Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Histopathological assessment of lymph nodes in upper gastrointestinal cancer: does triple levelling detect significantly more metastases?

Background: For cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract it is standard to examine one section/level, from paraffin blocks containing lymph node tissue, for metastatic tumour. Aims: To determine whether significantly more metastases can be detected by assessing two additional levels. Methods: 101 archival upper gastrointestinal cancers were evaluated. All negative lymph nodes were examined at two additional levels separated by 100 &mgr;m and stained by H&E. The slides were examined for the presence of metastases. Results: 1143 lymph nodes, that were originally clear of metastases, were examined at a further two levels (three levels in total); 23 additional metastases were identified in 17 patients. Eleven of these patients were already stage N1 before examination of the additional levels. However, six patients were originally N0, and were therefore upgraded to N1. Conclusions: Examining lymph nodes at three levels did detect more metastatic deposits than examination of one section/level. In six patients this changed the N stage from N0 to N1. This would have significant prognostic and management implications.
Peptide deformylase as an emerging target for antiparasitic agents

Peptide deformylases (PDFs) constitute a growing family of hydrolytic enzymes previously believed to be unique to Eubacteria. Recent data from our laboratory have demonstrated that PDF orthologues are present in many eukaryotes, including several parasites. In this report we aim to explain why PDF could be considered to be a potent target for human and veterinary antiparasitic treatments.
Hedonic Analysis of Price in the Istanbul Housing Market

The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that affect housing prices in Istanbul. A hedonic price model is employed in order to examine housing price determinants with respect to property characteristics, socio‐economic characteristics, neighbourhood quality characteristics, and locational factors. The results reveal that housing prices are affected by these factors: living area size, being in a low storey building, being in a secured site (with swimming pool and garage), and age of the building. In addition to these determinants, the length of time the inhabitants have lived in Istanbul, the average income of the household, neighbour satisfaction and earthquake risk of the area have effects on the residential prices in Istanbul. Further research is suggested by constructing a second model that includes neighbourhood dummy variables as a proxy for submarkets, and a multi‐level modelling framework will be employed in order to analyse the urban housing submarket system.
Relationship of serum cystatin C to peritoneal and renal clearance measures in peritoneal dialysis: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND Clinical management of peritoneal dialysis patients includes assessments of peritoneal and renal clearances of the low-molecular-weight endogenous solutes creatinine and urea. Cystatin C is a low-molecular-weight protein used as a glomerular filtration rate marker. We investigated whether serum cystatin C concentration is related to peritoneal and renal clearances of creatinine and urea. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS 119 patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis in a single dialysis unit. PREDICTOR Peritoneal, renal, and total clearance of urea as Kt/V(urea) and creatinine as weekly creatinine clearance (C(Cr)). Residual renal function (RRF) as the average of renal clearances of urea and creatinine. OUTCOMES & MEASUREMENTS Serum concentrations of cystatin C measured by using a particle-enhanced nephelometric immunoassay. RESULTS Serum cystatin C concentration was related inversely to RRF (Spearman rank correlation coefficient [r(s)] = -0.65; P < 0.001), total weekly C(Cr) (r(s) = -0.52; P < 0.001), and total Kt/V(urea) (r(s) = -0.23; P = 0.01). In a multiple regression model, weight, normalized protein catabolic rate, and RRF had independent effects on serum cystatin C concentrations. Additional multiple regression models showed that only the renal components of Kt/V(urea) and weekly C(Cr) contributed to serum cystatin C concentrations. LIMITATIONS Absence of reference GFR method. CONCLUSIONS Serum cystatin C concentrations reflect predominantly renal, not peritoneal, clearance. Serum cystatin C measurement may be a simple and practical alternative to measurement of RRF.
Can Ageing North Benefit from Expanding Trade with South

In this paper we estimate the benefit for the ageing North countries of diversifying some of its trade away from the other North countries in favour of the South countries. To this end we use a six-region overlapping generations model that takes into account the demographic trends of the 21st century and trade patterns. We show that ageing Northern countries can benefit from “enriching decay” through significant improvement in the terms of trade. We estimate to what extent the enriching decay can be bolstered if the North expands trade with the South. In Europe, for instance, appropriate trade diversification strategy may prop up Europe’s real per capita consumption by 3%. See above See above
Mouse macrophage elastase. Purification and characterization as a metalloproteinase.

