Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of HPV types in a cohort of Greeks with clinical indication of infection.

BACKGROUND Several types of human papilloma virus (HPV) have been associated with increased risk for epithelial malignancies. In light of a recently available vaccine that protects against persistent infection by certain HPV types (6, 11, 16, 18) and resulting neoplasias, the prevalence of HPV types was investigated in a cohort of people with a suspected viral infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS The studied material consisted of genital or oral scrapings obtained from 263 consecutively referred Greeks (aged 18-64 years) with a clinical indication of HPV infection. DNA samples isolated from scrapings were tested by PCR, using consensus primers for at least 50 HPV types. In cases of detected viral DNA sequence, HPV typing was performed by restriction analysis using 4 enzymes and confirmed by DNA sequencing. RESULTS 215/263 (81.7%) of the samples were HPV-positive. HPV types associated with high risk for neoplasias were detected in 91/215 (423%), intermediate risk types in 64/215 (29.8%) and low-risk types in 60/215 (27.9%) of the positive samples. A total of 85/215 (39.5%) were positive for one of the vaccine-related types. Furthermore, types 16 and 18 comprised about the same proportion of the high-risk types detected in this study (35/91, 385%). CONCLUSION The observed high prevalence rate of high-risk types underlines the importance of testing individuals with an indication of a possible HPV infection. In addition, there is a need for prevention strategies, such as the annual Pap smear screening of women, as well as wider use of HPV molecular screening and vaccines targeted at common HPV types.
Global Accounting Convergence and the Potential Adoption of IFRS by the United States: An Analysis of Economic and Policy Factors

Drawing on the academic literature in accounting, finance and economics, we analyze economic and policy factors related to the potential adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the U.S. We highlight the unique institutional features of U.S. markets to assess the potential impact of IFRS adoption on the quality and comparability of U.S. reporting practices, the ensuing capital market effects, and the potential costs of switching from U.S. GAAP to IFRS. We discuss the compatibility of IFRS with the current U.S. regulatory and legal environment as well as the possible effects of IFRS adoption on the U.S. economy as a whole. We also consider how a switch to IFRS may affect worldwide competition among accounting standards and standard setters, and discuss the political ramifications of such a decision on the standard setting process and on the governance structure of the International Accounting Standards Board. Our analysis shows that the decision to adopt IFRS mainly involves a cost-benefit tradeoff between (1) recurring, albeit modest, comparability benefits for investors, (2) recurring future cost savings that will largely accrue to multinational companies, and (3) one-time transition costs borne by all firms and the U.S. economy as a whole, including those from adjustments to U.S. institutions. We conclude by outlining several possible scenarios for the future of U.S. accounting standards, ranging from maintaining U.S. GAAP, letting firms decide whether and when to adopt IFRS, to the creation of a competing U.S. GAAP-based set of global accounting standards that could serve as an alternative to IFRS.
Managed Care and Health Care Reform: Everything Old Is New Again

A 1991 New York Times article reported that the “pioneering” state of Arizona, a “late starter in Medicaid,” had provided a health system model for the nation in the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). At that time, AHCCCS was the only Medicaid program in the United States in which nearly all beneficiaries were enrolled in managed care organizations (MCOs) that were reimbursed on a prepaid capitated basis. Because of a physician participation rate exceeding 50%, remarkably high for a Medicaid program, AHCCCS had brought about truly mainstream managed care for the low-income members that it served, the article reported: “In much of the country, [Medicaid beneficiaries] would be left to seek treatment in shoddy ‘Medicaid mills’ or, at great public expense, in overcrowded emergency rooms. In Arizona, things are different. ”1 Glowing press coverage of the program continued. In 1995, a Time Magazine article observed that AHCCCS was being “hailed as a model of managed care” because of the program’s emphasis on primary and preventive care, prohibitions against “cherry picking” healthy enrollees, and use of “intensely competitive” bidding to award contracts to MCOs.2 “The most remarkable thing,” Time reported, “is that the state government managed to come up with a program that makes just about everybody happy: the patients, the doctors, the bureaucrats and the number crunchers. ”2 AHCCCS did not become the dominant national model for health care financing and delivery as predicted in the 1990s.3 But AHCCCS became the Phoenix in 2009, when it was once again described as “a proven, efficient model for national health reform,” this time by an Arizona legislator who is a proponent of current health care reform proposals.4 More importantly, this cycle of events was not limited only to AHCCCS; it is a pattern that has been repeated over the past several decades in the United States. Insights into public opinion about managed care, consumer choice, and preventive medicine are critical to understanding the prospects for the structure of health care financing and delivery in the United States in the coming years.
Understanding the Antecedents of Individuals Intention of Using Cloud Services

