Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Research and Development (R&D) Inputs and Outputs on the Relation between the Uncertainty of Future Operating Performance and R&D Expenditures

Consistent with the uncertainty of research and development’s future benefits, prior accounting studies hypothesize and find a positive relation between research and development (R&D) and the variability of future earnings. However, prior research has assumed constant marginal productivity of R&D in the cross section. We relax this assumption and advance the accounting literature on the informational role of R&D by studying how measures of innovation outputs, namely patent counts and patent citations, which proxy for the economic value of innovation, are related to firms’ future performance. We predict and find that firms’ future operating performance is positively related to the quality of their patents and that this relation is stronger for more productive and innovative firms. We also predict and find that the volatility of future operating performance is negatively related to patent quality and that the relation is stronger for firms with higher R&D expenditures and larger patent portfolios. Overall, firms that have R&D that is more productive exhibit higher and less volatile future operating performance. One contribution of our study is that it demonstrates that the relation between R&D expense (i.e., inputs) and future operating performance is better understood by incorporating information about the productivity’ (i.e., outputs) of a firm’s R&D outlays in the form of patent counts and citations.
Is rural tourism a lever for economic and social development

The development of tourist activities in rural areas has accelerated in recent years, and there is nothing to suggest it will not continue. This expectation of growth is underpinned by a number of factors that can scarcely be concerted. But the problem is now to make rural tourism a possible engine for development, for many reasons. As with any export activity, tourism is a source of income and employment. Because it requires upstream goods and services, tourism serves as a lever for a whole series of activities. The vital question is then how can the services rendered and the products offered be made as varied as possible, so as to be able to attract an increasing number of tourists and maximise the amount they spend locally. Some rural tourism policies must then be implemented: protecting and providing amenities for potential areas of attraction; aiding the renovation and extension of supply; ensuring solvable demand; training people in rural development
Neuroblastoma cell detection by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) for tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA

The presence of tumour cells in peripheral blood of neuroblastoma patients is of considerable clinical importance. Nucleic acid amplification offers an opportunity to detect very small numbers of such cells, but in neuroblastoma a frequent specific abnormality in the tumour DNA suitable for this purpose has yet Co be identified. To facilitate the detection of such cells we have developed RT‐PCR using tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) as a tissue‐specific target gene. TH mRNA was detected in 3 neuroblastoma cell lines and in all neuroblastoma tumours examined, but was undetectable in peripheral blood from children without neuroblastoma. The method was highly sensitive, detecting 1‐10 neuroblastoma cells per 107 blood cells. Thirty blood samples from 24 patients were analysed and results were compared with known disease status. At diagnosis 4/7 patient blood specimens were positive; the four positive samples were from stage‐4 patients. In blood samples from these patients 6‐8 weeks after the initiation of treatment, TH mRNA was undetectable. Of 7 samples taken at the time of clinical relapse, 5 were positive; 4 of these were from patients with evidence of disseminating disease. Of 16 blood samples from disease‐free patients, 14 were negative and 2 were positive. One positive patient in this group subsequently had a clinical relapse. These results show that this technique is of value for detecting neuroblastoma cells in peripheral blood. The significance of these cells at diagnosis, during treatment or on follow‐up requires further evaluation.
Some Single Valued Neutrosophic Number Heronian Mean Operators and Their Application in Multiple Attribute Group Decision Making

Heronian mean (HM) has the characteristic of capturing the correlations of the aggregated arguments and the neutrosophic set can express the incomplete, indeterminate and inconsistent in- formation, in this paper, we applied the Heronian mean to the neutrosophic set, and proposed some Heronian mean operators. Firstly, we presented some operational laws and their properties of single valued neutrosophic numbers (SVNNs), and analyzed the shortcomings of the existing weighted HM operators which have not idempotency, then we propose the improved generalized weighted Heronian mean (IGWHM) operator and improved generalized weighted geometric Heronian mean (IGWGHM) operator based on crisp numbers, and prove that they can satisfy some desirable proper- ties, such as reducibility, idempotency, monotonicity and boundedness Further, we proposed the sin- gle valued neutrosophic number improved generalized weighted Heronian mean (NNIGWHM) op- erator and single valued the neutrosophic number improved generalized weighted geometric Hero- nian mean (NNIGWGHM) operator, and some desirable properties and special cases of them are discussed. Moreover, with respect to multiple attribute group decision making (MAGDM) prob- lems in which attribute values take the form of SVNNs, the decision making approaches based on the proposed operators are developed. Finally, an application example has been given to show the decision making steps and to discuss the influence of different parameter values on the decision- making results.
Influence of nutritional factors on xanthan production by Xanthomonas malvacearum

