Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Foot Breadth in Children—Its Relationship to Limb Dominance and Age

A total of 996 school pupils between the ages of 5 and 12 yr were studied for the relationship between foot breadth and limb dominance. The test of significance and chi-square analysis were used in the calculation. Limb dominance is divided into upper limb dominance (handedness) and lower limb dominance (footedness). No asymetry or difference was found between the right and left foot (P < 0.69) in terms of foot breadth. A significant correlation between limb dominance and foot breadth was not found (P < 0.01). An ipsolateral relationship exists between the two forms of limb dominance—92.37% of right handers are right footed while 51.85% of left handers are left footed. As an offshot of this work an equation for the estimation of a child's age from his foot breadth is given.
Carboplatin alone vs carboplatin plus epidoxorubicin as second-line therapy for cisplatin- or carboplatin-sensitive ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to analyze the benefit/toxicity profile of a second-line treatment with carboplatin alone or carboplatin plus another non-cross-resistant drug (epidoxorubicin) in ovarian cancer patients sensitive to cisplatin-based chemotherapy at first-line treatment. METHODS We conducted a randomized clinical trial. Women with epithelial ovarian cancer FIGO Stage II--IV who had a complete or partial response to first-line treatment with cisplatin or carboplatin-based regiments and subsequently progressed or relapsed more than 6 months after discontinuation of first-line treatment were eligible for the study. A total of 190 subjects entered the study. They were randomly allocated to either 300 mg/m(2) of carboplatin every 28 days for five cycles (95 patients) or 120 mg/m(2) of epidoxorubicin and 300 mg/m(2) of carboplatin every 28 days for five cycles (95 patients). RESULTS A complete response was reported, respectively, in 32 (36%) women allocated to carboplatin alone and in 28 (31.8%) of those allocated to carboplatin plus epidoxorubicin. The corresponding figures for partial response were 18 (20.2%) and 26 (29.9%). Comparing the frequency of complete response, partial response, no change, and progression, the differences between the two groups were not significant (chi(2)(3) 5.10, P = 0.16). The median duration of response was 16 months in the carboplatin alone and 20 months in the carboplatin plus epidoxorubicin group (P = not significant). The 3-year percentage of survival was 29% in the carboplatin alone and 42% in the carboplatin plus epidoxorubicin group; this difference was not statistically significant. The frequency of leukopenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia grade 3-4 was higher in the epidoxorubicin plus carboplatin than in the carboplatin alone group. Alopecia G3 was present in 88% of women treated with epidoxorubicin plus carboplatin. CONCLUSIONS The general results of this study do not show any marked differences in response to second-line treatment among women treated with single-agent (carboplatin) or multiagent (carboplatin plus epidoxorubicin) schedules. Toxicity, particularly hematological, was more relevant in women treated with the multiagent schedule.
Cryptococcus gattii outbreak expands into the Northwestern United States with fatal consequences

In the past decade, the primary fungal pathogen Cryptococcus gattii has evolved and adapted to the temperate climate of the Pacific Northwest region of North America. This pathogen is now endemic and an increasingly common cause of life-threatening pulmonary and central nervous system infections that are difficult to manage and, in some cases, fatal to humans and other mammals throughout the region. A series of recent reports provide evidence that evolutionary, climatic, and anthropogenic factors may be causing the expansion of the Vancouver Island outbreak genotype into the United States, with the concomitant emergence of a unique genotype in the state of Oregon. Ongoing studies address the molecular epidemiology, roles of mating and genetic exchange, and geographic origins of this unprecedented outbreak of fungal infection of considerable public health magnitude.
An investigation into the role, effectiveness and future of non-executive directors

Non-executive directors are faced with increasing expectations of their role; this paper investigates both their role and their effectiveness and determines that there is universal support for the continuation of non-executive directors. The role is confirmed as that described by Cadbury and Hampel with recognition that corporate governance practices can never result in a ‘no failure’ environment. Independence is assessed as a key characteristic and changes needed to secure the future of the non-executive director are examined. The research identifies over-burdensome legislation and personal liability as key concerns and concludes that the UK should continue with a policy of best practice guidelines rather than legal prescription.
Sex-related differences in predicting choledocholithiasis using current American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy risk criteria