Cloud computing has become a frequent topic of discussion, garnering active interest from numerous international companies. Many studies have addressed the technical and operational concerns and the industrial applications and adoption intentions related to cloud computing. However, few studies have focused on its use at the individual level. This research integrated the technology acceptance model, the theory of planned behavior, diffusion of innovation, and security risk to develop a theoretical model that explains and predicts users' intentions to use cloud services. Data for this study were collected from 1069 users in Taiwan and were tested against the relationships through structural equation modeling.
The Relationship Between Corporate Governance Mechanisms and the Performance of Saudi Listed Firms

This paper gauges, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the pertinent variables to corporate governance practices and their relationship to business productivity in the context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This study was conducted in response to the limited literature in this context. A new code of corporate governance was issued by the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority as a direct consequence of the 2006 stock market crash; in 2010, the code was made mandatory for listed firms. Rigorous empirical studies are practical not only for Saudi Arabia and its policy makers but also potentially for solving global investment issues and ensuring security. This study found two variables to have a significant negative relation: chief executive officer turnover and independent board members. Thus, greater rates of chief executive officer turnover are associated with negative firm performance. In addition, independent board directors’ negative value was found to be very close to zero and significant only at the 10% level. Consequently, some caution is required when considering this result.
A method for evaluating treatment switching criteria in multiple sclerosis

Background and Objective: We investigated a method to evaluate a treatment switching approach, namely treatment change after one multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse. Methods: Patients who experienced a relapse while on a first-line disease-modifying therapy, glatiramer acetate, were identified. Based on their subsequent course, patients were divided into two groups: those who changed treatment and those who did not. Patients were allowed to change to any other treatment. Subsequent annualized relapse rate and time to next relapse were compared in the two groups. Since patients were not randomized to treatment group, negative binomial and Cox regression models were used to control for several potential clinical confounders, including relapse severity, relapse duration, age, disease duration and presence of previous/combination therapy. In addition, an inverse probability of treatment weighting model was used to control for confounding. Several secondary analyses investigated patient subgroups. Results: Statistical modeling showed that there was no significant difference between groups in terms of relapse rate (rate ratio; 95% CI = 0.68; 0.35, 1.31) and time to next relapse (hazard ratio; 95% CI = 0.61; 0.30, 1.25). All secondary analyses confirmed these results. In addition, no significant difference in time to sustained progression on the Expanded Disability Status Scale was observed (p > 0.05). Our approach allowed investigation of the choice to change treatment after a relapse. Conclusions: Our results showed that a single relapse may not be sufficient to indicate treatment failure. Although clinical confounders were addressed in our modeling, unmeasured confounders, particularly the presence of magnetic resonance imaging activity, may have biased our conclusion.
Differential risk of employment in more physically demanding jobs among a recent cohort of immigrants to Canada

Objective: To examine the proportion of a recent cohort of immigrants to Canada who were working in jobs that were more physically demanding than those in which they worked before migration to Canada. Design: Longitudinal cohort of immigrants to Canada with occupational position measured before and 2 and 4 years after arrival in Canada. Subjects: Respondents to Statistics Canada’s Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC). The LSIC surveyed a representative sample of immigrants, aged 15 and older, who arrived in Canada between November 2000 and December 2001. For the purpose of this study, the sample was restricted to respondents who had worked before immigrating and were working when re-interviewed 2 (n = 4331) or 4 (n = 4238) years after arrival in Canada. Main outcome: Employment in an occupation with higher physical demands than that employed in before arrival in Canada. Results: Respondents with less proficiency at speaking English and family class or refugee applicants were the most likely to be employed in occupations with higher physical demands both 2 and 4 years after arrival in Canada. Conclusions: Employment in a more physically demanding occupation may pose particular risks of workplace injury. In this sample of immigrants to Canada, respondents with poorer English skills and refugees (factors that may increase this risk) were more likely to be employed in more physically demanding occupations. Greater attention to the prevention of workplace injuries among particular groups of new immigrants to Canada is required.
THE EFFECT OF ACQUIRING FIRM’S GROWTH OPPORTUNITY ON THE VALUE RELEVANCE OF GOODWILL

In recent years, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have become increasingly important for Japanese firms to achieve growth. In this situation, how does the stock market recognize and evaluate the goodwill generated as a consequence of M&A? Given that Japanese companies have increasingly used M&A as for a tool for growth, we can say that the growth opportunity of the acquiring firms is an important factor that affects valuation of goodwill in the stock market. In this study, we investigate the link between growth opportunity and the value of goodwill in the stock market. The results of our study show that the market valuation of newly acquired goodwill is positively influenced by the growth opportunities of acquiring firms in Japan. Therefore, this study implies that M&A works better when it is done to utilize internal growth opportunity rather than to incorporate external growth opportunities into the firm.
Gender differences in the impact of families on alcohol use: a lagged longitudinal study of early adolescents.

