Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Subspecialization in neurology

AAN= : American Academy of Neurology; ABMS= : American Board of Medical Specialties; ABPN= : American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; ACGME= : Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; ANA= : American Neurological Association; AUPN= : Association of University Professors of Neurology; CNS= : Child Neurology Society; PCN= : Professors of Child Neurology; RCPSC= : Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; UCNS= : United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties. In recent decades, there has been considerable growth in neurologic subspecialties. In response to this trend, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), American Neurological Association (ANA), Association of University Professors of Neurology (AUPN), Child Neurology Society (CNS), and Professors of Child Neurology (PCN) helped establish the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties (UCNS) in order to provide accreditation of training (fellowship) programs in neurologic subspecialties and certification of graduates of these programs (and, during a limited “practice track” period, practitioners qualified by their substantive experience). This article reviews the reasons why UCNS was established, how it operates, and what it has accomplished. In the first issue of Neurology ® in 1951, an article by Pearce Bailey, MD, entitled “The past, present, and future of neurology in the United States,” noted that by the end of World War II, neurology had not yet attained “unchallenged professional autonomy as a medical specialty. ”1 Bailey pointed to the establishment of the AAN in 1948 as reason for hope that there would be “a new renaissance of neurology in the near future” and he concluded that “[t]he time has come for neurology as a specialty to assume responsibility for the total medical treatment of neurologic patients. ” In the decades since Bailey's article, AAN has undertaken many initiatives to help neurologists achieve this goal. In 1998, AAN President Francis I. Kittredge, Jr, MD, FAAN, appointed a Commission on Subspecialty Certification that was chaired by Stephen M. Sergay, MB BCh, FAAN. This was a time of major change in neurology. Neuroscience was advancing at an explosive rate. New technologies and treatments were developed that promised dramatic advances in neurologic care. The boundaries between emerging areas of practice in neurology and other specialties were becoming blurred. The number of AAN sections was growing fast, and new subspecialties did …
H.A.R.P.: investigating Mesolithic landscapes of life and death at the western edge of Europe

Abstract Excavation at Hermitage, Ireland, revealed Early Mesolithic human cremation burials. One burial contained a stone adze, possibly used in a funerary rite and ritually blunted. The Hermitage Archaeological Research Project aims to identify the extent of mortuary activity, and to place these burials in their broader landscape context.
Variation in singing style use in the reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus: influencing factors and possible functions

The two main functions of bird song are territory defence and mate attraction. Considerable progress has been made in understanding how species adjust the use of songs to serve these and other (presumed) functions of bird song, but the striking variety of singing behavior observable in wild birds remains enigmatic. Some species make do with simple songs and small repertoires, while others show large, complex repertoires and still others have evolved several distinct singing styles. In most species with distinct singing styles, however, the functions of singing styles are poorly understood. Two distinct singing styles (type I and II, respectively) have long been known in the reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus, while a new third one has recently been reported to exist. We first quantitatively investigated the evidence for the existence of three singing styles. Then, we tested predictions of the mate attraction hypothesis, the mate guarding hypothesis and the territory defence hypothesis by examining the relations between singing style use with social and temporal factors. Cluster and discriminant analyses supported the existence of three (instead of two) singing styles, which could be differentiated based on four variables referring to song structure and complexity. Use of singing styles was related to male mating status (consistent with the mate attraction hypothesis), but not to female breeding stage (no support for the mate guarding hypothesis). Finally, use of singing styles differed in relation to time of day, with the dawn chorus of paired reed buntings consisting almost exclusively of songs of the recently discovered type III singing style and daytime singing primarily consisting of songs of long-known type I (in unpaired males) or II singing styles (in paired males). Our findings suggest that one singing style (type I) primarily serves to attract a social mate, although an additional territorial function of this singing style cannot be dismissed. The function(s) of the other two singing styles, both only sung by paired males, are not related to attraction of a social mate or to the own female's fertility, but appear to be important in the context of territory defence and extra-pair matings.
The Fecal Chymotrypsin Photometric Assay in the Evaluation of Exocrine Pancreatic Capacity. Comparison with Other Direct and Indirect Pancreatic Function Tests

