Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Investigation of the Shortcomings of the CONSORT 2010 Statement for the Reporting of Group Sequential Randomised Controlled Trials: A Methodological Systematic Review

Background It can be argued that adaptive designs are underused in clinical research. We have explored concerns related to inadequate reporting of such trials, which may influence their uptake. Through a careful examination of the literature, we evaluated the standards of reporting of group sequential (GS) randomised controlled trials, one form of a confirmatory adaptive design. Methods We undertook a systematic review, by searching Ovid MEDLINE from the 1st January 2001 to 23rd September 2014, supplemented with trials from an audit study. We included parallel group, confirmatory, GS trials that were prospectively designed using a Frequentist approach. Eligible trials were examined for compliance in their reporting against the CONSORT 2010 checklist. In addition, as part of our evaluation, we developed a supplementary checklist to explicitly capture group sequential specific reporting aspects, and investigated how these are currently being reported. Results Of the 284 screened trials, 68(24%) were eligible. Most trials were published in “high impact” peer-reviewed journals. Examination of trials established that 46(68%) were stopped early, predominantly either for futility or efficacy. Suboptimal reporting compliance was found in general items relating to: access to full trials protocols; methods to generate randomisation list(s); details of randomisation concealment, and its implementation. Benchmarking against the supplementary checklist, GS aspects were largely inadequately reported. Only 3(7%) trials which stopped early reported use of statistical bias correction. Moreover, 52(76%) trials failed to disclose methods used to minimise the risk of operational bias, due to the knowledge or leakage of interim results. Occurrence of changes to trial methods and outcomes could not be determined in most trials, due to inaccessible protocols and amendments. Discussion and Conclusions There are issues with the reporting of GS trials, particularly those specific to the conduct of interim analyses. Suboptimal reporting of bias correction methods could potentially imply most GS trials stopping early are giving biased results of treatment effects. As a result, research consumers may question credibility of findings to change practice when trials are stopped early. These issues could be alleviated through a CONSORT extension. Assurance of scientific rigour through transparent adequate reporting is paramount to the credibility of findings from adaptive trials. Our systematic literature search was restricted to one database due to resource constraints.
The 'Sit-to-Scale' score--a pilot study to develop an easily applied score to follow functional status in elderly dialysis patients.

In Canada, the number of older persons requiring treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) rose by nearly 20% between 1997 and 2001 [1]. Fifty-five percent of all new dialysis patients are 65 years of age and older, and almost 25% are 75 years and older [2]. Similar demographic trends have been observed in the United States and the United Kingdom [3,4]. Cross-sectional studies have shown older haemodialysis patients are generally less active and more physically impaired than younger patients [3,5,6]. In addition older dialysis patients suffer from a high degree of disability and functional dependence [6–9]. Functional impairment is important, clinically, for many reasons. In the general population, functional impairment predicts falls, fractures and hospitalization [10–12]. In the dialysis population clinical outcomes such as falls or fractures are very common, with studies suggesting that over 45% of older dialysis patients experience one or more falls each year [12–15]. In fact, in a small prospective study, we have shown that functional measures such as gait speed may better predict those individuals at higher risk of fractures when compared radiological evaluation [16]. Furthermore, intervention strategies, such as exercise or rehabililation programs, are known to be effective in dialysis [17–20]. Routine evaluation of functional status and exercise regimes have been advocated for all patients established on dialysis [21]. A variety of physical function tests are available [22] however few are used on a regular basis in dialysis units. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a clinical tool, based on gait speed, which could be easily applied in the dialysis setting. We adapted standard gait speed tests for use with elderly dialysis patients during regular visits to the haemodialysis centre. As patients are routinely weighed before and after dialysis we anticipated that the time taken to walk the distance between the dialysis chair and the weighing scale (the Sit-to-Scale test, STS) would be similar each day; would vary with functional status and could be used to predict the acute onset of functional disability.
Which factors of business intelligence affect individual impact in public healthcare

