Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alterations in capillary morphology are found in mild blood pressure elevation

Objectives Remodeling of small resistance arteries is an early sign of target organ damage in hypertension. Peripheral capillary morphology abnormalities in hypertension are not well studied. The study objective was to determine whether altered capillary morphology is associated with SBP, DBP, or both in individuals without and with mild blood pressure elevation (SBP = 130–160 mmHg). Another objective was to determine whether capillary morphology is associated with minimum forearm vascular resistance, a measure of altered resistance artery structure. Methods Participants included 115 nonpregnant, nondiabetic individuals 23–55 years of age. A five-component morphology score (distribution, tone, configuration, hypertrophy, and extravasates) was developed to describe fingernail bed capillaries visualized using venous congestion in digital photomicrographs. Multiple linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, race, tobacco use, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and renal function were used to analyze the relationship between SBP, DBP, and minimum forearm vascular resistance with the morphology score. Results The total morphology score was significantly associated with SBP and DBP as well as minimum forearm vascular resistance (P < 0.005 for all). Among the five individual morphology score components, hypertrophy was significantly associated with SBP and DBP (P = 0.002 and 0.001, respectively), whereas extravasates were significantly associated with SBP only (P = 0.002). Conclusion A five-component capillary morphology score is associated with SBP, DBP, and altered resistance artery structure in individuals with and without mild blood pressure elevation. These observations suggest that target organ damage at the level of the microcirculation can be detected using capillary morphology.
Progenitor Outgrowth from the Niche in Drosophila Trachea Is Guided by FGF from Decaying Branches

Out with the Old, In with the New In adult animals, resident stem or progenitor cells residing in niches replenish old tissues with new cells, but how they form new tissue is not well understood. Chen and Krasnow (p. 186) examined how progenitor cells in the fruit fly form new tracheae as the old tracheae are destroyed during metamorphosis. Proliferating progenitors move out of their niche by crawling along the surface of decaying tracheal branches. The decaying branches express the chemoattractant FGF (fibroblast growth factor) and create a track that directs progenitors. Progenitor cells in flies form new trachea by following an embryonic inducer reactivated in decaying branches. Although there has been progress identifying adult stem and progenitor cells and the signals that control their proliferation and differentiation, little is known about the substrates and signals that guide them out of their niche. By examining Drosophila tracheal outgrowth during metamorphosis, we show that progenitors follow a stereotyped path out of the niche, tracking along a subset of tracheal branches destined for destruction. The embryonic tracheal inducer branchless FGF (fibroblast growth factor) is expressed dynamically just ahead of progenitor outgrowth in decaying branches. Knockdown of branchless abrogates progenitor outgrowth, whereas misexpression redirects it. Thus, reactivation of an embryonic tracheal inducer in decaying branches directs outgrowth of progenitors that replace them. This explains how the structure of a newly generated tissue is coordinated with that of the old.
Ablative Intravesical Chemotherapy for Small Recurrent Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: A Prospective Study

Objective: The efficacy of intravesical chemotherapy in abolishing small papillary recurrences of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), the disease-free interval in responders and patients' preferences were explored. Methods: When a small (≤1 cm) papillary recurrence of a NMIBC was diagnosed, the patient could choose between immediate transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB) or four weekly intravesical instillations with mitomycin C (MMC) or epirubicin (ERC). Control cystoscopy was scheduled 2-3 weeks after the last instillation. Complete remission was defined as total disappearance of all papillary tumours and negative cytology. Results: 25 patients with 47 recurrence episodes were recruited from February 2003 until August 2011. The median follow-up was 35 months. After exclusion of 2 patients with intolerance to the instillations, 45 study episodes could be analysed. All patients to whom this was proposed preferred the instillations over immediate TURB. Complete, partial and no response was seen in 23 (51%), 6 (13%) and 16 (36%) out of 45 episodes, respectively. The median disease-free interval after complete remission was 16 months (95% confidence interval 9-24). Conclusions: Small papillary recurrences of NMIBC completely disappear in about half of the cases receiving four weekly bladder instillations with MMC or ERC. This is followed by a disease-free interval. Intravesical chemotherapy was preferred by all patients over immediate TURB.
Female directors and earnings management in high‐technology firms

