Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blood Pressure Status in Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer: A Report from the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Study

Background: Hypertension potentiates cardiovascular risk in survivors of childhood cancer previously exposed to cardiotoxic therapies, so it is important to determine the prevalence and risk factors for hypertensive blood pressure in this high-risk group. Methods: Participants included 3,016 adult 10-year survivors of childhood cancer who had resting blood pressure measurements performed at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis, TN). We characterized the blood pressure status of participants, calculated standardized prevalence ratios based on U.S. population rates, and examined demographic and treatment factors associated with hypertensive blood pressure using logistic regression. Results: The age-specific cumulative prevalence of hypertension in survivors increased sharply with age, exceeding 70% by age 50, and was substantially higher in all diagnosis groups than expected on the basis of age-, sex-, race/ethnicity-, and BMI-specific population rates. Specific cancer treatments were not significantly associated with hypertension, with the exception of nephrectomy (OR, 1.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.11–2.53). Previously undiagnosed hypertensive blood pressure was identified in 8% of survivors, and uncontrolled hypertension in 22% of those with a previous hypertension diagnosis. In a subset (n = 1,185) with longitudinal blood pressure measurements (mean interval, 3.6 years), 5% and 21% of participants with previously normal blood pressure developed hypertensive and prehypertensive blood pressure, respectively. Conclusions: Survivors of childhood cancer have a higher prevalence of hypertension compared with the general population, and many have uncontrolled hypertension that may exacerbate treatment-related cardiovascular risks. Impact: Our results suggest enhanced clinical attention to blood pressure status is warranted in all survivors, regardless of diagnosis or cancer treatment. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(12); 1705–13. ©2017 AACR.
Empirical Evidence of the Existence of Investable Premiums in Emerging Market Investable Stocks

This paper shows that portfolios of more investable securities bear a premium when compared to portfolios of less investable stocks, reflecting compensation for local risk factors. The investable premium is overwhelmingly priced across 3,782 companies traded in 29 emerging markets from 1988 to 2006. The investable premium impacts stock returns at least as much as other fundamental premiums such as size, value, momentum, and loads on political, economic, and financial risk factors. The impact of the investable premium on emerging stocks returns has increased in strength, implying that foreign ownership has greater influence on local markets in recent years.
Managing Human Resources and Technology Innovation: The Impact of Process and Outcome Uncertainties

High technology innovation performance relies on a skilful utilization of human resources. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of interpreted outcome and process uncertainties on the effective management of human resources for technology innovation. This is achieved through an insider-outsider based case study approach of three medical device innovations with varying degrees of radicalness. Findings suggest that uncertainties in process and outcome strongly influence what constitutes effective management of human resources for technology innovation. Findings also offer insights into when certain innovation theories hold, and suggestions on how to manage human resources and technology innovation under various conditions of uncertainty.
Market Integration: A Risk Budgeting Guide for Pure Alpha Investors

A long-short beta neutral portfolio strategy is constructed based on earnings yields forecasts and a shrunk covariance matrix. Positions are modified with an innovative technique of time-varying risk budgeting based on an integration measure. We consider a set of 14 developed equity markets indexes for the period of January 1993 to August 2006 in local currencies. Our resulting market neutral strategy has an Information ratio of 1:2 compared to 0:8 for a strategy without risk budgeting. We rely on a principal components analysis to extract the factors with which we build an integration measure and we relate these factors to the framework of an asset-pricing model. We also show the results taking into account transaction costs and the use of a single currency.
The impact of perceived innovativeness, branding strategy and parent brand salience on the reciprocal transfer of core associations

Despite substantial research interest in brand extensions, the factors underlying the reciprocal transfer of brand associations between brand extensions and parent brands are not well understood. This study tests and models the effect of parent brand associations' salience, branding strategy and extension innovativeness positioning on the extent of the reciprocal transfer of extension associations to the parent brand. The results show that the reciprocal transfer of line extension associations to the parent brand can be influenced by the launch strategy, presenting the opportunity to improve the positioning of a parent brand by maximising the transfer of favourable extension associations.
Expression of BDNF mRNA in substantia nigra is dependent on target integrity and independent of neuronal activation