AIMS From the pre-teen to the mid-teen years, rates of alcohol use and misuse increase rapidly. Cross-sectional research shows that positive family emotional climate (low conflict, high closeness) is protective, and there is emerging evidence that these protective mechanisms are different for girls versus boys. The aim of this study was to explore gender differences in the longitudinal impact of family emotional climate on adolescent alcohol use and exposure to peer drinking networks. DESIGN Three-wave two-level (individual, within-individual over time) ordinal logistic regression with alcohol use in the past year as the dependent measure and family variables lagged by 1 year. SETTING Adolescents completed surveys during school hours. PARTICIPANTS A total of 855 Australian students (modal age 10-11 years at baseline) participating in the International Youth Development Study (Victoria, Australia). MEASUREMENTS These included emotional closeness to mother/father, family conflict, parent disapproval of alcohol use and peer alcohol use. FINDINGS For girls, the effect of emotional closeness to mothers on alcohol use was mediated by exposure to high-risk peer networks. Parent disapproval of alcohol use was protective for both genders, but this effect was larger for boys versus girls, and there was no evidence that peer use mediated this effect. Peer drinking networks showed stronger direct risk effects than family variables. CONCLUSIONS Family factors unidirectionally impact on growth in adolescent alcohol use and effects vary with child gender.
Towards gene therapy for deafness

Many hearing disorders are associated with the damage or loss of sensory hair cells (HC) which can produce a profound and irreversible deafness. Apoptosis pathway is reported to play an important role leading to rapid expansion of the HC lesion after exposure to intense noise. Furthermore, progress made over the last year in understanding molecular mechanisms involved in the proliferative and regenerative capacity of sensory cells in the mammalian inner ear has raised the possibility that targeted therapies might prevent the loss of these cells and preserve the patient's hearing. A first step towards the successful therapeutic exploitation is a better understanding of the different pathways that control survival and proliferation of sensory cells. In this review, we provide an overview of recent findings concerning the possibility to prevent apoptosis in auditory cells. We also show the current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms involved in the potential regenerative behavior of these cells and the progress of gene therapy to prevent deafness noise‐induced. J. Cell. Physiol. 226: 2494–2499, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Does corporate governance affect accounting conservatism? Empirical evidence in the French context

In the present study, we investigate the relationship between corporate governance (Boards of directors, Ownership) and accounting conservatism. We examine our model in the context of French firms over the period 2007-2011. We predict that an effective set of corporate governance mechanisms is positively related to a higher level of accounting conservatism. Empirical tests show that accounting conservatism depends mainly on the effectiveness of the board, the management shareholding, and the audit quality.
Deriving an equivalent circuit of composite oil paper insulation for understanding the Frequency Domain Spectroscopic measurements

Results of Frequency Domain Spectroscopy measurements are known to be largely influenced by insulation conditions, predominantly moisture content and temperature. In this paper, the dielectric behaviour of a composite oil paper insulation system has been explained from the properties of Debye basic model. The measurement has been performed at controlled temperatures and moisture content in the paper. The equivalent circuit parameters of a laboratory made oil paper condenser bushing model were obtained using a non-linear optimization procedure. Since the dielectric parameters values are geometry dependent, poles, calculated from resistances and capacitances, were used as they are independent of the geometry. It was shown that the poles can be regarded as parameters able to be used for insulation condition assessment.
Wave packets in minisuperspace.

Wave packets in minisuperspace of quantum gravity are explicitly constructed for a Friedmann model containing either a massless or a massive homogeneous scalar field. Unparametrized tubelike standing waves corresponding to classically returning paths in configuration space can be constructed if a ``final condition'' with respect to the scale factor a is assumed to hold. Sensible wave packets are only obtained for certain discrete values of the mass and only in regions not too close to the classical turning point. Therefore it is meaningless in minisuperspace of quantum gravity to extend classical paths through this region to a recollapsing phase. This suggests that we introduce higher degrees of freedom which can produce classical paths by continuous measurement.
Expression, purification, and characterization of a cobalt-activated chitin deacetylase (Cda2p) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Chitin deacetylase (Cda2p) (EC 3.5.1.41) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been purified from vegetative cells grown in galactose and further characterized. The enzyme is a glycoprotein with an apparent molecular mass of approximately 43 kDa and a carbohydrate content of approximately 18% by weight. With glycol chitin as substrate, the optimum temperature for enzyme activity is 50 degrees C and the pH optimum is 8.0. The enzyme requires at least two N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues (chitobiose) for catalysis and is partially inhibited by acetate. Deglycosylation of the enzyme causes total loss of enzyme activity, which can be restored by the addition of COCl(2).
Determinants of Non Use of Contraceptives Among Currently Married Women in Kenya

