Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ageing diminishes endothelium‐dependent vasodilatation and tetrahydrobiopterin content in rat skeletal muscle arterioles

Ageing reduces endothelium‐dependent vasodilatation through an endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS) signalling pathway. The purpose of this study was to determine whether arginase activity diminishes endothelium‐dependent vasodilatation in skeletal muscle arterioles from old rats, and whether NOS substrate (l‐arginine) and cofactor (tetrahydrobiopterin; BH4) concentrations are reduced. First‐order arterioles were isolated from the soleus muscle of young (6 months old) and old (24 months old) male Fischer 344 rats. In vitro changes in luminal diameter in response to stepwise increases in flow were determined in the presence of the NOS inhibitor NG‐nitro‐l‐arginine methyl ester (l‐NAME, 10−5 mol l−1), the arginase inhibitor Nω‐hydroxy‐nor‐l‐arginine (NOHA, 5 × 10−4 mol l−1), exogenous l‐arginine (3 × 10−3 mol l−1) or the precursor for BH4 synthesis sepiapterin (1 μmol l−1). Arteriolar l‐arginine and BH4 content were determined via HPLC. Ageing decreased flow‐mediated vasodilatation by 52%, and this difference was abolished with NOS inhibition. Neither inhibition of arginase activity nor addition of exogenous l‐arginine had any effect on flow‐mediated vasodilatation; arteriolar l‐arginine content was also not different between age groups. BH4 content was lower in arterioles from old rats (94 ± 8 fmol (mg tissue)−1) relative to controls (234 ± 21 fmol (mg tissue)−1), and sepiapterin elevated flow‐mediated vasodilatation in arterioles from old rats. These results demonstrate that the impairment of endothelium‐dependent vasodilatation induced by old age is due to an altered nitric oxide signalling mechanism in skeletal muscle arterioles, but is not the result of increased arginase activity and limited l‐arginine substrate. Rather, the age‐related deficit in flow‐mediated vasodilatation appears to be the result, in part, of limited BH4 bioavailability.
Great Expectations: Benchmarking for Best Value

Many local authorities have embarked on benchmarking as one way of satisfying the Government's requirement that local authorities provide 'best value' services. This article suggests that the Government's initial enthusiasm for benchmarking was based on an incomplete understanding of the previous experiences of benchmarking in the local government sector. The most recent pronouncements make little mention of benchmarking, but there has been no explicit statement that it is no longer a key feature of best value. Local authorities are investing in developing benchmarking technology that may well fail to pay back in terms of meeting best value stipulations or in satisfying the authorities' own internal management needs. The authors suggest how local authority benchmarking efforts might be redirected to better effect.
Dividend Policy, Ownership Structure and Corporate Governance: An Empirical Analysis of Indian Firms

In this article, we investigate the possible association between the firm's ownership structure and dividend policy and whether the corporate governance (CG) practices adopted by the firm have any impact on dividend policy. In India the presence of family-run firms, with concentrated ownership, is a reality and we try to understand whether such firms have any significantly different approach to dividend policy compared to non-family-run companies.The use of debt by firms in their capital structure acts as an additional monitoring mechanism and we propose to analyse whether this has any impact on dividend policy.We explore the determinants of dividend policy of Indian firms. Thus, firm characteristics which seem to have an impact on dividend policy, like profitability, liquidity, growth, income volatility, size and age are investigated. We use a panel of 51 top Indian listed firms, in terms of market capitalisation (BSE 100 and NIFTY 100), over the 5-year period from 2007–2008 to 2011–2012 for our analysis.We conclude that the CG variables, namely, board size, independent directors and the proportion of non-executive directors on the board have significant impact on the dividend policy of the firm.The proportion of cash and cash equivalent to total asset, used as a measure of firm liquidity, also has an influence on the dividend policy. Growth opportunities have a positive influence on the dividend policy of firms.
Bank Risk Taking, Credit Booms and Monetary Policy

This paper investigates the risk-taking channel of monetary policy on the asset side of banks' balance sheets. We use a factor-augmented vector autoregression (FAVAR) model to show that aggregate lending standards of U.S. banks, e.g. their collateral requirements for firms, are significantly loosened in response to an unexpected decrease in the Federal Funds rate. Based on this evidence, we reformulate the costly state verification (CSV) contract, embed it in a dynamic general equilibrium model, and show that - consistent with our empirical finding - a monetary easing implies an expansion of bank lending for a given amount of borrower collateral. The model also predicts a delayed increase in borrowers' default risk.
Fertility in survivors of childhood cancer.

