Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is Globalization Driving Efficiency? A Threshold Stochastic Frontier Panel Data Modeling Approach

Recently, Mastromarco, Serlenga and Shin (2010) propose a two-step approach to examine dynamic transmission mechanism under which globalization factors fos- ter technology efficiency. In this paper, we extend the MSS model by combining panel threshold regression technique advanced by Hansen (1999). This threshold stochastic frontier panel data model enables us to analyze regime-specific stochas- tic frontiers and complex time-varying patterns of technical efficiencies in a robust manner. Using a dataset of 44 countries over 1970-2007, we find that income elas- ticities of labour and capital and time-varying common efficiencies are substantially different under superior and inferior frontiers. Capital and labour inputs are more productive under superior frontier. More importantly, common efficiencies have steadily increased under superior frontier, but technical efficiency has monotoni- cally decreased for low income countries, supporting the so-called club convergence hypothesis. Furthermore, the VAR-based impulse response analyses suggest that openness factors through FDI and trade help the countries improve production technology and efficiency position relative to the frontier only after the country has reached a certain level of development.
Asymmetrical Information in Securities Markets and Trading Volume

Unequal costs of obtaining and processing information may lead to trading of securities and wealth redistributions among investors. Those investors with easy access to information about a firm may be able to profit from prior knowledge of the information before public release. Public policy making bodies such as the SEC have attempted to alleviate this phenomenon by promoting public disclosure of information through litigation and regulation of the trading activities of insiders. Whether these procedures have been successful in curtailing trading due to privileged information is still open to debate. Academicians have also been concerned with resolving the existence of asymmetrically distributed information and “efficient markets. ” In spite of the social and academic importance of this phenomenon, there has been little empirical work in this area. This is primarily due to a lack of a testable theoretical framework explaining investor behavior in securities markets with asymmetric information distribution. The ensuing paper provides a tentative testable theory on trading in markets with asymmetrically distributed information as well as an empirical investigation of this theory.
ICT possession among Congolese SMEs: an exploratory study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possession of information and communication technologies (ICTs) among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the developing economy of the Democratic Republic (DR) of the Congo. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of Congolese SMEs in two major cities was conducted. Findings – The results of the study demonstrate that nearly 51 percent of SMEs in the sample reported a cell phone number, making this tool the most popular among SMEs studied. In total, 31 percent of SMEs reported an e-mail address while only 3 percent of them reported having a firm web site. Far <1 percent reported a fax number, while none of the SMEs in the sample used a fixed telephone line. The telecommunications sector demonstrated the highest rate of ICT usage. The findings give consistency to what the body of research has concluded relative to the use of mobile telephone by SMEs in developing economies. Originality/value – This study fills a gap in the research into IC.
Triheptanoin for the treatment of brain energy deficit: A 14‐year experience

Triheptanoin is an odd‐chain triglyceride with anaplerotic properties—that is, replenishing the pool of metabolic intermediates in the Krebs cycle. Unlike even‐chain fatty acids metabolized to acetyl‐CoA only, triheptanoin can indeed provide both acetyl‐CoA and propionyl‐CoA, two key carbon sources for the Krebs cycle. Triheptanoin was initially used in patients with long‐chain fatty acid oxidation disorders. The first demonstration of the possible benefit of triheptanoin for brain energy deficit came from a patient with pyruvate carboxylase deficiency, a severe metabolic disease that affects anaplerosis in the brain. In an open‐label study, triheptanoin was then shown to decrease nonepileptic paroxysmal manifestations by 90% in patients with glucose transporter 1 deficiency syndrome, a disease that affects glucose transport into the brain. 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies also indicated that triheptanoin was able to correct bioenergetics in the brain of patients with Huntington disease, a neurodegenerative disease associated with brain energy deficit. Altogether, these studies indicate that triheptanoin can be a treatment for brain energy deficit related to altered anaplerosis and/or glucose metabolism. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Reacting to the demands of service work: emotional resistance in the Coaching Inn Company

This paper discusses employee resistance to the emotional labour of face-to-face service work. It identifies a difficulty with the extension of the concept of resistance from the more traditional manufacturing industries to service work, asking how far apparently resistant behaviours can sensibly be conceptualised as a challenge to management control of the labour process. This difficulty is explored through a discussion of data drawn from ethnographic research into a chain of public houses. Various forms of resistant behaviour are identified, although the precise nature of this resistance is often blurred by the complex relations between employee, management and customer.
Household food waste: the implications of consumer choice in food from purchase to disposal

