine what characteristics of the individual, the organisation of work and the national institutional context promote creative work. At the national level we focus on the effects of national education and training systems and labour markets. The analysis demonstrates, not surprisingly, that individuals with higher education and a certain amount of work experience are more likely to have creative jobs. It also shows that creative jobs are more likely at workplaces where managers support employees and where work is organised to promote knowledge diversity. In terms of international differences, we find that creative work tends to be more developed in Scandinavian countries than in the South and East of Europe. Interestingly, we find significant positive relations between the likelihood of creativity at work, on the one hand, and the development of broad competence-based systems of education and labour market flexicurity, on the other. This implies that policy attempts to attract 'the creative class' as it has been defined by Richard Florida through promoting diversity should at the national level be combined with the institutional reform of Europe's education systems and labour markets. Such policies may extend the category of creative employees to include significant parts of what Florida defines as 'the working class'.
THE MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS PLANTS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

The two authors of this monumental work have contributed a volume of real value and absorbing interest to our accumulating knowledge. It is evident that a tremendous amount of time, energy, scientific acumen and careful research has been expended in collecting, classifying and investigating large numbers of plants which have either medicinal or poisonous properties, or both, in the vast regions of southern Africa. It has not been the reviewer's object to criticize individual descriptions for the excellent reason that he has no definite knowledge on the overwhelming majority of these strange plants over and beyond what is contained in the paragraphs. Most of them are of doubtful value except from the botanical standpoint, or when known to contain some active principle that native medicine or magic has discovered by empirical methods.
Safety and efficacy of immunomodulators and biologics during pregnancy and lactation for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

Introduction: The inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic, idiopathic, inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, that peak in incidence during the reproductive years. Therefore, the safety of IBD medications during pregnancy and lactation is of significant interest to patients. Unfortunately, the current pregnancy labeling used by the United States Food and Drug Association (FDA) is often misinterpreted and may mislead healthcare providers and their patients to believe that risk increases from Category A to B to C to D to X, which in fact, is not the case. In addition, the FDA categories do not always distinguish between risks based on human versus animal data, or between differences in frequency, severity, and type of fetal developmental toxicities. Areas covered: This article provides an in-depth review of the available safety data during pregnancy and lactation for the more potent immunosuppressants used to treat IBD: the immunomodulators and biologics. It also includes the authors' expert opinions on the use of these medications during these critical periods. Expert opinion: The benefit-to-risk ratio for most immunomodulators and biologics used in the treatment of IBD favors medication continuation during pregnancy. Certain immunomodulators, however, can cause extreme fetal harm and should be used with caution. While human safety data regarding teratogenesis and some data on pregnancy outcomes exist for most IBD medications, long-term follow-up studies of children and young adults exposed to these drugs in utero are lacking. These studies are needed to determine if these drugs are of sufficiently low risk to be considered safe.