Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Insulin sensitivity in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Relationship to cardiovascular risk factors: the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study.

OBJECTIVE Among nondiabetic subjects, insulin resistance has been associated with increased cardiovascular risk factors, including dyslipidemia, hypertension, impaired fibrinolysis, and coagulation. Less is known about the relationship between insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk factors in subjects with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS To examine this issue, we determined insulin sensitivity (SI) in 479 type 2 diabetic subjects by minimal model analyses of frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance tests in the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS), a large multicenter study of insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular disease in African-Americans, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites. We defined insulin-sensitive subjects as having SI > or = 1.61 x 10(-4) min-1.microU-1.ml-1 (above median in nondiabetic subjects of all ethnic groups in the IRAS). Using this definition, only 37 type 2 diabetic subjects were insulin sensitive, and the remaining 442 were insulin resistant. RESULTS After adjustment for age, sex, ethnicity, and clinic, insulin resistance was significantly correlated with total triglycerides, VLDL cholesterol, VLDL triglyceride, fibrinogen, PAI-1, and fasting glucose, and was inversely correlated with HDL cholesterol level and LDL size. Carotid intimal-medial thickness was greater in insulin-resistant than in insulin-sensitive subjects, but this difference was not statistically significant. After further adjustment for waist circumference (marker of visceral adiposity), insulin-resistant subjects continued to have higher plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 and VLDL triglyceride levels, lower HDL cholesterol levels, and smaller LDL particle size than did insulin-sensitive subjects. After further adjustment for fasting glucose levels, these results were very similar. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that insulin-resistant type 2 diabetic subjects have more atherogenic cardiovascular risk factor profiles than insulin-sensitive type 2 diabetic subjects and that this is only partially related to increased obesity and an adverse body fat distribution.
The voluntary inclusion of earnings forecasts in IPO prospectuses

Abstract. This study examines empirically the role played by direct disclosure in the valuation of initial public offerings (IPOs). We investigate why some firms making an initial public offering in Canada include an earnings forecast in the offering prospectus and others do not, and, in particular, the role of such direct disclosures in IPO valuation. We explore several hypotheses motivated by the voluntary disclosure and signaling literatures. Our results are consistent with the hypotheses that (1) forecasters have â€œgood newsâ€ to reveal about future earnings prospects relative to nonforecasters, (2) the earnings forecast signals are valuation relevant, and (3) the market is able to correct for expected forecast error or bias in the earnings forecast. RA©sumA©. Les auteurs font une analyse empirique du rA´le que joue la prA©sentation directe d'information dans l'A©valuation des premiers appels publics A lA©pargne. Ils se penchent sur les raisons pour lesquelles certaines sociA©tA©s qui font appel public A l'A©pargne au Canada intA¨grent A leur prospectus d'A©mission des prA©visions de bA©nA©fices, alors que d'autres ne le font pas, et ils s'intA©ressent en particulier au rA´le de la prA©sentation directe de ce genre d'information dans l'A©valuation d'un premier appel public A l'A©pargne. Ils examinent plusieurs hypothA¨ses inspirA©es d'ouvrages traitant de prA©sentation volontaire d'information et d'indicateurs. Les rA©sultats obtenus sont conformes aux hypothA¨ses selon lesquelles 1) ceux qui font A©tat de prA©visions ont de l'information positive A communiquer au sujet des perspectives de bA©nA©fices, contrairement A ceux qui ne font A©tat d'aucune prA©vision, 2) les indicateurs que reprA©sentent les prA©visions de bA©nA©fices sont pertinents A l'A©valuation et 3) le marchA© a la capacitA© de corriger l'information qu'il reA§oit pour tenir compte des erreurs ou des distorsions anticipA©es dans les prA©visions de bA©nA©fices.
EXPERIMENTAL SHIGELLA INFECTIONS: CHARACTERISTICS OF A FATAL INFECTION PRODUCED IN GUINEA PIGS

As long as man, the chimpanzee and the monkey are the only species in which enteric shigella infections can be studied, progress in problems concerning the pathogenesis of and immunity to bacillary dysentery will be seriously hanmpered. In recent years, successful attempts have been made to modify small laboratory animals in such ways as to make them susceptible to orally administered enteric pathogens. Thus Freter (1955) and Lowenthal (1953, personal communication), working independently, employed virtually identical methods to produce fatal infections in guinea pigs with orally administered cultures of Vibrio comma. The procedure involved starving the animal for four days and administering calcium carbonate prior to, and opium following, oral challenge. To modify the normal intestinal flora further, Freter treated his animals with streptomycin and used a streptomycin-resistant culture for challenge. Lowenthal found, however, that with the bacterial cultures and animals which he employed, treatment with streptomycin did not render the animals more susceptible. More recently Freter (1956) has described a long-term, nonfatal infection with either V. comma or Shigella flexneri 2a in guinea pigs which had been both (a) starved for 36 of the 48 hr prior to challenge, and (b) treated with antibiotics to alter the normal intestinal flora. No examination for intestinal lesions is mentioned in this report. Using Lowenthal's method, we have produced a fatal infection in guinea pigs with an orally administered suspension of S. flexneri 2a. This communication describes some of the characteristics of this infection.
Feudal institutions and small business governance: an exploration and comparison

