Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Absence of Effect of Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on the Esophageal Phase of Nutritive Swallowing in Newborn Lambs

Objectives: It is presently recommended that oral feeding be started in premature infants as soon as possible, often at an age at which nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) is still required for ventilatory support. Our previous data showed that application of nCPAP up to 10 cmH2O in full-term lambs had no deleterious effect on cardiorespiratory safety, feeding efficiency, or on nutritive swallowing–breathing coordination. Besides fear of swallowing–breathing coordination disturbances, esophageal motility disruption by nCPAP could be a reason to delay oral feeding. To our knowledge, no study has focused on the effects of nCPAP on esophageal motility in the neonatal period. The aim of the present study was therefore to further assess the effects of nCPAP on oral feeding by assessing its effects on the esophageal phase of nutritive swallowing (nutritive esophagodeglutition). Methods: Six full-term lambs, ages 2 to 3 days, underwent esophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH monitoring. Lambs were bottle-fed under 2 randomized conditions, namely spontaneous breathing and nCPAP 6 cmH2O. Results: Beyond confirmation of unaltered feeding efficiency, analysis of multiple variables measured by impedance monitoring revealed that nCPAP 6 does not alter nutritive esophagodeglutition in any way (nCPAP vs spontaneous breathing, P > 0.1 for all variables). Conclusions: offering further support to neonatologists pleading for initiation of oral feeding in infants still on nCPAP, the present results set the foundations for similar clinical studies in preterm human infants to confirm the absence of effects of nCPAP on nutritive swallowing.
Does the negative correlation found in breast cancer patients between plasma melatonin and insulin-like growth factor-I concentrations imply the existence of an additional mechanism of oncostatic melatonin influence involved in defense?

BACKGROUND Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is probably involved in promoting both normal and neoplastic cell growth, neoplastic transformation processes, angiogenesis, and neoplasma progression. On the other hand, one possible mechanism of the oncostatic action of melatonin is its influence on the action and/or release of the growth factors that stimulate neoplastic cell growth. Quantitative changes in melatonin and IGF-I, as well as an imbalance between melatonin and IGF-I, may affect the growth of breast cancer cells and exacerbate the disease. The aim of our research was to study the interactions between plasma melatonin and IGF-I concentrations in pre-menopausal breast cancer patients. MATERIAL/METHODS Our research involved 24 breast cancer patients (mean age 43 +/-6) with stage II breast cancer (Bloom and Richardson classification), confirmed by histological studies, and were 4 weeks after radical mastectomy. The control group consisted of 16 healthy women volunteers (mean age 44 +/- 5). RESULTS No statistically significant relations were found between mean plasma melatonin and IGF-I concentrations in the two study groups. In the breast cancer group the correlation coefficient between IGF-I concentration in plasma and melatonin was r = -0.392 (p = 0.058). CONCLUSIONS The negative correlation between the plasma melatonin and IGF-I concentrations in the breast cancer patients we studied could reach statistical significance in a larger population. The presence of such a negative correlation between plasma melatonin and IGF-I concentrations in patients with neoplastic disease may imply the existence of an additional defense mechanism based on the oncostatic influence of melatonin.
International workers' satisfaction with the repatriation process

One of the main problems associated with the international assignments of employees is the high turnover rate of the repatriates on their return. International human resource management (IHRM) has focused its attention on identifying the factors that can lead the organization to retain these individuals when they come back. However, the satisfaction of the international workers with the repatriation process has received little attention from the academic world in spite of its importance in the reduction of high turnover rates among repatriates. This article presents the results of a study based on the answers of 124 Spanish repatriates. Our findings confirm that the satisfaction of repatriates with the repatriation process reduces their intention to seek a new employer. The research also identifies the major aspects affecting the repatriates' satisfaction with the repatriation process. Implications for practitioners and academics are discussed.
KLSE Long Run Overreaction and the Chinese New-Year Effect

This study investigates long run overreaction and seasonal effects for Malaysian stocks quoted on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE), for the period 1986-1996. Stocks exhibiting extreme returns relative to the market over a three year period experience a reversal of fortunes during the following three years. There is also evidence that employing a contrarian trading strategy may yield excess returns. Of particular interest is the apparent existence of a Chinese New Year effect in both the level of market returns, and the overreaction profile for KLSE stocks. These seasonalities mirror the January-effect observed in US markets. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2001.
Evaluating the Impact of Rail-Trails: A Methodology for Assessing Travel Demand and Economic Impacts

