Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Patent Foramen Ovale as a Risk Factor for Cryptogenic Stroke

OBJECTIVE To determine and compare the prevalence of patent foramen ovale in patients with stroke of undetermined origin (cryptogenic) and in patients with stroke of determined origin to assess the possible role of patent foramen ovale as a risk factor for cryptogenic stroke. DESIGN Cross-sectional study with nested case-control analysis. PATIENTS A total of 146 patients (73 men, 73 women) with acute ischemic stroke referred to the echocardiography laboratory for evaluation. SETTING Neurovascular Unit and Echocardiography Laboratory, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, New York. MEASUREMENTS Patients were considered to have strokes of determined origin or cryptogenic strokes according to National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Stroke Data Bank criteria. The presence of patent foramen ovale was assessed by contrast echocardiography, performed blinded for type of stroke. The association between patent foramen ovale and type of stroke was tested after correcting for patients' demographic variables and stroke risk factors. RESULTS The overall prevalence of patent foramen ovale was 26 of 146 patients (18%; 95% Cl, 11.4% to 24.6%). Patients with cryptogenic stroke (31%) had a significantly higher prevalence of patent foramen ovale than did patients with an identifiable cause of stroke (69%) in both the younger (less than 55 years; 48% compared with 4%; P less than 0.001) and the older (greater than or equal to 55 years; 38% compared with 8%; P less than 0.001) age groups. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the presence of a patent foramen ovale as strongly associated with the diagnosis of cryptogenic stroke (odds ratio, 7.2; Cl, 2.4 to 21.7), irrespective of patient age and other stroke risk factors. CONCLUSIONS Patients with cryptogenic stroke have a higher prevalence of patent foramen ovale than patients with stroke of determined cause in all age groups, even after correcting for the presence of recognized stroke risk factors. This identifies patent foramen ovale as a risk factor for cryptogenic stroke. Regardless of patient age, contrast echocardiography should be considered when the cause of stroke is unknown.
Role of ultrasonographically guided fine‐needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of infected pancreatic necrosis

Early detection of infected pancreatic necrosis has a major impact on further management and outcome in acute pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of ultrasonographically guided fine‐needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in patients with necrotizing pancreatitis over an 8‐year period.
Externalities in the Fragmented Metropolis

A highly fragmented system of local governance represents a market-like arrangement in which competition among service providers benefits citizen-consumers by improving the efficiency of local public service delivery. Yet, the local public market can also fail, producing negative outcomes for some communities and their residents. Because fragmentation can have differential impacts on the welfare of different groups of citizens—benefiting others and harming some—the organization of the local public sector raises important equity questions. This research focuses on the negative outcomes or externalities generated by local government fragmentation, specifically urban sprawl and spatial economic segregation. The results of the empirical analysis suggest that the design of the local public sector structure involves a trade-off between efficiency and equity.
High Level of Virological Suppression among HIV-Infected Adults Receiving Combination Antiretroviral Therapy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background Plasma viral load (pVL) is a key indicator of therapeutic response in HIV-infected patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), but is often unavailable in routine clinical care in resource-limited settings. Previous model-based simulation studies have suggested that the benefits of routine pVL monitoring among patients on first-line regimens in resource-limited settings are modest, but this needs corroboration in well-defined study populations. Methods We investigated virological suppression levels and identified predictors of detectable viraemia among 870 randomly selected patients who started cART between May 2009 and April 2012 in 10 health-care facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A total of 656 (75.4%) patients, who were alive, were retained in HIV care and receiving cART for at least 6 months provided a blood sample for pVL measurement. Predictors of detectable viraemia were identified in a multivariate logistic regression model. Results In on-treatment analysis, 94.5% (95% CI 92.5, 96.1) of the patients achieved virological suppression below 400 copies/ml after a median (IQR) of 26 (17–35) months on cART. When patients who were lost to follow-up, dead or stopped were assumed to have had detectable viraemia, the proportion of patients with virological suppression ≤400 copies/ml decreased to 74.6% (95% CI 71.5%, 77.4%). Younger age, lower educational status, ≤95% medication adherence, lower CD4+ T-cell count at cART initiation and/ or the diagnosis of immunological failure thereafter significantly predicted detectable viraemia. Conclusions Virological suppression levels can be high in an established ART programme in a resource-limited setting, even without the availability of routine pVL monitoring. Efforts to improve treatment outcomes should focus on younger and illiterate patients, earlier detection of HIV-positive status and cART initiation before patients are severely immunocompromised, and improving retention in care.
Population-Specific Associations of Deleterious Rare Variants in Coding Region of P2RY1–P2RY12 Purinergic Receptor Genes in Large-Vessel Ischemic Stroke Patients

