Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chemotherapy for Gastric Carcinoma

Gastric carcinoma is a major health problem around the world. Its incidence, however, has steadily dropped globally since World War II. This decreased incidence has been termed an unplanned success.  Although the incidence of gastric cancer is lowest in North America, it still ranks as the eighth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. In 1998, more than 22,600 new cases of gastric cancer are expected to occur in the United States, and 13,700 deaths are anticipated as a result. [1] Patients with gastric carcinoma often present with advanced disease, because early detection is neither practiced nor possible in many countries. Screening for early detection of gastric cancer is carried out on a limited basis in Japan. Approximately 50% of patients are diagnosed with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic cancer. Median survival for patients with advanced disease ranges from 6 to 10 months. [2]
Reassessing the Structural Covariates of Cross-National Infant Homicide Victimization

Existing literature shows only four cross-national, longitudinal studies of infant homicide victimization. More than a decade has passed since this issue has been taken up in the literature. Consequently, our understanding of infant homicide over time at the cross-national level is limited. In this article, we build on the findings from these four studies using an expanded sample of countries, a longer time series, more valid measures, additional variables, and tests of gender differences. Our expanded analysis confirms many of the findings in the earlier studies but with a few important departures. As in earlier studies, the results confirm that female labor force participation and income inequality are significant predictors of infant homicide victimization rates. But we also found that compared with other countries, those that scored highest on culture of violence measures actually had significantly lower rates of infant homicide victimization.
Corporate Governance: A Review of the Role of Banks

This book provides an insightful view of major issues in the economics of corporate governance (CG) and mergers. It presents a systematic update on the developments in the two fields during the last decade, as well as highlighting the neglected topics in CG research, such as the role of boards, CG and public interest and the relation of CG to mergers. Two important conclusions can be drawn from this book: the first is that corporate governance systems that better align shareholders’ and managers’ interests lead to better corporate performance; second, there is an important relationship between CG structures and the quality of firm decision-making, one of the most important being the decision to merge or take over another firm.
Fatigue and daytime sleepiness rating scales in myotonic dystrophy: a study of reliability

Objectives: To assess the reliability of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Daytime Sleepiness Scale (DSS), Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS), and Krupp’s Fatigue Severity Scale (KFSS) in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). Methods: In total, 27 patients with DM1 were administered the questionnaires on two occasions, with a 2 week interval. Internal consistency and test retest reliability were measured using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and Cronbach’s α, Cohen’s κ, and Goodman-Kruskal’s γ coefficients. Results: Internal consistency of the CFS and KFSS were adequate (α>0.70) but that of the ESS was weak (α = 0.24). Both daytime sleepiness and fatigue rating scales showed significant test retest reliability. Test retest reliability for individual items revealed inconsistencies for some ESS and CFS items. Conclusions: Reliability of the CFS, DSS, and KFSS was high, allowing their use for individual patients with DM1, but that of the ESS was lower, rendering its current usage in DM1 questionable. Fatigue rating scales such as the KFSS, which are based on the behavioural consequences of fatigue, may constitute a more accurate and comprehensive measure of fatigue severity in the DM1 population.
Uterine bacterial flora and uterine lesions in bitches with cystic endometrial hyperplasia (pyometra)

Thirty-eight complete genital tracts were obtained fresh from local veterinary practices after bitches had been ovario-hysterectomised for the treatment of cystic endometrial hyperplasia (pyometra). The aerobic and anaerobic culture of swabs obtained aseptically from the uterine lumen demonstrated the presence of Escherichia coli in 28 of the 29 cases from which bacteria were isolated and, from 25, a pure culture was obtained. Sixteen different serotypes were identified from 24 genital tracts; 032K+ CNF+ was isolated from four of 16 cases and 04K-; from three of 16 cases. Cytotoxin necrotising factors (CNFS) were identified in seven of the 16 serotypes; they included 02, 04, 06, 022, 025, 045 and 075, which except for 06 and 045 were haemolytic. Strains 04K- and 07K+ completely destroyed the integrity of the endometrial epithelium whereas 088K+ and 088K- had the least effect. The scores for the reduction in the integrity of the endometrial epithelium and the degree of infiltration of inflammatory cells were greater in the presence of CNF 1.
Spectrum of GBA mutations in patients with Gaucher disease from Slovakia: identification of five novel mutations.

