Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Informal parental traffic education and children's bicycling behaviour

The aim of this study was to analyze the relation between traffic intensity and traffic hazards in the local traffic environment, the parents' view of their child's traffic situation and the actions taken by the parents to cope with these hazards. 58 parents were interviewed. The traffic intensity in the vicinity of the home was estimated. 19% of the parents lived in inner city areas, 62% in suburbs and 19% in the countryside. Suburban children had a safe traffic environment. Inner city- and countryside children predominately lived in high-intensity traffic environment. Inner city- and suburb children frequently used the bike, in inner city as a tool for play and in the suburbs mainly as a means of transport. Countryside children seldom used their bicycle. In inner city areas carefulness in traffic and in the other two independence was emphasized. Only 16% reported cooperation between home and school on traffic matters. Traffic accidents were concentrated to children living in suburbs (p<0.01). 81% of accidents were reported by parents having independence as a goal for traffic training (p<0.01). The results underline that traffic accident risk is strongly contingent on the local traffic environment and informal parenteral education in traffic safety.
The role of Nrf2 signaling in counteracting neurodegenerative diseases

The transcription factor Nrf2 (nuclear factor‐erythroid 2 p45‐related factor 2) functions at the interface of cellular redox and intermediary metabolism. Nrf2 target genes encode antioxidant enzymes, and proteins involved in xenobiotic detoxification, repair and removal of damaged proteins and organelles, inflammation, and mitochondrial bioenergetics. The function of Nrf2 is altered in many neurodegenerative disorders, such as Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Friedreich's ataxia. Nrf2 activation mitigates multiple pathogenic processes involved in these neurodegenerative disorders through upregulation of antioxidant defenses, inhibition of inflammation, improvement of mitochondrial function, and maintenance of protein homeostasis. Small molecule pharmacological activators of Nrf2 have shown protective effects in numerous animal models of neurodegenerative diseases, and in cultures of human cells expressing mutant proteins. Targeting Nrf2 signaling may provide a therapeutic option to delay onset, slow progression, and ameliorate symptoms of neurodegenerative disorders.
An Empirical Examination of the Influence of Information and Source Characteristics on Consumers' Adoption of Online Reviews

The growth of online commerce has given consumers a number of convenient options to shop from. This has led to the proliferation of e-commerce players that offer variety of products and services with customer-centric terms and conditions. However, absence of avenues to test the product(s) before buying, shoppers perceive inherent risk associated with online buying, especially related to products’ quality and features, terms and conditions of sales, etc. To overcome this pre-purchase dissonance and compensate for the lack of previous experience, they look for reliable information and guidance. Hence, to make decisions, e-buyers rely on the reviews provided by other shoppers. Therefore, it becomes imperative for e-retailers to determine antecedent factors that influence the adoption of online reviews. Using heuristicsystematic model, this study has identified the relative significance of information credibility, argument quality, quantity sufficiency and source credibility in influencing the adoption of reviews available online. It was observed that the two categories of influencers impact the reviews’ adoption albeit through the two mediators - perceived usefulness and perceived value of reviews. Theoretical and practical implications have also been highlighted.
Analysis of investors’ preferences in the Montenegro stock market using data mining techniques

This article analyses the preferences of different types of investors to stock characteristics in the Montenegrin stock market. The majority of papers deal with stock portfolio analysis of the institutional investors. Since the number of individual investors in the Montenegrin market is much higher, the analysis of their trading behaviour is also very significant. In this article, using data mining techniques, we tested trading behaviour with stocks for both types of investors. We prove that data mining techniques, such as logistic regression, clustering and decision trees, provide good results in this type of analysis. The analysis may be useful to the future investors, brokers and stock exchange.
Estimation of glomerular filtration rate in hospitalised patients: are we overestimating renal function?

