Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Position of the mental foramen in adult black Zimbabwean mandibles: a clinical anatomical study.

OBJECTIVE To provide some anatomical information on the shape, size, and position of the mental foramen among Black Zimbabweans that could be used as reference material by dental and other health practitioners during clinical practice in Zimbabwe. DESIGN Cross sectional anatomical study. SETTING Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zimbabwe, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe. SUBJECTS 32 mandibles derived from adult Black Zimbabweans. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The shape of the mental foramen, its relation to the lower teeth and its position in relation to the mandibular symphysis, the posterior border of the ramus of the mandible, the lower border of the mandible, and the alveolar margin. RESULTS The shape of the mental foramen was round in 14 out of 32 mandibles (43.8%) and was oval in the remaining 18 (56.3%). The percentage of occurrence of the mental foramen was highest below the lower second premolar tooth on the right side (position 4) and posterior to it on the left side (position 5). In the vertical plane, the mental foramen lay slightly below the midpoint of the distance between the lower border of the mandible and the alveolar margin (44.1% and 45.5% for the right and left sides respectively). In the horizontal plane, it lay approximately one quarter (27.3% for the right and 27.4% for the left sides) of the distance from the mandibular symphysis to the posterior border of the ramus of the mandible. CONCLUSION The percentage distribution of the mental foremen in relation to the lower teeth in the adult Black Zimbabwean mandible was at variance with that of other population groups. However, the quantitative position of the mental foremen was bilaterally symmetrical in the adult Black Zimbabwean mandible. The latter observation is of clinical significance to dental and other health practitioners in Zimbabwe with regards to the achievement of effective mental nerve block anaesthesia and the prevention of damage to the mental nerve during surgical procedures on the lower jaw.
Strategic Leadership: Top Executives And Their Effects On Organizations

This article provides a tool for creating change that produces observable results in complex organizations. Linkage analysis helps managers map, evaluate, and overcome barriers that underlie the organizational improvement paradox. In this paradox, organizational changes are expected to lead to performance benefits for a unit as well as for the firm as a whole, but benefits occur only for the unit. The organizational improvement paradox frustrates change efforts and is the norm in organizational change where the firm has multiple units and levels. Linkage analysis permits managers and change agents to visualize the complex process of change. It details critical change pathways that otherwise go unrecognized and unmanaged. Through two cases, the reader can practice using linkage tools. Linkage analysis primes managers to take critical and widely overlooked steps to produce visible firm-level results.
Attitude toward Location-based Advertising

ABSTRACT Location-based advertising (LBA) is not new but being able to access it through one’s mobile communication device is. Description of this revolutionary advertising medium is provided as well as some opportunities and challenges that come with it. Desperately needed is more research since in-depth examination of the topic has barely begun. To assist researchers in their investigations, a scale is provided here that is likely to become central to many studies: attitude toward location-based advertising (Alba). Support for the scale’s psychometric quality comes from a preliminary study and a two-stage analysis of a large, national sample.
Influence of Lifestyle on Housing Preferences of Multifamily Housing Residents

Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify the housing preferences of multifamily housing residents as determined by their lifestyles. As a lifestyle measurement for this research, 59 housing activity, interest, and opinion statements were developed. A total of 206 usable questionnaires were collected through a mail survey of residents of nine apartment communities in Charlotte, North Carolina. Four lifestyle factors (Well-being, Social, Spaces, and Envirotech) were derived, and the respondents were grouped into four lifestyle clusters (Community Cluster, Basics Cluster, Home Cluster, and Environment Cluster). The relationships between the lifestyle clusters and their housing preferences were tested and the major findings were: (a) households in the Community Cluster had a strong downtown orientation and the weakest perception of homeownership, and preferred to have security features; (b) households in the Basics Cluster had the weakest preferences for apartment home and community features and the second weakest perception of homeownership; (c) households in the Home Cluster had the strongest perception of homeowner ship and relatively strong feature preferences, including preferences for upscale interior design features; and (d) households in the Environment Cluster had a strong suburban orientation and preferred to have outdoor parking spaces in front of the building, plant watering service, and an on-site car care center. These findings can be applied to the design and management of apartment communities and to marketing strategies that are sensitive to lifestyle concepts.
Do Diuretics have Antinociceptive Actions: Studies of Spironolactone, Eplerenone, Furosemide and Chlorothiazide, Individually and with Oxycodone and Morphine

