Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vascularization of the Optic Pathway *

WHEREAS from the myelo-architectonic point of view the chiasma is merely an organ of transit, this is not so from the vascular point of view; there seems to be a partial dissociation between the myelo-architecture and the angio-architecture. The vascularization of the chiasma has been investigated on the basis of 22 human specimens. The techniques used (dissection after fixation in 10 per cent. formaldehyde, injection of Indian ink, staining with benzidrine, and microradiography) have been discussed in previous publications (Francois, Neetens, and Collette, 1955, 1956; Fran9ois and Neetens, 1956).
Learning mutational graphs of individual tumor evolution from multi-sample sequencing data

Phylogenetic techniques quantify intra-tumor heterogeneity by deconvolving either clonal or mutational trees from multi-sample sequencing data of individual tumors. Most of these methods rely on the well-known infinite sites assumption, and are limited to process either multi-region or single-cell sequencing data. Here, we improve over those methods with TRaIT, a unified statistical framework for the inference of the accumulation order of multiple types of genomic alterations driving tumor development. TRaIT supports both multi-region and single-cell sequencing data, and output mutational graphs accounting for violations of the infinite sites assumption due to convergent evolution, and other complex phenomena that cannot be detected with phylogenetic tools. Our method displays better accuracy, performance and robustness to noise and small sample size than state-of-the-art phylogenetic methods. We show with single-cell data from breast cancer and multi-region data from colorectal cancer that TRaIT can quantify the extent of intra-tumor heterogeneity and generate new testable experimental hypotheses.
Predicting Financial Failure: Some Evidence from New Brunswick Agricultural Co-Ops

Given the essential role co-ops play in the Canadian economy, the primary purpose of this paper is to develop methods to forecast their likelihood of insolvency. However, investor-owner firms form the basic unit of analysis of most popular bankruptcy predictors used in Canada. The question is whether the key underlying elements that differentiates the latter from co-ops justifies deriving specific bankruptcy prediction formulas exclusively for each type of business organization. To that effect, this research evaluates the efficacy of these current predictors and suggests an improved predictor for agricultural co-operatives. Copyright CIRIEC, 2005.
Clinical guide for audiologic tinnitus management I: Assessment.

PURPOSE This article is the first of 2 that present basic guidelines for audiologists to provide clinical management of tinnitus. The method, termed audiologic tinnitus management (ATM), was developed to incorporate management strategies that can be implemented most efficiently by audiologists. METHOD Development of ATM has been drawn from the clinical and research experience of the authors and numerous audiologists. Certain elements of ATM are adapted from the methods of tinnitus masking and tinnitus retraining therapy. Procedures are described in the present article for performing the intake assessment, while the companion article (J. A. Henry, T. L. Zaugg, & M. A. Schechter, 2005) describes treatment methodology. RESULTS Development of ATM has resulted in defined procedures to conduct a basic tinnitus assessment that includes written questionnaires, an intake interview, audiologic evaluation, and a psychoacoustic assessment of tinnitus perceptual characteristics. If patients report a sound tolerance problem (hyperacusis), loudness discomfort levels are measured at audiometric frequencies. There are special procedures for selecting hearing aids, ear-level noise generators, combination devices (noise generator and hearing aid combined), and personal listening devices (i.e., portable radios and tape, CD, and MP3 players). CONCLUSIONS This article explains each of these assessment components in detail. Adoption of the ATM assessment protocol by audiologists can contribute to the establishment of uniform procedures for the clinical management of tinnitus patients.
A2 Pulley Incision or One Slip of the Superficialis Improves Flexor Tendon Repairs

Outcomes of flexor tendon repairs in the area covered by major pulleys are often unpredictable. We performed an in vivo study to investigate biomechanical effects of pulley incision, Kapandji pulley plasty, excision of one slip of the flexor digitorum superficialis, or closure of the incised pulley on function of the profundus tendons. Both long toes (104 total) of 52 leghorn chickens were divided into four experimental groups and one control group. The pulley and flexor digitorum superficialis tendon were subjected to the above-mentioned treatments in four groups, with 22 toes per group, after tendon transection in the A2 pulley area. Eight weeks after surgery, incision of the pulley improved excursion of the flexor digitorum profundus tendon and decreased the work of digital flexion over pulley closure. Resection of the one slip of the flexor digitorum superficialis tendon had results similar to pulley incision. Kapandji pulley plasty did not increase tendon excursion and decrease the work compared with a simpler pulley incision. Adhesions were more severe with pulley plasty or closure than with pulley incision. In this avian model, incision of the pulley or partial flexor digitorum superficialis resection improved outcomes of tendon repairs compared with pulley closure. Kapandji pulley plasty did not improve the outcomes over a simple pulley incision.
“I recycle, I turn out the lights”: understanding the everyday sustainability practices of backpackers

