Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance in the Australian Context

The concept of social responsibility of corporations has engendered considerable interest in Australia in recent years. While previous research on the relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance has largely been based on international data, this paper examines the relationship between the adoption of corporate social responsibility and the financial performance of companies within Australia. A number of economic drivers for corporate social responsibility have been identified that may explain its voluntary adoption by companies. Our preliminary results revealed no statistically significant relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance; however, a number of opportunities for refining the research were identified.
Transcatheter aortic valve implantation – update and evidence

Abstract Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (T-AVI) has become the standard of care for high-risk patients suffering from severe aortic valve stenosis. More than 60,000 implants have been performed to date. While the first-generation T-AVI devices had some specific issues, the advancements in these first-generation devices and the development of second-generation devices significantly reduced the incidence of peri-procedural complications. The two major access routes are the transfemoral (TF) and the transapical (TA) approach. Both approaches have their advantages and should be considered equal alternatives for finding the best treatment option for the individual patient. Currently there are discussions about extending the indication to patients with lower risk profiles. However, there is no real evidence to justify an expansion, as results of surgical aortic valve replacement in low and intermediate risk patients are excellent.
Multiple Agents Based Scheduling and Monitoring in Cloud System

Cloud computing is associated with a new paradigm for the provision of computing infrastructure and services. It represents a shift away from computing as a product that is purchased, to computing that is delivered as a service to consumers over the Internet from large scale data centers or clouds. Clouds provide an infrastructure for easily usable, scalable, virtually accessible and adjustable IT resources that need not be owned by an entity but can be delivered as a service over the Internet. The cloud concept eliminates the need to install and run middleware and applications on users own computer by providing Infrastructure, Platform and Services to users, thus easing the tasks of software and hardware maintenance and support. In this paper we propose a concept of multi agent based batch scheduling and monitoring in cloud computing environment, where the number of agent are more than or equal to two with reducing the complexity of accessing and responding time.
Recruiting Strategically: Increasing Enrollment in Academic Programs of Agriculture.

Agriculture continues to struggle to find enough qualified students to advance the industry. Thus, recruiting practice improvement is imperative. This study assessed the efficacy of message strategies, message channels, recruiting materials, and messages for recruiting students into an academic program with low enrollment. Focus groups were conducted with agriculture students outside of the department of interest to address the following objectives: 1) identify the most effective message strategies and message channels to reach and attract potential students, and 2) conduct testing of strategically developed recruitment materials and messages. Results indicated job stability and positive contextual messages would be effective for recruiting. Participants preferred messages delivered in person, targeted online advertisements, and campus publications. Additionally, findings showed participants wanted full-color materials with pictures; messages with statistics on the industry; online videos that are 1-2 minutes, with videos on a website based on user interest; and testimonials from a range of individuals in the industry. Participants were mixed on the perceived effectiveness of Facebook advertisements. The results of this study indicate an increased need to target recruitment efforts through a strategic communication process. This research has implications for recruiting the millennial generation using both gain and non-loss framed messages.
Mouse Mos protooncogene product is present and functions during oogenesis.

We have identified the mouse Mos-encoded protein product, p39mos, in maturing mouse oocytes and have shown that it is indistinguishable from the product expressed in Mos-transformed NIH 3T3 cells. p39mos is detected in oocytes arrested in the first meiotic prophase, during germinal-vesicle breakdown, metaphase I, anaphase I, and in ovulated eggs. We show that microinjection of three different Mos antisense (but not sense) oligodeoxyribonucleotides into germinal vesicle-stage oocytes prevents first polar-body emission and therefore interrupted the normal progression of meiosis. These results show that in mouse oocytes, as in the amphibian Xenopus [Sagata, N. , Oskarsson, M. , Copeland, T. , Brumbaugh, J. & Vande Woude, G.F. (1988) Nature (London) 335, 519-525], the product of Mos is necessary for normal meiotic maturation.
Carotid artery stenting according to the tailored-CAS algorithm is associated with a low complication rate at 30 days: data from the TARGET-CAS study.