iii TABLE OF CONTENTS . iv LIST OF TABLES.viii LIST OF FIGURES . viii CHAPTER ONE:INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Background . 1 1.2 Problem Statement . 3 1.3 Research Question . 3 1.4 Objectives of the Study . 4 1.4. 1 Specific Objectives . 4 1.5 Justification . 4 1.6 Scope and limitations of the study . 5 CHAPTER TWO:LITERATURE REVIEW . 6 2.
Sizing Up Market Failures in Export Pioneering Activities

We argue that existence of public good does not necessarily imply market failure, and illustrate this point in the context of international trade. An influential hypothesis states that export pioneers are too few relative to social optimum because the first exporter's action creates an informational public good for all subsequent exporters. The hypothesis has been invoked to justify certain types of government interventions. We note, however, that such market failure requires two inequalities to hold simultaneously: the discovery cost is neither too low nor too high. Neither has to hold in the data. We propose a structural estimation framework to evaluate the hypothesis, and estimate the parameters based on the customs data of Chinese electronics exports. Our key finding is that "missing pioneers" are a low-probability event for large countries, but can be a serious problem for small economies.
Multi-stakeholder contracting in executive/business coaching: an analysis of practice and recommendations for gaining maximum value

Multi-stakeholder contracting for coaching takes place in organisational settings worldwide. This article presents the results and implications of an international study which explored its use in executive and business coaching, with the aim of sharing best practice and achieving maximum value for all participants. Respondents (n=651) were recruited through major coaching bodies (AC, EMCC and ICF), Coaching at Work magazine and other organisations. A web-based survey in 2014 of executive and business coaches, organisations and clients found considerable agreement among participants on the impact, benefit and challenges of multi-stakeholder contracting. Collated suggestions are included to maximise effectiveness for all parties involved.
Sensitivity of Ruminal Microorganisms to Pentachlorophenolt

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is used extensively as a biocidal agent, and there is considerable concern about the adverse effects of this compound in biological ecosystems. The effects of PCP on the growth and fermentative activity of cultures of mixed ruminal microorganisms and the sensitivity of 14 ruminal bacterial species to PCP in pure culture were examined in this study. Increasing concentrations of PCP (9.4 to 375.4 ,uM) depressed growth and propionate concentrations in cultures of mixed ruminal microorganisms. Wide differences in the sensitivities of ruminal bacterial strains to various concentrations of PCP were observed. Cellulolytic strains were highly sensitive to PCP, while amylolytic, sugar-utilizing, and intermediate acid-utilizing strains were
Visual Outcome of Ocular Trauma

Material and Methods: This study was conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, from 1 November, 2011 to 30 September, 2012. Visually significant ocular trauma included all cases with any decrease in vision at presentation. A detailed history with complete ocular examination was undertaken and relevant investigations were done as necessary. Patients were treated medically or surgically as the case may be. Follow up ranged from 1 month to 10 months.
Can a documentary increase help-seeking intentions in men? A randomised controlled trial

Background We investigated whether a public health intervention—a three-part documentary called Man Up which explored the relationship between masculinity and mental health, well-being and suicidality—could increase men’s intentions to seek help for personal and emotional problems. Methods We recruited men aged 18 years or over who were not at risk of suicide to participate in a double-blind randomised controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) via computer randomisation to view Man Up (the intervention) or a control documentary. We hypothesised that 4 weeks after viewing Man Up participants would report higher levels of intention to seek help than those who viewed the control documentary. Our primary outcome was assessed using the General Help Seeking Questionnaire, and was analysed for all participants. The trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12616001169437, Universal Trial Number: U1111-1186-1459) and was funded by the Movember Foundation. Results Three hundred and fifty-four men were assessed for eligibility for the trial and randomised to view Man Up or the control documentary. Of these, 337 completed all stages (nine participants were lost to follow-up in the intervention group and eight in the control group). Linear regression analysis showed a significant increase in intentions to seek help in the intervention group, but not in the control group (coef.=2.06, 95% CI 0.48 to 3.63, P=0.01). Conclusions Our trial demonstrates the potential for men’s health outcomes to be positively impacted by novel, media-based public health interventions that focus on traditional masculinity. Trial registration number ACTRN12616001169437, Results.