Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epidemiologic and Serodiagnostic Aspects of Chlamydial Salpingitis

Cultural, serologic, and epidemiologic aspects of Chlamydia trachomatis in acute salpingitis were assessed. Of 111 patients, 52 (47%) harbored C trachomatis in the cervix or urethra, or both. Neisseria gonorrhoene was isolated in 41 patients of 209 (20%). A majority (79%) of women with gonorrhea were also infected with C trachomatis. A fourfold titer rise of chlamydial IgG antibodies or significant IgM titer, or both, was demonstrated in 37 patients of 72 (51%) from whom paired sera were obtained. The serologic response distinguished 3 different phases of chlamydial infection: acute, subacute, and chronic or reinfection. The patients' male sex partners were examined on a voluntary basis, and C trachomatis was detected in 68%, indicating a need for effective partner examination and treatment.
Celebrity endorsements and branding strategies: event study from India

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to evaluate the economic value of celebrity endorsements to Indian firms based on their branding strategy – corporate or house-of-brands – and their “congruence” or “fit” with the celebrity. The overall economic value of endorsements to firms in India, a moderately collectivist culture, is also assessed. Design/methodology/approach – Standard “event study” methodology is used to evaluate the economic value of endorsements under different branding strategies (47 endorsement announcements – 25 corporate brands and 22 house-of-brands). The impact of the level of congruence (assessed using brand personality scales) on abnormal returns is also examined. Findings – Event study results indicate significant positive abnormal returns for corporate brands and insignificant returns to house-of-brands. Moreover, the level of congruence is found to have an insignificant effect on endorsement announcement returns. Overall, celebrity endorsements result in positive economic value t.
Short- and Long-Term Results of Lung Resection for Cancer in Octogenarians

To analyze short- and long-term results of surgery in octogenarians, we reviewed data of 96 consecutive patients aged 80 years or more who were operated on for non-small-cell lung carcinoma from 1990 to 2005. Risk factors for complications, perioperative mortality, and long-term survival were assessed by univariate and multivariate analysis. Major complications developed in 17 (17.7%) patients, leading to death in 9 (9.4%) of them. Resection of more than 1 lobe, cardiorespiratory comorbidity, PaO2 < 75 mm Hg, and CO diffusion capacity <60% were predictive of major complications; extended resection was also predictive of 30-day mortality. The overall 5-year survival rate was 38%, with a significant difference between stage I/II and stage III. In multivariate analysis only pathological stage was related to long-term survival. Surgery is feasible for octogenarians, and even patients in stage II can achieve remarkable survival.
Long-run Consumption Risk and International Stock Returns: A Century of Evidence

We estimate consumption based asset pricing models using consumption and equity market data for fifteen countries from 1900 to 2008 in a setting where investors have recursive utility. We find strong evidence that a long-run risk consumption CAPM that prices international stock returns via their exposures to multi-period consumption growth in world consumption performs considerably better in explaining the international cross-section of returns than the canonical consumption CAPM. By virtue of the long-run data set, we are also able to relate the importance of world consumption risk for the cross-section of international stock returns to periods of high and low capital market integration. It turns out that the extent to which returns are exposed to world consumption growth indeed di ffers across periods: During the early part of our sample period, when international capital mobility was high, stock returns' exposure to world consumption growth is important. Local consumption growth, however, is more important for the post-WWII period when international capital mobility was generally low except for the last two decades.
Further delineation of Frank–ter Haar syndrome

The combination of the symptoms megalocornea, multiple skeletal anomalies, and developmental delay was first recognized as a separate entity by Frank et al. [ 1973 ] and subsequently confirmed by ter Haar et al. [ 1982 ]. The main characteristics are brachycephaly, wide fontanels, prominent forehead, hypertelorism, prominent eyes, macrocornea with or without glaucoma, full cheeks, small chin, bowing of the long bones, and flexion deformity of the fingers. Protruding, simple ears, and prominent coccyx bone can be also regarded as important diagnostic signs. Inheritance most likely is autosomal recessive. Several manifestations such as progressive “coarsening” of the face, hirsutism, gallstones, lingual papillomatosis, and cardiac valve anomalies all point to a possible metabolic basis of the disorder. Here we describe four patients, including three sibs of Turkish descent, with this entity. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Influenza and Other Respiratory Virus–Related Emergency Department Visits Among Young Children

