Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visual symptoms in Parkinson's disease and Parkinson's disease dementia

Visual symptoms are common in PD and PD dementia and include difficulty reading, double vision, illusions, feelings of presence and passage, and complex visual hallucinations. Despite the established prognostic implications of complex visual hallucinations, the interaction between cognitive decline, visual impairment, and other visual symptoms remains poorly understood. Our aim was to characterize the spectrum of visual symptomatology in PD and examine clinical predictors for their occurrence. Sixty‐four subjects with PD, 26 with PD dementia, and 32 age‐matched controls were assessed for visual symptoms, cognitive impairment, and ocular pathology. Complex visual hallucinations were common in PD (17%) and PD dementia (89%). Dementia subjects reported illusions (65%) and presence (62%) more frequently than PD or control subjects, but the frequency of passage hallucinations in PD and PD dementia groups was equivalent (48% versus 69%, respectively; P = 0.102). Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity was impaired in parkinsonian subjects, with disease severity and age emerging as the key predictors. Regression analysis identified a variety of factors independently predictive of complex visual hallucinations (e.g., dementia, visual acuity, and depression), illusions (e.g., excessive daytime somnolence and disease severity), and presence (e.g., rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder and excessive daytime somnolence). Our results demonstrate that different “hallucinatory” experiences in PD do not necessarily share common disease predictors and may, therefore, be driven by different pathophysiological mechanisms. If confirmed, such a finding will have important implications for future studies of visual symptoms and cognitive decline in PD and PD dementia. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society
Brand equity’s influence on responses to event sponsorships

Recent research into consumer responses to sponsorships has examined the role of sponsor‐event fit on cognitive and affective responses. However, influences on sponsor‐event fit have received little consideration. In this study, a sponsor’s brand equity is evaluated as a facilitator of sponsor‐event fit. Six sponsors (three high equity/three low equity) were paired with six events. Results of hypothesis testing indicated that sponsors with high brand equity were perceived as more congruent sponsors than sponsors with low brand equity even though the events sponsored were identical. Also, a positive relationship was found between sponsor‐event congruence and favorable attitudes toward the sponsor. Results of this study suggest that consumers’ attitudes toward sponsors are comprised of associations other than the sponsor‐event association. While lesser known brands can use sponsorship as a brand‐building vehicle, they may not attain the same level of results as their high equity counterparts.
PENGARUH INFORMASI LAPORAN ARUS KAS, DEVIDEND PAYOUT RATIO (DPR), ECONOMIC VALUE ADDED (EVA) TERHADAP VOLUME PERDAGANGAN SAHAM DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA (Studi Pada Perusahaan LQ 45 Yang Terdaftar Di Bursa Efek Indonesia Pada Tahun 2010-2013)

The purpose of this study is to find out the relationship between cash flow statement, devidend payout ratio and economic value added toward the trading volume stock at LQ 45 companies which are listed at Indonesia Stock Exchange in the year 2010-2013. The population in this study is all LQ 45 companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) 2010-2013. The population is as much as 45 companies. The sample size is as much as 24companies, analysis of data using multiple regressions. Based on the results obtained from the results of the data analysis, it can be concluded that the Cash flow from operation and cash flow from funding has no significant effect on Stock trading volume, Economic value Added does not have a significant effect on the Stock trading volume, Cash flow from investment has a significant effect on stock trading volume and last Devidend payout ratio has significant effect on Stock trading volume. Keywords: Cash Flow Statement, Devidend Payout Ratio (DPR), Economic Value Added (EVA),and Stock Trading Volume.
Changing Age of Acne Vulgaris Visits: Another Sign of Earlier Puberty?

Abstract: The objective of the current study was to assess changes in the onset of pubertal maturation by determining whether acne is occurring at an earlier age. We assessed the age at which acne is occurring by assessing trends in the age of people seeking medical attention for acne. The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey database was used to analyze physician visits for acne vulgaris in children aged 6 to 18 from 1979 to 2007. The data were used to assess trends in the mean age of children with acne and to compare these trends according to race and sex. Regression analysis revealed a significant decrease in the mean age of children seeking treatment for acne over this 28‐year period (p < 0.001). There was no significant change in the mean age of black children seeking treatment for acne. Black girls had the lowest mean age whereas white boys had the highest mean age. There has been a decrease in the average age of children seeking treatment for acne that may be indicative of earlier acne onset. This finding provides supporting evidence of the increasingly earlier onset of puberty in girls.
Exporting a Student-Centered Curriculum: A Home Institution’s Perspective

