Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optical properties of ZnSe.

We have studied the optical response of ZnSe in the 1.5\char21{}5.3-eV photon-energy range at room temperature by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The measured dielectric-function spectra reveal distinct structures at energies of the ${\mathit{E}}_{0}$, ${\mathit{E}}_{0}$+${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{0}$, ${\mathit{E}}_{1}$, and ${\mathit{E}}_{1}$+${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{1}$ critical points (CP's). These data are analyzed on the basis of a simplified model of the interband transitions. The ${\mathit{E}}_{0}$-(${\mathit{E}}_{0}$+${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{0}$) structures are characterized by a three-dimensional ${\mathit{M}}_{0}$ CP, the ${\mathit{E}}_{1}$-(${\mathit{E}}_{1}$+${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{1}$) structures by a two-dimensional ${\mathit{M}}_{0}$ CP, and the ${\mathit{E}}_{2}$ structure by a classical Lorentzian oscillator (damped harmonic oscillator). The experimental data could not be explained within the framework of the one-electron approximation, since excitonic effects may profoundly modify the CP singularity structure. The model is thus made to account for the excitonic effects at these CP's; our results are in satisfactory agreement with the experiment over the entire range of photon energies. Dielectric-function-related optical constants of ZnSe, such as the refractive index, the extinction coefficient, and the absorption coefficient, are also presented and analyzed.
Industry Information Diffusion and the Lead-Lag Effect in Stock Returns

I argue that the slow diffusion of industry information is a leading cause of the lead-lag effect in stock returns. I find that the lead-lag effect between big firms and small firms is predominantly an intra-industry phenomenon. Moreover, this effect is driven by sluggish adjustment to negative information, and is robust to alternative determinants of the lead-lag effect. Small, less competitive and neglected industries experience a more pronounced lead-lag effect. The lead-lag effect is related to the post-announcement drift of small firms following the earnings releases of big firms within the industry.
Selecting a hotel and determining salient quality attributes: a preliminary study of mature British travellers.

The paper presents the findings of a survey of 104 mature British travellers, who rated the importance of 38 hotel attributes when selecting a hotel or judging its quality, through a self-administered questionnaire distributed at local branch meetings of societies for mature people. Respondents had high expectations of hotel service quality. They were a discerning group, placing greater emphasis on value for money than on actual price or discounting alone. The findings highlighted the importance placed on service staff attitude and behaviour. Leisure facilities were found to be relatively unimportant, but certain mature-specific attributes pertaining to mobility limitations were found to be salient to an important proportion of respondents. Significant differences were identified according to gender, age and retirement status, indicating that the mature market is heterogeneous. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tax Evasion and the Demand for Currency in Norway and Sweden. Is There a Hidden Relationship

Variables associated with the level of hidden economic activity are examined in terms of their effects on the demand for currency in Norway and Sweden. Aggregate time series of marginal tax rates are compiled for this purpose. No such effects are evident for Norway, while in the case of Sweden the demand for currency was found to be significantly related to marginal tax rates. These estimates are then used as a basis for deriving an estimate of the size of the hidden economy in Sweden. An analysis of the assumptions underlying this procedure shows that the uncertainty involved in applying the currency approach to measuring the size of the hidden economy is so great as to make it hazardous to rely on such estimates.
The Changing Concept of Financial Risk

The recent rapid accumulation of anomalous empirical research results has made clear that the classical definition of financial risk based on asset classes only is ready for a epistemological change. Currently, the definition of financial risk suffers from three major deficiencies: (1) financial risk is insufficiently measured by the conventional second - order moments; (2) financial risk is assumed to be stable and all distribution moments are assumed to be time-invariant; and (3) pricing observations are assumed to exhibit only serial dependencies, which can be simply removed by simple inverse transformations, like the geometric Brownian motion, Markov, ARIMA, or (G)ARCH models. But (1) higher - order moments are acknowledged by experienced traders to be influential in asset and derivative valuations; (2) distributions of returns are observed to be nonstationary; and (3) difficult to observe long term dependencies have surprised many risk managers. Based on accumulated empirical evidence, a new funtional definition of financial risk that takes account of asset classes, time and time horizons is required to fully capture the concept as required in the empirical financial markets.
National Variation in the Use of Tracheostomy in Patients With Congenital Heart Disease*