Macrophage elastase was purified from tissue-culture medium conditioned by inflammatory mouse peritoneal macrophages. Characterized as a secreted neutral metalloproteinase, this enzyme was shown to be catalytically and immunochemically distinct from the mouse pancreatic and mouse granulocyte elastases, both of which are serine proteinases. Inhibition profiles, production of nascent N-terminal leucine residues and sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of degraded elastin indicated that macrophage elastase is an endopeptidase, with properties of a metalloproteinase, rather than a serine proteinase. Macrophage elastase was inhibited by alpha 2-macroglobulin, but not by alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor. Macrophage elastase was resolved into three chromatographically distinct forms. The predominant form had mol.wt. 22 000 and was purified 4100-fold. Purification of biosynthetically radiolabelled elastase indicated that this form represented less than 0.5% of the secreted protein of macrophages. Approx. 800% of the starting activity was recovered after purification. Evidence was obtained for an excess of an endogenous inhibitor masking more than 80% of the secreted activity.
The Reliability of Assessing the Appropriateness of Requested Diagnostic Tests

Despite a poor reliability, peer assessment is the traditional method to assess the appropriateness of health care activities. This article describes the reliability of the human assessment of the appropriateness of diagnostic tests requests. The authors used a random selection of 1217 tests from 253 request forms submitted by general practitioners in the Maastricht region of the Netherlands. Three reviewers independently assessed the appropriateness of each requested test. Interrater kappa values ranged from 0.33 to 0.42, and kappa values of intrarater agreement ranged from 0.48 to 0.68. The joint reliability coefficient of the 3 reviewers was 0.66. This reliability is sufficient to review test ordering over a series of cases but is not sufficient to make case-by-case assessments. Sixteen reviewers are needed to obtain a joint reliability of 0.95. The authors conclude that there is substantial variation in assessment concerning what is an appropriately requested diagnostic test and that this feedback method is not reliable enough to make a case-by-case assessment. Computer support may be beneficial to support and make the process of peer review more uniform.
Compensation: Theory, Evidence, and Strategic Implications

Introduction to the Series - David A. Whetten Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: The Enigmas of Compensation Objectives Outline of the Book 2. Differences in Pay Level: Why Do Some Companies Pay More Than Others? A Tale of Two Markets The Case for Limited Discretion: Neoclassical Economic Theory Post-Institutional Economics: Theory Meets Reality Why It May "Pay" to Pay More The International Dimension Differences in Pay Levels for Particular Jobs Research on Pay Level Decision Making Summary Resource 2.1 3. Effects of Pay Level: What Do Employers Get in Return for Higher Pay? Theories of the Importance of Pay to Individuals What Do Employers Get in Return for Higher Pay Levels? Future Research 4. Pay Structure: Relative Pay Within Organizations The Role of Jobs and Job Evaluation in Pay Structure Theories of Differences in Pay Structure Work-Life Incentives Empirical Research on the Effects of Pay Structure Future Research 5. Pay Basis: Theories of Motivation and Pay for Performance Effects of Pay and Motivational Programs on Performance: Meta-Analytic Results Theories of Pay-Performance Relationships Psychological Versus Economic Perspectives Workforce Composition, Sorting, and Personality-Based Theories Future Research 6. Pay-for-Performance Programs: Empirical Evidence Broad Policy Decisions Putting It All Together: Empirical Evidence on Pay Programs Summary Future Research 7. Pay Strategy Strategic Fit and Alignment Beyond Generic Strategies: The Resource-Based View of the Firm Beyond Direct Earnings: Total Rewards Summary and Future Research 8. Toward the Future Future Research Methodological Recommendations References Index About the Authors
Radiologic Differences between Human Papillomavirus-Related and Human Papillomavirus-Unrelated Oropharyngeal Carcinoma on Diffusion-Weighted Imaging

