Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A dedicated GvHD clinic may improve the quality of life for allogeneic stem cell transplant survivors

Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These cancer survivors can have complex medical, psychological, physical, and social issues, which may not be fully addressed in standard transplant follow-up clinics or late effects clinics due to time restraints or lack of resources (1). A specialist GvHD clinic was established at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, UK, to try and improve the quality of care for these patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the new GvHD clinic on quality of life, morbidity and mortality, and referral patterns. All patients who attended the clinic from September 1, 2010 to September 1, 2011 were included in the study. Data were collected from the electronic patient record. A proforma was completed for each new patient, and patients were asked to complete FACT-BMT (2) and chronic GvHD symptom scale (3) questionnaires as a measure of healthrelated quality of life. The study was approved by the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust audit committee (SE023). Thirty patients attended the clinic (24 had chronic GvHD and six had acute GvHD). Twenty patients were men and the median age was 48 yr (range, 22–68 yr). Ten patients had severe chronic GvHD and 14 had moderate GvHD according to NIH criteria (4). All patients with acute GvHD had grade III/IV disease. Twenty-six out of 30 (87%) were within one yr of transplant. Twentyfour out of 30 (80%) were on two immunosuppressive agents. Seventeen out of 30 (57%) had single organ involvement, 13% had two organs involved, and 30% had three or more organs involved. Forty-two referrals to other specialists were made. The most frequent referrals were made to dermatology (13/30) and ophthalmology (8/30). Patients frequently required input from the dietician (12/ 30), physiotherapist (8/30), occupational therapist (5/30), or psychological medicine (8/30). Ten patients stopped immunosuppression and 13 remained on immunosuppression at last follow up. Seven patients died (two GvHD alone, five GvHD plus infection). A subset of patients completed the chronic GvHD symptom scale and FACT-BMT questionnaires as a measure of quality of life. The patients with more severe GvHD according to NIH criteria had lower chronic GvHD symptom scores and higher FACT-BMT scores, indicating poorer quality of life. Nine patients completed the cGvHD symptom scale at different time points. All patients showed an improvement in scores and, in five patients, this improvement was large enough to suggest a significant change in quality of life. This pilot study evaluated the first year of a new dedicated GvHD clinic. This report shows that the clinic led to active involvement of the multidisciplinary team, referrals to specialists with an interest in GvHD, and preliminary data suggest an improvement in patients’ quality of life.
Scalp Reconstruction Using Integra, an Alternative to Free Tissue Transfer —Case Report

We present a case of scalp reconstruction using Integra® and split skin grafting after extensive excision of melanoma in a previously irradiated field. Radical resection of malignancy and application of Integra®, a dermal substitute, was performed. Following histological confirmation of complete excision, a split-thickness skin graft (SSG) was applied. After 14 months the patient remains fully healed and without recurrence. The 2-stage use of Integra® and SSG is useful in reconstructing large scalp defects—it produces an acceptable aesthetic outcome and avoids the need for complex free flap surgery.
Tuning fuzzy fractional order PID sliding-mode controller using PSO algorithm for nonlinear systems

In this paper, a robust fuzzy fractional order sliding mode controller (FFOSMC) for nonlinear systems is studied. Firstly a sliding PIα Dα surface is proposed, and the control law is designed. In order to reduce the chattering phenomenon in sliding mode control (SMC), a Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy logic controller is used to replace the discontinuity in the signum function, and to ensure optimal performance in the closed loop system, the PSO algorithm is used. Finally the effectiveness of the proposed approach of FFOSMC-based PSO algorithm is demonstrated by simulation results with an inverted pendulum and chaotic system.
The Value Relevance of Investment Property Fair Values

This study investigates whether the recognized cost, recognized fair value and disclosed fair value of investment property are priced differently by investors. An analysis is also made into whether the recognized fair value of investment property in four European countries with dissimilar characteristics is priced by investors differently from each other. Our sample is composed of listed real estate firms in France, Germany, Sweden and U.K. subject to the mandatory adoption of IFRS since 2005. The empirical results suggest that investors distinguish the recognized cost, the recognized fair value and the disclosed fair value of investment property, but they do not distinguish valuation implications of the recognized fair value of investment property in the four countries under analysis.
FDI spill-overs in the Estonian economy: a trade performance analysis

