Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MDM 2 Promoter Polymorphism SNP 309 Contributes to Tumor Susceptibility : Evidence from 21 Case-Control Studies

Since the identification of a well-characterized functional polymorphism named SNP309 in MDM2 , abundant studies were published in the last 2 years to evaluate the association between SNP309 and tumor risk in diverse populations. However, the results remain conflicting rather than conclusive. Because a single study may have been underpowered to detect the effect of low-penetrance genes, a quantitative synthesis to accumulate data from different studies may provide better evidence on the association of genetic variant with tumor susceptibility. We conducted a metaanalysis on 14,770 cases with different tumor types and 14,524 controls from 25 published case-control studies to estimate the effect of SNP309 on tumor risk, as well as to quantify the potential between-study heterogeneity. We found that variant homozygote 309GG was associated with a significantly increased risk of all types of tumors [homozygote comparison: odds ratio (OR), 1.17, 95% confidential interval (95% CI), 1.04-1.33, P = 0.0002 for heterogeneity test; recessive model comparison: OR, 1.15, 95% CI, 1.03-1.28, P = 0.0005 for heterogeneity test]. Tumor type and ethnicity contributed to the substantial heterogeneity (69.5% for homozygote comparison and 77.2% for recessive model comparison). The analyses suggest that MDM2 SNP309 serves as a low-penetrance susceptibility tumor marker. Further large studies incorporate quantitative detection of different p53-responsible environmental stresses, p53 mutation status, and also functional genetic variants in p53-MDM2–related genes are warranted. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(12):2717–23)
An Efficient Key Distribution Scheme for Sensor Networks

Security schemes of pairwise key establishment plays a fundamental role in research on security issue in wireless sensor networks. However, establishing pairwise keys in wireless sensor networks is not a trivial task, particularly due to the resource constraints on sensors. In this paper, we prose an efficient key distribution scheme, in which each sensor node randomly selects two key pools from several different key pools and chooses keys from these key pools. The analysis shows that this proposed scheme can substantially improve the security of existing key predistribution scheme.
The Effects of the Store Window Type on Consumersâ Perception and Shopping Attitudes Through the Use of Digital Pictures

Normal 0 21 false false false TR X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 This research focuses on determining the effects of a store window type (flat or arcade) on consumers’ perception of store windows (promotion, merchandise and fashion) and shopping attitudes (intentions for store entry and purchase) in the context of retail clothing sales. To test the assumption that there are relationships between various types of store windows and consumers’ perception of store windows and shopping attitudes, a study was organized based upon digital pictures of two types of store windows hypothetically located in a big store. According to the results, consumers seem to have a more positive perception of flat windows than arcade windows with respect to promotion, merchandise and fashion. Compared to females, males evaluated the store window more positively. Managerial implications are discussed and directions for future research are proposed. Key Words: Store window, Clothing retail, Perceptions, Shopping attitude, Digital picture
Customers' purchase intentions as a reflection of price perception

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate customers' intentions to purchase mobile communications services and how these intentions are affected by the customers' price perceptions in two customer segments – a mobile segment and a combined segment. A further aim was to gain insight into the formation of price perceptions, and customer characteristics that underlie the differences between purchase intentions and price perceptions.Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted in the Finnish mobile services market. The sample data were collected through a postal survey (n=3,000) sent to customers of a Finnish teleoperator. In analyzing empirical data the explanatory factor analyses, linear regression analyses, and analysis of variance were applied.Findings – The results indicated that a significant and positive relationship exists between customers' price perceptions and their purchase intentions, and that the formation of price perceptions is significantly influenced by satisfaction with.
The Price of Nothing – The Value of Everything: Towards an Understanding of Value Creation in Private Equity Buyouts

A wide range of definitions exists of what constitutes value creation and generation in private equity buyouts. At the core of the problem is that our understanding of the diverse set of levers, drivers and mechanisms by which financial value is generated has been inconsistent and incomplete. This paper attempts to address extant deficiencies in the literature by proposing a novel and cohesive conceptual model of value generation that connects various strands of research in the field.
Brand image inconsistencies of luxury fashion brands: a buyer-seller exchange situation model of Hugo Boss Australia