We have analyzed the regulation of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA expression in the nigrostriatal system following neurotoxin ablation of striatal targets by means of kainate (KA) or quinolinic acid (QA) injections. Loss of nigral target cells in the striatum was accompanied by significant induction of BDNF mRNA levels in the ipsilateral substantia nigra (SN) at 12 and 24 h post lesion. Dual tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and BDNF mRNA in situ hybridization (ISH) confirmed the dopaminergic nature of the BDNF mRNA expressing cells. Analysis of neuronal activity in terms of cFos mRNA expression demonstrated intense induction of this marker in the ipsilateral SN pars reticulata (SNPR), but not in SN pars compacta. Dual glutamic acid decarboxylse (GAD) and cFos mRNA ISH confirmed this view. Colchicine injections into the medial forebrain bundle to specifically disrupt neuronal trafficking between SN and striatum induced BDNF mRNA levels in the ipsilateral SNPC, thus demonstrating that nigral expression of BDNF mRNA is dependent of striatal target tissue. In addition, we found significant elevations of BDNF in the subthalamic nucleus following striatal excitotoxic lesion, which may bring novel roles of BDNF in the basal ganglia complex.
Knowledge Management and Innovation at 3M

3M’s objective is to become the most innovative company in the world. 3M employs a wide range of Knowledge Management systems, but the appropriate environment has to be in place before people will be motivated to input and access such systems. 3M concentrates on the “tacit to tacit” area in the belief that if this is functioning well, other aspects of Knowledge Management will fall more readily into place. The willingness to share knowledge between individuals is directly affected by the culture within a company.
Localization scenario with active sensing for range measurements

The work presents the development and evaluation of uncertainty-based range measurement selection criteria for active sensing within a localization scenario. The simulated setup consists of a mobile unit equipped with a gyroscope, an incremental encoder, and being capable to measure the distance to a finite number of stationary anchors with known positions and associated position uncertainties. The work discusses several major methods for anchor selection based on expected uncertainty minimization and compares them to heuristics methods. The developed techniques are evaluated for non-ideal anchor scenario and different measurement rates.
Adaptation and organizational connectedness in corporate radical innovation programs

This research examines how established companies organize programs for fostering technology-based radical innovation. It addresses conflicts revealed in the innovation literature concerning the appropriate design of the strategic, structural, and process components of these programs. In developing innovation strategies, managers must balance the desire for strategic clarity with the need to allow for creativity and exploration. They must structure programs that ensure innovations benefit from the organization's resources while minimizing the numerous constraints that can impede these unconventional activities. Additionally, though they may favor management processes that provide accountability and effective resource allocation, managers must also ensure these do not restrict the flexibility required for successful innovation. The study is a longitudinal, comparative case analysis of interviews with managers involved in innovation programs in 12 industry-leading multinational corporations. Site visits at each company were followed by biannual interviews with key managers in each company. A total of 81 follow-up interviews were conducted over a three-year period. These interviews were aimed at identifying the changes and progress in the programs over time and internal and external impacts on the organization's innovation activity. The analysis reveals (1) distinct but evolving objectives that maintain a logical strategic connection, (2) adaptive structures that shift and transform but preserve relationships with the broader organization, and (3) flexible processes that are understandable beyond the innovation program and are modifiable, both for the context and in response to learning over time. This suggests that programs introducing high uncertainty and risk into mature corporate environments are highly flexible systems that maintain organizational connectedness as they evolve. For academics, this implies a need to understand the evolution of innovation programs as an adaptive learning process that, regardless of form and purpose, preserves its connection to the traditional organization. For practitioners, it highlights the importance of considering the process, strategic, and structural connections to the broader organization when designing innovation programs and suggests the need for feedback mechanisms to help adapt these elements over time.
Experiences in Building Urdu WordNet

This paper attempts to report on developing a WordNet for Urdu on the basis of Hindi WordNet. The resource currently contains about 50000 unique words organized in 28967 synsets. The paper also discusses the problems encountered along the way of transliteration from Hindi WordNet and manual cleaning. It concludes with the planned future work.
Sensitivity of different assays for the serological diagnosis of epidermolysis bullosa acquisita: analysis of a cohort of 24 Italian patients

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) is an autoimmune blistering disease characterized by tissue‐bound and circulating autoantibodies to the dermal‐epidermal junction. The autoantibody target is type VII collagen (Col VII) which is involved in dermal‐epidermal adhesion. Diagnosis is made by clinical and histopathological findings, linear deposition of autoantibodies at the dermal‐epidermal junction detected by direct immunofluorescence, and binding to the dermal side of salt‐split skin by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF). However, the detection of specific anti‐Col VII reactivity has an important confirmatory value.
Efficacy and Safety of Postvitrectomy Intravitreal Triamcinolone Therapy for Diabetic Macular Edema

