Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Consumer democracy in hospitality industry: a study on the role of Facebook

Social media and social networking sites are often credited to have democratised consumer-to-consumer communication and empowered them. Service providing businesses on these days are constantly challenged through social networking sites by consumers on issues of quality of services, products and experiences that they have. Unlike in the past, consumers presently have been enabled with a more democratic medium of communication by user-generated content (UGC) in social networking sites that prevents service providers from manipulating opinions and views of customers to their favour. In the hotel industry, social networking sites, primarily Facebook, have enabled hotel guests to communicate with each other on their grievances, service dissatisfactions and critiquing hospitality service providers in their failure to provide quality, responsible and efficient services to them. This study examined the comments of guests in Facebook profiles of four major international hotels and the comments with a qualitative approach. The findings of this study had conceptual implications in relation to consumer democracy and managerial implications with respect to the hotels.
Business taxation and economic performance in hierarchical government structures

This paper models theoretically and investigates empirically the consequences on local economic performance of state mandates on financially distressed authorities. In particular, I analyze the switch from systematic state bailout of regional health care deficits to selectively mandated hikes in regions’ own business income tax rates that took place in Italy around the mid 2000s, and exploit such dramatic switch to identify the impact of tax policy on the economy. I model factor input use within a multi-jurisdiction neoclassical framework, where production takes place in plants, and physical capital requires energy in fixed proportions depending on the size of energy-saving capital that is installed along with physical capital. Energy-saving capital can be interpreted either as tangible information technology (IT) equipment (e.g., computer-aided line speed control devices) or as intangible assets (e.g., process design skills) lowering a plant energy requirement. The estimation results based on panel data for the Italian provinces and regions over a decade (2000-2010) reveal that, by raising the user cost of capital, mandated business income tax hikes stimulate province-level business energy use, lending support to the hypothesis of short run substitution between energy and energy-saving capital, and hamper the employment of human resources in science and technology (S&T) occupations, the latter being interpretable as a proxy for energy-saving capital.
Motives Behind The Integration Of CSR Into Business Strategy: A Comparative Study In French SMEs

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has become an important and substantial area of study for quite a few years. In this literature, while so much research has shed light on what makes SMEs integrate CSR into their business strategy, the existing results regarding their economic, social, and environmental motives are contradictory. In this article, we aim at making a contribution by conducting an integrative study. More specifically, we compare the roles of economic, social, and environmental motives in driving SMEs to make CSR become an integral part of their strategic planning and routine operational performance. Our sample includes 155 French SMEs.
Pressure ulcer risk factors in patients undergoing surgery.

AIM This paper reports a study to identify risk factors associated with pressure ulcer development among a mixed group of adult patients undergoing surgery. BACKGROUND Few studies have been carried out with patients undergoing surgery to assess the risk of pressure ulcer development, and so there is a little knowledge of the risk factors for this group. However, studies among non-surgical patients have shown that nutritional predictors such as low serum albumin level and low body mass index (BMI) are of great importance. An additional predictive factor may be low blood pressure. It is important to study these predictors further among patients undergoing surgery, using techniques such as multiple regression techniques, designed to identify the most important predictors for pressure ulcer development. METHODS A prospective comparative study was carried out in 1996-1998 with 286 adult patients undergoing surgical treatment. The data were collected from patient records by Registered Nurses preoperatively, for seven days postoperatively and thereafter once a week for up to 12 weeks. Perioperative data were also collected. The Risk Assessment Pressure Sore Scale was used, and data were collected on general physical condition, activity, mobility, moisture, food intake, fluid intake, sensory perception, friction and shear, body temperature and serum albumin. RESULTS Forty-one (14.3%) patients developed pressure ulcers during the observation period. The most common type was non-blanchable erythema. Those who developed pressure ulcers were significantly older, weighed less, and had a lower BMI and serum albumin. More women than men developed pressure ulcers. Risk factors identified in multiple stepwise regression analyses were female gender, American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) status or New York Heart Association (NYHA) status and food-intake. CONCLUSION Special attention, with regard to risk of pressure ulcer development, should be paid to patients undergoing surgery who have low ASA or NYHA scores, low food intake and/or are women.
The impact of screening strategies on the performance of ESG indices

