Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plasma factor Xa inhibition can predict antithrombotic effects of oral direct factor Xa inhibitors in rabbit atherothrombosis models

Summary We evaluated the relationship between antithrombotic effects and pharmacodynamic (PD) marker changes produced by the novel factor (F)Xa inhibitors darexaban (YM150) and rivaroxaban in a rabbit model of plaque disruption-induced arterial thrombosis. Animals were subjected to catheter-induced endothelial denudation via the femoral artery followed by a two-week high-cholesterol diet. Plaque disruption was induced by balloon angioplasty, and then stasis was achieved by ligation at the distal side of the injured segment. Darexaban and rivaroxaban were administered orally 1 hour (h) before and 9 h after plaque disruption, and their antithrombotic effects were evaluated 24 h after the initiation of ligation. Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and plasma FXa activity were measured using blood samples collected before and 1 h after administration. Darexaban and rivaroxaban significantly reduced thrombus formation. The thrombus weight obtained in the 30 mg/kg darexaban group was comparable to that in the 1 mg/kg rivaroxaban group (2.17 ± 0.63 and 3.23 ± 1.64 mg, respectively, vs. 8.01 ± 1.08 mg in the control group). Plasma FXa activity correlated with the antithrombotic effects of darexaban and rivaroxaban, while PT only correlated with those of darexaban. Our findings suggest that the degree of plasma FXa inhibition may be useful for predicting antithrombotic effects of darexaban and rivaroxaban in arterial thrombosis. PT may also be useful in evaluating antithrombotic effects of darexaban in particular.
Phase I/II trial of irinotecan plus high-dose 5-fluorouracil (TTD regimen) as first-line chemotherapy in advanced colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND We conducted a phase I/II study of weekly irinotecan [30 min intravenous (i.v.) infusion] combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU 3 g/m(2) weekly 48 h i.v. infusion, TTD regimen) as first-line chemotherapy for patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). PATIENTS AND METHODS The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and the dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) in the treatment of gastrointestinal solid tumors (in phase I), and the antitumor activity and toxicity of the recommended phase I dose (in phase II) were determined. RESULTS Diarrhea was the DLT, and irinotecan 80 mg/m(2) plus 5-FU 3 g/m(2) was the recommended phase I dose. In phase II, the confirmed response rate was 44% [95% confidence interval (CI) 29% to 59%] and the median overall survival was 23.8 months. However, grade 3/4 diarrhea affected 59% of patients and led to withdrawal of three patients. A second cohort of patients studied using the same schedule but with a reduced 5-FU starting dose of 2.25 g/m(2) showed improved tolerance (the incidence of grade 4 diarrhea decreased from 28% to 11% and overall grade 3/4 diarrhea to 56%, with no patient withdrawals) but the confirmed response rate was 28% (95% CI 14% to 45%) and median overall survival was 17.2 months. CONCLUSIONS We found weekly irinotecan 80 mg/m(2) plus TTD regimen (5-FU 2.25 g/m(2) given as 48-h i.v. infusion) to be a feasible and active combined chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of advanced colorectal cancer.
THE PRESENCE OF MULTIPLE MICROBLEEDS AS A PREDICTOR OF SUBSEQUENT CEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE IN PATIENTS WITH MOYAMOYA DISEASE

OBJECTIVETo examine the relationship between asymptomatic microbleeds (MBs) and the occurrence of subsequent stroke in patients with moyamoya disease. METHODSBeginning in October 2003, 50 consecutive patients with moyamoya disease were enrolled in a prospective study using 3-T magnetic resonance imaging. These patients were followed from the date of the initial magnetic resonance study until the date of the first subsequent stroke or final magnetic resonance study. The median follow-up period was 15 months. The patients were comprised of 13 men and 37 women ranging in age from 9 to 68 years (mean age, 40.5 ± 16.2 yr). RESULTSAlthough no MBs were found in 27 patients in the initial magnetic resonance study, a total of 66 MBs were found in the remaining 23 patients. Eleven patients had a single MB and 12 had multiple MBs. The patients were divided into three groups according to the number of MBs: a non-MB group, a single-MB group, and a multi-MB group. Kaplan-Meier curves of the three groups showed a significantly higher likelihood of subsequent hemorrhage in the multi-MB group than in either the non-MB or single-MB groups (P = 0.0380). No significant differences among the three groups were seen in terms of their subsequent infarction-free ratios. Age-adjusted analysis performed with the Cox proportional hazard model also showed the presence of multiple MBs as an independent risk factor (hazard ratio, 2.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.001–13.24). CONCLUSIONThe presence of multiple MBs might be a predictor of subsequent hemorrhage in patients with moyamoya disease. Confirmation of these results will require a study with a larger number of patients and a longer follow-up period.
The Resilience in Illness Model, Part 1: Exploratory Evaluation in Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer

Background: Resilience is a positive health outcome identified by the Committee on Future Direction for Behavioral and Social Sciences as a research priority for the National Institutes of Health. The Resilience in Illness Model (RIM) was developed from a series of qualitative and quantitative studies, to increase understanding of how positive health protective factors (ie, social integration, family environment, courageous coping, and derived meaning) may influence resilience outcomes. The RIM also includes 2 risk factors: illness-related distress and defensive coping. Objective: The purpose of this 2-part article was to report on evaluation of the RIM for adolescents/young adults (AYAs) with cancer. Here, in part 1, our purpose was to describe the exploratory RIM evaluation, and in part 2 we describe the confirmatory RIM evaluation. Methods: An exploratory evaluation of RIM was done using exploratory latent variable structural equation modeling with a combined sample from 2 studies of preadolescents and AYAs with cancer aged 10 to 26 years (n = 202). Results: Results, including goodness-of-fit indices, support the RIM as a theory with a high level of explained variance for outcomes of resilience (67%) and self-transcendence (63%). Variance explained for proximal outcomes ranged from 18% to 76%. Conclusions: Findings indicate that, following confirmatory testing, the RIM may be a useful guide to developing targeted interventions that are grounded in the experiences of the AYAs. Implications for Practice: Understanding of the AYA cancer experience to improve holistic care is increased.
How are family physicians managing osteoporosis? Qualitative study of their experiences and educational needs.

OBJECTIVE To explore family physicians' experiences and perceptions of osteoporosis and to identify their educational needs in this area. DESIGN Qualitative study using focus groups. SETTING Four Ontario sites: one each in Thunder Bay and Timmins, and two in Toronto, chosen to represent a range of practice sizes, populations, locations, and use of bone densitometry. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-two FPs participated in four focus groups. Physicians were identified by investigators or local contacts to provide maximum variation sampling. METHOD Focus groups using a semistructured interview guide were audiotaped and transcribed. The constant comparative method of data analysis was used to identify key words and concepts until saturation of themes was reached. MAIN FINDINGS Family physicians order bone densitometry and try to manage osteoporosis appropriately, but lack a rationale for testing and are confused about management. Participants' main concern was clinical management, followed by disease prevention and their educational needs. CONCLUSION Family physicians are confused about how to manage osteoporosis. To reduce the burden of illness due to osteoporosis, educational interventions should be tailored to family physicians' needs.
Induced persistence or reversals in fund performance?: the effect of survivorship bias

There are two competing views regarding the potential effect of survivorship bias on the assessed persistence in performance of managed fund returns. On the one hand Brown et al. (Review of Financial Studies, 5, 1992) argue that spurious persistence will be induced, while alternatively Grinblatt and Titman (Journal of Finance, 47, 1992) argue the converse case, namely, that performance reversals or nonpersistence is more likely. The current study applies the non parametric contingency table methodology to the year on year raw returns of a sample of Australian Rollover funds as a means of gauging which of these survivorship bias hypotheses has greater support. Generally, the results show that although there is some evidence of persistence, the dominant pattern is one of reversals in performance, thus supporting the Grinblatt and Titman view.
A cost-benefit analysis of Pathways to Work for new and repeat incapacity benefits claimants.

This latest research forms part of a comprehensive independent evaluation of Pathways to Work. The report is based on a cost-benefit analysis conducted by a consortium of researchers from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the Policy Studies Institute. It examines whether the financial benefits from Pathways are larger or smaller than its costs and the generalisability of some of the quantitative findings. The estimates of costs and benefits relate to new and repeat incapacity benefits claimants in the seven original Jobcentre Plus districts. The overall findings provide a favourable impression of the financial benefits of the Pathways to Work for new and repeat incapacity benefits claimants, for the Exchequer and hence, for society as a whole.
Natural killer (NK) cell response after vaccination of volunteers with killed influenza vaccine

Many experiments have shown convincingly that natural killer (NK) cell activity against viral infections is an important early defence mechanism in mice. Since the NK response occurs soon after infection, often long before clinical signs of disease become manifest, it has been difficult to design studies to monitor accurately NK cell kinetics following infection, without actually administering pathogens to volunteers. There is therefore little data pertaining to the role of NK cells in humans. Nevertheless, a number of studies have shown elevated NK activity in response to herpes simplex and influenza virus infections in humans. Our study was designed to show that NK activity could be provoked in humans by exposure to viral particles without actual live viral infection. The development of NK cell response in the peripheral blood of volunteers shortly after vaccination with killed influenza trivalent vaccine was studied. The results demonstrate that killed virus vaccine induces and augments NK cell activity for relatively long periods. Such data may prove valuable for designing possible modes of augmenting NK activity as a therapeutic tool.
Hepatitis B virus encodes an RNA polymerase III transcript