Purpose – This study, based on a merger of gender and accounting theories, aims to explore whether and how earnings management is affected by the presence of female directors on the board of directors and on the audit committee.Design/methodology/approach – The study employs both a univariate and multivariate analysis approach to explore the relation between female directors and earnings management in high‐technology firms. In the analysis, two contemporary ex‐post measures of earnings management, discretionary accruals and nonoperating accruals, as well as two ex‐ante measures of earnings management, Big4 auditor and financial leverage are applied.Findings – The paper finds evidence for a negative relation between the presence of female directors and earnings management. The findings indicate that accounting aggressiveness is affected by the proportion of women on the board of directors as well as on the audit committee. Furthermore, the paper find evidences indicating that earnings management is lower w.
Financial integration in european countries : some panel evidence

This paper provides empirical evidence of the financial integration of some developed countries, mostly in the European Union, covering the period between 1961 and 2008. The main contributions are to be found first, in the application of panel estimates and test statistics. particularly of some recently developed tests like the Westerlund (2007) bootstrap cointegration tests and the Pesaran (2004) test of cross-sectional independence, using the available AMECO series of nominal and real long-term and short-term interest rates as well as the yield curve; secondly, in the comparison of the approximations between the countries’ series of rates and those of two chosen benchmarks: the German and US rates, for six panels of EU and some non-EU countries during three specific time intervals. The obtained results allow us to draw conclusions not only on the quite high degree of approximation towards the benchmark rates, particularly those of Germany, but also on the differences in the patterns of this approximation before and after the implementation of the Single Market Program and of the EMU. Furthermore, we draw conclusions on some specific characteristics of the considered series of rates and, in particular, of the yield curves.
Strategic orientation and business performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of strategic orientations (technology, alliance, and market orientations) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging market, namely Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing upon data from 200 Dubai SMEs, this study uses a structured survey that was developed from a methodical literature review. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to evaluate the findings. Findings – The findings revealed that market orientation has a positive effect on business performance compared to technology and alliance orientations within SMEs in the Dubai marketplace. Research limitations/implications – This study offers SMEs a better understanding of their strategic orientations to enhance business performance. However, this study is limited to only SMEs operating in the Dubai marketplace. Future research could also look at other markets and use qualitative research methods. Originality/value – This study p.
Loss of hepatitis B surface antigen from the serum of patients with chronic hepatitis treated with lamivudine

Although loss of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) from the serum is sought by treatment with lamivudine, clearance of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is the eventual goal of any antiviral therapy. In a single hepatology center in the Metropolitan Tokyo, 486 patients with chronic hepatitis B were followed up for longer than 3 years after they started treatment with lamivudine. HBsAg disappeared from the serum in 17 (3.5%). Age ≥50 years and low HBsAg levels (hemagglutination titer ≤27) at the start of lamivudine were significantly more frequent in the patients who did than did not lose HBsAg from the serum. Except for these two factors, there were no differences between the two groups of patients in the prevalence of HBeAg and HBV DNA levels at the baseline, as well as the development of YMDD mutants and breakthrough hepatitis during lamivudine treatment. Using multivariate analysis, age ≥50 years at the start of lamivudine was the only factor predicting the loss of HBsAg (hazard ratio: 2.96 [95% confidence interval: 1.14–7.68], P = 0.028). By the method of Kaplan–Meier performed on the 486 patients, the loss of HBsAg was estimated to occur in 3% and 13% of patients, respectively, who had received lamivudine therapy for 5 and 10 years. These results indicate that loss of HBsAg occurs in a minority (3.5%) of patients with chronic hepatitis B who receive lamivudine therapy and more frequently in those with lower HBsAg titers and older ages at the start of treatment. J. Med. Virol. 79:1472–1477, 2007. © Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Accounting for Innovation and Measuring Innovativeness: An Illustrative Framework and an Application