BACKGROUND. Influenza and other winter respiratory viruses cause substantial morbidity among children. Previous estimates of the burden of illness of these viruses have neglected to include the emergency department, where a large number of patients seek acute care for respiratory illnesses. This study provides city- and statewide population estimates of the burden of illness attributable to respiratory viruses for children receiving emergency department–based care for respiratory infections during the winter months. METHODS. The number of patients ≤7 years of age presenting to the emergency department of an urban tertiary care pediatric hospital with acute respiratory infections was estimated by using a classifier based on presenting complaints. The rates of specific viral infections in this population were estimated by using the rates of positivity for respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, adenovirus, and enterovirus. Local emergency department market share and US Census data enabled determination of the rates of emergency department visits in the Boston, Massachusetts, area and in Massachusetts. RESULTS. During the 11-year study period, the mean yearly number of patients ≤7 years of age presenting to the study emergency department during the winter season was 17397. On the basis of the respiratory classifier, the mean number of patients with an acute respiratory infection was 6923, or 398 per 1000 emergency department visits. In the city population, the mean number of emergency department visits for acute respiratory infections was 17906, which is equivalent to 113.9 per 1000 children residing in the city, and in the state population the mean number was 61529, or 94.5 per 1000 children residing in the state. At the state level, 23114 of the visits were for respiratory syncytial virus, 5650 for influenza, 1751 for parainfluenza virus, 2848 for adenovirus, and 798 for enterovirus. For patients 6 to 23 months of age in the state population, there were 19860 emergency department visits for acute respiratory infections, or 168 per 1000 children in this age group, with 6235 visits resulting from respiratory syncytial virus and 2112 resulting from influenza. CONCLUSION. There is a high incidence of emergency department visits for infectious respiratory illnesses among children. This important component of health care use should be included in estimates of the burden of illness attributable to influenza and other winter respiratory viruses.
Competitiveness of India's Manufacturing Sector: An Assessment of Related Issues

This paper provides an analytical abstract of various parameters of manufacturing competitiveness of the Indian economy. India's manufacturing exports have risen impressively in the past decade or so and found to be directly linked to the world GDP and inversely related to real effective exchange rate (REER). Indian manufacturing industries have certain inherent strengths and advantages in having a relatively inexpensive, adequate and skilled labour force, cost-effective and competitive prices of goods produced, large manufacturing base and proximity to fast growing Asian markets. India is one of the leading producers and exporters in a number of commodities and enjoys significant advantages in terms of lower labour costs as compared to other economies. Nevertheless, India's competitiveness is lost on account of lower labour productivity and higher input and material costs. To improve the competitiveness of the Indian manufacturing goods, issues like further diversification of export basket, upgradation of export quality, improvement in productivity, increased technology intensity in production, enhanced R&D activity, encouraging business environment, less cumbersome regulatory environment, flexible labour laws, removal of infrastructural bottlenecks and SME related issues need attention of all concerned.
Title Differences in dinucleotide frequencies of thermophilic genes encodingwater soluble and membrane proteins

*KURAに登録されているコンテンツの利用については,著作権法に規定されている私的使用や引用などの範囲内で行ってください。 *著作権法に規定されている私的使用や引用などの範囲を超える利用を行う場合には,著作権者の許諾を得てください。 ただし,著作権者 から著作権等管理事業者(学術著作権協会,日本著作出版権管理システムなど)に権利委託されているコンテンツの利用手続については ,各著作権等管理事業者に確認してください。 Title Differences in dinucleotide frequencies of thermophilic genes encoding water soluble and membrane proteins Author(s) Nakashima, Hiroshi; Kuroda, Yuka Citation Journal of Zhejiang University: Science B, 12(6): 419-427 Issue Date 2011-06 Type Journal Article Text version author URL http://hdl.handle. net/2297/29193 Right
Stamatis Generic Model and Audit Quality in Nigeria

Due to the frequent business failure coupled with incessant malpractices and increase in fraud techniques, there is a need for auditors to improve audit quality to address these negative occurrences. This study investigated the application of Stamatis generic model as a continuous quality improvement technique to influence audit quality in Nigeria. The population consists of 916 licensed auditing firms in Nigeria and 683 was the sample size upon which questionnaire was administered. 641 copies of questionnaire were returned representing a response rate of 94%. The questionnaire was validated by certified quality management. The reliability and internal consistency of the instrument for data collection was confirmed by the Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficients (Rc) of 82% obtained from pilot study. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was used to confirm the research hypotheses. The result obtained showed positive correlations and statistically significant relationships among the level of Stamatis generic model awareness and degree of implementation (r =.752; p =.000) and the application of Stamatis generic model and audit quality (r =.630; p =.000). Findings show that though the model theoretically predicted audit quality but are yet to be implemented by auditors in Nigeria as a result of ignorance, inexperience and low level of firms’ resources. The study concluded that Stamatis generic model will improve the quality of auditor’s reports if implemented and through multiplier effect, influences the integrity of financial statements and stakeholders’ decision. It was recommended that audit firms should adopt SGM to have quality output and satisfied clients.
The neo-epitope specific PRO-C3 ELISA measures true formation of type III collagen associated with liver and muscle parameters.

