Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Leukocyte Aggregation-Related Pseudoleukopenia in Pediatrics: A Sporadic Event or a Systematic Error?

Objective: To determine whether electronic counter-related pseudoleukopenia is a rare phenomenon or a systematic underestimation in children with acute infection/inflammation. Methods: We have used a simple slide test and image analysis to reveal the number of white blood cells and their degree of aggregation. The number of leukocytes counted by an electronic cell analyzer was divided by the number of cells counted on the slides creating an electronic cell-to-slide leukocyte count ratio. Results: A significant (P < 0.0005) negative (r = −0.314) correlation between the above mentioned ratios and the percent of aggregated leukocytes in the peripheral blood was found in a group of 239 children with various acute infections. Thus elevated leukocyte aggregation is associated with a relatively lower electronic analyzer cell count. Conclusions: The appearance of aggregated leukocytes in the peripheral blood during acute infections might be associated with pseudoleukopenia. This phenomenon has been extensively described in the adult population and seems to exist in children as well.
Determinants of insurance against forest fire risk: evidence from French experimental data

This paper analyses the willingness-to-pay (WTP) of forest owners for insurance against natural hazards such as fire. The objective is to identify the determinants of forest owner’s participation to insurance and insurance demand. In particular, we are interested in the impact of different types of public compensation: fixed help, contingent fixed help and insurance subsidy. We also analyse the role played by the expected loss of forestry income, the uncertainty characterizing the probability of occurrence of natural risks, and the characteristics of owners and forest property. Some of these determinants explain either participation to insurance (e.g., ambiguity about the probability of occurrence of natural hazards) or insurance demand (e.g., the past perception of a public help in real life), some of them do not allow to explain the owner’s insurance behaviour (e.g., having ever suffered from a fire in the past) while the other explain both the two behaviours (e.g., some types of public compensation). JEL Classification: C51, D81, Q23, Q28.
Long-Term Survival after Development of Acute Myocardial Infarction Has Improved after a More Widespread Use of Thrombolysis and Aspirin

We describe the mortality during the subsequent 5 years after development of acute myocardial infarction prior to and after the introduction of a more widespread use of thrombolytic agents and aspirin in the community of Göteborg. During period I, 4% received thrombolysis as compared with 32% during period II (p < 0.0001). The corresponding figures for prescription of aspirin at discharge were 14 and 84%, respectively (p < 0.0001). The overall 5-year mortality was 48% during period I and 46% during period II (p = 0.09). However, the age-adjusted mortality during period II was significantly reduced (risk ratio 0.86; 95% confidence interval 0.78–0.95; p = 0.004). There was no significant interaction between improvement in survival and sex or any other parameter reflecting patients’ clinical history.
Effect of different stocking densities on the broiler production farms profitability.

Abstract This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of different stocking densities in farms on the profitability of broiler production to determine the best density from the economic point of view. Data of 105 production cycles of Cobb and avian breeds were randomly collected from different broiler farms in different localities in Dkahlia governorate in north delta of Egypt of same housing types and ventilation systems. The data include costs of production, returns of production, mortality and livability percentages, marketing age and weight from the records and structured questionnaires. The data were grouped into three groups according to the density, group 1 (5- 7 birds /m2), group 2 (8- 9 birds /m2) and group 3 (10- 11 birds /m2). The data were summarized and calculated for each 100 birds then analyzed by statistical computer program (SPSS/PC, 16). The results of the study revealed that the third group of (10- 11 birds /m2) is the best density in broiler farms has a significant effect on the profitability of broiler production.
Calmodulin protects against alcohol-induced pancreatic trypsinogen activation elicited via Ca2+ release through IP3 receptors