BACKGROUND Gaucher disease is the most common lysosomal storage disorder and is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase. Enzyme deficiency leads to the accumulation of undegraded substrates, mainly in cells of the monocyte/ macrophage lineage, which is responsible for the clinical manifestations of the disease. To date, no study has attempted to identify the mutation spectrum of the glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA) in Slovak patients OBJECTIVES To identify mutations in 14 Slovak patients with confirmed glucocerebrosidase deficiency. METHODS Using molecular genetics methods PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) and direct sequencing of coding region GBA we identified the spectrum of mutations in our patients. RESULTS Five mutations (N370S, L444P, G377S, D409H and RecNciI) accounted for 75% of the mutant alleles. The remaining 25% were rare and probably individual mutations. CONCLUSIONS The mutational spectrum in our patients is similar to that observed in other European countries and corresponds to a Caucasian population, with N370S, L444P, RecNciI being the most common. Interestingly, mutation G377S was more frequent in our patients as compared to other published data. The C4W, L96P, H311N, 745delG and 1127_1128delTT mutations are described here for the first time in Gaucher disease, contributing to the panel of published GBA mutations.
The Asymmetric Market Reaction of Stockholders and Bondholders to the Implementation of Early-Warnings Pre Going Concern Opinion

Auditing standards requiring auditors to issue going concern opinions (GCOs) have existed for several decades. The FASB exposure draft of June 2013 suggests early disclosures of uncertainties about an entity’s ability to continue as going concerns (GCUs). The FASB’s board argues that the proposed amendments would improve the timeliness and the quality of disclosures of going concern opinions. In Israel, since 2008, about 70% of the publicly traded companies implemented the two-phase models for going concern auditors’ opinions. We utilize a hand-collected dataset of 143 GCOs of publicly traded companies for the years 2007-2013. We examine the stockholders’ and bondholders’ reactions to GCOs preceded by early warnings of uncertainty (GCUs) compared to companies where the GCO disclosure tracks a “clean” opinion. The findings indicate that the equity and debt market reacts to GCUs in a negative and economically significant fashion. In addition, we find that GCUs reduce the negative market reaction to GCOs. This finding indicates that GCU announcements improve the timing and quality of the financial statement disclosure.
Government`s Role in Korea`s Economic Development from a Perspective of the Institutions Hypothesis

This paper divides economic institutions into three categories-coordination institutions, property rights institutions, and contracting institutions-and from this perspective, analyzes the role of government in Korea`s economic development from the 1960s to the 1980s. This analysis suggests that the Korean development experience is not in line with the conclusions of Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (2001), since property rights institutions did not play a significant role in Korea`s economic development. Instead, the Korean government acted as coordination institutions, which effectively overcame the coordination failure of the market and succeeded in generating effective demand to spur sustainable growth. These results invite further comparative and empirical studies on how Korea came to have a dictator whose goal was consistent with the economic growth of the nation.
EXAMINING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ATTITUDES OF BUSINESS STUDENTS: THE IMPACT OF PARTICIPATION IN THE SMALL BUSINESS INSTITUTE ®

Students enrolled in the Small Business Institute (SBI) at several universities completed the Entrepreneurial Attitudes Orientation survey. A pre-post test design was used to determine if participation in the course affected students’ entrepreneurial attitudes. Past research suggests that an entrepreneurial drive can be developed, and that a central focus of entrepreneurship education should be the development of positive attitudes. Results strongly supported the notion that completion of the SBI had a major impact on students’ entrepreneurial attitudes. Furthermore, it was found such that women’s attitudes were more likely to be strengthened than were males’.
The Effect of Board Structure and Institutional Ownership Structure on Earnings Management

The study examines the role of outside directors and institutional shareholders in constraining the earnings management activities. A sample of 613 firms from construction, industrial products and consumer products sectors were selected from the main board. The time period covered for this study was from year 2001 to 2003. Modified Jones Model with cross sectional approach was employed in this study. The finding shows that magnitude of earnings management in Malaysian listed firms has approximately 16% of prior year total assets. Most firms manage the earnings upward rather than downwards. No relationship was observed between the degree of earnings manipulation and the proportion of outside directors and institutional shareholders. However, there is weak evidence to show that outside directors have some effect in curbing the earnings management in the construction sector. Adding more outside directors in the board and having institutional shareholders may not be able to reduce earnings management practices if the ownership of a firm is highly concentrated and the process of selecting outside directors is not clearly stated and transparent.
Corporate Tax Audits: Evidence from Malaysia

Tax audit, a key feature of the self-assessment system (SAS), may have a significant deterrent effect on taxpayers. Previous studies show that the audit experience may influence taxpayers’ compliance behaviour. Though the SAS has been implemented on companies in Malaysia since 2001, information on the efficacy of tax audit activities conducted by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), particularly feedback from audited taxpayers, is very limited. Survey data are collected from corporate taxpayers to examine the extent of their audit experience. Findings from the study are predominantly positive and should be beneficial for policy makers, particularly the tax authority, in their effort to review and improve the current tax system. Field of Research: taxation, audit, self assessment system, developing countries
Upper Respiratory Tract Bacterial Carriage in Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Children in a Semi-arid Area of Western Australia