As interest in sustainable transportation options rises, rail-trails—multiuse paths created from former railroad corridors—are in demand. Rail-trail development projects promote sustainability through environmental, economic, and social benefits such as enhancing public health, reducing vehicular travel, and promoting local economic development. This study explores methods to measure the travel demand and economic impact of developing a rail-trail. A methodology, the Rail-Trail Impact Assessment Method (RTIAM), is proposed and is applied to the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail (BVRT), in Pennsylvania. An agency or committee could follow the method with the goals of (1) identifying trail demand through survey methods, manual counts, and automatic counts, (2) exploring the economic impacts as well as benefits to trail users, and (3) evaluating the need for possible trail expansion. The BVRT case study suggests the applicability of the method to a real-world trail project and exemplifies how local communities can begin to measure and promote the benefits of rail-trail development.
Risk Contagion Among International Stock Markets

We develop a stochastic volatility model with jumps in returns and volatility to analyze the risk spillover from the U.S. market and the regional market to a number of European countries' equity markets. The key advantage of this approach compared to the earlier approaches is that it enables us to identify jumps and investigate spillover of extreme events across borders. We find that a large part of the jumps in the local markets are due to the U.S. market and the regional market. The U.S. contribution to the variances is in general below the contribution from the regional market. In general, we observe an increasing integration during the last two decades, which, to some extent, can be related to the advancement of the European Union. Furthermore, we show that the identification of the jumps can be used as a useful signal for portfolio reallocation.
Postmortem MRI and Histopathology of White Matter Changes in Alzheimer Brains

To evaluate whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of white matter changes in Alzheimer’s disease either under- or overestimates the findings on neuropathology. Postmortem MRI and neuropathological examination were performed on 6 brains from elderly individuals with a postmortem diagnosis of AD. Using a specially designed brain slicer, the brains were cut corresponding to the MRI images, and stained by Luxol Fast Blue. Quantitative analysis of white matter changes on MRI and neuropathology was performed using stereological principles. Measures from MRI and pathology were highly correlated (r2 = 0.71). However, pathology showed significantly more extensive changes than did MRI in all cases, with a mean of 54% larger areas. The lesions not identified with MRI represented, however, only minor changes with lower intensity of myelin staining and with an accentuation of the distance between fibres but with preserved axonal network and glial cell density.
Agronomic assessment of some sweet potato varieties for intercropping with pigeonpea in southern guinea savanna of Nigeria

Field experiments were conducted at the National Root Crops Research Institute sub-station, Otobi, in 2006 and 2007 to assess the suitability of improved sweet potato varieties for intercropping with pigeonpea and also to determine the planting pattern and the productivity of the intercropping system. Intercropping decreased total fresh root and saleable root yields of sweet potato when mixed or row-intercropped with pigeonpea. All intercropping combinations of sweet potato varieties and pigeonpea had land equivalent ratio above 1.0, except intercropping with WA Gabolige, signifying high intercrop advantages. TIS 87/0087 produced the highest total fresh root and saleable root yields in both cropping systems, irrespective of the planting pattern used. TIS 2532.O. P.1. 13 and TIS 86/00356 sweet potato varieties had comparable yields with TIS 87/0087 in both cropping systems. Pigeonpea was the more competitive component of the intercrop. Farmers showed willingness to adopt the sweet potato + pigeonpea intercropping. Keywords: Intercropping, sweet potato, pigeonpea, Guinea Savanna, Nigeria. Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom:. 0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
Comparison of neonatal outcome for inborn and outborn very low‐birthweight preterm infants

Background: The aim of the present study was to compare the neonatal outcome of very low‐birthweight (VLBW) preterm infants with regard to inborn and outborn status in a medical center of Southern Taiwan, where short‐distance neonatal transport is the rule and maternal transport was not well established.
Controlling data uncertainty via aggregation in remotely sensed data

Aggregation may be used as a means of enhancing remotely sensed data accuracy, but there is a tradeoff between loss of information and gain in accuracy. Thus, the choice of the proper cell size for aggregation is important. This letter explores the change in data accuracy that accompanies aggregation and finds an increase in image thematic accuracy with increasing cell size, resulting from 1) reduction in the impact of misregistration on thematic error and 2) mutual cancelation of inverse classification errors occurring within the same cell. A model is developed to quantify these phenomena. The model is exemplified using a vegetation map derived from an aerial photo. The model revealed a major reduction in effective location error for cell sizes in the range of 3-10 times the size of mean location error; reduction in effective classification error was minor.
Pricing Risky Options Simply