With great interest we have read the paper of Chan et al. [1] published online on March 1, 2017, with the title: “Radiologic Differences between Human Papillomavirus-Related and Human Papillomavirus-Unrelated Oropharyngeal Carcinoma on Diffusion-Weighted Imaging. ” It is the first published article that also compares the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value of lymph node metastasis in human papillomavirus (HPV)+ and HPV– oropharyngeal tumors. The combination of the ADC values of the primary tumor and the lymph node metastasis results in a model with a very high area under the curve of 0.92. With the new TNM classification (8th edition), the stratification of HPV+ and HPV– tumors is not only the main prognostic factor in oropharyngeal carcinoma, it is also essential for tumor staging [2, 3] . At the moment, there is a lot of ongoing research on new treatments for HPV+ tumors [4] . So, the distinction between HPV+ and HPV– tumors will become even more important and relevant in future clinical practice. As the authors correctly state in the discussion, there is no consensus yet regarding the optimal HPV test: HPV DNA in situ hybridization, polymerase chain reaction analysis, or p16 immunohistochemistry [5] . We support the authors in their choice of using p16 immunohistochemistry as a surrogate measure of HPV status. It is an easily implementable test in routine clinical practice and has been used in previous large studies [5–7] . However, we have some questions regarding the methodology used in this paper concerning the differentiation between HPV+ and HPV– tumors. The authors state: “A HPV-positive status was defined as >70% nuclear and cytoplasmic p16 positivity. Staining above 0 but <70% was considered equivocal, and those cases were not included in the study. ” We completely agree with the cutoff of >70% nuclear and cytoplasmic p16 positivity. This cutoff has been used in numerous previous studies [5, 6] . Though excluding all patients with staining above 0 but <70% seems strange. In daily clinical practice, these patients would be considered HPV– patients. The HPV– patient group in this paper includes only patients who have 0% p16 staining. Those 11 patients are a subgroup of a bigger group of patients who would generally be considered as HPV– (all patients with <70% p16 staining). There is also no information in the article about the number of patients excluded based on p16 staining above 0 but <70%. The ADC results and the area under the curve of the model could be different if these patients were also included. Published online: April 27, 2017
The Paradox of Civil Society

The "civil society argument," as Michael Walzer calls it, is actually a complex set of arguments, not all of which are congruent. 1 In the rough pastiche that has become the commonly accepted version, a "dense network of civil associations" is said to promote the stability and effectiveness of the democratic polity through both the effects of association on citizens' "habits of the heart" and the ability of associations to mobilize citizens on behalf of public causes. Emergent civil societies in Latin America and Eastern Europe are credited with effective resistance to authoritarian regimes, democratizing society from below while pressuring authoritarians for change. Thus civil society, understood as the realm of private voluntary association, from neighborhood committees to interest groups to philanthropic enterprises of all sorts, has come to be seen as an essential ingredient in both democratization and the health of established democracies.
The Irony of Harmony

Positive intergroup contact has been a guiding framework for research on reducing intergroup tension and for interventions aimed at that goal. We propose that beyond improving attitudes toward the out-group, positive contact affects disadvantaged-group members' perceptions of intergroup inequality in ways that can undermine their support for social change toward equality. In Study 1, participants were assigned to either high- or low-power experimental groups and then brought together to discuss either commonalities between the groups or intergroup differences. Commonality-focused contact, relative to difference-focused contact, produced heightened expectations for fair (i.e., egalitarian) out-group behavior among members of disadvantaged groups. These expectations, however, proved unrealistic when compared against the actions of members of the advantaged groups. Participants in Study 2 were Israeli Arabs (a disadvantaged minority) who reported the amount of positive contact they experienced with Jews. More positive intergroup contact was associated with increased perceptions of Jews as fair, which in turn predicted decreased support for social change. Implications for social change are considered.
Applications of economic principles in public utility industries

