Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Glyoxal and Methylglyoxal Levels in Uremic Patients under Peritoneal Dialysis

Abstract: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) accumulate in serum and tissues of patients with chronic renal failure, even in the absence of diabetes, and a different clearance of these species has been observed by hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Furthermore, it has been shown that not only AGE but also 1,2‐dicarbonyl compounds are formed during heat sterilization of glucose‐based peritoneal dialysis fluids. Therefore, we investigated the level of some AGEs (pentosidine and free pentosidine) and dicarbonyl compounds (glyoxal and methylglyoxal) in end‐stage renal disease patients subjected to peritoneal dialysis. Samples (20 from healthy subjects, 16 from uremic patients before and after 12 h of peritoneal dialysis) were analyzed, and the plasma and dialysate levels of glyoxal, methylglyoxal, pentosidine, and free pentosidine were determined. In plasma of uremic patients, mean values of pentosidine showed a small decrease after dialysis and were always higher than those of healthy control subjects. An analogous trend was observed for free pentosidine. In the case of peritoneal dialysate, no pentosidine and free pentosidine were found at time zero, whereas both compounds were detected after 12 h of dialysis. Glyoxal and methylglyoxal mean levels showed a decrease in plasma after dialysis even if their values were always higher than those of healthy control subjects. Surprisingly, an analogous trend was observed also in dialysate. These results might indicate that glyoxal and methylglyoxal already present in the dialysis fluid react with the peritoneal matrix proteins, accounting for the gradual loss of peritoneal membrane function that is often observed in patients subjected to CAPD for a long time.
Age differences in diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV alcohol dependence among adults with similar drinking behaviour.

AIMS To test age differences in the prevalence of DSM-IV alcohol dependence (AD) diagnostic criteria in the adult general population while controlling for drinking behaviour. DESIGN AND SETTING Cross-sectional data from the 2006 German Epidemiological Survey of Substance Abuse (ESA) were used, applying a two-stage probability sampling design. The survey used self-administered questionnaires and telephone interviews (mixed-mode design; 45% response rate). PARTICIPANTS The analytical sample consisted of n = 6984 individuals aged 18-64 years reporting alcohol consumption within the previous year. MEASUREMENTS Age effects on individual AD criteria were estimated using logistic regression models, adjusting for eight mutually exclusive drinking groups (defined in terms of average daily alcohol intake and episodic heavy drinking) and socio-economic variables. FINDINGS When controlling for drinking behaviour, 18-24-year-olds were more likely to meet the criteria 'tolerance', 'larger/longer' and 'time spent' relative to older age groups. In contrast, the likelihood of experiencing 'withdrawal' symptoms increased with age. There was no significant age effect on the diagnosis of AD. CONCLUSIONS Age differences in the prevalence of specific alcohol dependence diagnostic criteria such as 'tolerance', 'drinking larger amount or for longer than intended' and 'time spent recovering' cannot be fully explained by differences in drinking behaviour.
Speaking the same language: the relevance of neuro‐linguistic programming to effective marketing communications

Individuals process each and every encounter with the external environment using sensory system representations (pictures, sounds, feelings, etc.). Studies of neuro‐linguistic programming have indicated that each individual tends to have a preferred sensory representational system with which they will internally code these experiences. Market segments are comprised of individuals who, although possessing similarities across traditional segmentation bases, also have different preferred sensory modalities. Therefore, if consumers within any given target market segment do not all talk the same sensory language, marketers are failing to get their message across to everyone within that segment. This study is concerned with examining the efficacy of television advertising in communicating to those within a target group by exploring the links between the advertisements that ‘speak’ to them most and their preferred representational systems. It finds that participant reactions to those advertisements that they regarded as having the most effect were expressed predominantly in language relating to their preferred sensory representational systems. Furthermore, where participants with different representational systems chose the same advertisement as having the most effect, the reasons for their choice differed on a sensory basis.
Crystallographic STM image processing of 2D periodic and highly symmetric molecule arrays

Crystallographic Image Processing (CIP) is applied to experimental Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) images of regular (2D periodic) arrays of organic molecules on noble metal substrates. The crystallographically averaged (surface) lattices, structural motifs, and plane symmetry groups of the arrays are determined. An assessment of the samples with the goal of utilizing highly symmetric molecular arrays as calibration samples for STM is made. A brief introduction to the CIP procedures is given in an appendix.
Measurement of Service Quality in the Hotel Sector: The Case of Northern Poland

