Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can the Cancer-related Fatigue Case-definition Criteria Be Applied to Chronic Medical Illness? A Comparison between Breast Cancer and Systemic Sclerosis

Objective. Fatigue is a crucial determinant of quality of life across rheumatic diseases, but the lack of agreed-upon standards for identifying clinically significant fatigue hinders research and clinical management. Case definition criteria for cancer-related fatigue were proposed for inclusion in the International Classification of Diseases. The objective was to evaluate whether the cancer-related fatigue case definition performed equivalently in women with breast cancer and systemic sclerosis (SSc) and could be used to identify patients with chronic illness-related fatigue. Methods. The cancer-related fatigue interview (case definition criteria met if ≥ 5 of 9 fatigue-related symptoms present with functional impairment) was completed by 291 women with SSc and 278 women successfully treated for breast cancer. Differential item functioning was assessed with the multiple indicator multiple cause model. Results. Items 3 (concentration) and 10 (short-term memory) were endorsed significantly less often by women with SSc compared with cancer, controlling for responses on other items. Omitting these 2 items from the case definition and requiring 4 out of the 7 remaining symptoms resulted in a similar overall prevalence of cancer-related fatigue in the cancer sample compared with the original criteria (37.4% vs 37.8%, respectively), with 97.5% of patients diagnosed identically with both definitions. Prevalence of chronic illness-related fatigue was 36.1% in SSc using 4 of 7 symptoms. Conclusion. The cancer-related fatigue criteria can be used equivalently to identify patients with chronic illness-related fatigue when 2 cognitive fatigue symptoms are omitted. Harmonized definitions and measurement of clinically significant fatigue will advance research and clinical management of fatigue in rheumatic diseases and other conditions.
The Gray Segmentation of Color Image Based on Level Set Method

Firstly, the flaw of usual colored image to gray was discussed. And a new method of colored image to gray based on gradient domain was proposed. Secondly, the gray image was segmented using the level set method. Finally, it was compared the method of this paper with the traditional level set method. The numerical examples shown that the new method is stable and it can deal with the case of the topology change，and it can advance the accuracy of image segmentation.
The evaluation stage in marketing decision making

Prior to making important decisions, marketing managers go through an evaluation process in which available alternatives are compared. Yet, no systematic discussion of the evaluation process exists in the marketing literature. This article reviews the marketing and behavioral decision theory literature in order to identify factors that may cause errors in the two fundamental elements of the evaluation process—the estimation of probabilities and the determination of the value of outcomes. Propositions are developed that specify circumstances in which marketing management decisions may be influenced by judgmental biases, and procedures are identified for debiasing such judgments.
E-Service Quality: the link between quality and loyalty

Summary There has been a lot of research validating the link between service quality and customer loyalty in traditional (bricks-and-mortar) services. However, despite the strong growth of eservices in recent years, there is still little rigorous empirical research examining this link in such settings. The interest in examining this link in an e-service setting is in validating eservice quality as a lever that managers of e-service operations can employ to drive customer loyalty and, ultimately, profitability. Based on data from an online questionnaire of customers of an e-banking service, this study employs structural equation modelling to examine the link between web site quality and customer loyalty. We found a strong and significant link between the two constructs, suggesting that this relationship also holds in e-service settings. This is an important result, given that loyalty has been generally considered harder to achieve in eservices than in traditional services.
Keratin Immunohistochemistry Detects Clinically Significant Metastases in Bone Marrow Biopsy Specimens in Women With Lobular Breast Carcinoma

Some patients with breast cancer currently undergo bone marrow biopsy to make clinical decisions regarding therapy; however, lobular carcinoma can be difficult to detect in routine histologic sections. The authors reviewed retrospectively all available bone marrow biopsies from patients with lobular carcinoma diagnosed between January, 1, 1989, and September, 25, 1997, at the City of Hope National Medical Center to identify useful morphologic features and to determine the utility of pan-keratin immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. A total of 65 biopsies from 54 patients were reviewed. Thirteen of the 65 biopsies were classified initially as containing metastatic tumor based on histologic features alone. With the addition of keratin IHC, seven additional cases of metastatic disease were detected. Forty of the 54 patients received stem cell replacement or autologous bone marrow transplantation. Disease-free survival after high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell replacement or autologous bone marrow transplantation was stratified into three groups based on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and IHC results. Two-year disease-free survival was 33% for the H&E−/IHC+ group versus 90% for the H&E−/IHC− group (p = 0.005) among patients clinically free of disease at the time of stem cell replacement or autologous bone marrow transplantation. Two-year disease-free survival was 0% in the H&E+/IHC+ group (p = 0.04, compared with the H&E−/IHC+ group). The authors conclude that routine morphologic examination without the aid of keratin IHC is unreliable in detecting clinically relevant metastatic lobular carcinoma in bone marrow biopsies. These findings suggest that pan-keratin immunostaining may be indicated on bone marrow biopsy specimens from lobular carcinoma patients if the biopsy appears histologically negative for metastatic tumor on H&E sections.
Evidence of Lagos Bat Virus Circulation among Nigerian Fruit Bats