UNLABELLED QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY AND PRINCIPLES: Estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in hospitalised patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is important for drug prescription but it remains a difficult task. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of selected algorithms based on serum creatinine, cystatin C and beta-trace protein to estimate GFR and the potential added advantage of measuring muscle mass by bioimpedance. METHODS In a prospective unselected group of patients hospitalised in a general internal medicine ward with CKD, GFR was evaluated using inulin clearance as the gold standard and the algorithms of Cockcroft, MDRD, Larsson (cystatin C), White (beta-trace) and MacDonald (creatinine and muscle mass by bioimpedance). RESULTS 69 patients were included in the study. Median age (interquartile range) was 80 years (73-83); weight 74.7 kg (67.0-85.6), appendicular lean mass 19.1 kg (14.9-22.3), serum creatinine 126 μmol/l (100-149), cystatin C 1.45 mg/l (1.19-1.90), beta-trace protein 1.17 mg/l (0.99-1.53) and GFR measured by inulin 30.9 ml/min (22.0-43.3). The errors in the estimation of GFR and the area under the ROC curves (95% confidence interval) relative to inulin were respectively: Cockcroft 14.3 ml/min (5.55-23.2) and 0.68 (0.55-0.81), MDRD 16.3 ml/min (6.4-27.5) and 0.76 (0.64-0.87), Larsson 12.8 ml/min (4.50-25.3) and 0.82 (0.72-0.92), White 17.6 ml/min (11.5-31.5) and 0.75 (0.63-0.87), MacDonald 32.2 ml/min (13.9-45.4) and 0.65 (0.52-0.78). CONCLUSIONS Currently used algorithms overestimate GFR in hospitalised patients with CKD. As a consequence eGFR targeted prescriptions of renal-cleared drugs, might expose patients to overdosing. The best results were obtained with the Larsson algorithm. The determination of muscle mass by bioimpedance did not provide significant contributions.
Impact of Service Operation Strategies on the Supply Chain Performance of Private Automobile Companies in Ghana

At Toyota Ghana Company Limited, the core mandate is the sale of brand new vehicles from Toyota Motor Corporation (Japan), spare parts as well as servicing. To expand its assess network, TGCL introduced a new service strategy authorising private garages known as Toyota Ghana Authorized Service Shops (TGASS) to offer accessibility to clients outside of the four catchment areas of the company. In that vein, the current study sought to assess the impact of the new service strategy on the performance of the supply chain of TGCL. The study employed the mixed method approach in conducting the study using a total of 90 participants (15 managerial staff and 75 clients) selected through the purposive and convenient sampling techniques. Data was collected using questionnaires and unstructured interviews. The results show that respondents perceived TGCL’s supply chain performance improved significantly after the introduction of the TGASS service strategy. The study, therefore, concluded that introducing alternative service strategies has a significant effect on the service output of the supply chain of private organisations.
Consumer decision-making for functional foods: insights from a qualitative study

Purpose This study aims to examine functional foods, a relatively recent development in the food industry, from the perspective of consumer decision-making. It deals specifically with consumers’ attitudinal dispositions towards such products and seeks an overall comprehension of the elements of decision-making factors that precede their purchase. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory work methodologically uses several elements of a grounded theoretical approach, in-depth interviews with consumers (and food industry experts) and, more importantly, the constant comparative method of analysis. Findings The analysis indicates that three levels of decision-making processing form consumers’ final functional food choices in either affirmative or negative ways. At the abstract level, consumers position functional foods within their food system. A “benefit negotiation” process acts as the central route of decision-making. Finally, during the “appraising” stage, a representation of each functional food is built. This representation should not be perceived as a rigid one as it can be influenced by personal characteristics, marketing activities and, more importantly, monetary considerations. Originality/value The paper proposes a decision-making framework that takes choice issues into consideration. It builds on (connecting and challenging) some of the existing consumer literature on functional foods. The findings indicate the dynamic nature of consumers’ decision-making which is shaped by motivational and other personal factors. The study identifies the concept of perceived efficacy of such foods, a concept discussed widely in previous literature, as a subordinate aspect when compared to consumers’ consumption motivation, perceived importance and perceptions of pricing. The paper discusses the implications for theory, research and practice.
From active participation to engagement in online communities: Analysing the mediating role of trust and commitment

Abstract The advent of new media and the internet has brought social media to the fore of all brand communications. Marketers are looking at leveraging social media and all its capabilities to their advantage so as to build and manage customer relationships while also co-creating brand experiences. Online communities are one of the most preferred choices of marketers, from among all the tools and features that social media offers. The present study aims to understand how user’s active participation in online communities is instrumental in influencing their engagement with the community. The above relationship is tested on a sample of 203 respondents, using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), where trust and commitment are explored as mediators. While trust is found to partially mediate the relationship between active participation and engagement, commitment acts as a full mediator. The influence of personal characteristics (membership duration, gender) is also explored as an ancillary outcome to the study.
COPD exacerbations · 3: Pathophysiology

Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The effective management of COPD exacerbations awaits a better understanding of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms that shape its clinical expression. The clinical presentation of exacerbations of COPD is highly variable and ranges from episodic symptomatic deterioration that is poorly responsive to usual treatment, to devastating life threatening events. This underscores the heterogeneous physiological mechanisms of this complex disease, as well as the variation in response to the provoking stimulus. The derangements in ventilatory mechanics, muscle function, and gas exchange that characterise severe COPD exacerbations with respiratory failure are now well understood. Critical expiratory flow limitation and the consequent dynamic lung hyperinflation appear to be the proximate deleterious events. Similar basic mechanisms probably explain the clinical manifestations of less severe exacerbations of COPD, but this needs further scientific validation. In this review we summarise what we have learned about the natural history of COPD exacerbations from clinical studies that have incorporated physiological measurements. We discuss the pathophysiology of clinically stable COPD and examine the impact of acutely increased expiratory flow limitation on the compromised respiratory system. Finally, we review the chain of physiological events that leads to acute ventilatory insufficiency in severe exacerbations.
Unexplained fractures in infancy: looking for fragile bones

A fracture occurs when the force exerted on a bone exceeds the ability of the bone to absorb the force by deforming. Fractures in children are common—approximately one third of children will have a fracture by 16 years of age, with more boys experiencing fracture than girls.1 This differentiation in fracture risk is apparent from 2 years of age. Before the age of 2 years, fracture incidence is equal and occurs at a rate of approximately 80/10 000 person years. For the UK, therefore, approximately 4800 infants will have a clinically evident fracture before their first birthday each year. Some long-bone fractures may occur at birth2 in association with events such as shoulder dystocia3; skull fractures may occur during forceps4 and ventouse delivery.5 Some may (uncommonly) occur as a result of clearly defined trauma such as road accidents.6 Most, however, fall into the “unexplained” category. This article reviews our current approach to identifying bone disease in the infant presenting with more than one unexplained fractures, and discusses the recognised disease processes that result in increased bone fragility. The history should include inquiry into specific areas as listed in the box. The two most frequently recognised underlying disease processes causing bone fragility in infancy are metabolic bone disease of prematurity7 and osteogenesis imperfecta, and directed questioning is appropriate for these conditions. For premature infants, the features commonly associated with fracture are delivery at 30 days) establishment of full enteral feeds, conjugated hyperbilirubinaemia, chronic lung disease, and use of furosemide.8,9 For a proportion of infants with osteogenesis imperfecta, there will be a family history either of osteogenesis imperfecta itself or of features that suggest osteogenesis imperfecta. The other elements of the history relating to the …
Autocrine regulation of proliferation and extracellular matrix homeostasis in human fibroblasts.

In the late stages of the tissue repair process, as well as during normal tissue turnover, tissue homeostasis may rely mostly on autocrine mechanisms. Accordingly, we have cultured normal human fibroblasts on plastic surfaces and within three-dimensional collagen gels in order to study, in this environment, the action of autologous medium conditioned by the same cells. We have observed that inside collagen gels the autologous medium strongly restrains cell proliferation, due to fibroblast-secreted growth factors, whose inhibitory effect can be annulled by suramin. Furthermore, concerning extracellular matrix formation, conditioned medium has no effect on novel collagen synthesis, while it up-regulates collagenase MMP-1 only in cultures on plastic. On the other hand, it strongly inhibits the secretion of the collagenase inhibitor TIMP-1, irrespective of the substratum. This effect is completely blocked by SB 203580, an inhibitor of the p38 MAP kinase. The above suggest the presence of an autoregulatory mechanism involved in tissue homeostasis.
Progesterone-binding cyst protein (PBCP) in operable breast cancer: correlations with prognostic factors and predictive value for effect of adjuvant tamoxifen treatment.

Progesterone-binding cyst protein (PBCP) is a secretory protein which has been found in varying concentrations and incidence in cytosols from benign breast tumors, primary breast cancer and metastasis. In order to evaluate its correlation to other prognostic factors, PBCP was analysed in tumor cytosols from 386 women with stage I and stage II breast cancer. The incidence of PBCP negative (i.e. PBCP = 0) tumors was significantly decreased in node negative patients as compared to node positive (p = 0.012). An inverse correlation between estrogen receptor content and PBCP was found (p = 0.001). In a multivariate analysis PBCP category was found to be an independent predictor of the likelihood of axillary nodal involvement (p = 0.015). In spite of this association, PBCP did not reach statistical significance as an independent prognostic factor with regard to relapse-free survival. To evaluate PBCP category as a possible predictive factor for response to adjuvant endocrine treatment, a subpopulation of node positive patients with ER positive tumors was analysed; in patients with PBCP negative tumors, adjuvant treatment with tamoxifen proved to increase the relapse-free survival significantly (p = 0.011). We suggest that PBCP may have a place among other biochemical parameters in breast cancer, to provide an extended basis for understanding of tumor biology and a better selection of patients for endocrine treatment.
The impact of risk perception and factors on tourists' decision making for choosing the destination Uttarakhand/India.

