Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lipid-Lowering Drugs in Ischemic Stroke Prevention and Their Influence on Acute Stroke Outcome

Introduction: Dyslipidemia is a recognized risk factor for coronary arterial disease, but its role as risk factor for stroke has been controversial for a long time. In the last years, much attention has been paid to lipid-lowering therapies as a key preventive measure to reduce stroke risk. Methods: We conducted a nonsystematic review of published studies analyzing the association between serum lipids and stroke risk, with special attention to the findings of clinical trials with lipid-modifying therapies (LDL-lowering drugs such as statins, HDL-increasing drugs such as torcetrapib) and to the effect of prior statin therapies on acute stroke severity. Results: Data from large cohort prospective studies, case-control studies and clinical trials confirm the association between serum lipids and stroke risk. In secondary stroke prevention, atorvastatin 80 mg is effective in patients with prior transient ischemic attack and noncardioembolic ischemic stroke. Pretreatment with statins in stroke patients is associated with better outcomes. This protective effect is more evident in atherothrombotic and lacunar infarctions. Statin withdrawal during acute stroke is associated with loss of the protective effect, and statin discontinuation after an acute ischemic stroke is also associated with higher mortality at 1 year of follow-up. Conclusions: Dyslipidemia is a modifiable stroke risk factor. Long treatment with atorvastatin 80 mg has been associated with reduced risk of stroke recurrences and other cardiovascular events in patients with noncardioembolic transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke. Prior statin treatment is associated with lower stroke severity and better outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients. Statin treatment should never be discontinued in these patients.
Effects of Working Capital Management on Company Profitability - An industry-wise study of Finnish and Swedish public companies (Available on Internet)

Working Capital Management has lately been a hot topic since the financial turmoil of the late 2000’s. Companies search for liquidity and operational efficiency through minimizing their investment in working capital. However, can working capital management add to corporate profitability and shareholder value? This has been studied in this thesis. The efficiency of working capital management can be determined by the cash conversion cycle and the net trade cycle. By testing the two variables with corporate profitability, we can see that Finnish and Swedish corporations can increase their gross operating profitability by reducing the cash conversion cycle and net trade cycle. Also, the different components of the cash conversion cycle have been studied. There is significant evidence that by effectively managing each part of working capital, a company can increase the net present value of its cash flows, thus adding to shareholder value.
Auditory measures in clinically depressed individuals. II. Auditory evoked potentials and behavioral speech tests

This is the second paper in a series of two papers comparing auditory measures in depressed and non-depressed individuals. In this paper, we describe the auditory brainstem responses (ABRs), auditory late responses (ALRs) and behavioral speech measures obtained from the same set of 36 individuals as in our previous paper. No changes were made to the inclusion criteria or subject classification. The results indicated a significantly larger amplitude growth with increase in intensity for ABR peak V and ALR peak N1P2 in the unmedicated group compared to the normal group. The unmedicated group performed less favorably on most behavioral speech tests administered compared to the control group, but the difference was significant only in the left ear for the Low Predictability Sentence List of the R-SPIN (Revised-Speech Perception in Noise) test. The mean test scores of the medicated group were closer to the scores of the control group. Sumario Este es el segundo en una serie de dos estudios en los que se comparan mediciones auditivas en individuos deprimidos y no deprimidos. En este trabajo describimos las respuestas auditivas del tallo cerebral (ABR), las respuestas auditivas tardías (ALR) y de mediciones conductuales de lenguaje, obtenidas del mismo grupo de 36 pacientes descrito en el artículo anterior. No se realizaron cambios en los criterios de inclusión o en la clasificación de los sujetos, con relación al otro protocolo. Los resultados indican un incremento significativamente mayor en la amplitud, conforme aumenta la intensidad para obtener el pico de la onda V en los ABR y el pico de la onda N1P2 en los ALR, cuando se compara el grupo sin medicación con el grupo normal. El grupo sin medicación tuvo un peor rendimiento que el grupo control, en la mayor parte de las pruebas conductuales de lenguaje que se aplicaron, pero dicha diferencia fue significativa sólo en el oído izquierdo, utilizando la lista de baja predicción de la prueba R-SPIN (Percepción del Lenguaje en Ruido-Revisada). Los puntajes medios de la prueba en el grupo con medicación estuvieron más cerca de aquellos del grupo control.
Toltrazuril treatment to control diaplacental Neospora caninum transmission in experimentally infected pregnant mice