Food and food-related waste is a high priority in terms of waste minimisation in New Zealand. Over the summer of 2012–2013, a survey of 147 participants was conducted on a range of views and practices related to environmental challenges and understandings. The survey, undertaken in Palmerston North, New Zealand, captured a wide socio-demographic. This article focuses on respondents’ food practices from purchase, to plate, to disposal and the environmental implications of these practices. The survey data have allowed an enriched understanding of both individual and structural level challenges as well as incentives towards improving environmental practices in relation to household food waste minimisation. The results indicated that, in keeping with other research in this area, food waste increases according to the number of individuals in a household, and in particular the number of younger people. Also, while the majority of participants were at least “somewhat concerned” about their households’ environmental impact, over three quarters of participant households put food waste into their rubbish bin. Some solutions and directions to further progress research, policy, and practice in this area are offered, and include the need for more direct and personalised communication regarding waste minimisation, along with the provision of kerbside food waste collections. It is clear that individual- or household-level changes are important and must be supported systemically by both local body and state level legislation and initiatives, if there is to be any substantial decline in food waste going to landfill.
Botulinum Toxin Type A on Oral Health in Treating Sialorrhea in Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

Intrasalivary gland injection of botulinum toxin type A is known to treat sialorrhea effectively in children with cerebral palsy. However, oral health may be compromised with escalating dose. In this randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled pilot trial, the authors aim to determine the therapeutic effect of low-dose, ultrasonography-controlled botulinum toxin type A injection to bilateral parotid and submandibular glands on oral health in the management of sialorrhea. Twenty children diagnosed with cerebral palsy were randomly assigned to 2 groups. The treatment group received botulinum toxin type A injections, whereas the control received normal saline in the same locations. The authors evaluated subjective drooling scales, salivary flow rate, and oral health (salivary compositions and cariogenic bacterial counts). A significant decrease was found in salivary flow rate at the 1- and 3-month follow-up in the botulinum toxin—treated group. The authors suggest that current protocol can effectively manage sialorrhea while maintaining oral health.
College Adjustment as a Mediator Between Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms and Work Self-Efficacy

Studies have addressed features of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in higher education, but the potential relationships between ADHD symptoms, dimensions of college adjustment and students' work self-efficacy remain scarcely explored. The aim of this study was to test a theoretical model in which the dimensions of college adjustment mediate the relationship between ADHD symptoms and work self-efficacy. Participants were 509 college students from two Brazilian public universities. Data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed using a path analysis model. The ADHD symptoms affected work self-efficacy exclusively through college adjustment problems. Improving students' well-being, social support networks, study habits, and feelings regarding their majors and the university may reduce the potential disadvantages in work self-efficacy caused by ADHD symptoms.
Association of polymorphisms in angiotensin-converting enzyme gene with gestational diabetes mellitus in Indian women

Background: Numerous genes have been reported in relation with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but the findings were not consistently replicated across populations, or there have been no detailed studies on them. Previous literatures suggested that, out of all angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphisms, only ACE insertion/deletion (I/D) gene polymorphism has a strong association with GDM in Asian Indian women. Aim: This study was devoted to evaluate the association of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) ACE A240T, C1237T, G2350A and I/D with GDM and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: This study recruited 105 GDM cases, 119 Type 2 diabetes mellitus subjects and 120 controls. PCR-RFLP was used for identifying genotypes of ACE A240T, C1237T and G2350A and PCR was performed in the case of ACE I/D. Results: Significant associations of ACE SNP′s, C1237T, and G2350A with GDM were observed. Haplotype analysis revealed the remarkably significant evidence of association with SNP combination ACE A240T, C1237T, G2350A, and I/D with GDM patients (P = 0.024). Individuals possessing haplotype "TTAI" (frequency 30% in GDM and 0 in controls) derived from these SNPs had 185 fold increased risk of developing GDM (95% of confidence interval: 11.13-3102.15), which was highest when compared with other 15 haplotypes. Conclusion: Shorter-range haplotypes were also significant, but the only consistently associated alleles were found to be in ACE C1237T, G2350A, and I/D. These results suggested that the variant in close proximity to ACE C1237T, G2350A and/or I/D modulates susceptibility to GDM and noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus in Indian women.
Efficiency and Internal Organization: Works Councils in West German Firms

Efficiency-voice theory has not explained why highly competent managers cannot maintain effective communication without formal or mandatory institutions of l abor's voice. Powerful West German works councils are negatively rela ted to productivity in the sample, suggesting that the best managers can do better without councils. However, excessive pressure on worker s should encourage both unionization and councils to gain compensatin g differentials, and the simultaneous WLS-Tobit estimates also suppor t this effect. General productivity benefits from formal voice organi zation are strongly rejected, but evaluating welfare, efficiency, and causality directly requires data on job satisfaction and managerial ability. Copyright 1987 by The Review of Economic Studies Limited.
Pressure probe technique for measuring water relations of cells in higher plants.

