Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parenthood probability and pregnancy outcome in patients with a cancer diagnosis during adolescence and young adulthood.

BACKGROUND To compare first-time parenthood probability and pregnancy outcome between cancer patients and the general population. METHODS Data from a hospital registry on cancer patients aged 15-35 years at diagnosis, including date/type of diagnosis, treatment and date of death, were merged with data from the Cancer Registry and the Medical Birth Registry, providing date of childbirth, IVF, pregnancy outcomes and demographics. RESULTS The first-time parenthood probability at the age of 35 years was 63% in male patients (n = 463) and 64% in the male general population (n = 367 068). Figures in female patients were 66% (n = 284) compared with 79% in the female general population (n = 349 576) (P = 0.007). A total of 487 male and 251 female cancer patients were childless pre-diagnosis, and 130 male and 104 female cancer patients had one child before diagnosis and at least one birth post-diagnosis. Congenital anomalies were more frequent in first-borns to previously childless male patients [adjusted odds ratio (OR(adj)): 1.5; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1-2.3]. The risk of low birth weight and preterm delivery after cancer was increased in infants born to female patients, as was perinatal mortality (OR(adj) 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1-5.0) among post-diagnosis first births. CONCLUSIONS The first-time parenthood probability in 35-year old cancer patients is approximately 60%, which in female patients is significantly reduced compared with the general population. Post-diagnosis pregnancies to female patients are high-risk pregnancies.
The Measurement And Meaning Of IT Usage : Reconciling Recent Discrepancies Between Self Reported And Computer Recorded Usage . In a recent study

In a recent study, Straub, Limayem, and Karahanna-Evaristo (1995) found little similarity between self reported measures and computer recorded measures of Information Technology (IT) usage. The between method correlation was assessed as 0.293 and the use of these two sets of measures within a nomological context consisting of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use from the TAM model (Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1989) resulted in different path estimates. The study indicated the possibility of methodological problems (both conceptually and operationally), but also suggested that “research that has relied on subjective measures for both independent variables . and dependent variables, such as system usage . may not be uncovering true, significant effect, but mere artifacts” (Straub et. al., 1995, p. 1336). Building upon the Straub et al. study, this paper examines these apparent discrepancies by 1) re-examining their study and 2) providing results from a new study using computer recorded measures of usage. In attempting to reconcile the discrepancies, potential misinterpretation due to methodological problems may be part of the reason. More importantly, this paper addresses the question of what constitutes “subjective” versus “objective” IT usage. By considering these issues in more detail, we suggest an alternative interpretation, where computer recorded measures of usage are not necessarily anymore “objective” than self-reported usage. Instead, greater focus is needed to understand the meaning that researchers attribute to such measures. This notion is further elaborated by providing results from the new study where computer recorded usage was found to be consistent with the TAM model.
Role of histone tails in nucleosome remodeling by Drosophila NURF

The Drosophila nucleosome remodeling factor NURF utilizes the energy of ATP hydrolysis to perturb the structure of nucleosomes and facilitate binding of transcription factors. The ATPase activity of purified NURF is stimulated significantly more by nucleosomes than by naked DNA or histones alone, suggesting that NURF is able to recognize specific features of the nucleosome. Here, we show that the interaction between NURF and nucleosomes is impaired by proteolytic removal of the N‐terminal histone tails and by chemical cross‐linking of nucleosomal histones. The ATPase activity of NURF is also competitively inhibited by each of the four Drosophila histone tails expressed as GST fusion proteins. A similar inhibition is observed for a histone H4 tail substituted with glutamine at four conserved, acetylatable lysines. These findings indicate a novel role for the flexible histone tails in chromatin remodeling by NURF, and this role may, in part, be independent of histone acetylation.
Metaphors We Ration By An Interpretation of Practical Moral Reasoning

I was a first-year graduate student sitting in a class on religious ethics when James Childress, during a lecture on the meanings of Christian agapeic love, made a memorable assertion about what is taken to be the paradigm narrative of agape in Christian scripture, the parable of Jesus on the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37). This central parable of the Christian ethic, Childress commented, is “morally uninteresting” insofar as the Samaritan was presented with no moral conflict. Suppose instead, he continued, the Samaritan had come upon not just one wounded traveler in need of care but a whole family or several strangers, all of whom were in need of assistance for their lives to be preserved, and the Samaritan had only the one donkey for travel and an insufficient amount of oil and wine to treat the life-threatening wounds of all the travelers. How would the Samaritan express his compassion in that circumstance, when there were more wounded travelers in need of life-saving care than the Samaritan could possibly help? What does the norm of love require in situations of scarcity, such that Jesus could then say to others, “Go and do likewise”? When morality encounters reality on the road to Jericho, whom should the Samaritan save when not all can be saved? (Childress 1985). Soundings, Vol. 96, no. 3, 2013 Copyright © 2013 the pennsylvania State university, university park, pa di sc us sio n diussion
China at the Tipping Point?: From “Fart People” to Citizens