The present thesis investigates the hypothesis of FDI export spill-overs from foreign multinationals to domestic Estonian companies by using a dataset comprising both exporters and non-exporters in the manufacturing sectors in a time-span ranging from 1999 to 2009. Estonia is an excellent case study in the field thanks to its historically high levels of FDI per capita. The study assesses both horizontal and vertical spill-overs, distinguishing the latter between backward and forward linkages. It starts by analysing FDI dynamics, previous studies on export spill-overs and the historical evolution of the Estonian economy. A Heckman selection model is then described and employed in order to distinguish between two different decisions, namely whether firms decide to start exporting or not (export-propensity) and how much they export (export-intensity). The results reveal a scarce significance of spill-overs in the decision to engage in exports, but various robustness checks confirm a strong relevance of backward linkages in export-intensity. These externalities seem to be stronger after EU accession. In contrast to the main findings of previous studies, horizontal spill-overs appear generally as insignificant even when controlled for time or technological heterogeneity in the dataset. Contrary to what usually found for developing and transitional markets, export-intensive Estonian firms are both younger and larger firms. This can be seen as a confirmation of successful institutional reforms during the years of transition, especially when integrated with earlier findings on Estonia by Sinani and Meyer (2004).
BACTOX, a Rapid Bioassay That Uses Protozoa To Assess the Toxicity of Bacteria

ABSTRACT A new type of toxicity test based on the protozoanTetrahymena pyriformis has been developed to assess the overall toxicity of bacterial strains given as prey. This simple and rapid test is able to detect toxicant-producing bacteria, which may present a biohazard. It can also be used for the risk assessment of microbes designed for deliberate release.
High Dose Chemotherapy in the Treatment of Poor Prognosis Malignant Lymphoma.

UNLABELLED The aim of the present study was to evaluate an intensive chemotherapy regimen in patients with poor prognosis malignant lymphoma. Sixty previously untreated patients with malignant lymphoma of high- or high-intermediate risk were treated with an intensive regimen. Patients received increasing doses of cyclophosphamide 1000 mg/m(2), and epirubicin 120 mg/m(2), in an CEOP-Bleo regimen with granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor as hematological support. Moreover the high clinical risk patients had more adverse prognostic factors such as bulky disease, elevated levels of beta 2 microglobulin and multiple extranodal sites of involvement at diagnosis. Complete response was achieved in 49 out of 60 patients (81%) (95% confidence interval 63% to 89%). With a median follow-up of 43.6 months (ranged 31 to 61 months), only five patients have relapsed. Thus, at 5-years 72% of the patients remain in first complete response and 74% of the patients are alive free of disease. TOXICITY severe granulocytopenia was observed in the 46% of the chemotherapy cycles; infection-related granulocytopenia was observed in 17%, but no fatality due therapy was observed. Granulocyte recovery was faster and delay on treatment was minimal (3.4 days). No thrombocytopenia, severe mucositis or cardiac abnormalities were observed. The CEOP-Bleo regimen with increasing doses of cyclophosphamide and epirubicin is an useful and well tolerated regimen for the treatment of poor prognosis malignant lymphoma.
Human Early Liver Regeneration after Hepatectomy in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Special Reference to Age

Background and Aims: This study was conducted to clarify the effects of age on human liver regeneration. Patients and Methods: Thirty major hepatectomies, equal to or more than two segmentectomies for hepatocellular carcinoma, were performed. Ages ranged from 37 to 85 years and five octogenarians were included. The early regenerative index was defined: (liver volume after 7 days after hepatectomy − estimated remnant liver volume before hepatectomy)/estimated remnant liver volume, using three-dimensional computed tomographic volumetry. Farnesoid X receptor and forkhead box m1 expression in the liver, which has been reported to age-related decrease of liver regeneration in animal model, were examined using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The patients were divided into two groups: low early regenerative index (n = 15), early regenerative index less than 55% and high early regenerative index (n = 15), early regenerative index equal to or more than 55%. Results: The mean early regenerative index was 57%. Age (R2 = 0.274, P = 0.003) and estimated blood loss (R2 = 0.134, P = 0.0466) were inversely correlated with the early regenerative index, and the expression of farnesoid X receptor and forkhead box m1 was not. The incidence of posthepatectomy liver failure in the low early regenerative index group was higher than that in the high early regenerative index group (P = 0.0421). Conclusions: Age and intraoperative blood loss are inversely correlated with early liver regeneration in humans. In elderly patients, massive blood loss should be avoided in view of liver regeneration.
Returns to bidding firms in mergers and acquisitions: Reconsidering the relatedness hypothesis

Recent work has suggested that mergers or acquisitions between strategically related firms will generate abnormal returns for shareholders of bidding firms. Empirical evidence on this hypothesis has been mixed. The relatedness hypothesis is refined by arguing that relatedness is not a sufficient condition for acquiring firms to earn abnormal returns. Rather, only when bidding firms enjoy private and uniquely valuable synergistic cash flows with targets, inimitable and uniquely valuable synergistic cash flows with targets, or unexpected synergistic cash flows, will acquiring a related firm result in abnormal returns for the shareholders of bidding firms.
Periodicity as a Principle of Organization in Behavior