This paper is a follow-up of (Aurell and Życzkowski, 1996) [2] and (Aurell et al. 1996) [1]. We show that the prescription of pricing option by minimizing risk can be solved in a way that is quite similar to the Black–Scholes' approach. For a given discrete-time price process we determine an auxillary process, generally a pseudo-probability taking both negative and positive values, such that the price of the option in our prescription is the expected value upon maturation with respect to the auxillary process. We present a conjecture due to G. Wolczynska that this auxillary process is in fact a (pseudo)-Markov process which admits a very simple description. Numerical results are presented in favor of the conjecture.
Information Quality and Options

Microstructure researchers have long understood that information quality has an effect on price formation in the underlying asset market. However, option researchers have largely ignored the fact that information quality might also impact the options market. This article characterizes the nature of the impact by showing how option prices and implied volatility levels are related to the forward looking information quality path. This result follows from a noisy rational expectations model that abandons the normal distribution in favor of the gamma distribution, but maintains the standard assumption of exponential utility. Thus the new model bridges the gap between the microstructure literature that relies so heavily on the normal-exponential framework, and the options literature that relies exclusively on models that are consistent with the limited liability of stock prices. The model's tractability allows for a robustness check against the standard framework and provides a viable setting for analyzing the empirical implications of information quality for the options market.
Biodegradation of Restorative Metallic Systems

Metallic materials utilized for the construction of intra-oral and implant dental restorations include a wide range of relatively pure metals and multicomponent alloys. Basic corrosion and biodegradation properties of these alloys have been studied by both in vitro and in vivo techniques. These property characteristics have been shown to be dependent on composition and metallurgical state, combinations within a construct, surface conditions, mechanical aspects of function, and the local and systemic host environment. The susceptibility of these metallic materials to various forms of biodegradation will be presented, with emphasis on corrosion.
Knowledge management and innovation performance in a high-tech SMEs industry

This article examines how knowledge management (KM) affects innovation performance within biotechnology firms. This is an industry in which small- and medium-sized biotech enterprises live together with the biotech divisions of large pharmaceutical firms. We conceptualize KM as a set of practices and dynamic capabilities, and hypothesize that KM dynamic capabilities act as a mediating variable between KM practices and innovation performance. We use structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses on a data set from the biotechnology industry. The results support our conceptualization and demonstrate its utility in explaining differences in innovation performance across firms. Findings have important implications regarding KM and innovation in high-tech small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Sequestration, with Therapeutic Platelet Yields, Reduces Allogeneic Transfusion in Complex Cardiac Surgery

Platelet dysfunction is the most common cause of nonsurgical bleeding after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). We hypothesized that reinfusion of a therapeutic quantity of platelets sequestered before CPB would decrease the need for allogeneic platelet transfusion, as well as decrease bleeding and total allogeneic transfusion, in cardiac surgery patients at moderately high risk for bleeding. Fifty-five patients undergoing either reoperative coronary artery bypass (CABG) or combined CABG and valve replacement were randomized to control or platelet-rich plasma sequestration (pheresis) groups. All patients received intraoperative &egr;-aminocaproic acid infusions. There was no significant difference between groups with respect to preoperative characteristics, duration of CPB, or target postoperative hematocrit. Mean platelet yields were 6.2 ± 2.1 units (3.1 × 1011 platelets). Mean pheresis time was 44 min. Allogeneic platelets (range = 6–12 units) were transfused to 28% of control patients, compared with 0% of pheresis patients (P < 0.01). Allogeneic packed red blood cells were transfused to 45% of control patients (1.2 units per patient) versus 31% of pheresis patients (0.7 unit per patient) (P = 0.35). Total allogeneic units transfused were significantly reduced in the pheresis group (P < 0.02). Mediastinal chest tube drainage was not significantly decreased in the pheresis group. In this prospective, randomized study, therapeutic platelet yields were obtained before CPB. In contrast with recent studies with low platelet yields, these data support the conclusion that platelet-rich plasma sequestration is effective in reducing allogeneic platelet transfusions and total allogeneic units transfused in cardiac surgery patients at moderately high risk for post-CPB coagulopathy and bleeding. Implications: Transfusion of allogeneic blood products, including platelets, is common during complex cardiac surgical procedures. In the present prospective, randomized study, a significant reduction in allogeneic platelet transfusion and total allogeneic units transfused was observed after the reinfusion of a therapeutic quantity of autologous platelets sequestered before cardiopulmonary bypass.
The Significance of Mentoring and its Repercussions on the Advancement of Professional, Managerial Women in Pakistan

