Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Panel Size and Overbooking Decisions for Appointment‐Based Services under Patient No‐Shows

Many service systems that work with appointments, particularly those in healthcare, suffer from high no‐show rates. While there are many reasons why patients become no‐shows, empirical studies found that the probability of a patient being a no‐show typically increases with the patient's appointment delay, i.e., the time between the call for the appointment and the appointment date. This paper investigates how demand and capacity control decisions should be made while taking this relationship into account. We use stylized single server queueing models to model the appointments scheduled for a provider, and consider two different problems. In the first problem, the service capacity is fixed and the decision variable is the panel size; in the second problem, both the panel size and the service capacity (i.e., overbooking level) are decision variables. The objective in both cases is to maximize some net reward function, which reduces to system throughput for the first problem. We give partial or complete characterizations for the optimal decisions, and use these characterizations to provide insights into how optimal decisions depend on patient's no‐show behavior in regards to their appointment delay. These insights especially provide guidance to service providers who are already engaged in or considering interventions such as sending reminders in order to decrease no‐show probabilities. We find that in addition to the magnitudes of patient show‐up probabilities, patients' sensitivity to incremental delays is an important determinant of how demand and capacity decisions should be adjusted in response to anticipated changes in patients' no‐show behavior.
Roundabout: A Network-on-Chip router with adaptive buffer sharing

Adaptive techniques, such as adaptive task migration at runtime, have been introduced in Multiprocessor Systems-on-Chip in order to optimize performance and power consumption. Nevertheless, there is also a potential to adapt the MPSoC communication architecture for further performance and power benefits. As an example, adaptive routings in Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) have been exploited for performance gains. Another promising opportunity, which is here explored, is the adaptive use of the buffering resources in the NoC router. This work presents Roundabout, a new NoC router architecture with inherent and effective buffer utilization. Inspired by real-life multi-lane roundabouts, it consists of lanes shared by input and output ports. A prototype of Roundabout is evaluated using 45nm CMOS technology. The router is able to achieve a throughput of 465 Mflit/sec and without significant area overhead. It achieves a network saturation threshold of 68Gbps on a 4×4 Mesh topology network.
Know When oo Hold 'Em and When to Fold 'Em

Using historical returns of the S&P 500, the authors simulate the after-tax return enhancement from minimizing short-term capital gains, tax deferral of long-term gains, high cost-basis tax lot sales, and tax-loss harvesting. They also demonstrate the relationship of the estate tax to these investment strategies. They show that tax deferral is not an interest-free loan from the government, but rather that the tax code operates more like a partnership carried interest and that the mechanism of tax deferral is a non-linear function of different compounding rates. They extend prior research showing that tax-sensitive investors can reap significant after-tax return advantages that are hard to match with conventional active management. In an addendum, they analyze the effect of the newly enacted tax rates under the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, and find that the benefits of tax deferral are less, but remain significant.
Organizing Creativity: Creativity and Innovation Under Constraints

The best way of organizing creativity within organizations remains somewhat enigmatic to scholars, particularly when it comes to the role of constraints. On the one hand, creative organizations are often associated with freedom, autonomy, weak rules and few boundaries. On the other hand, several studies suggest that constraints, particularly design constraints, often stimulate creativity rather than suppress it. All in all, findings are mixed and inconclusive, and further research that explores this area of tension is required. The goal of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we introduce the topic of constraints and creativity, and raise some of the open questions in this field. By way of illustration, we report on a preliminary study about the role of constraints. Secondly, we set the stage for the contributions in this special issue on creativity and innovation under constraints, by identifying four central themes for further research. We subsequently outline the articles in this issue, and show how each of them contributes to one or more of these themes.
[Smoking during pregnancy: trends between 2001 and 2010].

OBJECTIVE To establish trends in the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy between 2001 and 2010 and to relate these to differences in educational gradient in the Netherlands. DESIGN National surveys. METHOD In 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2010, 28,720 questionnaires were handed out to mothers with infants aged up to 6 months at periodic check-ups at well baby clinics. A total of 16,358 (57%) mothers completed this questionnaire. RESULTS Between 2001 and 2010, the number of women who smoked daily during their pregnancy dropped by half. In 2010 6.3% (95% CI: 5.0-7.6) smoked. The prevalence of smoking was highest among mothers with a low level of education (13.8% in 2010; 95% CI 9.3-18.4%) and lowest among mothers with a high level of education (2.4% in 2010; 95% CI 1.2-3.6). Four percent of pregnant smokers stopped smoking during pregnancy. Women limited the median number of ten cigarettes per day during the six months prior to pregnancy to five per day during pregnancy. The difference in prevalence of smoking in pregnancy between women with a low level of education and those with a high level of education was 18.9% in 2001 and 11.4% in 2010. The difference in smoking prevalence between mothers with an average level of education and mothers with a higher level education was 6.5% in 2001 and 5.4% in 2010. CONCLUSION Between 2001 and 2010, the percentage of women who smoked throughout pregnancy dropped by half. In 2010, 6.3% of Dutch pregnant women were still smoking. The prevalence of smoking differed strongly between different levels of education and this difference did not change during the study.
Risk management practices in Islamic banks of Pakistan