Alcohol abuse is a major global health problem, but there is still much uncertainty about the mechanisms of action. So far, the effects of ethanol on ion channels in the plasma membrane have received the most attention. We have now investigated actions on intracellular calcium channels in pancreatic acinar cells. Our aim was to discover the mechanism by which alcohol influences calcium homeostasis and thereby understand how alcohol can trigger premature intracellular trypsinogen activation, which is the initiating step for alcohol-induced pancreatitis. We used intact or two-photon permeabilized acinar cells isolated from wild-type mice or mice in which inositol trisphosphate receptors of type 2 or types 2 and 3 were knocked out. In permeabilized pancreatic acinar cells even a relatively low ethanol concentration elicited calcium release from intracellular stores and intracellular trypsinogen activation. The calcium sensor calmodulin (at a normal intracellular concentration) markedly reduced ethanol-induced calcium release and trypsinogen activation in permeabilized cells, effects prevented by the calmodulin inhibitor peptide. A calmodulin activator virtually abolished the modest ethanol effects in intact cells. Both ethanol-elicited calcium liberation and trypsinogen activation were significantly reduced in cells from type 2 inositol trisphosphate receptor knockout mice. More profound reductions were seen in cells from double inositol trisphosphate receptor (types 2 and 3) knockout mice. The inositol trisphosphate receptors, required for normal pancreatic stimulus–secretion coupling, are also responsible for the toxic ethanol action. Calmodulin protects by reducing calcium release sensitivity.
What it takes for women to reach the corporate boardrooms in Malaysia

This study seeks to understand how and why women were selected as board members, and reasons for women to accept board appointments.We conduct a questionnaire survey on women who sit on the boards of companies in Malaysia.We provide evidence that education, expertise and leadership qualities are necessary for women to reach the boardrooms.Their willingness to contribute to and share their expertise with a company are the main factors for women to accept the appointment as a director.The women feel that gender is not important in becoming a director compared to one’s capability.A majority of them were recommended by the CEO or other board members to become directors.The outcome of this study complements and strengthens the efforts made by the Malaysian government to achieve the 30 percent target.It is also very beneficial to women who aspire to become corporate directors.
PENGARUH TATA KELOLA PERUSAHAAN, PROFITABILITAS, DAN PENGHINDARAN PAJAK TERHADAP NILAI PERUSAHAAN(Studi Empiris pada Perusahaan Manufaktur yang Terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia Tahun 2013 - 2015)

This study aims to examine the effect of corporate governance, profitability, and tax avoidance of the firm’s value. The measurement of the corporate governance is based on the Corporate Governance Index score. The questions are divided to five groups according to the OECD principles; rights of shareholders, equal treatment of shareholders, role of stakeholders, disclosure and transparency, and board responsibilities. Profitability is proxied by Return on Asset. The measurement of independent variable tax avoidance is based on proxy Effective Tax Rate. Dependent variable in this research is the firm’s value measured by Price to Book Value. Total sample in this study are 210 companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2013-2015. The sampling method used is purposive sampling method with predetermined criteria. This study uses multiple linear regression analysis to examine the effect of the corporate governance, profitability, and tax avoidance on firm’s value. The result of this study shows that there is positive and significant affect of corporate governance and profitability to firm value. Furthermore, the tax avoidance has negative and significant effect on firm value measured by Price to Book Value.
The effects of knowledge management capabilities and partnership attributes on the stage-based e-business diffusion

Purpose – This study aims to develop a research model to examine the antecedents of three stages of electronic business (e‐business) diffusion (including e‐business initiation, implementation and assimilation). The research model features knowledge management (KM) capabilities (knowledge acquisition, knowledge storage, knowledge dissemination, and knowledge protection), and partnership attributes (partner interdependence, partner trust, and partner commitment) as prominent antecedents of stage‐based e‐business diffusion.Design/methodology/approach – Data gathered from 398 firms were employed to test the relationships between the research model constructs using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach.Findings – The results reveal that the factors for KM capabilities and partnership attributes have different impacts on three stages of e‐business diffusion. In particular, knowledge dissemination has a positive effect on all three e‐business diffusion stages, demonstrating its importance in the decision.
Audit Committee Indices, Firm Value, and Accounting Outcomes

