Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Voting Choice and Rational Choice

Rational choice theory may seem like a separate theoretical approach with its own forbidding mathematics. However, the central assumptions of rational choice theory are very similar to those in mainstream political behavior and even interpretive sociology. Indeed, many of the statistical methods used in empirical political behavior assume axiomatic models of voter choice. When we consider individual voting behavior, the contribution of rational choice has been to formalize what empirical political scientists do anyway, and provide some new tools. However, it is when we consider collective voting choice—what elections mean and what kind of policy outcomes result—that rational choice leads to new, counterintuitive insights. Rational choice also has a normative dimension. Without voter rationality the traditional understanding of democracy as popular choice makes little sense.
An effectiveness study comparing acupuncture, physiotherapy, and their combination in poststroke rehabilitation: a multicentered, randomized, controlled clinical trial.

CONTEXT Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, being the third leading cause of death in the United States and the second and third most common causes of death in Chinese cities and rural areas, respectively. Evaluation of different rehabilitative modalities appears necessary to optimize treatment. OBJECTIVES To compare acupuncture and physiotherapy for effectiveness and reliability in treating hemiplegic patients after stroke. DESIGN The research team designed a multicentered, three-arm, randomized controlled trial. Power calculations revealed a targeted sample size of 310 participants. SETTING The study took place at seven in-patient hospitals in China. PARTICIPANTS The research team screened a total of 310 patients. Of that number, 274 completed the study, 15 did not meet the inclusion/exclusion criteria, and 21 dropped out. Adverse events were rare (less than 1%), mild, and temporary. INTERVENTION The research team randomly divided participants into three groups that all received conventional care as needed-including psychological counseling, standard nursing care, and daily medical evaluation plus (1) acupuncture, (2) physiotherapy, or (3) acupuncture plus physiotherapy. The participants received treatments once a day, 6 days a week for 4 weeks. OUTCOME MEASURES The research team evaluated all patients at baseline, after 2 weeks, and after 4 weeks using the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of Physical Performance (FMA), a modified Barthel Index (BI), and the Neurologic Defect Scale (NDS). RESULTS No significant differences existed between the three groups at baseline. Compared to baseline, participants in all groups improved their FMA, BI, and NDS scores by the end of week 2 (P≤.05) and further improved by the end of week 4 (P≤.05) The study found no statistically significant differences in outcomes between the three groups after treatment (P>.05). CONCLUSION Acupuncture plus conventional care was similar in effectiveness to physiotherapy treatment plus conventional care for poststroke rehabilitation. The study found no synergistic effects for the combination of acupuncture and physiotherapy in addition to conventional care; that combination of treatments was no more effective than either treatment by itself. The effectiveness and lack of adverse events associated with acupuncture in this study suggest that it may represent an additional treatment option for stroke patients.
SPECT brain perfusion abnormalities in mild or moderate traumatic brain injury.

The purpose of this atlas is to present a review of the literature showing the advantages of SPECT brain perfusion imaging (BPI) in mild or moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) over other morphologic imaging modalities such as x-ray CT or MRI. The authors also present the technical recommendations for SPECT brain perfusion currently practiced at their center. For the radiopharmaceutical of choice, a comparison between early and delayed images using Tc-99m HMPAO and Tc-99m ECD showed that Tc-99m HMPAO is more stable in the brain with no washout over time. Therefore, the authors feel that Tc-99m HMPAO is preferable to Tc-99m ECD. Recommendations regarding standardizing intravenous injection, the acquisition, processing parameters, and interpretation of scans using a ten grade color scale, and use of the cerebellum as the reference organ are presented. SPECT images of 228 patients (age range, 11 to 88; mean, 40.8 years) with mild or moderate TBI and no significant medical history that interfered with the results of the SPECT BP were reviewed. The etiology of the trauma was in the following order of frequency: motor vehicle accidents (45%) followed by blow to the head (36%) and a fall (19%). Frequency of the symptoms was headache (60.9%), memory problems (27.6%), dizziness (26.7%), and sleep disorders (8.7%). Comparison between patients imaged early (<3 months) versus those imaged delayed (>3 months) from the time of the accident, showed that early imaging detected more lesions (4.2 abnormal lesions per study compared to 2.7 in those imaged more than 3 months after the accident). Of 41 patients who had mild traumatic injury without loss of consciousness and had normal CT, 28 studies were abnormal. Focal areas of hypoperfusion were seen in 77% (176 patients, 612 lesions) of the group of 228 patients. The sites of abnormalities were in the following order: basal ganglia and thalami, 55.2%, frontal lobes, 23.8%, temporal lobes, 13%, parietal, 3.7%, insular and occipital lobes together, 4.6%.
Sex-specific predictors of improved walking with step-monitored, home-based exercise in peripheral artery disease

