Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Paranoia and Conspiracy Thinking of Jews, Arabs, Germans, and Russians in a Polish Sample

The study examined the relationship between paranoia and conspiracy thinking of Jews, Arabs, Germans, and Russians among 50 university student volunteers using Fenigstein and Vanable's Paranoia Scale for nonclinical populations and the Conspiracy Beliefs Scale. The scores for conspiracy stereotypes of all the nationalities were positively correlated with paranoia.
Product‐market Strategy and Performance: An Analysis of the Miles and Snow Strategy Types

The Miles and Snow typology of product‐market strategy is a potential source of rich insights for developing marketing strategy. However, the drivers of performance for the Prospector, Analyser and Defender strategies have not been thoroughly studied. Using multiple measures of the entrepreneurial dimension of the Miles and Snow typology, clusters business units into the Prospector, Analyser and Defender strategy types. Analyses performance variation in the strategy types using organizational and market‐level variables, and find substantial explanatory power.
Evaluation of acquired cystic kidney disease in patients on hemodialysis with ultrasonography.

INTRODUCTION Acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD) occurs in patients with prolonged uremia, and early detection is important, because clinically significant complications, especially renal cell carcinoma, are associated with ACKD. MATERIALS AND METHODS In a cross-sectional study, we evaluated our patients on hemodialysis, in Ahvaz, Iran, using ultrasonography. The criteria for the diagnosis of ACKD were the presence of at least 4 bilateral renal cysts in patients with noncystic primary kidney diseases as the leading cause of kidney failure. RESULTS A total of 148 patients (95 men and 53 women) were included in the study. The prevalence of ACKD was 20.3% (18.9% in men and 22.6% in women). The mean age in patients with and without ACKD was 60.6 +/- 16.8 years and 53.6 +/- 14.9 years, and the mean hemodialysis duration was 44.2 +/- 18.7 months and 34.3 +/- 23.5 months, respectively. There were no significant differences in the frequency of ACKD in the men and the women (P = .59) and in the etiology of end-stage renal disease (P = .64). It was significantly more likely to see ACKD in patients with a history of 3 years or longer being on hemodialysis than in those with a shorter dialysis duration (P = .001). CONCLUSIONS Acquired cystic kidney disease is common in patients on hemodialysis, and we suggest that renal ultrasonography be performed in patients with 3 years or more history of being on renal replacement therapy.
Comparing body composition assessment tests in long-term hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Protein-energy wasting is common in chronic kidney disease and is associated with decreases in body muscle and fat stores and poor outcomes. The accuracy and reliability of field methods to measure body composition is unknown in this population. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS 118 maintenance hemodialysis patients were seen at the General Clinical Research Center at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA. INDEX TESTS Triceps skinfold, near-infrared interactance, and bioelectrical impedance analysis using the Segal, Kushner, and Lukaski equations. REFERENCE TEST Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). RESULTS Participants (42% women, 52% with diabetes, 40% African Americans, and 38% Hispanics) were aged 49.4 +/- 11.5 (mean +/- SD) years, and had undergone dialysis therapy for 41.1 +/- 32.9 months. Body mass index was 27.0 +/- 6.0 kg/m(2). Using DEXA as the reference test, the bioelectrical impedance analysis-Kushner equation, triceps skinfold, and near-infrared interactance were most accurate of the index tests in estimating total-body fat percentage, whereas bioelectrical impedance analysis-Segal equation and bioelectrical impedance analysis-Lukaski equation overestimated total body fat percentage. Bland-Altman analyses and difference plots showed that bioelectrical impedance analysis-Kushner and near-infrared interactance were most similar to the reference test. Bioelectrical impedance analysis-Kushner, triceps skinfold, and near-infrared interactance had the smallest mean differences from DEXA, especially in women (1.6%, 0.7%, and 1.2%, respectively). Similar results were observed in African American participants (n = 47). LIMITATIONS Measurements were performed 1 day after a hemodialysis treatment, leading to more fluid retention, which may have affected the reference and index tests differently. CONCLUSIONS Using DEXA as the reference test, both near-infrared interactance and bioelectrical impedance analysis-Kushner method yield more consistent estimates of total body fat percentage in maintenance hemodialysis patients compared with the other index tests. Near-infrared interactance is not affected by skin color. Field methods with portable devices may provide adequate precision.
Category management: a new approach for fashion marketing?

