Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship between habit of cigarette smoking and airflow limitation in healthy Japanese individuals: the Takahata study.

BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by chronic airflow limitation. The prevalence of airflow limitation in Japan is 10.9% (16.4% of males and 5.0% of females). Cigarette smoking is well known as a major cause of COPD. However, few epidemiological studies have evaluated the effects of cigarette smoking on pulmonary function in healthy subjects. METHODS Subjects aged 40 years or older (n=2,917), who had participated in a community-based annual health check in Takahata, Japan, from 2004 through 2005, were enrolled in the study. The smoking histories of these subjects were investigated using a self-reported questionnaire. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)), and forced expiratory flow at 25-75% of FVC (FEF(25-75)) were measured by standard procedures using spirometric machines. RESULTS There were 554 current smokers (18.6%) and 403 former smokers (13.8%). The prevalence of airflow limitation defined by FEV(1)/FVC <0.7 in this population was 10.6%, and prevalence of airflow limitation defined by 5th percentile lower limit of normal was 6.4%. In smokers, percent predicted values of measured spirometric parameters (%FVC, %FEV(1) and %FEF(25-75)) decreased significantly with age, except for male %FVC. Also, percent predicted values of measured spirometric parameters decreased significantly with increasing pack-years, except for female %FEF(25-75). CONCLUSION Cigarette smoking increased the prevalence and severity of airflow limitation. It is concluded that cigarette smoking increases the risk of airflow limitation in a healthy Japanese population.
Sustainable tourism indicators: selection criteria for policy implementation and scientific recognition

The use of sustainable tourism indicators (STI) raises several issues, mainly because of the multiple interpretations of the concept of sustainable development, and by extension of the concept of sustainable tourism. It also brings to light incompatibilities between the needs and objectives of academics and policy-makers in developing a set of STI. The STI are then either scientifically relevant but too complex to be operational, or else they result from a political consensus, which could lead to conflicts of interest, such as in the destination branding strategy. In this paper, we argue that the trade-off between academic and policy-maker approaches to indicator development can be achieved through the development of core STI, based on the application of two sets of selection criteria to 507 expert-recognized indicators. The first set of criteria allows us to select 20 core STI, while the second set of criteria aims to match the selected indicators with a destination's policy framework in order to guarantee their usability. We illustrate the selection procedure using the Gaspésie region in Québec as a case study.
Allotments and alternative food networks : the case of Plymouth, UK

Alternative food networks (AFNs) are the focus of an ‘explosive growth’ of research in Europe (Goodman 2004), and the term covers a wide range of activities, from food banks, community gardens, and farmers’ markets, to community supported or organic agriculture. However, there is an impasse in differing positions over whether AFNs represent an exclusionary place-based ‘quality turn’ (Ilbery and Kneafsey 2000), or whether they contribute to inclusive local communities, sustainability and food security (Tregear 2011, Kirwan and Maye 2013). This research aimed to clarify these debates, through exploration of UK allotments as a benchmark for AFNs, using the case of Plymouth, SW England. A political ecology perspective of social-ecological systems (Ostrom 2008) was used to investigate the activities, relations and governance involved in allotments and AFNs, organised through the concepts of multidimensional capital assets (Bebbington 1999). This research demonstrates how activities on allotments involve human, social, cultural, natural and political capital assets, encompassing both basic food security and a quality turn towards ‘good food’ (Sage 2003). Taking the long view, it is seen that the relative importance of the different asset dimensions are contingent on wider sociopolitical settings. Relations on allotments illustrate the building of social capital, which extends to wider communities of interest, practice and place (Harrington et al. 2008), and which involves values of social justice that can be explained as diverse or care economies (Gibson-Graham 2008, Dowler et al. 2010). However, the politics and governance of allotments are largely influenced by neoliberal policies that favour oligopolistic and transnational food systems and restrict urban land allocations for place-based food initiatives. Present-day urban population densities are at levels far higher than envisaged for the original garden cities. Nevertheless, alliances at neighbourhood, city, regional, national and transnational scales are coalescing around the values represented in the original setting up of the UK allotment system: of selfreliance, human-scale settlements and the restorative value of the natural environment. Any realization of the potential contribution of allotments and AFNs to the sustainability and resilience of food supplies for urban populations (Armitage et al. 2008, Folke et al. 2010) ultimately depends on multilevel responses to a large range of challenges. Finally, the thesis contends that, in the present day, evidence is building up around the potential of allotments and many other AFN activities, or place-based food systems, to meet multiple policy objectives through aligned values.
B7-H1 Expression on Old CD8+ T Cells Negatively Regulates the Activation of Immune Responses in Aged Animals