Numerous, mainly Anglo-Saxon, higher education institutions have agreements with foreign providers to deliver their curricula abroad. This trend is gradually making inroads into the medical domain, where foreign institutions undertake to offer their students learning experiences similar to those of the home institution. Not an easy feat, as the national health care contexts differ greatly between institutions. In a bid to export the curriculum, institutions risk compromising their financial resilience and reputation. This article presents an instrumental case study of a home institution’s perspective on the establishment of a cross-border student-centered curriculum partnership. It provides the reader with a practical discourse on dimensions that need to be bridged between home and host contexts, and on new working processes that need to be integrated within the home institution’s existing organizational structure. We describe the advantages and disadvantages based on our experiences with a centralized organizational approach, and advocate for a gradual move toward decentral interfaculty communities of practice.
A Comparison of Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults With and Without Traumatic Brain Injury

ObjectiveCognitive impairments are common sequelae of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and are often associated with the natural process of aging. Few studies have examined the effect of both age and TBI on cognitive functioning. The purpose of this study was to compare cognitive functioning between older adults who sustained a TBI to an age-matched group of individuals without a brain injury and to determine whether the presence or absence of a genetic marker apolipoprotein ϵ (APOE ϵ4 allele) accounts for additional cognitive decline in both groups examined. Methods and proceduresCognitive performance was measured by 11 neuropsychological tests, in 54 adults with TBI aged 55 and older and 40 age-matched control participants. All participants were reexamined 2 to 5 years later. SettingCommunity volunteer-based sample examined at a large, urban medical center. Main outcome measure(s)California Verbal Learning Test; Wechsler Memory Scale–III (Logical Memory I & II; Visual Reproduction I & II); Grooved Pegboard; Woodcock-Johnson Test of Cognitive Ability (Visual Matching and Cross-out); Wisconsin Card Sorting Test; Trail Making Test A & B; Conners' Continuous Performance Task; Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–III (Vocabulary); Controlled Oral Word Association Test; and Boston Naming Test. ResultsParticipants with TBI had lower scores on tests of attention and verbal memory than did participants with no disability. Neither group exhibited a significant decline in cognitive function over time. The presence of the APOE ϵ4 allele did not account for additional decline in cognitive function in either group. Conclusion(s)The findings suggest that older adults with TBI may not be at increased risk for cognitive decline over short time periods (2 to 5 years) even if they are carriers of the APOE ϵ4 allele.
Rethinking) the measurement of service quality in museums and galleries

Measurement of service quality has been instrumental in making service industries more competitive. The new era of accountability in the museum sector means that if museums and galleries are to be successful in growing visitor numbers and developing greater access, they must learn more about the factors that are important to visitors' evaluation of service quality. The aim of this study is to understand the concepts that are significant to visitors engaging in museum experiences. A repertory grid study was conducted among visitors to 11 prominent London museums; the results suggest that there is greater variety of factors influencing their decisions than is measured by traditional approaches to visitor satisfaction surveys. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications
Predictive Neural Networks for Learning the Time Course of Blood Glucose Levels from the Complex Interaction of Counterregulatory Hormones

Diabetes mellitus is a widespread disease associated with an impaired hormonal regulation of normal blood glucose levels. Patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) who practice conventional insulin therapy are at risk of developing hypoglycemia (low levels of blood glucose), which can lead to severe dysfunction of the central nervous system. In large retrospective studies, up to approximately 4 of deaths of patients with IDDM have been attributed to hypoglycemia (Cryer, Fisher, & Shamoon, 1994; Tunbridge, 1981; Deckert, Poulson, & Larsen, 1978). Thus, a better understanding of the complex hormonal interaction preventing hypoglycemia is crucial for treatment. Experimental data from a study on insulin-induced hypoglycemia in healthy subjects are used to demonstrate that feedforward neural networks are capable of predicting the time course of blood glucose levels from the complex interaction of glucose counterregulatory (glucose-raising) hormones and insulin. By simulating the deficiency of single hormonal factors in this regulatory network, we found that the predictive impact of glucagon, epinephrine, and growth hormone secretion, but not of cortisol and norepinephrine, were dominant in restoring normal levels of blood glucose following hypoglycemia.
Implications of accounting for land use in simulations of ecosystem carbon cycling in Africa