Mentoring plays an important role in employee growth and advancement. It has been found to be of special significance for the advancement of managerial women in international research. The purpose of this article is to investigate Pakistani female managers’perceptions regarding the significance of mentoring to their career success. The article focuses on the perceptions of managerial women regarding the significance of mentorship to their career success. If women did not think that mentoring was of significance to success, then they would not seek a mentor. If they did not seek out a mentor, they might inadvertently be curtailing their own managerial advancement. The most significant result of this study is that women in the study did not perceive mentoring as important to their advancement. On the other hand, there is an association between women who felt that slow advancement was due to lack of mentor and their managerial advancement.
The New Empirical Economics of Management

Over the last decade the World Management Survey (WMS) has collected firm-level management practices data across multiple sectors and countries. We developed the survey to try to explain the large and persistent TFP differences across firms and countries. This review paper discusses what has been learned empirically and theoretically from the WMS and other recent work on management practices. Our preliminary results suggest that about a quarter of cross-country and within-country TFP gaps can be accounted for by management practices. Management seems to matter both qualitatively and quantitatively. Competition, governance, human capital and informational frictions help account for the variation in management.
Cross-Sectional Variation in Individuals' Earnings Instability

There has been considerable recent interest in earnings instability-the variability of workers' earnings around their expected earnings paths. While previous work has measured trends in instability, often to illuminate trends in inequality, this paper investigates the variation across workers. Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics reveal considerable differences in earnings instability across demographic and occupational characteristics, generally in accordance with prior expectations. These results can also be used to develop a person-specific measure of instability for use in behavioral studies, and it is shown that the resulting metric correlates strongly with several decisions that are plausibly influenced by earnings risk. Copyright 2010 The Author. Journal compilation International Association for Research in Income and Wealth 2010.
Spatial Mismatch is not Always a Central-city Problem: An Analysis of Commuting Behaviour in Cleveland, Ohio, and its Suburbs

One prediction of the spatial mismatch hypothesis is that black residents of the central city will have longer commutes than others. This prediction actually has two different components: African-Americans commute longer distances because they face discrimination in housing and/or labour markets; city-dwellers commute longer distances because entry-level jobs are scarce in the central city. This study uses a quasi-experimental design to distinguish between these two types of spatial mismatch. We compare 1990 commuting times for the residents of four Cleveland neighbourhoods: a poor black neighbourhood in Cleveland, a poor white neighbourhood in Cleveland, a lower-middle-class black suburb and a lower-middle-class white suburb. We were unable to find strong evidence that city residents suffered from poor job accessibility in 1990. We did find, however, that residents of the black suburb had longer commutes than residents of the white suburb—in spite of the fact that the black suburb was accessible to more skill-matched jobs. Probing further, we discovered that far more black than white suburbanites worked in the central city. This finding suggests that hiring discrimination or industry sector preferences on the part of black workers are potentially overlooked causes of racial differentials in commuting behaviour.
A Dynamics Perspective of Pursuit-Evasion: Capturing and Escaping When the Pursuer Runs Faster Than the Agile Evader

Pursuit-evasion is fascinating in both nature and artificial world. Typically, a pursuer runs faster than its targeted evader while with less agile maneuverability. Naturally, there is a wonder that how an evader escapes from a faster pursuer or how faster a pursuer is able to capture an agile evader? This is not yet answered from the dynamics (i.e., Lagrangian or Newtonian) perspective. In this paper, we first provide a concise dynamics formulation from a bio-inspired perspective, in which the evader's escape strategy consists of two simplest possible yet efficient ingredients integrated as an organic whole, i.e., the suddenly turning-left or turning-right propelling maneuver, together with the early alert condition for starting and maintaining this maneuver. Then, we characterize the dynamic properties of the system at two different levels: 1) the maneuvers and non-trivial escape of the evader, at the level of individual runs of the system; and further 2) the non-trivial escape zones, the sharp phase-transitions and the phase-transition lines of the gaming outcome, at the level of the running results with respect to different ranges of the system parameters. The results are consistent with natural observations and may disclose some clues of natural laws, as well as imply applications in competition of autonomous mobile robots.