Spironolactone, eplerenone, chlorothiazide and furosemide are diuretics that have been suggested to have antinociceptive properties, for example via mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism. In co‐administration, diuretics might enhance the antinociceptive effect of opioids via pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic mechanisms. Effects of spironolactone (100 mg/kg, i.p.), eplerenone (100 mg/kg, i.p.), chlorothiazide (50 mg/kg, i.p.) and furosemide (100 mg/kg, i.p.) were studied on acute oxycodone (0.75 mg/kg, s.c.)‐ and morphine (3 mg/kg, s.c.)‐induced antinociception using tail‐flick and hot plate tests in male Sprague Dawley rats. The diuretics were administered 30 min. before the opioids, and behavioural tests were performed 30 and 90 min. after the opioids. Concentrations of oxycodone, morphine and their major metabolites in plasma and brain were quantified by mass spectrometry. In the hot plate test at 30 and 90 min., spironolactone significantly enhanced the antinociceptive effect (% of maximum possible effect) of oxycodone from 10% to 78% and from 0% to 50%, respectively, and that of morphine from 12% to 73% and from 4% to 83%, respectively. The brain oxycodone and morphine concentrations were significantly increased at 30 min. (oxycodone, 46%) and at 90 min. (morphine, 190%). We did not detect any independent antinociceptive effects with the diuretics. Eplerenone and chlorothiazide did not enhance the antinociceptive effect of either opioid. The results suggest that spironolactone enhances the antinociceptive effect of both oxycodone and morphine by increasing their concentrations in the central nervous system.
The dissemination of information amongst supply chain partners: A New Zealand wine industry perspective

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the degree to which information was shared between wineries and independent grape growers in the New Zealand wine industry. Data was collected from randomly selected wineries and independent grape growers using a self-completed and anonymous questionnaire. Significant relationships were found between the level of information sharing, the level of trust, and the level of overall satisfaction among the supply chain partners. The findings highlight the relationship between information sharing and successful supply chains. The study also suggests that information sharing between wineries and growers in the New Zealand wine industry needs to be increased, which may in turn, improve supply chain trust and satisfaction and increase the effectiveness of marketing strategies. This paper supports previous research highlighting the importance of information sharing in supply chains, and in particular it provides empirical evidence of the link between this variable and both trust and overall satisfaction in supply chains. From a practical standpoint, this paper suggests that improvements in terms of information sharing between supply chain members could provide significant benefit to the New Zealand wine industry.
Heterogeneity of cognitive impairment in progressive supranuclear palsy, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease

Patterns of cognitive and behavioral impairment were analyzed in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), Parkinson's disease (PD), and senile dementia of Alzheimer's type (SDAT), matched for age, sex, manual laterality, educational level, and degree of intellectual deterioration. The scores of the three groups of patients were significantly lower than those of controls and were comparable on tests of verbal and visuospatial functions as well as global memory. Patients with SDAT could be distinguished by the severity of verbal memory disorders; patients with PSP, and to a lesser degree those with PD, by impaired performances on tests sensitive to frontal lobe dysfunction.
PROPERTY PRICES AND BANK RISK TAKING

The global financial crisis brought the relationship between real-estate boom-bust cycles and financial stability to center stage. In particular, it has challenged the “benign neglect” view that it is better to pick up the pieces after a bust than try to prevent a real estate boom in the first place. This time, the bust triggered multiple banking crises and the deepest recession since the Great Depression. This paper reviews theoretical stories and empirical evidence on the link between real-estate price cycles and bank behavior in terms of credit provision and risk-taking. And it discusses their implications for macroeconomic policy.
Torque control of a brushless DC motor using multivariable sliding mode extremum seeking PI tuning

In this paper, a novel Multivariable Sliding-mode Extremum Seeking (MSES) Proportional-Integral (PI) tuning method is proposed and its application is studied for torque control in a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM). To this end, the stator three-phase currents are characterized by their maximum amplitude which directly controls the shaft torque. Hence, a PI controller is applied for controlling the maximum amplitude of the stator three phase currents. Due to requiring only one control loop to control the stator phase currents, the computational and implemental costs of the system reduce significantly when compared with conventional current controllers. Here, multivariable sliding-mode extremum seeking method is proposed as an optimization technique to tune parameters of the PI controller. This makes the PI current controller more efficient in terms of disturbance rejection and transient conditions. Furthermore, rotor position detection is conducted by applying Hall Effect sensors and using a continuous estimation method. This affects the switching sequence of a three-phase inverter connected to PMSM. The simulation results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed controller in terms of fast and precise convergence and robust performance in face of disturbances and uncertainties.
Improvement in quality of life in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease following bilateral deep‐brain stimulation in subthalamic nucleus