Abstract. Dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) are important tools for modelling impacts of global change on ecosystem services. However, most models do not take full account of human land management and land use and land cover changes (LULCCs). We integrated croplands and pasture and their management and natural vegetation recovery and succession following cropland abandonment into the LPJ-GUESS DGVM. The revised model was applied to Africa as a case study to investigate the implications of accounting for land use on net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) and the skill of the model in describing agricultural production and reproducing trends and patterns in vegetation structure and function. The seasonality of modelled monthly fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR) was shown to agree well with satellite-inferred normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI). In regions with a large proportion of cropland, the managed land addition improved the FPAR vs. NDVI fit significantly. Modelled 1991–1995 average yields for the seven most important African crops, representing potential optimal yields limited only by climate forcings, were generally higher than reported FAO yields by a factor of 2–6, similar to previous yield gap estimates. Modelled inter-annual yield variations during 1971–2005 generally agreed well with FAO statistics, especially in regions with pronounced climate seasonality. Modelled land–atmosphere carbon fluxes for Africa associated with land use change (0.07 PgC yr−1 release to the atmosphere for the 1980s) agreed well with previous estimates. Cropland management options (residue removal, grass as cover crop) were shown to be important to the land–atmosphere carbon flux for the 20th century.
The importance of consumers' perceived risk in retail strategy

– Gaining and sustaining a strategic competitive advantage in retailing requires knowledge of the attributes consumers value and use to discriminate between stores and why those attributes are important. Although many store image studies define discriminant attributes, few have attempted to explain either how these attributes lead to the satisfaction of personal shopping motives or how knowledge of these can be used to focus and reinforce a strategic position. The purpose of this article is to propose and examine a method to help retailers understand grocery consumers' store choice processes as a function of the linkages between store attributes, shopping motives and risk dimensions which can help them develop a more coherent and clearer positioning strategy. , – Means‐end chain analysis is used to explore how grocery customers build a mental link between store attributes, the consequences of not having those attributes, and the motives for seeking them. , – The findings suggest that shoppers' motives are linked to only four main risk dimensions, namely time, financial, psychosocial and physical, and we present evidence for reassessing store positioning strategies, giving more emphasis to the risks involved. , – The article suggests that the prime heuristics that consumers use to compare grocery stores are the four main risk dimensions. While consumers may think heuristically (i.e. deal in general perceptions of stores rather than comparing stores in every detail), retailers act in detail, and knowledge of how store attributes are related to these risk dimensions is therefore useful to retail marketers in developing and positioning stores. The findings also confirm the usefulness of means‐end chain analysis as a methodology for assessing retail store motivations, because it allows researchers to define all the store attributes which are important to respondents, gain responses in the respondent's language, and examine the underlying motives to which tangible and intangible attributes are related. Furthermore, the constructs/elements elicited can be used to feed into Kelly's repertory grid analysis, which is useful in positioning studies for determining a company's competitive position on one of the four main positioning dimensions. , – The work extends the theory of means‐end chains by highlighting the relationship between the terminal values it produces and risk dimensions. The research is relevant to retail marketers in terms of store development and personnel training, and to consumer researchers interested in risk measurement.
The Network Topology of CHAPS Sterling

In this paper, we seek to understand the network topology of large-value interbank payment flows in the United Kingdom so as to understand better the risks associated with the system. We first examined the broad network topology of interbank payments in the United Kingdom. We found that, despite the fact that there are far fewer banks in the United Kingdom than in the United States, the structure of UK interbank payments is similar in certain respects to that of the United States, but that the tiered structure of the UK system implies rather different risk characteristics. We then looked at CHAPS and found that payment flows in CHAPS form a well-connected network whose properties change little day to day. This means that liquidity is able to flow efficiently around the network and that the network is quite resilient to shocks. This finding was backed up by examining the effects of a particular incident on the properties of the CHAPS network. In that particular instance, the effective removal of one bank for much of the day had little impact on the ability of other banks to make payments between one another.
Molecular characterization of chromosome 7 in AML and MDS patients

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) share many features with acute myeloid leukemias (AML) and in fact 20 - 40% of the patients eventually develop a picture of full blown AML. Chromosome 7 has been a focus of attention as a site harboring tumor suppressor genes whose loss of function contributes to leukemia transformation or tumor progression. Abnormalities of chromosome 7 are frequently encountered in AML and MDS. The aim of the present study was to detect the molecular abnormalities of chromosome 7 in Egyptian AML and MDS patients using the FISH technique and whether the abnormality has an implication on the prognosis of the disease after a period of one year follow up. Fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) was performed for chromosome 7 using a locus specific probe for 7q31 and a centromeric probe from 7p11.1-q11.1 in a series of 30 patients diagnosed as: AML (20 patients) and MDS (10 patients) according to the FAB criteria. Aberrations of Chromosome 7 were found in 36.6% of AML patients: 3 cases showing monosomy with a mean positivity of 17.3%, 2 cases showing 7q deletion with a mean positivity of 11%. While both monosomy and deletion were detected in 3 cases. However, in MDS patients; monosomy for chromosome 7 was the only abnormality detected and was found in 30% of cases. Genetic abnormality of chromosome 7 showed a significant association with poor prognostic criteria. Patients who had normal FISH results showed a higher percentage (31.6%) of complete remission (CR) versus 0% in patients with monosomy or deletion who showed a higher percentage (100%) of death or poor response to therapy (NR). Although AML patients had a worse prognosis when compared to MDS patients, patients with genetic abnormalities showed the worst outcome. African Journal of Health Sciences Vol. 13 (3-4) 2006: pp. 33-42
Complex and Concurrent Negotiations in Supply Chain Management (Position Paper)