As a supply chain management initiative, category management has to date been the almost exclusive preserve of the grocery sector and, within that sector, limited to food categories. This paper proposes that the fashion industry might usefully follow the grocery industry's lead and implement category management. A comprehensive review of the literature on category management highlights the opportunity for fashion marketing to consider the potential of category management, and the specific research gaps. In operationalising the subsequent research objectives, the paper reports the results of exploratory, in‐depth consumer research for a particular category of intimate apparel. The managerial implications of these findings are then discussed in the context of the established eight‐step category management process. The overall tentative conclusion of this study is that as a consumer‐oriented joint planning tool, category management offers retailer‐supplier partnerships in the fashion industry an important adjunct to the industry's quick response methods. The paper closes with an agenda for future research.
Effect of consumer relationship proneness on perceived loyalty program attributes and resistance to change

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the interrelationships among consumer relationship proneness (CRP), three perceived loyalty program attributes (i.e. perceived complexity, advantage, and risk), and resistance to change with participants in apparel retailer's loyalty programs.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using an online survey with the assistance of a marketing research company. Participants were 294 members of apparel retailers' loyalty programs. Participants indicated one apparel retailer's loyalty program in which they took part. After that, they completed a questionnaire making reference to the program they had identified. To reduce measurement artifacts, dependent variables were assessed prior to their predictors.Findings – CRP was found to have a significant effect on perceived advantage and resistance to change. In turn, perceived advantage revealed a significant positive effect on resistance to change. The results not only verify theoretical conceptions regardi.
The Impact Of The Financial Sector Reforms On Savings, Investments And Growth Of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) In Ghana

As part of reforms initiated in the mid 1980s, Ghana’s financial sector was subjected to a major and extensive restructuring under two financial sector adjustment programs (FINSAP 1 and 2) and the reform for Non- bank financial institutions credit. Having determined that restructuring of the financial system was indispensable to the success of the Economic Recovery Program (ERP) begun in 1983, the government, embarked upon a financial sector reform program (FINSAP) in 1988. Against this background therefore there has been a wave of financial sector reforms partly in response to international political pressures and strive for globalization. This study was to examine financial liberalization as it was carried out in Ghana and to make an assessment of the impact of this policy on savings, investment and the growth of income (GDP) in the Ghanaian economy. This study attempted to investigate the question: How does financial liberalization affect interest rate, savings, investment and GDP in Ghana? Regression Analysis and savings-investment models were used to evaluate how the financial sector impacts on economic growth.
Retail change: effects on employees' job demands and home life

Causes and effects of occupational stress have received research attention for several decades, with increasing focus during the 1990s as organizations and individual workers attempt to adapt to economic change. Stress arising from either the work or home domain can have a variety of outcomes in the workplace, and similarly can impact in many ways on relationships and activities at home. This paper reports the first phase of a research study to identify the impact on work and home life of changes in retailing, a sector of the economy which has experienced significant change over the past few years. A qualitative methodology was adopted, using group discussions to allow staff to identify the specific changes in retailing most important for themselves, and then to explore how these changes related to satisfactions and dissatisfactions at work, and their impact on general aspects of home life. The results suggest that the 'spillover' relationship between work and home stress seems to be the most useful in describing the impact of change. This suggests that additional role demands at work brought about by change have an impact on relationships and social life outside work. However, some individuals described instances of 'compensation' between work and home, and independence between the two domains. This suggests that the issue of stress in the home/work interface is complex, and that the demands in each domain may be positively or negatively related depending on characteristics of the demands themselves, or may vary according to individual characteristics of the people in the study.
Antimicrobial resistance among Salmonella and Shigella isolates in five Canadian provinces (1997 to 2000).