The present study analyzes consumers' and managers' perception of service quality in hotels in Northern Poland. The article aims to find out existence of gaps or their lack between the expected and perceived hotel service quality. The authors undertake an attempt to identify the main reasons for the discrepancy between customers' expectations and their perception of the service quality and show the most urgent tasks facing proactive managers to improve the quality of services they offer. A modified version of the SERVQUAL tool was employed to assess the quality of hotel services. Data were collected from a sample of guests and managers in 25 hotels of different categories (from one- to five-star hotels). A perceptual map and statistical methods were used in a process of analysis. This study should help managers to enhance their understanding of customers' expectations of service quality and show how to identify the priorities of service quality improvement in the hotel sector. Further research is suggested in the field of innovation in the hotel sector to obtain customer satisfaction and gain competitive advantage on the growing global tourist market. A background for the research can be found in the model of innovative changes in the hotel services; innovation of both a hotel product and the process of service delivery has been suggested as a subject for future research.
The Corporate Saving Glut in the Aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis

We examine the increase in the net lending (saving minus investment) of nonfinancial corporations in the years preceding and especially following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). We consider whether this increase in net lending is an endogenous reflection of the current weak pace of growth or an outcome of other factors, such as firms' desire to cut investment and hoard assets, and thus an exogenous drag on growth. Looking at G7 economies, we find that the fall in corporate investment during the GFC was in line with historical norms, given the path of GDP growth, interest rates, profits, and other relevant determinants. However, we find that investment declined from a surprisingly weak starting point, as corporate investment in many of the G7 economies started falling below our models' predictions in the years before the GFC. Moreover, corporate payouts to investors in the form of dividends and equity buybacks have trended up over the past 1-1/2 decades, inconsistent with the view that cautious firms were cutting back on investment spending to strengthen their balance sheets. Identifying the causes of the rise in corporate net lending and declines in investment rates starting in the years before the GFC should be an important focus of future research.
RISK TAKING BY BANKS: THE ROLE OF GOVERNANCE AND EXECUTIVE PAY

Summary T here is broad consensus that excessive risk taking by banks contributed to the global financial crisis. Equally important were lapses in the regulatory framework that failed to prevent such risk taking. Reforms are under way to further strengthen the regulatory framework, realign incentives, and foster prudent behavior by bankers. These reforms aim to enhance capital and liquidity buffers and influence the incentives that induce bankers to take excessive risk. Regarding the latter, measures are being introduced to enhance risk governance and to ensure that pay practices fully reflect the risks that bankers take. To be effective and avoid unintended consequences, such reforms must be based on a thorough understanding of what drives risk taking in banks. This chapter aims to contribute to that understanding through an empirical investigation that relates various measures of bank performance and risks to bank characteristics of governance, risk management, pay practices, and ownership structures. The results show that banks with board members who are independent of bank management tend to take less risk. The level of executive compensation in banks is not consistently related to their risk taking. More pay that is related to longer-term job performance is associated with less risk. Moreover, banks that have large institutional ownership tend to take less risk. As expected, periods of severe financial stress alter some of these effects because incentives change when a bank gets closer to default. With these results in hand, the chapter recommends policy measures, some of which are part of the current policy debate but have so far not been empirically validated. Measures include more appropriate alignment of bank executives’ compensation with risk (including the risk exposure of bank creditors), deferment of some compensation, and providing for clawbacks. Bank boards should be independent of management and should establish risk committees. Supervisors should ensure that board oversight of risk taking in banks is effective. Consideration should be given to including debt holders in addition to shareholders on bank boards. Finally, transparency is critical to accountability and the effectiveness of market discipline.
Consumer behaviour and preferences regarding children's clothing in Turkey

Purpose – The aim of this study is to determine the factors affecting the consumer preferences and behaviour in the children's clothing market in Turkey, a country where the majority of the population is under 18 years old.Design/methodology/approach – Whilst the study investigated the purchasing preferences and behaviour of parents, such as shopping frequency and period, type of retailer and the effect of reference groups in the children's clothing market, it also explored some children's purchasing characteristics, like shopping decision age.Findings – This study offers some academic results on consumer behaviour and preferences in the children's clothing market: There is no set shopping period; consumers prefer shopping from independent shops; in the selection of retailers, consumers consider payment conditions, pricing, and range of merchandise; in the family the parents mostly make the buying decisions for their children's clothes; the age of children making their own clothing decisions varies betwee.
Extracorporeal liver perfusion system for successful hepatic support pending liver regeneration or liver transplantation: a pre-clinical controlled trial.