The aim of this study was to determine whether baseline clinical characteristics and the duration and intensity of ambulation during our step-monitored home-based exercise program were predictive of changes in ambulatory outcomes at completion of the program in symptomatic patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Twenty-two men (ankle–brachial index (ABI) = 0.71 ± 0.19) and 24 women (ABI = 0.66 ± 0.23) completed the home exercise program, consisting of intermittent walking to mild-to-moderate claudication pain for 3 months. Ambulatory outcome measures were peak walking time (PWT) and claudication onset time (COT) during a treadmill test, and the distance recorded during a 6-minute walk distance test (6MWD). Men experienced significant increases (p<0.01) in COT, PWT, and 6MWD following the home exercise program, and women had significant increases in 6MWD (p<0.01) and PWT (p<0.05). In women, average exercise cadence during the home exercise sessions was the only predictor that entered the model for change in COT (p=0.082), and was the first predictor in the model for change in PWT (p=0.029) and 6MWD (p=0.006). In men, the ABI was the only predictor that entered the model for change in 6MWD (p=0.002), and ABI was a predictor along with metabolic syndrome in the model for change in COT (p=0.003). No variables entered the model for change in PWT. Faster ambulatory cadence during the step-monitored home-based exercise program may predict greater improvements in ambulatory function in women, whereas having less severe PAD and comorbid burden at baseline may predict greater improvements in ambulatory function in men. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00618670
Contested labour and political leadership: three mineworkers’ unions after the opposition victory in Zambia

ABSTRACT Scholars of Zambian labour thought the once-powerful movement in terminal decline, but followed up neither the effects of the multi-union environment nor the opposition victory of a leftist political party in 2011. The author’s case study of three mineworkers’ unions (Mineworkers’ Union of Zambia, National Union of Miners and Allied Workers and United Mineworkers Union of Zambia) shows how the Patriotic Front party reawakened labour militancy only to suppress it within five months. The union competition increased welfare and financial accountability, but even insurgent unions surrendered to the dominant ideology of ‘industrial peace’, yielding the strike weapon to corporate hegemony. The article concludes that the unions have little bargaining power, but that the constant grassroots contestation of labour and political leaders renders Zambian labour highly vibrant.
Long‐term Infliximab Maintenance Therapy for Ulcerative Colitis: The ACT‐1 and ‐2 Extension Studies