Background: American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) criteria is widely used to predict probability of choledocholithiasis among patients with symptomatic gallstone disease but does not take sex into consideration. Methods: The cohort study included patients who underwent either endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or intraoperative cholangiography for suspected choledocholithiasis at our medical center. Clinical, laboratory and radiological data were collected for each patient and used to stratify them based on the ASGE risk criteria for choledocholithiasis. Results: A total of 646 patients composed the final study cohort. The composite incidence rate of choledocholithiasis for male and female groups was 47.5% and 46.2% respectively. Total bilirubin (>4 mg/dL), cholangitis, abnormal liver function tests (transaminitis), dilation of the common bile duct (>6 mm) on ultrasound examination, and biliary pancreatitis were individually associated with choledocholithiasis in 73.5%, 68.4%, 61.1%, 60.0%, and 51.7% of males, respectively. Total bilirubin >4 mg/dL and 1.8-4 mg/dL, cholangitis, and transaminitis were individually associated with choledocholithiasis in 82.6%, 64.0%, 58.2%, and 50.0% of females, respectively. The distribution in probability group/incidence of choledocholithiasis was as follows: for males, low probability 3.3%/0%, intermediate probability 56.7%/33.8%), high probability 40%/77.8%; and for females, low probability 5.3%/14.3%, intermediate probability 70.2%/39.6%, high probability 24.5%/72.1%. Conclusions: The composite incidence for choledocholithiasis was similar across male and female patients. A significantly higher proportion of females compared to males were in the intermediate probability group. Better sex stratification can help improve the positive and negative predictive values of ASGE risk stratification criteria. Improve patient outcomes and reduce associated healthcare cost.
Off-Farm Employment Effects on Adoption of Nutrient Management Practices

Off-farm income as a share of total farm household income has been increasing. Previous studies found inconsistent results regarding the impact of off-farm income on adoption of conservation practices. We test the hypothesis that off-farm employment has a positive impact on adoption of capital incentive practices and a negative impact on adoption of labor-intensive practices. The results confirm that adoption of injecting manure into the soil, a capitalintensive practice, is positively and significantly impacted by off-farm employment of the operator. However, off-farm employment variables had no effect on adoption of record keeping.
A Study on ERP Adoption in SMEs for Improving Operational Performance and ROI

This research paper addresses the adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and examine their effect on organizational performance and Return-on-Investment (ROI) in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). In this two-part paper, the first part identifies and measures tangible and intangible benefits of ERP. The second part identifies and explains certain financial indicators on ERP investments. The research involved a variety of methods including semi structured interviews, participative observation and review of documents & case studies related to ERP implementations in SME, ROI on ERP, ERP product brochures and few existing case studies related to this research. This paper provides empirical insights to the performance improvements in the process and financial perspectives. The paper explained the perception of SMEs on the tangible, intangible benefits of ERP implementation and its linkage to ROI and provides practical insights into the benefits and ROI from ERP investments to SMEs which are planning to or have implemented ERP.
Corporate governance : a framework for implementation

While the recent economic and financial crises in East Asia and elsewhere had a multitude of underlying causes, weak corporate governance has consistently been seen as a major contributor that needs to be addressed to revive investor confidence and decrease the impact and likelihood of future shocks. Good corporate governance is not only about its increasing importance to international investors but also its protection of domestic investors. Unlike international investors who have sophisticated instruments to diversify their overall portfolio risk, domestic investors are often captive to local markets and risk losing their life's savings when transparency is lacking and governance systems are defective. In an environment that does not protect minority shareholders' rights, these investors cannot risk investing in corporations directly, thus limiting their ability and potential to participate in or contribute to their economy's development. As a group, however, they represent a large pool of stable, long-term resources critical to the development process. This report develops a framework for implementing corporate governance reform. The second chapter expands on this framework to discuss specific corporate governance challenges in emerging markets. Chapter 3 proposes an agenda for action by the World Bank Group and its partners.
Export and Innovation in SMEs and Large Firms: The main determinants

This study analyses the main determinants of exports and research and development (R&D) expenses of small and medium enterprises (SME) and large companies operating in Portugal during the period 2004- 2008. From a sample of 200 SMEs and 30 major exporting companies, the study uses a panel data analysis and fixed-effects and random-effects estimators to estimate the effects on exports and on R & D. Regarding exports, the study found a positive effect in terms of increased productivity and R & D in both SMEs and large companies. The results also suggest that SMEs that are owned by foreign enterprises export more than national SMEs. In relation to the determinants of spending on R & D, the study concludes that the increase in equity and net income has a positive effect on R & D spending in large companies, while in SMEs, increased expenditure on R & D is a consequence of increasing exports, whereas the increase in net income has a negative effect on R& D
The Valuation of Options in Illiquid Markets: A Comparison of Methods