Fecal chymotrypsin (FCT) has been measured by a new photometric method (Monotest Chymotrypsin; Boehringer, Mannheim) in 78 patients: 44 with chronic pancreatitis and 34 not affected by any pancreatic disease. The results were compared with those from other tests of pancreatic secretory (secretin-cerulein test) and digestive [serum and urinary p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and pancreolauryl] capacity. When FCT values were severely reduced (below 6.7 U/g, from 90 to 100% of the patients also presented abnormal pancreatic secretory and digestive capacity. On the other hand, 87% of the patients with normal FCT (above 20 U/g) presented normal secretory and digestive capacity. Patients with intermediate FCT values (between 6.7 and 20 U/g) showed normal or abnormal pancreatic secretory and digestive capacity with the same probability. Therefore, FCT, carried out as a first test, seems to identify subjects that need no further pancreatic function tests (normal and severely impaired FCT) and patients who need other more complex functional investigations (intermediate FCT values).
Association of trypsin expression with tumour progression and matrilysin expression in human colorectal cancer

Overexpression of the matrix serine protease (MSP) trypsin has been implicated in tumour growth, invasion, and metastasis. The objective of this study was to clarify the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of trypsin expression in colorectal cancer. This study analysed the association between immunohistochemically detected trypsin expression in colorectal cancer and clinicopathological characteristics, and investigated whether trypsin is a predictor of recurrence and/or survival. Trypsin immunoreactivity was more intense at the invasive front than in the superficial part of the tumour. Sections with immunostaining signals in more than 30% of carcinoma cells at the invasive front, which were observed in 48 cases (48%), were judged to be positive for trypsin. Trypsin positivity was significantly correlated with depth of invasion, lymphatic and venous invasion, lymph node and distant metastasis, advanced pathological tumour–node–metastasis (TNM) stage, and recurrence. Patients with trypsin‐positive carcinoma had significantly shorter overall and disease‐free survival periods than did those with trypsin‐negative carcinoma. Trypsin retained its significant predictive value for overall and disease‐free survival in multivariate analysis that included conventional clinicopathological factors. It is well known that trypsin activates matrilysin (matrix metalloproteinase‐7), which plays an important role in colorectal cancer progression. Patients with concordant overexpression of trypsin and matrilysin at the invasive front, in which they were often co‐localized, had the worst prognosis. Trypsinogen‐1‐transfected HCT116 colon cancer cells showed not only trypsin activity, but also active matrilysin activity and were more invasive in vitro than mock‐transfected HCT116 cells. These results suggest that trypsin plays a key role in the progression of colorectal cancer. Detection of trypsin expression as well as matrilysin is useful for the prediction of recurrence in and poor prognosis of colorectal cancer patients. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On the Role of Monitoring near Financial Distress: an economic and legal analysis

textabstractWhen things turn out wrong for a company, the people involved usually have some idea why. With hindsight scholars, judges, journalists, trade union representatives, shareholders or bankers may conclude that an acquisition was too big, an investment too risky, reorganization too late, or that the management was not capable of doing its job. Bad faith might play a role. Administrators1 often detect fraud or serious negligence. In large bankruptcies like Enron, WorldCom, Parmalat or Lehman Brothers, billions of US dollars were at stake. Such cases are rare. Mostly the amounts are much smaller, but there are definitely many of such small bankruptcies. Severe losses may be suffered by trade creditors, banks, bondholders, the tax authorities and social securities agencies. More important than the amount of money involved might be the damage inflicted on human beings as a consequence of bankruptcy (Argenti, 1976). Due to unemployment, pension loss or commercial losses, the future prospects of employees, pensioners, small service providers and product suppliers may be seriously damaged. Thus, human beings as well as society will win by decreasing the incidence of bankruptcy. This thesis focuses on companies near financial distress. ‘Companies’ means privatesector legal persons, with either a profit or a nonprofit object2. ‘Financial distress’ is the subject of chapter 2. Its most widely-known form is bankruptcy. Specifically, this study analyses economic and legal mechanisms in situations of near financial distress. These prove to be of a rather ex post nature. In chapter 5 the study develops an approach with an ex ante character.
An interpretive investigation of the information systems outsourcing phenomenon