Background: The aim was to evaluate long‐term efficacy, quality of life, and safety in ulcerative colitis patients who received infliximab during the ACT‐1 and ‐2 extension studies. Methods: Adults with moderate‐to‐severely active ulcerative colitis in the 54‐week ACT‐1 and 30‐week ACT‐2 studies who achieved benefit from infliximab were eligible to participate in extension studies and receive up to 3 additional years of therapy. Patients received randomized study medication until all sites were unblinded; placebo‐treated patients were discontinued. Patients receiving 5 or 10 mg/kg infliximab continued to receive open‐label infliximab every 8 weeks. Patients receiving infliximab 10 mg/kg could decrease to 5 mg/kg; patients receiving infliximab 5 mg/kg could increase to 10 mg/kg if response was lost. Results: A total of 229 of 484 infliximab‐treated patients from the ACT‐1 and ACT‐2 main studies entered the long‐term extensions. Overall, 70 (30.6%) patients discontinued infliximab infusions for adverse events (24 [10.5%]), lack of efficacy (11 [4.8%]), required a colectomy (1 [0.4%]), or for other reasons (34 [14.8%]). Proportions of patients whose Physician's Global Assessment scores were indicative of no or mild disease (score = 0 or 1) were maintained during the extension studies; 76.5% at Extension week 0 and ranged between 90.0% and 94.3% through Extension week 152. Improvement in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire scores observed in the main studies was maintained. During the long‐term extension, the infliximab safety profile was consistent with that of the main studies; no new or unexpected safety signals were observed. Conclusions: Long‐term treatment with infliximab for up to 3 additional years was effective and well tolerated. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2011;)
Amenities and the Social Structure of Cities

We develop a new model of a "featureful" city in which locations are differentiated by two attributes, that is, the distance to employment centers and the accessibility to given amenities, and we show how heterogeneous households in income are sorted out across the urban space. Under Stone-Geary preferences, the spatial income distribution is governed by a location-quality index which reflects the interaction between the amenity and commuting cost functions. The residential equilibrium typically involves the spatial separation of households sharing similar incomes. Using data on Dutch cities, we show that there is a causal relationship between the amenity level and consumer income, suggesting that richer households sort themselves into high amenity locations. We do not find strong evidence that employment accessibility leads to income segregation, suggesting that the standard monocentric city model without amenities is a poor predictor of the social structure of cities.
Idiotype‐specific neonatal suppression of phosphorylcholine‐responsive B cells

The effect of neonatal anti‐idiotypic suppression on the expression of B cells of the T15 clonotype has been investigated at the level of individual clonal precursor cells. The results indicate that B cells of the T15 clonotype are almost completely eliminated from the repertoire for four months after neonatal injection of allogeneic anti‐idiotypic serum. The degree of this suppression is dependent on the amount of anti‐idiotypic antibody administered and is less profound if anti‐idiotypic antibody is given after the first week of life. No suppression was observed when anti‐idiotypic antisera were administered to mice 30 days of age or older, which may indicate that immature B cells are the population most susceptible to suppression. However, since suppression could be reversed by administration of T15 myeloma protein several days after injection of anti‐idiotype, the inability to suppress adult BALB/c mice may have been due to the high level of T15 idiotype normally present in their serum. Finally, phosphorylcholine‐responsive B cells of identifiable clonotypes other than T15, even a clonotype sharing antigen‐combining site determinants with T15, appear unaffected by anti‐T15 suppression.
Business Ethics: Decision-Making for Personal Integrity and Social Responsibility

1. Ethics and Business 2. Ethical Decision-Making: Personal and Professional Contexts 3. Philosophical Ethics and Business 4. The Corporate Culture: Impact and Implications 5. Corporate Social Responsibility 6. Ethical Decision-Making: Employer Responsibilities and Employee Rights 7. Ethical Decision-Making: Technology and Privacy in the Workplace 8. Ethics and Marketing 9. Business and Environmental Sustainability 10. Ethical Decision-Making: Corporate Governance, Accounting, and Finance
The Antitumor Constituents from Hedyotis Diffusa Willd

