Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Management of stenosis and acquired atresia of the external auditory meatus

The aim of this study was to investigate the aetiology of acquired atresia and stenosis of the external auditory meatus and to present our results for surgical management. Over an 18-year period (from 1986 to 2004), data were collected prospectively from patient cohorts in Dundee and Edinburgh. Stenosis of the auditory meatus was due to chronic otitis externa in 64 per cent of cases, compared with 37 per cent of cases with acquired atresia; the latter had instead a history of chronic suppurative otitis media in 43 per cent. Surgical treatment of canal stenosis with meatoplasty alone achieved a widely patent ear canal in 80 per cent of cases, with 78 per cent of ears remaining free of discharge. Cases of acquired atresia treated with simple surgical excision of the soft tissue plug experienced a 100 per cent failure rate. The additional use of a split skin graft achieved a patent meatus in 70 per cent of cases, with hearing improvement in 79 per cent. However, the ear canal remained unstable and late recurrence was observed.
Intracavitary bleomycin for the control of malignant effusions

The results of treatment with intracavitary bleomycin are reported in twenty patients with a malignant pleural effusion and five patients with malignant ascites. The control rate was 17/20 (85%) patients with malignant pleural effusions and 3/5 (60%) patients with malignant ascites. Toxicities were minimal with fever being the most common side effect in four patients (16%). Bleomycin is an effective and nontoxic sclerosing agent.
Evolution of the Marketing Organization: New Forms for Turbulent Environments

Rapid changes in industrial structure and global competition have occurred in the last two decades. The changes herald the post-industrial era, producing an environment of ambiguity and paradox at this point in time, but nevertheless causing profound impacts on our economic and social institutions. The environment of the future will be characterized most notably by unprecedented levels of diversity, knowledge richness, and turbulence. However, marketing's strategy concepts remain rooted in the historical evolution of functional approaches to a customer orientation. In the post-industrial era, unusual forms of marketing organization (that are ambidextrous and highly flexible) will be needed to cope with complex and dynamic task environments. The author discusses two such forms, the marketing exchange company and the marketing coalition company. The marketing companies serve as the organizing hubs of complex networks of functionally specialized firms. The new forms are transorganizational systems in which the critical managerial activities are boundary-spanning ones. To be effective, such systems will evolve elaborate relational norms and sophisticated information, political, and quasijudicial systems.
Modeling Marketing Interactions with Application to Salesforce Effectiveness

The authors propose that a general class of market response models with marketing parameter equations be used for the study of marketing interactions. They inventory alternative model specifications of marketing mix interactions, along with the estimation procedures, and compare two that are relevant in an application to the determinants of U.S. Navy salesforce effectiveness. The authors also illustrate the importance of modeling interactions as a basis for making inferences about marketing mix resource allocation.
Intraperitoneal endotoxin but not protein malnutrition shifts d-tubocurarine dose-response curves in mouse gastrocnemius muscle.

Burn injury-induced changes at the neuromuscular junction include muscle weakness and altered response to neuromuscular blocking drugs. Protein malnutrition and sepsis can concomitantly occur with burn trauma. The role of pure malnutrition or sepsis, in the absence of burn injury, in inducing neuromuscular changes was studied in the mouse gastrocnemius muscle. Additionally, cAMP levels in muscle were evaluated to reflect metabolic activity. Sepsis was studied using doses of endotoxin at one-fourth or one-third the dose evoking 50% lethality. Diets of 5% protein and 5% protein + 35% fiber achieved protein and protein/calorie malnutrition, respectively. In each model neuromuscular function was evaluated by maximal tension developed. Pharmacologic responses were measured through effective dose to paralyze active tension by either 50 or 95%. Protein and protein/calorie malnutrition leading to an approximate 8% body weight loss caused a depression of maximal tension developed; this depression in tension was associated with a 10-fold increase in cAMP levels. Effective doses of d-tubocurarine for twitch inhibition during malnutrition were not significantly different from controls. Sepsis at 2 weeks caused an approximate 8% body weight loss, a significant decrease in maximal tension and at least a 3- to 5-fold shift to the right in dose-response curves to d-tubocurarine. In contrast to malnutrition, cAMP levels were significantly decreased (P less than .001) in sepsis to 1/400 of controls. The altered neuromuscular function and pharmacology observed in sepsis are similar to changes observed in burn injury. Protein malnutrition common to these two states may be important in functional but not pharmacological changes at the neuromuscular junction.
The modification by x-irradiation of the life span of haploids and diploids of the wasp, Habrobracon sp.