BACKGROUND The rate of early complications of carotid artery stenting (CAS) should not exceed 3% in asymptomatic and 6% in symptomatic patients. However, some recent studies/registries failed to reach this threshold, fueling a debate on the role of CAS in the treatment of patients with carotid artery stenosis. AIM To evaluate 30-day safety of CAS using different embolic protection devices and different stent types according to the tailored-CAS algorithm and to identify risk factors for complications. METHODS Between 2002 and 2010, we performed 1176 CAS procedures in 1081 patients (age 38-86 years, mean 66.3 ± 8.4 years, 51.5% symptomatic) according to the tailored-CAS algorithm that included extracranial ultrasound and computed tomography angiography to select the most appropriate embolic protection device (EPD) and stent type. Proximal EPD and closed-cell (CC) stents were preferentially used for high-risk lesions (HR - soft/thrombus-containing/tight/ulcerated, 36.14% of all lesions) and in symptomatic patients. RESULTS Procedural success rate was 99.8%. In symptomatic patients, proportion of HR lesions was higher (41.1%) than in the asymptomatic group (30.8%, p = 0.001) and the usage of CC stents (76.2% vs 71.7%, p = 0.103) and proximal EPD (P-EPD, 34.8% vs 27.7% among asymptomatic patients, p = 0.010) was more frequent. CC stents were used in 82.4% of CAS procedures involving HR lesions (vs 69.1% for non-HR lesions, p < 0.01), and P-EPD were used in 83.1% of procedures involving HR lesions (vs 2.5% for non-HR lesions, p < 0.001). In-hospital complications included 6 (0.55%) deaths, 1 (0.08%) major stroke and 19 (1.61%) minor strokes. No myocardial infarctions (MI) were noted. Among 7 (0.59%) cases of hyperperfusion syndrome, 2 were fatal. Thirty-day complication rate (death/any stroke/MI) was 2.38%. Age > 75 years was a predictor of death (p = 0.015), and prior neurological symptoms were a predictor of death/stroke (p = 0.030). There were 4 cases of periprocedural embolic cerebral artery occlusion, all treated with combined intracranial mechanical and local thrombolytic therapy. CONCLUSIONS CAS with EPD and stent type selection on the basis of thorough non-invasive diagnostic work-up (tailored- -CAS) is safe. Advanced age was associated with an increased risk of death and the presence of prior neurological symptoms was a predictor of death/stroke at 30 days. With the tailored-CAS approach, high-risk lesion features (soft/thrombus- -containing/tight/ulcerated) are eliminated as a risk factor. Hyperperfusion syndrome is a severe CAS complication which may lead to intracranial bleeding and death. Acute, iatrogenic embolic cerebral artery occlusion is rare and may be managed by combined intracranial mechanical and local thrombolytic therapy.
Stromal regulation of prostate cancer cell growth by mevalonate pathway enzymes HMGCS1 and HMGCR

It has been suggested that the tumor microenvironment plays an important role in tumor progression, acquisition of androgen independence, and distant metastasis in prostate cancer (PC). However, little is known about the transcriptional basis of cellular interactions in the human PC microenvironment. To clarify the mechanism of PC progression and metastasis, we investigated the interaction of PC, epithelial, and stromal cells using genome-wide gene expression profiling. We hypothesized that PC cells could induce stromal cells to differentiate into so-called cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which might contribute to cancer invasion and metastasis. Genes upregulated in normal human prostate stromal cells (PrSC) co-cultured with human PC cells (LNCaP) included the mevalonate pathway enzymes 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase 1 (HMGCS1) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR). Knockdown of endogenous HMGCS1 or HMGCR in PC cells by shRNA resulted in a significant reduction of PC cell viability. Importantly, exogenous overexpression of HMGCS1 or HMGCR in either PC cells or prostate stromal cells stimulated PC cell growth, suggesting a possible autocrine/paracrine mechanism of action. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed that HMGCS1 and HMGCR were overexpressed in PC stroma, especially in early stage PC. These results provide clues to the molecular mechanisms underlying PC invasion and metastasis, and suggest that HMGCS1 and HMGCR in PC, as well as in PC stroma, might serve as molecular targets for the treatment of PC.
Building Public Health and Community in a University Town: Motivational Factors for Shopping at a Local Farmers Market by Graduate Students

Farmers markets represent a unique venue for analyzing the dynamic nature of communities. The purpose of this study was to describe the factors that motivate graduate students to patronize a local farmers market. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six graduate students from a large university located in a rural town in the southern United States. Interviews were analyzed using constant comparative methods. Eight themes emerged: (1) Location and Distance, (2) Seasonality, (3) Community, (4) Social Interactions, (5) Consumer and Producer/Vendor Connection, (6) Production Methods, (7) Environmental Concerns, and (8) Economic Reasons. The results have potential to guide a marketing framework and strategies to help farmers markets appeal to a younger demographic of consumers. Future research should focus on farmers market patronage by other populations.
Ultimate Ownership and Adjustment Speed Toward Target Capital Structures: Evidence from China