In this paper, we examine the relationship between business intelligence (BI) quality, task characteristics and individual impact of the system from an end-user perspective at 12 public hospitals. 1,352 BI end-users answered the questionnaire. Linear regression was used to test the research model empir-ically. If organisations in the public health sector want high individual impact, the following factors are essential. Firstly, system quality must be high. Secondly, the system must support the tasks that the BI user solves with the system. Thirdly, task difficulty is positively and significantly related to impact. In conclusion, it is essential that the user perceives the task as being important. The user's perception of task inter-dependency and task specificity does not influence individual impact. Future research should focus on different healthcare settings with different types of BI system.
From brawn to brains: manufacturing–KIBS interdependency

ABSTRACT This paper addresses two questions: Which manufacturing industries are associated with the inception of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS)? Do cross-sectoral interdependencies between the two sectoral macro-domains exhibit geographical heterogeneity? We use a job multiplier approach using decadal employment data of 399 municipalities in Spain over the period 1981–2011. The main result is that only traditional supplier-dominated industries exhibit significant employment effects, both positive and negative, on KIBS. Coherent with the prior literature, this is most prominent in denser areas. Our findings draw attention to the specificities of user industries, and lend support to the notion that KIBS are a heterogeneous group of activities.
New revised simple models for interactive wild and sterile mosquito populations and their dynamics

ABSTRACT Based on previous research, we formulate revised, new, simple models for interactive wild and sterile mosquitoes which are better approximations to real biological situations but mathematically more tractable. We give basic investigations of the dynamical features of these simple models such as the existence of equilibria and their stability. Numerical examples to demonstrate our findings and brief discussions are also provided.
Female franchisees; a lost opportunity for franchising sector growth?

Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate why female franchisees are under-represented in franchise ownership. A qualitative approach was adopted using a collective, instrumental case study of 30 female franchisees. A number of different types of influences were identified in the literature and then elucidated and assessed. It was found that push and pull factors, work–family life balance, franchising sector characteristics and external influences act as variable incentives and disincentives among female franchisees’ selection of the franchise business model with different levels of risk-taking propensity. The marketing efforts of franchises would be more effective if the way in which the identified influences that impinge on the selection of the franchise business model informed the prospecting of potential female franchisees. A further need is identified for franchises to adjust their recruitment programmes to reflect the variable effect of incentives and disincentives at different levels of capital investment. Limited research specifically examines the selection of the franchise business model by female franchisees with various levels of risk-taking propensity and identifies the nature of influences that act as incentives and/or disincentives on that selection decision.
To bend or not to bend? Rule adherence among staff at an eating disorder unit

ABSTRACT On inpatient eating disorder units, resolving under-nutrition and reestablishing normal eating behavior are key treatment aims. Consequently, the provision of support at mealtimes is a core work task for patients with severe eating disorders. The purpose of this study was to explore staff deliberations and actions, as observed during staff-patient interactions at mealtimes on an inpatient eating disorder unit (EDU). We specifically aimed to characterize how and why staff members intervene during staff-patient interactions in which a refeeding script is activated. This exploratory qualitative study combined non-participant observation and in-depth interviews. Content analysis was used to categorize and abstract the data material. Through the described analysis, we identified two main types of patterns which were categorized as rule adherence and rule bending, describing how staff chose how to intervene in situations where refeeding scripts were activated. The current findings may contribute to enhanced insight and awareness regarding staff behavior and deliberations when providing meal support, and thus help staff members to better understand how meal time support is practiced on inpatient EDUs.
Beer and health: Preventive effects of beer components on lifestyle‐related diseases

It has been demonstrated that the light‐to‐moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages is associated with significant reductions in all‐cause and particularly cardiovascular mortality. While the inverse association between red‐wine consumption and cardiovascular risk is globally recognized as the French paradox, many epidemiological studies have concluded that beer and red wine are equally beneficial. Moderate alcohol intake improves lipoprotein metabolism and lowers cardiovascular mortality risk. The question now is whether additional health benefits associated with the non‐alcohol components in beer may be expected. This article summarizes the results of the latest studies on the health benefits of beer while referring to our recent results, which demonstrate the preventive effects of beer and its components on lifestyle‐related diseases. A series of studies using animal models have shown that beer may prevent carcinogenesis and osteoporosis; beer provides plasma with significant protection from oxidative stress; and isohumulones, the bitter substances derived from hops, may prevent and improve obesity and type‐2 diabetes, improve lipid metabolism, and suppress atherosclerosis. Further studies are needed to clarify the components in addition to isohumulones that are responsible for these beneficial effects of beer, and the underlying mechanisms must be addressed.
[Prospective study of pregnants and babies with risk of congenital toxoplasmosis in municipal district of Rio Grande do Sul].