– The purpose of this study is to examine whether brand perceptions differ across channel members of luxury brands using the buyer‐seller exchange situation model. , – A triangulation approach was used to compare perceptions of different channel members. The data collection was completed in two stages. First, a self‐administered mail survey was sent out to 3,592 individuals from a publicly available mailing list. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 22 retailer buyers. , – The findings reveal that brand perceptions differ across channel members. There appears to be a mismatch in the perceptions of wholesalers and retailers that might constitute a source of brand image inconsistencies. Although the final consumers' overall attitude toward the Hugo Boss brand is positive, consumers appear to be in favour of other brands and their inclination to purchase the Hugo Boss brand seems to be relatively low. , – The study only examined one brand and is limited to the Australian context. Future research could examine other luxury brands in different countries. The study utilised judgement sampling, which could result in selection bias. , – Brand knowledge is crucial to achieving brand image consistency between seller and buyer. Internal marketing techniques could be employed to assess the efficiency and development of brand knowledge among employees, retailers and other channel members. , – This is one of the pioneering studies that applies a marketing channel approach to investigate brand image inconsistencies in a concrete working example. It contributes to luxury brand management across borders, opening the way for further research. The study provides ecological validity and reliability by working on a triangulation approach, using qualitative and quantitative research methods.
THE EFFECTS OF THE MINIMUM THRESHOLD CONDITION FOR BREEDING ON OFFSPRING SEX‐RATIO ADJUSTMENT IN THE LESSER KESTREL

Abstract. — We propose a model for sex‐ratio adjustment complementary to that of Trivers and Willard. In addition to the three basic assumptions of the Trivers‐Willard model, our model assumes that the sex with more variable reproductive success (normally male) is also the sex less constrained for reproduction. This assumption seems realistic, because several studies have demonstrated that poor‐condition males may adopt alternative mating strategies and sire some offspring, whereas females have physiological constraints for gestation or egg production that cannot be avoided. Thus, under these circumstances, sons of both poor and good condition would be more valuable for parents than daughters, whereas daughters would be relatively more valuable than sons at intermediate condition. This model predicts, therefore, a U‐shaped relationship between parental condition and offspring sex ratio. We present a case study for the monogamous lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) that fulfills the assumptions and predictions of the model. The minimum body condition for breeding, measured as pectoral thickness, was lower for sons than for daughters. Below this minimum, males had a higher chance of breeding than females. Above this minimum, however, the lifetime reproductive success was condition dependent in males but not in females. Thus, males in better body condition attain, on average, higher reproductive success than females. Offspring sex ratio varied with the size of the father's ornaments and mother condition according to the U‐shaped pattern predicted by the model.
Increased attention but more efficient disengagement: neuroscientific evidence for defensive processing of threatening health information.

OBJECTIVE Previous studies indicate that people respond defensively to threatening health information, especially when the information challenges self-relevant goals. The authors investigated whether reduced acceptance of self-relevant health risk information is already visible in early attention processes, that is, attention disengagement processes. DESIGN In a randomized, controlled trial with 29 smoking and nonsmoking students, a variant of Posner's cueing task was used in combination with the high-temporal resolution method of event-related brain potentials (ERPs). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Reaction times and P300 ERP. RESULTS Smokers showed lower P300 amplitudes in response to high- as opposed to low-threat invalid trials when moving their attention to a target in the opposite visual field, indicating more efficient attention disengagement processes. Furthermore, both smokers and nonsmokers showed increased P300 amplitudes in response to the presentation of high- as opposed to low-threat valid trials, indicating threat-induced attention-capturing processes. Reaction time measures did not support the ERP data, indicating that the ERP measure can be extremely informative to measure low-level attention biases in health communication. CONCLUSION The findings provide the first neuroscientific support for the hypothesis that threatening health information causes more efficient disengagement among those for whom the health threat is self-relevant.
The relative potencies of methohexitone and thiopentone

Since the confusion which arose when buthalitone was introduced to clinical practice 1’21 3 it has been usual to determine experimentally the potency of new intravenous barbiturates before undertaking clinical comparisons of duration of action, recovery times and the like. This was so in the case of methohexitone sodium, which was carefully studied when it was first introduced. Unfortunately its potency relative to thiopentone varicd widely, a recent review 4 statcd that methohexitone has been found to be 2.5-4.0 times as potent as thiopentone. This range seemed too wide for clinical purposes and prompted a review of the published papers to see if a closer approximation could be found. The work of Egbert and Mitchell5 on the effect of the technique of administration, that of Wyant and Barr6 on observer bias and anaesthetic and surgical conditions and that of Dundee et a1.7 on the effect of premedication pointed at once to a number of sources of error. It seemed, after consideration, that it would be necessary, when comparing relative potencies, to control, or at least examine the effect of the age and general state of patient, the surgical conditions, the premedication, the total dose of barbiturate, observer bias, the precise depth of anzsthesia achieved, the concentration of the solution injected and the rate of injection. All these conditions are easily assessed except depth of anzsthesia. It is easy to see when anzsthesia is deep enough for a particular purpose but it is not so easy to see when it is too deep8.Q. It seemed to the author that it ought to be possible to control the depth of anzsthesia by the method normally employed in the laboratory, in which different doses are given to groups of animals and the numbers in each group, becoming anasthetised are counted. A graph is plotted and from this the anzsthetic dose required to anzsthetise 50% of animals is calculatedlo. The advantage of this
Securitization and Asset Price Cycle: Causality and Post-Crisis Policy Reform