A new method is described for continuously measuring cell turgor pressure (P), hydraulic conductivity (L(p)), and volumetric elastic modulus (epsilon) in higher plant cells, using a pressure probe. This technique permits volume changes, DeltaV, and turgor pressure changes, DeltaP, to be determined with an accuracy of 10(-5) to 10(-6) mul and 3 to 5.10(-2) bar, respectively.The main principle of the new method is the same as the pressure probe developed by Zimmermann and Steudle in which pressure is transmitted to a pressure transducer by means of an oil-filled capillary introduced into the cell. In order to use the pressure probe for small tissue cells, the effective compressible volume of the apparatus has to be sufficiently small in comparison to the volume of the cell itself. This is achieved by accurately fixing the oil/cell sap boundary in the very tip of the microcapillary by means of an electronic feedback mechanism, so that the effective volume of the apparatus is reduced to about 2 to 10% of the cell volume. In this way also, errors arising from compressibility of the apparatus and temperature fluctuations can be excluded.Measurements on tissues cells of Capsicum annuum fruits yield epsilon values of 2 to 25 bar. Furthermore, epsilon can be shown to be a function of both cell turgor pressure and cell volume; epsilon increases with increasing turgor pressure and is higher in larger cells.
Reaction of cysteamine with individual DNA base radicals in gamma-irradiated nucleotides at low temperature.

An ESR investigation of the individual DNA base radicals produced by gamma-irradiation of frozen solutions of the nucleotides TMP, dCMP, dGMP and dAMP and their reactions with cysteamine upon annealing is reported. The results show that water radicals in bulk ice do not lead to the formation of DNA or cysteamine radicals. Radicals from the oxidation pathway which include the DNA base one electron oxidized radicals and their successors, G(C8)OH. , A(C8)OH. and thymine dimers (.Tdi) and/or T(C6)OH; readily react with cysteamine to form RS. and ultimately RSSR-. Reactions of dGMP and dCMP radicals from the oxidation pathway with cysteamine occur at lower temperatures than those of dAMP and TMP, suggesting hole migration. Both T(C6)H. and C(N3)H. react with cysteamine to form RS. and diamagnetic products, but G(C8)H. and A(C8)H. do not. Subtraction of the anion radical T-. and its proton adduct T(C6)H. from the total radical yield of TMP (with or without cysteamine) suggests that somewhat less than half of the total TMP radicals found are a result of the oxidative pathway. Similar results are found in the other nucleotides. The total spectral intensity derived from the radicals from the oxidative pathway such as G(C8)OH. , A(C8)OH. and . Tdi/T(C6)OH. are somewhat less than that for the protonated anion radicals. Only one non-base radical is identified, a sugar radical at the C(1)' site on the deoxyribose portion of dAMP. This species, S(A). , is also found to react with cysteamine or its disulfide radical anion. Analyses performed in the presence and absence of a thiol are found to allow for a clear separation of oxidative and reductive pathways.
Ensemble Monte Carlo Simulation of a Pseudomorpihc HEMT Structure

The paper presents an analysis of a pseudomorphic HEMT structure through an ensemble Monte Carlo simulation. The effect of velocity overshoot and real-space transfer on the device performance is investigated. The electron drift velocity drops due to the intervalley transfer in the bulk InGaAs, and real-space transfer into the surrounding lower mobility GaAs and AlGaAs layers. Depending on the gate bias, the velocity near the drain is limited by either k-space or real-space transfer. At low gate bias real-space transfer occurs, while at high gate bias intervalley transfer within the bulk InGaAs limits the carrier speeds.
Macroeconomic Environment and Credit Risk (in English)

The importance of credit-risk models has increased with the introduction of the New Basel Capital Accord (Basel II). This paper follows Merton´s approach to structural analysis, toward default-rate modeling. A latent-factor model is introduced within this framework. Estimation of this model can help further our understanding of the relationship between credit risk and macroeconomic indicators. The results have been used for stress testing the Czech banking sector.
The Role of Motivation in Cognitive Reappraisal for Depressed Patients