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the degree to which Islamic banks in Pakistan use risk management practices (RMPs) and techniques in dealing with different types of risk. Design/methodology/approach - A standardized questionnaire is used which covers six aspects: understanding risk and risk management (URM), risk assessment and analysis (RAA), risk identification (RI), risk monitoring (RM), credit risk analysis (CRA) and RMPs. Findings - This study found that the Islamic banks are somewhat reasonably efficient in managing risk where URM, RM and CRM are the most influencing variables in RMPs. Research limitations/implications - The paper's findings are limited to the RMPs of Islamic banks in Pakistan. Originality/value - This paper explores the RMPs of the Islamic banks in Pakistan. The results can be used as a valuable feedback for improvement of RMPs in the Islamic banks in Pakistan and will be of value to those people who are interested in the Islamic banking system.
Late booking amongst African women in a London borough, England: implications for health promotion

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance is that a pregnant woman should see a midwife within the first 13 weeks into her pregnancy, in what is known as the 'booking appointment' or the 'full assessment' where she discusses with the midwife her care plan, medical and family histories and social circumstances. Significant numbers of black African women present after 13 weeks into the pregnancy. This study explores why black African women access the booking appointment after 13 weeks of pregnancy in a London borough. The study took a qualitative approach and used semi-structured interviews with 23 women who self-identified as black African migrants born in a sub-Saharan African country, and had experience of using ante-natal services in the borough. Participants discussed how their cultural understandings of pregnancy influenced timing of the booking appointment. The data was analysed using the thematic approach. Cultural, economic and political contexts within which they experienced pregnancy influenced the timing. Whilst acknowledging the benefits of early booking, this was said to be at odds with their cultural beliefs where pregnancy disclosure within 13 weeks was considered inappropriate. Lack of information about the booking appointment and unresolved immigration issues led to perceptions that they were being brought under the Immigration Department's radar through the booking appointment. Whilst most health promotion information regarding the booking appointment is designed in a top-down fashion, health planners should also recognize ethnic diversities so as to market the booking appointment using downstream approaches that take account of the cultural, political and economic contexts in which migrants/ethnic minority populations live.
The metabolism of tritiated folic acid in man.

Several microbiological methods are available for the assay of folic acid and related coenzymes in tissues and body fluids (1, 2). Many conjugated forms of folic acid are not detected by such assays unless first converted enzymatically to active forms (3). The presence of folic acid antagonists or of antibiotics can also render difficult the quantitative determination of folic acid and its conjugates by present microbiological techniques. In order, therefore, to facilitate the study of the metabolism of folic acid in normal subjects and in patients with hematological and other disorders, tritiated folic acid has been prepared and some aspects of its metabolism in man studied by nonmicrobiological assay methods. The present paper presents the results of these studies, preliminary accounts of which have appeared (4, 5).
Short-term effects of air pollution on hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction: age effect on lag pattern

Abstract The aim of the present study is to analyse the age effect on the lag patterns of relative risk of hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction and NO2, PM10 and O3. Daily hospitalizations for AMI during the period 2008–2011 were extracted from administrative data. Analyses were performed using the quasi-Poisson regression model adjusted for seasonality, long-term trend, day of the week and temperature. We observed very different patterns depending on age. For NO2 and PM10, the younger group (25–54 years) shows a more delayed effect in comparison with the two older age groups (55–64 and ≥ 65 years). Overall, the associations between NO2 and AMI are higher compared to PM10. There are no associations between O3 and AMI. This study indicates that age plays a major role in the lag pattern. Younger people have delayed effects, but they are nevertheless sensitive to air pollution.
The Determinants of First and Second Marital Dissolution. Evidence from Britain