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis are associated with otitis media (OM). Indigenous children experience particularly high rates of OM. Few studies worldwide have described upper respiratory tract (URT) carriage in Indigenous and non-Indigenous children living in the same area. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe URT bacterial carriage in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in the Kalgoorlie-Boulder area, Western Australia, as part of an investigation into causal pathways to OM. Methods: Five hundred four and 1045 nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from 100 Aboriginal and 180 non-Aboriginal children, respectively, followed from birth to age 2 years. Standard procedures were used to identify bacteria. Results: Overall carriage rates of S. pneumoniae, M. catarrhalis and H. influenzae in Aboriginal children were 49%, 50% and 41%, respectively, and 25%, 25% and 11% in non-Aboriginal children. By age 2 months S. pneumoniae and M. catarrhalis had been isolated from 37% and 36% of Aboriginal children and from 11% and 12% of non-Aboriginal children, respectively. From age 3 months onward, carriage rates in Aboriginal children were 51% to 67% for S. pneumoniae and M. catarrhalis and 42% to 62% for H. influenzae; corresponding figures for non-Aboriginal children were 26% to 37% for S. pneumoniae and M. catarrhalis and 11% to 18% for H. influenzae. Non-Aboriginal children had higher carriage rates in winter than in summer, but season had little effect in Aboriginal children. Staphylococcus aureus carriage was highest under age 1 month (55% Aboriginal, 61% non-Aboriginal) and was always higher in non-Aboriginal than Aboriginal children. Conclusions: Interventions are needed to reduce high transmission and carriage rates, particularly in Aboriginal communities, to avoid the serious consequences of OM.
Retrospective reports of strategic‐level managers: Guidelines for increasing their accuracy

Strategic management studies frequently involve obtaining retrospective data from strategic-level managers. The use of this data acquisition methodology has received relatively little codification and little critical review or comment. This seems unfortunate, as discussion and codification of the methodology could be useful for those academic researchers and corporate staff who study strategic decisions and organizational processes and for those managers who may be asked to provide the retrospective data. This paper is an attempt to remedy the current state of affairs. In particular, the paper reviews several sources of the data inaccuracies that commonly affect retrospective data and offers guidelines for reducing the occurrence or magnitude of these inaccuracies.
Is AGREE II a counsel of perfection? A letter commenting on Lytvyn et al 1

gene in our study confirms that this carbapenemase gene can be readily mobilized among different species of Enterobacteriaceae. Moreover, E. coli TOP10 transformants containing the blaNDM-1 gene presented similar characteristics of the original clinical isolate, with increased MIC to β-lactams and positive results of the combined-disc assay with EDTA. Although a plasmid of the same molecular weight (~110 bp) was observed in 6 of 9 transformants, the identification of other plasmids (~52 bp and ~154 bp) suggests that the blaNDM-1 gene is located in different mobile genetic elements. Molecular investigations involving both the characterization of isolates of NDM-positive bacteria and the characterization of the plasmids containing blaNDM-1 genes reveal a highly complex picture. The plasmids encoding NDM also appear highly heterogeneous based on molecular size, incompatibility type, and linked antibiotic-resistance genes. Moreover, our data support the findings from Brazil in which a variety of plasmids were found. The gene blaNDM-1 was identified on plasmid with an estimated size of 420–490 kb in Enterobacter hormaechei. In Enterobacter cloacae, Providencia rettgeri, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, the plasmid was reported to be ~230 kb. Escherichia coli and Enterobacter hormaechei had plasmid sizes of 70 kb and 90 kb, respectively. The plasmid size in Acinetobacter baumannii was 100 kb. In summary, the results of this study demonstrate the variety of plasmids observed in the transformants and suggests that strains producing blaNDM-1 harbor plasmids of different sizes, demonstrating the plasticity of these mobile genetic elements. These findings highlight the need for continuous monitoring of the presence of carbapenemases. Our results contribute to the understanding of carbapenem resistance in Enterobacteriaceae and to the molecular characterization of NDM-1–producing isolates in Brazil.
RECURRENT GENITAL CANDIDOSIS OF WOMEN : CONSEQUENCE OF REINFECTION OR RELAPSE

A most interesting fact for scientific investigations is that 5% of women are afflicted with recurrent genital candidosis (RGC) characterized by three or more genital, fungal infection episodes per a year. The data analysis is also interesting because it reveals that the most significant risk factors such as pregnancy, diabetes mellitus, long term use of antibiotics and citostatics, hormonal therapy and idiopathic or acquired immunodeficient conditions have not been verified. There are many different hypotheses about RGC pathogenesis, but two of them have set the course for further research. The first maintains that antimycotic therapy leads to eradication of Candida fungi from vaginal mucosa and that the recurrent episodes of genital candidosis are caused by re-infection. The second hypothesis has an absolutely opposite starting ground. According to this theory, the frequent RGC episodes have been caused by a failure to eradicate Candida sp. from female genital tract. According to this theory, RGC is not caused by re-infection, but by relapse.
Did the Adoption of IAS/IFRS by German Firms in 2005 Improve Earnings’ Predictive Power with regard to Forecasting Future Operating Cash Flows?: An Empirical Analysis of German Publicly Listed Firms