As a TCM, Hedyotis diffusa Willd. has been using to treat malignant tumors, and many studies also showed that the extracts from Hedyotis diffusa Willd. possessed evident antitumor activities. Therefore, we carried out chemical study on Hedyotis diffusa Willd. and investigated the cytotoxicity of the obtained compounds on a panel of eight tumor cell lines. As a result, four new compounds were isolated from Hedyotis diffusa Willd. , including three iridoid glycosides of Shecaoiridoidside A–C (1–3) and a cerebroside of shecaocerenoside A (4). Also, six known iridoid compounds (5–10) were also obtained. The cytotoxicity of all compounds against human tumor cell lines of HL-60, HeLa, HCT15, A459, HepG2, PC-3, CNE-2, and BCG-823 were also evaluated in vitro. New compound 3 exhibited evident cytotoxicity to all tumor cell lines except the Hela, and the IC50 values are from 9.6 µM to 62.2 µM, while new compound 4 showed moderate cytotoxicity to all the cell lines, and the IC50 values are from 33.6 µM to 89.3 µM. By contrast, new compound 1 and known compound 9 showed moderate cytotoxicity to HCT15, A459, and HepG2 selectively. Known compound 7 also exhibited moderate cytotoxicity to HCT15 and A459 selectively.
Logistics Capability, Logistics Performance, And The Moderating Effect Of Firm Size: Empirical Evidence From East Coast Malaysia

ABSTRACT:Based on the underlying Resource-Based View (RBV) perspective, the main objective of this study is to empirically examine the relationship of logistics capability and logistics performance, and the moderating effect of firm size on this relationship. This study adopted a cross-sectional design and collected quantitative data from a total of 81 logistic service providers (LSP) registered with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Directory of Malaysian Industries 2013, from three states (i.e., Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang) in Peninsular Malaysia. This study used the Pearson correlation and the moderated multiple regression (MMR) to test if the logistics capability has a significant positive effect on firm performance and the moderating effect of firm size on the relationship between logistics capability and firm performance. Findings of this study revealed that logistics capability has a significant positive relationship with logistics performance. Logistics service capabilities and flexible capabilities delivered by firms are vital for liner shipping services. Moreover, this relationship is significantly affected by firm size, which suggests that, in comparison, the inclusion of firm size (large vs. medium/small LSPs) in the logistics capability – logistics performance relationship has a significant moderating effect in changing the degree (volume) of performance. The moderating effect of firm size is shown to be capable of changing the nature of relationship and explains the conditions in which capability causes LSPs to perform better. The presence of a significant moderating effect of firm size (large and medium/small LSP firms) exceeded the linear relationship between logistics capability and logistics performance. The study has bridged the literature gaps in such a way that it offers empirical evidence on the moderating effect of firm size on the relationship between logistics capability and logistics performance using a Malaysian sample. In order to foster the economic development through effective logistics services, the logistics services development policies and programs should therefore focus on providing a supportive platform for logistics service providers to improve their capacities, which would ultimately lead to better performance and the sustainability of the logistics service providers in Malaysia.
Economic Consequences Of IFRS Adoption In Korea: A Literature Review

We provide a comprehensive review of academic research on the economic consequences of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption in Korea. We review 18 empirical studies on the economic consequences of IFRS adoption in Korea and classify them into six areas: (a) earnings quality, (b) comparability of financial statements, (c) value relevance, (d) analysts’ behavior, (e) information asymmetry, and (f) cost of capital and firm value. Our review suggests that IFRS adoption in Korea has generally afforded positive economic consequences. The limitations of the existing studies are discussed and various directions for future research are suggested.
Evidence of mitochondrial involvement in scrapie infection

Two cDNA libraries were constructed from brain membrane and cytoskeletal preparations purified from scrapie-infected hamster brains. Four recombinants strongly preferential to the scrapie cytoskeletal preparation were identified by the differential hybridization of 7,000 recombinants. These clones were not, however, preferential to total nucleic acids extracted from scrapie-infected hamster brains. DNA sequence analysis revealed all four clones to have significant sequence similarities to the mouse mitochondrial genome. This correlation led us to consider a mitochondrial association with scrapie infectivity. Brain mitochondria were purified by sucrose gradient density centrifugation and found to contain high infectivity. Removal of mitochondrial outer membranes by osmotic shock or digitonin treatment resulted in no detectable loss of titer.
CONTENTS OF CESIUM, IODINE, STRONTIUM, THORIUM, AND URANIUM IN SELECTED HUMAN ORGANS OF ADULT ASIAN POPULATION