We investigate the relation between audit committee (AC, hereafter) quality indices derived from a principal component analysis (PCA) and firm value using a sample of 12,301 firms over the period 2002 to 2012. We also examine the usefulness of the indices in predicting the quality of a firm’s internal controls, financial reporting, and audit quality. We report a significant positive (negative) relation between ‘high’ (‘low’) AC quality firms and future firm value, measured as industry-adjusted Tobin’s q, supporting the view that AC characteristics have a significant impact on firm value. We show that low AC quality firms are significantly more likely to have internal control concerns disclosed by predecessor auditors, including accounting standard issues, financial restatements, audit opinion concerns, and deficiencies that undermine internal control effectiveness. We also show that low AC quality firms are more likely to manage earnings, be external auditor dependent with respect to non-audit tax services, and switch to a lower quality auditor. Further, they are also more likely to receive an audit report containing additional explanatory notes, consistent with a higher likelihood of future financial misstatements. Conversely, high AC quality firms are less likely to have accounting issues, dismiss an auditor after disagreements, have adverse restatements, and receive an audit report containing additional explanatory notes. Taken together, our findings support the view that the AC plays an important role in monitoring the financial reporting process. The results are robust to several econometric concerns primarily related to endogeneity, and to controls that capture broader firm-level governance characteristics, suggesting that AC quality has incremental value in driving better financial reporting, and internal control outcomes and, more importantly, firm value.
2006 Young Investigator Award Winner: Lumbosacral Nerve Root Displacement and Strain: Part 2. A Comparison of 2 Straight Leg Raise Conditions in Unembalmed Cadavers

Study Design. An inferential cadaveric study. Objectives. To compare the displacement and strain of the lumbosacral nerve roots during different conditions of straight leg raise (SLR) with intact foraminal ligaments. Summary of Background Data. Clinicians use sensitizing movements such as dorsiflexion during neurodynamic testing, assuming that these prepositions influence the displacement or strain to the lumbosacral nerve roots. Little is known about the effect of these prepositions on neurodynamic behavior. Methods. Lower limbs and associated nerve roots of 5 unembalmed cadavers (n = 10) were used to evaluate the displacement and strain of the L4, L5, and S1 roots during 2 different SLR conditions. Fluoroscopic images of intraneural metal markers were digitized to evaluate displacement and strain during SLR with no preposition (SLR NPP) of the ankle and SLR with dorsiflexion preposition (SLR DF) of the ankle, respectively. Results. SLR NPP produced larger distal displacement at L5 and S1, (P < 0.001) when compared with SLR DF. Displacement comparisons at L4 were nonsignificant (P = 0.051). While nonsignificant, medium to large effect sizes (0.60–0.96) suggest that SLR DF may produce more strain than the SLR NPP condition. Conclusions. Prepositions of the SLR test alter the displacement and possibly the strain of the lumbosacral nerve roots in the lateral recess.
Clopidogrel, CYP2C19, and a Black Box

It has been presumed that CYP2C19 has a major role in the metabolism of clopidogrel. This presumption has been based on in vitro drug metabolism studies using microsomes from baculovirus infected insect cells (BD‐Supersomes™). If clopidogrel were primarily a CYP2C19 substrate, a drug/drug interaction with CYP2C19 inhibitors, such as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), for example, omeprazole and lansoprazole would be anticipated. Several ex vivo studies, using ADP stimulated platelet aggregation, suggested that there was such an interaction. The data from these studies served as a basis for FDA to provide a “Black Box” warning for the clopidogrel label in March of 2010. However, a prospective clinical study, COGENT, and several large meta‐analyses have failed to demonstrate a negative effect on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), with concomitant administration of clopidogrel and PPIs. The in vitro work using “Supersomes” was revisited. In vitro metabolism using hepatosomes, which resemble the native cytochrome P‐450 enzyme expression, has confirmed the earlier work that clopidogrel is primarily a CYP3A substrate. This result correlates better with clinical findings. The absence of an increase in MACE by concomitant administration of PPIs, which are CYP2C19 inhibitors, to a regimen including clopidogrel, is therefore not surprising. A hypothesis is offered to explain why subjects, who carry two reduced function alleles of CYP2C19, may have more reactive platelets.
Changes in Ownership Breadth and Capital Market Anomalies