This study followed up 2,126 pregnant women cared for at SUS day-care clinics (Public Health Insurance System) of the northwest of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. After serological screening we performed a follow up of all pregnant women and their babies. Serologic tests included: IgG, IgM, IgA and IgG avidity levels, mice inoculation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) also placentas and umbilical materials were tested using immunoperoxidase as well as clinical evaluation. Of all the pregnant women screened, 74.5% were reactive to toxoplasmosis, and 3.6% presented IgM seropositivity. At ophthalmic evaluation ten women had ocular lesions and one infant presented eye lesions and brain calcification. The presence of anti-T.gondii specific IgM throughout the entire pregnancy did not characterize acute phase infection, for this, complementary tests were necessary. The importance is underscored for attendance of the newborn of mothers presenting serology compatible with this infection even in the absence of signs and symptoms of congenital toxoplasmosis.
BLACK HOLE FORMATION IN FAILING CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE

We present results of a systematic study of failing core-collapse supernovae and the formation of stellar-mass black holes (BHs). Using our open-source general-relativistic 1.5D code GR1D equipped with a three-species neutrino leakage/heating scheme and over 100 presupernova models, we study the effects of the choice of nuclear equation of state (EOS), zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) mass and metallicity, rotation, and mass-loss prescription on BH formation. We find that the outcome, for a given EOS, can be estimated, to first order, by a single parameter, the compactness of the stellar core at bounce. By comparing protoneutron star (PNS) structure at the onset of gravitational instability with solutions of the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkof equations, we find that thermal pressure support in the outer PNS core is responsible for raising the maximum PNS mass by up to 25% above the cold NS value. By artificially increasing neutrino heating, we find the critical neutrino heating efficiency required for exploding a given progenitor structure and connect these findings with ZAMS conditions, establishing, albeit approximately, for the first time based on actual collapse simulations, the mapping between ZAMS parameters and the outcome of core collapse. We also study the effect of progenitor rotation and find that the dimensionless spin of nascent BHs may be robustly limited below a* = Jc/GM2 = 1 by the appearance of nonaxisymmetric rotational instabilities.
Association between GST Genetic Polymorphism and Dose-Related Production of Urinary Benzene Metabolite Markers, trans, trans-Muconic Acid and S-Phenylmercapturic Acid

The urinary benzene metabolites, trans, trans-muconic acid (ttMA) and S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA), are widely used as benzene exposure biomarkers. The influence of the glutathione S-transferase (GST) genetic polymorphism on the excretion levels of urinary ttMA and/or SPMA has been investigated. The association between dose-related production of urinary benzene metabolites and benzene exposure level was also reported. However, the association between the dose-related productions of urinary benzene metabolites and GST genetic polymorphism was not described in the literature. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the GST genetic polymorphism and dose-related production of the two widely used biomarkers, urinary ttMA and SPMA. Seventy male workers in a chemical factory were measured for their benzene exposure levels and provided blood and urine specimens at the end of work-shift. The atmospheric benzene exposure levels of these workers were determined by passive samplers with gas chromatograph mass spectrometer. The urinary ttMA and SPMA levels were quantitated by an online dual-loop cleanup device with an electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometer. The analyses of GST genotypes, including M1, T1, and P1, were done using PCR. Mean (± SD) of benzene exposure levels in participants was 7.2 ± 15 ppm. The ttMA and SPMA levels in the high benzene exposure group (≧1 ppm) were higher than those in the low benzene exposure group (<1 ppm; P < 0.001). Among the GST genotypes investigated in this study, the results showed that only the GSTT1 genotype was related to the level and dose-related production of SPMA. Using SPMA for evaluating benzene exposure, the results suggest that the GSTT1 genetic polymorphism, especially in a comparison study between two populations with different GSTT1 genotype frequencies, should be considered. Additionally, the biological exposure index value of SPMA should be set based on the levels of subjects with GSTT1-deficient genotypes for protection of all subjects. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(6):1460–9)
Average Distance, Independence Number, and Spanning Trees