AIM The present study describes the assessment of true formation of type III collagen in different pathologies using a neo-epitope specific competitive Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) towards the N-terminal propeptide of type III collagen (PRO-C3). METHODS The monoclonal antibody was raised against the N-protease mediated cleavage site of the N-terminal propeptide of type III collagen and a competitive ELISA was developed using the selected antibody. The assay was evaluated in relation to neo-epitope specificity, technical performance, and as a marker for liver fibrosis and muscle mass using the rat carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) model and a study of immobilization induced muscle loss in humans, respectively. RESULTS The ELISA was neo-epitope specific, technically stable and can be assessed in serum and plasma samples. In the CCl4 liver fibrosis model it was observed that serum PRO-C3 were significantly elevated in rats with liver fibrosis as seen by histology (56% elevated in the highest quartile of total hepatic collagen compared to control rats, p<0.001) and correlated significantly to total hepatic collagen in the diseased rats (r=0.46, p<0.01) and not in control rats, suggesting the pathological origin of the epitope. Human plasma PRO-C3 correlated significantly to muscle mass at baseline (R(2)=0.44, p=0.036). CONCLUSION The developed neo-epitope specific serum ELISA for type III procollagen (PRO-C3) reflects true formation as it is specific for the propeptide cleaved off the intact collagen molecule. In a clinical and in a rodent study we showed that this marker was highly related to liver fibrosis and muscle mass.
Area deprivation and oral health in Scottish adults: a multilevel study.

OBJECTIVES To explore the association between area deprivation and adult oral health. METHODS Multilevel regression analysis of data taken from the 1998 Adult Dental Health Survey in the UK comprising 632 participants living in 346 households located in 31 postcode sectors in Scotland. Three oral health outcomes were investigated: number of sound (including restored) teeth; has one or more unsound teeth; has periodontal pocketing 4 mm or more in one or more teeth. RESULTS In the most deprived areas, individuals had a mean of 4.6 fewer sound teeth than those in the least deprived areas. The difference in normalised number of sound teeth between least and most deprived areas was -0.707 (95% CI -1.164, -0.250), P = 0.024. After adjusting for age, sex, qualification status, head of household social class and household income, the estimated difference was -0.238 (-0.591 to 0.115) (P = 0.164). Area deprivation was not associated with having one or more unsound teeth or periodontal pocketing 4 mm or more in one or more teeth. CONCLUSIONS There is a univariate association of area deprivation with the number of sound teeth. This association is largely explained by household and individual level socioeconomic variables. A small area deprivation effect cannot be excluded in these data. The findings challenge current understanding of the relationship between area deprivation and oral health. Further multilevel research exploring the relationship between area deprivation and oral health is required using a larger sample and a prospective longitudinal design.
An Ecological Assessment of Drug-Related Problem Situations for American Indian Adolescents of the Southwest

ABSTRACT This study examined difficult situations related to drug and alcohol use as identified by American Indian youth in the Southwest. Sixty-two contextually based items were developed from focus group data, and were administered to 71 American Indian youth. The items measured the frequency in which youth experienced specific drug-related situations, as well as the perceived difficulty in resisting drug use offers in those situations. The results indicated that the most frequent and difficult drug and alcohol situations occurred primarily with friends or cousins at their homes or after school. Implications for culturally specific assessment, prevention, and treatment are discussed.
The Relationship between Abnormal Returns and Social and Environmental Responsibility: An Empirical Study of Companies Traded on the Bovespa from 1999 to 2006

This article investigates the relationship between abnormal returns and the social and environmental performance of companies listed for trading on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) that regularly publish a social balance sheet according to the model proposed by the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analysis (IBASE). We measured the social and environmental performance based on internal and external social and environmental responsibility indicators taken from the social balance sheets of companies that publish such a report, drawn from among the 100 largest companies by market value, between 1999 and 2006. To calculate abnormal returns we used the share price and beta, available in the Economatica and Ipeadata databases. The hypothesis was tested by regression analysis with fixed-effect panel data, adjusted by the robustness tool, applying the Hausman test. The results show that the external social responsibility indicator, the internal social responsibility indicator and the environmental responsibility indicator do not have any relationship with the firms’ abnormal returns.
Testosterone formation and metabolism during male sexual differentiation in the human embryo.