We demonstrated that cloned hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA directs the synthesis of a 700-base RNA (HBV 700) by RNA polymerase III in a cell-free transcription system. HBV 700 is the only transcript known to originate from the viral short strand and has been mapped to the region between roughly 1,635 and 954 base pairs on the viral map, between the surface and core antigen coding sequences but overlapping and opposing the putative DNA polymerase and B protein genes. The in vitro initiation sites for the HBV 700 and core antigen RNAs are only 50 bases apart, suggesting that these two genes may be coordinately regulated. Moreover, both of these initiation sites appear to lie within the approximately 300-base double-stranded region (the nick region) between the 5' end of the HBV short strand and the nick in the viral long strand. We found two unusual sequence elements in the nick region that are conserved between the human and woodchuck viruses.
The Impact of September 11, 2001 on Anti-Islamic Hate Crimes in the U.S.

THE IMPACT OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 ON ANTI-ISLAMIC HATE CRIMES IN THE U.S. Sarah Merrill, M.A. George Mason University, 2013 Thesis Director: Dr. Cynthia Lum The Hate Crime Statistics Act was originally passed in order to gain a better understanding of hate crimes and the extent of their presence in America. Since 1990, this data has also primarily been used to identify trends in hate crimes. The current study examines the data in order to better understand the impact of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in the U.S. on anti-Islamic hate crimes. Initial studies examining anti-Islamic hate crimes only look at the immediate impact of 9/11, with most of the focus on 2000-2001. The present study expands on previous research by using a larger time frame than past studies (from 1996-2010). In order to determine if there was an association between the 9/11 attacks and hate crime incidents in general or if there was an isolated association between the attacks and anti-Islamic hate crimes exclusively, annual and monthly hate crime data were examined through independent samples t-tests. Ten hate crime categories showed an increase in the monthly analysis. In comparison to all of the hate crime categories listed in the UCR, anti-Islamic hate crimes had the second largest monthly mean difference from pre-2001 to post-2001, after anti-homosexual (both), but also had the second largest percentage increase from pre-2001 to post-2001, after anti-mental disability. Examination of monthly trends also suggests that trends in anti-Islamic hate crimes were uniquely affected by 9/11. Based on these findings, ideas for future research are explored.
Gender Inequalities in Ownership and Control of Land in Africa: Myths Versus Reality

Lack of clarity behind measurement and interpretation of statistics on gender and land leads to an inability to clearly articulate a policy response to the potential inequalities faced by women and men. This article sets out to explore, conceptually and empirically, the levels and relative inequalities in land rights between women and men in African countries. The first section of the article engages in a conceptual discussion of how to measure gendered-land outcomes, what ownership and control mean in different contexts, and why attention to these factors is important for the development of gender and land statistics. The second section of the article systematically reviews existing evidence from microlevel large sample studies to summarize recent trends in land access, ownership, and control by sex. The third section presents new statistics from a variety of nationally representative and large-scale unpublished data on gender and land in Africa. Results provide not only a nuanced understanding of the importance of measuring land indicators for gendered development in Africa and globally but also new statistics on a variety of land outcomes to aid stakeholders in the discussion of gender-land inequalities.
The Effect of Government Ideology on an Exchange Rate Regime: Some International Evidence

This paper comprehensively investigates the effect of government ideology on the type of exchange rate regime that a country implements via multinomial logit and multinomial probit models for 147 countries in the period 1974–2009. Our results clearly indicate that a left‐wing government increases the likelihood that a country implements a flexible regime in the classifications of exchange rate regimes. Nevertheless, evidence is weaker when using the de jure IMF course classification, which is set up by Ilzetzki et al. ([Ilzetzki, E., 2008]). In a deeper investigation, we find that left‐wing governments are more likely to choose a flexible regime relative to a fixed one in our sample of OECD, non‐OECD and non‐Eurozone countries, as the impacts from government ideology on the determinant of the choice of exchange rate regime in Eurozone countries disappear. More importantly, we present many explanations for exchange rate regime choices when macroeconomic conditions, political constraints and institutions impact the choice of exchange rate regime.
International Migration, Self-employment and Restructuring through Tourism in Sparsely Populated Areas

Abstract Previous research has shown that different forms of migration in general, and tourism-related international migration in particular, could act as potential drivers for various forms of rural transformations. This paper investigates self-employment in tourism among foreign-born people in rural Sweden. The questions addressed in this paper are: What is the magnitude of self-employment, and what types of business do in-migrants run, in rural areas? A discussion on the extent to which in-migrants to rural areas contribute to rural restructuring through self-employment in tourism follows. The results are analyzed by drawing on theories connected to restructuring and ideas of the “new economy”. The longitudinal, individual and geo-referenced database ASTRID with official Swedish register data is used to identify foreign-born people self-employed in tourism in Sweden. Self-employment is more common for in-migrants coming from culturally proximate Western countries, followed by Asia and the Middle East. The length of time in Sweden plays a significant role in the incidence of self-employment in tourism, with restaurants dominating as the type of establishment. It can be discussed how much restaurants help invigorate the economy of rural areas, and how much they contribute to rural change and transformation in qualitative terms.
Diagnosing von Willebrand Disease: A Large Reference Laboratory's Perspective