Haploid males, diploid males, and diploid females of the wasp, Habrobracon sp. , were x-irradiated as larvae-incocoons, white pupae, and adults, and their adult life span was obtained. The median life span for nonirradiated adults was 62 days for haploid males and diploid males, 92 days for diploid females fed on honey-water, and 40 days for diploid females fed on Ephestia larvae. The difference in life span is related to sex but not to genome number and suggests that the normal aging process is not due to an accumulation of somatic mutations. Although a nutritional factor may be involved in the life span of females, this caanot be resolved by the present experiments. since females that are fed honey-water do not lay eggs, whereas females that are Ephestia-fed lay eggs throughout their lives. Diploid males irradiated as adults (10000 to 50000 r) have a longer life span than comparable haploid males. Diploid males and diploid females show similar decreases in life span relative to their controls. Radiation-induced decrease in life span is markedly influenced by genome number but not by sex. This suggests that the decrease in life span by x irradiation is due to damage of a genetic nature. Themore » differential sensitivity of haploid and diploid adults to x irradiation indicates that gene action is taking place in the adult stage and in nondividing cells. Pupae after exposure to 10000 and 15000 r are not inhibited in their ability to develop into structurally normal adults. These adults, however, show a decrease in life span. Haploid males have a markedly shorter life span than diploid males. Diploid males are similar to diploid females In decreased life span. This differential sensitivity is due apparently to genetic damage which becomes observable for groups of older adults. Larvae after exposure to 2000 r are able to develop into structurally normal adults. These adults, however, show a decrease in life span. Haploid males are similar to honey-fed females. Ephestia fed females show a considerable decrease in life span for reasons that are not clear. The differential sensitivity of haploids and diploids is different for the larval, pupal, and adult stages. This is probably related to different types of genetic injury such as effects on cell division and on gene action occurring in different stages of development. (auth)« less
Factors influencing the price premiums that consumers pay for national brands over store brands

Identifies some managerially relevant factors that influence the size of the price premium that consumers will pay for national brands over store brands in grocery products. We define price premium as the maximum price consumers will pay for a national brand over a store brand, expressed as the proportionate price differential between a national brand and a store brand. Overall, perceived quality differential accounts for about 12 percent of the variation in price premiums across consumers and product categories and is the most important variable influencing price premiums.
Hindlimb skeletal muscle function in myostatin‐deficient mice

Absence of functional myostatin (MSTN) during fetal development results in adult skeletal muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia. To more fully characterize MSTN loss in hindlimb muscles, the morphology and contractile function of the soleus, plantaris, gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, and quadriceps muscles in male and female null (Mstn−/−), heterozygous (Mstn+/−), and wild‐type (Mstn+/+) mice were investigated. Muscle weights of Mstn−/− mice were greater than those of Mstn+/+ and Mstn+/− mice. Fiber cross‐sectional area (CSA) was increased in female Mstn−/− soleus and gastrocnemius muscles and in the quadriceps of male Mstn−/− mice; peak tetanic force in Mstn−/− mice did not parallel the increased muscle weight or CSA. Male Mstn−/− muscle exhibited moderate degeneration. Visible pathology in male mice and decreased contractile strength relative to increased muscle weight suggest MSTN loss results in muscle impairment, which is dose‐, sex‐, and muscle‐dependent. Muscle Nerve, 2011
On some Multicolor Ramsey Properties of Random Graphs

The size-Ramsey number $\hat{R}(F)$ of a graph $F$ is the smallest integer $m$ such that there exists a graph $G$ on $m$ edges with the property that any colouring of the edges of $G$ with two colours yields a monochromatic copy of $F$. In this paper, first we focus on the size-Ramsey number of a path $P_n$ on $n$ vertices. In particular, we show that $5n/2-15/2 \le \hat{R}(P_n) \le 74n$ for $n$ sufficiently large. (The upper bound uses expansion properties of random $d$-regular graphs.) This improves the previous lower bound, $\hat{R}(P_n) \ge (1+\sqrt{2})n-O(1)$, due to Bollob\'as, and the upper bound, $\hat{R}(P_n) \le 91n$, due to Letzter. Next we study long monochromatic paths in edge-coloured random graph $G(n,p)$ with $pn \to \infty$. Let $\alpha > 0$ be an arbitrarily small constant. Recently, Letzter showed that a.a. s. \ any $2$-edge colouring of $G(n,p)$ yields a monochromatic path of length $(2/3-\alpha)n$, which is optimal. Extending this result, we show that a.a. s. \ any $3$-edge colouring of $G(n,p)$ yields a monochromatic path of length $(1/2-\alpha)n$, which is also optimal. In general, we prove that for $r\ge 4$ a.a. s. \ any $r$-edge colouring of $G(n,p)$ yields a monochromatic path of length $(1/r-\alpha)n$. We also consider a related problem and show that for any $r \ge 2$, a.a. s. \ any $r$-edge colouring of $G(n,p)$ yields a monochromatic connected subgraph on $(1/(r-1)-\alpha)n$ vertices, which is also tight.
Oral Adsorbent AST-120 Decreases Serum Levels of AGEs in Patients with Chronic Renal Failure