We addressed the question whether diaplacental transmission of Neospora caninum can be controlled by metaphylactic chemotherapy using toltrazuril or enrofloxacin. Female C57/BL6 mice, infected on day 10 of pregnancy, were medicated for 6 consecutive days p.i. with 52·5 mg toltrazuril or – as an out-group control medication – 16·7 mg enrofloxacin per kg body weight per day. Other control groups received either infection but no medication or vice versa. Toltrazuril treatment significantly reduced pre- and perinatal losses (10 deliveries of healthy newborns, versus 1 abortion and 4 failures) when compared to control-enrofloxacin (2 deliveries, versus 1 abortion, 7 failures and 2 pre-parturient deaths of dams) and non-treated animals (3 deliveries, versus 6 abortions, 8 failures and 4 pre-parturient deaths). Simultaneously, PCR-based parasite detection in the brain of mothers, histopathological findings as well as clinical fatality were significantly less frequent in toltrazuril-treated dams. The overall toltrazuril treatment efficacy was determined as 87%, that of enrofloxacin-treatment as 17%. The progenies of toltrazuril-treated dams also exhibited a very low rate of PCR-positivity in their brain (3 out of 39), whereas untreated dams delivered litters with mostly PCR-positive brains (12 out of 14) and a relatively high death rate post-partum (5 out of 19 newborns died). Mice subjected to a second mating delivered newborns all negative by N. caninum-PCR, indicating that diaplacental tachyzoite passage does not occur in a later, repeated pregnancy. Overall, our experiments showed that toltrazuril-treatment of an acute N. caninum-infection – induced during pregnancy – results in a clear reduction of fetal losses and a marked reduction of diaplacental passage of the parasite to the fetal brain, whereas enrofloxacin, as an out-group control substance, failed to show the same effect.
Inactivation of Vaccinia Virus by Natural Sunlight and by Artificial UVB Radiation

This study determined the sensitivity of vaccinia virus, an orthopox virus commonly used as a surrogate for variola virus (etiological agent of smallpox), exposed to UVB radiation emitted by a solar simulator, or to direct natural sunlight. The data obtained indicate that: (1) the virucidal effect of natural sunlight can be mimicked adequately by an artificial light source with similar spectral characteristics in the UVB, (2) viral sensitivity to UVB or to solar radiation can be correlated with experimental data previously obtained with UVC, (3) the correlation factor between virus inactivation by solar radiation (measured at 300 ± 5 nm) and by UVC (254 nm) is between 33 and 60, and (4) the sensitivity of viruses either dry on glass surfaces or in liquid suspension is similar when in the presence of similar amounts of cellular debris and growth media. The findings reported in this study should assist in estimating the threat posed by the persistence of virus during epidemics or after an accidental or intentional release.
Second-tier Government Banks and Firm Performance: Micro-Evidence from Colombia

Despite the large potential gains from credit by second-tier development banks, little is known about the actual impact of these banks' lending activity. This study partially fills that gap by analyzing the impact of the lending activity of Bancoldex, the Colombian second-tier development bank, on firm performance. The evaluation uses data over a several-year period on loans granted to firms by Bancoldex and on performance for all manufacturing establishments with 10 or more employees.
Polarity-dependent tunneling current and oxide breakdown in dual-gate CMOSFETs