The authors investigate how the interaction between entries and exits of informed institutional investors and market anomaly signals affects strategy performance. The long legs of anomalies earn more positive alphas following entries, whereas the short legs earn more negative alphas following exits. The enhanced anomaly-based strategies of buying stocks in the long legs of anomalies with entries and shorting stocks in the short legs with exits outperform the original anomalies, with an increase of 19–54 bps per month in the Fama–French five-factor alpha. The entries and exits of institutional investors capture informed trading and earnings surprises, thereby enhancing the anomalies.
Improving Healthcare Logistics Processes

s reviewed Full papers reviewed Papers included in final literature study EBSCO n = 533 SCOPUS n = 1,335 Abstracts n = 108 n = 66 included n = 35 included n = 7 includeds n = 108 n = 66 included n = 35 included n = 7 included Full papers n = 59 Derivative papers n = 42 Included papers n = 81 n = 4 not available n = 45 rejected n = 59 included n = 20 rejected n = 39 included n = 42 included
Mutual Fund Flight-to-Liquidity

This paper examines the liquidity choices of mutual funds during times of market uncertainty. I find that when markets are uncertain, mutual funds actively increase the liquidity of their portfolio – often referred to as a ‘flight-to-liquidity. ’ In aggregate, mutual fund behaviour has implications for the market; the market driven flight-toliquidity places upward pressure on the liquidity premium. I examine the underlying mechanisms driving fund behaviour. I show that market volatility is associated with lower fund performance and withdrawals, which causes funds to adjust the composition of their portfolio towards more liquid assets in order to meet potential redemptions. This causal chain is consistent with Vayanos (2004), who argues that fund managers are investors with time-varying liquidity preferences due to threat of withdrawal. Aggregated over funds, the effect is substantial: a one standard deviation increase in my measure of flight-to-liquidity yields a 0.63 standard deviation increase in the excess return required for holding illiquid securities.
Biomechanics of massive rotator cuff tears: implications for treatment.

BACKGROUND Some individuals with massive rotator cuff tears maintain active shoulder abduction, and some maintain good postoperative active range of motion despite high rates of repeat tears after repair. We devised a biomechanical rationale for these observations and measured the increases in residual muscle forces necessary to maintain active shoulder motion with rotator cuff tears of various sizes. METHODS A custom cadaver shoulder controller utilizing position and orientation closed-loop feedback control was used. Six cadaver glenohumeral joint specimens were tested in open-chain scapular plane abduction with equivalent upper extremity weight. The shoulder controller limited superior translation of the humeral head to 3.0 mm while maintaining neutral axial rotation by automatically controlling individual rotator cuff forces. Three-dimensional position and orientation and rotator cuff and deltoid force vectors were recorded. Specimens were tested with an intact rotator cuff and with 6, 7, and 8-cm tears. RESULTS All six specimens achieved full abduction with <or=3.0 mm of superior translation of the humeral head for all rotator cuff tear sizes. The effect of rotator cuff tear was significant for all tear sizes (p < 0.01). Compared with the intact condition, the subscapularis force requirements for the 6, 7, and 8-cm tears were increased by 30%, 44%, and 85%, respectively. For the combined infraspinatus and teres minor, the forces were increased by 32%, 45%, and 86%, respectively. The maximum deltoid force for the simulated tear condition never exceeded the deltoid force required at maximum abduction for the intact condition. However, between 10 degrees and 45 degrees of abduction, the average deltoid force requirement increased 22%, 28%, and 45% for the three tear sizes. CONCLUSIONS In the presence of a massive rotator cuff tear, stable glenohumeral abduction without excessive superior humeral head translation requires significantly higher forces in the remaining intact portion of the rotator cuff. These force increases are within the physiologic range of rotator cuff muscles for 6-cm tears and most 7-cm tears. Increases in deltoid force requirements occur in early abduction; however, greater relative increases are required of the rotator cuff, especially in the presence of larger rotator cuff tears.
Probiotics as Feed Additives in Weaned Pigs : A Review