Xanthan gum is an extra cellular microbial hetero polysaccharide of great commercial importance, secreted by the yellow pigmented bacterium Xanthomonas malvacearum. Polysaccharides are macromolecules with diverse applications in the food, chemical, energy production and pharmaceutical Industries. The nutrient factors influencing the production of Xanthan polymer by Xanthomonas malvacearum isolated from infected cotton leaves were investigated. Xanthomonas malvacearum showed the highest yield of polymer 0.621 kg of sucrose at 48 hours. Xanthan production and biomass with varying carbon source, nitrogen source, different pH and different temperature were investigated. Physical characterization of Xanthan is solubility. Chemical characterization of Xanthan is Osazone test were investigated crystal shaped structure are viewed on viewing under microscope . To degrading the Xanthan gum using bacterial strains.
Right ventricular outflow tract stent versus BT shunt palliation in Tetralogy of Fallot

Objective This study sets out to compare morbidity, mortality and reintervention rates after stenting of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) versus modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (mBTS) for palliation in patients with tetralogy of Fallot (ToF)-type lesions. Methods Retrospective case review study evaluating 101 patients (64 males) with ToF lesions who underwent palliation with either mBTS (n=41) or RVOT stent (n=60) to augment pulmonary blood flow over a 10-year period. Procedure-related morbidity, mortality and reintervention rates were assessed and compared. Results Admission rate to paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) was lower in the RVOT stent group (22% vs 100%; p<0.001). Thirty-day mortality in the RVOT stent group was (1/60 (1.7%)) compared with (2/41 (4.9%)) in the mBTS group (p=0.565). Mortality until surgical repair was comparable in both groups (5/60, 8.4%, including three non-cardiac death in the RVOT stent group vs 2/41, 4.9% (p=0.698)). Total hospital length of stay was shorter for the RVOT stent group (median 7 days vs 14 days; p<0.003). Time to surgical repair was shorter in the RVOT stent group (median 232 days, IQR 113–360) compared with the mBTS group (median 428 days, IQR 370–529; p<0.001) due to improved pulmonary arterial growth. Conclusion RVOT stenting in Fallot-type lesions can be accomplished safely, with lower PICU admission rate, a shorter hospital length of stay and shorter duration of palliation until complete repair compared with mBTS palliation.
Adherence to asthma medication regimens in urban African American adolescents: application of self-determination theory.

OBJECTIVE Asthma medication adherence is low, particularly among African American adolescents, a high-risk group with respect to asthma prevalence, morbidity, and mortality. This study tested the utility of self-determination theory (SDT), a theory of motivation, to explain adherence to asthma medication regimens in African American adolescents. METHOD We used baseline data from 168 urban African American adolescents (Mage = 13.94 years; 61% male) with poorly controlled asthma who were part of a trial testing the efficacy of interventions to improve adherence. Participants and their caregivers were interviewed using the Family Asthma Management System Scale; this study used the Asthma Medication Adherence subscale. Adolescents completed four asthma-specific scales representing the SDT constructs of autonomous motivation (one importance scale), competence (one confidence scale), and relatedness (two scales--family routines and parental support). Using multiple linear regression, we tested the hypothesis that SDT variables would predict adherence. RESULTS Adherence was significantly correlated with three SDT variables--importance, confidence, and family routines. In multivariate analysis, family routines was the only significant predictor of asthma adherence (p < .001). Asthma management behaviors integrated into and shared among family members was associated with better adherence. Greater confidence was marginally associated with increased adherence (p = .07). CONCLUSION Though several variables representing SDT constructs were correlated with adherence, results demonstrate that family routines may be more relevant for African American adolescents' adherence than other SDT constructs. Thus, helping families to share and better integrate asthma care into daily schedules may be an important intervention strategy to improve medication adherence among high-risk African American adolescents.
ICU Admittance by a Rapid Response Team Versus Conventional Admittance, Characteristics, and Outcome*

Objective:To evaluate characteristics and outcome of ICU patients admitted from general wards based on mode of admittance, via a rapid response team or conventional contact. Design:Observational prospective study. Setting:General ICU of a university hospital. Patients:A total of 694 admissions to ICU from general wards. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Between 2007 and 2009, two cohorts admitted to ICU from general wards were identified: those admitted by the rapid response team and those admitted in a conventional way. Patients admitted directly from the trauma room, the emergency department, operating room, other hospitals, or other ICUs were excluded. Of 694 admissions, 355 came through a rapid response team call. Rapid response team patients were older (p < 0.01), and they had more severe comorbidities, higher severity score (p < 0.01), and almost three times more often the diagnosis of severe sepsis (p < 0.01) than conventionally admitted patients. Rapid response team patients had higher ICU mortality and 30-day mortality with a crude odds ratio for mortality within 30 days of 1.57 (95% confidence interval 1.08–2.28). Adjusted for age and comorbidities however, the difference was no longer significant with an odds ratio of 1.11 (95% confidence interval 0.70–1.76). Conclusions:This study suggests that the rapid response team is an important system for identifying complex patients in need of intensive care. More than half of ICU admissions from the wards came through a rapid response team call. Compared with conventional admissions, rapid response team patients had a high proportion of characteristics that could be related to a worse prognosis. Severe sepsis at the wards was mainly detected by the rapid response team and was the most common admitting diagnosis among the rapid response team patients. When adjusted for confounding factors, outcome between the groups did not differ, supporting the use of rapid response systems to identify deteriorating ward patients.
Linguistic diversity and English language use in multicultural organizations: is there a moderating effect of the age of organizational members?