Abstract: In recent years, Chinese netizens have shown they possess boundless creativity and ingenuity in finding ways to express themselves despite government restrictions on online speech. To Chinese Internet users, those terms often resonate deeply by expressing feelings about shared experiences that millions of people can immediately relate to. Does New Language Lead to New Thought? Will new political discourse give birth to a new political identity? Are new forms of networked communication enhancing opportunities for social change and helping to move China toward a “threshold” for political transformation? This study is attempting to shed lights on those questions.
The marketing of political marketing

Has political marketing been over‐marketed? This article – taking a definition of political marketing that (controversially) excludes news management and “spin” control – does not seek to “prove” that it has, merely to suggest that the impact of marketing in politics is not directly analogous to its effectiveness in business because of differences between a business context and a political one. We argue specifically that political marketing programmes can sometimes do harm, and two case studies – from Canada and Britain – are examined to illuminate this. The claim is that marketing is thus less relevant in politics, both at the level of description and prescription. The broader aim of the article is to sensitise students and researchers alike to the differences in commercial and political contexts, differences of which practitioners must be aware if they are to utilise political marketing to its best advantage.
A framework of successful organizational practices in Western multinational companies operating in Russia

Russian organizations have undergone significant changes since the 1990s. A new generation of Russian managers has come to the fore in Russia, who are eager to learn and open to Western knowledge. In turn, Western multinationals have also learned the fundamentals of doing business in Russia. How these developments are reflected in today's operations of Western multinationals in Russia remains – albeit with a few exceptions – largely unexplored in the academic literature. To address this gap, this paper explores what are the organizational practices and how do Western multinationals utilize them when striving to succeed in today's Russia. Based on two explorative case studies and 64 personal interviews with top and line managers it identifies four organizational practices, such as management training, corporate culture management, intercultural and linguistic training, and HRM practices, and two internalization mechanisms, such as boundary spanning, and reliance on local competence. The analysis elucidates important changes that have occurred in Western-Russian business relations and underscores important practical implications.
Self-Report Symptoms That Predict Major Depression in Patients with Prominent Physical Symptoms

The diagnosis of depression in patients presenting with both depressive and physical symptoms is potentially confounded and problematic. The present study of 271 patients with four types of illness all with prominent physical symptoms—end-stage renal disease (n = 99), irritable bowel syndrome (n = 21), post-infectious neuromyasthenia (n = 25) and eating disorders (n = 126)—investigates if there are a group of symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) which predict the diagnosis of major depressive episode (MDE) made using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS). Discriminant function analysis of BDI responses yielded a four item function—self-hate, indecisiveness, loss of appetite and suicidal thoughts—which maximally discriminated between patients with and without a current MDE and correctly classified 75 percent of subjects.
Elevating professional scepticism: An exploratory study into the impact of accountability pressure and knowledge of the superior’s preferences

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether accountability pressure and ignorance with regard to the preferences and views of the superior are necessary characteristics of the decision environment to effectively encourage pre-emptive self-criticism and elevate professional scepticism. Auditors continue to be called to account for a perceived lack of professional scepticism in the conduct of their audits. Pre-emptive self-criticism has been proposed as one means by which the level of professional scepticism exercised by auditors may be enhanced. Design/methodology/approach - – The role of accountability pressure and knowledge of the superior’s preferences in an experimental setting has been investigated, eliciting self-assessed measures of accountability pressure and manipulating whether the superior’s preferences were known or unknown. Judgements are made in the context of a preliminary analytical review setting. Findings - – It was found that greater application of pre-emptive self-criticism is associated with the presence of perceived accountability pressure, but only when the superior’s preferences are not known. Research limitations/implications - – Prior research reports that the effectiveness of prompts to be self-critical is limited. Findings suggest that pre-emptive self-criticism may be more effective in elevating professional scepticism than the findings of these studies suggest, and that the absence of an effect may be the result of low levels of accountability pressure in previous research settings. The results of this study imply that future research investigating pre-emptive self-criticism as a means of elevating professional scepticism should incorporate, as is the case in actual audit environments, accountability pressure in the decision setting. Practical implications - – Qualified by the need for further research, our study guides audit firms in their efforts to meet the expectations of regulators, oversight bodies, standard setters and the public at large for an elevated level of professional scepticism. Our findings suggest that placing auditors under accountability pressure might assist audit firms in meeting these expectations. Our findings also encourage auditors to exercise caution when making their preferences known to subordinates. Originality/value - – Despite its potential to help auditors meet demands for an elevated level of professional scepticism, pre-emptive self-criticism has received very little attention in the audit literature. Moreover, the few studies that have examined pre-emptive self-criticism find that prompts to be self-critical elevate professional scepticism in only limited circumstances. We make an original contribution towards an explanation for these findings, and guide future research by showing that accountability pressure is an important characteristic of the decision environment that should be in place before attempting to elevate professional scepticism through the encouragement of pre-emptive self-criticism.
Telemedicine in acute stroke management: Systematic review