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are senescent macroprotein derivatives that are formed at an accelerated rate in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). AGE formation and accumulation in plasma and vascular tissues contribute to accelerated atherosclerosis in this devastating disorder. AST-120 is an oral adsorbent that attenuates the progression of CRF by removing uremic toxins. Recently, AST-120 has been reported to reduce the progression of atherosclerosis as well. However, whether AST-120 decreases serum levels of AGEs and subsequently exerts atheroprotective properties remains to be elucidated. Ten nondiabetic CRF patients were enrolled in this study. All patients were kept on regular therapeutic diet and medications throughout the study. Serum AGE levels before and after AST-120 treatments were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Effects of patient-derived serum on atherosclerosis-related gene expression in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were analyzed by semiquantitative RT-PCR. Administration of AST-120 (6 g/day) for 3 months significantly decreased serum levels of AGEs in nondiabetic CRF patients, whereas AGE levels remained unchanged in age- and renal function-matched CRF patients without AST-120 treatment (n = 6). Patient serum after AST-120 treatment significantly reduced mRNA levels of receptor for AGEs, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and vascular adhesion molecule-1 in HUVECs compared with serum before treatment. Moreover, in vitro, AST-120 was found to adsorb carboxymethyllysine (CML), one of the well-characterized, digested food-derived AGEs. This study suggests that atheroprotective properties of AST-120 can be ascribed, at least in part, to its AGE-lowering ability via absorption of CML.
Tax Policy and the Activities of Multinational Corporations

This paper reviews quantitative studies of the impact of international tax rules on the financial and real behavior of multinational firms. The evidence, much of it recent, indicates that taxation significantly influences foreign direct investment, corporate borrowing, transfer pricing, dividend and royalty payments, R&D activity, exports, bribe payments, and location choices. While taxes appear to influence a wide range of activity, the literature does not offer many subtle tests designed to distinguish different theories of the effects of taxation on multinational firms. The paper evaluates the reliability of existing evidence and its implications for the design of international tax policy.
SNAP Food Security In-Depth Interview Study

This report presents findings from the qualitative In-Depth Interview component of the SNAP Food Security (SNAPFS) study. The main SNAPFS study was conducted for the Food and Nutrition Service of the USDA from October 2011 through September 2012, and examined the effects of the program on food security for 6,436 SNAP households just entering the program and 3,275 households on SNAP for approximately six to seven months.
Performance Implications of Environment-Strategy-Governance Misfit

This study examines the impacts of matching competitive environment, business strategy, and corporate governance structure on firm performance. We predict that in a dynamic environment, firms pursuing a product differentiation strategy will perform better than firms pursuing a strategy of cost leadership, but the performance differential is affected by the level of board independence and managerial share ownership. In a stable environment, we predict that firms pursuing a strategy of cost leadership will perform better than firms pursuing a product differentiation strategy, and the performance differential is affected by the level of board independence and managerial share ownership. Overall, the results are consistent with the predictions of this study. Board independence and managerial ownership affect the performance differential between product differentiators and cost leaders in a dynamic environment. In a stable environment, however, the results are not statistically significant.
Going Organic: Mapping the Motivations and Barriers to Organic Food Purchase

The organic food market is one of the most promising ones in United Arab Emirates(U.A.E.). The paper presents results of a primary study conducted in U.A. E. with respondents from its three Emirates namely Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The study was conducted to find out the number of categories of organic food purchased along with the main motivating factors for purchasing more than one category of organic food. It also aimed at finding out the main barrier to organic food purchase in the market. On conducting statistical analyses, the results revealed that majority of them are buying three of the five categories of organic food listed which shows their increased acceptance. Non parametric tests like Spearman’s correlation revealed factors like health, nutritious and pesticide free food, environment protection, and fair treatment to animals motivated people to buy more number of categories of organic food. Buying out of curiosity and buying to follow a trend were not major driving forces for buying various categories of organic food. The main barrier to organic food purchase was the high expense associated with it.
The impact of electronic reverse auctions on supplier performance: The mediating role of relationship variables

The use of electronic reverse auctions (ERAs) by buying organizations has increased dramatically over the past five years. Both anecdotal and empirical evidence have shown that ERAs can lower purchase prices. However, researchers are only just beginning to investigate how ERAs impact perceptions of opportunism as compared to sealed bids and traditional negotiations. Further, researchers have yet to examine how perceptions of opportunism surrounding ERAs might in turn affect such outcome variables as trust, commitment, conflict, and ultimately nonprice attributes of supplier performance. The authors address this gap in the research by developing a theoretically grounded model of the interrelationships among these five variables, and empirically testing the model through a survey of buying organizations that rely heavily on ERAs to select and source from suppliers. The authors' findings suggest that increased levels of opportunism harm supplier nonprice performance, through both their more obvious impact on dysfunctional conflict and their more latent effects on relationship trust and commitment.
The Relationship between Dividend Payouts Ratio and Future Earnings Growth, A Case of Listed Company in Iran Market

