Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of BCG vaccine in the prevention of tuberculosis. Meta-analysis of the published literature.

OBJECTIVE To quantify the efficacy of BCG vaccine against tuberculosis (TB). DATA SOURCES MEDLINE with index terms BCG vaccine, tuberculosis, and human. Experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, among others, provided lists of all known studies. STUDY SELECTION A total of 1264 articles or abstracts were reviewed for details on BCG vaccination, concurrent vaccinated and unvaccinated groups, and TB outcome; 70 articles were reviewed in depth for method of vaccine allocation used to create comparable groups, equal surveillance and follow-up for recipient and concurrent control groups, and outcome measures of TB cases and/or deaths. Fourteen prospective trials and 12 case-control studies were included in the analysis. DATA EXTRACTION We recorded study design, age range of study population, number of patients enrolled, efficacy of vaccine, and items to assess the potential for bias in study design and diagnosis. At least two readers independently extracted data and evaluated validity. DATA SYNTHESIS The relative risk (RR) or odds ratio (OR) of TB provided the measure of vaccine efficacy that we analyzed. The protective effect was then computed by 1-RR or 1-OR. A random-effects model estimated a weighted average RR or OR from those provided by the trials or case-control studies. In the trials, the RR of TB was 0.49 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.34 to 0.70) for vaccine recipients compared with nonrecipients (protective effect of 51%). In the case-control studies, the OR for TB was 0.50 (95% CI, 0.39 to 0.64), or a 50% protective effect. Seven trials reporting tuberculous deaths showed a protective effect from BCG vaccine of 71% (RR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.16 to 0.53), and five studies reporting on meningitis showed a protective effect from BCG vaccine of 64% (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.18 to 0.70). Geographic latitude of the study site and study validity score explained 66% of the heterogeneity among trials in a random-effects regression model. CONCLUSION On average, BCG vaccine significantly reduces the risk of TB by 50%. Protection is observed across many populations, study designs, and forms of TB. Age at vaccination did not enhance predictiveness of BCG efficacy. Protection against tuberculous death, meningitis, and disseminated disease is higher than for total TB cases, although this result may reflect reduced error in disease classification rather than greater BCG efficacy.
Merit Pay, Responsibility, and National Values: A U.S.–Taiwan Comparison

The extant U.S. domestic literature provides evidence that if administered in an unbiased manner, merit pay can be a significant motivator. However, the same literature shows that judgment biases can lead to over‐rewarding of “favored failures,” individuals who receive favorable treatment despite their poor performance. The cross‐cultural literature provides evidence that collectivist societies treat some portion of “merit” pay as salary rewarding both successful and unsuccessful performers with some merit pay. There has been no test in this literature of the treatment of “favored failures” but theoretical arguments and evidence from the cross‐cultural escalation of commitment literature suggests that collectivist societies may be less subject to the “favored failures” control problem. A “face” effect may offset the effect of collectivism in Chinese societies. Using a behavioral experiment and subjects from countries that are at the extremes of Hofstede's (2000) individualism‐collectivism spectrum (Taiwan.
Emerging drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis

Introduction: The tuberculosis epidemic continues in much of the developing world fueled by the concurrent HIV epidemic. Due to the emergence of multidrug and extensively drug-resistant isolates of tuberculosis, there is a critical need for new drug regimens for the treatment of this disease. Currently, five new compound classes are in various stages of clinical development for tuberculosis. Areas covered: Selected literature from the past 5 years was reviewed and the current status of compounds in preclinical development and those compounds undergoing clinical studies in humans is described in detail as well as their known potential limitations. After a > 40-year period of almost no effort to discover and develop new therapeutics for tuberculosis, there are now significant activities by small and large pharmaceutical companies in this area. The reader will understand the current status of agents undergoing clinical evaluation for tuberculosis. Expert opinion: The challenge in antituberculosis drug development is to make available to patients highly effective regimens which present substantial barriers to resistance development in an affordable formulation. Shortening the length of therapy from the current 6 to 3 months or less is a goal for the newly developed regimens. For the first time in many years, there are bright prospects for improving regimens for the therapy of tuberculosis.
Nebulized thiocyanate improves lung infection outcomes in mice

Nebulized saline solutions are used in the treatment of multiple pulmonary diseases including cystic fibrosis (CF), asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The benefits of these therapies include improved lung function, phlegm clearance and fewer lung infections. The thiocyanate anion (SCN) is a normal component of the airway epithelial lining fluid (ELF) secreted by pulmonary epithelia with antioxidant and host defence functions. We sought to test if SCN could be nebulized to combat lung infection by bolstering innate immune defence and antioxidant capacity.
Red Tape and Public Service Motivation