The contribution of low-frequency and damaging genetic variants associated with platelet function to ischemic stroke (IS) susceptibility remains unknown. We employed a deep re-sequencing approach in Polish patients in order to investigate the contribution of rare variants (minor allele frequency, MAF < 1%) to the IS genetic susceptibility in this population. The genes selected for re-sequencing consisted of 26 genes coding for proteins associated with the surface membrane of platelets. Targeted pooled re-sequencing (Illumina HiSeq 2500) was performed on genomic DNA of 500 cases (patients with history of clinically proven diagnosis of large-vessel IS) and 500 controls. After quality control and prioritization based on allele frequency and damaging probability, follow-up individual genotyping of deleterious rare variants was performed in patients from the original cohort. Gene-based analyses identified an association between IS and 6 rare functional and damaging variants in the purinergic genes (P2RY1 and P2RY12 locus). The predicted properties of the most damaging rare variants in P2RY1 and P2RY12 were confirmed by using mouse fibroblast cell cultures transfected with plasmid constructs containing cDNA of mutated variants (FLIPR on FlexStation3). This study identified a putative role for rare variants in P2RY1 and P2RY12 genes involved in platelet reactivity on large-vessel IS susceptibility in a Polish population.
Wideband Patch Antenna with Differential Feed

This paper introduces a novel feeding technique aimed for increasing the bandwidth of a patch antenna. It is shown that by using two 180 degrees out of phase excited cylindrical probes, the bandwidth of a patch antenna can be dramatically increased. Based on the proposed differential cylindrical probes (DCP) feed, we designed a square patch antenna with 104% impedance bandwidth for VSWR<2:1. The consistent gain and pattern bandwidths are maintained over 60%. Proposed feed method also enhances the mechanical stability and enables better reproducibility when compared with other wide band patches. The performance of the designed antenna is verified by finite integration and finite element method comparisons.
The impact of task and outcome interdependence and self-efficacy on employees' work motivation: an analysis of the Malaysian retail industry

This study investigates the relationship between task and outcome interdependence and self-efficacy on employees work motivation in Malaysia, by looking at one of the state's retail industries as a case in point. The study focused on two forms of interdependence, namely task interdependence (works execution) and outcome interdependence (compatibility of co-workers' performance), while work motivation looked at employees' cooperation and collective effort. The retail industry was chosen because of its importance to the Malaysian economy and the fact that interdependence job setting is common among supermarkets and department stores. The results show a significant and positive support regarding the relationship between outcome interdependence and self-efficacy towards employees work motivation. Interdependence and self-efficacy components possess motivational potential towards employees work behaviour, such as the effort and cooperation level that they choose to contribute to their company. Furthermore, initiated task interdependence is found to have a significant relationship with employees' cooperative manner.
Foundations of Higher Education Law and Policy: Basic Legal Rules, Concepts, and Principles for Student Affairs

Media Review: Foundations of Higher Education Law and Policy: Basic Legal Rules, Concepts, and Principles for Student Affairs Ackerman, R. (2012). Media Review: Foundations of higher education law and policy: Basic legal rules, concepts, and principles for student affairs. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 49(4), 475–477. doi:10.1515/jsarp-2012-6626 Available at http://journals.naspa. org/jsarp/vol49/iss4/art10/
Modeling Sample Selection for Durations with Time-Varying Covariates, With an Application to the Duration of Exchange Rate Regimes

We extend existing estimators for duration data that suffer from non-random sample selection to allow for time-varying covariates. Rather than a continuous-time duration model, we propose a discrete-time alternative that models the effects of sample selection at the time of selection across all subsequent years of the resulting spell. Properties of the estimator are compared to those of a naive discrete duration model through Monte Carlo analysis and indicate that our estimator outperforms the naive model when selection is non-trivial. We then apply this estimator to the question of the duration of monetary regimes and find evidence that ignoring selection into pegs leads to faulty inferences.
Challenging social enterprise debates in Bangladesh

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to highlight key issues for the social enterprise field in Bangladesh, which are not sufficiently addressed in current social enterprise debates and discourse.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews key economic and political debates in the current social enterprise literature. It then attempts to demonstrate how these are insufficient for critical analysis of social enterprise in Bangladesh. The paper draws on field research and literature on the Grameen social enterprises to inform this argument.Findings – The paper finds that this review of the main debates in a Bangladeshi context raises many pertinent and urgent questions about the role of social enterprise in addressing: complex market failures; the boundaries of the field in the informal and formal sectors; the conflicts caused by contending political objectives and donor/creditor expectations; and broader development issues.Research limitations/implications – The paper focuses on the economic and polit.
The bondholder, the sovereign, and the banker: sovereign debt and bondholders' protection before 1914