Objectives: The postsurgical care of children with congenital heart disease may be complicated by the need for cardiorespiratory support, including tracheostomy. The variation of the use of tracheostomy across multiple pediatric cardiac surgical centers has not been defined. We describe multicenter variation in the use of tracheostomy in children undergoing congenital heart surgery. Design: We retrospectively analyzed a multicenter cohort. Setting: Pediatric Health Information Systems database retrospective cohort. Patients: Children less than 18 years who underwent both tracheostomy and cardiac surgery (1/04–6/14). Interventions: Univariate and multivariate statistics were performed, stratifying by high (≥ 75th percentile) and low (⩽ 25th percentile) tracheostomy volume and adjusting for patient characteristics in multivariate models. Measurements and Main Results: Out of 123,510 hospitalizations involving cardiac surgery, 1,292 tracheostomies (1.2%) were performed (46 hospitals). The rate of tracheostomy placement ranged from 0.3% to 2.5% with no difference in the rate of tracheostomy placement between high and low tracheostomy use centers (p = 0.8). The median time to tracheostomy was 63 days (interquartile range, 36–100), and there was no difference between high- and low-tracheostomy centers. High-tracheostomy centers had $420,000 lower hospital charges than low-volume centers (p = 0.03). Tracheostomy day greater than the median (63 d), Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery-1 score 6, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were significantly associated with adjusted increased odds of mortality. Later hospital day of tracheostomy was associated with a $13,000/d increase in total hospital charges (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Variation in the usage of tracheostomy in infants and children undergoing congenital heart surgery exists across the country. High-tracheostomy centers had lower hospital charges. Late tracheostomy placement, higher congenital heart disease surgical risk, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use are independent predictors of in-hospital mortality in this population.
Grain market deregulation: a case study of the Canadian and Australian wheat boards

The recent deregulation in Canada’s grain marketing sector with the resultant removal of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single-desk status presents a useful case for policy and institutional analysis. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the Canadian case using deregulation in Australia as a reference. Case studies of deregulation in the two countries are presented, and the different approaches are compared. This is to predict the likely trajectory along which the Canadian Wheat Board may evolve. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
What matters, matters differently: a conjoint analysis of the decision policies of angel and venture capital investors

Prior studies have examined the importance of economic, strategic, and human factors to decision policies of angel investors and venture capitalists. As more angels professionalize into angel funds and as markets for technologies and ideas become more competitive, it is becoming more important to compare their decision policies with those of venture capitalists. Drawing upon agency theory, we examine whether economic potential, specific human capital, strategic readiness, and passion matter differently to venture capitalists and angel investors. Our study is an experimental conjoint analysis of more than 2700 investment decisions nested within a mixed sample of venture capitalists and angel investors. We find that strategic readiness for funding and affective passion matter more to angel investors, while economic potential matters more to venture capitalists. We also find that both investor types place similar weights on the specific human capital of entrepreneurs. These findings support the agency view that differences in the investment decision policies of angel investors and venture capitalists can be explained by examining the agency costs, market risks, information asymmetry, and control mechanisms that are structured into angel and venture capital deals.
Does a college education cause better health and health behaviours?

In this article, we exploit the recent higher education expansion in China to apply a regression discontinuity method to identify the causal effects of higher education on health and health behaviours. We do not find causal effect of a college education on better smoking and drinking behaviours. For our selected measures of health, we do not find causal effect of a college education on better self-assessed health, less chance of having illness in the past 3 months and keeping normal body weight; however, we find that a college education could significantly reduce the probability of having hypertension.
Bounded Rationality and Institutional Change

The present paper adopts Simons bounded rationality theory in order to explain path dependence of regimes and institutions. Further, we will analyse in a theoretical model the conditions under which path dependence may be broken and new, more efficient institutions that promote growth may emerge. Lastly, we will apply our model to a historical case, the prototype democracy, ancient Athens during the 5th century B.C.
The Viral Ubiquitin Ligase ICP0 Is neither Sufficient nor Necessary for Degradation of the Cellular DNA Sensor IFI16 during Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Infection

ABSTRACT The cellular protein IFI16 colocalizes with the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) ubiquitin ligase ICP0 at early times of infection and is degraded as infection progresses. Here, we report that the factors governing the degradation of IFI16 and its colocalization with ICP0 are distinct from those of promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML), a well-characterized ICP0 substrate. Unlike PML, IFI16 colocalization with ICP0 was dependent on the ICP0 RING finger and did not occur when proteasome activity was inhibited. Expression of ICP0 in the absence of infection did not destabilize IFI16, the degradation occurred efficiently in the absence of ICP0 if infection was progressing efficiently, and IFI16 was relatively stable in wild-type (wt) HSV-1-infected U2OS cells. Therefore, IFI16 stability appears to be regulated by cellular factors in response to active HSV-1 infection rather than directly by ICP0. Because IFI16 is a DNA sensor that becomes associated with viral genomes during the early stages of infection, we investigated its role in the recruitment of PML nuclear body (PML NB) components to viral genomes. Recruitment of PML and hDaxx was less efficient in a proportion of IFI16-depleted cells, and this correlated with improved replication efficiency of ICP0-null mutant HSV-1. Because the absence of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) does not increase the plaque formation efficiency of ICP0-null mutant HSV-1, we speculate that IFI16 contributes to cell-mediated restriction of HSV-1 in a manner that is separable from its roles in IRF3-mediated interferon induction, but that may be linked to the PML NB response to viral infection.
Organizational learning and compensation strategies: Evidence from the Spanish chemical industry

