Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electromyographic analysis of masseter and temporal muscles, bite force, masticatory efficiency in medicated individuals with schizophrenia and mood disorders compared with healthy controls.

This study aimed to comparatively analyse the electromyographic activity of the masseter and temporal muscles at rest and during mandible postural clinical conditions (right and left laterality, protrusion and maximum voluntary contraction), right and left maximum molar bite forces and the masticatory efficiency of individuals with schizophrenia or mood disorders - all medicated (medicated groups) compared with control group (healthy volunteers) via electromyography. Individuals were distributed into three groups: Group I (Schizophrenia - 20 individuals), Group II (mood disorders - 20 individuals) and Group III (Control - 40 individuals). Basically, the results were only statistically significant for the clinical mandible conditions and bite force. The most unsatisfactory results were observed in the medicated groups in relation to the control group. The group with mood disorders obtained the most unsatisfactory results compared with the group with schizophrenia. It was suggested by these observations that the association of mood disorders and schizophrenia with medication has negatively affected the stomatognathic system in relation to controls when the electromyography and bite force were used for the analysis.
The Effect of Ownership Concentration on Firm Value of Listed Companies

The purpose of this study is to explore the link between ownership concentration and the market value of listed companies using data from the selected 21 banks listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange during the period of 2008 2012. The hypothesis formulated and tested for the study was that there is no significant relationship between ownership concentration and market value of listed companies. Ownership concentration was considered as independent variable while market value was considered as dependent variable. Ownership concentration was measured by the amount of stock owned by individual investors and large –block shareholders divided by total stock. Market value was determined using the stock prices. The firm specific control variables were loan performance, profitability and firm size of the selected companies. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data while least square regression method was used to draw inference on the relationship between ownership concentration and firm value. The result indicates that a positive significant relationship exists between a firm value and ownership concentration.
The immediate hemodynamic effects of enhanced external counterpulsation on the left ventricular function

Abstract Objectives. Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a non-invasive therapy with long-term anti-anginal effects offered to patients with refractory angina pectoris. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of EECP on myocardial contractility measured as global longitudinal strain (GLS) during EECP treatment. Design. Patients with known refractory angina were enrolled by invitation and underwent 1 h of EECP treatment. Two-dimensional echocardiography and Doppler echocardiography were performed before and during EECP treatment with 15-minute intervals. The peak diastolic/systolic blood pressure ratio (D/S ratio) was monitored with finger pletysmography. GLS was assessed offline with speckle-tracking software (EchoPAC GE Healthcare USA). Results. Twenty patients were included (mean age 65.0 ± 8.2; 85% males). During EECP treatment, the systolic function of the left ventricle (LV) expressed in terms of an increasing GLS (− 17.9 vs. − 16.2% p < 0.05) and a rising cardiac output (5.5 vs. 4.6 l/min p < 0.05) were improved. D/S ratio during the EECP procedure was inversely correlated to LV filling pressure (E/Em ratio r = − 0.5 p = 0.035). Conclusions. In conclusion, we demonstrated that EECP improved left ventricular GLS and systolic function in an acute setting. Future studies must explore whether these immediate hemodynamic changes are associated to the clinical effect of EECP treatment.
Corporate compliance with environmental regulation in China : style, commitment, and proactive management

This thesis is protected by copyright, with all rights reserved. By reading and using the thesis, the reader understands and agrees to the following terms: 1. The reader will abide by the rules and legal ordinances governing copyright regarding the use of the thesis. 2. The reader will use the thesis for the purpose of research or private study only and not for distribution or further reproduction or any other purpose. 3. The reader agrees to indemnify and hold the University harmless from and against any loss, damage, cost, liability or expenses arising from copyright infringement or unauthorized usage.
Making a university community more dementia friendly through participation in an intergenerational choir

A dementia friendly community is one that is informed about dementia, respectful and inclusive of people with dementia and their families, provides support, promotes empowerment, and fosters quality of life. This study presents data from four cohorts of undergraduate college students and people with dementia and their family members, using an intergenerational choir as the process through which to begin to create a dementia friendly community. This was accomplished by breaking down the stereotypes and misunderstandings that young adults have about people with dementia, thus allowing their commonalities and the strengths of the people living with dementia to become more visible. Data were gathered for each cohort of students through semi-structured open-ended questions on attitudes about dementia and experiences in the choir, collected at three points over 10 weeks of rehearsals. Data about their experiences in the choir were collected from each cohort of people with dementia and their family members through a focus group. Results across all four cohorts showed in the students: changed attitudes, increased understanding about dementia and the lived experience, reduced dementia stigma, and the development of meaningful social connections. People with dementia and their family members expressed feelings of being part of a community.
Possible Risk of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis with Marijuana Use during Chemotherapy for Small Cell Lung Cancer