This paper analyzes the effect of screening strategies on the performance of ESG indices. We use 17 ESG indices that are actively managed, representing different index providers and ESG rating agencies, different ESG screening strategies, two types of weights for the construction of the ESG indices, and covering different investment regions (World, Europe and the US). The performance comparison between ESG and non-ESG indices and within ESG indices is examined from different risk-adjusted performance measures based on standard and tail risk measures. We show that the ESG screens for equities neither lead to a significant out-performance nor an under-performance compared to the benchmarks. For the ESG indices we find that no index provider displays the highest (or lowest) performances in each region of interest. We also find that the selection criteria lead to higher concentration in some sectors or countries, implying effects on the risk-adjusted performance of between ESG and non-ESG indices and also within ESG indices. Finally, the results on the ESG indices suggest that the weights used to construct these indices (sustainability-score weights vs market cap-weights) seem to have an impact on their risk and their performance.
Detection of human papillomavirus‐6 in primary carcinoma of the urethra in men

The authors report a case of primary urethral carcinoma which seems to be linked to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Southern blot hybridization of phosphorus 32 (32P)‐labeled DNA extracted from the cancer tissue gave a positive reaction with HPV‐6. Specimens of the tumor material subjected to in situ hybridization with 3H‐labeled HPV‐6 DNA showed numerous tumor cell clusters with clearly labeled nuclei. Using immunoperoxidase staining the authors found papillomavirus structural antigen within cell nuclei of the tumor tissue.
Promotion as Part of the Marketing Mix and Its Application In Enterprise Activities

Article presents the concept of marketing-mix in manufacturing companies. Under this idea, it is possible to specify at least four basic components: product, promotion, distribution and price. Each element could be taken into account to a greater or lesser degree in business operations, but it is always the essence of marketing. It is understood that in order to achieve a particular purpose companies have to use various combinations of tools and marketing activities to achieve maximum profit or sales. This article attempts to characteristics of the two companies marketing food products (case study). The study focuses attention on promotional activities and its importance in the field of marketing, for example, two companies Agros Nova and Frito-Lay.
Transcriptional Regulatory Functions of Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein-U and -A/B in Endotoxin-Mediated Macrophage Expression of Osteopontin1

Osteopontin (OPN) is a highly hydrophilic and negatively charged sialoprotein of ∼298 amino acids with diverse regulatory functions, including cell adhesion and migration, tumor growth and metastasis, atherosclerosis, aortic valve calcification, and repair of myocardial injury. OPN is unique as an endogenous negative feedback inhibitor of NO expression. However, the specific cis- and trans-regulatory elements that determine the extent of endotoxin (LPS)- and NO-mediated induction of OPN synthesis are unknown. We have previously shown that LPS-induced S-nitrosylation of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP)-A/B inhibits its activity as a constitutive trans-repressor of the OPN transcription by significantly decreasing its DNA binding activity. hnRNPs were originally described as chromatin-associated RNA-binding proteins that form complexes with RNA polymerase II transcripts. The hnRNP family is comprised of >20 proteins that contribute to the complex around nascent pre-mRNA and are thus able to modulate RNA processing. In this subsequent study, again using RAW 264.7 murine macrophages and COS-1 cells, we demonstrate that hnRNP-A/B and hnRNP-U proteins serve antagonistic transcriptional regulatory functions for OPN expression in the setting of LPS-stimulated NO synthesis. In the presence of NO, hnRNP-A/B dissociates from its OPN promoter site with subsequent derepression of OPN promoter activity. Subsequently, hnRNP-U binds to the same site to further augment OPN promoter activation. This has not been previously described for the hnRNP proteins. Our results represent a unique transcriptional regulatory mechanism which involves interplay between members of the hnRNP protein family.
Hormone replacement therapy and colorectal cancer: an update

Observational studies and randomized clinical trials that have looked at the effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the risk of colorectal cancer are reviewed. Nine cohort studies in this area have included a total of over 2700 cases of colorectal cancer. Most of these studies found a relative risk (RR) of around or below unity. Of 15 case–control studies, with a total of over 7300 cases, six reported a 20–40% risk reduction among women who had ever used HRT. With reference to randomized clinical trials, in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study, after seven years of follow-up, 45 cases of colorectal cancer were observed in the combined HRT group versus 67 in the placebo group, corresponding to a RR of 0.63. A combined reanalysis of data from both the WHI and the Heart and Estrogen Progestin Replacement Study (HERS) included 56 cases in the com bined HRT group and 83 cases in the placebo group (pooled RR = 0.64). However, in the WHI study cancers diagnosed in the HRT group were more advanced and there were more positive lymph nodes. Furthermore, among women in the WHI who had had a hysterectomy, there was no difference at the eight-year follow-up in the incidence of colorectal cancer between those in the estrogen-only arm of the trial (n = 61) and those in the control group (n = 68).
Rapid Detection of Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Use of Real-Time PCR and High-Resolution Melt Analysis