This study examines whether the adoption of International Accounting Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards by German firms in 2005 improved earnings' predictive power with regard to forecasting future operating cash flow. We consider earnings' predictive power as one dimension of accounting quality. We use a data sample of German DAX and MDAX firms ranging from 2001 to 2011. The sample is split into two distinct subsamples (time period before and after 2005, the year of the adoption of International Accounting Standards) to test whether earnings' predictive power has changed. We employ a disaggregated cash flow forecasting model in which earnings are split into the components cash flow and accruals. Accruals are further decomposed into individual accrual measures. We predict that the adoption of International Accounting Standards affected accruals differently and that the model's overall predictive power improves after the adoption. Our results do not support the IASB's claim that International Accounting Standards are superior to German-GAAP and have a significantly positive impact on earnings' predictive power.
Fact or fiction? An empirical analysis of cooperation between mass sport providers at the local level

Abstract This paper explores inter-organisational relationships, in terms of cooperation, between three main types of sport providers at the local level: voluntary sport clubs, for-profit fitness and health clubs, and local sports authorities. Both within- and cross-sector cooperation are analysed and related to organisational characteristics as well as the perceived competition from other sport providers. Data are obtained from three quantitative panel surveys: the Flemish Sport Club Panel 2009, the Flemish Fitness Panel 2009, and the Flemish Local Sports Authorities Panel 2010. The results show that sport providers influence and are influenced by other sport providers in their environment. The three selected groups of sport providers differ with regard to the occurrence and the nature of the cooperation. Local sports authorities (i.e., public sector) are found to be the most cooperative sport provider. Evidence is provided for the use of cooperation as a strategy to meet competitive challenges.
Genetic Diversity and the Efficacy of Purifying Selection across Plant and Animal Species

A central question in evolutionary biology is why some species have more genetic diversity than others and a no less important question is why selection efficacy varies among species. Although these questions have started to be tackled in animals, they have not been addressed to the same extent in plants. Here, we estimated nucleotide diversity at synonymous, πS, and nonsynonymous sites, πN, and a measure of the efficacy of selection, the ratio πN/πS, in 34 animal and 28 plant species using full genome data. We then evaluated the relationship of nucleotide diversity and selection efficacy with effective population size, the distribution of fitness effect and life history traits. In animals, our data confirm that longevity and propagule size are the variables that best explain the variation in πS among species. In plants longevity also plays a major role as well as mating system. As predicted by the nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution, the log of πN/πS decreased linearly with the log of πS but the slope was weaker in plants than in animals. This appears to be due to a higher mutation rate in long lived plants, and the difference disappears when πS is rescaled by the mutation rate. Differences in the distribution of fitness effect of new mutations also contributed to variation in πN/πS among species.
Gonadotropin-Independent Proliferation of the Pale Type A Spermatogonia in the Adult Rhesus Monkey (Macaca mulatta)1

Abstract The goal of the present study was to examine the relative roles of testosterone (T) and FSH in the proliferation and differentiation of pale type A (Ap) spermatogonia in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta). Twenty adult male monkeys were treated with daily injections of a GnRH-receptor antagonist, acyline, to suppress endogenous gonadotropin secretion during an experiment comprising three phases. Phase 1 established a chronic hypogonadotropic state marked by a profound decrease in testicular size. During phase 2, half the monkeys were implanted with T-filled capsules, and the other half received control implants. Treatment with T produced circulating T levels of approximately 15 ng/ml and normal testicular T content. At the end of phase 2, monkeys were fitted with indwelling i.v. catheters and housed in remote sampling cages for the final phase. During phase 3, five monkeys from the T- and non-T-treated groups were stimulated with recombinant human FSH. The remaining five monkeys from each group received an infusion of vehicle. On the last day of FSH or vehicle infusion, monkeys were bilaterally castrated after receiving an i.v. bolus of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). The BrdU labeling of Ap spermatogonia was robust in the hypogonadotropic group and was uninfluenced by treatment with T and FSH, either alone or in combination. In contrast, both T and FSH stimulated spermatogonial differentiation, and this effect was amplified by combined treatment. We conclude that marked Ap spermatogonial proliferation occurs constitutively and in a gonadotropin-independent manner and that differentiation of Ap into B spermatogonia is absolutely gonadotropin dependent and may be driven by either T or FSH.