Decision‐making institutions evident in today’s small businesses display remarkable similarities to medieval feudalism. This paper presents: (1) the institutions of feudalism as applied to small business, (2) a theoretical framework as a foundation for explaining obvious parallels, and (3) propositions that furnish a basis for further research.
Stimulus Specificity of Gene Expression Programs Determined by Temporal Control of IKK Activity

A small number of mammalian signaling pathways mediate a myriad of distinct physiological responses to diverse cellular stimuli. Temporal control of the signaling module that contains IκB kinase (IKK), its substrate inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB), and the key inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB can allow for selective gene activation. We have demonstrated that different inflammatory stimuli induce distinct IKK profiles, and we examined the underlying molecular mechanisms. Although tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα)-induced IKK activity was rapidly attenuated by negative feedback, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) signaling and LPS-specific gene expression programs were dependent on a cytokine-mediated positive feedback mechanism. Thus, the distinct biological responses to LPS and TNFα depend on signaling pathway-specific mechanisms that regulate the temporal profile of IKK activity.
Comparison of open and laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy.

OBJECTIVE This study compares an initial group of patients undergoing laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy to a group of patients undergoing open donor nephrectomy to assess the efficacy, morbidity, and patient recovery after the laparoscopic technique. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Recent data have shown the technical feasibility of harvesting live renal allografts using a laparoscopic approach. However, comparison of donor recovery, morbidity, and short-term graft function to open donor nephrectomy has not been performed previously. METHODS An initial series of patients undergoing laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy were compared to historic control subjects undergoing open donor nephrectomy. The groups were matched for age, gender, race, and comorbidity. Graft function, intraoperative variables, and clinical outcome of the two groups were compared. RESULTS Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy was attempted in 70 patients and completed successfully in 94% of cases. Graft survival was 97% versus 98% (p = 0.6191), and immediate graft function occurred in 97% versus 100% in the laparoscopic and open groups, respectively (p = 0.4961). Blood loss, length of stay, parenteral narcotic requirements, resumption of diet, and return to normal activity were significantly less in the laparoscopic group. Mean warm ischemia time was 3 minutes after laparoscopic harvest. Morbidity was 14% in the laparoscopic group and 35% in the open group. There was no mortality in either group. CONCLUSIONS Laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy can be performed with morbidity and mortality comparable to open donor nephrectomy, with substantial improvements in patient recovery after the laparoscopic approach. Initial graft survival and function rates are equal to those of open donor nephrectomy, but longer follow-up is necessary to confirm these observations.
From lessees to partners: exploring tourism public–private partnerships within the New South Wales national parks and wildlife service

In a “new” protected-area management paradigm which requires close working relationships with a range of stakeholders, it is important that national parks managers recognise the individual interests of each group with whom they are expected to collaborate. A substantial body of research has investigated non-commercial collaborative activities among natural resource managers, tourism organisations and community groups. However, little academic attention has been paid to commercial tourism collaborations, particularly public–private partnerships (PPPs) with tourism operators. PPPs are often more contentious and require careful management to ensure sustainability and political acceptance. This paper reports on qualitative research, exploring the quality and nature of commercial lease arrangements between the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and a number of their private on-site tourism providers. In-depth interviews were conducted with fourteen key stakeholders involved in these partnerships. Based on an emergent approach to analysis, five main themes emerged which define the nature and quality of relationships between NPWS and tourism operators. Ultimately, it is argued that in commercial PPPs, protected-area managers need to move beyond viewing tourism operators as mere “lessees”, seeing them instead as valued and long-lasting “partners”.
A structural VAR approach on labour taxation policies

This paper presents a Structural VAR analysis on the employment and output effects of labour tax policies in six European countries for the period 1974–1997. By considering impulse response functions, it turns out that, on average, a shock to the total personal income tax revenues is positively correlated to employment, whereas there is mixed evidence on the output effect. Moreover, the quantitative impact of these effects, especially those related to the output, appears to be quite small. However, by introducing explicitly four labour tax parameters (namely the marginal and average tax rates for the personal income tax and the payroll tax), it turns out that these effects are not negligible after all: for some countries it is possible to conceive labour taxes as policy instruments favouring more employment and a better economic performance. However, the empirical support on the sign of the output and employment effects is mixed, suggesting that the same domestic fiscal policy does not produce the same impact in all the European countries.
Locus of Control, Repression-Sensitization, and Interpersonal Causality

