Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is spinal cord injury a new emerging risk factor for stroke?

Progress in the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) has increased patient survival drastically over the last 50 years.1 An estimated 232,000 to 316,000 persons in the United States live with SCI.2 Fortunately, mortality in the first 2 years after injury has declined 40% over the last 3 decades3; in contrast, mortality after the first 2 years postinjury remains static. Hence, prolonging life and enhancing quality of life for persons with SCI becomes a priority. Currently, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is second only to pulmonary conditions as the chief cause of mortality in patients with SCI.2 Although post-SCI CVDs, such as cardiac dysrhythmias, cardiac arrest, and coronary artery disease, are well documented,4 the association between cerebrovascular disease and SCI is less studied. In this issue of Neurology ®, Wu et al.5 test the hypothesis that patients disabled by SCI have increased risk of stroke. This case-control study derived participants from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database linked to the registry of …
Excess Return and Risk Characteristics of Asian Exchange Listed Real Estate

This study examines the behavior of the excess returns of publicly-listed real estate firms whose shares are traded in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand in widely-varying market situations. The results indicate that the publicly-traded stocks of real estate firms in these markets, apart from Taiwan, do not exhibit excess return behavior. In addition, with the exception of South Korea, the risk characteristics of exchange-listed real estate firms are found to vary with differences in market conditions. We also demonstrate that there was no structural shift in return behavior around the Asian crisis.
Categorizing People in the New States: A Comparative Study of Communist China and North Korea

Abstract What motivates states’ choice of social classification? Existing explanations highlight scientific beliefs of modern states or social engineering by ideological regimes. Focusing on the initial state-building period of two Communist regimes, China and North Korea, this article complements the existing literature and suggests that social classification reflects three missions of political leaders: regime distinction, governance, and power consolidation. Population categories are created to distinguish the new government from the old, to selectively provide welfare, and to attack political opponents. The varying weight of the missions and their manifestation in social classification depend on new ruling elites’ cohesion and past experiences. This comparative historical analysis sheds light on the rise of political chaos in China and the personalistic dictatorship in North Korea in the 1970s.
Microfinance Vision & SHGs Bank Linkage: An Arunachal Pradesh Scenario

When we talk of fighting the problem of poverty, the only answer is to create broad base economic growth by involving large number of women that will not only bring the changes in individual but also in family, community and institutions. They must be empowered to think independently and organize themselves to fight against the forces that oppress and subordinate them. In the year 2008 the government of Arunachal Pradesh decided to adopt Microfinance vision 2011 with the target to promote 5000 SHGs within three years i.e. 2011. But till date only 1626 SHGs are form and promoted under Microfinance Vision 2011 and very low bank linkages of these SHGs. No doubt Microfinance Vision 2011 is gathering momentum to become a significant force in rural areas, but still the vision is far behind to achieve its goal. There may be gaps in understanding the socioeconomic background of the tribal people of the state by the policy maker. Hence this paper is an attempt to study the progress made in the microfinance vision 2011 – Arunachal Pradesh and highlight the problem faced by SHGs with specific reference to bank linkage programs, suggestion and recommendation with regard to SHG bank linkages in Arunachal Pradesh for the holistic development of the people.
Challenges in Improving Access to Asian Laws: the Asian Legal Information Institute (AsianLII)

The Asian Legal Information Institute (AsianLII) is a free access legal research facility, developed by the Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII), in conjunction with partners in various Asian countries. Launched in December 2006, AsianLII now includes 120 databases from all 27 Asian countries, from Mongolia in the north to Timor Leste in the south, Japan in the east to Pakistan in the west. It includes about 150,000 full text cases, and over 15,000 items of legislation, plus law reform reports, a few law journals, and other materials. All of this content may be searched simultaneously, and individual country collections, or individual databases, may be searched separately. Some of the larger collections are from the Philippines, India, Singapore, and (for legislation) Timor-Leste and Vietnam. AsianLII also includes Hong Kong databases from HKLII, and Papua-New Guinea databases from PacLII, and Korean and Taiwanese databases from GLIN at the Law Library of the US Congress, exemplifying cooperation between members of the Free Access to Law Movement. AsianLII already receives over 50,000 'hits' per working day. This paper discusses the challenges involved in building AsianLII, particularly in a region of such linguistic diversity: its rationale, technical features, approaches to partnerships, migration of technology and content control, and sustainability.
An Account of the Meyor Community of Arunachal Pradesh