T cell responses are compromised in the elderly. The B7-CD28 family receptors are critical in the regulation of immune responses. We evaluated whether the B7-family and CD28-family receptors were differentially expressed in dendritic cells, macrophages, and CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from young and old mice, which could contribute to the immune dysfunction in the old. Although most of the receptors were equally expressed in all cells, >85% of the old naive CD8+ T cells expressed B7-H1 compared with 25% in the young. Considering that B7-H1 negatively regulates immune responses, we hypothesized that expression of B7-H1 would downregulate the function of old CD8+ T cells. Old CD8+ T cells showed reduced ability to proliferate, but blockade of B7-H1 restored the proliferative capacity of old CD8+ T cells to a level similar to young CD8+ T cells. In vivo blockade of B7-H1 restored antitumor responses against the B7-H1− BM-185–enhanced GFP tumor, such that old animals responded with the same efficiency as young mice. Our data also indicate that old CD8+ T cells express lower levels of TCR compared with young CD8+ T cells. However, following antigenic stimulation in the presence of B7-H1 blockade, the levels of TCR expression were restored in old CD8+ T cells, which correlated with stronger T cell activation. These studies demonstrated that expression of B7-H1 in old CD8+ T cells impairs the proper activation of these cells and that blockade of B7-H1 could be critical to optimally stimulate a CD8 T cell response in the old.
Demographic Characteristics of Canadian Consumer Complainers

A survey of over 17,000 Canadian consumers who had written a letter of complaint to one of several government or consumer service agencies in 1972 found that the average consumer complainer is a middle aged, well educated, affluent, managerial-professional man or woman. The study also found that 49 percent of complaint letters are written by only 24 percent consumer of complainers and that consumers who write several letters of complaint are also well educated, affluent, and have managerial/professional occupations. These findings suggest that care must be taken in using consumer complaint data to identify the nature and severity of consumer problems in the marketplace or as a foundation for government policy and programs.
Decreased Release of Norepinephrine in the Isolated Kidney of the Adult Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat

Renal resistance vessels of the mature spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) exhibit an increased reactivity to exogenous norepinephrine, but a normal response to renal nerve stimulation. This difference could be due either to depression of the exocytotic process or to accelerated disposition of the released transmitter. We compared the overflow of norepinephrine in isolated perfused kidneys from adult SHR and normotensive rats. After previous incubation with 3H-norepinephrine, renal nerve stimulation caused smaller increases in the overflow of intact tritlated transmitter and its metabolites in kidneys from SHR than in those from normotensive controls. A similar difference was found when the amounts of endogenous norepinephrine were measured radioenzyraatlcally. The tissue content of norepinephrine was comparable in kidneys from both hypertensive and normotensive animals. The uptake of 3H-norepinephrine was similar in the kidneys from SHR and normotensive controls; cocaine caused a comparable depression of the 1H-uptake in both groups. These data indicate that in the adult SHR the exocytotic release of norepinephrine is depressed, which then explains the normal vasoconstrictor response to renal nerve stimulation despite the increased responsiveness of the vascular smooth muscle cells to norepinephrine. (Hypertension 4: 251–256, 1982)
Perspectives on Corporate Governance

Introduction F. Scott Kieff and Troy A. Paredes Part I. The Board of Directors and the CEO: 1. The trouble with boards Lawrence E. Mitchell 2. Rediscovering board expertise: legal implications of the empirical literature Lawrence A. Cunningham 3. The CEO and the board: on CEO overconfidence and institutionalizing dissent in firms F. Scott Kieff and Troy A. Paredes Part II. The Why, When, How, and How Much of Executive Pay: 4. Pay without performance: overview of the issues Lucian A. Bebchuk and Jesse M. Fried 5. Supersize pay, incentive compatibility, and the volatile shareholder interest William W. Bratton 6. 'Say on pay': cautionary notes on the UK experience and the case for muddling through Jeffrey N. Gordon Part III. Constraining Managers and Directors: Investors, Securities Regulation, and the Media: 7. Shareholder activism in the Obama era Stephen M. Bainbridge 8. After Dura: causation in fraud-on-the-market actions Merritt B. Fox 9. From boardroom to courtroom to newsroom: the media and the corporate governance scandals Kathleen F. Brickey Part IV. Delaware Versus Congress: On the Federalization of Corporate Governance: 10. How Delaware law can support better corporate governance James D. Cox 11. Federalism versus federalization: preserving the division of responsibility in corporation law E. Norman Veasey, Shawn Pompian and Christine Di Guglielmo Part V. Comparative Corporate Governance: 12. Regulatory differences in bank and capital market regulation Hideki Kanda 13. European corporate governance after five years with Sarbanes-Oxley Rainer Kulms Epilogue. Three secular trends of corporate law Joel Seligman.
Hog cholera virus: molecular composition of virions from a pestivirus