This article examines the relationship between red tape and public-service motivation. Using a recent national survey of public managers in various state health and human service organizations, the authors examine whether perceptions of red tape are determined by differences in the level of public-service motivation. Across a variety of dependent measures, the results showed a consistent linkage between managerial perceptions of red tape and public-service motivation. Managers reporting higher levels of public-service motivation were less likely to perceive high levels of red tape. Among the dimensions of public-service motivation, attraction to public policy making provided the greatest influence on perceptions of red tape.
Which firms benefit most from the incubators

The incubatees are not homogeneous but they differ in age, size, industry, phase of development and firm strategy. Consequently, the technology incubators should segment the client firms in order to provide the right services for the right firms. In this paper, firstly, we investigate which are the firms that seem to benefit the most from the incubator. Secondly, we investigate if the firms that should benefit from the incubator are actually able to claim these benefits. Our findings suggest that the relatively young firms that have not extended their stay at the incubator for over two years benefit most from the incubator. The incubators should therefore impose strict graduation criterion at this two-year threshold. The innovative, internationally and growth-oriented firms are frequent users of the incubator services, even of the more specialised services. The incubators need to develop actively and improve the quality of these special services by, for example, networking with other incubators.
The differential impact on stockholder wealth of various antitakeover provisions

This paper examines the relationship between the passage of six types of corporate antitakeover provisions (supermajority, classified boards, fair-price, reduction in cumulative voting, anti-greenmail and poison pills) and stockholder wealth. Our event study from a sample of 381 firms that adopted 486 antitakover provisions in the 1984-1988 period indicates a strongly negative effect on stockholder wealth, supporting the management entrenchment view of antitakover provisions. Moreover, the empirical results of this paper indicate that the market reacts equally negatively to both non-operating provisions that require stockholder approval and to operating provisions that do not require stockholder approval. However, separate analyses of then antitakeover provisions provide some support for the argument that stockholders discriminate between individual provisions.
Peer review of labour market programmes in the European Union: what can countries really learn from one another?

This article analyses attempts to promote the diffusion of labour market programmes across the member states of the EU. Under a peer review procedure, member states are encouraged to host visits from other countries to review policy approaches and policy measures whose success they wish to publicize. The article examines the extent to which reviewers feel that they have learnt and whether they consider any aspects of the programmes they have examined to be transferable. Whilst there is evidence at EU level of policy convergence through the adoption of certain labour market targets, there is little evidence either of systematic learning or of significant efforts at emulation. Some explanations for failure on the first count might be found in more general impediments to organizational learning. Some explanations for failures on the second count might be found in perceptions of major cultural and institutional differences between countries. Proposals are made for improvement of the peer review procedure, but.
Report of a Case and Additional Evidence for the “Mild” Phenotype

an adequate supply of aspartate and malate for mitochondrial redox equilibrium and ureagenesis.2 Pyruvate carboxylase deficiency is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. Two classical forms are well described. Form A (the "North American phenotype" or "infantile form") presents in infancy with chronic lactic acidosis, mental and motor delays, profound neurologic abnormalities including ataxia, and early death.2,3 Form B (the "French phenotype" or "neonatal form") presents in the neonatal period with ketoacidosis, lactic acidosis, hyperammonemia, citrullinemia, and hyperlysinemia and is fatal within months.2,3 Several cases of Leigh's disease have also been reported in conjunction with PC deficiency,2'3 although this association is not without controversy.4 In addition to these se-
STUDENT PERCEPTION OF LABORATORY EXPERIENCES IN QUANTITY FOOD PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

The purpose of this study was to assess students' perceptions of specific experiences in the quantity food production management laboratory course and to determine if these perceptions were significantly different between students whose experiences were under a two three-hour model and a one five-hour model per week. The study involved 172 students who were enrolled in school during spring semester 1988. A survey instrument was used to assess students' perceptions of experiences in areas of manager assignment, production assignment, use and care of equipment and service. Mean scores for importance to career goals of all major content areas combined was 3.9 on a scale of 1 = not important to 5 = essential. Mean scores for competence of all major content areas combined was 4.2 on a scale of 1 = poor to 5 = outstanding. Significant differences were revealed between the models for importance to career goals of manager assignment and service, and in competence in care of equipment.
In Vitro Assays for the Discovery of PCSK9 Autoprocessing Inhibitors