A proposal is outlined to provide a quantitative descriptive research frame for analyzing the organization of spontaneous behavior in autistic children within and across natural settings such as home, school, daycare centre, and playground. A number of research questions are formulated and appropriate analyses are suggested. In particular the project aimed to detect periodicities in behavior, guided probably by “clock-like” processes as have been found in the field of biological rhythms. A database has to be created by observing and notating a sufficient number of samples of behavior drawn from various settings in which the autistic children happen to live. Contrived settings may also be used;
Cooperative Innovation Projects: Capabilities and Governance Mechanisms*

This paper is concerned with how firms in a project-based industry cooperate in technological innovation projects in the construction industry. The main focus of the paper is on the sharing of capabilities in cooperative innovation projects and how these cooperations are governed. A knowledge-based perspective is applied, and four cooperative innovation projects in the construction industry are compared. Based on the case studies, a set of propositions is defined. First, a cooperation aimed at a mutual strategic benefit in mutually gaining access to the knowledge bases of the involved firms, while maintaining their own differentiated knowledge base, can result in more stable and long term relationships with mutual trust between the cooperating firms. Second, in a cooperation aimed at a mutual strategic benefit in mutually gaining access to the knowledge bases of the involved firms, partners not only gain access to each other's technological capabilities but also develop and share knowledge about organizational aspects and market situations and gain knowledge about the way of working of the partner firm. Third, in a cooperation aimed at mutual strategic benefit in mutually gaining access to the knowledge bases of the involved firms, noncodifiability of the capabilities is conditional to create a win–win situation. And fourth, cooperation aimed at a mutual strategic benefit in mutually gaining access to the knowledge bases of the involved firms is based on mutual competence and intentional trust as its main governance mechanism, whereas contracting between market parties aimed at knowledge–output transactions is represented by limited trust and arms' length (contractual) relationships as its main governance mechanism.
The Effect of Innovation Capabilities and Experience on Cross-Border Acquisition Performance

Due to the integration of the European market, the globalization process, and the rising importance of technological innovation, there has been a surge in cross-border acquisition strategy for European firms. Innovative technology and experience are the main drivers behind firms’ acquisition imperatives to realize sound performance. Based on the resource-based view and organizational learning perspective, our empirical research focuses on the effects of European firms’ innovative capabilities and experience on their acquisition performance when targeting United States firms. The results indicate that both innovative capabilities and experience have a positive effect on acquisition performance. This suggests that in order to have successful acquisition performance, European firms need to reinforce their innovative capabilities and commit to accumulating experience in articulating cross-border acquisition strategy. In addition, we discuss the interaction effect that relatedness has on the acquisition performance of European firms. Our findings indicate that related acquisitions associated with redundant or similar innovative capabilities and acquisition experience hinder acquisition performance. We posit that relatedness has a negative moderating effect on acquisition performance.
Cell Surface-Exposed Tetanus Toxin Fragment C Produced by Recombinant Bacillus anthracis Protects against Tetanus Toxin

ABSTRACT Bacillus anthracis, the causal agent of anthrax, synthesizes two surface layer (S-layer) proteins, EA1 and Sap, which account for 5 to 10% of total protein and are expressed in vivo. A recombinant B. anthracis strain was constructed by integrating into the chromosome a translational fusion harboring the DNA fragments encoding the cell wall-targeting domain of the S-layer protein EA1 and tetanus toxin fragment C (ToxC). This construct was expressed under the control of the promoter of the S-layer component gene. The hybrid protein was stably expressed on the cell surface of the bacterium. Mice were immunized with bacilli of the corresponding strain, and the hybrid protein elicited a humoral response to ToxC. This immune response was sufficient to protect mice against tetanus toxin challenge. Thus, the strategy developed in this study may make it possible to generate multivalent live veterinary vaccines, using the S-layer protein genes as a cell surface display system.
Multinational corporations, foreign investment, and royalties and license fees: effects on host-country total factor productivity

In this paper we examine the relationship between inward FDI and total factor productivity (TFP) in a framework motivated by the OLI paradigm. A panel data approach is used to study the effects of FDI and payments of royalties and license fees (R&L) on aggregate TFP in a sample of 16 OECD countries, between 1985 and 2002. Our empirical tests show that FDI and R&L have a positive impact on host-country TFP, and also suggest that the amount of positive effects of FDI and R&L is dependent on the level of development of the receiving country. Additionally, our data show that, when other factors remain constant, inward FDI and R&L payments are substitutes in positively influencing TFP of the host country.
Output and Input Efficiency of Manufacturing Firms in India: A Case of the Indian Pharmaceutical Sector

This paper examines the competitiveness of Indian pharmaceutical firms by computing their technical efficiency for the period 1991 to 2005 using the non–parametric approach of data envelopment analysis (DEA). The analysis establishes that even though the output efficiency levels of firms reveal a declining trend, firms have been able to make efficient use of labour and raw material inputs. An analysis carried out to identify the determinants of technical efficiency reveals that in contrast to popular belief, neither R&D and export expenditure nor the use of imported technology improve the technical efficiency of firms.
Growth response of Escherichia coli to nutritional shift-up: immediate division stimulation in slow-growing cells