Virions from hog cholera virus (HCV), a member of the genus Pestivirus, were analyzed by using specific antibodies. The nucleocapsid protein was found to be a 14-kDa molecule (HCV p14). An equivalent protein could also be demonstrated for virions from another pestivirus, bovine viral diarrhea virus. The HCV envelope is composed of three glycoproteins, HCV gp44/48, gp33, and gp55. All three exist in the form of disulfide-linked dimers in virus-infected cells and in virions; HCV gp44/48 and gp55 each form homodimers, whereas gp55 is also found dimerized with gp33. Such complex covalent interactions between structural glycoproteins have not been described so far for any RNA virus.
A indústria rural no Brasil

In recent years the debate pertaining to the development of rural areas has been enriched by contributions that indicate the growing importance of non agricultural activities in rural areas. These contributions are significant to the Brazilian agricultural establishment and most importantly to what is known as family agriculture. The objective of this study is to contribute to the debate by analyzing available information pertinent to rural cottage industry, in other words rural activity that is not agricultural. This exploratory study has shown that activities pertaining to rural cottage industry are important in supplying the internal market when some products that are clearly present on the agricultural production units, specifically those relying on family production. It should also be noted that on the average, these activities create jobs and income for the families involved and provides significantly higher income than activities in traditional agriculture. The data show that stimulating rural cottage industry can contribute significantly in developing the Brazilian rural area.
Pulmonary perfusion in the prone and supine postures in the normal human lung.

Prone posture increases cardiac output and improves pulmonary gas exchange. We hypothesized that, in the supine posture, greater compression of dependent lung limits regional blood flow. To test this, MRI-based measures of regional lung density, MRI arterial spin labeling quantification of pulmonary perfusion, and density-normalized perfusion were made in six healthy subjects. Measurements were made in both the prone and supine posture at functional residual capacity. Data were acquired in three nonoverlapping 15-mm sagittal slices covering most of the right lung: central, middle, and lateral, which were further divided into vertical zones: anterior, intermediate, and posterior. The density of the entire lung was not different between prone and supine, but the increase in lung density in the anterior lung with prone posture was less than the decrease in the posterior lung (change: +0.07 g/cm(3) anterior, -0.11 posterior; P < 0.0001), indicating greater compression of dependent lung in supine posture, principally in the central lung slice (P < 0.0001). Overall, density-normalized perfusion was significantly greater in prone posture (7.9 +/- 3.6 ml.min(-1). g(-1) prone, 5.1 +/- 1.8 supine, a 55% increase; P < 0.05) and showed the largest increase in the posterior lung as it became nondependent (change: +71% posterior, +58% intermediate, +31% anterior; P = 0.08), most marked in the central lung slice (P < 0.05). These data indicate that central posterior portions of the lung are more compressed in the supine posture, likely by the heart and adjacent structures, than are central anterior portions in the prone and that this limits regional perfusion in the supine posture.
Prevention of bleeds in hemophilia patients with inhibitors: Emerging data and clinical direction

In patients with hemophilia, the development of high‐responding inhibitors to factor VIII prevents adequate replacement therapy and results in increased risk of serious bleeding episodes, poor control of joint bleeding, and progressive, debilitating joint disease. Immune tolerance therapy can eradicate inhibitors, but it is not uniformly successful. Emerging data suggest that prophylaxis using activated prothrombin complex concentrates may be effective and safe in reducing the incidence of joint bleeding during immune tolerance therapy and for patients in whom immune tolerance induction fails. However, only controlled clinical trials will ultimately demonstrate whether prophylaxis can prevent joint bleeding and damage, and improve quality of life in patients with inhibitors. Am. J. Hematol. 77:187–193, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Survey of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurse Attitudes Toward Therapeutic Hypothermia Treatment

Background: The traumatic experiences of parents of babies treated with therapeutic hypothermia (TH) have been described. No research has assessed neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse experience in providing care to hypothermic babies and emotional support to their parents. Purpose: To assess NICU nurse attitudes to the provision of TH with respect to perceptions about baby pain/sedation, need for nurse and parent education, decision making about initiation of TH, and barriers to best care. Methods: A survey was electronically sent to 219 nurses at 2 affiliated academic level III NICUs: 1 rural and 1 urban location. There were 17 questions where responses were selected from a preset list and 7 opportunities for nurses to provide free text responses. Findings: The response rate was 38% (N = 83). Overwhelming similarities between the urban and rural institutions were found with NICU nurses expressing understanding of the indications for initiating TH, agreement that TH improves long-term outcomes and that the benefits of TH outweigh the risks. Nurses at the urban institution more frequently expressed concerns surrounding inadequate treatment of baby pain/sedation, and nurses at both institutions strongly emphasized the need for more nurse and parent education about TH and improved timeliness of decision making for initiation of TH. Implications for Practice: NICU nurses specifically want to learn more about outcomes of babies after treatment with TH and feel that parents need more education about TH. Implications for Research: Research is urgently needed to better understand the implications of TH treatment for parent–baby bonding.
Game-specific characteristics of sport-related concussions.