OBJECTIVE To describe rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among Salmonella and Shigella isolates reported in five Canadian provinces, focusing on clinically important antimicrobials. METHODS The authors retrospectively investigated AMR rates among 6219 Salmonella and 1673 Shigella isolates submitted to provincial public health laboratories in Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan from 1997 to 2000; these isolates were estimated to represent 41% of Salmonella cases and 72% of Shigella cases reported by the study provinces. RESULTS Among Salmonella isolates, 27% (1704 of 6215) were resistant to ampicillin, 2.2% (135 of 6122) to trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole, 1.5% (14 of 938) to nalidixic acid, 1.2% (one of 84) to lomafloxacin and 0.08% (five of 6163) to ciprofloxacin. Among Shigella isolates, 70% (1144 of 1643) were resistant to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, 65% (1079 of 1672) to ampicillin, 3.1% (eight of 262) to nalidixic acid, 0.49% (eight of 1636) to ciprofloxacin, 0.14% (one of 700) to ceftriaxone and 0.08% (one of 1292) to ceftazidime. CONCLUSIONS Higher rates of resistance to clinically important antimicrobials (including ciprofloxacin) were observed among both Salmonella and Shigella isolates than has previously been reported. Current Canadian data on rates of AMR for these pathogens are required.
Firm-specific Factors, Shareholding Structure and Corporate Performance of the Japanese manufacturing Investments in Europe :

Mourad MANSOUR and Yasuo HOSHINO (University of Tsukuba) What determines the performance of overseas operations of multinational enterprises has been an important topic of research. This study aims at providing further evidence on the influence of entry mode and firm specific factors on the performance of Japanese-affiliated manufacturing investments in Europe. The empirical results are based on a sample of 98 companies for the period between 1994 and 1997. The main hypothesis is that firms with high firm-specific advantages and entering through greenfield investment perform better. Taking into consideration the full sample over the four years combined, results suggest that the success of theses companies depend on the size and number of employees of the investing company. As expected, the number of subsidiaries of the parent firm affects the pertformance of the subsidiary. Furthermore, entry mode and R & D intensity a re shown to have a non-significant relationship with performance.
Search for the “ideal analgesic” in pain treatment by engineering the mu‐opioid receptor

The myriad of side effects that associate with morphine has been problematic in the clinical use to manage moderate to severe pain. It has been the holy grail of the pharmacologists to develop a compound, or treatment paradigm that could retain the analgesic effect of the drug as eliminating or reducing the side effects, mainly the tolerance and addiction development associates with chronic usage of the drug. In our earlier receptor structure/activities studies, we discovered an unique mutation of a conserved Ser in the fourth transmembrane domain of the opioid receptor that the alkaloid antagonist could activate the receptor. On the basis of this initial finding, we decide to explore the possibility of using virus to deliver the mutant mu‐opioid receptor at the various sites of the nociceptive pathway and induce the antinociceptive responses with the systemic administration of opioid antagonists. In this article, we will summarize the progress of such approach and the probable advantages over the conventional approach of drug development in the treatment of chronic pain. © 2009 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 62(2): 103–111, 2010
Central Bank Transparency and Financial Market Expectations: The Case of Emerging Markets

In this paper, we study how central bank transparency influences the formation of money market expectations in emerging markets. The sample covers 25 countries for the period from January 1998 to December 2009. We find, first, that transparency reduces the bias (the difference between the money market rate and the weighted expected target rate over the contract period) in money market expectations. The effect is larger for countries with no exchange rate peg and countries with low income. Second, an intermediate level of transparency is found to have the most favorable influence on money market expectations: neither complete secrecy nor complete transparency is optimal. Finally, all subcategories of the Eijffinger and Geraats (2006) index lead to a smaller bias in expectations, with political transparency having the largest effect.
HEPARIN‐RELEASED BLOOD PLASMA LIPOPROTEIN LIPASE ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERLIPOPROTEINEMIA

Plasma lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity appearance in the blood stream after different doses of i.v. injection of heparin has been studied. After 100 IU of heparin/kg b.wt. LPL activity was found to rise rapidly for about 5 min and then more slowly up to a maximum activity at 20 to 40 min. The possibility that the different appearance rates might reflect several enzyme pools not equally accessible to injected heparin has been discussed. Against this background plasma LPL activity was determined both at 5 and 40 min after i.v. injection of 100 IU of heparin/kg b.wt. in subjects with a wide range of plasma triglyceride (TG) concentrations. There was no relationship either in men or women between heparin‐released plasma LPL activities and age or weight/height index. In men with normal plasma TG values on the day of heparin injection the heparin‐released LPL activities in plasma were 49 ± 2 and 100 ± 4 μmoles glycerol released pre litre plasma and minute in the early and late samples respectively. The corresponding values of 40±3 and 72±6 for men with hypertriglyceridemia were significantly lower. In women with normal plasma TG values the LPL activities 5 and 40 min after heparin were 71±4 and 127 ± 7 μmol/1 and min respectively. These values were significantly higher than the corresponding values for normal men. The women with hypertriglyceridemia had plasma LPL activities 5 and 40 min after heparin of 45 ± 7 and 85 + 10 μmol/1 and min, which were significantly lower than the corresponding values for the women with normal plasma TG concentrations. The significantly lower values of heparin‐released LPL activity found in patients with hypertriglyceridemia may reflect a removal (clearing) defect of plasma TG, which may provide an explanation of the elevated plasma TG levels in these patients.
Strong in Vitro Synergy Between the Fusion Inhibitor T‐20 and the CXCR4 Blocker AMD‐3100

&NA;Attachment and entry of HIV‐1 into CD4 cells involve a series of events in which different viral envelope proteins interact with specific cell receptors, culminating in fusion of viral and cell membranes. AMD‐3100 is a small molecule inhibitor of HIV‐1 attachment to the CXCR4 chemokine receptor, and T‐20 is a synthetic peptide corresponding to a region of HIV‐1 gp41 that blocks fusion to cell membranes. To evaluate the interaction between agents acting at two different steps of the entry process, we conducted in vitro studies of the combination of T‐20 and AMD‐3100 against an X4 HIV‐1 isolate. Single drugs or multiply diluted fixed ratio combinations of drugs were added to peripheral blood mononuclear cells infected with a clinical isolate, 14aPre. Drug interactions were evaluated using the median‐effect principle and the combination index technique. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) for T‐20 was 0.10 &mgr;g/ml and for AMD‐3100 was 0.19 &mgr;g/ml. Synergy was observed between T‐20 and AMD‐3100 and this increased with higher inhibitory concentrations, with combination indices ranging from 0.62 at IC50 to 0.02 at IC95. Whether these synergistic interactions translate into clinical benefit will need to be addressed in the context of clinical trials.
Increasing Firm Value Through Detection and Prevention of White-Collar Crime

White-collar crime can cost a company from 1 percent to 6 percent of annual sales, yet little is known about the organizational conditions that can reduce this cost. Previous governance research has examined the link between block holders, boards of directors, or CEO compensation and fraud. In this study, these traditional measures of governance are found to have little impact. Instead, operational governance, including clarity of policies and procedures, formal crosscompany communication, and performance-based pay for the board and for more employees, significantly reduces the likelihood of a crime commission.
Evaluating a model for predicting active crown fire rate of spread using wildfire observations