ABSTRACT We investigate whether ultimate ownership affects firms’ adjustment speed toward target capital structures for Chinese publicly listed companies over the period 1999–2009. We divide our sample into state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-SOEs according to their ultimate ownership. We find that SOEs have higher leverage ratios and slower adjustment speeds toward target capital structures. Our results are consistent with the trade-off theory, implying that the political resources of SOEs can lead to a higher persistence and slower leverage adjustment speeds in comparison to non-SOEs. Finally, our results also raise a question: Why do Chinese companies adjust their capital structure so fast?
Retaining ionic concentrations during in vitro storage of tissue for microanalytical studies

When human or animal tissue is to be investigated by X‐ray microanalysis, it is sometimes necessary to store the tissue between removal from the organism and freezing. However, when excised tissue is stored in buffer, the elemental concentrations in the cell may change. In the present study, it was attempted to develop a storage buffer that would retain the cellular elemental concentrations close to their in situ values. To start, the NaCl component in Krebs–Ringer buffer was exchanged for K‐gluconate and KCl for NaCl. This buffer was called a ‘100% high K+ solution’. Starting from this solution, part of the K‐gluconate was replaced by an equivalent amount of NaCl. Incubation of excised rat liver (4 °C, 4 h) in 85% high K+ solution resulted in retention of cellular Na, K, Ca, S and Mg concentration most closely to the in situ state, whereas cellular Cl was retained best when the tissue was incubated in 75% high K+ solution. For rat submandibular gland, incubation in 80% high K+ solution resulted in optimal retention of cellular Na, K, Ca, P, S and Mg, while Cl was retained best in a 70% high K+ solution. Based on these results, an optimally modified Krebs–Ringer solution for the liver would consist of 119 mM K+, 26 mM Na+ and 45 mM Cl−. An optimally modified Krebs–Ringer bicarbonate solution for the submandibular gland would be composed of 96 mM K+, 53 mM Na+ and 46 mM Cl−. After incubation in the modified solutions (at 4 °C), cellular Na, Mg, S, Cl, K and Ca in both tissues were maintained close to the in situ state throughout a 6‐h incubation. The cellular P concentration was reduced after incubation for 1 h; thereafter, in the liver cells it remained at this lower level for the rest of the incubation, whereas in the submandibular gland tissue it increased again after 4 h. The increase in cell volume (oedema) was less in tissue stored in the modified solutions, than in the 100% high K+ solutions. Incubation in high Na+ buffers (4 °C, 6 h) resulted in a progressive increase in the percentage of cells showing trypan blue uptake. A similar increase in trypan blue uptake was seen in the modified solution, but this increase levelled off after 4 h. After cholinergic stimulation in high Na+ solution (25 °C, 1 min), the expected decrease in cellular Cl concentration was seen in submandibular gland cells that had previously been preserved (4 °C, 4 h) in the modified solution, but not in those that had been preserved in the 100% high K+ solution.
Effect of the interaction between periodontitis and type 1 diabetes mellitus on alveolar bone, mandibular condyle and tibia

Abstract Objective. This study examined the effect of the interaction between periodontitis and type 1 diabetes mellitus on alveolar bone, mandibular condyle and tibia in animal models. Materials and methods. Rats were divided into normal, periodontitis, diabetic and diabetic with periodontitis groups. After injection of streptozotocin to induce diabetes, periodontitis was induced by ligation of both lower-side first molars for 30 days. Alveolar bone loss and trabecular bone volume fraction (BVF) of the mandibular condyle and tibia were estimated via hematoxylin and eosin staining and micro-computed tomography, respectively. Osteoclastogenesis of bone marrow cells isolated from tibia and femur was assayed using tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining. Results. The cemento-enamel junction to the alveolar bone crest distance and ratio of periodontal ligament area in the diabetic with periodontitis group were significantly increased compared to those of the periodontitis group. Mandibular condyle BVF did not differ among groups. The BVF of tibia in the diabetic and diabetic with periodontitis groups was lower than that of the normal and periodontitis groups. Osteoclastogenesis of bone marrow cells in the diabetic groups was higher than that in the non-diabetic groups. However, the BVF of tibia and osteoclastogenesis in the diabetic with periodontitis group were not significantly different than those in the diabetic group. Conclusions. Type 1 diabetes mellitus aggravates alveolar bone loss induced by periodontitis, but periodontitis does not alter the mandibular condyle and tibia bone loss induced by diabetes. Alveolar bone, mandibular condyle and tibia may have different responses to bone loss stimuli in the diabetic environment.
Made in Myanmar: Entrenched poverty or decent jobs for garment workers?