When Escherichia coli 15T- cells growing exponentially at 70- to 80-min doubling times are subjected to a nutritional shift-up via glucose addition, cell division continues at the preshift rate for about 70 min (rate maintenance). The same cells growing at doubling times of 120 min or longer, however, begin to divide at a new faster rate immediately upon glucose addition. In both the rate maintenance and immediate division situations, cell mass, as measured by optical density (OD), begins to increase immediately upon shift-up. Consequently, the OD/cell pattern differs in the two growth-rate transitions. During rate maintenance, the OD/cell ratio increases dramatically for 60 to 70 min, and then slows appreciably and approaches the OD/cell characteristic of the new medium. During immediate division situations, the OD/cell increases only slightly for the first 180 +/- min; then the rate of increase accelerates but does not stop at the OD/cell characteristic of the new medium. Immediate division upon nutritional shift-up apparently depends upon initial doubling times in excess of 115 to 120 min and provision of a readily metabolized carbon source supporting doubling times of about 40 min. Similar immediate division occurs in E. coli B/r and K-12.
Multiplicative and Additive Adelson's Snake Illusions

Two different versions of Adelson's snake lightness illusion are quantitatively investigated. In one experiment an additive version of the illusion is investigated by varying the additive component of the atmosphere transfer function (ATF) introduced by Adelson [2000, in The New Cognitive Neuroscience Ed. M Gazzaniga (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press) pp 339–351]. In the other, a multiplicative version of the illusion is examined by varying the multiplicative component of the ATF. In both experiments four observers matched the targets' lightness of the snake patterns with Munsell samples. Increasing the additive or the multiplicative component elicited an approximately equal increase in the magnitude of the lightness illusion. The results show that both components, in the absence of other kinds of information, can be used as heuristics by our visual system to anchor luminance of the object when converting it into lightness.
Productivity spillovers from foreign direct investment in the Cambodian manufacturing sector: Evidence from establishment-level data

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is generally regarded as an important source of finance, especially for the developing countries. Aitken and Harrison (1999) indicated that the largest source of external finance during the 1990s made available to the developing economies consisted of FDI. However, the role played by FDI in host countries through the transfer of technology, which in turn leads to an increase in labour productivity in the domestic firms via mainly indirect effects, is even more important. Since FDI is believed to be an important channel through which the international transfer of technology takes place, it has been identified as a major growth-enhancing factor in host countries. With a view to attracting inward FDI, governments in many countries (developed and developing) have liberalized their FDI regulations and adopted an investment-friendly policy. Additionally, handsome incentives such as tax holidays, the absence of import duties on intermediate inputs, low corporate tax rates, etc. are granted to investment projects by foreigners. Cambodia is no exception to such favourable policy for foreign investors.
Does the optimal BMI really vary by age and sex?

Yi et al . show convincingly in a large cohort of 12.8 million adults that the body mass index (BMI) which predicts the lowest mortality increases with age and differs by sex. Yi et al. make the cognitive leap to interpret this observation as indicating that gaining weight gradually and becoming overweight with age may not be particularly harmful for longevity in individuals with normal weight, especially at older ages and in women. 1
The Influence of Audience and Monetary Reward on the Putting Kinematics of Expert and Novice Golfers

We investigated changes in movement kinematics and attentional focus when expert and novice golfers performed a golf-putting task under pressure. Six male professional golfers and five male novice golfers performed 100 acquisition trials, followed by 10 trials in the pressure condition with a performance-contingent cash reward and small audience. After the 10 trials in the pressure condition, participants answered a questionnaire concerning attentional focus during both types of trial, including such aspects as conscious control of movements and the effects of distraction. A pressure manipulation check revealed a modest increase in physiological arousal, in that heart rate increased by about 10 bpm although state anxiety did not increase. A two-dimensional analysis of movement kinematics revealed that the amplitudes of arm and club movements decreased on the backswing in the pressure condition. Arm and club movement speed decreased on the foreswing in both experts and novices. Furthermore, neither experts nor novices changed their attentional focus in the pressure condition. Whereas previous studies of “choking under pressure™ focused on attentional changes, the kinematic changes found in the present study were possibly caused by the influences of strategy modification and/or emotional response. Choking phenomena can be explained by attentional changes, along with the influences of strategy modification and/or emotional response under pressure.
Word-of-mouth Communication by the Innovator

It is frequently claimed that “your best salesman is a satisfied customer. ” Therefore, the innovator or first user of a new product or service can be a valuable asset to a firm. Do innovators in fact communicate their experiences to others? If so, why? These and other questions are the subject of this report of the communication experiences of first users of an automotive diagnostic service.