In this article we investigate the changes observed in the scales that quantify the quality of life (PDQ‐39) in patients that have already completed 1 and 2 years of bilateral subthalamic stimulation (DBS‐STN). Fourteen patients were evaluated 1 year after DBS‐STN; the evaluation was repeated on 11 of them, 2 years after surgery. All of them suffered from Parkinson's disease with a 14.3 (±5.7) years history of motor complications. Patients were selected according to CAPSIT criteria. All of them were implanted bilateral electrodes in the subthalamic nucleus. The parameters applied were UPDRS II, UPDRS III, PDQ‐39, and the scale of quality of life for caregivers (SQLC). Scorings in motor scales (UPDRS III) improved 45% in relation to the first year, and 48% in relation to the second year (P < 0.001). Patient's quality of life (PDQ‐39 summary index) improvement was 62% 2 years after surgery (P < 0.001), and caregivers’ quality of life improvement was 68% (P = 0.002) by the same time. DBS‐STN is a therapy that efficiently improves the quality of life of selected patients with Parkinson's disease. This improvement is still present 2 years after surgery and has a positive impact on caregivers quality of life.
State Ownership and Corporate Cash Holdings: Evidence from Privatization

Using a unique sample of 523 newly privatized firms from 58 countries, this study provides new evidence about the agency costs of state ownership and new insight into the corporate governance role of country-level institutions. Consistent with agency theory, we find strong and robust evidence that state ownership is positively related to corporate cash holdings. Moreover, we find that the strength of country-level institutions affects the relation between state ownership and the value of cash holdings. In particular, as state ownership increases, markets discount the value of cash holdings more in countries with weaker institutions. JEL classification: G32 G34 G35
A financial management tool for sport federations.

Purpose This study aims to develop a tool to manage financial performance of sport federations. It stimulates thinking about the necessity for non-profit sport organisations to develop financial performance measures and management to survive and/or to grow. Design/methodology/approach Adapting the Ritchie and Kolodinsky (2003) model of factor analysis through financial ratios in the sport federation context, we develop a framework for financial performance measurement of sport federations in Belgium for the years 2001 through 2006. Findings Based on a principal component analysis, six financial performance-related categories were constructed, i.e.: (1) public funds dependence; (2) financial balance; (3) attraction of resources; (4) financial budget; (5) member services investment; and (6) elite services investment. They form the basis of a dynamic strategic management tool where financial categories are related to each other. Research limitations/implications The financial management tool can be a starting point for further organisational (performance) research. Differences and similarities between countries (e.g., sport policy priorities) and sport organisations (e.g., sport profiles) could be better investigated through our financial performance framework. Practical implications The tool developed should help strategic volunteers and managers of sport federations to take strategic decision relying on financial information in order to pilot their organisation and to communicate with their stakeholders. Originality/value Developing financial performance measurement of non-profit sport organisations is challenging and considerably different from for-profit and non-profit organisations. It provides researchers and practitioners with a viable model for analysing financial strategy and performance of sport federations over time. Keywords: financial management, financial performance, sport federations, financial management tool
Method of Sale, Price Volatility, and Borrowing Costs on New Issue Municipal Bonds

Most municipal bonds are sold through negotiated underwriting, despite a large body of evidence that competitive underwriting usually produces more efficient, transparent, and equitable outcomes. In this paper I use data on several million municipal bond transactions to test the claim that negotiated sales are advantageous because they mitigate information asymmetries between municipal bond issuers and investors. The results suggest that under certain circumstances negotiated sales are, in fact, an effective tactic to reduce that information asymmetry. However, the results also indicate that reduced asymmetry does not necessarily translate to lower actual borrowing costs for most issuers.
Organizational Culture and Performance: Proposing and Testing a Model

The purpose of this article is twofold: first, to propose and test a model concerning how an organization's culture affects organizational performance; and second, to demonstrate the application of LISREL modeling methodology to estimate and test this model. Organizational culture is hypothesized to consist of three interrelated dimensions: a sociocultural system of the perceived functioning of the organization's strategies and practices, an organizational value system, and the collective beliefs of the individuals working within the organization. Organizational culture is operationalized by several latent variables: organizational structure and purpose, organizational values, task organization, climate, and individual values and beliefs. These variables, in turn, are hypothesized to affect organizational performance. Analysis of data from 392 respondents who participated in the study confirms the fit of the proposed model to the data. The model presented in the study represents an initial attempt to describe and evaluate the effects of various dimensions of organizational culture. It appears that the comparison of visible aspects of culture across and within organizations can provide useful information for guiding the directions of organizations. By investigating the variables defined in this study further, it may eventually be possible to explain why some organizations are not performing at desired levels of productivity. A methodological tool has also been presented in this article. It is clear that the application of structural equation modeling techniques can provide organizational scientists with powerful analytic tools for furthering theory testing and development. Structural modeling can be used to construct, estimate, and test a variety of models in organization science.
Antecedents and consequences of relationship quality in athletic services