During lyssavirus surveillance, 350 brains from four species of fruit bats and one species of insectivorous bat were collected from seven locations in Northern Nigeria during May to October, 2006. Lyssavirus antigen was not detected in the brains, and isolation attempts in mice were unsuccessful. However, serologic tests demonstrated the presence of lyssavirus-neutralizing antibodies in bat sera. Of 140 sera tested, 27 (19%) neutralized Lagos bat virus, and two of these additionally neutralized Mokola virus. The positive samples originated from the straw-colored fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) and the Gambian epaulet bat (Epomophorus gambianus). No neutralizing activity was detected against other lyssaviruses including rabies, Duvenhage, and West Caucasian bat viruses.
Intimacy of the Russian upper middle class with luxury fashion

Abstract Russia has developed into one of the most important markets for luxury goods in the world. The aim of this study is to determine the factors influencing Russian consumers’ intentions to purchase luxury fashion goods. We focus on the growing high-middle- and middle-class consumer behavior patterns. This study attempts to contest practitioners’ knowledge and folklore with research hypotheses and to evaluate these in a rigorous quantitative process. We investigate the factors influencing Russian consumers’ intentions to purchase goods of luxury fashion brands based on two different models. The “Attitude toward Luxury Brands” (social-adjustive function) quantifies the extent to which luxury brands are facilitating self-expression of the owner and the projection of a particular image in socia settings. Additionally, we use the “Attitude toward Luxury Brands” (value-expressive function) in order to quantify the degree to which luxury brands are expressing the buyer’s self (beliefs, attitudes, values). The results of our analysis confirm practitioners’ prior beliefs that Russian consumer behavior patterns in luxury markets predominantly correspond to characteristics of symbolic consumption.
Evaluation of the complication rate as a measure of quality of care in coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether hospital rankings based on complication rates provide the same information as hospital rankings based on mortality rates. DESIGN A retrospective study of in-hospital death, complication, and death following complication (failure to rescue). Hospitals were ranked using residuals based on the difference between the observed and the expected number of events (from logistic regression models); rankings were compared using Spearman rank correlations. SETTING Hospitals performing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in the 1991 and 1992 MedisGroups National Comparative Data Bases. PATIENTS AND DATA SETS: Record abstraction data for 16,673 patients who underwent CABG procedures at 57 hospitals, linked with data from the 1991 American Hospital Association Annual Survey. RESULTS After adjusting for patient admission severity of illness, there were low correlations between hospital rankings based on death or failure to rescue and those rankings based on complication (death vs complication, r = 0.07, P = .58; failure to rescue vs complication, r = -0.22, P = .11). In addition, many hospital characteristics that are generally associated with a higher quality of care were associated with higher complication rates but with expected or lower-than-expected mortality rates. CONCLUSIONS Hospital rankings based on complication rates provide different information than those based on mortality rates. Until more is known about these differences, complication rates should not be used to judge hospital quality of care in CABG surgery.
The effectiveness of industrial policy in developing countries: causal evidence from Ethiopian manufacturing firms

ABSTRACT Prioritising the growth of particular sectors or regions is often part of a low-income country’s growth strategy. We study a prototypical example of such policies in Ethiopia, exploiting geographic and sectoral variation in the form and scale of the policy for identification. Using product-level data on Ethiopian manufacturing firms, we show that the policy was unsuccessful: in the best case scenario its benefits were around one-tenth of its cost. Subsidised loans did not improve productivity, leading only to an increase in fungible assets not machinery. Tax-breaks improved productivity but reduced firms’ capital levels. Further results suggest that these were both the consequence of volatility and the lack of effective bankruptcy protection. There are two key policy implications of our findings. Firstly, we highlight that ineffective industrial policies can be extremely expensive and thus may impede rather than promote countries’ pursuit of their development objectives, given that ‘blunt’ industrial policies like the one we study are common. Second, our results suggest that policies that rely on improving access to capital will be more successful in a stable economic environment with effective bankruptcy protection and that access to capital is not necessarily the key constraint to improving productivity in many of the firms we study.
Hypothermia enhances heat-shock protein 70 production in ischemic brains