This study aims to explain causal relationships between the two dramatic cycles observed in the U.S. during the recent financial crisis - the mortgage credit cycle and the home price cycle. In the viewpoint of mortgage lending, the main demand-side driver for the observed credit concentration from the early 2000s was the extremely low, even negative, user cost of capital (UCC) for owning between 2002-2006. UCC was, in turn, influenced by three key factors - the record low mortgage interest rate, the practical removal of capital gains taxes for home sales, and high expected home price appreciation on the part of home owners. Easing borrowing constraints, gradually from the early 1980s and abruptly from the early 2000s, is also shown as a significant shift factor in the demand side. In the supply-side, the main drivers for the boom-bust of mortgage credit between early to mid 2000s are identified to be: the favorable interest rate environment, the low rates as well as the sizable yield spreads, which rapidly changed from 2005; the generous bond ratings at initial security issuance, followed by abrupt and deep post-issuance downgrading from 2007; and, the sudden rise of the private-label (PL) RMBS issuers from 2004, resulting in gradual deterioration of the mortgage underwriting criteria. Preliminary econometric analyses show that: the share of PL RMBS in the total issuance Granger-caused the home price growth, but not the other way around; and, the home price boom-bust in the 2000s was significantly influenced by UCC and the share of PL RMBS, but not by the total issuance volume of RMBS. Policy implications of the findings are discussed, in particular, regarding micro- and macro-prudence regulations governing the mortgage-MBS sector.
Chemical analysis of stones and its significance in urolithiasis

The search of literature showed Urolithiasis as a multifactorial recurrent disease, distributed worldwide in urban, rural , non industrial and industrial regions with different chemical composition of analyzed stones in context to various etiological and risk factors. The present study was aimed to qualitatively analyze the uroliths obtained by surgical intervention at Krishna hospital Karad, a South West region in Maharashtra (India), to evaluate the predominant constituent present in them and report its significance. The study reported, urolithiasis was more suffered by individuals between the age group of 30 to 60 years with more predominance in males than females. The chemical analysis of uroliths showed that all the assessed stones were of mixed heterogeneous type, Magnesium Ammonium Phosphate (71.2%) was predominant constituent followed by Calcium Oxalate (68.8%), Calcium Carbonate (64.0%), Urate (44.8%), Cystine (12.8%), Xanthine (2.4%) and Fibrin (1.6%). The study concludes simple qualitative laboratory based method for assessing chemical composition of various uroliths allowed a reliable diagnosis of stone contents whose data may be useful in advising the people of this region for taking preventive measures for reducing the risk of prevalence and recurrence of urolithiasis in them.
Accounting Implications for Managed Earnings via Pension Expense

Recent earnings management studies provide evidence firms manage reported earnings to achieve certain capital market reporting objectives. This study extends earlier research by focusing directly on pension expense rather than focusing on the effect of individual pension rate assumptions. This study uses a $. 10 screening technique in selecting the sample for testing. Based on a proxy for premanaged earnings, firms hypothetically missing their capital market benchmark earnings (i.e. prior year earnings target) are predicted and shown to reduce their actual pension expense to increase actual reported earnings; whereas firms hypothetically beating their capital market benchmark earnings (i.e. prior year earnings target) are predicted and shown to increase their actual pension expense to reduce their actual reported earnings. Results suggest firms use pension expense to actively and predictably manage actual reported earnings.
When Does Ownership Matter? Board Characteristics and Behavior