ABSTRACT The current study describes the development of a unique real-time PCR assay for the detection of mutations conferring drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosi s. The rifampicin resistance determinant region (RRDR) of rpoB and specific regions of katG and the inhA promoter were targeted for the detection of rifampin (RIF) and isoniazid (INH) resistance, respectively. Additionally, this assay was multiplexed to discriminate Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) strains from nontuberculous M ycobacteria (NTM) strains by targeting the IS6110 insertion element. High-resolution melting (HRM) analysis following real-time PCR was used to identify M. t uberculosis strains containing mutations at the targeted loci, and locked nucleic acid (LNA) probes were used to enhance the detection of strains containing specific single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) transversion mutations. This method was used to screen 252 M. tuberculosis clinical isolates, including 154 RIF-resistant strains and 174 INH-resistant strains based on the agar proportion method of drug susceptibility testing (DST). Of the 154 RIF-resistant strains, 148 were also resistant to INH and therefore classified as multidrug resistant (MDR). The assay demonstrated sensitivity and specificity of 91% and 98%, respectively, for the detection of RIF resistance and 87% and 100% for the detection of INH resistance. Overall, this assay showed a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 98% for the detection of MDR strains. This method provides a rapid, robust, and inexpensive way to detect the dominant mutations known to confer MDR in M. tuberculosis strains and offers several advantages over current molecular and culture-based techniques.
The Dynamics of Institutional Investments and Stock Market Volatility: Evidence from FIIs and Domestic Mutual Funds Equity Investment in India

This study examines the dynamic interaction among institutional investment (FII and Mutual Funds) and the stock market returns for India in a three factor vector autoregression (VAR) framework. The data set used in this study are in daily frequency spanning from 1st Jan 2002 to 31st July 2012 and extracted from various sources such as PROWESS database of Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, the official website of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Reserve Bank of India Official website and Bombay Stock Exchange. By considering the two types of flows (FIIs and mutual funds net equity investment) to be interdependent and hence form the endogenous part of the VAR system, we find that both mutual fund flows and the FII’s fund flows are significantly influences Indian stock market. It is evident that the BSE returns (with lags) are positively influencing FII’s flows but it turns to be negative in determining mutual fund investment flows during the study period. We observe similar kind of results after controlling for market fundamentals. The Granger causality analysis signifies a bi-directional causation between the institutional investment and stock market returns. The structural VAR impulse response analysis suggests that the response of Sensex return to both types of institutional investment flows are negligible or insignificant. However, the FII’s net investment is positively responding to stock return about up to 3 days, and it is negatively responding to the mutual fund flows. The response of mutual fund net flows to stock return is initially positive but it turns to be negative in the next two days. It responds negatively to the FII net flows.
Potential causes of mortality for horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) during the biomedical bleeding process

Biomedical companies catch and bleed horseshoe crabs for the production of Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL), a product used for protecting public health (Berkson and Shuster, 1999). LAL is a clotting agent, derived solely from horseshoe crab blood cells, which is used to detect the presence of pathogenic gramnegative bacteria in injectable drugs and implantable medical and dental devices (Mikkelsen, 1988; Novitsky, 1991). In addition, LAL is used in many diagnostic tests for such illnesses as gram-negative bacterial meningitis and typhoid fever (Ding and Ho, 2001). Because the LAL test allows one to detect femtogram levels of endotoxin (Ding and Ho, 2001), it is the most effective test for detecting endotoxin contamination, and its increasing use in medical and pharmaceutical laboratories makes it a highly valued product. The biomedical industry harvested approximately 260,000 horseshoe crabs in 1997 (HCTC1) for the production of LAL. By 2000, the number of horseshoe crabs bled had increased less than 1% (ASMFC2). However, approximately 25% of the horseshoe crabs landed for biomedical purposes were rejected for use, and about 45% of those rejected were rejected bePotential causes of mortality for horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) during the biomedical bleeding process
Base Lending Rate And Housing Prices: Their Impacts On Residential Housing Activities In Malaysia

The construction sector, which had grown rapidly in the early 1990s, encountered slower grows after the financial crisis. The decline in the construction industry, however, is cushioned by the residential property construction. This paper examines empirically whether the increasing trend in residential property construction is related to changes in base lending rate and house prices. Pooled EGLS model (Cross Section Seemingly Unrelated Regression) is used to analyze the impact of lending rate and housing price upon the trading volume of residential housing activities. The results show base lending rate is the key determinant of residential housing activities. However, changes in housing prices may not necessarily influence residential housing activities in the country when there is a mismatch between current and desired housing for all. In view of the substantial number of housing left unsold, several recommendation and precautionary measures for housing provision should be made before it leads to a property glut. This study is crucial to housing developers and policy makers as any housing decisions not always should be made just on the basis of interest rates and house prices, but should pay more attention to the efficiency and effectiveness of housing delivery system in the country.
Barriers to E-Finance Adoption in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh

In recent times the adoption of internet-mediated financial services (e-finance) have been highlighted as an area of growing importance for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). This is due to the importance of the SME sector and the suitability of e-finance for solving problems of SMEs. This study discusses barriers to e-finance adoption by SMEs. It then analyses the role of institutions on diffusion of e-finance. Lastly, a framework for e-finance adoption by SMEs has been developed and strategies for further development of e-finance have been formulated. While the framework (and strategies) have been developed for Bangladesh, they have applicability to other developing as well as developed countries (with a lesser role to be played by international donor agencies), as most SMEs have structural limitations and limited opportunities to participate in traditional markets.
To Delight or Not to Delight? An Investigation of Loyalty Formation in the Restaurant Industry

Recent research has questioned the value of customer satisfaction and has instead emphasized the need to move beyond merely satisfying customers to delighting them. Despite this, few studies have explored how satisfaction and delight jointly determine customer loyalty. Yet understanding how customer satisfaction and delight contributes to loyalty is central to the development of effective relationship marketing strategies. Similarly, understanding whether loyalty development differs between new or repeat patronage consumers is critical to customer retention. This research examines the antecedents and consequences of customer satisfaction and customer delight using a sample of 474 consumers drawn from four separate fine dining restaurants within Australia. This article also examines cohort effects to determine the extent to which service experience moderates the effect of these determinants on loyalty. A key finding of this study was that customer delight did not lead to loyalty. In addition, the salience of delight in the development of loyalty did not differ significantly based on the customer's level of service experience. The results indicated that satisfaction was the key driver of customers' intentions to repurchase and to positively recommend the service provider. The extent to which the customer's service expectations were met strongly influenced their level of satisfaction. Therefore, within the specific context of high-end restaurants, customer satisfaction appears to be sufficient with regard to the generation of customer loyalty. Whilst moving beyond satisfying customers to delighting them may add value to the customer experience, it did not translate into the development of enduring loyalty bonds for new or repeat purchase customers. The findings of this research have important strategic implications for the management of customer-provider relationships and for managers who are considering a service program designed around delighting the customer.
Two years' experience with Web-based teleconsulting in dermatology

A non-commercial teledermatology network based on store-and-forward operation was established in April 2002. The aim was to create an easy-to-use platform for teleconsultation services, where physicians could seek diagnostic advice in dermatology from a pool of expert consultants and where they could present and discuss challenging dermatology cases with special emphasis on diagnosis and therapy. An online moderated discussion forum was added in October 2003. During the first two years, 348 health-care professionals from 45 countries registered to use the Website. A total of 783 requests for consultations were answered; 285 requests concerned pigmented skin lesions, 440 requests were from the whole range of clinical dermatology and 58 requests were about non-melanoma skin cancer. Of a total of 133 requests analysed, 80 (60%) were answered within one day, 47 (35%) within one week, five (4%) within two weeks and one (1%) consultation was answered in more than two weeks. Our experience with a discretionary, non-commercial, multilingual Website for open-access teleconsulting in dermatology appears to be successful. The Website represents an example of user-generated content, together with active interaction between users, who can present and discuss cases with remote colleagues.
Treatment of Chronic Pain With Various Buprenorphine Formulations: A Systematic Review of Clinical Studies

Clinical studies demonstrate that buprenorphine is a pharmacologic agent that can be used for the treatment of various types of painful conditions. This study investigated the efficacy of 5 different types of buprenorphine formulations in the chronic pain population. The literature was reviewed on PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Database, clinicaltrials.gov, and PROSPERO that dated from inception until June 30, 2017. Using the population, intervention, comparator, and outcomes method, 25 randomized controlled trials were reviewed involving 5 buprenorphine formulations in patients with chronic pain: intravenous buprenorphine, sublingual buprenorphine, sublingual buprenorphine/naloxone, buccal buprenorphine, and transdermal buprenorphine, with comparators consisting of opioid analgesics or placebo. Of the 25 studies reviewed, a total of 14 studies demonstrated clinically significant benefit with buprenorphine in the management of chronic pain: 1 study out of 6 sublingual and intravenous buprenorphine, the only sublingual buprenorphine/naloxone study, 2 out of 3 studies of buccal buprenorphine, and 10 out of 15 studies for transdermal buprenorphine showed significant reduction in pain against a comparator. No serious adverse effects were reported in any of the studies. We conclude that a transdermal buprenorphine formulation is an effective analgesic in patients with chronic pain, while buccal buprenorphine is also a promising formulation based on the limited number of studies.