Objectives: Stroke is the third largest cause of death and a major factor in permanent disability. Disparities in access to healthcare services exist due to geographical barriers and limited resources. Rural locations often lack the resources for adequate acute stroke care. Telestroke is intended to enable the transfer of knowledge of acute stroke management to areas with limited neurological services. The objective of this study is to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and treatment delivery reliability of telemedicine systems in acute stroke management. Methods: A systematic review was undertaken. Results: Eighteen studies were included in this systematic review. Telestroke services have been reported to lead to better functional health outcomes, including reduced mortality and dependency, compared with conventional care. Most studies report that systemic tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) treatment increased in hospitals providing telestroke services, although patients were often transferred to a stroke center for continuing monitoring and surveillance. Patients and healthcare providers reported high levels of satisfaction. There was limited evidence regarding the impact on resource utilization and cost-effectiveness. Conclusions: Telemedicine systems can be safe, feasible, and acceptable in acute stroke management. Telestroke is associated with increased delivery of tPA. The lack of standardized measuring and reporting of resources and health outcomes hinder comparisons between telestroke networks and the determination of best practices. More research is needed to explore the clinical and economic impact of telemedicine technologies in acute stroke management, so as to support policy makers in making informed decisions.
Information and communication technology adoption in Malaysian SMEs

Summary This study aims to analyse the role of the institutional environment in the adoption of information and communications technologies (ICT) in small and medium‐size enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. Findings of the study are based on the data collected from sixty‐seven SMEs. The results suggest that the knowledge base of the owners and the language barriers between employers and employees have played a pivotal role in the adoption of new technologies. In addition, the skill intensity of workers has significantly influenced the adoption of new technologies led by ICT. The results show that firms with foreign technological collaboration adopted more advanced ICT. Anecdotal evidence collected from managing directors suggests that although the Malaysian government has taken several measures to augment the competitiveness of SMEs, the success of such policies has been very limited. Another important finding is that sector‐specific factors have influenced the degree of ICT adoption to a great extent. Perhaps, for the first time, the study found evidence to support the argument that formally trained workers are more useful than on‐the‐job trained workers in SMEs. Availability of knowledge acquisition opportunities in industrial clusters have also played an important role in the adoption of advanced technologies. We conclude that one of the ways to avoid the onslaught posed by globalisation is to focus on the appropriate human resource development policies that can cater to the specific needs of SMEs.
Controller design for a synchronous buck converter with multiple switched inductors

A novel switching controller for a multiple-inductor buck converter is presented based on quantized control theory. This new design gives rise to a self-switching voltage-feedback buck converter, eliminating the need of using PWM generator and current-sense amplifiers. A 12V/1.5V three-inductor buck converter is designed for illustration. The experiment reports a static regulation error of 1.13%, step-up transient regulation error of 7.3% (110mV), and step-down transient regulation error of 8.4% (126mV) under the load current variation from 0A/50A to 50A/0A at a slew rate of 30A/μs.
Construction of Phylogenetic Trees By Pattern Recognition Procedures

Abstract The sequence of a protein can be graphed as a discrete function and a cross-correlation between any two such number sets produces a similarity score. The scores are used to prepare a phylogenetic tree involving hierarchical cluster analysis, non-linear mapping, and minimal spanning routines. Changes are suggested in the sequences of cytochrome c’s from Mediterranean fruit fly, locust, and rattlesnake. The method is faster than existing procedures and does not require human intervention at any stage.
Patterns of smoking cessation in the first 3 years after stroke: the South London Stroke Register