Two great human resource management challenges face organizations in many parts of the world. The workforce is aging leaving fewer young people to take over. At the same time, globalization leads to a pressure for internationalization with great consequences for internal collaboration in many organizations. Accordingly, the link between employee age and language use is of increasing importance. In this study, we report on the findings of a survey using responses from 489 members of Danish multicultural organizations. We studied the effect of linguistic diversity on English language communication as well as the moderating effect of respondents' age. We found linguistic diversity to have positive associations with the two English language communication variables. We also found age to moderate the relationship between linguistic diversity and perceived use of English language by management. Since organizational language use and language management are an understudied topic, the results could have important theoretical and practical implications.
Definitions and Typologies in Public Administration Research: The Case of Decentralization

Abstract The field of public administration knows many concepts. By focusing on one such concept, this research shows how definitions can be deceptive, and how typologies unable to capture all dimensions of a concept can blind policy makers and researchers. We concentrate our attention on decentralization. This has been a core concept in the field of public administration for decades. Definitions and typologies of decentralization have flourished. The present study gives an overview. We categorize definitions and analyse their different emphases. Typologies serve to order and compare items, but have themselves become prone to disorder. We provide a meta-analysis of typologies, exposing the wide variety of policy dimensions. Even after aggregation, typologies ignore—and definitions explicitly exclude—certain aspects of decentralization. One such issue is “silent decentralization. ” It is characterized by absence of explicit decentralization reform, and thus distinguishes itself mainly by its potential origins: network changes, initiative shifts, policy emphasis developments, or resource availability alterations. Highlighting this particular aspect might well proof useful for other concepts in the field as well.
The Effect of Remifentanil on Seizure Duration and Acute Hemodynamic Responses to Electroconvulsive Therapy

We designed this prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study to evaluate the effect of different doses of remifentanil on the acute hemodynamic response and duration of seizure activity after a standardized electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) stimulus. Twenty consenting patients with major depressive disorders receiving maintenance ECT participated in this study. Eighty ECT treatments were evaluated. All patients were premedicated with glycopyrrolate 0.2 mg IV, unconsciousness was induced with methohexital 1 mg/kg IV, and muscle paralysis was produced with succinylcholine 1.2 mg/kg IV. Subsequently, patients received 1 of 3 different doses of remifentanil 25, 50, and 100 &mgr;g or saline (control) in a random sequence immediately after methohexital at 4 consecutive ECT treatments. Labetalol, in 5-mg IV boluses, was used as a rescue antihypertensive medication. A fixed suprathreshold electrical stimulus was administered to elicit a seizure, and the times from the stimulus to the cessation of the motor and electroencephalographic (EEG) seizure activity were noted. Pre- and post-ECT blood pressure values were significantly decreased in the 100-&mgr;g remifentanil group compared with the control group. The durations of motor (38 ± 9 s to 43 ± 15 s) and EEG (55 ± 29 s to 60 ± 21 s) seizure activity were not significantly different among the four groups. Similarly, recovery times to eye opening, obeying commands, and discharge from the recovery room did not differ among the four study groups. The requirement for labetalol after ECT was nonsignificantly decreased in the remifentanil groups. In conclusion, remifentanil 100 &mgr;g IV attenuated the acute hemodynamic response to ECT. Furthermore, remifentanil had no adverse effect on the duration of ECT-induced seizure activity. Finally, adjunctive use of remifentanil did not prolong recovery times or increase post-ECT side effects.
What did the Soviet Rulers Maximise?