This paper investigates whether the determinants of first marriage dissolution differ from determinants of second marriage dissolution. Using data from British Household Panel Survey, I estimate a simultaneous hazard model for the risk of ending a first and a second marriage, taking into account unobserved heterogeneity. The model is estimated for men and women, separately. Cross-equations unobserved heterogeneity is not statistically different from zero. The most interesting findings is related to cohabitation before marriage: it is found to affect first and second marriage dissolution risk differently, namely it is found to increase the hazard of first marriage dissolution, but to reduce the hazard of second one.
Do Interest Groups Represent the Disadvantaged? Advocacy at the Intersections of Race, Class, and Gender

How well do interest groups represent the disadvantaged? I examine the policy advocacy of national organizations that represent marginalized groups, focusing on the extent to which they advocate on behalf of intersectionally disadvantaged subgroups of their membership. Combining quantitative analysis of original data from a survey of organizations with information from in-depth interviews, I find that organizations are substantially less active when it comes to issues affecting disadvantaged subgroups than they are when it comes to issues affecting more advantaged subgroups. In spite of sincere desires to represent disadvantaged members, organizations downplay the impact of such issues and frame them as narrow and particularistic in their effect, while framing issues affecting advantaged subgroups as if they affect a majority of their members and have a broad and generalized impact. Consequently, issues affecting advantaged subgroups receive considerable attention regardless of their breadth of impact, whereas issues affecting disadvantaged subgroups do not.
Comparison of an antiinflammatory dose of ibuprofen, an analgesic dose of ibuprofen, and acetaminophen in the treatment of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.

BACKGROUND The optimal short-term, symptomatic therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee has not been fully determined. Accordingly, we compared the efficacy of a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, ibuprofen, given in either an antiinflammatory dose (high dose) or an analgesic dose (low dose), with that of acetaminophen, a pure analgesic. METHODS In a randomized, double-blind trial, 184 patients with chronic knee pain due to osteoarthritis were given either 2400 or 1200 mg of ibuprofen per day or 4000 mg of acetaminophen per day. They were evaluated after a washout period of three to seven days before the beginning of the study, and again after four weeks of treatment. The major measures of outcome included scores on the pain and disability scales of the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (range of possible scores, 0 to 3), scores on the visual-analogue scales for pain at rest and pain while walking, the time needed to walk 50 ft (15 m), and the physician's global assessment of the patient's arthritis. RESULTS Seventy-eight percent of the patients completed four weeks of therapy. No significant differences were noted among the three treatment groups with respect to failure to complete the trial because of noncompliance or adverse events. All three groups had improvement in all major outcome variables, and the groups did not differ significantly in the magnitude of improvement in most variables. The mean improvement (change) in the scores on the pain scale of the Health Assessment Questionnaire was 0.33 with acetaminophen (95 percent confidence interval, 0.14 to 0.52), 0.30 with the low dose of ibuprofen (95 percent confidence interval, 0.09 to 0.51), and 0.35 with the high dose of ibuprofen (95 percent confidence interval, 0.13 to 0.57). Side effects were minor and similar in all three groups. CONCLUSIONS In short-term, symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee, the efficacy of acetaminophen was similar to that of ibuprofen, whether the latter was administered in an analgesic or an antiinflammatory dose.
Societal Integration, Culture, and Period: Their Impact on Female Age-Specific Suicide Rates in 20 Developed Countries, 1955–1989

Abstract This work uses Durkheimian societal integration measures and proxies for the culture of suicide to test for differences in the impact of predictors on suicide rates of younger and older women and for change in the effect of predictors over time. Four integration measures (female labor force participation, divorce rates, fertility, and religious book production) retained the same sign in all age groups, and their unstandardized regression coefficients typically increased as the mean suicide rate of the age group increased through ages 55–64, before declining. The culture of suicide (measured with attitudinal data or regional proxies) had much stronger effects on the explained variance of women 65 and older than on women 15–64. With controls on societal integration and region, the pattern of declining female suicide rates after 1970, as predicted by “institutional adjustment” theorists, did not appear.
The Time Course of Hearing Aid Benefit