This paper studies the role of market-based solutions in the enforcement of sovereign debt contracts. A simple theoretical framework implies that there is scope for bondholders' committees to improve the governance of the market, as measured by the frequency and outcome of defaults. We test this hypothesis with an original data set of sovereign defaults, 1870-1913. This first period of financial globalization is an ideal test ground as it was immune to interventions by multilaterals, which can aggravate moral hazard problems during arrears. The empirical results confirm the potential relevance of bondholder's self-help organizations for ordered workouts of defaults. Copyright , Oxford University Press.
Regulation Fair Disclosure and Analysts' First-Forecast Horizon

We examine the impact of Regulation Fair Disclosure (RFD) on the horizon of analysts' first earnings forecasts, that is, the first-forecast horizon. The first-forecast horizon is computed as the number of calendar days between the analysts' first earnings forecast for a quarter and the fiscal quarter-end date. We find that the first-forecast horizon has decreased by twelve days after RFD: a 6 percent decrease, on average. Analysts with average annual first-forecast horizon in the top 25 percent for each firm are classified as leaders. Leaders are our proxy for favored analysts who received guidance before RFD. The first-forecast horizon of both the leaders and the followers decreased after RFD. Examining whether the difference between the first-forecast horizon of leaders and followers decreased after RFD provides mixed evidence. This suggests that RFD may not have eliminated the timing advantage that few analysts enjoyed before RFD.
Terms of Trade Shocks and Inflation Targeting in Emerging Market Economies

Emerging market economies (EMEs) have persistently experienced different waves of commodity terms of trade disturbances, generating macroeconomic instabilities. The adoption of inÂ‡flation targeting (IT) by many emerging market economies has raised the questions about its relative suitability in dealing with these shocks compared with other regimes. This paper tests the robustness of inflÂ‡ation targeting compared to monetary targeting and exchange rate targeting regimes in coping with commodity terms of trade shocks. It uses a panel VAR technique to analyse in a comparative framework, aggregate impulse response functions and variance decompositions of variables to commodity terms of trade shocks. The results show that in general, IT countries respond better to commodity terms of trade shocks especially with respect to inflÂ‡ation and output gap. However, exchange rates are more volatile in IT countries than in exchange rate targeting countries. The results suggest that EMEs countries can reduce the adverse effects of commodity terms of trade fluctuations when they adopt inÂ‡ation targeting, but they also need to pay attention to exchange rate movements.
Emerging from Obscurity: Biological, Clinical, and Diagnostic Aspects of Dientamoeba fragilis

SUMMARY Ever since its first description in 1918, Dientamoeba fragilis has struggled to gain recognition as a significant pathogen. There is little justification for this neglect, however, since there exists a growing body of case reports from numerous countries around the world that have linked this protozoal parasite to clinical manifestations such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, flatulence, and anorexia. A number of studies have even incriminated D. fragilis as a cause of irritable bowel syndrome, allergic colitis, and diarrhea in human immunodeficiency virus patients. Although D. fragilis is most commonly identified using permanently stained fecal smears, recent advances in culturing techniques are simplifying as well as improving the ability of investigators to detect this organism. However, there are limitations in the use of cultures since they cannot be performed on fecal samples that have been fixed. Significant progress has been made in the biological classification of this organism, which originally was described as an ameba. Analyses of small-subunit rRNA gene sequences have clearly demonstrated its close relationship to Histomonas, and it is now known to be a trichomonad. How the organism is transmitted remains a mystery, although there is some evidence that D. fragilis might be transmitted via the ova of the pinworm, Enterobius vermicularis. Also, it remains to be answered whether the two distinct genotypes of D. fragilis recently identified represent organisms with differing virulence.
Revitalizing Entrepreneurship: The Search for New Research Opportunities

Entrepreneurship research has traditionally focused on opportunity recognition and resource formation as processes that foster the emergence of new business ventures, through both the lens of the individual entrepreneur and corporate venturing. Although we observe that research is vibrant in these traditional areas, we also argue that the continued revitalization of the field of entrepreneurship can be fostered through examining opportunities for research in areas such as industry change and competition, inter-organizational cooperation (which has proliferated more recently), university-sponsored entrepreneurship, venture finance, institutional differences that foster entrepreneurship (primarily between different countries), and appropriability regime differences (including legal and regulatory frameworks) that foster entrepreneurial activities and profit appropriation. Besides pointing scholars to new promising directions, we argue for more attention to the transformational role of entrepreneurship itself by issuing a call for more multi-level research efforts that connect the micro- and macro-foundations of entrepreneurship and explore the revitalization-related uncertainties such as the cost of creating an entrepreneurial orientation and whether there is an optimal level.
Institutional organizers and collective action: the case of water users' associations in Gujarat, India