At the heart of this research is a description of the Meyor community, one of the least known tribes of the world. Geographically, this community is found in the Walong and Kibatoo circles of Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh. Drawing upon ethnographic research, supplemented by interviews, this article aims to describe an account of this hidden tribe.
Treatment adherence in hemophilia

Prophylactic clotting-factor regimens reduce the occurrence of bleeding episodes and maintain joint health in individuals with moderate and severe hemophilia. However, these outcomes are only achieved with adherence to prescribed prophylaxis regimens. There are several types of barriers to adherence related to key patient, condition, treatment, health-care system, and/or socioeconomic variables. Notably, health-care professionals may not prescribe prophylaxis if they perceive that a patient will be nonadherent. Prophylactic treatment strategies should be developed with the patient and family, focused on individualized treatment goals. Personalized strategies are needed to reinforce the importance of and encourage confidence in administering the regular infusions required for prophylactic therapy. These strategies may include verbal and written information delivered by health-care professionals, peers, and inter-active media. The advent of extended half-life clotting factors requiring less frequent infusion may improve adherence.
A Bayesian Approach to Identifying New Risk Factors for Dementia

AbstractDementia is one of the most disabling and burdensome health conditions worldwide. In this study, we identified new potential risk factors for dementia from nationwide longitudinal population-based data by using Bayesian statistics.We first tested the consistency of the results obtained using Bayesian statistics with those obtained using classical frequentist probability for 4 recognized risk factors for dementia, namely severe head injury, depression, diabetes mellitus, and vascular diseases. Then, we used Bayesian statistics to verify 2 new potential risk factors for dementia, namely hearing loss and senile cataract, determined from the Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.We included a total of 6546 (6.0%) patients diagnosed with dementia. We observed older age, female sex, and lower income as independent risk factors for dementia. Moreover, we verified the 4 recognized risk factors for dementia in the older Taiwanese population; their odds ratios (ORs) ranged from 3.469 to 1.207. Furthermore, we observed that hearing loss (OR = 1.577) and senile cataract (OR = 1.549) were associated with an increased risk of dementia.We found that the results obtained using Bayesian statistics for assessing risk factors for dementia, such as head injury, depression, DM, and vascular diseases, were consistent with those obtained using classical frequentist probability. Moreover, hearing loss and senile cataract were found to be potential risk factors for dementia in the older Taiwanese population. Bayesian statistics could help clinicians explore other potential risk factors for dementia and for developing appropriate treatment strategies for these patients.
Concordance Between Women s Physiological and Subjective Sexual Arousal Is Associated with Consistency of Orgasm During Intercourse But Not Other Sexual Behavior

Many studies have found a discordance between women s genital (vaginal pulse amplitude) and subjective sexual arousal responses to erotica. We hypothesized that the association between the physiological and subjective domains would be greater for women with greater orgasmic consistency during penile-vaginal intercourse but not for orgasm consistency during other sexual behaviors. We confirmed this specific hypothesis in a sample (N = 38) of postmenopausal women. In addition, we discovered that the correlation between the domains was unrelated to social desirability responding, that orgasm consistency was not less for intercourse than for other sexual activity, and that orgasm consistency during intercourse was uncorrelated with orgasm consistency during masturbation. We discuss the results in terms of the unique nature of penile-vaginal intercourse, our study s implications for sex therapy, and orgasm consistency during intercourse being an operational measure of functional vaginal sensitivity and sexual pleasure integration and organization.
Estimating per-act HIV transmission risk: a systematic review