The purpose of this research was to provide this reflective stance by investigating the information systems outsourcing phenomenon from individuals who have already gone through the evaluation process. Through a series of in-depth interviews with participants in thirteen companies, many insights were gained about the intentions, motivations and consequences of information systems outsourcing evaluations: First, organizational members may initiate outsourcing for reasons other than cost efficiency. Participants identified a variety of motives for initiating outsourcing decisions: react to the efficiency imperative, acquire or justify additional resources, react to the positive outsourcing media reports, reduce uncertainty, eliminate a burdensome function and enhance personal credibility. Second, an outsourcing vendor may not be inherently more efficient than an internal MIS Department. The theory of economies of scale states that large sized companies achieve lower average costs than small sized companies due to mass production and labor specialization efficiencies. In the outsourcing arena, however, the applicability of the economies of scale model may be challenged. Small shops may have lower costs per MIP than large shops by employing older technology, offering below market wages, and maintaining tight controls and procedures. A vendor's hardware discounts are negligible in many instances. Changes in software licensing agreements diminish a vendor's advantage. Labor expertise is largely a myth since clients are usually supported by the same staff that transitioned to the vendor. Third, the internal MIS department may be able to achieve similar results without vendor assistance. When vendors submit bids that indicate savings, companies may question whether they can achieve similar results without vendor assistance. Perhaps the company can reduce their own MIS expenses through data center consolidation, resource optimization, chargeback implementation, and other sundry methods. Fourth, if a company decides to outsource, the contract is the only mechanism to ensure that expectations are realized. When some companies decide that outsourcing is the preferred mechanism for achieving MIS objectives, they often like to view their vendors as partners. This assumption, however, is erroneous. vendors are not partners because profit motives are not shared. An outsourcing contract is the only way to ensure an equitable balance of power. Service level measures, provisions for growth, and penalties for non-performance must be stipulated prior to outsourcing commencement. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Clonal architecture of secondary acute myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND The myelodysplastic syndromes are a group of hematologic disorders that often evolve into secondary acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The genetic changes that underlie progression from the myelodysplastic syndromes to secondary AML are not well understood. METHODS We performed whole-genome sequencing of seven paired samples of skin and bone marrow in seven subjects with secondary AML to identify somatic mutations specific to secondary AML. We then genotyped a bone marrow sample obtained during the antecedent myelodysplastic-syndrome stage from each subject to determine the presence or absence of the specific somatic mutations. We identified recurrent mutations in coding genes and defined the clonal architecture of each pair of samples from the myelodysplastic-syndrome stage and the secondary-AML stage, using the allele burden of hundreds of mutations. RESULTS Approximately 85% of bone marrow cells were clonal in the myelodysplastic-syndrome and secondary-AML samples, regardless of the myeloblast count. The secondary-AML samples contained mutations in 11 recurrently mutated genes, including 4 genes that have not been previously implicated in the myelodysplastic syndromes or AML. In every case, progression to acute leukemia was defined by the persistence of an antecedent founding clone containing 182 to 660 somatic mutations and the outgrowth or emergence of at least one subclone, harboring dozens to hundreds of new mutations. All founding clones and subclones contained at least one mutation in a coding gene. CONCLUSIONS Nearly all the bone marrow cells in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and secondary AML are clonally derived. Genetic evolution of secondary AML is a dynamic process shaped by multiple cycles of mutation acquisition and clonal selection. Recurrent gene mutations are found in both founding clones and daughter subclones. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and others.).
The Neoclassical Model, Corporate Retained Earnings and the Regional Flows of Financial Capital

Regional capital expenditures, which reflect regional flows of financial capital, are a function of the aggregate of individual firms' behavior. Hence, the allocational efficiency of the regional flows of financial capital may be affected by the manner - internal versus external - in which financial capital becomes available to manufacturing firms. Allocational inefficiency could obtain since corporate retained earnings - funds that are internally available to large firms - are only minimally subject to the market rationing process. Even though the capital market is cleared, it may do so without providing for the efficient allocation of financial capital. The existence of differential rates in regional financial markets may reflect the costs associated with the use of funds in a truncated or discontinuous national capital market. Accordingly, equilibrium experienced in the capital market may exist under non-Paretian conditions. This paper attempts to determine whether the allocation of regional financial capital flows is efficient as suggested by the neoclassical model (NCM). Specifically, the study attempts to ascertain whether the corporate retained earnings model (CREM) is a good predictor of the regional flow of financial capital. In line with the NCM, it is hypothesized that regions with high growth rates of annual manufacturing value added (Mgs) experience low annual capital investment-output ratios (ACIs) and low variability in financial capital flows (low variability of annual capital investment-output ratios - VACIs). As per the CREM, it is postulated that regions (states) with high growth rates of annual manufacturing capital expenditures (Cgs) experience high ACIs and high VACIs. Surrogate measures of financial capital flows and the volatility of such flows were used. The test results, which may not be generalizable beyond the study period, suggest that the CREM may be a better predictor of the regional flow of financial capital than the NCM and that the financial capital rationing process for regional manufacturing investments may be inefficient. The finding, that corporate earnings retention influences the flow of financial capital, does suggest that the NCM does not always hold. This study should enhance the understanding of regional flows of financial capital and the state-region and industry region models used in the study refine and extend the scope of regional economic analysis.
The Effect of Foreign Currency Hedging on External Financing