BACKGROUND There is a well recognized need for a system capable of providing effective support for patients with hepatic failure pending liver regeneration or liver transplantation. Recent attempts of using bioartificial liver containing encapsulated porcine hepatocytes, the deployment of emergency whole liver, or hepatocyte transplantation are complex and not consistently successful. The technique of ex vivo hepatic perfusion developed and used clinically by Abouna in the 1970s, has now been redesigned in a perfusion circuitry that mimics the physiological conditions of a normal liver. Before clinical application of this system, a preclinical trial was carried out in dogs with induced hepatic failure. METHODS Acute hepatic failure was induced in dogs by an end-to-side porto caval shunt, followed 24 hr later, by a 2-hr occlusion of the hepatic artery. All animals (n=18) were medically supported and were divided into three groups. In the control group (n=6) only medical support was used. In the experimental group (n=12) the animals were connected to the ex vivo liver support apparatus during acute hepatic failure via an AV shunt using a dog liver (n=6) or calf liver (n=6) (after a temporary extracorporeal bovine kidney transplant to remove preformed xeno antibody). Hepatic perfusion was carried out at 37 degrees C through the hepatic artery and portal vein at physiological pressures, and blood flow rate for 6-8 hr. RESULTS All control animals died of progressive hepatic failure at 14-19 hr after clamping the hepatic artery. The animals treated with ex vivo liver showed remarkable clinical and biochemical improvement. Five animals survived for 36-60 hr. Another seven animals recovered completely and became long-term survivors with biochemical and histological evidence of regeneration of their own liver. Biopsy of the allogeneic ex vivo liver at the end of perfusion showed some interstitial edema. Similar biopsy of the xenogeneic calf liver showed only mild and delayed xenograft rejection, which was most likely due to removal of preformed xeno antibody by temporary transplantation of the calf kidney before liver perfusion. CONCLUSIONS The observations and results obtained in this trial strongly confirm that extracorporeal perfusion through a whole liver, using the system described, is very successful and cost effective for the treatment of acute, but reversible hepatic failure, as well as serving as a bridge to liver transplantation. The time has come for this form of liver support technology to be reintroduced and widely used.
Molecular hydrogen generated by elemental magnesium supplementation alters rumen fermentation and microbiota in goats

Abstract We tested the hypotheses that supplementation of a diet with elemental Mg increases ruminal dissolved H2 (dH2) in rumen fluid, which in turn alters rumen fermentation and microbial community in goats. In a randomised block design, twenty growing goats were allocated to two treatments fed the same basal diet with 1·45 % Mg(OH)2 or 0·6 % elemental Mg. After 28 d of adaptation, we collected total faeces to measure total tract digestibility, rumen contents to analyse fermentation end products and microbial groups, and measured methane (CH4) emission using respiration chambers. Ruminal Mg2+ concentration was similar in both treatments. Elemental Mg supplementation increased dH2 at 2·5 h post morning feeding (+180 %, P<0·001). Elemental Mg supplementation decreased total volatile fatty acid concentration (−8·6 %, P<0·001), the acetate:propionate ratio (−11·8 %, P<0·03) and fungal copy numbers (−63·6 %, P=0·006), and increased propionate molar percentage (+11·6 %, P<0·001), methanogen copy numbers (+47·9 %, P<0·001), dissolved CH4 (+35·6 %, P<0·001) and CH4 emissions (+11·7 %, P=0·03), compared with Mg(OH)2 supplementation. The bacterial community composition in both treatments was overall similar. Ruminal dH2 was negatively correlated with acetate molar percentage and fungal copy numbers (P<0·05), and positively correlated with propionate molar percentage and methanogen copy numbers (P<0·05). In summary, elemental Mg supplementation increased ruminal dH2 concentration, which inhibited rumen fermentation, enhanced methanogenesis and seemed to shift fermentation pathways from acetate to propionate, and altered microbiota by decreasing fungi and increasing methanogens.
CONCEPTUALIZATION OF E-SERVICES QUALITY AND E-SATISFACTION: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

There are various approaches to the measure quality of e-services. They have mentioned many dimensions of e-service quality provided by service organisations i.e. banking, restaurant, investment, trade etc. However, sometimes there may be confusions in selecting appropriate dimensions to assess e-services. Therefore, in the present paper author has tried to identify some important dimensions of service quality through extensive review of literature which can be used to assess overall quality of e-service. According to this review author found that, System availability, e-fulfilment, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, responsiveness, assurance, convenience and contact, perceived value and brand reputation are most important service quality dimensions which can be use to assess service quality of e-service and customers’ satisfaction in e-service settings.
Impact of Convergence to International Accounting Standards in Brazil on The Informational Content of Accounting