Setting up water users' associations (WUAs) and involving them in the management of delivery systems is an important innovation in improving the performance of public irrigation systems. Most Indian states are in a great hurry to turn over management of “below-the outlet” systems to WUAs. Yet the crucial link between the work done by the institutional organizers who set up these WUAs, the efficacy of the WUAs and the eventual performance of the irrigation systems remains unexplored. This paper attempts to explore this link. It shows that overdrive in the formation of WUAs may reduce their institutional sustainability.
Civilizing vs destructive globalization? A multi-level analysis of anti-immigrant prejudice

This study investigates the impact of the latest wave of globalization on anti-immigrant prejudice. We discern and test two contradictory accounts of the impact of globalization on anti-immigrant prejudice from the prejudice and globalization literatures. On the one hand, there is the ‘civilizing/integrative globalization’ thesis, which implies that globalization should help to decrease prejudice by creating sustained and equal contact between previously alien cultures and peoples, and by spreading economic gains to everybody. On the other hand, there is the ‘destructive globalization/globalization as a threat’ thesis, which argues that globalization should increase anti-immigrant prejudice by intensifying competition over resources and by increasing perceived threat by native populations as a result of increasing immigrant populations. We test these two accounts using a multi-level analysis of 64 countries and nearly 150,000 individuals, derived from the World Values Surveys (waves 3–5). Our analyses reveal support for ‘destructive globalization/ globalization as a threat’ thesis, but emphasize the multi-dimensional character of globalization. We find that citizens of countries with higher levels of trade openness have significantly more anti-immigrant sentiments. There is also some evidence that in countries where unemployment is accompanied by high levels of trade openness or the existence of large immigrant populations, citizens hold high anti-immigrant prejudice. By contrast, foreign direct investment (FDI) has a weak effect.
Ultrastructure of the zonula adherens revealed by rapid-freeze deep-etching.

The zonula adherens (ZA) in adult chicken retinal pigment epithelium was examined with cryo-electron microscopic methods. Deep-etching of the cross-fractured ZA showed globules in the intercellular space. These globules apparently correspond to the electron-dense structure seen in thin sections. Deep-etching of obliquely fractured ZA further revealed rod-like structures extending from the extracellular surface into the intercellular space. These rods (mean approximately 9 nm thick, approximately 20 nm long) were straight and sometimes divided into two or three segments. The rods typically canted at approximately 60 degrees with respect to the plasma membrane, and they were often connected to the intercellular globules at their distal ends. When the rods are compared with the isolated cadherins reported previously, it is suggested that a combination of a rod and a globule may represent an extracellular part of cadherin. Membrane particles were observed on the P-face of the ZA plasma membrane, and their distribution density was approximately seven times that of the rods. The freeze-etching also revealed a characteristic particle complex on the ZA cytoplasmic surface, which may represent the cytosolic proteins linking cadherins to actin bundles.
Venous Graft Surgery in Treatment of Coronary Heart Disease

Sixty-seven patients have had aortocoronary venous graft bypass surgery by one surgeon for the relief of symptoms of severe coronary heart disease, including eight emergency operations. The overall operative, hospital, and late mortality was low in patients with favourable myocardial function and no previous myocardial infarction. There was a 7% mortality in patients with a normal preoperative chest radiogram, 8% mortality when the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure was normal preoperatively, and a 5% mortality in patients who had normal left ventricular angiograms. The overall mortality in all elective operations for cardiac pain resistant to medical treatment was 15·8%. 89% of survivors improved; 67% are pain-free. Exercise tolerance in survivors is increased by 135%, atrial pacing results are improved by 10%. Left ventricular end-diastolic pressure is unchanged. Left ventricular function on angiography is improved. The improvement in left ventricular function assessed objectively correlates positively with vein-graft patency, as does freedom from angina pectoris.
Managing Money Laundering in a Digital Economy

The emergence of the digital economy has serious implications on the pervasiveness of money laundering. The key factors that affect money laundering activities were studied using the double-Tobit method. In particular, this article addresses the implications of information and communication technology on money laundering behavior. The key findings from the study provide evidence that information and communication technology alone is not effective in curbing money laundering activities but effective when coupled with a high-skilled workforce and an efficient tax system.Based on the findings, various initiatives were identified. Enforcement challenges faced to combat money laundering globally and, in particular, in developing economies were also discussed.
The Accuracy of OECD Forecasts for Japan

A variety of accuracy measures, error diagnostics and rationality tests are applied to the OECD's macroeconomic forecasts for Japan of aggregate demand and output, inflation and the balance of payments. It is found that the OECD forecasts are superior to naive no-change predictions and forecasts generated by simple autoregressive time-series models. Most forecasting error is nonsystematic. As predictors of direction the OECD's six-month ahead forecasts should be considered valuable; this cannot be said for forecasts which look ahead a year and 18 months. Many forecasts fail bias, efficiency and consistency tests so that the rational expectations hypothesis is not generally supported.