Let G be a connected graph of order n and independence number α. We prove that G has a spanning tree with average distance at most 23α , if n≤2α−1 , and at most α+2 , if n>2α−1 . As a corollary, we obtain, for n sufficiently large, an asymptotically sharp upper bound on the average distance of G in terms of its independence number. This bound, apart from confirming and improving on a conjecture of Graffiti [8], is a strengthening of a theorem of Chung [1], and that of Fajtlowicz and Waller [8], on average distance and independence number of a graph.
Public Stakeholders’ Salience And Esg Reporting Of Malaysian Plcs: Managers’ Perceptions

The objective of this study is to determine the effect of public stakeholders’ power, legitimacy and urgency on environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting practices. The data were obtained using questionnaire survey. There were sixty eight questionnaires collected from top managers of Malaysian public listed companies. The managers’ perceptions were captured for the ESG reporting practices and how they perceived on public stakeholders’ attributes of government, media and community. The stakeholder identification and salience theory developed by Mitchell et al. (1997) underpinned this study. The theory narrows down corporate stakeholders’ list for a company and indirectly improves corporate management in particular to manage stakeholders’ rights on ESG information. Employing multiple regression analysis, the result revealed that; media urgency, community urgency and media legitimacy have significant relationship with ESG reporting practices. The findings help to provide a better basis for understanding ways to improve ESG reporting practices based on the public stakeholders’ attributes. reporting and stakeholder attributes. This study gauges the data from corporate managers’ perceptions on ESG reporting and their stakeholders. The Malaysian managers’ perceptions may bring differing beliefs and views in this issue because of geographic, cultural and demographic context in other country perspective. Hence, future research may also investigate the perceptions from the stakeholders’ perspective on the importance of ESG reporting to them.
Confirmation biases across the psychosis continuum: the contribution of hypersalient evidence-hypothesis matches.

OBJECTIVES Hypersalience of evidence-hypothesis matches has recently been proposed as the cognitive mechanism responsible for the cognitive biases, which, in turn, may contribute to the formation and maintenance of delusions. However, supporting evidence for this construct is still required. Using two tasks designed to elicit three core facets of the confirmation bias (i.e., biased search of confirming evidence; biased interpretation of confirming evidence; and biased recall of confirming evidence), this article investigated the possibility that individuals with delusions and those identified as delusion-prone are hypersalient to evidence-hypothesis matches. METHODS A total of 75 participants (25 diagnosed with schizophrenia with a history of delusions; 25 non-clinical delusion-prone; 25 non-delusion-prone controls) completed both tasks. RESULTS The results across both tasks showed that participants with schizophrenia and delusion-prone participants prefer: non-diagnostic or non-specific positive tests over diagnostic negative tests (biased search); rate confirming evidence as more important than disconfirming evidence (biased interpretation); and remember confirming evidence with greater ease than disconfirming evidence (biased recall). Participants with higher delusional ideation also failed to integrate disconfirmatory evidence to modify prior hypotheses. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that delusional ideation is linked to a hypersalience of evidence-hypothesis matches. The theoretical implications of this cognitive mechanism on the formation and maintenance of delusions are discussed.
Two essays on customer concentration and stock price crash risk

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.
Market Access, Technology, and Plant Lifecycles: A Natural Experiment from Japan's Opening to Trade in 1859

This paper examines how trade regime change has affected the lifecycle of manufacturing plants. For this purpose, we exploited the historical event of Japan's opening to trade in 1859 as a natural experiment. Based on plant-level data for 1902 and 1919, we explore how lifecycles of plants differ between the periods before and after 1859. It was found that lifecycles of plants were indeed different between these two periods: (1) a plant grew much faster as it aged after 1859 than before 1859; (2) this effect is larger for plants in exporting industries and plants located in metropolitan areas; (3) plant size at entry was larger for plants that entered after 1859 compared to those that entered before 1859. The difference in plant lifecycles between the periods before and after 1859 was confirmed by long-term time series data covering both periods. Based on these findings, we argue that access to markets and advanced technologies affected the lifecycle of plants.