Purpose After vitrectomy, diffusion and clearance rates of numerous drugs are increased, leading to a shorter intravitreal half-life. This raises doubts about the efficacy of intravitreal therapies, as retina specialists generally believe that a shorter half-life compromises the drugs’ therapeutic effect. We conducted a study to evaluate the functional and anatomical effect of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide therapy (IVTA) in previously vitrectomized eyes with diabetic macular edema (DME). Methods In this retrospective, multicenter case series study including vitrectomized patients with DME who underwent IVTA injections, central macular thickness (CMT) measured with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters were evaluated after each procedure. All relevant medical data were collected, including previous ophthalmologic treatments and comorbidities. Results Twenty vitrectomized eyes of 20 patients, mean age 58.1 years (range 40-72 years), were enrolled in the study. All patients presented DME and received at least one IVTA injection. Mean time between pars plana vitrectomy and IVTA was 12.9 ± 8.7 months. Mean pretreatment and posttreatment CMT was 438.8 ± 90.8 μm and 301.2 ± 76.2 μm, respectively, a difference that reached statistical significance (p<0.001). Mean gain in BCVA letter score was 7.83 ± 14.9 letters after treatment (p = 0.039). Mean intraocular pressure was significantly increased after IVTA (17.2 ± 1.9 mm Hg at baseline vs 21.2 ± 4.59 mm Hg after IVTA, p = 0.002). Conclusions A positive anatomical and functional effect was observed in our cohort. Our results suggest that, despite prior vitrectomy, triamcinolone remains a valid therapeutic approach for eyes with persistent DME. Further prospective randomized studies with larger patient samples are needed to validate this conclusion.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis risk: a total population-based case-control study.

IMPORTANCE Although several studies have shown that use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) potentially decreased amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) risk in animal models, to our knowledge, there has been no human study in the literature discussing this issue. OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between the use of ACEIs and the risk for developing ALS. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This case-control study was conducted using the total population of Taiwanese citizens seen in general medical practice; therefore, the findings can be applied to the general population. The case group comprised 729 patients with newly diagnosed ALS and a severely disabling disease certificate between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2008. These cases were compared with 14,580 sex-, age-, residence-, and insurance premium-matched control individuals. EXPOSURES Use of ACEIs was analyzed using a conditional logistic regression model that controlled for other antihypertensives, aspirin, steroids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Charlson Comorbidity Index score, length of hospital stay, and number of outpatient visits. The cumulative defined daily dose (cDDD), which indicates the exposed duration of drug use, was estimated as the sum of dispensed DDD of drug and compared with the risk for ALS. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES All patients with ALS fulfilled El Escorial criteria in this study. Medical claim data past 1 to 5 years of ALS first diagnosis date for patients and claim data from their matched control individuals were included in the analysis. RESULTS There was a dose-dependent inverse association between ACEI use and the risk for developing ALS. When compared with patients who did not use ACEIs, the adjusted odds ratios were 0.83 (95% CI, 0.65-1.07; P = .15) for the group prescribed ACEIs lower than 449.5 of the cDDD and 0.43 cDDD (95% CI, 0.26-0.72; P = .001) for the group with a cumulative ACEI use of greater than 449.5 cDDD. The association was most predominant in men older than 55 years. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Use of ACEIs exhibited a dose-dependent inverse association with ALS. This study demonstrated a 57% risk reduction in the chance for developing ALS in people who used ACEIs greater than 449.5 cDDD in 4 years.
What Determines Migration Flows from Low-Income to High-Income Countries? An Empirical Investigation of Fiji-U.S. Migration 1972-2001

This article examines the long-run and short-run determinants of migration from Fiji to the United States between 1972 and 2001 using a human capital framework, which is extended to take account of political instability in Fiji. In the long-run the authors find that differences in income levels, disparities in police strength, disparities in the number of doctors, costs of moving, and political instability in Fiji are all statistically significant with the expected sign. In the short run the cost of moving, lagged migration, political instability, and differences in both police strength and medical care are the main determinants of Fiji-United States immigration.
A Two-Factor Hazard Rate Model for Pricing Risky Debt and the Term Structure of Credit Spreads

Abstract This paper proposes a two-factor hazard rate model, in closd form, to price risky debt. The likelihood of default is captured by the firm's non-interest sensitive assets and default-free interest rates. The distinguishing features of the model are threefold. First, the impact of capital structure changes on credit spreads can be analyzed. Second, the model allows stochastic interest rates to impact current asset values as well as their evolution. Finally, the proposed model is in closed fom, enabling us to undertake comparative statics analysis, compute parameter deltas of the model, calibrate empirical credit spreads, and determine hedge positions. Credit spreads generated by our model are consistent with empirical observations.
Evaluation of Tissue Factor Bearing Microparticles as Biomarkers in Allogeneic Stem-Cell Transplantation