The gate tunneling leakage current in dual-gate CMOSFETs exhibits strong polarity dependence when measured in inversion, although it exhibits practically no polarity dependence when measured in accumulation. Specifically, p/sup +/-gate pMOSFET shows substantially lower tunneling current than n/sup +/-gate nMOSFET when measured in inversion. This polarity dependence arises from the difference in the supply of tunneling electrons. The polarity dependent tunneling current has a significant impact on oxide reliability measurements. For example, it gives rise to a higher T/sub bd/ value for p/sup +//pMOSFET as compared to that for n/sup +//nMOSFET when both are biased to inversion. Rationaless are given as to why T/sub bd/ is a better gauge than Q/sub bd/ for reliability assessment, and why nMOSFET is more prone to oxide breakdown than pMOSFET under normal operating conditions.
Enhanced connectivity between visual cortex and other regions of the brain in autism: a REM sleep EEG coherence study

Functional interregional neural coupling was measured as EEG coherence during REM sleep, a state of endogenous cortical activation, in 9 adult autistic individuals (21.1±4.0 years) and 13 typically developed controls (21.5±4.3 years) monitored for two consecutive nights in a sleep laboratory. Spectral analysis was performed on 60 s of artefact‐free EEG samples distributed equally throughout the first four REM sleep periods of the second night. EEG coherence was calculated for six frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, sigma, beta, and total spectrum) using a 22‐electrode montage. The magnitude of coherence function was computed for intra‐ and interhemispheric pairs of recording sites. Results were compared by Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). Each time the autistic group showed a greater EEG coherence than the controls; it involved intrahemispheric communication among the left visual cortex (O1) and other regions either close to or distant from the occipital cortex. In contrast, lower coherence values involved frontal electrodes in the right hemisphere. No significant differences between groups were found for interhemispheric EEG coherence. These results show that the analysis of EEG coherence during REM sleep can disclose patterns of cortical connectivity that can be reduced or increased in adults with autism compared to typically developed individuals, depending of the cortical areas studied. Superior coherence involving visual perceptual areas in autism is consistent with an enhanced role of perception in autistic brain organization.
Nothing Will Stop Me? Flexibly Tenacious Goal Striving With Implementation Intentions

Implementation intentions (if-then plans) help people to automatically perform goal-directed behaviors when they encounter goal-relevant critical situations. Besides the intended beneficial effects on goal attainment, however, goal-directed behaviors might entail various costs. Successful goal striving then requires flexible tenacity: tenaciously holding on to behaviors that inflict bearable costs but flexibly backing off from performing excessively costly behaviors. In the present research, we investigated whether goal striving with implementation intentions is characterized by such flexible tenacity. In Experiments 1 and 2, implementation intention participants held on to goal-directed behaviors that inflicted bearable costs (sustaining unpleasant noise and annoying effort), whereas participants with mere goal intentions reduced their performance of goal-directed behaviors. In Experiment 3, both goal and implementation intention participants backed off from performing an excessively costly behavior (involving monetary loss). This effect was more pronounced among implementation intention participants, who additionally lowered their goal commitment. We conclude that implementation intentions render goal striving tenaciously flexible, facilitating goal-directed behaviors unless this is associated with excessive costs.
Sharing is (not) Caring - the Role of External Privacy in Users' Information Disclosure Behaviors on Social Network sites

Social network sites (SNSs) enjoy wide popularity as platforms for social interaction. When users interact with each other, they however do not only disclose their own information, but also information about others. Users therefore do not only manage their own privacy (internal privacy), but also that of others (external privacy). Privacy concerns and their effects on disclosure behavior have been extensively examined in prior literature, but there has been little research in IS on the role of external privacy. There is a gap in research on how concerns for external privacy might affect users’ voluntary disclosure decisions and how first-hand privacy invasion experiences shape users’ concerns for external privacy. We apply external information privacy concerns (EIPC) and external social privacy concerns (ESPC) as proxies for measuring external privacy. Our research model is based on Communication Privacy Management theory, empirically validated through an online survey with 265 participants. We find that EIPC and ESPC negatively affect users’ intentions to disclose information about others. In contrast, when individuals perceive ownership of others’ information, their willingness to disclose increases. Finally, users’ own experience with privacy invasion moderates the relationship between EIPC, ESPC, and users’ disclosure intentions.
Metabolic Syndrome Treatment Strategies