The purpose of this paper is to propose and illustrate an accounting framework for innovation. We characterize the intensity of innovation by a sales-weighted measure of innovation: the share of sales in innovative products, but other output indicators of innovation could be considered as well. Comparing statistics on the share of innovative sales across countries, industries, or firms measures but does not explain the intercountry, interindustry, or interfirm differences in innovation intensity. To have a more meaningful basis of comparison we need a model. If an exact model of innovation in its various dimensions existed and if we knew it, we would be able to understand fully why innovation differs among countries, industries, or firms. Of course, such a model does not exist. Nevertheless it is worth trying to account for innovation differences, if only very roughly. In such an endeavor, what remains to be explained is as important to consider as what can be explained, because it reflects the extent of innovative ability or capacity, or “innovativeness. ” To motivate our approach better and make it more explicit, we find it appealing to draw a comparison with the standard framework for growth accounting and the underlying model of a production function. Production output is viewed as resulting from a process of transformation of inputs into output that can be represented and analyzed in terms of a production function. Based on the production function, an accounting framework can be constructed in which changes in output between periods (years, decades) or differences between spatial units (firms, industries, countries) are ascribed to changes or differences in the inputs and in a residual that is known as total factor or multifactor productivity (TFP or MFP) or simply productivity. Likewise, innovation output can be viewed as resulting from innovation inputs, such as R&D efforts, and other contextual determinants, such as the pressure of competition. This linkage can be represented in terms of an innovation function and an innovation accounting framework, on the basis of which changes in innovation output between periods or differences between spatial units can be ascribed to changes or differences in the factors of innovation and in a residual that we call innovativeness, or the unexplained ability to turn innovation inputs into innovation output. Innovativeness is thus to innovation what TFP is to production. Innovativeness is conditional on a model of an innovation function and a set of factors of innovation, just as TFP is conditional on an assumed specification of the production function and measured factors of production. Both correspond to omitted factors of performance such as technological, organizational, cultural, or environmental factors (and to other sources of misspecification errors), although TFP is commonly interpreted as being mainly an indicator of technology. The produc-
The Influence of Analyst and Management Forecasts on Investor Decision Making: An Experimental Approach

Analyst and management forecasts signal a firm's future prospects, and research suggests that investors are conscious of the differing incentives to release news. We examine investor reaction to the information contained in these forecasts by considering whether decisions about their shareholdings are influenced by expectations about the motives of analysts and management. Using an experiment that manipulated the type of news released and investors' stock position, we found that unfavourable forecasts had a greater effect than favourable forecasts. Investors also place more emphasis on the news released by analysts, suggesting that information from an independent source appears to be more persuasive.
Framing effects: The influence of handedness and access to right hemisphere processing

Changing how information is framed, such that the same critical information is cast in a positive or negative light, has a powerful impact on judgements and decision making. Research indicates that the influence of frames may be driven by participants’ initial affective response and that the right hemisphere is sensitive to the emotional connotation of stimuli. While previous research tested the effects of hemispheric differences on framing effects by inducing asymmetrical activation, the current study explored how stable brain differences may account for differences in susceptibility to framing effects. Because mixed degree of handedness is associated with increased access to right hemisphere processes, mixed-handed participants were expected to be more susceptible to the effects of framing than strong-handed participants. Participants responded to the Asian disease problem and completed as assessment of handedness. Although mixed- and strong-handed participants were affected differently, the results were not consistent with the hypothesis. Mixed-handed participants conformed to risky choice framing effects when options were framed negatively and showed no effect of the positive frame. Strong-handed participants conformed to positively framed options and showed no effect of the negative frame. Possible explanations are discussed.
Antihypertensive effect of an endothelin receptor antagonist in DOCA‐salt spontaneously hypertensive rats

1 Endothelin‐1 gene expression is enhanced in aorta and mesenteric arteries, and possibly other vessels, of deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)‐salt hypertensive rats but is normal or reduced in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Bosentan, a mixed ETA/ETB endothelin receptor antagonist, blunts the development of elevated blood pressure of DOCA‐salt hypertensive rats but not in SHR. In this study we investigated whether treatment of DOCA‐salt SHR with bosentan would result in blunted rise in blood pressure. 2 SHR, aged 13 weeks, were implanted with silastic containing DOCA and offered 1% saline to drink. Systolic blood pressure was measured by the tail‐cuff method. Endothelin‐1 mRNA abundance in aorta and mesenteric arteries was measured by Northern blot analysis. Content of immunoreactive endothelin in blood vessels was measured by radioimmunoassay. 3 Systolic blood pressure rose less in bosentan‐treated DOCA‐salt SHR (to 223 + 2 mmHg) in comparison to the untreated rats (241 ± 1), a small but significant difference (P<0.001). However, blood pressure of bosentan‐treated DOCA‐salt SHR was still higher than in age‐matched SHR. Endothelin‐1 mRNA abundance and content of immunoreactive endothelin were increased in the aorta and the mesenteric arterial bed of DOCA‐salt SHR, and were unaffected by treatment with bosentan. 4 These data support the hypothesis of a role of endothelin‐1 in blood pressure elevation in this hypertensive model with malignant hypertension. They also support the hypothesis that an antihypertensive effect of the mixed ETA/ETB endothelin receptor antagonist, bosentan, is found when experimental hypertensive animals exhibit enhanced endothelin‐1 gene expression in blood vessels.
Niches of Homelessness in Rural Nebraska: Bolstering Existing Understandings

