Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Uncovering the Link Between Organizational Behaviors and Employment Status in the U.S. Hotel Industry

Part-time workers have been considered a necessity for gaining a competitive advantage in the U.S. hospitality industry. More than 500 line employees working in the U.S. hotel industry were invited to participate in this study. Regression analysis was used to uncover the relationship between behaviors and attitudes of part-time versus full-time hotel workers. Significant variations between the two groups were found. Part-time workers showed more “voice” and “action” organizational citizenship behaviors than full-time employees did. This study provides hotel managers with a better understanding of the differences between the organizational behaviors of part-time and full-time workers and provides an evaluation for enhancing the attitudes of part-time employees within U.S. hotels.
The Effect of Executive Stock Option Plans on Stockholders and Bondholders

Executive stock option plans have asymmetric payoffs that could induce managers to take on more risk. Evidence from traded call options and stock return data supports this notion. Implicit share price variance, computed from the Black-Scholes options pricing model, and stock return variance increase after the approval of an executive stock option plan. The event is accompanied by a significant positive stock and a negative bond market reaction. This evidence is consistent with the notion that executive stock options may induce a wealth transfer from bondholders to stockholders. Copyright 1990 by American Finance Association.
Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor enhances the therapeutic efficacy of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in rats with experimental acute pancreatitis

Introduction Acute pancreatitis (AP) is one of the most common diseases involving necrotic inflammation. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) have the potential of multi-directional differentiation and self-renewal for tissue repair. It remains less clear if granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) can improve the therapeutic effect of BMMSC transplant in AP. Therefore, we explored this issue in a rat model of experimental AP. Results Transplanted PKH26-positive BMMSCs were present in the injured pancreatic tissue, with some cells co-expressed pancreatic cellular markers, including Pax-4, Ngn3 and Nkx-6. Pathological, biochemical and serological data suggested an improvement in histological and functional recovery in these animals relative to control. Overall, the AP model rats received BMMSCs and G-CSF co-treatment showed better recovery in terms of tissue regeneration and blood biochemical levels relative to other groups. Materials and Methods BMMSCs from donor rats were labeled with the fluorescent dye PKH26 and transfused into recipient rats with AP induced by L-arginine. The animals were divided into a control group, and groups treated with BMMSCs, G-CSF, and BMMSCs together with G-CSF. Therapeutic effects were evaluated histologically with immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence, together with biochemical measurement of pancreatic markers. Conclusion G-CSF therapy with BMMSC transplantation improves histological and functional outcomes in rats with experimental AP.
Risk factors for unplanned hospital re-admissions: a secondary data analysis of hospital discharge summaries.

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To identify patient groups at risk for unplanned hospital re-admissions and risk factors for re-admission. METHOD We analysed the Belgian Hospital Discharge Dataset including data from 1 130 491 patients discharged in 2008. Patient and hospital factors contributing to re-admission rate were analysed using a multivariable model for logistic regression. RESULTS The overall unplanned re-admission rate was 5.2%. Cardiovascular and pulmonary diagnoses were the most common reasons for re-admission. We found that 10.4% of all re-admissions were due to complications. A high number of previous emergency department (ED) visits proved to be a predictor for re-admission [odds ratio (OR) for patients with at least four ED visits in the past 6 months 4.65; 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.25-5.08]. Patients discharged on Friday (OR 1.05; 95% CI 1.01-1.08) and patients with a long length of stay (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.15-1.23) also had a higher risk for re-admission. Patients with short lengths of stay were not at risk for re-admission (OR 0.99; 95% CI 0.95-1.02). CONCLUSIONS Actions to reduce re-admissions can be targeted to patient groups at risk, and should be aimed at the caring for chronic cardiovascular or pulmonary diseases, preventing complications and multiple ED visits, and ensuring continuity of care after discharge, especially for patients discharged on Friday.
Energy Homeostasis and Abnormal RNA Metabolism in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal motor neuron disease that is clinically characterized by progressive muscle weakness and impaired voluntary movement due to the loss of motor neurons in the brain, brain stem and spinal cord. To date, no effective treatment is available. Ample evidence suggests that impaired RNA homeostasis and abnormal energy status are two major pathogenesis pathways in ALS. In the present review article, we focus on recent studies that report molecular insights of both pathways, and discuss the possibility that energy dysfunction might negatively regulate RNA homeostasis via the impairment of cytoplasmic-nuclear shuttling in motor neurons and subsequently contribute to the development of ALS.
Protection from rotavirus reinfection: 2-year prospective study.