As holidays merge more intimately with the everyday lives of an increasing number of people, questions of sustainability in tourism contexts become ever more urgent. Using the concept of everyday practices, in which sustainability is thought to emerge in the routines of people going about their day-to-day lives, this mixed-method study aimed to understand how sustainability figures in the practices, of backpackers. Findings revealed sustainability to be of minimal concern to most backpackers who nevertheless performed a range of sustainable practices but unintentionally. Environmental sustainability was practised via reduced resource consumption and waste, economic sustainability by working and spending more money overall than other tourist types, and social sustainability through demonstrating cultural respect and community participation. The main factors encouraging sustainable practices amongst backpackers were their low-budget focus and their use as a labour source by industries that require temporary and flexible workers. When backpackers were employed, each facet of sustainability became mutually reinforcing. The results of this study are in contrast to usual perceptions of tourism as a time in which norms of sustainable behaviour are suspended, as backpacking was found to provide opportunities for the performance of more sustainable practices compared to home.
Anorexia Nervosa in Males

The demographic features, clinical picture, antecedent events and family background in 13 male patients with anorexia nervosa are compared with those in a control group of 39 adolescent female anorectics; the general picture of the illness in males is similar to that in females. Focusing on a group of males, usually less vulnerable to anorexia nervosa, can highlight possible predisposing factors.
Apolipoprotein E: risk factor for Alzheimer disease.

The apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) has three common alleles (epsilon 2, epsilon 3, and epsilon 4) that determine six genotypes in the general population. In this study, we examined 77 patients with late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD), along with an equal number of age- and sex-matched controls, for an association with the APOE-epsilon 4 allele. We show that the frequency of this allele among AD patients was significantly higher than that among the control population (.351 vs. .130, P = .000006). The genotype frequencies also differed between the two groups (P = .0002), with the APOE-epsilon 4/epsilon 3 genotype being the most common in the AD group and the APOE-epsilon 3/epsilon 3 being the most common in the control group. In the AD group, homozygosity for epsilon 4 was found in nine individuals, whereas none was found in the control group. The odds ratio for AD, when associated with one or two epsilon 4 alleles, was 4.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9-12.3), while the odds ratio for AD, when associated with heterozygosity for APOE-epsilon 4, was 3.6 (95% CI 1.5-9.8). Finally, the median age at onset among the AD patients decreased from 83 to 78 to 74 years as the number of APOE-epsilon 4 alleles increased from 0 to 1 to 2, respectively (test for trend, P = .001). Our data, which are in agreement with recent reports, suggest that the APOE-epsilon 4 allele is associated with AD and that this allelic variant may be an important risk factor for susceptibility to AD in the general population.
A DNA-based method for detection of Peridermium harknessii, the causal agent of western gall rust

Peridermium harknessii is not present in the southern hemisphere yet it poses a serious threat to Pinus radiata cultivation in exotic forest plantations there. If a suspected incursion were to occur, it would be necessary to rapidly confirm the presence of P. harknessii within non-sporulating galls. With this in mind, we have developed a DNA-based identification system, using the first intergenic spacer region (IGS-1), that is able to detect the presence of the pathogen within galled tissue. The PCR primers are highly specific and with the exception of the closest relative, Cronartium quercuum f. sp. banksianae, they did not cross react with any of the 11 species within the closely related genera Cronartium and Peridermium that were tested. Phylogenetic analysis of the IGS-1 region confirmed that C. quercuum f. sp. banksianae is the closest relative to P. harknessii. The PCR primers and protocol reported here should prove useful in the event of a suspected western gall rust disease outbreak in exotic P. radiata plantations.
Field Dependence of Charge Yield in Silicon Dioxide

New experimental results for the yield of electron-hole pairs in SiO2 at low temperature are inconsistent with the Onsager theory of recombination. A revised model is developed to account for this, taking boundary conditions into effect. The model predicts a strong thickness dependence for yield under low-field conditions that is important at lower temperatures. New definitions for charge yield are proposed that distinguish between the initial escape probability and the net yield after charge transport, along with revised interpretations of older work on charge yield.
Creating and Capturing Value