In Myanmar, the garment industry is booming thanks to an upsurge in investment by international brands, but garment workers are facing tough conditions. According to new research from Oxfam and labour rights groups in Myanmar, garment workers are working up to 11 hours a day, six days a week, but remain trapped in poverty. Following decades of economic isolation, political reforms have seen global retail heavyweights like GAP, H&M, Primark and Adidas starting to source from Myanmar factories. With the garment industry growing quickly, companies need to act now to ensure that workers making their products can access their fundamental rights and provide a decent living for themselves and their families. This briefing paper presents the research findings and makes recommendations for international sourcing companies and factories to help them protect garment workers’ rights.
Effects of Dual-Credit Enrollment and Early College High School on Utah Public Education

This study considers the effects of Dual-Credit Enrollment (DCE) and Early College High School (ECHS) programs on the Utahi¯s 2008 and 2009 public high graduation cohorts via an examination of the Utah Data Alliance longitudinal public education dataset. The study assesses high school graduation rates, dual course credits earned, higher education enrollment, time-to-completion, and graduation outcomes with a focus towards how these accelerated learning programs effect the student household and state, specifically, and public education finance, generally. As participation in dual-credit programs is voluntary and by self-selection, the study employs Propensity Score Matching method (PMS) as a quasi-experimental design methodology in an effort to limit the endogeneity bias present in such non-experimental data. Although PMS offers many advantages, its strength as an estimator is dependent on the existence of complete and quality matching variables. To assure accurate model specifications given the available data, Receiving Operator Characteristic (ROC) Analysis is applied to variations on the PMS models. Estimated outcomes reflect positive effects for the examined student populations differentiated by program participation, with the strongest outcomes arising from ECHS participation. The economic effects of accumulating higher education course credits and decreases in higher education time-to-completion may yield the most interesting outcomes, enjoy the strongest causal claims, and result in measurable household and state level savings. These outcomes may also reveal potential weakness in the structure of higher education course and major programming, and the difficulty presented as high school students make higher education decisions.
Multimodal magnetic resonance imaging: The coordinated use of multiple, mutually informative probes to understand brain structure and function

Differing imaging modalities provide unique channels of information to probe differing aspects of the brain's structural or functional organization. In combination, differing modalities provide complementary and mutually informative data about tissue organization that is more than their sum. We acquired and spatially coregistered data in four MRI modalities—anatomical MRI, functional MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)—from 20 healthy adults to understand how interindividual variability in measures from one modality account for variability in measures from other modalities at each voxel of the brain. We detected significant correlations of local volumes with the magnitude of functional activation, suggesting that underlying variation in local volumes contributes to individual variability in functional activation. We also detected significant inverse correlations of NAA (a putative measure of neuronal density and viability) with volumes of white matter in the frontal cortex, with DTI‐based measures of tissue organization within the superior longitudinal fasciculus, and with the magnitude of functional activation and default‐mode activity during simple visual and motor tasks, indicating that substantial variance in local volumes, white matter organization, and functional activation derives from an underlying variability in the number or density of neurons in those regions. Many of these imaging measures correlated with measures of intellectual ability within differing brain tissues and differing neural systems, demonstrating that the neural determinants of intellectual capacity involve numerous and disparate features of brain tissue organization, a conclusion that could be made with confidence only when imaging the same individuals with multiple MRI modalities. Hum Brain Mapp, 2013. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Private equity investment selection decision-making base on fuzzy optimal

Private equity investment decision-making is the most important issue in private equity investment selection. There are higher uncertainty and complexity in private equity investment decision-making process. This paper analysis these uncertain risk in private equity investment decision-making base the previous studies. Attributed the private equity candidate firms' select to fuzzy optimal decision-making. Build a risk-weight fuzzy optimal return model to avoid the decision-making risk. Get the optimal solution set.
The Development and Relevant Factors of a Self-Care Scale for Young Females with Dysmenorrhea

The number of females who complain of dysmenorrhea has increased compared to 30 years ago; however, they are not good at performing self-care. Hence, we attempted to create a self-care scale for dysmenorrhea, and examine related factors. We investigated the factors which affect self-care for dysmenorrhea using qualitative surveys, and created 10 constituent concepts based on a revised Pender's health promotion model. Then, we conducted preliminary and main surveys, and a survey for the related factors. We obtained 23 items in 6 elements for a self-care scale for young females with dysmenorrhea, and confirmed the validity and reliability in the main survey and the survey on its related factors. In the survey for related factors, people with more serious dysmenorrhea were less willing to try to improve their symptoms and self-care. It became clear that their short weight loss plan was related to self-care. People who often eat many snacks or sweets had they felt it would be more difficult to improve their dysmenorrhea. We obtained 23 items in 6 elements for a self-care scale for young females with dysmenorrhea, and its reliability and validity were confirmed. As relevant factors, it was implied that the degree of their dysmenorrhea, their eating habits, sleeping habits were all co-related.