To measure protection induced by natural rotavirus infection, 163 infants enrolled in a rotavirus vaccine trial were prospectively followed for 2 years. Serotype 1 rotaviruses were the predominant circulating strains during the study. Over the 2 years of observation, significantly fewer infants infected before enrollment developed a symptomatic reinfection (0 of 21) or any reinfection (4 of 21) compared with previously uninfected infants (P = .0003). Of the 60 infants who developed a primary rotavirus infection in the first year (40 symptomatic, 20 asymptomatic) only 4 were reinfected in the second year compared with 29 of 82 subjects not previously infected (P = .00003). Asymptomatic primary infection appeared to be as protective as symptomatic primary infection. The only symptomatic reinfections occurred in 2 subjects who did not develop rotavirus antibody after the initial detection of rotavirus. An age-related reduction in the ratio of symptomatic to asymptomatic primary rotavirus infection was also detected. In this study, protection against homotypic serotype 1 reinfection appeared to last greater than or equal to 2 years.
The effect of manufacturing strategies on financial performance

Purpose – Companies must use their resources effectively and productively if they are to compete in an increasingly competitive globalized economy. Effective performance measurement can support this competitiveness. To be able to do this, companies must know the factors that influence their performance and manage these factors in an effective manner. This study seeks to investigate the effect of manufacturing strategies of manufacturing companies on their financial performance and also the effect of firm size on the impact of manufacturing strategies.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 200 manufacturing companies that are registered under the Chamber of Commerce in Gebze, Turkey were selected and their managers interviewed. A total of 102 questionnaires were returned out of 200. Regression analyses were performed using the results of the survey.Findings – It was found, that an increase in the quality and cost/flexibility increased financial performance. However, the rate of delivery did not have any .
Vice into Virtue? Progressive Politics and Welfare Reform in Continental Europe

For over half a century, the development of the welfare state has served as the principal means by which left-progressive governments have reconciled the pursuit of efficiency with the pursuit of equity. From a Keynesian perspective, welfare spending—and the taxes that financed it—provided an “automatic stabilizer,” smoothing aggregate demand in the face of fluctuations in the business cycle. From a corporatist perspective, welfare spending greased the wheels of “political exchange,” compensating powerful, mobilized labor movements for their acceptance of wage restraint. And even during the initial years of neoliberalism, welfare spending helped secure popular acquiescence to market reform, making intensified international competition and job loss more acceptable to the masses. In the 1990s, however, in the age of globalization, heightened concerns about budget deficits, and retiring baby boomers, welfare spending has come under intense pressure. The fact that the left is in power in an unprecedented number of European countries—France, Italy, Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and now Germany—is not necessarily grounds for celebration. As luck would have it, leftist electoral planets have entered into alignment at precisely the moment when fiscal constraints have become extremely tight. With welfare expansion giving way
Immune responses to interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein and S-antigen in Behcet's patients with uveitis.

PURPOSE Immune responses to retina-specific autoantigens, including S antigen (S-Ag) and interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein (IRBP), have been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of human uveitis, including Behçet's disease (BD). In this study, the authors examined whether immune responses to IRBP and S-Ag in BD patients can be characterized by cytokine production profiles. METHODS Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from BD patients with uveitis and healthy controls, and each sample was cultured with IRBP, S-Ag, or purified protein derivative (PPD). At the end of culture, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IFN-gamma, and TNF-alpha concentrations in supernatants were measured. RESULTS PBMCs from BD patients and healthy controls produced IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IFN-gamma, and TNF-alpha on stimulation with IRBP or S-Ag, as well as PPD stimulation, immunity against which was acquired by Bacille Calmette-Guérin immunization. IL-17 and IFN-gamma production was significantly higher when PBMCs were stimulated with IRBP than with S-Ag, whereas the reverse was observed for IL-6 production. IRBP-stimulated IL-6, IFN-gamma, and IL-17 production was higher in BD patients than in healthy controls, though IL-10 production was not different between them. In particular, IRBP-stimulated IFN-gamma production was significantly higher in BD patients with active uveitis than in BD patients with uveitis in remission. CONCLUSIONS Immune responses to both IRBP and S-Ag were observed even in PBMCs of healthy controls. However, the present results suggested that retinal autoantigen-stimulated IL-6, IL-17, and especially IFN-gamma production would be involved in the development of uveitis in BD.
TNF-alpha gene polymorphism: clinical and biological implications.