Existing theory offers two divergent views on the effect of hedging on external financing. One view is that hedging allows a firm to reduce its reliance on external finance when capital market imperfections make external finance more costly than internally generated funds. A contrasting view is that by reducing information asymmetries and/or volatility, hedging reduces external financing costs and hence motivates firms to increase their reliance on external financing. In this paper, I provide empirical evidence on the effect of foreign currency hedging on external financing. My results suggest foreign currency hedgers raise more external financing than nonhedgers. In addition, although financially constrained hedgers raise less external financing than financially unconstrained hedgers, financially constrained hedgers raise more external financing than financially constrained nonhedgers. Further, I find that the difference in external financing between hedgers and nonhedgers is driven by both debt and equity financing.
The IT Manager: an Endangered Species?

Information Technology is generally acknowledged to be an indispensable part of business today, so it might be thought that companies generally employed IT staff. A survey was carried out on a large sample of New South Wales companies to discover how many companies had any IT staff. It showed that only about 25% of the sample had such staff. About a quarter of companies turning over $5m $10m and half the companies turning over $10m $50m had IT managers. These figures suggest that the most NSW companies have no IT staff, which has implications for a wide range of governance issues.
The Relationship of Student Loan Default to Individual and Campus Characteristics. AIR 1994 Annual Forum Paper.

This study addressed the question of whether student loan repayment and default behaviors are more highly related to the characteristics of the college attended or to the characteristics of the aid recipient. The model for the study was based on theories of human capital and public subsidy, ability to pay perspectives, organizational structural/functional approaches, and student-institution fit models. Data from three national databases were merged: the 1987 National Post-secondary Student Aid Study of individual recipients of federal financial aid, the Integrated Post-secondary Education Database System data containing campus financial and enrollment characteristics, and a third containing College Board Survey data. Analysis found no support for the hypothesis that institutional characteristics have an impact on student loan default. Default behavior could, however, be substantially predicted by borrower characteristics. These included race, marital status, college major, grade point average, highest earned degree, and taxable income. These results erode the basis for current national policy and practice, which holds institutions accountable for the default behavior of those who have left the institution. (Contains 37 references.) (JB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ********************************************************************
Gen me-wide ide tification of Brassi a napus microR s and their targets in respo se to cadmium

In mammals, cadmium is widely considered as a non-genotoxic carcinogen acting through a methylation-dependent epigenetic mechanism. Here, the effects of Cd treatment on the DNA methylation patten are examined together with its effect on chromatin reconfiguration in Posidonia oceanica. DNA methylation level and pattern were analysed in actively growing organs, under short(6 h) and long(2 d or 4 d) term and low (10 mM) and high (50 mM) doses of Cd, through a Methylation-Sensitive Amplification Polymorphism technique and an immunocytological approach, respectively. The expression of one member of the CHROMOMETHYLASE (CMT) family, a DNA methyltransferase, was also assessed by qRT-PCR. Nuclear chromatin ultrastructure was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Cd treatment induced a DNA hypermethylation, as well as an up-regulation of CMT, indicating that de novo methylation did indeed occur. Moreover, a high dose of Cd led to a progressive heterochromatinization of interphase nuclei and apoptotic figures were also observed after long-term treatment. The data demonstrate that Cd perturbs the DNA methylation status through the involvement of a specific methyltransferase. Such changes are linked to nuclear chromatin reconfiguration likely to establish a new balance of expressed/repressed chromatin. Overall, the data show an epigenetic basis to the mechanism underlying Cd toxicity in plants.