Rural homelessness, particularly in the Great Plains region, is under-researched. Most current understandings ofhomelessness are based on research in metropolitan regions. This paper suggests that the general structuralframeworks. which have been developed to model homelessness in metropolitan areas. can serve as a useful starting point for understanding rural homelessness in Nebraska. By using a "key informant" survey of homeless service providers in Nebraska it is clear that there are several niches ofhomeless persons (Native Americans, migrant workers. meat-packing workers, and transients) present in Nebraska that are not discussed in the existing literature. The problem of homelessness continues to plague cities, towns, and rural areas across the United States. In Nebraska what does the problem of rural homelessness look like? Who are the homeless and why are they homeless? Clearly, exploring the causes and consequences of homelessness is a first step toward effectively dealing with this problem. Several authors have developed typologies and frameworks for examining and explaining homelessness (Frank and Streeter 1987; Fitchen 1992; Wolch et al. 1988; Laws and Lord 1990; Burt 1992). While these typologies and frameworks provide a generic understanding of homelessness, they rarely address the particular factors that contribute to homelessness in particular geographic areas. Geographically contextual understanding is important, since forces leading to homelessness are apt to vary in their influence according to the economic and social factors that arise from the geography ofa particular locale or region. The causes and magnitude ofthe homelessness problem can be expected to differ between as well as within urban and rural settings across the nation. For example, economic and social characteristics of potential relevance to the incidence of homelessness perhaps differ between rural areas that are more or less specialized in different types of agricultural land uses.
Repression of xylose‐specific enzymes by ethanol in Scheffersomyces (Pichia) stipitis and utility of repitching xylose‐grown populations to eliminate diauxic lag

During the fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolyzates to ethanol by native pentose‐fermenting yeasts such as Scheffersomyces (Pichia) stipitis NRRL Y‐7124 (CBS 5773) and Pachysolen tannophilus NRRL Y‐2460, the switch from glucose to xylose uptake results in a diauxic lag unless process strategies to prevent this are applied. When yeast were grown on glucose and resuspended in mixed sugars, the length of this lag was observed to be a function of the glucose concentration consumed (and consequently, the ethanol concentration accumulated) prior to the switch from glucose to xylose fermentation. At glucose concentrations of 95 g/L, the switch to xylose utilization was severely stalled such that efficient xylose fermentation could not occur. Further investigation focused on the impact of ethanol on cellular xylose transport and the induction and maintenance of xylose reductase and xylitol dehydrogenase activities when large cell populations of S. stipitis NRRL Y‐7124 were pre‐grown on glucose or xylose and then presented mixtures of glucose and xylose for fermentation. Ethanol concentrations around 50 g/L fully repressed enzyme induction although xylose transport into the cells was observed to be occurring. Increasing degrees of repression were documented between 15 and 45 g/L ethanol. Repitched cell populations grown on xylose resulted in faster fermentation rates, particularly on xylose but also on glucose, and eliminated diauxic lag and stalling during mixed sugar conversion by P. tannophilus or S. stipitis, despite ethanol accumulations in the 60 or 70 g/L range, respectively. The process strategy of priming cells on xylose was key to the successful utilization of high mixed sugar concentrations because specific enzymes for xylose utilization could be induced before ethanol concentration accumulated to an inhibitory level. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:1801–1815. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Effects of Relative Income and Absolute Income on Happiness

The authors consider the absolute income effect and several relative income effects on happiness. The latter include both a longitudinal comparison, which consists of both upward and downward comparisons, and a parallel comparison with individuals of similar traits. It is found that the longitudinal comparison and parallel comparison exist simultaneously, although the downward comparison is insignificant. However, the symmetry of the upward comparison, downward comparison, and parallel comparison cannot be rejected. Because the absolute income effect and the relative income effects countervail, the effect of income growth on subjective well-being is likely to be negligible.
A Meta-Analysis of Business Cycle Correlation between the Euro Area and CEECs: What Do We Know - and Who Cares?

We review the literature on business-cycle correlation between the euro area and Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs), a topic that has gained attention in recent years as new EU entrants prepare for participation in the monetary union. Our meta-analysis suggests several CEECs already have comparably high correlation with the euro area business cycle. We also find that estimation methodologies can have a significant effect on correlation coefficients. While central bankers are more conservative in their estimates, we find no evidence of a geographical bias in the studies.