Background:Effective HIV prevention programs rely on accurate estimates of the per-act risk of HIV acquisition from sexual and parenteral exposures. We updated the previous risk estimates of HIV acquisition from parenteral, vertical, and sexual exposures, and assessed the modifying effects of factors including condom use, male circumcision, and antiretroviral therapy. Methods:We conducted literature searches to identify new studies reporting data regarding per-act HIV transmission risk and modifying factors. Of the 7339 abstracts potentially related to per-act HIV transmission risk, three meta-analyses provided pooled per-act transmission risk probabilities and two studies provided data on modifying factors. Of the 8119 abstracts related to modifying factors, 15 relevant articles, including three meta-analyses, were included. We used fixed-effects inverse-variance models on the logarithmic scale to obtain updated estimates of certain transmission risks using data from primary studies, and employed Poisson regression to calculate relative risks with exact 95% confidence intervals for certain modifying factors. Results:Risk of HIV transmission was greatest for blood transfusion, followed by vertical exposure, sexual exposures, and other parenteral exposures. Sexual exposure risks ranged from low for oral sex to 138 infections per 10 000 exposures for receptive anal intercourse. Estimated risks of HIV acquisition from sexual exposure were attenuated by 99.2% with the dual use of condoms and antiretroviral treatment of the HIV-infected partner. Conclusion:The risk of HIV acquisition varied widely, and the estimates for receptive anal intercourse increased compared with previous estimates. The risk associated with sexual intercourse was reduced most substantially by the combined use of condoms and antiretroviral treatment of HIV-infected partners.
Incidence and clearance of oral human papillomavirus infection: A population-based cohort study in rural China

The natural history of oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection which is linked with the increased incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer (OPSCC) has been incompletely studied. Oral swab specimens and questionnaire data were obtained bi-annually for up to 6 visits from 4314 healthy adults aged 25-69 in rural Anyang, China. HPV infection status was evaluated with PCR-based sequencing. Participants with at least two consecutive valid HPV results within the study period were included in the incidence and clearance analysis. Among 3289 participants included in this analysis (median follow-up time 18.3 months), incidence rates of mucosal HPV, oncogenic mucosal HPV and cutaneous HPV were 0.53 (95% CI: 0.39-0.73), 0.30 (95% CI: 0.20-0.46), and 4.17 (95% CI: 3.70-4.70) per 1,000 person-months respectively. Most newly acquired infections were cleared within one year. Recent practice of oral sex increased the risk of incident infection with mucosal HPV (Adjusted HR, 5.03; 95% CI, 1.16-21.73) and oncogenic mucosal HPV (Adjusted HR, 10.13; 95% CI, 2.14-48.06). Newly acquired oral mucosal HPV infections are rare and most are cleared within one year in rural Chinese. This study expands understanding of the natural history of oral HPV in countries with a lower incidence of HPV-OPSCC.
Popular Nationalism and China’s Japan Policy: the Diaoyu Islands protests, 2012–2013