This study explores the role of compensation strategies in promoting organizational learning capability. By analyzing a sample of 111 Spanish firms from the chemical industry, we highlight how compensation strategies can be used to influence employees' commitment to learning and shape their understanding of the overall purpose of the organization. We also show that inappropriate strategies can lead to short-term efficiencies but damage longer-term learning. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Differential Secondary School Effectiveness

This article reports the results of an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded study which focuses on the differential academic achievement of different groups of pupils. The paper describes the findings on the size and extent of school effects across 3 years (1990, 1991, 1992) for different groups of pupils (classified by gender, eligibility for free school means (FSM), ethnic group and by prior attain- ment). Pupils' overall General Certificate of Secondary Education performance and their performance in selected subjects (English, English literature, French, history, mathematics and science) have been analysed using multilevel modelling, employing a total sample of 94 inner London secondary schools. A 'value added' approach is adopted, controlling for selected student background measures of prior attainment (at secondary transfer), gender, age, ethnicity and low income to provide statistical controls for differences between schools in the characteristics of their intakes. Differential school and departmental effects were identified for all pupil groups examined. However, the strongest evidence of differential effects was found for groups classified by prior attainment and ethnicity. Overall, the findings indicate that schools that appear to be more or less effective for a particular group of pupils, such as non-FSM pupils, are likely to be more or less effective for all pupils. However, in some schools, substantial differences between groups were identified. The implications of these findings for the debate about the publication, presentation and interpretation of schools' examination results and the extent to which the overall concepts of 'effective' or 'ineffective' schools can be applied, are discussed.
The Importance of Normalization References in Interpreting Life Cycle Assessment Results

A normalization step is widely exercised in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies in order to better understand the relative significance of impact category results. In the normalization stage, normalization references (NRs) are the characterized results of a reference system, typically a national or regional economy. Normalization is widely practiced in LCA‐based decision support and policy analysis (e.g., LCA cases in municipal solid waste treatment technologies, renewable energy technologies, and environmentally preferable purchasing programs, etc.). The compilation of NRs demands significant effort and time as well as an intimate knowledge of data availability and quality. Consequently only one set of published NRs is available for the United States, and has been adopted by various studies. In this study, the completeness of the previous NRs was evaluated and significant data gaps were identified. One of the reasons for the significant data gaps was that the toxic release inventory (TRI) data significantly underestimate the potential impact of toxic releases for some sectors. Also the previous NRs did not consider the soil emissions and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) runoffs to water and chemical emissions to soils. Filling in these data gaps increased the magnitude of NRs for “human health cancer,” “human health noncancer,” “ecotoxicity,” and “eutrophication” significantly. Such significant changes can alter or even reverse the outcome of an LCA study. We applied the previous and updated NRs to conventional gasoline and corn ethanol LCAs. The results demonstrate that NRs play a decisive role in the interpretation of LCA results that use a normalization step.
Herding and timing abilities: are both possible?

We examine the existence of herding by institutional investors, analysing whether herding measures are affected in a mixed scenario, where certain skilled managers can develop timing abilities, and others herd. Studying a sample of Spanish pension funds investing in European equities from 2002 to 2013, this paper contributes to the financial literature by considering the possible influence of a range of timing abilities in herding. The results show the existence of certain timing abilities and herding, being the herding phenomenon more evident at the beginning of the current crisis and after the financial restructuring process experienced in Spain since 2010. Nonetheless, the market equilibrium is not affected in the long term. Our results also display that herding measures vary when taking into account timing abilities, so traditional herding measures do not fully capture the existence of mixed scenarios.
Mega-events and host-region impacts: Determining the true worth of the 1999 Rugby World Cup

An increasing interest in the impact of sporting mega-events on host regions has sparked discussion on the most appropriate approaches in determining both benefits and costs. The paper defines the nature of the impact on Wales of the 1999 Rugby World Cup (RWC99), both economic and social, and qualitatively assesses the extent and nature of the impact of RWC99 in a number of areas. It concludes that there were considerable benefits for the region, although many areas of potential benefit were not maximised. This was due in large part to the structure of the bidding process and organisational inadequacies, which in turn led to relatively low spectator spend and mixed press coverage.
Understanding the dynamics of Ebola epidemics