Energy and transportation rank high among the economic concerns of American consumers and policymakers, and these concerns generate a host of technical, social, and political issues that impinge on the formulation of public utility regulatory policy. The collection of papers in this book provide evidence of the creative thinking that characterizes current approaches to the resolution of these issues. The book begins with a discussion of current attempts to develop a more comprehensive and timely definition of the concept of natural monopoly. The next three papers deal with various aspects of the problem on incorporating equity considerations into the development of rate structure. The fifth paper examines the potential impact of the current tariff structure on future explorations for oil, using the Trans-Alaska pipeline as a case study. The book concludes with two essays on various aspects of deregulation. 162 references, 4 tables.
Pushing the Envelope on Organizational Effectiveness: Combining an Old Framework and a Sharp Tool

For nearly 30 years organizational effectiveness has been a central topic in the study of organizations, but the relevant literature has been characterized by controversy, confusion, and ambiguity. Moreover, powerful institutional and political forces buffet our contemporary public and nonprofit practitioners with narrowly drawn models that emphasize efficiency and productivity at the expense of other dimensions of effectiveness. This article reinvigorates a holistic model of organizational effectiveness, the competing values framework, by combining it with a newer analytic tool, data envelopment analysis, in a study of public university research institutes. This study shows that the framework and the tool are both eminently useful and that they work well in combination. We illustrate that some organizations may need to use a broader set of performance data to take full advantage of this more robust approach to assessing organizational effectiveness. The article concludes with suggestions for their continued use in subsequent effectiveness studies.
The Many Challenges of Pension Accounting

Accounting for defined benefit pension plans has long been a major issue in accounting. Standard-setters are grappling with revisions to pension accounting standards, and much change has already occurred in the United Kingdom. This paper identifies and discusses most of the major issues that standard-setters must confront in developing new approaches to financial reporting for pensions. Key issues concern how to report the impact of changes in assumptions, how to recognize pension costs on the balance sheet and income statement, and how to reconcile the differences between accountants' and actuaries' approaches to pensions. Current standards assume that accounting estimates are independent of actuarial assumptions, and yet require a direct comparison of the accounting liability with the pension plan assets, when in fact they are incompatible measures based on differing assumptions and differing methodologies. As well, accounting has been complicit in managers' wishes to hide the volatility inherent in a pension plan investment strategy that focuses on higher-risk equities to fund estimated monetary liabilities that have been discounted at low-risk interest rates. Drawing on studies and research done largely in Europe, this paper attempts to consolidate some of the current thinking on the topic and to propose some preferred approaches to dealing with the problems of pension accounting.
New Insights on Classification, Identification, and Clinical Relevance of Blastocystis spp

SUMMARY Blastocystis is an unusual enteric protozoan parasite of humans and many animals. It has a worldwide distribution and is often the most commonly isolated organism in parasitological surveys. The parasite has been described since the early 1900s, but only in the last decade or so have there been significant advances in our understanding of Blastocystis biology. However, the pleomorphic nature of the parasite and the lack of standardization in techniques have led to confusion and, in some cases, misinterpretation of data. This has hindered laboratory diagnosis and efforts to understand its mode of reproduction, life cycle, prevalence, and pathogenesis. Accumulating epidemiological, in vivo, and in vitro data strongly suggest that Blastocystis is a pathogen. Many genotypes exist in nature, and recent observations indicate that humans are, in reality, hosts to numerous zoonotic genotypes. Such genetic diversity has led to a suggestion that previously conflicting observations on the pathogenesis of Blastocystis are due to pathogenic and nonpathogenic genotypes. Recent epidemiological, animal infection, and in vitro host-Blastocystis interaction studies suggest that this may indeed be the case. This review focuses on such recent advances and also provides updates on laboratory and clinical aspects of Blastocystis spp.
Some Evidence of the Winner's Curse