Although moderate hypothermia is one of the most robust and effective techniques available for reducing ischemic injury, its key mechanism still remains unclear. Our proteomic analysis of the brains of rats treated with a 2-h middle cerebral artery occlusion showed that postischemic hypothermia markedly potentiated a sustained increase in heat-shock protein 70 (Hsp70). The elevated Hsp70 level was confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blot analysis, and immunohistochemical staining. Expression of other Hsp proteins was unaffected by hypothermia. Interestingly, hypothermia did not increased, even decreased, the upregulation of hsp70 mRNA expression by ischemia, suggesting that Hsp70 abundance is controlled by an unknown posttranscriptional regulation. As Hsp70 exerts a protective role against ischemic damage, the specific increase in Hsp70 production may contribute to the neuroprotective effect of hypothermia.
Clustering-based model order reduction for multi-agent system

In this paper, we extend our clustering-based model order reduction method for multi-agent systems with single-integrator agents to the case where the agents have identical general linear time-invariant dynamics. The method consists of the Iterative Rational Krylov Algorithm, for finding a good reduced order model, and the QR decomposition-based clustering algorithm, to achieve structure preservation by clustering agents. Compared to the case of single-integrator agents, we modified the QR decomposition with column pivoting inside the clustering algorithm to take into account the block-column structure. We illustrate the method on small and large-scale examples.
Measuring the Web Event Evolution Based on Semantic Outbreak Degree

With the popularization and development of network technology worldwide, Web is acting as a platform for the diffusion and evolution of social events. However, faced with the huge, disorder and continuous web resources, it is impossible for people to efficiently recognize, collect and organize the events. Therefore, it becomes a hot research field that automatically collecting, organizing the information about events and then tracking the evolution process of events. In this paper, we introduce the semantic features set of the Web event. Then we propose a method to measure the evolution process of the Web event based on semantic outbreak degree. Finally we give some instances validation of semantic outbreak degree of web event.
Bode-like Integral for Continuous-Time Closed-Loop Systems in the Presence of Limited Information

This paper analyzes causal closed-loop continuous-time systems in the presence of limited information. Assuming that the exogenous signals can be modeled as a stochastic process, a mutual information rate inequality is obtained that can be viewed as an extended Bode-type formula for stationary processes. The tightness of the resulting Bode's integral inequality is then analyzed for the linear time invariant closed loops. Within the developed framework we consider the control-communication interplay and analyze the underlying fundamental limitations.
Does Gender Matter in the Boardroom? Evidence from the Market Reaction to Mandatory New Director Announcements

Around the world, policy makers are mandating gender quotas for boards of publicly-traded firms. Since the benefits and costs of these quotas accrue to shareholders, it is important to see how they react to the appointment of female directors. Using data on mandatory announcements of new director appointments, we find that the gender of directors appears to be value-relevant. On average, shareholders value additions of female directors more than they value additions of male directors. Firms with workplace practices in place to promote workplace equality appear to benefit the most from boardroom gender diversity. This suggests that appointing female directors may help resolve value-decreasing stakeholder conflicts.
Mobile manipulation of humanoids-real-time control based on manipulability and stability

A real-time control method for a humanoid in mobile manipulation, doing tasks with its arms while moving, is proposed. The arm tips always follow their desired position with external force applied by impedance control, for carrying out a given task with the arms. An evaluation function consisting of not only stability but also arm manipulability-both are important for mobile manipulation-is defined; the humanoid controls its body and legs so that this evaluation may be optimal. As a result, the humanoid autonomously steps or keeps standing, coordinating with the arm tips motion. The effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed method are ascertained by computer simulations on a humanoid of human-size and experiments using a small experimental robot.
Desketoneoenactin-Siderophore Conjugates for Candida: Evidence of Iron Transport-Dependent Species Selectivity