We extend agency theory with the notion that boards have distinct incentives and abilities to monitor management and develop a contingency approach to explain how firm ownership influences the monitoring function of the board — measured as the magnitude of external audit fees contracted by the board. Analyzing Continental European companies, our results demonstrate that while audit services and board independence are complementary when ownership is dispersed, this is not the case when ownership is concentrated. This suggests that ownership concentration and board composition become substitutes in terms of monitoring management. Additional analysis shows that the relationship between board composition and external audit fees is also contingent upon the identity of the controlling shareholder. We uncover that the influence of board characteristics on audit fees is larger for family and non-financial controlled firms than for bank controlled firms, relative to firms with dispersed ownership. In total, we find that board monitoring is contingent on the firm’s ownership structure, which demonstrates that board strategic behavior is contextually dependent. We argue that theory and empirical research in corporate governance should progress to a more context dependent analysis, which, in turn, will prove useful for practitioners and policy makers.
Functional characteristics of L 1156 F-CFTR associated with alcoholic chronic pancreatitis in Japanese

Shiho Kondo, Kotoyo Fujiki, Shigeru B. H. Ko, Akiko Yamamoto, Miyuki Nakakuki, Yasutomo Ito, Nikolay Shcheynikov, Motoji Kitagawa, Satoru Naruse, and Hiroshi Ishiguro Department of Human Nutrition, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan; Department of Nutrition, Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences, Nisshin, Japan; Department of Systems Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Division for Medical Research Engineering, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan; Epithelial Signaling and Transport Section, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Bethesda, Maryland; and Miyoshi Municipal Hospital, Miyoshi, Japan
The human impact on supply chains: evaluating the importance of “soft” areas on integration and performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contrast traditional transaction‐based supply chain strategies with emerging relationship‐based strategies in human resource and organizational areas.Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework is proposed based on the relationship of human resource variables (staffing, training, evaluation, and compensation) and organization variables (structure, culture, and empowerment strategies) with supply chain integration and performance.Findings – A model is presented of the relationship of human resource and organization variables with supply chain integration and performance. Propositions are posited and conclusions are noted with suggestions for further research.Research limitations/implications – The paper is clearly only theoretical. Much empirical testing is yet to be done.Originality/value – The paper is among the first to focus the relationships of human resource strategies and organization variables with supply chain integration and performance. While t.
Satire or Send-Up? Paddy Power and Blind Football

In 2010, a television advertisement aired in the lead up to the 2010 World Blind Football Championships featuring the English Blind Football Team and a cat became the most controversial advert of the year. This article uses a case study approach to examine the public relations (PR) and communications activities that followed in the fallout from the advert’s broadcast. It shows how the sport organisation’s approach to PR can be characterised by a symbolic interaction approach to PR, developed post hoc, and concerned with creating a favourable impression of the organisation through the manipulation of messaging and argues that this method had questionable ameliorative impact. It further argues that for a niche sport, a more appropriate approach to PR is found in a relationship management approach to PR and communications, as this approach embeds PR at a strategic level and is an effective method for organisations seeking to take strategic control of the communications about their sport. The adoption of strategic relationship management principles to PR offers opportunities to engender a more sophisticated public understanding of disability in sport, increase its popularity, and ensure that elite athletes with a disability are able to attract sponsors and vital funds.
Online word of mouth and consumer purchase intentions

Previous researchers have explained how offline word of mouth (WOM) influences consumer behaviour. Increasingly, however, consumers are turning to online WOM, especially online forums. In an online context, the research discussed in this article replicates the approaches taken to studying offline WOM. Grounded in social comparison theory, social network analysis and the theory of reasoned action, a mall intercept survey of consumers in Hong Kong showed that both similarity between a user’s interests and a forum’s topic and user attitudes towards the forum strongly predict purchase intentions as well as having an indirect effect through helping determine the forum’s persuasiveness. Theoretical implications are discussed as well as practical implications for marketers and recommendations for further research.
Human Cytomegalovirus Tegument Protein ppUL35 Is Important for Viral Replication and Particle Formation

ABSTRACT The tegument proteins ppUL35 and ppUL82 (pp71) of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) physically interact and cooperatively activate the major immediate-early transcription. While an HCMV mutant lacking UL82 displayed a multiplicity of infection (MOI)-dependent growth, the biological significance of ppUL35 has not been addressed so far. We generated a mutant virus with a deletion of the UL35 gene. Using an MOI of 0.1, the progeny virus yield of this mutant was reduced by a factor of 1,000; however, when infected at a low MOI (0.01), the gene was essential. Characterization of the replication cycle showed that the mutant virus had two defects: when virus inoculum was standardized by the amount of viral DNA, a reduced immediate-early gene expression was observed, leading to a strongly delayed expression of lytic genes. A second defect was apparent in the virus assembly, as fewer enveloped particles and no dense bodies were present in cells infected with the mutant virus. However, the particles produced by wild-type and mutant viruses did not show significant ultrastructural differences. These results suggest an important role for ppUL35 in immediate-early gene expression and virus assembly.