The advances in treatment in recent decades have resulted in a continuous increase in the long-term survival probability after cancer in childhood (currently around 80% in Germany [www.kinderkrebsregister.de]). Many former patients want to start a family. Staff members at the German Childhood Cancer Registry (GCCR) occasionally have personal contact with former patients (1). Anecdotally, we observe that the desire to have children plays an important part in their lives. It seems that concern about the health of any children they might have outweighs the question of their own fertility. Plainly, the wish for children is not always put into practice. Registry studies from Italy and Finland, covering 6000 and 26 000 patients respectively, concur in showing that survivors of childhood cancer become parents around half as often as members of control groups (2, 3). Both studies report a particularly high rate of childlessness for brain tumor survivors. It can be assumed that the figures for Germany are similar.
The Evolution of Japanese Subcontracting

The authors trace the development of Japanese subcontracting from just after World War I when the labor market in Japan divided into two areas: large firms, especially heavy industries, and the rest of the economy. During World War II, the demand for munitions, cheap labor, changes in infrastructure and technology, and politics led to the further development of subcontracting. After the war, government protections aided its continued growth, until a major transformation in the 1960s during Japan's high-growth economy. The modern form of Japanese subcontracting relies on distinct practices that have developed around the system of clustered control and joint problem solving: Target costing. Japanese manufacturers lower costs of new products at the design stage by first determining the sale price, decomposing the price into desired profit and costs, and then breaking down costs to evaluate and price every part. Throughout the process, suppliers provide input. Value analysis. In joint problem-solving with prime contractors and subcontractors, Japanese manufacturers decompose increasingly complex cost structures to identify cost-sensitive elements item by item. Bilateral design. Modularization, which leads to cost reductions and ease of design changes, results from suppliers' proposals. Subcontractor evaluation. The prime contractor continually evaluates subcontractors' performance on quality, price, delivery, engineering, management competence, and long-term viability. Purchasing agents' role. Purchasing agents are not mere negotiators but have the technical knowledge to evaluate subcontractors' competence and teach them new production systems. Nishiguchi and Brookfield address several prevalent theories for the evolution and growth of Japanese subcontracting: dualism, flexible specialization, transaction cost economics, and cultural specificity. In their view, no single theory can fully explain the growth of subcontracting. Instead, they posit, it is the product of interaction among market demand, politics, technology, and producer strategy.
Motivational Assessment of Construction Engineers

This paper examines motivational measures of engineers at a public construction organization, applying Herzberg's two-factor model of motivators and hygiene factors. The study measures the perception of individuals regarding satisfaction and dissatisfaction from the particular motivational element; obtains an evaluation of the relative importance of these elements, and then combines these two measures to produce an indicator called development index for each motivational element. The relative importance of elements and the satisfaction experience are vastly different from Herzberg's classical 40-year old study, which indicates that modem perspectives on motivation are changed. The category of salary exhibited the greatest change in relative importance. The organization studied is analyzed for the motivation prevalent; the development index indicates that there are some serious issues that need to be confronted by the organization's leadership for job enrichment.
Residency Training in Advance Care Planning: Can It Be Done in the Outpatient Clinic?

Resident physicians are expected to assist their outpatients to understand and complete advance directives, but their efficacy in doing so remains uncertain. After receiving educational training, internal medicine residents identified at-risk patients and solicited them about advance directives. Residents completed pretest and posttest questionnaires that assessed their knowledge, skills, attitude, and comfort with advance directives. Patients were also surveyed about their attitudes regarding advance directives. Ten internal medicine residents and 88 patients participated. Residents' self-assessed knowledge rose from 6.0 to 9.2 on a 10-point Likert scale. Skills using advance directives increased from 4.0 to 7.9, attitudes improved from 6.0 to 8.4, and comfort rose from 5.4 to 8.9. Eighty-four percent of patients expressed interest in completing advance directives, and 16% actually completed documents. An educational intervention improved knowledge, skills, attitudes, and comfort with advance directives among internal medicine residents practicing in the outpatient setting. Meanwhile, patients demonstrated a strong interest in completing advance directives.
Is Empowerment Just a Fad? Control, Decision Making, and IT