BACKGROUND Concussions are common incidences in sports. However, game-specific characteristics such as tactics, field positions, etc. might positively/negatively contribute to the occurrence of mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) in various sports such as soccer, volleyball, handball, or basketball. Thus, the intention of this study was to analyze game-specific characteristics of concussive incidents in active players from the perspective of different sportive disciplines. METHODS Four sport-specific questionnaires for soccer, handball, volleyball and basketball were established using an online survey tool. RESULTS A total of 3001 participants completed the questionnaires. 18% of the participants answered that they had experienced a concussion which significantly differed depending on the sport practiced (χ2(3)=56.868, P<0.001; soccer 25%, handball 24%, volleyball 13%, basketball 15%). Whereas handball and soccer players experienced most concussions on the amateur level, volleyball players experienced most on the professional level and basketball players during leisure play (χ2(9)=112.667, P<0.001). Soccer players experienced most concussions by a collision with another player, volleyball players instead experienced most concussions by hits from the ball (χ2(6)=211.260, P<0.001). In soccer, goalkeepers and defensive midfield players showed most concussive incidences (χ2(7)=19.638, P<0.01); in volleyball, the libero position and outside positions showed to be significantly affected from sport-related concussions (χ2(6)=13.617, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The present results showed that factors critically contributing to the occurrence of concussions are sport-specific and particularly concern amateurs. This indicates that most concussions in ball games appear in situations, where medical care units are not necessarily present. Preventive measures should therefore especially address amateurs in ball sports.
The Blended Value Proposition: Integrating Social and Financial Returns

Value is often viewed in either economic or social terms. The Blended Value Proposition asserts that true value is non-divisible, consisting of a blend of economic, social, and environmental components. This perspective requires us to re-examine our understanding of the nature of capital, the methodology for calculating rates of real return to investors, and the role of for-profit and nonprofit organizations in the value creation process.
Methodological Issues in Measuring Knowledge Effects

The impact of knowledge on auditor performance has been a dominant theme in auditing research in the past two decades. This paper discusses some methodological issues to observe in designing a study that attempts to determine knowledge effects. It first describes some of the common research methods that can be used to determine knowledge effects, and then identifies ways in which knowledge can be operationalized and measured. It also discusses proxies for performance, as well as methodological issues related to the choice of subjects, task, and incentives.
Democratizing Decentralization in Bolivia

In 1994, as part of a global trend, Bolivia instituted an ambitious decentralization program that not only transferred funds and new responsibilities to municipal governments but also mandated participatory budgeting and oversight by local organizations. This article offers a preliminary assessment of the program, focusing on its effects on government efficiency, economic development, and political accountability. It finds that in some municipalities, with both strong grassroots organizations and nongovernmental organizations, a relatively democratic process of decentralization occurred although decentralization did not serve as an impetus for economic development. Inmanymunicipalities, however, the policy has resulted in the entrenchment of local elites, the strengthening of clientelistic relationships, and the “decentralization of corruption. ”
Control of singular Markovian jump systems with time-delay

This paper focuses on analysing a new model transformation for singular Markovian jump systems (MJS) with time-varying delay and applies it to stochastic stability analysis and state feedback controller design. Firstly, a comparison model is introduced by employing a two-term approximation of time-varying delays. Then, the parameter-dependent Lyapunov-Krasovskii function is constructed to analyse the stochastic stability of this comparison model, further more based on the scaled small gain theorem, the novel stability criteria with less conservativeness is proposed in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Finally, the desired state feedback controller can be obtained via the above proposed technique.
The Management of Cardiovascular Diseases in Patients with Hemophilia

Morbidity and mortality for cardiovascular disease are likely to be lower in patients with hemophilia than in the general male population. However, their clinical impact is increasing in parallel with the increase of life expectancy due to modern safe replacement treatments and the improvement of comprehensive care of these patients. No rigorous trial concerning treatment of ischemic coronary disease is currently available, and such studies are probably not feasible in this setting. Given the lack of evidence-based guidelines, the analysis of case reports describing management of coronary artery disease and cardiac surgery in hemophilic patients suggests that treatment strategies should be similar to those used in nonhemophilic subjects, provided that an adequate concentrate replacement is administered. On the whole, treatment should be tailored for balancing the actual thrombotic risk and the preexisting bleeding tendency, enhanced by the use of antithrombotic agents. In this review, the available information is discussed, together with the recent suggestions of experts developed to provide more uniform approaches and collection of data. Treatment of cardiovascular disease reflects the evolving scenario in which clinicians who treat hemophilia will have to extend their interactions with other specialists to confront the new challenges of the comprehensive care of aging hemophilic patients.