ABSTRACT We investigated the inhibitory activity of synthetic isocyanurate-based as well as linear mono- and trihydroxamate siderophore-drug conjugates against Candida spp. The conjugated drug was 13C-desketoneoenactin (DE). The MICs of siderophore-drug conjugates were determined in the absence and presence of 2,2′-dipyridyl to restrict iron availability. The ability of various siderophore types to promote growth in an iron-restricted medium was also assayed. Addition of a siderophore portion to the drug strongly impaired the inhibitory activity of DE. However, the activity of the drug conjugates was increased by up to 16-fold in iron-depleted medium for species having their growth strongly promoted by most hydroxamate-type siderophores (C. albicans, C. stellatoidea, and C. pseudotropicalis). The uptake of 55Fe from ferrichrome and from two siderophore-drug conjugates was improved when C. albicans cells were grown in a low-iron medium. In the same assay, unlabeled ferrichrome was able to compete with the uptake of 55Fe from both conjugates, indicating a common mechanism of uptake. A C. albicans strain lacking the siderophore transporter CaSit1/CaArn1 was not able to use ferrichrome or the synthetic ornithine-based trihydroxamate siderophore for growth promotion and was much less susceptible to the siderophore-drug conjugates than its isogenic parent strain. In summary, the ability of some Candida spp. to use ferrichrome-like siderophores for growth promotion explains the selective activity of hydroxamate-drug conjugates, and this activity seems to be related to the presence, in C. albicans, of the siderophore transporter CaSit1/CaArn1. New conjugate designs are necessary to fully restore or improve the initial DE activity.
Contraction or expansion of the Moon ’ s crust during magma ocean freezing ?

The lack of contraction features on the Moon has been used to argue that the Moon underwent limited secular cooling, and thus had a relatively cool initial state. A cool early state in turn limits the depth of the lunar magma ocean. Recent GRAIL gravity measurements, however, suggest that dikes were emplaced in the lower crust, requiring global lunar expansion. Starting from the magma ocean state, we show that solidification of the lunar magma ocean would most likely result in expansion of the young lunar crust, and that viscous relaxation of the crust would prevent early tectonic features of contraction or expansion from being recorded permanently. The most likely process for creating the expansion recorded by the dikes is melting during cumulate overturn of the newly solidified lunar mantle.
Know‐how transfer: the role of social, economic/competitive, and firm boundary factors

Using policy capture methodology, this study examines the effect of different contextual cues upon the know‐how transfer efforts reported by 79 biotechnology R&D scientists. Theoretically, these different cues are believed to affect the scientists' expectation of reciprocity, and thus their know‐how transfer behavior. Three types of contextual cues between the know‐how source and recipient were studied: competitiveness, social relationship, and within or across firm boundaries. We find these cues are associated, in the expected directions, with know‐how transfer effort. The findings support a general theory of reciprocity whereby social, competitive, and firm boundary cues have a summative effect upon the expectation of reciprocity and know‐how transfer. This is the first study to examine how these cues taken together influence the know‐how transfer decision. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The composition of source and activity loyalty within a public agency's golf operation.

The composition of market shares in relation to user loyalty provides useful input into the development of marketing strategies. However, the application of this concept has received little attention in government sponsored park and recreation agencies. The purpose of this research was twofold. First, the source loyalty composition of the market share held by three municipal golf courses was examined. Second, the study examined the utility of using selected variables in differentiating between golfers' high, spurious, latent, and low loyalty levels. The findings suggest that the market share held by the three municipal golf courses differed in regard to source loyalty. Further analysis indicated that there were significant differences in the loyalty felt toward the activity (golf) between the four source loyalty groups. Moreover, the findings indicated significant differences between source loyalty groups and gender, involvement, mastery, intrinsic motivation, and perceived competence.
The Consequences of Human Resource Stocks and Flows: A Longitudinal Examination of Unit Service Orientation and Unit Effectiveness

Drawing from resource-based theory, we argue for a broader interpretation of human capital and demonstrate that unit service orientation contributes to unit effectiveness over time. Operationalizing unit service orientation as the unit-level (n = 1,255) aggregate of individual level (n = 114,198) service employee competencies, we modeled the data over three quarters and found a positive but decreasing relationship between the flow of unit service orientation and changes in unit effectiveness. Although building a high-quality stock is important, we show that the key driver of change in unit effectiveness is the flow of unit service orientation over time.