Malone suggests that greater decentralization in business is a response to fundamental changes in the location of decision making; the changes are enabled by the dramatically decreasing costs of IT. A central issue for organizations in the twenty-first century, the author posits, will be how to balance top-down control with bottom-up empowerment. He proposes radically decentralized organizations such as the Internet as new models for organizing work. Malone examines the three stages in the relationship between lowered communication costs and the economics of decision-making structures. When communication costs are high, decision makers are independent and decentralized; for example, people in tribes, villages, and towns. When costs fall, decision makers become centralized, as in large, global corporations. As costs fall further, connected, decentralized decision makers can combine the best information from anywhere with their own local knowledge, energy, and creativity. Malone uses the history of retailing as an example. Mom and pop stores with unconnected, decentralized decision making are replaced by Wal-Mart type stores with connected, decentralized decision making via electronic ordering and inventory systems. The Internet is an even more decentralized form of retailing in which anyone can establish a global sales operation. The author sees three types of decision makers: cowboys, who are independent and decentralized and have low communication needs; commanders, who are centralized and, like military commanders, have high needs for communication; and cyber-cowboys, who are connected and decentralized and make independent decisions based on large amounts of information from electronic networks. Three IT-related factors determine where decision making in an organization occurs or is most desirable: (1) decision information ? IT enables organizations to communicate information to people who have the knowledge, experience, and capabilities to make decisions; (2) trust ? IT can increase trust by making remote decision makers more effective, controlling them, and socializing them; (3) motivation ? IT enables people to make their own decisions about how to do their work. Autonomy makes them enjoy their work more. In radically decentralized organizations, Malone sees power emanating from the bottom rather than from the top. Who makes the decisions and who can overrule decisions will become crucial issues. In a growing knowledge-based economy, empowered decision makers enabled by new IT will have increasingly important roles.
An application of European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI) in business to business (B2B) context

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the most important antecedents of customer loyalty in business-to-business (B2B) context using European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI) model. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire is designed consisting of measures of customer loyalty gathered mainly from previous related studies. A survey of business customers in construction and mining equipment industry in Iran is conducted, and a total of 90 responses are obtained. The collected data are analyzed according to the structural equation modeling technique using partial least square path modeling software. Findings – The ECSI model shows sufficient explanatory power in explaining loyalty in the B2B context. Adding trust to the original model leads to a better explanation of loyalty in the proposed model. In this model, corporate image is the main route to predict loyalty, while satisfaction, complaint handling and trust also are important. Although there is no direct effect of perceived quality, perceived va.
ECOLOGICAL TOURISM - A FORM OF RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

Ecological tourism or ecotourism is, more than any other field of activity, depending on the environment, it represents "the matter was first" purpose and scope of work and progress, the support - frame and carrier resources. In these conditions, the relationship ecological tourism / ecotourism -environment is crucial, representing the environmental protection condition "sine qua non" of this tourism development. In these circumstances, it is development ecological tourism / ecotourism on the principles of responsible tourism, and this paper aims to identify the coordinates of the ecological tourism / ecotourism is a form of responsible tourism.
SELF-EFFICACY AND LOCUS OF CONTROL AFFECT MANAGEMENT OF AGGRESSION BY MENTAL HEALTH NURSES

The safe and effective management of aggression has become an increasingly critical skill for mental health nurses, particularly those working in acute inpatient settings. There is considerable evidence to suggest that the psychological constructs of self-efficacy and locus of control are closely related to work performance in a variety of occupations. By drawing upon literature published in the past 15 years, this paper highlights this evidence and draws attention to the relationship between self-efficacy and locus of control. The central argument of the paper is that there may be direct relationships among mental health nurses” self-efficacy, their degree of internality or externality in relation to locus of control, and their ability to safely and effectively manage aggressive incidents. We argue the need to further investigate these relationships and discover whether these variables can be modified through professional development activities.
Online brand communities: constructing and co-constructing brand culture

ABSTRACT Consumers act and interact via social media networks and online brand communities, collectively generating brand culture. In this context, organisations have the opportunity to develop a cultural following. The respective task for brand managers and marketers is to understand how consumers collectively generate online brand culture? Using active and overt netnography and investigating the specific context of the Behance Network, the findings presented here demonstrate that online brand community members collectively generate brand culture in variant ways: through construction of self, emotional relationships, storytelling and ritualistic practices. Pragmatically, this work demonstrates that online brand community members are curators of online brand culture and netnography offers a window through which to identify what actions and interactions need to be facilitated and fostered.
Performance analysis of optical coherence tomography in the context of a thickness estimation task

Abstract. Thickness estimation is a common task in optical coherence tomography (OCT). This study discusses and quantifies the intensity noise of three commonly used broadband sources, such as a supercontinuum source, a superluminescent diode (SLD), and a swept source. The performance of the three optical sources was evaluated for a thickness estimation task using both the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and maximum-likelihood (ML) estimators. We find that the source intensity noise has less impact on a thickness estimation task compared to the width of the axial point-spread function (PSF) and the trigger jittering noise of a swept source. Findings further show that the FFT estimator yields biased estimates, which can be as large as 10% of the thickness under test in the worst case. The ML estimator is by construction asymptotically unbiased and displays a 10× improvement in precision for both the supercontinuum and SLD sources. The ML estimator also shows the ability to estimate thickness that is at least 10× thinner compared to the FFT estimator. Finally, findings show that a supercontinuum source combined with the ML estimator enables unbiased nanometer-class thickness estimation with nanometer-scale precision.
Are Angels Different? An Analysis of Early Venture Financing