This study explores the tourists' perception of risks attached to safety and security affecting their decision-making process. The study further discusses the risk perception of tourists in relation to social and cultural factors, media influence and demographic factors that motivate tourists to choose a safe destination and how tourists perceive the safety and security measures in the hospitality and tourism industry and at their travel destination. Quantitative research methodology was implemented and samples were collected from both the domestic as well as international tourists. A Stratified Random Probability Sampling method was applied to select the sample at five tourist spots of India i.e., Dehradun, Mussoorie, Haridwar, Rishikesh, and Nainital. 287 questionnaires were returned back and the data was analysed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The findings reveal that tourists' decisionmaking process is influenced by their risk perception level; therefore, this study validates that tourists' decision-making is influenced by their risk perception level in relation with sociocultural factors and media influence and provides useful information for destination marketers, hospitality operators and its stakeholders in proper planning and implementation of the policies and to utilize this information while undertaking the marketing campaign or develop tourist products.
Tainted Executives as Outside Directors

We examine outside board appointments of executives allegedly involved in governance failures—“tainted” executives—to shed light on appointing firms’ underlying motivations. Less attractive firms and those with greater advising needs are more likely to appoint tainted executives to their boards than other firms are. Tainted appointees are less likely to be placed on the nominating and governance committees than nontainted appointees. Tainted appointees have similar or better skill sets compared with nontainted appointees. Firms that appoint tainted executives to their boards display an improvement in operating performance in the postappointment period relative to the preappointment period and relative to a matched control sample. We do not find evidence of poor monitoring outcomes for these firms. Overall, our evidence suggests that board needs, not a conspicuous attempt to weaken monitoring, drive the appointment of tainted executives to boards. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: G34; K22; M41.
Spanning Tests for Assets with Option-Like Payoffs: The Case of Hedge Funds

We draw on the skewness literature to propose regression-based performance evaluation tests designed for investments with option-like returns. These tests deliver conclusions valid for all risk-averse mean-variance-skewness investors and can better account for nonlinearities in returns than option-based factor models. Applied to mutual and hedge funds, our tests usually suggest selecting different funds than standard tests and find that a significant fraction (11%) of hedge funds adds value to investors, whereas this is an insignificant 4% for mutual funds. We also analyze the economic significance of these option-like returns and their out-of-sample persistence. This paper was accepted by Tyler Shumway, finance.
CK2 signaling in androgen‐dependent and ‐independent prostate cancer

Protein serine/threonine kinase casein kinase 2 (CK2) is a key player in cell growth and proliferation but is also a potent suppressor of apoptosis. CK2 has been found to be dysregulated in all the cancers that have been examined, including prostate cancer. Investigations of CK2 signaling in the prostate were originally initiated in this laboratory, and these studies have identified significant functional activities of CK2 in relation to normal prostate growth and to the pathobiology of androgen‐dependent and ‐independent prostate cancer. We present a brief overview of these developments in the context of prostate biology. An important outcome of these studies is the emerging concept that CK2 can be effectively targeted for cancer therapy. J. Cell. Biochem. 99: 382–391, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evaluation of the effects of three different mouthwashes on the force decay of orthodontic chains

Background: Elastomeric chains are commonly used in orthodontics. Force decay in these materials poses clinical problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of three different mouthwashes on the force decay of orthodontic chains. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, elastomeric chains with two different configurations were divided into eight groups (two control and six test groups). After 10 s of prestretching up to 100% of their initial length, the chains were stretched for 25 mm on jig pins and then immersed in artificial saliva, persica, chlorhexidine 0.2% and sodium fluoride 0.05% mouthwashes. Ten cycles of thermocycling between 5°C and 55°C were conducted daily during the test period. In order to reach a 200-g initial force, seven loop closed chains, and five-loop short chains were selected. Forces were recorded by digital force gauge (Lutron) at initial, 24 h, 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks for all groups. The amount of force loss was compared among different mouthwashes and times using one-way analysis of variance (post-hoc, Tukey, α = 0.05). Results: About 20% of the force decay occurred during the first 24 h, but after that and up to the 4th week the rate of force loss was gradual and steady. After 4 weeks, persica and chlorhexidine caused the lowest and the highest percentage of force loss, respectively. These two mouthwashes showed statistically significant differences at all points of time (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, during the orthodontic treatment, persica is preferred to chlorhexidine for oral health control.