The authors analyze the creation and capture of private and social value by firms that adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies. Strategic CSR is defined as any “responsible” activity that allows a firm to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, regardless of motive. To provide a roadmap for managers to accomplish this objective, the authors integrate the resource-based theory (RBT) framework with concepts and tools from economics, such as hedonic pricing, contingent valuation, and the new literature on the economics of industrial organization, where CSR is referred to as “the private provision of public goods. ” By linking CSR, RBT, economic models of private provision of public goods, and pricing models, the authors demonstrate how RBT can provide a structure for determining the strategic value of CSR. They then discuss the conditions under which CSR can contribute to sustainable competitive advantage.
Companion animals: Translational scientist’s new best friends

Naturally occurring diseases in companion animals represent an underused resource that holds promise for providing predictive proof of efficacy in the evaluation of new therapeutics and devices. Knowledge and resources derived from veterinary medicine represent an underused resource that could serve as a bridge between data obtained from diseases models in laboratory animals and human clinical trials. Naturally occurring disease in companion animals that display the defining attributes of similar, if not identical, diseases in humans hold promise for providing predictive proof of concept in the evaluation of new therapeutics and devices. Here we outline comparative aspects of naturally occurring diseases in companion animals and discuss their current uses in translational medicine, benefits, and shortcomings. Last, we envision how these natural models of disease might ultimately decrease the failure rate in human clinical trials and accelerate the delivery of effective treatments to the human clinical market.
Auditor independence, auditor specialisation and earnings management: further evidence from Singapore

This study uses data from 298 Singapore publicly listed firms to examine the association between earnings management and two audit value attributes: auditor independence and auditor specialisation. We find firms engaging a specialist auditor had significantly lower levels of abnormal accruals than those using non-specialists. This supports the view industry specialisation better enables an auditor to constrain a client's earnings management. Our findings indicate the lack of a universal association between audit value attributes and earnings management. Results imply recent action of Singapore policymakers to strengthen rules governing audit independence as related to non-audit services may have been premature.
Revisiting Gibrat's law using panel SURADF tests

In this study, the newly-developed Panel SURADF tests advanced by Breuer et al. (2001) are used to investigate whether the growth rate of electronics firms is independent of their size, as postulated by Gibrat's (1931) Law of Proportionate Effects. Time-series data for the total assets of 48 electronic firms in Taiwan during the 1995–2004 period are used. Whereas other panel-based unit root tests are joint tests of a unit root for all members of a panel and are incapable of determining the mix of I(0) and I(1) series in a panel setting, the Panel SURADF tests investigate a separate unit root null hypothesis for each individual panel member and are, therefore, able to identify how many and which series in the panel are stationary processes. The empirical results from several panel-based unit root tests indicate that the total assets of all firms studied here are nonstationary, implying that Gibrat's Law holds for all 48 firms; however, Breuer et al.'s (2001) Panel SURADF tests unequivocally indicate that Gibrat's Law is only valid for 27 of those firms.
Global Crisis

The global economic crisis precipitated by the US financial collapse has spread to India first in the financial markets and has now started impacting the real economy. India was hit by the global crisis at a time when the economy was already slowing down and the crisis has brought the growth sharply down in the second half of 2008–09 and is forecast to bring it further down in 2009–10. The number of policy measures taken so far to combat the crisis will at best soften the blow but will not lead to a revival of the economy to a higher level of growth. The crisis has shattered business and consumer confidence, raised uncertainty and brought down investment and consumption demand. In this context, fiscal and monetary policies have a limited impact in stimulating the economy. Kick-starting the long-pending structural and regulatory reforms can help a strong economic recovery.
The Interaction of Race & Theological Orientation in Congregational Social Service Provision

This project continues the tradition of scholarly attention to the social service activities of African-American religious organizations. Analysis of data from the 1998 National Congregations Study reveals that African-American congregations are not more or less likely to support social services in general. They are, however, more likely to support certain types of programs. Specifically, these are programs in the areas of substance abuse, mentoring/tutoring, and non-religious education. Further analysis of NCS indicates that, among African-American congregations, theological conservatism is associated with a greater likelihood of supporting social service programs. This runs counter to existing assumptions about theological conservatism, which has previously been associated with a focus on “other-worldly” concerns, such as getting into heaven. As such, theological conservatism has never been thought to encourage concern over “this-worldly” issues such as poverty, homelessness, and other social problems that are part of the social service realm. While these assumptions about theological conservatism hold true for non-African-American congregations, the same cannot be said for AfricanAmerican congregations. This project attempts to figure out why this is the case. Does theological conservatism mean something different in African-American congregations than what it does in other congregations? If so, what are these different meanings? To answer these questions, the project includes nineteen interviews with key informants, such as ministers, priests, or other staff people/leaders, from local religious
The Way Ahead for Exchange-Traded Funds: Results from a European Survey