ABSTRACT The formation by the gonads of [3H] testosterone from [7α-3H]pregnenolone and [1,2-3H] progesterone and the metabolism of [1,2-3H]testosterone by various tissues have been studied in 33 human fetuses that varied in age from phenotypically undifferentiated stages (1–3 cm crown-rump length) to sexually differentiated male and female embryos greater than 21 cm in length. In the first series of studies utilizing thinlayer and celite column chromatography for quantification of the metabolic products following incubation of the gonads with the C21 steroids, it was concluded that testosterone is the principal androgen formed by the fetal testis at the time of male sexual differentiation. The capacity for testosterone formation from these precursors was shown to rise from undetectable levels at 1–3 cm of development to maximal rates of about 150 pinoles/10 mg tissue/2 hr in the testes obtained from embryos of 7.1–9 cm crown-rump length, a sequence that correlates closely with the androgenmediated events .
Biases among Hospital Personnel concerning Donation of Specific Organs and Tissues: Implications for the Donation Discussion and Education

Previous research has established that healthcare professionals who are being trained to talk with families about donation have strong personal preferences for and aversions to the donation of specific organs and tissues. This article examines the possible reasons for such preferences and/or aversions. Among the population studied, strong personal preferences for donation of specific anatomical gifts predominantly were associated with pragmatic and moral or ethical justifications. Strong aversions were associated with pragmatic reasoning and mystical thinking, represented as ancient fears. The findings suggest the need for changes in the way the donation option is offered to families and the way hospital personnel are educated.
The effects of humour usage by financial advisors in sales encounters

Purpose – For many years, the financial industry has been perceived as conservative, old‐fashioned, and somewhat tedious. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of humour usage by financial advisors on several sales performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was completed by more than 400 buyer‐seller dyads. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were conducted. An important strength of SEM is its ability to incorporate the psychometric notions of constructs and measurement errors in the same estimation procedure.Findings – A financial advisor's good sense of humour has a positive impact on the clients' perceptions of service quality, trust, satisfaction, purchase intentions, and word‐of‐mouth propensity.Research limitations/implications – Although only customer perceptions were used, the paper suggests many ways to use the results as a spring board by sales researchers to accrue research efforts in understanding the truly rich role of humour.Practical implications – Man.
Western management accounting and controls in Russian firms : an analysis of the extent of the use and its influences

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in Russia has undergone fundamental political and structural changes. In this paper, we investigate the extent to which Russian firms use Western management accounting and control systems (MACS) at two different points of time to see the possible diffusion of Western MACS. In contrast to focusing on the diffusion of specific MACS techniques (e.g. Innes and Mitchell 1995, Malmi 1999), Russia as a European market economy with enormous potential provides a unique setting for studying the diffusion of the whole range of Western MACS in transitional circumstances. In addition, our study contributes to very limited or even non-existent literature on management accounting in Russia. Our results are based on two questionnaires to samples of 100 Russian firms conducted at the interval of two years. The results show that the use of MACS is not as widespread in Russia as it is in other Western countries, but that especially the use of formal controls such as standard costing and development of production techniques may be gaining importance as the business environment is getting more stable.
Do counterfeits devalue the ownership of luxury brands

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and attitudes of original luxury brand owners towards counterfeit luxury goods. The results indicated that all respondents found luxury products fun and worth the price they paid for them, whether they were original or counterfeit. Almost 30 percent of respondents owned no counterfeits and only original goods. These respondents believed that counterfeits were inferior products and believed that ownership of original luxury products was more prestigious compared to counterfeit luxury goods. Conversely, those who owned more counterfeits had a positive image of them and did not believe these products were inferior. Overall, 70 percent of respondents indicated that the value, satisfaction, and status of original luxury brand names were not decreased by the wide availability of counterfeits. Further, the majority of respondents disagreed that the availability of counterfeits negatively affects their purchase intentions of original luxury brands.
Organizational Size, Structuring of Activities, and Control Information System Sophistication Levels: An Empirical Study

■ This paper investigates the contingent relationship between organizational structure, control and information systems sophistication, and size using more than one measure of size (i.e. employees, sales and capital). Two aspects of organization structure - "structuring of activities" and "degree of decentralization" are studied. The sophistication of control and information systems were measured in terms of their internal and external orientation. ■ The findings indicate positive correlations between all variables except that no relationship was found between size and structuring of activities. The multidimensionality of size construct is also highlighted.
Physiological regulation of food intake.

in this issue of the journal are published six papers that were submitted in response to the Call for Papers “Physiological Regulation of Appetite” ([7][1], [17][2], [25][3], [27][4], [66][5], [86][6]). In addition, four other papers in this series have been published in previous issues ([13][7