PCSK9 plays a significant role in regulating low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and has become an important drug target for treating hypercholesterolemia. Although a member of the serine protease family, PCSK9 only catalyzes a single reaction, the autocleavage of its prodomain. The maturation of the proprotein is an essential prerequisite for the secretion of PCSK9 to the extracellular space where it binds the LDL receptor and targets it for degradation. We have found that a construct of proPCSK9 where the C-terminal domain has been truncated has sufficient stability to be expressed and purified from Escherichia coli for the in vitro study of autoprocessing. Using automated Western analysis, we demonstrate that autoprocessing exhibits the anticipated first-order kinetics. A high-throughput time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay for autocleavage has been developed using a PCSK9 monoclonal antibody that is sensitive to the conformational changes that occur upon maturation of the proprotein. Kinetic theory has been developed that describes the behavior of both reversible and irreversible inhibitors of autocleavage. The analysis of an irreversible lactone inhibitor validates the expected relationship between potency and the reaction end point. An orthogonal liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry assay has also been implemented for the confirmation of hits from the antibody-based assays.
Interest Term Premiums and C-CAPM: A Test of a Parsimonious Model

This paper proposes a consumption-based model that accounts for term premiums of the nominal term structure of interest rates. The model focuses on ex ante term premiums, which depend on the volatility processes of real consumption and inflation. The contribution of the paper is to derive and test a parsimonious model that highlights linear relationship between term premiums and next period conditional volatilities. When calibrated to US data on interest rates, consumption and inflation, the model accounts for the C-CAPM expectations puzzle. Risk aversion coefficients between 2 and 7 are elicited.
Radio Resource Allocation in Two-hop Cellular Relaying Network

Radio resource allocation is important in the relay enhanced cellular network. Some smart radio resource allocation schemes have been proposed, such as the "pre-configured and fixed" scheme (H. Hu et al., 2004). In this paper, we propose a new scheme by introducing reuse partitioning into the cellular network with fixed two-hop relay nodes. Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that, in comparison with the conventional cellular network and the scheme proposed in H. Hu et al., (2004), our scheme not only improves the system capacity, but also provides better QoS (quality of service) for users located near cell edges. Moreover, since in our scheme resources are dynamically allocated among relay nodes, more benefits can be obtained under the non-uniform traffic distribution in comparison with the scheme in H. Hu et al., (2004), of which the resources are allocated in a fixed way
Abitur and What Next? Reasons for Gaining Double Qualifications in Germany

This paper deals with the reasons for first taking up vocational training after obtaining the German upper secondary school-leaving certificate (Abitur) instead of going straight on to academic education. The study uses the data from the BiBB/BAuA employment survey 2006, where not only educational paths are included, but also the final marks of those interviewed who had passed the Abitur. Our key result is the positive and highly significant impact which the Abitur mark has on the probability of gaining double qualifications. This confirms the hypothesis of Buchel/Helberger (1995) according to which individuals who have passed the Abitur opt to take up in-firm vocational training before going into higher education in order to protect themselves against the risk of failing during the studies. In addition to this there are indications that individuals’ education decisions are also geared towards their employment prospects after training and that double qualifications are chosen especially in fields where there are “related” occupations in Germany’s dual system of vocational training. Furthermore, we do not find significant differences for the sub-samples of western Germans with a university entrance qualification (Abitur) and those with a qualification providing access to studies at a polytechnic (Fachabitur).
Protected Areas in Fisheries: A Two-Patch, Two-Species Model

The use of marine protected areas as a fishery management tool has been suggested as a hedge against management failures and variation in harvests. A stochastic bioeconomic model of a hypothetical predator–prey fishery is used to test the performance of protected areas in a fishery with heterogenous environments. Protected areas are analysed under density-dependent and sink-source dispersal relationships between the subpopulations that occur within the fishery. Differing management structures governing resource extraction are analysed. The focus of the study is placed on the biological and management characteristics that yield benefits to both fishers and society. It is shown that the establishment of a protected area improves fishery rent and lowers harvest variation. This result is sensitive to both current management controls and the correlation between species and patches.
Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors

Individual investors who hold common stocks directly pay a tremendous performance penalty for active trading. Of 66,465 households with accounts at a large discount broker during 1991 to 1996, those that trade most earn an annual return of 11.4 percent, while the market returns 17.9 percent. The average household earns an annual return of 16.4 percent, tilts its common stock investment toward high-beta, small, value stocks, and turns over 75 percent of its portfolio annually. Overconfidence can explain high trading levels and the resulting poor performance of individual investors. Our central message is that trading is hazardous to your wealth.
Red Cell Distribution Width as an Independent Predictor of Long‐Term Mortality in Hip Fracture Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study

Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been found to be a significant prognostic factor of mortality in many cardiovascular diseases. However, a link between RDW at admission with long‐term mortality in the hip fracture population has not been well established. Therefore, we sought to evaluate the long‐term prognostic value of RDW in a well‐defined hip fracture cohort, and to compare the effect of RDW in patients with and without anemia. A prospective cohort study was performed on 1479 hip fracture patients admitted at the General Hospital of Chinese PLA between January 2000 and October 2011 with a follow‐up study over a 2‐year period. A total of 1479 patients were used for the evaluation of 2‐year all‐cause mortality, while 804 patients with more than 4 years of follow‐up were extracted for further evaluation of 4‐year all‐cause mortality. Cox proportional regression was used to evaluate the association between admission RDW and long‐term mortality, adjusting for potential confounding variables. Higher RDW values were strongly associated with increased all‐cause mortality. After adjusting for age, mean corpuscular volume, admission hemoglobin, comorbidities, and complications, RDW had a significant independent association with both 2‐year mortality with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.183 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.017 to 1.376) and 4‐year mortality with an HR of 1.244 (95% CI, 1.052 to 1.471). In stratified analysis, the effect of RDW was even more pronounced, with 2‐year mortality HR of 1.341 (95% CI, 1.095 to 1.643) and 4‐year mortality HR of 1.345 (95% CI, 1.071 to 1.688) in non‐anemic patients. In non‐anemic patients, elevated RDW values are significantly associated with increased odds of all‐cause mortality, implying that RDW may be a possible laboratory biomarker for risk stratification in non‐anemic hip fracture patients. Further studies are needed to confirm the current finding in different and larger hip fracture cohorts. © 2015 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Public Principles of Public Debt: A Defense and Restatement

One of Buchanan's most important and influential books. The radical idea he conceived was that: our reliance on public debt has amassed a sort of orthodoxy that is commonly -- and needlessly -- assumed by taxpayers, by politicians, and by economists themselves. Buchanan dismisses the nearly universal belief (which continues to this day) that the burden of debt is borne by the current generation, and he argues persuasively that public debt is shouldered in large part by generations still to come. Written in 1958, this book represents Buchanan's first published monograph, and its publication met with much controversy, confusion, and speculation in the economic community. But the book also added to Buchanan's rising stature in the early part of his career as a brilliant and original thinker. The arguments Buchanan lays out in this book had a considerable impact on much of his later work. Buchanan's object here is to establish a set of analytical claims about debt incidence. Current anxieties over implicit Social Security debt are clear indications of the rightness of Buchanan's then-revolutionary theory.
Skeletal SPECT/CT of the peripheral extremities.

OBJECTIVE Hybrid cameras that combine SPECT and helical CT can be used to correlate scintigraphic information with morphologic information in one imaging session. The purpose of this study was to investigate, in comparison with the value of scintigraphy and SPECT alone, the incremental diagnostic value of skeletal SPECT/CT in the care of patients with pain of the extremities. MATERIALS AND METHODS Seventy-one patients without cancer who had pain in the extremities underwent three-phase bone scintigraphy and SPECT/CT of either the upper (n = 20) or the lower (n = 51) extremities. Planar scintigraphic and SPECT images and planar scintigraphic and SPECT/CT images were interpreted independently from each other. The findings were classified into the following diagnostic categories: normal, trauma, tumor, osteomyelitis, and osteoarthritis. RESULTS Four patients had no abnormal bone metabolism or CT abnormality in the extremities. Among 34 lesions classified as osteoarthritis on planar and SPECT images, seven were reclassified as fracture and one as benign tumor at SPECT/CT. Of 15 lesions initially classified as osteomyelitis, four were diagnosed as osteoarthritis, four as fracture, and one as inflammation of the soft tissue only. Of eight diagnoses of fracture with the conventional approach, two were reclassified as osteomyelitis and two as osteoarthritis. In one of 10 patients with the initial diagnosis of a tumorlike lesion, the diagnosis was changed to trauma on the basis of SPECT/CT findings, and in another patient, the diagnosis was changed to osteoarthritis. Overall, SPECT/CT findings led to revision of the diagnostic category in the cases of 23 of 71 patients (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION Compared with bone scintigraphy and SPECT, the use of SPECT/CT increases diagnostic accuracy in the evaluation of orthopedic disorders affecting the extremities.
The Pivotal Role of Teacher Motivation in Tanzania 1

the integral role that teachers play in providing a quality education for students has been recognized consistently in government documents (e.g., Ministry of Education and Culture (MOEC) 1995; 2001). However, concerns about the quality of teachers and teaching in Tanzania persist (Massawe and Kipingu 2000; Kuleana 2001; MOEC 2003, 2004a; Rajani and Sumra 2003; Sumra 2004a; Davidson 2005). One factor that has had a significant impact on teaching quality is the lack of motivation among teachers. This paper discusses factors that contribute to this pervasive condition among Tanzanian educators and suggests policies and initiatives to raise teachers' motivation levels.