Bacterial and fungal contaminants have been identified in marijuana samples and thus are a potential risk factor in the immunocompromised patient using it as an antiemetic. We describe the development of an invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in a patient using illicitly obtained marijuana as an antiemetic during combination antitumor therapy for small cell lung cancer. Although this patient had multiple risk factors implicated in the development of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, the infectious potential of inhaled marijuana must be recognized. Further study of this potential health risk is needed.
Multinational Corporations' Return on Investment Optimization in Nigeria's Business Environment

Trade between the United States and Africa decreased 32% from US$125 billion, in 2011, to US$85 billion, in 2013; however, MNCs from other regions have continued to increase investments in Africa. Multinational corporations (MNCs) generate most of their return on investment (ROI) from the Western world. Globalization, increasing middle classes in emerging markets, and decreasing population in the Western world have lead to unsustainable ROI. Nigeria, the most populous and largest economy in Africa and the 27 th largest economy in the world, offers new opportunities with an annual growth rate forecast of 6% to 8%. Utilizing the diamond theory of competitive advantage of nations, this single case study was an exploration of the strategies that managers of MNCs have used to optimize Nigeria’s higher ROI. Interview questions on new entry challenges, operational obstacles, and strategies to mitigate the challenges contributed to answering the overarching research question related to the strategies that managers of MNCs have used successfully to take advantage of Nigeria’s high ROI. The participants were 5 executives at the Nigerian operation of a global technology conglomerate with presence in 166 countries. Data collection included a series of semistructured face-to-face interviews. Data analysis using modified van Kaam method resulted in 5 themes: business environment, effective entry strategies, challenges in Nigeria, mitigating challenges in Nigeria, and volatility of Nigerian market and mitigation strategies. Findings may contribute to ROI optimization and influence social change by providing more jobs, thereby increasing standard of living in Nigeria. Multinational Corporations’ Return on Investment Optimization in Nigeria’s Business Environment by Funlola Francesca Fajinmi MBA, National University, 2013 BS, National University, 2011 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University April 2016 Dedication First, I am dedicating this study to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave me the opportunity to embark upon this unimaginable venture. I thank God for my husband Reverend Oluwabukola Charles Fajinmi, who wholeheartedly supported and encouraged me from the beginning to the end, and to my wonderful children, Alisia, Damilola, and Bamidele, for their physical and emotional support. This study would have been impossible without you, I am eternally grateful. Acknowledgments My sincere and special thanks to my chair, Dr. Jorge Gaytan. I appreciate all he did to help me finish my research. He was fully dedicated to supporting me throughout the journey and beyond the finish line. I could not have asked for a better chair. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Matthew Knight and Dr. Richard Johnson, for their help in ensuring my study meets the required academic standards of Walden
Fashion designers as business: London

Purpose – This paper aims to provide an insight into how fashion designer businesses work and survive in London, with an understanding of business techniques and the survival strategies of British fashion designers.Design/methodology/ approach – The initial research demonstrated a need to define “innovation” as well as recognise the approach of “creative people” in business by exploring existing literature. This was followed by a series of structured interviews with nine British Fashion Designers in London, and three with intermediaries aimed at putting the designers' activities within a business context: a fashion PR; a lawyer specialising in fashion business and a creative director of a fashion distributor.Findings – The research suggests ten survival strategies employed by fashion designers. The five fashion designers in a sustainable business all operated all of these principles. Those no longer in business operated between one and five of these principles. As designers gain experience and realise the.
A tour of nonlocal means techniques for image filtering

The present work proposes a review and comparison of different Nonlocal Means (NLM) methods in the task of digital image filtering. Some different alternatives to change the classical exponential kernel function used in NLM methods are explored. Moreover, some approaches that change the geometry of the neighborhood and use dimensionality reduction of the neighborhood or patches onto principal component analysis (PCA) are also analyzed, and their performance is compared with respect to the classic NLM method. Mainly, six approaches were compared using quantitative and qualitative evaluations, to do this an homogenous framework has been established using the same simulation platform, the same computer, and same conditions for the initializing parameters. One will notice that particularly, the BM3D SAPCA approach gives the best denoising results, but in contrast, the computation times of this method were the longest.
Intermittent X‐linked thrombocytopenia with a novel WAS gene mutation