Abstract The predominant view in the literature holds that the main objective of the Soviet rulers was growth of the official measure of aggregate output, irrespective of its use structure, that is, growth for its own sake. We show that the pursuit of this objective would have been irrational, and argue instead that the main objective was the pursuit of military might. This formulation returns the Soviet rulers to the company of rational economic actors, helps explain the main characteristics of the Soviet economic development better than the majority view, and provides a different perspective on the system's final decades.
Parental divorce and partnership dissolution in adulthood: Evidence from a British cohort study

From a longitudinal survey of a British cohort born in 1958 this study finds that, by age 33, off-spring of parents who divorced are more likely to have dissolved their first partnerships. This finding persists after taking into account age at first partnership, type of first partnership (marital, pre-marital cohabiting union, and cohabiting union), and indicators of class background and childhood and adolescent school achievement and behaviour problems. Some of these factors are associated with partnership dissolution in their own right, but the association between parental divorce and second generation partnership dissolution is largely independent of them. Demographic factors, including type of and age at first partnership, were important links between parental divorce and partnership dissolution. Moreover, the estimated effects of parental divorce were substantially reduced when the demographic variables were taken into account, suggesting that cohabitation and early partnership may be important pathw.
Accurate Approximation to the PDF of the Product of Independent Rayleigh Random Variables

A novel approximation to the probability density function for the product of arbitrary n independent Rayleigh random variables is proposed. The approximation is based on a transformed Nakagami-m distribution. Unlike the existing exact density function in the literature, the new approximation is compact and only employs simple functions that are very easy to calculate and to manipulate. New maximum likelihood estimators for the distribution parameters are also derived that are otherwise impossible using the existing exact density function. A new estimator using the logarithm of the sample and a new estimator without knowledge of the number of variables are also developed. Numerical results show that the new approximation has very high accuracy in most cases considered. Numerical results also show that the new estimators using maximum likelihood and sample logarithm outperform the existing estimators.
Arterial blood gas changes in New Zealand white rabbits during carbon dioxide-induced pneumoperitoneum.

398 Laparoscopic surgery has become commonplace in human adults and children where induction of pneumoperitoneum is required to attain adequate visibility. Several gases have been proposed for this purpose, but carbon dioxide is used in almost all laparoscopic interventions (1). Several physiologic alterations associated with mechanical and blood gasinduced changes have been reported in clinical and experimental studies after carbon dioxide-induced pneumoperitoneum (CDP). These include arterial and pulmonary hypertension, reduced lung compliance, increase in cardiac output, venous oxygen pressure, and venous saturation, in addition to acidemia, hyperkalemia, and hypercapnia (1–5). Use of these procedures in neonates is uncommon and has been reported by only a few groups (6, 7). Several animal species, mainly adult pigs (Sus scrofa), are routinely used by surgeons for training before attempting clinical procedures. On the basis of our experience, the rabbit is an appropriate species with which to obtain the skills needed for laparoscopic surgery in newborn humans, due to their similar size and abdominal anatomy. In the clinical and laboratory settings, we routinely use an intra-abdominal gas pressure of 8 mm Hg with 100% carbon dioxide to provide good visibility of internal structures (6, 7). This pressure has little or no effect on hemodynamics in normal healthy subjects (8, 9). Although the physiologic alterations related to induction of pneumoperitoneum during laparoscopy have been extensively studied in larger humans and animals, we were concerned that the proportionally larger volume of carbon dioxide used in small subjects could generate hypercapnia of greater clinical significance. Therefore, the blood gas status of New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits was studied during carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum. The protocol was approved by the CIBO Research Committee, and all animals were treated in compliance with institutional and federal regulations. Twenty conventional NZW virgin does or bucks (Oryctolagus cuniculus), 2.5 to 3.5 kg of body weight, from
Foreign retailers in China: the first ten years

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the important factors that influence foreign retailers' expansion in China. By doing so the paper proposes business strategies for foreign retailers to be successful in China and other emerging economies.Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach is employed to build theory. Five case studies were chosen, including the world's four largest retail firms: Wal‐Mart, Carrefour, Metro and Tesco, as well as the Japanese department store Heivado.Findings – The paper identifies six important activities in successful retail expansion: adaptation to the external environment; responses to psychic distance; establishment of business networking; localization; entry strategies into new areas; and the role of local management team. A new framework articulates the interdependent relationships between various factors embedded in retail internationalization, including external environment, internal drivers, psychic distance, and expansion strategies.Practical implications – The.
Aggregation of Heterogeneous Firms in Mathematical Programming Models

Serious aggregation errors may arise in mathematical programming sector models when aggregation is not properly done. Existing aggregation literature mostly focuses on exact aggregation of homogenous groups of firms. However, homogeneity rarely holds in real problem situations. Moreover, theoretical aggregation developments are generally based on the assumption of availability of full information about the firms to be aggregated. Such full information is hardly a plausible assumption when modeling the agricultural sector. This paper discusses an empirical aggregation approach based on decomposition theory, which may be particularly helpful while aggregating heterogenous firms under the absence of full information. Copyright 1989 by Oxford University Press.