The mathematical complexity of auction theory has restricted empirical work to qualitative tests of its basic predictions, with mixed results. This paper exploits the theory of order statistics to derive a Nash bid function that is linear in its parameters , allowing direct estimati on by linear least squares. The bid function is fitted to a cross section of auctions for highway construction contracts from thirty-three states, and provides support for several hypotheses of the theory of common-value auctions. Copyright 1988 by American Economic Association.
Adolescent knowledge and attitudes related to clinical trials

Background or aims Poor enrollment plagues most clinical trials. Furthermore, despite mandates to improve minority representation in clinical trial participation, little progress has been made. We investigated the knowledge and attitudes of adolescents related to clinical trials and made race/ethnicity comparisons in an attempt to identify a possible educational intervention target. Methods Students aged 13–18 years in southeast Michigan were offered participation through a class at one high school or two academic summer enrichment programs that drew from multiple high schools (73% response). Questionnaires previously validated in adults were administered. Non-Hispanic whites were compared with minorities using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Results Of the 82 respondents, the median age was 16 years (interquartile range: 15–17 years); 22 (28%) were white, 41 (51%) were African American, 11 (14%) were multiracial, 2 (2%) were American Indian or Alaska Native, 1 (1%) was Asian, 3 (4%) were Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and 2 respondents did not report a race (but did report Hispanic ethnicity). Nine (12%) were Hispanic. Only 27 (33%) had ever heard of a clinical trial. On a scale from 1 (most receptive) to 5 (least receptive) for learning more about a clinical trial for a relevant medical condition, the median score was 2 (interquartile range: 1–3) and for participating in a clinical trial for a relevant medical condition was 2 (interquartile range: 2–3). Overall knowledge was poor, with a median of 46% (interquartile range: 23%−62%) of knowledge answers correct. Knowledge was reduced (p = 0.0006) and attitudes were more negative (p = 0.05) in minorities than non-Hispanic whites, while minorities also endorsed more substantial barriers to trial participation (p = 0.0002). Distrust was similar between minority students and non-Hispanic whites (p = 0.15), and self-efficacy was greater in non-Hispanic whites (p = 0.05). Conclusion Educational interventions directed toward adolescents that address knowledge, attitudes, and distrust in order to improve clinical trial awareness and receptivity overall are needed and may represent a tool to address disparities in minority enrollment in clinical trials.
Never a Neutral State: American Race Relations and Government Power

This article reviews evidence from economic and legal history to argue that not only did U.S. governments incentivize and even mandate racial discrimination, but these acts tended to reinforce racial mistrust as time went by. Segregation became more strict, not less, from the end of Reconstruction until the mid-20th century, largely because of growing and self-perpetuating state action. Discrimination created its own constituency.
Speculation and Economic Stability

The purpose of the following paper is to examine, in the light of recent doctrines, the effects of speculation on economic stability. Speculation, for the purposes of this paper, may be defined as the purchase (or sale) of goods with a view to re-sale (re-purchase) at a later date, where the motive behind such action is the expectation of a change in the relevant prices relatively to the ruling price and not a gain accruing through their use, or any kind of transformation effected in them or their transfer between different markets. Thus, while merchants and other dealers do make purchases and sales which might be termed ‘speculative’, their ordinary transactions do not fall within this category. What distinguishes speculative purchases and sales from other kinds of purchases and sales is the expectation of an impending change in the ruling market price as the sole motive of action. Hence ‘speculative stocks’ of anything may be defined as the difference between the amount actually held and the amount that would be held if, other things being the same, the price of that thing were expected to remain unchanged; and they can be either positive or negative.1