Abstract 2012–2013 witnessed a renewed flare-up of anti-Japanese sentiment in Mainland China, followed by a toughening of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Diaoyu Islands policy. Did popular nationalism influence the PRC’s military escalation? A lack of transparency in elite Chinese decision-making puts a definitive answer to this question beyond our reach. However, this article utilizes qualitative and quantitative analyses of anti-Japanese discourse and deeds in both cyberspace and on the streets of urban China to argue that the circumstantial evidence is compelling: nationalist opinion is a powerful driver of China’s Japan policy. The demands of nationalist legitimation appear to pressure the elite to respond to popular nationalism. Should one or more Chinese die at the hands of the Japanese navy or air force, therefore, the popular pressure for escalation and war will likely be more than China’s leaders can manage.
Malignant transformation of oral submucous fibrosis in Taiwan: A nationwide population‐based retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is one of the well-recognized oral potentially malignant disorders. In this study, we investigated the malignant transformation of OSF in a Taiwanese population. METHODS A retrospective cohort study was analyzed from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. A comparison cohort was randomly frequency-matched with the OSF cohort according to age, sex, and index year. Oral leukoplakia (OL) was further stratified to evaluate for the possible synergistic effects of OSF-associated malignant transformation. RESULTS In this cohort, 71 (9.13%) of 778 cases of OSF were observed to transform into oral cancer. The malignant transformation rate was 29.26-fold in the OSF cohort than in the comparison cohort after adjustment (95% confidence intervals 20.55-41.67). To further stratify with OL, OSF with OL (52.46%; 95% confidence intervals 34.88-78.91) had higher risk of malignant transformation rate than OSF alone (29.84%; 95% confidence intervals 20.99-42.42). The Kaplan-Meier plot revealed the rate free of malignant transformation was significant over the 13-year follow-up period (log-rank test, P<.001). The mean duration of malignant transformation was 5.1, 2.7, and 2.2 years for non-OSF, OSF alone, and OSF with OL, respectively. CONCLUSION Oral submucous fibrosis patients exhibited a significantly higher risk of malignant transformation than those without OSF. OL could enhance malignant transformation in patients with OSF.
Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned Media From the Perspective of Advertising and Public Relations Agencies: Comparing China and the United States

ABSTRACT Despite the existence of the “great firewall,” advertising and public relations practitioners in China, much like in the United States, are embracing and enacting social media and digital strategies on behalf of their clients. In this study, we conducted 42 in-depth interviews with advertising and public relations practitioners in the United States and mainland China to explore how emerging media and integrated marketing communication (IMC) are impacting advertising and public relations agencies in the two countries. This cross-cultural comparison revealed several critical insights, which were examined through the lenses of IMC and dimensions of culture. We found that emerging media lead to converging trends in various aspects of agency performance. The blurring of paid, earned, shared, and owned media (PESO) was evidentially observed in how executives of both countries defined and used media. Chinese agencies were media agnostic, concerned more with effectiveness of media practices. The U.S. agencies embraced collaboration and information technology better compared to their Chinese peers. This research contributes to the body of knowledge in strategic communication via providing empirical evidence of how Chinese and U.S. agencies coordinate IMC and perceive PESO media relative and in response to emerging media practices.
Systemic sclerosis-rheumatoid arthritis overlap syndrome: a unique combination of features suggests a distinct genetic, serological and clinical entity.

OBJECTIVE To determine the genetic, clinical and serological characteristics of systemic sclerosis (SSc)-rheumatoid arthritis (RA) overlap syndrome. METHODS Clinical manifestations and immunolaboratory features of 22 SSc-RA patients were assessed. The HLA-DR genotype of the 22 SSc-RA patients determined by SSP-PCR was compared with that of 38 SSc patients, 100 RA patients and 50 healthy controls. RESULTS All overlap patients fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for SSc and RA. Five of the 22 patients (23%) had diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) and 17 patients (77%) had limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc). Antinuclear antibody, anti-Scl70, IgM rheumatoid factor and anti-CCP antibody positivity were detected in 22 (100%), 5 (23%), 16 (73%) and 18 patients (82%), respectively. Seventeen patients (77%) had pulmonary fibrosis, 12 (55%) had oesophageal dismotility, 11 (50%) had cardiac and five (23%) had renal involvement. Hand joint destruction was observed in 18 patients (82%). Significantly increased frequencies of HLA-DR3 (36% vs 5%), HLA-DR7 (9% vs 4%), HLA-DR11 (36% vs 7%) and HLA-DRw53 (23% vs 5%) were observed in SSc-RA compared with RA patients (P < 0.05). Allele frequencies of the 'shared epitope' (HLA-DR1 and -DR4) were significantly increased in SSc-RA (32% and 27%, respectively) and RA patients (46% and 31%, respectively) in comparison with SSc patients (10.5% and 16%, respectively) or healthy controls (16% and 14%, respectively) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS To date this is the largest SSc-RA overlap cohort. Genetics, clinical and immunolaboratory features suggest a mixed phenotype. Our data suggest that SSc-RA overlap syndrome may be a distinct genetic, immunological and clinical entity.
Measuring Electoral Volatility in MMD/SNTV Systems: A Candidate-Level Analysis