TNF-alpha is a proinflammatory cytokine that has been implicated in the severity of different immune-regulated diseases including autoimmune diseases and transplantation. The gene for TNF-alpha is located within the MHC region on chromosome 6p21.3. This is a highly polymorphic region, and the TNF-alpha itself contains a large number of polymorphisms. Some of these polymorphisms form extended haplotypes with the HLA class I and II alleles. TNF polymorphisms have been investigated in different diseases and most often whenever there is an HLA association with the disease (for example IDDM and RA) association(s) with TNF polymorphisms has been described. There are many studies on the function of the TNF polymorphisms showing the influence of the different alleles on the in vitro and in vivo levels of TNF production. However, recent studies in animal models suggest that not only polymorphisms within the TNF cluster are important in the regulation of TNF production but also the receptors as well (TNF R). This suggests that investigating polymorphisms within the TNF cluster and TNF receptors will be important in understanding the role of TNF regulation in a given disease.
Do Joint Audits Improve Audit Quality? Evidence from Voluntary Joint Audits

This study examines whether the decision to voluntarily (i.e. without a statutory obligation) employ two audit firms to conduct a joint audit is related to audit quality. We use separate samples and empirical designs for public and privately held companies in Sweden, where a sufficient number of companies have a joint audit on a voluntary basis. Our empirical findings suggest that companies opting to employ joint audits have a higher degree of earnings conservatism, lower abnormal accruals, better credit ratings and lower perceived risk of becoming insolvent within the next year than other firms. These findings are robust to the use of a propensity score matching technique to control for the differences in client characteristics between firms that employ joint audits and those that use single Big 4 auditors (i.e. auditor self-selection). We also find evidence that the choice of a joint audit is associated with substantial increases in the fees paid by the client firm, suggesting a higher perceived level of quality. Collectively, our analyses support the view that voluntary joint audits are positively associated with audit quality in a relatively low litigious setting both for public and private firms.
INDEPENDENT EFFECTS OF SOCIAL POSITION AND PARITY ON BODY MASS INDEX AMONG POLISH ADULT WOMEN

This study evaluated the strength of the independent effects of social position (expressed by educational level) and number of childbirths on body mass index (BMI) variation of Polish adult females. The material comprised 2045 pre-menopausal women aged 35–50, who were healthy and occupationally active inhabitants of the city of Wrocław, Lower Silesia, Poland. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that both educational level (F=34·7; p=0·0001) and parity (F=5·6; p=0·001) exerted independent significant effects on BMI. The mean BMI of women who had attended basic vocational or trade school at the very most (27·0 kg/m2) was greater than that of women who had completed secondary school education or had graduated from university (25·3 kg/m2). However, it is worthy of note that there were no social differences in BMI values between childless women. Nevertheless, an increasing number of childbirths was essentially related to increasing female BMI in each social group, and this tendency was most marked among women of lower social position. Regardless of educational level, the highest prevalence of obesity (BMI exceeding 30 kg/m2) was found among females with at least three children (15·6% and 26·4% of women from higher or lower social groups, respectively).
Remission of essential hypertension after renal transplantation.

Six patients in whom "essential hypertension" led to nephrosclerosis and kidney failure received kidney transplants from normotensive donors. After an average follow-up of 4.5 years, all were normotensive and had evidence of reversal of hypertensive damage to the heart and retinal vessels. These six patients, all of whom were black, and six control subjects matched for age, sex, and race were admitted to the General Clinical Research Center for 11 days for observation of their blood pressure and their responses to salt deprivation and salt loading. Mean arterial pressure (+/- S.E.M.) among the patients who had previously had essential hypertension was similar to that of the normal controls (92 +/- 1.9 vs. 94 +/- 3.9; P not significant), and both groups had similar responses to salt deprivation and salt loading. Thus, essential hypertension in human beings is shown to be similar to the hypertension seen in spontaneously hypertensive rats in that both can be corrected by transplantation of a kidney from a normotensive donor. This observation supports the concept of the primary of the kidney in causing essential hypertension.
Alliances and networks: the next generation

An increasing number of organisations view strategic alliances as the adequate response to rapid developments in market demands. By (temporarily) joining forces, products and services can be supplied when they are in demand. The poor success rate with respect to alliances (60—70%; of all alliances are disbanded prematurely) indicates that co-operation of this type involves a number of characteristic problems for which specific management skills are required. In developing these skills, it is vital that we learn from experience with successful and unsuccessful alliances. However, forming an alliance is so dependent on the specific circumstances that experience will not render a uniform recipe, albeit that the ingredients can be identified. Their quantity will differ in each individual situation.
Mesalazine 4 g Daily Given as Prolonged-Release Granules Twice Daily and Four Times Daily Is at Least as Effective as Prolonged-Release Tablets Four Times Daily in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis

BackgroundHigh doses of mesalazine usually result in an inconvenient dosage schedule and reduced compliance. The goal of this trial was to compare the effects of mesalazine 4 g daily given as prolonged-release granules in packets of 1 g with that of prolonged-release tablets of 0.5 g. MethodsTwo hundred twenty-seven patients with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis were randomized to treatment with two packets twice daily (Gr-b.i.d.), 1 packet four times daily (Gr-q.i.d.) or 2 tablets four times daily (Ta-q.i.d.) for 8 weeks. A disease activity index (ulcerative colitis disease activity index; UC-DAI) was calculated, and the granules were defined as noninferior to the tablets if the lower limit of the 95% CI for the differences was more than −1 UC-DAI score unit. ResultsNoninferiority of the granules compared with the tablets was demonstrated. The mean improvement in the UC-DAI in the treatment groups Gr-b.i. d. , Gr-q.i. d. , and Ta-q.i. d. were 3.2, 2.9, and 2.4, respectively; the proportion of complete responders in the three groups 39%, 37%, and 31%, respectively. There were no differences in side effects. ConclusionMesalazine 4 g daily given as prolonged-release granules twice and four times daily is at least as effective as prolonged-release tablets four times daily in patients with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis. The patients preferred the twice daily dosing.
Astrocyte Elevated Gene-1 Promotes Progression of Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Inducing Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition via Wnt Signaling

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the association of astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) with epithelial-mesenchymal transition of cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) and the underlying mechanisms. Methods The expression of proteins was determined by immunohistochemistry in tissues. Overexpression and knockdown of AEG-1 in SiHa cells were achieved by stable AEG-1 gene transfection (SiHa-AEG-1+) and AEG-1-siRNA (SiHa-AEG-1−), respectively. The cellular levels of messenger RNA and proteins were assessed with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, respectively. The cell invasion capacity was assessed by the chamber invasion assay. Results AEG-1 was overexpressed in clinical CSCC and associated with lymph node metastasis, parametrial involvement, stromal invasion, and vascular invasion. A high level of vimentin and a low level of E-cadherin were also detected in the cancer tissues. AEG-1 expression was positively correlated with vimentin expression and negatively with E-cadherin expression in CSCC tissues. In addition, high level of AEG-1 was related to unfavorable prognosis of CSCC. On a cellular level, overexpression of AEG-1 was found to lead to an up-regulation of vimentin and a down-regulation of E-cadherin on messenger RNA and protein level in SiHa cells, whereas AEG-1 knockdown led to a contrary result. Meanwhile, the nuclear levels of NF-&kgr;B p65 and &bgr;-catenin were also increased in SiHa-AEG-1+, whereas their nuclear levels were decreased in SiHa-AEG-1−. Inhibition of Wnt signaling significantly reduced vimentin level and enhanced E-cadherin level in SiHa-AEG+, but inhibition of NF-&kgr;B signaling did not. SiHa-AEG-1+ and SiHa-AEG− showed an enhanced and a decreased invasive capacity, respectively. The enhanced invasiveness of SiHa-AEG-1+ was weakened by inhibition of Wnt signaling. Conclusions AEG-1 was associated with the progression of CSCC by promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition via Wnt signaling pathway.
Foreign ownership and export performance in the large corporate sector of India

This paper examines the impact of foreign ownership on export performance by the largest corporate firms in India, to analyse whether the ‘monopolistic advantages’ of multinationals survive in its highly restrictive and regulated environment. After controlling for industrial characteristics and export incentives, foreign ownership has a positive impact on export performance. The statistical significance of the result is not very strong, but the finding counters earlier works based on simple comparisons of exports at the firm level. The analysis also sheds light on other influences of policy significance on export performance.
Innovation and HRM: Towards an Integrated Framework

This paper explores the connection between innovation (management) and human resource management. Much has been written about the both concepts separately, but there is no integrated conceptual framework available for the combination of the two. Our goal here is to develop such a framework. We do this in a number of steps, starting with a presentation of the existing approaches and models with respect to innovation (management) and HRM. This is followed by a search for the linkage between the two traditions, as a starting point for an integrated model and an in-depth case study regarding the link between innovation and HRM, in order to further develop our model. We conclude with the presentation of our model and with suggestions for further research.
Emerging drugs in multiple myeloma

The treatment of multiple myeloma has seen significant changes from the time of the initial use of cytotoxic agents such as melphalan, to the introduction of high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation, and most recently the era of novel targeted agents. These new drugs have rapidly become the mainstay of therapy of this disease and transformed the treatment paradigm, leading to improvements in survival and quality of life. Existing therapeutic options include agents such as thalidomide, bortezomib and lenalidomide, either used alone or in combination with standard agents, including glucocorticoids, and in conjunction with high-dose chemotherapy supported with stem cell transplantation. Several other targeted agents have demonstrated exciting preclinical activity, and are presently being tested in early Phase I and II clinical trials. This review summarizes the role of novel therapeutic agents in multiple myeloma, and the promising effect of multiple new agents in development.