Von Willebrand disease (vWD) is a common bleeding disorder. Diagnosis requires the demonstration of both clinical and laboratory features consistent with this disorder. Laboratory evaluation is complex, due in part to the variety of assays available and differing opinions regarding the optimum testing methodologies and algorithms required. This study represents a retrospective analysis of cases (n = 497) evaluated in our laboratory in which results for von Willebrand factor (vWF) multimeric analysis, vWF antigen, ristocetin cofactor activity, and collagen-binding activity were available. Results were compared to determine which assay parameters best correlate with one another, alone or in combination, and best correlate with the pattern and distribution of multimers. We demonstrate that performance of vWF activity or antigen assays in isolation can lead to both the overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis of vWD. Incorporation of the collagen-binding assay into the diagnostic algorithm leads to a reduced potential for misdiagnosis or misclassification of vWD and can reduce the number of multimeric analyses required dramatically.
COMPENSATION PACKAGE AND JOB OUTPUT: PERSPECTIVES OF BANK WORKERS

Labour unrest in the form of strike actions in both public and private corporate organizations underscore the importance employees attach to the issue of compensation. As a result, the human resource functions of many corporate organizations are challenged to develop and implement effective compensation schemes which will lead to the achievement of organizational goals. This study sought to examine the relationship between compensation package and job output in the banking industry in Ghana from Bank workers perspectives. Using case study approach, a descriptive survey was carried out to collect data from bank workers. Data was analysed in terms of descriptive statistics. Pearson chi square was used to test the significance of relationship between employee compensation and job output. The results indicated a significant relationship between compensation and job output.
Human Capital, Technology Adoption and Development

This paper presents a model of development in which skilled labor is an input in technology adoption. The model combines Nelson and Phelps (1966) type technology dynamics with a growth model in which intermediate goods are used to produce a final good. The intermediate good producers hire skilled labor to increase their productivity by adopting techniques from an exogenously evolving stock of world knowledge. I solve for the stationary equilibrium and derive analytic expressions for steady state income level and wage premium. In a quantitative exercise, I calibrate the model and compare its predictions with data. The model successfully accounts for cross-country income differences and within-country wage premia on skilled labor. These results strengthen the idea that different types of human capital perform separate tasks and should not be aggregated into a single stock of human capital in development accounting exercises. The availability of skilled labor is potentially much more important for development than such aggregative exercises have so far suggested.
ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY AND INNOVATION IN THE KNOWLEDGE INTENSIVE BUSINESS SERVICE SECTOR

Innovative activity is performed to a considerable extent in the service sector, namely within the so-called knowledge intensive business services (KIBS). Particularly emphasizing the role of absorptive capacity, we analyze possible determinants of incremental and radical firm innovation using firm micro data from the KIBS Foundation Survey. The results show that access to knowledge through networking and cooperation is of utmost importance for innovative activity in the KIBS sector. Access to knowledge from universities and research institutions is particularly important for radical innovation, notwithstanding the degree of formality of cooperation. In contrast, access to knowledge from clients or suppliers only has a significant impact on the probability to innovate if the cooperation with these partners is based on formal cooperation via joint projects or formal cooperation contracts. Furthermore, we find empirical evidence for a positive correlation between KIBS firms and clients from the manufacturing sector: these stimulate in particular incremental, but also radical innovation.
Continuous Improvement: The Ingredients of Change

A programme of change leading to continuous improvement requires a planned programme to effect it. The six ingredients for change – management commitment; education; implementation; measurement and benchmarking; recognition; and regeneration – are a distillation of the management focus points and the right mix by the senior managers team will create a continuous culture.
Water conservation through trade: the case of Kenya

This study quantifies and maps the water footprint of Kenya from both production and consumption perspectives and estimates the country’s virtual water export and import. Kenya’s virtual water export related to trade in agricultural products was 4.1 km3/y; its virtual water import was 4.0 km3/y. The average export earning per unit of water consumed or polluted in producing agricultural export products was USD 0.25/m3, while the average expenditure on imported commodities per unit of virtual water imported was USD 0.10/m3. In addition to increasing water productivity in crop production, Kenya can mitigate its water scarcity by increasing imports of water-intensive products such as cereals and exports of high-value products such as cut flowers, vegetables, spices and tea.