Complex negotiation activities are carried out among supply chain management (SCM) stakeholders (e.g., raw material suppliers, sub-contractors, manufacturers, distribution centers, and end customers) for resolving the differences in expected prices of raw materials, fulfilling a job order, sub-component fabrication, etc. This position paper proposes an agent-based testbed consisting of 1) customer agents acting on behalf of distribution centers, 2) manufacturer agents acting on behalf of manufacturers, and 3) supplier agents acting on behalf of raw material suppliers and sub-contractors that fabricate sub-components for a manufacturer. This position paper presents a complex negotiation mechanism for modeling the parallel negotiation activities in multiple interrelated markets where the outcomes of the concurrent negotiations between a manufacturer and multiple suppliers and sub-contractors will affect the manufacturer's negotiations with distribution centers. This is because paying higher costs for raw materials to suppliers and/or higher costs for sub-component fabrication to sub-contractors will incur higher costs in the manufacturer's products to distribution centers. The complex negotiation mechanism consists of: 1) a relaxed- criteria negotiation protocol and adaptive negotiation strategies for customer and manufacturer agents in a customer market and 2) contracting and coordination algorithms for concurrent negotiations between manufacturer and supplier agents in multiple supplier markets.
Exploring E-Commerce Use in Meerschaum Products Marketing: A Case Study

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been rapidly developed in the recent decades. Nowadays, computers and the Internet have become an essential part of the modern societies. The Internet has created a new medium for communication, education, entertainment and commerce. Today, many businesses depend on computers and the Internet for their daily operations. ICTs, computers and the Internet in particular, have significantly transformed the way business is conducted. These technological advances have also affected small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in many sectors and handicraft industry is one of them. It is challenging for most small businesses to adopt ICTs with lack of financial and human resources, especially in developing countries.In this study, e-commerce use in a small business for marketing meerschaum products is examined by a single case study.
PRIVATE TRANSFERS ACROSS AUSTRALIAN GENERATIONS

Intergenerational transfers have been an important feature of a number of Australian policy initiatives over recent years involving such areas as retirement incomes, education finance, health insurance, aged care and youth income support. Consideration of the intergenerational implications of such policy developments has, however, largely been restricted to analysis of those transfers mediated by government: taxes paid and benefits and services provided. The role of private intergenerational transfers in this policy environment has received little attention. This paper makes a start toward including this dimension of intergenerational transfers by presenting an overview of the scale and patterns of private intergenerational transfers in Australia. Data from the early 1990s are used to set out the age and income profiles of providers and recipients of transfers and, to the limited extent possible, the value of financial transfers. The importance of these private transfers is reflected in the fact that about 25 per cent of the population at a given point in time had been recipients and a similar proportion of the population had been providers. The transfers had a distinctive life course pattern — dominated as they were by transfers between parents and children — and, as such, they would be important for practically the entire population at some stage in their life. Transfers of income and capital tended to be between the better-off, while transfers involving the provision of care tended to be more prevalent among the lower income groups of providers and recipients. When examined by value, inheritances greatly outweighed major gifts as the form of intergenerational wealth transmission.
Socio-hydrology from the bottom up: A template for agent-based modeling in irrigation systems

Abstract. Based on a review of key concepts in agent-based modeling for irrigation systems and coupled human-water systems in general, this study presents a proof of concept of an agent-based model based on the existing Irrigation Management Game. After the modeling philosophy and main characteristics are outlined, a number of pilot applications are presented and evaluated. Following the evaluation of the results, future steps that could be incorporated in the model are discussed. The proposed template offers a bottom-up approach to socio-hydrological modelling design, as individual agent behavior explicitly co-shapes the response of the water system, which allows the discovery of emergent dynamics and the conditions under which these are produced. The concepts explained and modeled at a proof-of-concept level in this work serve as a call to the socio-hydrological community to expand its modeling efforts to the agent level.