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise relationship quality (RQ) and determine its antecedents and consequences in athletic services.Design/methodology/approach – One in‐depth case study is carried out in a big fitness centre and involves ten personal interviews with various employees and observation.Findings – RQ is perceived through the behaviour of both provider and customer and the quality of their interaction. RQ antecedents include the personality and skills of employees and customers; the servicescape; the quality of the offer; permanent staff; the relational orientation and reputation of the provider; the power of entertainment, and relationship duration. Finally, RQ effects include the creation of enduring customers; psychologic benefits for customers; employee satisfaction; customer retention and profitability; new service ideas; relationship exploitation, and the personal success and reputation of instructors.Research limitations/implications – New variables emerge for analysin.
Analytical study of the Fishbone Warehouse layout

The purpose of this paper is to study the Fishbone Warehouse layout. Fishbone layouts are non-traditional designs for warehouses that have shown to be more efficient under unit-load operations. This paper presents an analytical study of the design from an optimisation point of view. The authors gain an insight into the characteristics of the layout and present alternatives for different situations of interest in industrial environments. Finally, the authors compare the performance of Fishbone and traditional designs; presenting a formal conception of the expected savings. The authors focus on finding optimal conditions for the most important characteristic of the Fishbone design, which is the slope of the diagonal cross-aisle. The design decisions are modelled as a non-linear optimisation problem and solved using both numerical and exact methods, depending on the most convenient analysis. In addition, the robustness of the results is presented and their practical implications discussed.
Affluent Investors and Mutual Fund Purchases

Probes affluent investor mutual fund investment decisions. Develops several different investor profiles from data on approximately 300 affluent investors. These investor types differ in sources of information regarding mutual fund investments, particularly the use of financial advisers, and in the selection criteria employed for mutual fund purchases. In addition, they have distinguishable mutual fund behaviour and demographic characteristics. Develops specific implications for financial services firms.
Long-Term Manufacturer-Supplier Relationships: Do They Pay off for Supplier Firms?

Recently, there has been a growing trend toward long-term relationships between manufacturers and their suppliers. Although much as been written about the benefits of this shift to manufacturers, little is known about the benefits to supplier firms. In this study, we empirically assess the impact of long-term relationships with specific customers on the performance of supplier firms using cross-sectional and longitudinal information available in the Compustat collection of data bases and the Compact Disclosure data base. Our results indicate that maintaining long-term relationships with select customers does not come at the expense of the rate of sales growth. Suppliers in long-term relationships are able to achieve the same level of growth as firms that employ a transactional approach to servicing their customers. These suppliers are able to reduce costs over time through better inventory utilization; however, this reduction in cost seems to be bargained away by their customers through lower prices over time. Finally, the supplier firms in long-term relationships achieve higher profitability by differentially reducing their discretionary expenses such as selling, general, and administrative overhead costs to a greater extent than their counterparts who use a transactional approach to servicing their customers.
Multiparity Causes Uncoordinated Activity of Pelvic- and Perineal-Striated Muscles and Urodynamic Changes in Rabbits

Temporal and coordinated activation of pelvic- (pubococcygeous) and perineal- (bulbospongiosus and ischiocavernosus) striated muscles occurs during micturition in female rabbits. We have hypothesized that the coordinated activation of pelvic and perineal muscles is modified during the micturition of young multiparous rabbits. Young virgin and multiparous female chinchilla rabbits were used to simultaneously record cystometrograms and electromyograms of the pubococcygeous, ischocavernosus, and bulbospongiosus muscles. Bladder function was assessed using standard urodynamic variables. The temporal coordination of pelvic- and perineal-striated muscle activity was changed in multiparous rabbits. The cystometrogram recordings were different than those obtained from virgin rabbits, as seen in alterations of the threshold volume, the residual volume, the voiding duration, and the maximum pressure. In rabbits, we find that multiparity causes uncoordinated activity of pubococcygeous, ischiocavernosus, and bulbospongiosus muscles and modifies the urodynamics.