X‐linked thrombocytopenia (XLT) is caused by mutations in the WAS gene and characterized by thrombocytopenia with minimal or no immunodeficiency. Patients with XLT usually exhibit persistent thrombocytopenia, and intermittent thrombocytopenia has been described only in two families. Here, we report a patient with intermittent XLT carrying a novel missense mutation (Ala56Thr). He showed residual expression of Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein in the lymphocytes and platelets. There appeared to be an association between normal platelet numbers and a post infectious state. Our findings further support the importance of analysis of Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein in male patients who exhibit fluctuating courses of thrombocytopenia. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2014;61:746–748. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Taxes, Volatility and the Cost of Equity Capital: An Analysis of the Jobs & Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003

We hypothesize that the 2003 decrease in individual tax rates on dividends and capital gains should have been followed by a decline in the cost of capital and increased volatility, especially for dividend paying firms. We observe a significantly positive increase in the volatility of daily returns which is larger for dividend than non-dividend-paying firms, and is positively associated with dividend yield. We find that the increase in volatility dampened the cost of capital reduction brought about by the tax reduction. We also analyze changes in ERCs as a proxy for changes in firm cost of capital. The heightened investor response to unexpected earnings information is larger for dividend-paying firms overall, but is not positively associated with dividend yield. These results suggest that as dividend yields increase, the initial effect of the tax rate changes on cost of capital is offset by increased return volatility from those same rate changes.
Seeding Viral Content

ABSTRACT Online viral campaigns require a seeding strategy that involves choosing the first-generation consumers to spread a viral message to. Building on social-capital theory and social-network analysis, this research examines key aspects of the seeding strategy by tracking the diffusion of 101 new videos published on YouTube. The results show that the need for a “big-seed” strategy (i.e., using many seed consumers) depends on message quality. Furthermore, one should choose consumers who have strong ties with the advertiser and who also have strong influence on others, rather than simply wider reach. Among seed consumers, they should share a moderate amount of interest overlap instead of being too homogeneous or heterogeneous as a group.
An open-label safety and pharmacokinetics study of duloxetine in pediatric patients with major depression.

OBJECTIVE This preliminary, 32-week study assessed the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of duloxetine in pediatric patients (aged 7-17 years) with major depressive disorder. METHODS Patients received flexible duloxetine doses of 20-120 mg once daily, with dose changes made based on clinical improvement and tolerability. Pharmacokinetic samples were collected across all duloxetine doses, and data were analyzed using population modeling. Primary outcome measures included treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), vital signs, and Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). RESULTS Of the 72 enrolled patients, 48 (66.7%) completed acute treatment (18 weeks) and 42 (58.3%) completed extended treatment. Most patients (55/72; 76%) required doses ≥ 60 mg once daily to optimize efficacy based on investigator judgment and Clinical Global Impressions-Severity score. Body weight and age did not significantly affect duloxetine pharmacokinetic parameters. Typical duloxetine clearance in pediatric patients was ≈ 42%-60% higher than that in adults. Four patients (5.6%) discontinued due to TEAEs. Many (36/72, 50%) patients experienced potentially clinically significant (PCS) elevations in blood pressure, with most cases (21/36, 58%) being transient. As assessed via C-SSRS, one nonfatal suicidal attempt occurred, two patients (2.8%) experienced worsening of suicidal ideation, and among the 19 patients reporting suicidal ideation at baseline, 17 (90%) reported improvement in suicidal ideation. CONCLUSION Results suggested that pediatric patients generally tolerated duloxetine doses of 30 to 120 mg once daily, although transient PCS elevations in blood pressure were observed in many patients. Pharmacokinetic results suggested that adjustment of total daily dose based on body weight or age is not warranted for pediatric patients and different total daily doses may not be warranted for pediatric patients relative to adults.
Directors' Network and the Method of Payment in Mergers and Acquisitions

This paper studies the impact of the network centrality of directors on the choice of payment method in mergers and acquisitions of firms in which they sit at the board. We assume that the centrality of directors reduces information asymmetry problems, facilitating information transmission between the firms involved in each deal. Using a large database on Board of Directors, we construct the directors' social network and analyze the impact of their centrality on the resolution of information uncertainty surrounding the deal. Our results indicate that when directors seating at the acquiror board have more connections, the percentage of cash used as payment increases. On the other hand, when the director of a target firm has more social connections, the percentage of stock used as payment increases.
Information Communication Technology (ICT) Adoption Among SME Owners in Malaysia