SUMMARY Ebola is a highly lethal virus, which has caused at least 14 confirmed outbreaks in Africa between 1976 and 2006. Using data from two epidemics [in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1995 and in Uganda in 2000], we built a mathematical model for the spread of Ebola haemorrhagic fever epidemics taking into account transmission in different epidemiological settings. We estimated the basic reproduction number (R0) to be 2·7 (95% CI 1·9–2·8) for the 1995 epidemic in DRC, and 2·7 (95% CI 2·5–4·1) for the 2000 epidemic in Uganda. For each epidemic, we quantified transmission in different settings (illness in the community, hospitalization, and traditional burial) and simulated various epidemic scenarios to explore the impact of control interventions on a potential epidemic. A key parameter was the rapid institution of control measures. For both epidemic profiles identified, increasing hospitalization rate reduced the predicted epidemic size.
World aspects of the epidemiology of rubella.

IN SPITE of the interest since 1941 in rubella as being one of the causes of congenital defects, it has not yet been recognized as a clinical or epidemiological entity in many countries in Africa, South and Central America, and Asia; and in a paper published in 1968 from a country in Europe it is stated that "we still ignore the possible role of rubella virus as a cause of congenital malformations in our country. " Compared with, for example, a disease such as measles, it is not therefore surprising that there are few publications on the general epidemiology of rubella. Some do exist, and the number is increasing,1-7 but the papers often deal with limited areas of a single country or with special groups and do not in general lend themselves to international comparison and contrast. There are however, two aspects of the epidemiology of rubella in which such
Random Matrix Theory Based Resource Allocation in Correlated MIMO Systems with ARQ Feedback

We consider resource allocation under partial feedback in a spatially correlated MIMO link, when the ARQ protocol is implemented at the MAC layer. We propose a design framework, which makes use of results from random matrix theory (RMT), to find the rate as well as the input covariance matrix that maximize the long term goodput. We consider partial feedback in terms of positive/negative acknowledgment bits (ACK/NAK), which comes essentially for free since they are always present in the signaling of the upper layers. We provide explicit expressions of the long term goodput, which, in association with a RMT based approximation of the mutual information enable us to optimize the resource allocation problem. Interestingly, the simulations show that the asymptotic optimization analysis is still valid for MIMO sizes as small as 2×2.
The Role of Sunk Costs in the Decision to Invest in R&D

We present a dynamic empirical model of a firm's R&D decisions that is consistent with the existence of sunk R&D costs, taking into account that these costs may differ between small and large firms, and among different technological regimes. We estimate a multivariate dynamic discrete choice model using firm-level data of Spanish manufacturing for 1990–2000. Conditional on firm heterogeneity and serially correlated unobservable factors, we find that R&D history matters. This true state dependence allows inferring the existence of sunk R&D costs associated with performing R&D. Sunk R&D costs are found to be higher for large, high-tech firms.
Cytodifferentiation and clinical outcome after chemotherapy and radiation therapy for rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS).

BACKGROUND Second-look surgery after therapy for rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) may yield prognostic information regarding tumor responsiveness to treatment. Favorable outcome is suggested by tumor cells which have undergone maturation (cytodifferentiation). PROCEDURE Specimens from patients treated on Intergroup RMS Study-IV (IRSG-IV) were studied before and after treatment. All patients received chemotherapy and most received radiation therapy. Post-treatment specimens were graded according to the quantity of tumor showing cytodifferentiation (0 = absent, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = extensive). Proliferative activity by MIB-1, topoisomerase II-alpha, and p53 protein expression were measured. RESULTS 19/31 cases from IRSG-IV were adequate for analysis. Six out of nineteen patients failed therapy within 1.3 years of treatment. Grade 3 cytodifferentiation was present in 10 cases (2 BRMS, 8 ERMS); none failed therapy. Grade 2 cytodifferentiation was present in 5 cases (1 ERMS, 2BRMS, 2ARMS); 2 patients with ARMS failed therapy. Grade 0-1 cytodifferentiation was present in 4 cases (1 ERMS and 3 ARMS); all failed therapy. Proliferative activity by MIB-1 and topoisomerase II-alpha immunohistochemistry decreased or was unchanged after treatment for all ERMS/BRMS, and 4/5 cases of ARMS. p53 immunohistochemistry showed no consistent pattern of reactivity. Sparse persistent tumor cells were present in 9/10 ERMS, 3/4 BRMS, 5/5 ARMS. CONCLUSIONS Extensive cytodifferentiation is more commonly seen in ERMS/BRMS compared with less evidence for cytodifferentiation in ARMS suggesting fundamentally different mechanisms of cellular response to therapy in RMS. Sparse persistent tumor cells in post treatment ERMS/BRMS specimens does not appear to affect outcome.