Background: People engage in emotion regulation in service of motive goals (typically, to approach a desired emotional goal or avoid an undesired emotional goal). However, how motives (goals) in emotion regulation operate to shape the regulation of emotion is rarely known. Furthermore, the modulatory role of motivation in the impaired reappraisal capacity and neural abnormalities typical of depressed patients is not clear. Our hypothesis was that (1) approach and avoidance motivation may modulate emotion regulation and the underlying neural substrates; (2) approach/avoidance motivation may modulate emotion regulation neural abnormalities in depressed patients. Methods: Twelve drug-free depressed patients and fifteen matched healthy controls reappraised emotional pictures with approach/avoidant strategies and self-rated their emotional intensities during fMRI scans. Approach/avoidance motivation was measured using Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) Scale. We conducted whole-brain analyses and correlation analyses of regions of interest to identify alterations in regulatory prefrontal-amygdala circuits which were modulated by motivation. Results: Depressed patients had a higher level of BIS and lower levels of BAS-reward responsiveness and BAS-drive. BIS scores were positively correlated with depressive severity. We found the main effect of motivation as well as the interactive effect of motivation and group on the neural correlates of emotion regulation. Specifically, hypoactivation of IFG underlying the group differences in the motivation-related neural correlates during reappraisal may be partially explained by the interaction between group and reappraisal. Consistent with our prediction, dlPFC and vmPFC was differentially between groups which were modulated by motivation. Specifically, the avoidance motivation of depressed patients could predict the right dlPFC activation during decreasing positive emotion, while the approach motivation of normal individuals could predict the right vmPFC activation during decreasing negative emotion. Notably, striatal regions were observed when examining the neural substrates underlying the main effect of motivation (lentiform nucleus) and the interactive effect between motivation and group (midbrain). Conclusions: Our findings highlight the modulatory role of approach and avoidance motivation in cognitive reappraisal, which is dysfunctional in depressed patients. The results could enlighten the CBT directed at modifying the motivation deficits in cognitive regulation of emotion.
Active Currency Investing and PerformanceBenchmarks

No established benchmarks currently exist for evaluating a currency manager’s performance. Some analysts have suggested that known investing styles, such as momentum, purchasing power parity, and carry, can serve as bench-marks, but this approach has several challenges. First, there is no market portfolio. Second, there are many alternative generic factor constructions. Third, different constructions of the same factor may have low correlations. Fourth, the three factors may not provide diversification, and lastly there is no buy-and-hold in the foreign exchange market. An evaluation by Melvin and Shand indicates that professional currency managers’ returns are often generated independently from the generic style factors. Skill in timing is what investors should pay for and some managers demonstrate superior skill in timing the factors. Managers are also skilled at minimizing drawdowns relative to the generic factors. The authors conclude that the use of generic style factors may be a worst-case scenario instead of returns to which a foreign exchange investor may aspire.
Workplace innovation in a nonprofit organization

We examine the relationships among leadership, organizational climate, and workplace innovation in a nonprofit organization. We used established scales including the Transformational Leadership Scale, Organizational Climate Questionnaire, and Workplace Innovation Scale, and then descriptive statistics, regression models, and regression-based path analysis to fulfill the objectives of the study. The survey was administered to fulltime and part-time employees in a religious-based nonprofit organization in Australia. A major finding is that leadership directly promotes workplace innovation and can foster a healthy climate, while the partial effect of organizational climate on workplace innovation, holding leadership constant, was insignificant. Certain characteristics of transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and organizational climate were predictive of workplace innovation as defined. The benefit of this study resides in its potential to look further into predictive leadership characteristics that would assist with recruitment processes in nonprofit organizations.
AEGIS20: A Radio Survey of the Extended Groth Strip

We describe AEGIS20—a radio survey of the Extended Groth Strip (EGS) conducted with the Very Large Array (VLA) at 1.4 GHz. The resulting catalog contains 1123 emitters and is sensitive to ultraluminous (1012 L☉) starbursts to z ≤ 1.3, well matched to the redshift range of the DEEP2 spectroscopic survey in this region. We use stacking techniques to explore the microjansky-level emission from a variety of galaxy populations selected via conventional criteria—Lyman break galaxies (LBGs), distant red galaxies (DRGs), UV-selected galaxies, and extremely red objects (EROs)—determining their properties as a function of color, magnitude, and redshift and their extinction-free contributions to the history of star formation. We confirm the familiar pattern that the star formation rate (SFR) density, ρ⋆, increases by at least a factor of ~5 from z = 0 to 1, although we note highly discrepant UV- and radio-based SFR estimates. Our radio-based SFRs become more difficult to interpret at z > 1 where correcting for contamination by radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) comes at the price of rejecting luminous starbursts. While stacking radio images is a useful technique, accurate radio-based SFRs for z ≫ 1 galaxies require precise redshifts and extraordinarily high fidelity radio data to identify and remove accretion-related emission.
Towards a multiphysics simulation system for microwave power phenomena

Microwave power phenomena pose a great chellange to the computational electromagnetics specialists as accurate modelling of all the effects calls for employing a number of numerical tools that span several disciplines and are coupled together. In this paper, the authors present three hybrid multiphysics systems designed to solve coupled EM-thermal problem and compare simulation results with measurements. The described systems use as their building blocks EM and CFD tools popular in the market. The consequences of using two different numerical algorithms for EM and thermal part of calculations are also discussed.