Comparative politics scholars have spent a much time exploring the causes and consequences of electoral volatility, and the result is that much has been learned about what leads both established and emerging democracies to experience electoral volatility. While different measures and factors have been investigated in these studies, all measures use political parties as the nit of analysis and measure this phenomenon at the national level. For many electoral systems, this is an appropriate way of measuring electoral volatility, but for systems like MMD/SNTV used previously in Japan and Taiwan and open-list PR systems like that used in Brazil, such may understate the extent to which volatility occurs. To correct this problem, we explore electoral volatility at the district level by using the candidate as the unit of analysis, and, using data from postwar elections in Japan, we show that traditional measures do understate the extent to which electoral volatility occurs. Our empirical results show that candidate volatility is impacted by several factors including partisanship and the number of candidates.
EFFECT OF CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT ON EARNINGS MANIPULATION: A FIVE ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRY ANALYSIS

This study examines the possible impact of cross‐country differences in culture on earnings management or choices of accounting accruals in five Asia‐Pacific countries: Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. A set of traditional and cultural variables were used to test the hypotheses developed in the paper. The results indicate that both the traditional variables (size and debt‐equity ratio) and cultural variables (individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and long‐term social values) can explain the choices of accounting accruals in different countries. This paper is the first that links earnings management to cultural values and indirectly provides evidence that accounting values (as defined by Gray, 1998) affect earnings management.
A study on just‐in‐time practices in Singapore

The just‐in‐time (JIT) production system represents a new technology that has been widely promoted by the Singapore government and which has been adopted by several organizations operating in this newly industrialized economy (NIE). Presents the first comprehensive study of JIT practices in Singapore. Describes the major survey findings on the profile of JIT companies, their pre‐implementation and implementation experiences, and the JIT practices targeted for future implementation. In this way, the study is similar to other such studies conducted in the USA, the UK, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, and hence adds to the empirical database of actual JIT practices as published in the literature. Also seeks to provide empirical insights to three specific research issues pertaining to the strategic significance of JIT, the speedy and effective implementation of JIT, and the need for local suppliers to practise JIT. Such empirical insights derived from the JIT practices of companies operating wi.
Growth Accounting and Productivity Analysis by 33 Industrial Sectors in Korea (1984-2002)

The outstanding economic performance of East Asian countries has been investigated in numerous studies. However, most comparative studies analyze macro-level productivity. In this book, the productivity performance of China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the United States are compared at industry level. The work is a result of an international collaborative research project by RIETI (Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry), Japan. The total factor productivity growth and level amongst these five countries sheds new light on the industrial competitiveness of growing Asian economies compared to Japan and the United States. In addition, this book provides detailed information on productivity datasets for these five countries.
Competency Assessment for Entry-Level Lodging Management Trainees in Taiwan

The lodging industry in Taiwan is forging new links with hospitality management academia in the chain of supply and demand for entry-level managerial personnel. Essential competencies for entry-level lodging management trainees, based on input from industry professionals and academic educators in Taiwan, Republic of China, provided the basis for this investigation. The differences between perceptions of lodging professionals and hospitality educators regarding managerial trainee competency were examined. ANOVA [analysis of variance] was employed in testing relationships between perceptions of lodging management personnel and hospitality management educators. There were sixteen significant differences (p < .05) found between two groups within the sixty competency statements investigated. Recommendations and suggestions for the lodging industry, hospitality management education, and future research were included.