The primary goal of managing patients with metabolic syndrome is to decrease their cardiovascular risk by individualizing treatment strategies according to the patient's specific risk factors. Treatment options for patients with metabolic syndrome include lifestyle modification and drug therapy. Lifestyle modification can be summarized as dietary changes, exercise, and smoking cessation. Drug therapy indicated for cardiometabolic risk reduction includes antihypertensives, insulin sensitizers, and cholesterol‐lowering agents. In addition, two drugs—sibutramine and rimonabant—have been evaluated and produced promising outcomes in the overall management of high‐risk patients with metabolic syndrome.
Plasmodium ookinetes coopt mammalian plasminogen to invade the mosquito midgut

Ookinete invasion of the mosquito midgut is an essential step for the development of the malaria parasite in the mosquito. Invasion involves recognition between a presumed mosquito midgut receptor and an ookinete ligand. Here, we show that enolase lines the ookinete surface. An antienolase antibody inhibits oocyst development of both Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium falciparum, suggesting that enolase may act as an invasion ligand. Importantly, we demonstrate that surface enolase captures plasminogen from the mammalian blood meal via its lysine motif (DKSLVK) and that this interaction is essential for midgut invasion, because plasminogen depletion leads to a strong inhibition of oocyst formation. Although addition of recombinant WT plasminogen to depleted serum rescues oocyst formation, recombinant inactive plasminogen does not, thus emphasizing the importance of plasmin proteolytic activity for ookinete invasion. The results support the hypothesis that enolase on the surface of Plasmodium ookinetes plays a dual role in midgut invasion: by acting as a ligand that interacts with the midgut epithelium and, further, by capturing plasminogen, whose conversion to active plasmin promotes the invasion process.
An outcome study of psychotherapy for patients with borderline personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the effectiveness of well-defined outpatient psychotherapy for patients with borderline personality disorder. METHOD Thirty patients with borderline personality disorder diagnosed according to the DSM-III criteria were given twice weekly outpatient psychotherapy for 12 months by trainee therapists who were closely supervised. The treatment approach was based on a psychology of self (this term being used in its broad sense), and strong efforts were made to ensure that all therapists adhered to the treatment model. Outcome measures included frequency of use of drugs (both prescribed and illegal), number of visits to medical professionals, number of episodes of violence and self-harm, time away from work, number of hospital admissions, time spent as an inpatient, score on a self-report index of symptoms, and number of DSM-III criteria (weighted for frequency, severity, and duration) fulfilled. RESULTS The subjects showed statistically significant improvement from the initial assessment to the end of the year of follow-up on every measure. Moreover, 30% of the subjects no longer fulfilled the DSM-III criteria for borderline personality disorder. This improvement had persisted 1 year after the cessation of therapy. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that a specific form of psychotherapy is of benefit for patients with borderline personality disorder.
Combined Analysis of CSF Tau Levels and [(123)I]Iodoamphetamine SPECT in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Implications for a Novel Predictor of Alzheimer's Disease.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to establish an objective and reliable index to predict the development of Alzheimer's disease in a large pool of elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment. METHOD Twenty-three patients with probable Alzheimer's disease, 22 patients with mild cognitive impairment who eventually developed Alzheimer's disease, eight patients with mild cognitive impairment who did not develop dementia, and 19 cognitively normal subjects were included in the study. The authors constructed a new diagnostic index, the CSF-CBF index, based on CSF tau levels divided by regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the posterior cingulate cortex. RESULTS Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that applying a cutoff value for the CSF-CBF index of 296.0 achieved a sensitivity of 88.5% and a specificity of 90.0% in discriminating mild cognitive impairment that progressed to Alzheimer's disease from mild cognitive impairment that did not progress to Alzheimer's disease. CONCLUSIONS The CSF-CBF index is useful in predicting Alzheimer's disease in subjects with mild cognitive impairment.
Planning and Practicing Flexibility: Implications for women in 'Best Practice' Australian organisations