Contents of cesium, iodine, strontium, thorium, and uranium in some selected human organs were estimated for adult Asian population using data obtained in four Asian countries: China, India, Philippines, and Republic of Korea, as part of a Coordinated Research Program of the International Atomic Energy Agency on “Ingestion and Organ contents of elements of importance in radiation protection. ” These countries together represent more than 40% of the world population. Highly sensitive analytical techniques were employed to measure cesium in skeletal muscle, iodine in thyroid, strontium in skeleton, thorium and uranium in skeleton, liver, kidneys, and lungs where, in comparison to other organs, these elements are present in higher concentrations. The organ contents for adult Asian population, when compared with the corresponding data proposed for Reference Man by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), showed about 40 times lower kidneys content and about 10 times lower skeleton content of uranium. The content of thorium in skeleton for Asian population was also half of the ICRP Reference Man value. Interestingly, organ contents for the other elements such as iodine in thyroid, cesium in skeletal muscle, and strontium in skeleton were comparable for Asian and the Caucasian population (represented by ICRP Reference Man). Organ contents for these elements were also calculated by applying the new ICRP models of these elements to their daily intakes. The comparison of the calculated and measured organ contents showed that despite uncertainties in the organ content values arising due to the inter-country variations in daily dietary intakes, the contents were within a factor of two to three. This observation is significant since human data both on organ contents and ingestion were obtained at environmental level of intakes. The study suggests that currently available ICRP models for these elements are quite realistic.
Respiration and Deep Diving in the Bottlenose Porpoise

A bottlenose porpoise was trained to dive untethered in the open ocean and to exhale into an underwater collecting funnel before surfacing from prescribed depths down to 300 meters. The animal was also taught to hold its breath for periods up to 4 minutes at the surface and then blow in the funnel. Alveolar collapse is probably complete at around 100 meters, and little pulmonary respiratory exchange occurs below that depth. Thoracic collapse was observ visually at 10 to 50 meters and by underwater television to 300 meters.
Targeting Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Pathway Offers New Possibilities to Counteract Microvascular Disturbances During Ischemia/Reperfusion of the Pancreas

Background. It is of crucial importance to explore new therapeutic strategies capable of combating or even preventing pancreatic graft failure after transplantation caused by ischemia reperfusion damage. So far, the role of the hypoxia induced mediator vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) upon pancreatic microcirculation has not been described. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate its influence, using the novel tyrosinekinase inhibitor PTK787/ZK222584 (PTK/ZK), upon functional capillary density (FCD), leukocyte-endothelium interaction (LEI), and macromolecular permeability (P) of normal and postischemic pancreas tissue. Methods. Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized and randomly assigned to five groups (n=7/group): (a) sham, (b) ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) control, (c) I/R and PTK/ZK treatment, (d) VEGF-superfusion, (e) VEGF-superfusion and PTK/ZK-treatment. A recently established method of digital dynamic intravital epifluorescence microscopy was used for evaluating the effective microvascular permeability together with FCD and LEI. Results. Comparison between sham vs. I/R shows a significant upregulation of VEGF-expression followed by deterioration of microcirculation with decreased FCD, increased P and LEI. Treatment with PTK/ZK resulted in a significant decrease of P under conditions of superfusion with VEGF as well as I/R compared to corresponding groups without treatment. Conclusion. VEGF plays a crucial causative role involving an increase in permeability in normal as well as in postischemic pancreatitis via tyrosinkinase receptors. VEGF seems to be partly accountable for a deterioration of FCD and an upregulation of LEI via VEGF-tyrosinekinase receptor independent mechanisms. VEGF might be a promising potential therapeutic target in order to minimize edema formation caused by I/R and pancreatitis in pancreas transplantation.