We study methods that can potentially be used for estimating the value of European options on individual stocks in markets in where such products are not actively traded. The study is motivated by the frequent need for market participants to provide quotes for such options in extremely illiquid markets. Examples are the equity markets in Japan and Hong Kong where practically all single stock options are very illiquid as well as the US market where financial institutions have recently been selling long dated collars on stocks that do not have an active options market.
Impact of corporate social responsibility disclosure on the financial performance of firms in UK

This piece of work for master thesis investigates the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure on the financial performance of firms in UK. The work is extended to three industries of UK, viz., industry of extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas, industry of mining of metal ores and preparations and industry of manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations. For this purpose, we measured corporate social responsibility disclosure in terms of published CSR keywords on the annual reports of the firms over five years ranging from 2008 till 2012. The financial performance of the firms is measured as return on assets (ROA), Tobin’s Q, and total shareholder returns (TSR). A linear regression is then performed on the data to validate the impact of corporate social responsibility disclosure on the financial performance of firms. The results have shown no significant impact of CSR disclosure on the financial performance, both in short-term scenario and long-term scenario for the chosen industries in UK.
Development of a Local Perivascular Paclitaxel Delivery System for Hemodialysis Vascular Access Dysfunction: Polymer Preparation and in vitroActivity

Hemodialysis vascular access dysfunction (HVAD) is currently a huge clinical problem. The major cause of HVAD is venous stenosis (as a result of venous neointimal hyperplasia) which leads to thrombosis in polytetrafluoroethylene dialysis access grafts and fistulae. Despite the magnitude of the clinical problem there are currently no effective therapeutic interventions for this condition. In an attempt to reduce the morbidity associated with HVAD, we have developed and validated a local perivascular paclitaxel release system for use in a pig model of arteriovenous graft stenosis. Ethylene vinyl acetate polymers with 5% paclitaxel were formulated. The release profile of paclitaxel was then manipulated to maximize its biological impact in the in vivo situation. In vitro experiments were performed to confirm that the paclitaxel released from the polymer was biologically active against cell types that were similar to those present in the in vivo lesion of neointimal hyperplasia. Our results demonstrate that the paclitaxel polymer wraps which we have developed are mechanically stable with a burst release phase followed by a slower continuous release phase. The paclitaxel released from these polymeric wraps retains its physicochemical and biological properties and is able to inhibit the proliferation of smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells and fibroblasts in vitro. We believe that these paclitaxel-loaded polymeric wraps could be ideally suited for perivascular drug delivery in the context of dialysis access grafts and fistulae.
Nordidemnin potently inhibits inositol uptake in cultured astrocytes and dose‐dependently augments lithium's proconvulsant effect in vivo

It has been suggested that inositol uptake across the cell membrane is of importance for maintenance of the inositol pool involved in lithium's therapeutic effect in bipolar disease and in the lithium‐pilocarpine seizure test in freely moving rats (measuring the latency of a normally subconvulsive concentration of pilocarpine to seizure induction in the additional presence of lithium). We have tested this hypothesis by: 1) demonstrating an extremely high potency of nordidemnin as an inhibitor of myo‐inositol uptake in primary cultures of mouse astrocytes; and 2) determining the dose‐response correlation of a nordidemnin‐induced decrease in the latency before appearance of seizures in the lithium‐pilocarpine test after intracerebroventricular injection of minute samples (10 μl) of virtually isotonic saline solution. J. Neurosci. Res. 60:116–121, 2000 © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Space- and time-resolved soft x-ray emission from laser-produced magnesium plasma

Soft x-ray emission from plasmas produced by ablation from a magnesium target employing a ruby laser is studied using a grazing incidence spectrograph in the spectral region 3-12 nm. Emission intensities are investigated for different ionic lines as a function of position, time after the maximum of the laser pulse and laser irradiance. A gated pinhole camera is employed for studying the evolution of the plasma at early stages. The propagation distances and velocities are measured. Our results show that the line intensities of all ionic lines increase with laser irradiance until a saturation plateau is observed at high irradiance levels. The increase in ionization and intensity saturation with varying laser irradiance seems to suggest strong interaction of the laser pulse with the dense plasma formed near the target within the pulse duration.
The temporal lobes, reversed asymmetry and the genetics of schizophrenia