Increasingly, flexible work practices are seen as remedies for work/life conflict, and although in theory they are gender-neutral, the reality is that women with family responsibilities comprise a large proportion of those working part-time or unconventional hours. Can flexibility created in response to business pressures also benefit employees? This paper examines the results of interviews conducted in Australian companies that can be considered 'best practice' organisations in terms of policies for women. It explores what these organisations mean by 'flexibility' and how it operates at the level of the individual workplace. The paper concludes that flexible work practices do not necessarily benefit workers but there are ways in which women, managers and organisations can find common purpose, and business and individual needs can coalesce. But our research shows that this is labour market driven and is not applied consistently across even 'best practice' organisations.
Crowding in Parks and Outdoor Recreation: A Theoretical, Empirical, and Managerial Analysis

Crowding is a perennial and challenging issue in the management of parks and outdoor recreation. However, a substantial scientific literature has been developed on crowding and its application in parks and outdoor recreation. This paper begins by reviewing theoretical research on crowding, with special emphasis on normative theory. Normative theory makes an important distinction between use level and crowding, outlines variables that influence crowding judgements, and suggests that visitors to parks and outdoor recreation areas may have normative standards regarding appropriate use levels of such areas. A second section of the paper empirically applies this theoretical framework to the carriage roads of Acadia National Park, Maine. Normative standards of visitors for appropriate use levels are measured, and variables that influence crowding are illustrated, including type of visitor, type of visitor encountered, and section of the carriage roads. A final section of the paper explores the management implications of theoretical and empirical crowding research, and their application to the carriage roads. Managers must be careful to determine when increasing use of parks and related areas is judged by visitors as “crowding”, and how crowding manifests itself in a variety of outdoor recreation contexts. Approaches to managing crowding include measurement of crowding norms; application of crowding and related carrying capacity frameworks, including Limits of Acceptable Change, Visitor Impact Management, and Visitor Experience and Resource Protection; formulation of crowding-related standards of quality, and related restrictions on public use; zoning conflicting uses; educational programs designed to modify visitor behavior; and provision of a diversity of recreation opportunities.
The Effects of Merger and Acquisition on the Price of Insurance and Firm Performance in the U.S. Property-Liability Insurance Industry

EFFECTS OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS ON THE PRICE OF INSURANCE AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM THE U.S. PROPERTY-LIABILITY INSURANCE INDUSTRY By JEUNG BO SHIM August 7, 2007 Committee Chair: Dr. Richard D. Phillips Major Department: Risk Management and Insurance Although the economic motivation and efficiency effects of mergers and acquisitions (M & As) in the insurance industry have been discussed, none of the prior studies have addressed the relationship between M & A activity and insurance price change. In addition, little is known about the effect of diversification on the differences in insurance price across lines. The main objective of the dissertation is to provide evidence on these issues. A secondary objective is to investigate the relationship between M & A activity and insurer’s efficiency and financial performance. We also examine various firm characteristics that affect insurance price differences across lines and that influence insurer’s efficiency and performance. We conduct fixed effects model regressions to test our hypotheses using unbalanced panel data over the sample period 1989-2004. The empirical tests indicate that the price of insurance for newly formed insurers decreases following the M & As and diversified insurers charge lower prices than less diversified firms. Our result is consistent with one possible explanation that acquiring insurers reduce overall underwriting risks and more efficiently manage the frictional costs of capital through geographic and/or product line diversification by engaging in the M & As and therefore gain a competitive advantage in pricing. Our analysis also reveals