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between repression-sensitization and multidimensional locus of control, particularly as these variables relate to a third variable, the attribution of causality in interpersonal relationships. 41 male psychiatric inpatients were employed as subjects, of whom 18 were from an acute general inpatient unit and 23 were from an alcohol and drug unit. Eight independent variables were considered. There were eight dependent variables which were derived from an attribution measure devised for this study. Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that the variable having the most predictive power with respect to causal attributions was the subsample which the subject represented. A second analysis excluding subsample considerations showed that Levenson's Powerful Others scale was positively correlated with Internal-Positive attributions. Other significant correlations between the various measures were examined.
General equilibrium as competitive equilibrium: The significance of Walras' achievement from a Cournotian viewpoint

Abstract Cournot's Recherches contains a sketch of the general equilibrium research programme, as well as the model of an exchange economy as a system verifying Walras' law. General equilibrium analysis had nonetheless to wait for Walras to occupy the centre of theoretical economics, since it was dismissed by Cournot for its lack of simplicity and robustness. We suggest these motives to depend upon his view of competition as a strategic interaction between producers. Correlatively, the way to the Walras' construct appears to pass through his own view of competition, with economic agents giving up by pure conduct their potential market power.
El papel de las alianzas estratégicas en la internacionalización de las empresas españolas

Strategic alliances have played a key role in helping Spanish firms to face not only technical change and globalization challenges, but also those related to Spain's integration into the European Union. The objective of these alliances has been twofold: to enter into countries with political or cultural barriers, and to speed up the internationalization process of the firm. Although the weight of alliances in the internationalization projects carried out by Spanish firms has been gradually decreasing, the effective management of the existing alliances is still nowadays an important challenge.
Consistent Point Clouds of Narrow Spaces Using Multiscan Domain Mapping

Abstract: Three‐dimensional (3D) range scanning of large spaces, such as civil structures, generates an immense cloud of 3D points with inconsistent data densities due to the limited positions of the stationary scanner, inaccessible surfaces, and narrow pathways. This density variation is the dominant detrimental factor in extracting accurate scanned shapes. This article introduces an effective scan planning methodology for capturing accurate geometry from long and narrow spaces, which minimizes the need for subsequent data approximations. The technique computes an optimum scanning range for each stationary position of the scanner that limits the density variation to a user‐defined value. Three cases are proposed to define the “limited data density” and a FARO®‐LS880 laser scanner is used to illustrate the proposed approach that achieves acceptable scanning results in terms of its critical shape capturing capability, overall point cloud density, and accurate point‐based visualization. The experimental observations confirm that the accuracy of the scanned data can be improved by registering multiple partial scans with restricted density and positioning the data acquisition device close to the critical features. The latter recommended step decreases the incident angle to the world domain, which, in turn, reduces the surface occlusions and data density variations.
New partnerships in widowhood in Spain: Realities and desires

ABSTRACT Widowhood has traditionally been associated with the end of the family cycle; however, social and generational transformations in Spain are providing a new context for the development of new partnerships in widowhood. This study analyzes widowed persons who have found new partners and those who would be willing to do so, focusing on their characteristics and motives and related sociodemographic factors. Research is based on a sample of 306 widows and widowers in Spain taken from the survey Social Networks and Well-Being. The results reveal the importance of sociodemographic factors for both those who wish to have a partner as well as for those who have one. For the former, elements associated with quality of life are very important, while among those with a new partner, the key is not having an extensive family support network. The principal motives for looking for a new relationship are related to enjoying life more and not feeling alone; while those who reject a new relationship do so because of the belief that their lost partner is irreplaceable.
Choice and Information in the Public Sector: A Higher Education Case Study

Successive governments have encouraged the view of users of public services as consumers, choosing between different providers on the basis of information about the quality of service. As part of this approach, prospective students are expected to make their decisions about which universities to apply to with reference to the consumer evaluations provided by the National Student Survey. However, a case study of a post-1992 university showed that not all students made genuine choices and those who did tended to be in stronger social and economic positions. Where choices were made, they were infrequently based on external evaluations of quality.
The Momentum Effect Exemplifies The Influence of Investors’ Irrational Behaviour on Changing Prices of Shares and Stocks: An Analysis of The Momentum Effect on The Warsaw Stock Exchange