Decision making about dividend payout is one of the most important decision that companies should encounter with. Companies' dividend payouts over the time and with a stable manner can effects on share price, future earnings growth and finally investor's evaluation about owners' equity. This study examines the use of the payout ratio as a predictor of a firm’s future earnings growth. OLS (ordinary least squares) employed for hypothesis test in multi variables regression method. We found out there is a positive relation between dividend payouts and future earnings growth by analyzing 102 companies over the 2004-2010 period. These findings are consistent with Arnott and Asness (2003) research results that document a positive relation between dividend payouts and future earnings growth.In other words, dividend payouts is one of the most important items in forecasting future earnings growth of companies listed in Tehran stock exchange.
Anterior bridging bronchus

Previously reported patients with a bridging bronchus (BB) presented with respiratory distress. In addition, each patient had one or more associated anomalies. All but two patients progressed to cardiopulmonary failure and death. We describe a case of an anterior BB without associated anomalies, who did well without operative intervention. This patient presented with a cough at 6 months of age. Chest X‐ray was normal, but due to suspicion of foreign body aspiration, bronchoscopy was performed, which revealed a third bronchus at the carina. Bronchography demonstrated the anatomy of the BB. The patient has continued to do well without further intervention. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2003; 35:70–72. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A patient-specific finite element methodology to predict damage accumulation in vertebral bodies under axial compression, sagittal flexion and combined loads

Due to the inherent limitations of DXA, assessment of the biomechanical properties of vertebral bodies relies increasingly on CT-based finite element (FE) models, but these often use simplistic material behaviour and/or single loading cases. In this study, we applied a novel constitutive law for bone elasticity, plasticity and damage to FE models created from coarsened pQCT images of human vertebrae, and compared vertebral stiffness, strength and damage accumulation for axial compression, anterior flexion and a combination of these two cases. FE axial stiffness and strength correlated with experiments and were linearly related to flexion properties. In all loading modes, damage localised preferentially in the trabecular compartment. Damage for the combined loading was higher than cumulated damage produced by individual compression and flexion. In conclusion, this FE method predicts stiffness and strength of vertebral bodies from CT images with clinical resolution and provides insight into damage accumulation in various loading modes.
On Fraudulent Financial Practice and Competitive Discipline

Following the huge Enron scandal that rocked the financial system of the United States, many firms were asked to restate their accounts by the regulatory authorities. We provide a theoretical model of overstatement in which managers inflate actual profits to attract share capital and shareholders find it too costly to monitor such action. We completely characterize such equilibrium and argue that more competitive industries are likely to discourage such earning manipulations. We also show that in case only some firms in an industry engage in such malpractice, the margin of manipulation will be greater. However, greater entry will reduce the extent of overstatement.
Non-invasive diagnostic approach to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: current evidence and future perspectives

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a new epidemic liver disease, thus, its early diagnosis and the identification of those patients with the worst prognosis is mandatory. Liver biopsy is still the diagnostic gold standard, even if it is associated to a significant rate of complications; moreover, the interpretation of histological samples is not always univocal. Several non-invasive alternative scores have been proposed for the diagnostic approach to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This article evaluates the performance of the currently available non-invasive diagnostic strategies. The authors also suggest a potential diagnostic algorithm, with two or more non-invasive techniques, to increase the overall accuracy for identifying patients with worst prognosis, and to minimize the recourse to liver biopsy.
Information Risk and Capital Structure

In this paper, we investigate the effects of information asymmetry across equity investor groups as an explanation for the capital structure decisions of the firm. We test empirically whether differences in information across outside investors have any bearing on the leverage ratios of firms and on their choice of financing instrument when raising external capital. We use the probability of information-based trading (PIN) estimated using trade based data to test our theory. We find that firms with higher information risk (extrinsic information asymmetry across groups of investors) measured using PIN have higher market leverage. Extrinsic information asymmetry also seems to play a significant role in the firm's decision to issue debt or equity when raising capital, with high PIN firms more likely to issue debt. Comparing firms that issued debt and repurchased equity in the same year (increased leverage) with those that issued equity and repurchased debt in the same year (decreased leverage), we find firms with higher extrinsic information asymmetry are more likely to increase their leverage. These results strongly support the hypothesis that information risk affects capital structure after controlling for information asymmetry between firm managers and outside investors.