This article describes the role of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the implementation of exposure to various asset classes, as shown by a recent survey of European professional investors and asset managers. It provides insights into the current use of liquid index trackers and into the prospects, as revealed by survey responses, for growth in the use of these instruments. The survey is based on a questionnaire that was addressed to industry participants in Europe in early 2008. The study generated responses from 111 Europe-based asset managers and institutional investors. It is worth noting that the survey garnered responses from the major industry players, as is evidenced by the 12.3% of institutions that manage in excess of €100 billion. Selected findings of the survey are highlighted in this article. The findings show that liquidity is perceived as a key advantage of ETFs over indexing vehicles like traditional index funds and total returns swaps. Likewise, the tracking quality of ETFs is judged to be highly satisfactory compared to other indexing vehicles. The findings also shed some light on the methods investors use to evaluate liquidity and tracking error.
Essays on Firm Dynamics, Endogenous Growth and International Trade

Recent empirical firm level studies reveal the structural heterogeneity of firms in process and product innovation, as well as the central role of product quality in determining world trade patterns and intensities. This calls for a better understanding of the link between firm heterogeneity and the innovation and export decisions of firms which are at the base of productivity growth and, hence, economic growth and development. My dissertation contributes to this debate focusing on the supply side. I propose a novel way to model the production technology of firms by introducing two attributes of firm heterogeneity: cost efficiency and product quality. The goal of the first thesis chapter is to study the effects of process and product innovation on firm dynamics, productivity and endogenous long run growth. In the second chapter an open economy framework with trade between symmetric countries is analyzed. Here the focus is on quantifying the impact of trade as well as trade liberalization on firm innovation dynamics and productivityand aggregate growth. The third chapter abstracts from endogenous growth and examines the role of the two attributes of firm heterogeneity in shaping the trade patterns and intensities within and across developed and developing countries. Benedetti Fasil, Cristiana (2011), Essays on Firm Dynamics, Endogenous Growth and International Trade European University Institute DOI: 10.2870/28221
Human intervertebral disc cell morphology and cytoskeletal composition: a preliminary study of regional variations in health and disease

Classically, intervertebral disc cells have been described as fibrocytic in the anulus fibrosus and chondrocytic in the nucleus pulposus. Recent animal studies, however, have suggested that disc cell morphology may be more complex than previously considered. Here, by utilizing labelling of components of the cytoskeleton in combination with confocal microscopy, we have examined the detailed morphology of human intervertebral disc cells in pathological and non‐pathological tissue. Filamentous‐actin‐ and vimentin‐positive cells that appeared either fibrocytic or chondrocytic were observed in all intervertebral discs. However, in localized areas of the disc, stellate cells that extended multiple, branching cytoplasmic processes into their surrounding matrix were also seen. This stellate appearance formed a marked feature of disc cells regionally in certain pathologies, i.e. in cells of the outer anulus fibrosus in scoliotic discs and in inner anulus/nucleus pulposus cells in one spondylolisthetic disc. We conclude that the phenotypic variation of human intervertebral disc cells should be extended to include cells with a stellate appearance, which may be more prevalent in tissue that has been subjected to abnormal load or tension.
Corporate Governance Policy and Company Performance: The Portuguese Case

Several supervisory authorities and governmental working groups issued corporate governance best practice codes for listed companies during the nineties. In this paper, we used a unique database that allowed us to analyse the relationship between the level of compliance of the code of best practice issued by the Portuguese Securities Market Commission and the returns of the concerned companies. By using a multifactor model, one can conclude that there is a positive relationship between the compliance of some of these recommendations and the returns that were determined. The recommendations on the structure and functioning of the executive board deserve a special attention. However, globally, CMVM's code of best practice doesn't have a systematic effect on firm returns.
Quantity and Price Adjustment in Long-Term Contracts: A Case Study of Petroleum Coke

M UCH economic activity takes place within a framework of complex, long-term contracts. While economists have shown increased interest in these contracts, surprisingly little is known about them, or, indeed, about how to analyze the contracting activity of private economic actors. A case study of the actual contracts used in one industry could provide sorely needed data about the way in which reasonably clever businessmen and lawyers cope with problems scholars might consider intractable. In this article, we provide such an analysis of contracts concerning a particular product-petroleum coke. We focus on the problems of quantity and price adjustment. We do not deal, except in passing, with the question of why the parties chose long-term contracts rather than short-term agreements or vertical integration by contract rather than by ownership. In 1964, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an investigation into the possible anticompetitive effect of the long-term contracts under which eight oil refineries sold petroleum coke to the Great Lakes Carbon Corporation (GLC). The investigation culminated in a 1973 decision that these contracts violated the antitrust statutes.1 The contracts