Abstract An efficient market should not show any anomalies. When new information reaches a market which is efficient, it should automatically translate into prices of assets, which ought to eliminate the possibility of gaining an advantage over other investors, thus preventing excess profits. However, studies on capital markets indicate that in reality it is possible to earn unusually high profits by taking advantage of certain anomalies which occur on a given market. Among such anomalies there is the momentum effect. This study performed on the Stock Exchange in Warsaw has shown that the momentum effect occurred throughout the entire analyzed time period. Positive returns demonstrated for investment strategies based on the momentum effect were unexplainable by the classical theory of finances. A correlation was found between the economic situation on the stock exchange and portfolio return rates, but it was too weak to attribute the effect to a single decisive factor. In addition, the returns from investments based on the momentum effect were statistically higher in January than in the other months, which was caused by the January effect, stimulating the occurrence of statistically higher returns at the beginning of a year rather than later on during the analyzed period of time. Research in this field carried out in other countries justifies the claim that there are many irrational factors which together create the momentum effect on the stock exchange. Thus, it is possible to conclude that irrational decisions may have strong impact on the pricing of stocks on the capital market. The momentum effect persisted throughout the entire analyzed period, although its power changed cyclically, which coincides with results of research carried out in other countries. The fact that the momentum effect did not disappear may suggest that the factors involved in its creation are an indispensable part of the market, and this seems to undermine the commonly accepted hypothesis about the efficiency of capital markets.
Perceptual Rivalry as an Ultradian Oscillation

Perceptual rivalry alternations are switches in perception that occur despite a constant, if ambiguous, sensory input. Whilst being clearly and predictably influenced by the ‘external’ rivalry-inducing stimulus (Levelt, 1965; Mueller & Blake, 1989), these internally driven changes in perceptual state have been found to exhibit rhythmic properties (Carter & Pettigrew, 2003). It is this endogenously driven, externally influencable nature of perceptual rivalry that has motivated the following comparison with the self-sustaining circadian oscillations of biological systems, despite the significant differences in periodicity.
Guidelines for acromegaly management: an update.

OBJECTIVE The Acromegaly Consensus Group reconvened in November 2007 to update guidelines for acromegaly management. PARTICIPANTS The meeting participants comprised 68 pituitary specialists, including neurosurgeons and endocrinologists with extensive experience treating patients with acromegaly. EVIDENCE/CONSENSUS PROCESS: Goals of treatment and the appropriate imaging and biochemical and clinical monitoring of patients with acromegaly were enunciated, based on the available published evidence. CONCLUSIONS The group developed a consensus on the approach to managing acromegaly including appropriate roles for neurosurgery, medical therapy, and radiation therapy in the management of these patients.
A novel clock-pulse-width calibration technique for charge redistribution DACs

This paper presents a novel calibration technique for charge redistribution digital-to-analog converters (DACs). By using the proposed clock-pulse-width calibration, the clock of the DAC is modulated, and the output voltage is effectively modified to enhance the differential-non-linearity (DNL) and integral-non-linearity (INL). By using this method, the measured DNL, and INL have been improved by 61% and 87%, respectively. This calibration is done in few steps, and is aided by a cyclone IV FPGA and an ADC. The DAC has been manufactured in a TSMC 90 nm CMOS process, with a core area of 0.011 mm2. The supply voltage, power consumption, and clock frequency of the IC are 1.2 V, 371 uW, and 8 MHz, respectively.
The political economy of special economic zones

Abstract This paper is a first attempt to apply a robust political economy framework to explain when Special Economic Zones (SEZs) can contribute to economic development. A robust political economy is one that channels the actions of self-interested individuals with limited information to promote economic progress. In the right institutional context, SEZs tend to promote economic growth. In the wrong institutional context, they can cause resource misallocation and rent-seeking. Policy makers introducing SEZs must overcome the knowledge problem to avoid misdirected economic planning. Yet, the scheme can only fulfill its purpose if it also prevents destructive rent-seeking behavior, both from businesses and from government authorities. The political economy framework of SEZs can be applied to judge their potential efficacy, something that orthodox studies of country features such as natural resources, infrastructure, and zone location fail to do. The Indian and Chinese experiences with SEZs illustrate these points.
International volunteering for development and sustainability: outdated paternalism or a radical response to globalisation?

This article discusses the history and evolution of international volunteer-sending agencies and volunteers as a response not only to symptoms but also to causes of global poverty and inequality. It considers how international volunteers might be defined, what makes their role different from other forms of overseas development assistance (particularly their contribution to capacity development), and the positives and negatives that may accompany those differences. It also reflects on international volunteers' suitability as contributors in the transition to a globally more ecologically sustainable state, presenting some insights from volunteers and other stakeholders.