We examine the role of angel investors in early venture financing using a unique sample of 182 Series A preferred stock rounds. Our sample includes deals in which angels invest alone, VCs invest alone, and where both investor types co-invest. We find that deals with more angel investors have weaker cash flow and control rights, and experience longer times to resolution. Among larger deals, those financed by VCs alone are most likely to experience successful liquidation. Our overall results support the conclusion that angel objectives likely align more with entrepreneurs than VCs, and that outcomes may be linked to conflicts of interest.
Improving documentation in surgical operation notes.

BACKGROUND Accurate documentation in surgical operation notes is crucial in facilitating the postoperative care of surgical patients and forms an important medicolegal document. This study audited the quality and completeness of documentation in surgical operation notes at a single district general hospital against the Royal College of Surgeons (2014) Good Surgical Practice guidelines, and looked to improve clinical practice through improved compliance with these guidelines. METHOD A total of 101 operation notes were audited from a variety of surgical specialities in November 2014 (cycle 1) and 100 notes in May 2015 (cycle 2). Documentation was audited against 19 standards found in the Royal College of Surgeons guidelines. The results were presented at the trust clinical governance meeting. Interventions included clinician education, aide memoires in theatres and the introduction of a new operation note. RESULTS Six of the 19 standards had >90% compliance in cycle 1 and 12 out of 19 in cycle 2. There were dramatic improvements in documentation in many fields including time (4% to 60%, P<0.0001), elective or emergency procedure (1% to 83%, P<0.0001), problems or complications (67% to 100%, P=0.016), estimated blood loss (2% to 73%, P<0.0001), antibiotic prophylaxis (47% to 96%, P<0.0001), venous thromboembolism prophylaxis (43% to 83%, P<0.0001) and signature (78% to 97%, P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS This audit has demonstrated that significant improvements in documentation in operation notes can be achieved through simple interventions. The introduction of an improved operation note that addresses each standard from the Royal College of Surgeons guidelines helped to guide clinicians to include important and relevant information.
The effects of quality management applications on automotive authorized sales and service firms

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the ISO 9000 QMS on automotive authorized sales and service organizations. The effects of ISO 9000 QMS applications on the training activities and employee relations are evaluated through determined items separately for the both types of organizations having ISO 9000 certificate. Then, the states of customer relations are compared in the organizations with and without certificate. With this aim, the total number of the organizations achieved is 105, of which 67 are with the ISO 9000 QMS certificate. According to the findings, there are significant differences in respect of statistical between the level of training/quality activities and the state of employee relations. The same results are found in the customer relations category. However, significant differences have not been achieved in some items, because it is a system which each automotive authorized sales and service firm applies depending on the main company. As a result, it has been obtained that training/quality activities are more regular and the satisfaction level of employees are higher in ISO- 9000 certified firms. It can be sated that this situation has a positive impact on customer relations which is the one of the most important objectives of firms.
Guidelines for guidelines: measuring trustworthiness.

AstheUnitedStatesfinallybecomesseriousaboutcontrolling the costs of health care, the public needs practice standards that fairly reflect the best evidence about what works best for which patients. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) should fill this need. They are important not only because they affect outcomes for individual patients but also because they increasingly shape a large proportion of patient care—that which is straightforward and subject to standardization—through standards of practice, practice quality measures, and insurance coverage decisions. Althoughpracticerecommendationsshouldfaithfullyreflectthe best evidence, we lack a proven measure of quality or trustworthiness to help us choose between guidelines with conflicting recommendations. The National Guideline Clearinghouse currently lists prostate cancerscreeningguidelinesfromeightUnitedStates‐basedorganizations. 1 None are exactly alike, and the recommendations range from “never screen” to “screen everyone. ” How can we tell which clinical practice guideline to trust? Judging the quality of CPGs is a terra incognita that we are just starting to explore. One study of guideline quality,publishedinthearticlethataccompaniesthiseditorial, 2 builds on recently published standards for trustworthy guidelines by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). 3,4 Its findings illustrate the challenges facing our profession as we explore this new area. TheefforttocreateatrustworthyprocessfordevelopingCPGs