This paper examines the extent of information communication technology (ICT) skills, use, and adoption among owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia; identifies innovation characteristics and adopter categories among the owners; and establishes the relationship among these various constructs. The authors surveyed 383 SME owners, using a survey instrument developed from the constructs used in the diffusion of innovation theory. The findings show that the level of ICT skills possessed by SME owners in Malaysia is poor, that their use of ICT is low, and that their adoption of ICT is slow and late, primarily because they find that ICT adoption is difficult. The authors discuss the implications of their study and present their suggestions for future research direction.
Fractional integration for Laguerre expansions

The aim of this note is to provide a fractional integration theorem in the framework of Laguerre expansions. The method of proof consists of establishing an asymptotic estimate for the involved kernel and then applying a method of Hedberg [5]. We combine this result with sufficient (p, p) multiplier criteria of Stempak and Trebels [10]. The resulting sufficient (p, q) multiplier criteria are comparable with necessary ones of Gasper and Trebels [3]. Our notation is essentially that in [10]. Thus we consider the Lebesgue spaces
The sustainable humanitarian supply chain design: agility, adaptability and alignment

The sustainable humanitarian supply chain (SHSC) has been the subject of research and debate over recent years. The aim of the paper is to provide an SHSC definition, propose an SHSC structure and validate it empirically. A unique contribution of the present study is an attempt to delineate humanitarian supply chain (HSC) management from commercial supply chain management and further discuss the HSC from the point of view of sustainability. We identify three important characteristics of a HSC network: agility, adaptability and alignment, and further explore possible linkages using extant literature and interpretive structural modelling (ISM). We further test the constructs using confirmatory factor analysis. In this way we attempt to answer long-pending calls from past researchers to contribute to the existing theories of HSC and identify further research directions based on the limitations of the present study.
Demographic and attitudinal differences between active and inactive credit cardholders ‐ the case of Hong Kong

Surveying 536 subjects, aims to examine the demographic and attitudinal differences between inactive and active bank credit cardholders in Hong Kong. Says that as far as demography is concerned, income is found to be the single most important variable that influences the card usage rate. To induce more intensive card usage, efforts to develop credit cards as a preferred mode of payment are necessary. Posits that such efforts would involve further liaison with merchants so as to make them fully realize the advantages of accepting card payment. States that, furthermore, by employing the basic multi‐attribute attitude model advocated by Wilkie (1986), the present survey reconfirms the positive relationship between attitude and usage rate that was documented by Meidan (1996). Also indicates the general importance of “monetary” incentives in influencing the attitudes of cardholders. Last, the survey results provides card marketers with further insights into the importance of transaction and financing convenience, and possibly card design, in activating apathetic cardholders.
Sovereign Risk Analysis Using Self-Organizing Maps: The European, Spanish and German Case

The economic recession in the European countries during the current financial crisis and the worsening of the financial situation in a number of countries have resulted in an increase of the sovereign debt risk. In this paper we use the method of self-organizing maps to propose a European classification according to the sovereign risk of each country. We detect different risk profiles across countries and identify the public expenditure and the saving rate as the most critical variables to assess the sovereign risk. In addition, since several countries of the European Union have regions with some degree of economic and financial competences, we study the influence of the regions on the country sovereign risk. We classify and compare the Spanish and German regions and we prove the impact of the regional situation on the whole country situation.
Neurogenic Bladder May be a Side Effect of Focus Resection in an Epileptic Patient

A 34‐year‐old man with intractable epilepsy was treated by focus resection. The resected volume of neocortex in the left supracallosal part of the medial frontal gyrus was 7 times 1×2.5 cm. The treatment was effective and epileptic attacks completely disappeared. However, the patient developed urinary incontinence postoperatively without any other new neurological abnormalities. Urodynamic study revealed loss of bladder sensation, increased bladder capacity, involuntary detrusor contraction, and synergic external sphincter. The supracallosal part of the medial frontal gyrus has been reported to include 1 of the suprapontine micturition centers. In this case, resection of this area significantly affected bladder function. Loss of bladder sensation and increased threshold volume on micturition are characteristic signs of deficit in this area.