Accepted: 22/06/2015 Abstract Weaning is a complex phenomena which causes a great change in the magnitude and diversity of exposure to environm e tal antigens derived from food and potentially pathogenic microorganisms . Early weaning is a valuable way to get enhanced breeding efficiency an d economical profits in modern intensive swine production. But this practic e s accompanied by many challenges such as reduced feed intake, diarrh oea, body weight loss, damage to intestinal function and health. Antibioti cs have traditionally been widely applied to nursery pigs to solve post weanin g problems. However, development of antimicrobial resistance to these an tibiotics urged scientists to find viable alternatives to the use of antibioti cs that could enhance the natural defence mechanisms of animals. Probiotics h ave been established as a good alternative which can enhance intestinal hea th by stimulating the development of a healthy microbiota (predominated b y beneficial bacteria), competing with pathogenic bacteria for nutrients in the gut, preventing enteric pathogens from colonizing the intestine, in creasing digestive capacity and lowering the pH, or improving mucosal immunity. It is suggested that probiotic should be used as a feed a dditive in livestock.
Experiences of racism among African American parents and the mental health of their preschool-aged children.

OBJECTIVES We examined the relationship between parents' experiences of racism and children's well-being and the influence of the residential neighborhood characteristics on this relationship. METHODS African American families were recruited from Baltimore neighborhoods. Parental measures included racism experiences and coping. Neighborhood measures included demographic characteristics, social cohesion, and social climate. Children's mental health was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist. Analysis was performed with multilevel modeling. RESULTS Parents who denied experiences of racism also reported higher rates of behavior problems among their preschool-aged children. For families living in neighborhoods characterized by fear of victimization, parents who actively coped with racism experiences by confronting the person involved or taking some sort of action in response to racism reported lower rates of anxiety and depression for their preschool-aged children. CONCLUSIONS Experiences of and responses to racism among African American parents have important effects on the well-being of their young children.
Observing, Coaching and Reflecting: Metalogue - A Multi-modal Tutoring System with Metacognitive Abilities

The Metalogue project aims to develop a multi-modal, multi-party, dialogue system with metacognitive abilities that will advance our understanding of natural conversational human-machine interaction, and interfaces that incorporate multimodality into virtual and augmented reality environments. In this paper we describe the envisaged technical system, the learning contexts it is being developed to support and the pedagogical framework in which it is proposed user interactions will take place. This includes details of the system-generated learner feedback provided both in-performance and post-performance.We then move on to explain what has been achieved so far in terms of the integrated system pilots, and finally we discuss three key challenges the Metalogue researchers are currently working to overcome.
On the receiving end. V: Patient perceptions of the side effects of cancer chemotherapy in 1993.

BACKGROUND A study conducted in 1983 to identify and rank the symptoms experienced by patients receiving cancer chemotherapy reported that vomiting and nausea were the most important symptoms experienced. With the advent of new antiemetic regimens and changes in cancer chemotherapy, it was anticipated that changes may have occurred in patient perception of symptoms. The study was therefore repeated in 1993. PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred and fifty-five cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at a large urban teaching hospital participated in the study. Patients selected from cards listing symptoms all those experienced and the five most troublesome. RESULTS Patients reported experiencing an average of 20 symptoms (13 physical and 7 psychosocial). Nausea was reported as the most severe symptom followed by tiredness and loss of hair. Vomiting which was the most severe symptom in 1983, now ranked 5th. Differences were detected in the symptoms experienced and reported as most severe, between chemotherapy regimens, between older and younger patients and between males and females. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest a reduction in the severity of some symptoms experienced while receiving chemotherapy and a shift from concerns about physical to psychosocial issues.