Background. There is compelling evidence that blood-borne tissue factor that is predominantly found on circulating microparticles (MPs) plays an important role in both, cancer biology and organ and stem-cell transplantation (SCT). Therefore, we hypothesized that numbers of tissue factor bearing MPs might be associated with complications and outcome in allogeneic SCT (allo-SCT). Materials and Methods. In a prospective study, we enumerated total, platelet, endothelial, and tissue factor bearing MPs in plasma samples obtained from up to 60 patients with hematologic diseases at different time-points during the course of allo-SCT by flow cytometry. Patient- and transplant-related risk factors were included in statistical analysis. Results. Mean follow-up time was 968 days (0–1981 days). Thirty-four (56.7%) patients died, 17 due to transplant-related mortality (28.3%). High numbers of tissue factor positive MPs more than 500/&mgr;L before conditioning were predictive for shorter overall survival (P=0.017, hazard ratio=4.5) in multivariate analysis. This was mainly caused by an increase in transplant-related mortality (P=0.010, hazard ratio=11.0) with cumulative incidences at 1 year of 68.8% compared with patients with lower values (20.1%; P=0.002). Conclusions. Tissue factor bearing MPs might be useful biomarkers for risk stratification in allo-SCT patients and further studies should investigate their origin, functional properties, and optimal cut-off values.
Leadership and Conceptions of Organization: Contours of the Distributed Perspective

This paper discusses the theoretical bases of various leadership perspectives and focuses in on one of them: distributed leadership. The learning organization conception of the sociology of organizations is proposed as the theoretical support of distributed leadership. Although a growing number of research findings point to the effectiveness of this perspective on school outcomes, there is need for further research in this area. To be successfully enacted, distributed leadership should be exerted in an organization which truly espouses the principles of a learning organization.
A Longitudinal Study to Determine If Wiki Work Builds Community among Agricultural Adult Education Students.

Wiki has been lauded as a tool that enhances collaborative writing in educational settings and moves learners toward a state of communal constructivism (Holmes, Tangney, FitzGibbon, Savage, & Mehan., 2001). Many pedagogical claims exist regarding the benefits of using wiki. However, these claims have rarely been challenged. This study used a three–year longitudinal cohort survey design (Creswell, 2008) to measure learners’ perception regarding the pedagogical claims of wiki to create an online textbook in a graduate agricultural adult education course. The overall survey mean was 2.37 on a four–point scale (2.0 = not sure, 3.0 = agree). Learners were positively but marginally impacted by the wiki writing experiences in terms of knowledge construction and enhanced critical thinking skills. Study results marginally support Holmes’ et al. theory that interactive communication technologies (ICT) create constructivist learning opportunities. Collaborative writing does not naturally emerge from wiki work. Rather, it must be coaxed and nurtured through reward and a self–directed learning approach.
Association between underweight and taste sensitivity in middle- to old-aged nursing home residents in Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional study.

Low taste sensitivity may be one factor related to undernutrition, which is a major problem in developing countries. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association between underweight, one indicator of undernutrition, and taste sensitivity in middle- to old-aged Sri Lankan nursing home residents. Participants were 946 residents with BMI of <25·0 from 25 nursing homes. Data were obtained on height, weight, taste sensitivity, subjective taste ability, sex, age, ethnicity, number of years in nursing homes, activities of daily living (ADL), frequency of exercise, bowel movements, smoking status, drinking status, current number of chronic diseases, number and kinds of medications used, self-reporting questionnaire 20 (SRQ20), subjective smell ability, number of teeth present, Eichner index and flow rate of saliva. Low sensitivity to bitter taste, being male, old age, low ADL, smoking experience, drinking experience, fewer medications used and no use of medication for hypertension and diabetes were each associated with underweight (P < 0·05). In a multilevel Poisson regression model adjusted for sex, age, ADL, smoking status, drinking status, number of medications used, use of medication for hypertension and diabetes and flow rate of saliva, subjects with low sensitivity (>0·003% quinine hydrochloride dihydrate) to bitter taste had a significant 1·70 times higher prevalence ratio (95% confident interval 1·04-2·80) for underweight compared with those with high sensitivity (0·0001% quinine hydrochloride dihydrate). These results suggest that low taste sensitivity to bitter taste may be one factor related to underweight.
Explaining Party Formation and Nonformation in Russia

A decade after the collapse of communism, Russia still lacks a robust party system. Most institutions of the state are immune from party influence. However parties play a central role in the lower house of parliament, the State Duma. Why? Why have parties been successful in organizing and influencing the work of the State Duma but enjoyed only very limited success elsewhere? This article argues that parties in Russia are weak in general because the most powerful politicians in Russia have made choices to make them weak. Cultural, historical, and socioeconomic factors play a role in impeding party emergence, but individual decisions—especially decisions about institutional design—are the more proximate and more salient causes of poor party development. The privileged position of parties in the State Duma also resulted from individual choices, but those choices had unintended consequences that did not represent the preferences of the most powerful.