Background Stroke survivors are at high risk of recurrent strokes and other vascular events. Smoking is an established risk factor for stroke, with cessation recommended for secondary prevention. Little is known about patterns of smoking cessation after stroke. Design A prospective cohort of patients was identified. Methods Data were derived from the population-based South London Stroke Register. Self-reported smoking status was measured at the time of stroke, at 3 months, and at 1 and 3 years after stroke. Stroke survivors, who were smoking at the time of stroke and were alive 3 years later, were included. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, risk factors, stroke subtype, disability, and probability of attempting and maintaining smoking cessation. Results Complete smoking data were available for 363 survivors with strokes between 1995 and 2003. In all, 71% of the smokers had attempted to quit within 3 years; 30% had quit and maintained cessation at 1 and 3 years; 10% had quit immediately after stroke, but had subsequently relapsed (smoking again at 1 and 3 years); and 25% of the smokers had quit after 3 months. Black ethnicity [odds ratio (OR): 6.20; confidence interval (CI): 2.39–16.10] and more severe disability (P = 0.035) were predictors of attempts to quit. Older age (OR: 0.30; CI: 0.13–0.71) and black ethnicity (OR: 0.30; CI: 0.15–0.60) reduced the likelihood of smoking at 3 years. Among those attempting cessation, being older predicted maintenance (OR: 4.50; CI: 1.50–13.51). Conclusion The majority of smokers had attempted to quit after stroke; however, a minority achieved sustained cessation in the longer term. Cessation patterns are complex, and interventions should be targeted at multiple time points.
Association between polymorphisms of glucocorticoid receptor genes and asthma: A meta-analysis.

Recent studies have evaluated the associations between polymorphisms of glucocorticoid receptor genes and asthma. However, the conclusions of these studies are conflicting. The objective of this meta-analysis was to clarify the association between all known polymorphisms of glucocorticoid receptor genetic loci and susceptibility to asthma, based on existing reports. We conducted a meta-analysis of the association between glucocorticoid receptor polymorphisms (NR3C1) and asthma risk. A systematical literature search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Cochrane Library until January 15, 2018. The odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI), and P value were calculated using Mantel-Haenszel statistics under the allele, homozygote, heterozygote, dominant, or recessive models. P values of less than 0.05 were considered to represent statistically significant associations between glucocorticoid receptor gene polymorphisms and asthma. All statistical analyses were done using the "meta" package (version 4.9-0) of R version 3.4. 3 and RStudio version 1.0. 44. A total of fourteen studies, reported via ten articles from online databases were included in our meta-analysis. For BclI (from eight studies), a significant association was detected in the allele model, homozygote model, and recessive model (C versus G: OR (95% CI) = 0.63 (0.40-0.97), CC versus GG: OR (95% CI) = 0.41(0.17-0.97), CC versus GC + GG: OR (95% CI) = 0.54(0.34-0.88)), but not in the heterozygote model or the dominant model. For ER22/23EK (from four studies), TthIII1 (from two studies), no significant association was found for any genetic model. After subgroup analyses by age, significant associations were observed for the allele model, homozygote model, dominant model and recessive model for BclI in adults. The ER22/23EK and TthIII1 polymorphisms were not found to be associated with susceptibility to ASTHMA; however, the BclI polymorphisms were significantly associated with ASTHMA in adults.
Impact of managerial control on IPO performance: the case of mutual holding companies

Variation in IPO performance may be partially explained by differences in managerial control. In general, this characteristic has been ignored, perhaps because of the difficulty in testing its influence. The IPOs by mutual thrifts offer a laboratory in which the influence of managerial control can be assessed. Mutual thrifts can either issue all of their stock to investors (stockholder ownership) or can have the majority of the stock distributed to their respective mutual holding company (MHC). The MHC approach places the majority of shares with depositors, which essentially transfers voting power to the managers. Thus, managerial control is more pronounced because governance is limited. The average initial return of stockholder owned thrifts is substantially higher than the initial return of MHCs. This difference remains even after controlling for other factors. The significantly lower initial returns of MHCs are attributed to less uncertainty for MHCs, which allows for a lower degree of underpricing. The long-run performance of MHCs is not statistically different from that of stockholder owned thrifts, which could either suggest that MHCs attempt to maximize value, or that governance of the stockholder owned thrifts is ineffective.
Effects of top management team characteristics on strategic decision making: Shifting attention to team member personalities and mediating processes.

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to explore the effects of the diversity of experience and different personalities of top management team members on mediating processes such as agenda‐setting, the generating of strategic alternatives, and the speed of strategic decision making. Previous research has studied the effects of top management team characteristics on strategic decision‐making and performance by analyzing team demographics such as age and tenure – with ambiguous results.Design/methodology/approach – In a multi‐case study approach, 46 members of eight top management teams were interviewed and surveyed.Findings – The study suggests that the ambiguity of research results can be decreased by: introducing more deep‐level measures; and further differentiating the mediating processes. The results indicate that diversity of experience affects agenda‐setting and the generating of alternatives but – unexpectedly – does not appear to affect the speed of decision making. Personality factors such as .