Mechanisms determining temporal lobe structural asymmetries may be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. To investigate the temporal lobes in familial schizophrenia, computed tomographic scans were obtained from 51 subjects (seven families). Enlargement of sylvian fissures and temporal lobe sulcal spaces was observed in family members with schizophrenia. The posterior one-third of the sylvian fissure was larger on the left side in subjects with schizophrenia, and larger on the right side in unaffected individuals. This disturbed pattern of posterior sylvian fissure asymmetry suggests that adjacent language regions may be affected in schizophrenia. An intermediate degree of disturbance in subjects who had schizophrenia-related illnesses or were obligate carriers suggests that genetic factors may be important determinants of temporal lobe asymmetries in familial schizophrenia.
Epifluorescence microscopy and image analysis of high‐level polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination in soils

Interactions between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and soil are an important determinant of their chemical availability and transport. Laboratory examination of microscale PAH–soil interaction is limited by the availability of methods for particle‐scale observation. Inverted epifluorescence microscopy, combined with digital photography and computer image analysis, was evaluated for specificity and linearity using dissolved PAHs. A pyrene filter (excitation wavelength, 360–400 nm; emission wavelength, 450–520 nm) gave nonspecific PAH fluorescence, and bias for fluoranthene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[g, h, i]perylene, and benz[a]anthracene was quantified in comparison to that for pyrene. Concentrations ranging from 1 to 10 mM for anthracene, fluoranthene, and pyrene and from 1 to 50 mM for naphthalene produced a linear response with low interpixel variability. Liquid‐phase analyses validated use of the technique for the descriptive analysis of PAH distribution in solid samples, but liquid‐phase calibration was not quantitative for spiked or field‐contaminated soils. The mean luminance for three field soils was proportional to the values predicted from their chemically measured concentrations and to values from spiked, aged, uncontaminated materials. Image analysis of laboratory‐ and field‐contaminated samples determined the area distribution of fluorescent intensity and the size of fluorescent areas exceeding a threshold luminance. These qualitative descriptions of the microscale spatial distribution of PAH contamination are presented as potential endpoints for future research on biogeochemical interactions in heavily contaminated solids.
Cutaneous T cell lymphoma: update on treatment.

BACKGROUND Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a myeloproliferative disease with pronounced epidermotropism. The major subtypes of CTCL are mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome. Survival is dependent on the histological subtype and clinical stage. Early CTCL has a normal life expectancy, therefore early disease recognition and stage adapted treatment might help to ensure a good prognosis. METHODS This is a review of recent advances in CTCL treatment based on literature review. RESULTS Skin targeted therapies are useful for patch and limited plaque disease with phototherapy as the cornerstone of such treatments. More advanced disease will benefit from systemic mono- or combined treatments including drug therapy, extracorporeal photopheresis, and radiotherapy. In practice combined treatments may reduce adverse events and improve response rates. For selected younger patients, stem cell transplantation seems a third-line option. CONCLUSIONS The therapeutic spectrum for CTCL has been advanced during the last years, providing the opportunity of tailored treatment for patients.
Preliminary study on the occurrence of intestinal parasites in Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) in Zoo Negara, Malaysia

A preliminary study was conducted to investigate the occurrence of intestinal parasites in the faeces of captive Malayan tapir in Zoo Negara, Malaysia. A total of 12 fresh faecal samples were collected from three different individuals and screened for eggs and larvae using the sedimentation technique. The results shows that Strongylus sp. infection was the highest with 43 %, followed by Strongyloides sp. and Fasciola sp. with 17 % each, Balantidium sp. 11 %, Ascaris sp. 9 % and unidentified 3 %. Fasciola sp. and Ascaris sp. were found in samples obtained from one individual kept in a cage while Balantidium sp. was found in the free-roaming individuals. Previous information on parasitic diseases in tapir was largely derived from those found in the wild. This study highlights the first record on parasitic infection in captive tapir in Malaysia. In addition, due to pathogenic importance of the parasites to both animals and humans, the population should be closely monitored. Considering the endangered status of the Malayan tapir, further studies are needed to highlight this issue.
The Mechanism of the Impact of Team Climate and Team Psychological Safety on Team Innovation Performance

Project teams are widely used in enterprises to foster remarkable innovation performance. However, the overall effect of project team is often difficult to achieve in the practical application of China's enterprises. Based on literature review, the mechanism of how team climate and team psychological safety contribute to team innovation performance was set up and examined in this study. Data were collected from 45 high-tech innovation teams of China and analyzed statistically using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach. Results indicated that (1) team climate and team psychological safety positively influences team innovation performance, that (2) team psychological safety, partially and fully, mediates the effects of team climate on team innovation performance, and that (3) the mediation effects of team psychological safety are mainly shown through three components of team climate, which are co-worker trust, co-worker support and supervisor support.