Objective: The present study sought to determine whether benefit derived from hearing aid use increases with hearing aid experience. This question is of considerable interest to both researchers and clinicians. Several previous investigations recently published have obtained mixed results. Design: Control conditions were provided to address the potential influences of practice effects and changes in preferred hearing aid gain. The experimental group consisted of 13 hearing‐impaired listeners about to be fit with their first hearing aid. The control group consisted of 13 hearing aid users with at least 1 yr's experience with their hearing aids. The control group permitted examination of practice effects that may have confounded previous results showing increases in benefit with experience. Hearing aid benefit was defined as aided speech recognition ability minus unaided speech recognition ability and was assessed repeatedly over 18 wk. Two measures of hearing aid benefit were employed: an objective syllable recognition task and a subjective questionnaire. For the objective measure, hearing aid benefit was assessed for the condition of fixed hearing aid gain and also for the condition of subject‐adjusted hearing aid gain to examine effects of changes in audibility that may have influenced benefit and confounded previous results. Results: The objective measure of group mean hearing aid benefit increased significantly over time for both gain conditions for the new hearing aid users, but did not increase for the long‐standing control group. Subjective benefit increased over time, but without statistical significance for the new hearing aid users, and was essentially unchanged for the long‐standing control group. Conclusions: Results suggest that the observed improvements in speech recognition are not due to increases in audibility nor to simple practice effects. The overall improvements in benefit over time were of statistical significance and also practical importance for studies of group differences. However, the improvements are too small to be observed consistently for individual hearing aid users.
Sectoral Differentiation and Network Structure Within Contemporary Worldwide Corporate Networks

Abstract This article contributes to the converging literatures on global production networks and new regionalism, which show that these two entities and their respective geographic scales are complexly interdependent. It explores two key conceptual differences between the leading world city network studies of Alderson and Beckfield and the work of the Global and World City (GaWC) Research Network. The first is the sectoral differentiation of the data, in which the former focuses on multinational corporations in all industrial sectors and the latter specifically targets only advanced producer services. The second involves methodological differences that lead to dissimilar network structures. Alderson and Beckfield made only a basic hierarchical differentiation of the firms, while the GaWC study used a more elaborate classification method. Combining these approaches, we explore firms’ global and regional interdependencies (their centrality within their network and its structure). Using a single data set of the top 100 global multinationals (2005) and their ownership linkages with thousands of subsidiaries in 2,259 unique cities worldwide. The findings not only reveal the nodal centralities and linkage structures within the “all industrial sector” network and the “producer service sector” network but also show a strong correlation between these two networks, specifically toward the apex of the economic systems, and evidence of the coexistence of hierarchical and heterarchical city network structures.
Changing Correlation and Equity Portfolio Diversification Failure for Linear Factor Models during Market Declines*

The paper considers a linear factor model (LFM) to study the behaviour of the correlation coefficient between various stock returns during a downturn. Changing correlation is related to the tail distribution of the driving factors, which is the market for Sharpe's one‐factor model. General classes of distribution functions are considered and asymptotic conditions found on the tails of the distribution, which determine whether diversification will succeed or fail during a market decline.
Long-term administration of topical interferon alfa-2beta in the treatment of conjunctival squamous papilloma.

Interferon alfa-2 is a well-known antiviral therapy with potent antiproliferative properties. Presumably, this has been the basis for its intralesional and short-term topical administration for squamous papillomas. Like other modalities used to treat these lesions, recurrence has been common with interferon therapy. However, recent evidence suggests that long-term administration of interferon alfa-2 is capable of inhibiting angiogenesis. Clinically, it has been used in this manner, for an 8-month duration, to successfully treat various vascular tumors such as hemanigomas, Kaposi sarcoma, and hemangiopericytomas as well as ocular surface neoplasia. We report the use of long-term topical therapy (8 months) with interferon alfa-2 in the successful treatment of recurrent squamous papilloma.
Magnetocaloric Properties of Melt-Spun Fe–Ni–Mn–Ga Ribbons

The effects of Ni substitution for Fe on phase constitutions, Curie temperature T<sub>C</sub>, and magnetocaloric properties of melt-spun Fe<sub>50-x</sub>Ni<sub>x</sub>Mn<sub>25</sub>Ga<sub>25</sub> (x = 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7) ribbons have been investigated. X-ray diffraction results show that the main phase in the Fe<sub>50-x</sub>Ni<sub>x</sub>Mn<sub>25</sub>Ga<sub>25</sub> (x = 0-7) alloy changed with the increase of Ni content from FCC structure for x = 0 into B2 structure for x = 1-7. Besides, the magnetic phase exhibits phase transition of ferromagnetic into paramagnetic state with increasing temperature for the samples with B2-type structure. The Curie temperature T<sub>C</sub> of these ribbons varies in the temperature range of 232-257 K. The peak values of the maximal magnetic entropy change, -ΔS<sub>M</sub><sup>max</sup>, are about 1.4-1.6 Jkg/K for Ni-substituted ribbons at a maximum applied field of 30 kOe. On the other hand, the relatively broader temperature range at the half maximum of ΔS<sub>M</sub> peak (~ 90 K), low-cost and nontoxic elements make Fe-Ni-Mn-Ga-based ribbons the promising candidates for magnetic refrigeration applications close to room temperature.