We evaluated the predictive capacity of a rate of spread model for active crown fires (M.G. Cruz, M.E. Alexander, and R.H. Wakimoto. 2005. Can. J. For. Res. 35: 1626–1639) using a relatively large (n = 57) independent data set originating from wildfire observations undertaken in Canada and the United States. The assembled wildfire data were characterized by more severe burning conditions and fire behavior in terms of rate of spread and the degree of crowning activity than the data set used to parameterize the crown fire rate of spread model. The statistics used to evaluate model adequacy showed good fit and a level of uncertainty considered acceptable for a wide variety of fire management and fire research applications. The crown fire rate of spread model predicted 42% of the data with an error lower then ±25%. Mean absolute percent errors of 51% and 60% were obtained for Canadian and American wildfires, respectively. The characteristics of the data set did not allow us to determine where model performanc.
Homocysteine‐induced myofibroblast differentiation in mouse aortic endothelial cells

Differentiation of myofibroblast, as evidenced by α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) expression, is largely mediated by transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1). This mechanism often follows inflammatory events such as endothelial damage due to oxidative stress, which can further leads to vascular thickening, stiffness, and fibrosis. We hypothesized that hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy)‐induced oxidative stress lead to vascular stiffness, in part due to endothelial–myofibroblast differentiation and alteration of collagen homeostasis in the extracellular matrix (ECM). We tested our hypothesis in vitro using mouse aortic endothelial cells (MAEC). Our result shows that Hcy induces α‐SMA and collagen type‐1 expression in MAEC as evidenced by immunoblot and confocal imaging. RT‐PCR shows robust increase of α‐SMA and collagen type‐1 mRNA level in Hcy‐induced condition. We demonstrated that Hcy induces autophosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) (a member of the protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) family) at Tyr‐397. PP2 (general PTK inhibitor) as well as FAK siRNA abrogates Hcy‐mediated α‐SMA formation. In addition to that, Hcy‐mediated TGF‐β1 induction was inhibited by TGF‐β R1 kinase inhibitor II (ALK5 inhibitor II) and attenuated FAK phosphorylation and α‐SMA expression. Furthermore, we showed that Hcy activates ERK‐44/42 (extracellular signal‐regulated kinase) pathway and augments collagen type‐1 deposition. Studies with pharmacological ERK blocker, PD98059 and ERK siRNA attenuated ERK‐44/42 phosphorylation and collagen type‐1 synthesis. Taken together our results demonstrate that Hcy‐mediated TGF‐β1 upregulation triggers endothelial–myofibroblast differentiation secondary to FAK phosphorylation and that Hcy‐induced ERK activation is involved in ECM remodeling by altering collagen type‐1 homeostasis. J. Cell. Physiol. 209: 767–774, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Differential expression of p16/p21/p27 and cyclin D1/D3, and their relationships to cell proliferation, apoptosis, and tumour progression in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast

In order to understand the intricate relationship of cell proliferation and apoptosis in tumour development, proliferation markers (Ki‐67 and c‐myc), apoptosis, cell‐cycle inducers cyclin D1 and D3, and cell‐cycle inhibitors p16INK4, p21CIP1, and p27KIP1 were evaluated in ductal breast carcinoma. The heterogeneous nature of breast tumours provides a system by which the changes in cell‐cycle genes can be explored under a wide range of proliferation and apoptotic indices. To address the above issues, immunohistochemical studies were conducted in 40 pairs of tumours and adjacent normal ductal tissues. The TUNEL method was used to identify apoptotic cells. Except for p27/KIP1, the proliferation (Ki‐67, c‐myc) and the apoptotic indexes together with levels of p16/INK4a, p21/CIP1, cyclin D1, and cyclin D3, were clearly elevated among tumour tissues, while absent in the adjacent normal tissues. Spearman correlation analysis indicated strong associations among apoptotic index, Ki‐67, c‐myc, and tumour grade. In addition, p21/CIP1 and cyclin D3 were positively correlated, while p16/INK4a, p27/KIP1, and cyclin D1 were negatively correlated with tumour grade. There was clear decoupling between p21 and p27, as well as decoupling between cyclin D1 and cyclin D3, in terms of their relationship to cell proliferation and apoptosis, indicating differential roles in tumour progression. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.