This article investigates the impact of the process of convergence to international accounting standards in Brazil on the informational content of accounting, focused on the changes in the main accounting and financial ratios and on the relevance of accounting information. For this purpose, we analyzed publicly traded nonfinancial companies, considering information for 2009, disclosed at the start of 2010 (BRGAAP – partial IFRS) and for the same year, disclosed at the start of 2011 (full IFRS). The purpose of analyzing the data for 2009 was to isolate any other influence found in the accounting statements that did not come from the alteration in accounting standards. The results indicate that the indicators Indebtedness (DEBT), Asset Turnover (AT), Gross Margin (GM), Operating Cash Flow over Total Assets (OPCFA) and Operating Cash Flow over Stockholders’ Equity (OPCFE) are lower in the financial statements prepared according to full IFRS. Analysis of the informational capacity of Net Income by means of regression allowed detecting that Net Income has higher explanatory power of the behavior of stock prices under full IFRS. With respect to the informational content of Stockholders’ Equity, the results indicate no significant change in explanatory power on the behavior of stock prices.
On reconsideration of IT governance structures to govern cloud computing services

There is an increase in the uptake of cloud computing services (CCS). CCS is adopted in the form of a utility, and it incorporates business risks of the service providers and intermediaries. Thus, the adoption of CCS will change the risk profile of an organization. In this situation, organisations need to develop competencies by reconsidering their IT governance structures to achieve a desired level of IT-business alignment and maintain their risk appetite to source business value from CCS. We use the resource-based theories to suggest that collaborative board oversight of CCS, competencies relating to CCS information and financial management, and a CCS-related continuous audit program can contribute to business process performance improvements and overall firm performance. Using survey data, we find evidence of a positive association between these IT governance considerations and business process performance. We also find evidence of positive association between business process performance improvements and overall firm performance. The results suggest that the suggested considerations on IT governance structures can contribute to CCS-related IT-business alignment and lead to anticipated business value from CCS. This study provides guidance to organizations on competencies required to secure business value from CCS.
The moderating role of internalising negative emotionality in the relation of self-regulation to social adjustment in Italian preschool-aged children

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of internalising negative emotionality (i.e., anxious, concerned, and embarrassed displays) in the association between children's self-regulation and social adjustment. Seventy-four Italian children (44 girls, 30 boys; M age = 35.05 months, SD = 3.57) were assessed using two self-regulation tasks. Internalising negative emotionality was assessed through observations of children's emotion expressions during the tasks. Teachers evaluated children's social competence and internalising and externalising problems. Results demonstrated that among children who exhibited internalising negative emotionality, self-regulation was positively associated with social competence and negatively related to externalising problems. Our results suggest that self-regulation may play a crucial role for social adjustment when children show emotions such as anxiety and embarrassment during challenging situations.
Enhancing the employability of IT graduates in Vietnam

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the key determinants of employability of information technology (IT) graduates in Vietnam and examines their impact on self-perceived employability and the duration of the job search. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on data collected from the responses to an online survey from more than 500 IT graduates from different higher education institutions in Vietnam. Employability, its outcome and its key determinants were integrated into one model. Exploratory factor, confirmatory factor and path analyses were conducted to test the model by means of structural equation modeling. Findings – The self-perceived employability of IT graduates in Vietnam was determined by graduates’ English language skills, soft skills, adaptability skills, the quality of the institution’s IT program and job seeking efforts. Results also indicated that work experience, professional competencies and employability made the job search duration shorter, but job seeking e.
An induction or flare of arthritis and/or sacroiliitis by vedolizumab in inflammatory bowel disease: a case series

Background In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a new biological therapy has recently been approved. Vedolizumab is a humanised IgG1 monoclonal antibody to α4β7 integrin that modulates gut lymphocyte trafficking. Although an exclusively local effect of vedolizumab could be expected based on the restricted presence of the α4β7–mucosal vascular addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 complex in the gut, past combined success with anti-tumour necrosis factor, and previous demonstration of α4β7 integrin in the joint, led to the expectation of a therapeutic efficacy in spondyloarthritis. Nonetheless, the effect of vedolizumab on extraintestinal manifestations—and especially the joint—has not been reported so far. Case report A series of five patients with IBD who were treated with vedolizumab and promptly developed new onset or exacerbation of sacroiliitis or arthritis are reported. Conclusions Vedolizumab therapy does not seem to show any efficacy in and might even induce arthritis and/or sacroiliitis. However, larger cohort studies are needed to provide information on the prevalence, the evolution and underlying mechanism.
Sensitive dependencies and separation distances for genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops

The amount of land available for the coexistent growing of both organic and genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops depends on the separation distance between the two types of crop. The form of the decline in the proportion of land available for growing one of these crop types due to increasing separation distance is linear on a suitable scale, but with a slope and intercept that are sensitively dependent on the proportion of the other crop already present. Spatially explicit simulations from realistic scenarios indicate that a major increase in separation distances, currently under review by the UK government, may have serious implications for the future coexistence of organic and GMHT crops in the UK.