Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interferon beta preparations for the treatment of multiple sclerosis patients differ in neutralizing antibody seroprevalence and immunogenicity

Development of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) reduces the clinical efficacy of interferon beta (IFNβ) treatment in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate NAb seroprevalence (frequency of patients with NAbs) and immunogenicity (titer levels) of IFNβ preparations in a clinical setting. We analysed 1115 consecutive MS patients, treated with one of the three available IFNβ preparations, for an average of 40 months (1 – 120 months), for the presence of NAbs with the MxA protein induction assay. Overall, 32% of patients were positive for NAbs with neutralizing titers above 10. The frequency of NAbs, ie, the seroprevalence, was 13% in Avonex-treated patients, 43% for Betaferon, 39% for Rebif22 and 30% for Rebif44. In addition, the potential to induce high titer levels, ie, the immunogenicity, was observed to differ between preparations. Avonex, showing the lowest seroprevalence, also showed low immunogenicity and typically induced low titers. Betaferon, showing the highest seroprevalence when inducing NAbs, induced lower titers compared to Rebif22 and Rebif44. Treatment duration over five years only marginally correlated with decreased seroprevalence and titer levels. In conclusion, NAbs to IFNβ are common in a clinical setting and the IFNβ preparations differ not only in NAb seroprevalence, but also in immunogenicity. Multiple Sclerosis 2007; 13: 208–214. http://msj.sagepub. com
Interpolation of recurrence and hashing entanglement distillation protocols

We construct interesting entanglement distillation protocols by interpolating between the recurrence and hashing protocols. This leads to asymptotic two-way distillation protocols, resulting in an improvement of the distillation rate for all mixed Bell diagonal entangled states, even for the ones with very high fidelity. We also present a method for how entanglement-assisted distillation protocol can be converted into nonentanglement-assisted protocols with the same yield.
Demand‐Threshold Estimation for Business Activities in Rural Saskatchewan

Historically, a common technique used to assess a community's ability to support various business activities has been demand-threshold estimation. The concept of a demand threshold has been applied at the community level by estimating a relationship between community population and the number of establishments of a particular kind in the community. The approach taken in this research incorporates a spatial dimension (community urban proximity) in addition to community population to estimate demand thresholds. Using a count data technique, demand thresholds are estimated for 27 different business activities found in 584 rural Saskatchewan communities in 1990. Both population and urban proximity are found to be important explanatory variables.
Do Dividends Matter More in Declining Markets?

We find dividends do matter to shareholders, but more in declining markets than advancing ones. Dividend-paying stocks outperform non-dividend-paying stocks by 1 to 2% more per month in declining markets than in advancing markets. These results are economically and statistically significant and robust to many risk adjustments and across industries. In addition, we find an asymmetric response to dividend changes based on market conditions: dividend increases matter more in declining markets than advancing ones. Tests indicate that results are not due to more profitable firms and appear not to be caused either by free cash flow or signaling explanations. We also find that it is the existence of dividends, and not the dividend yield, that drives returns' asymmetric behavior relative to market movements.
Purposes, Activities, and Documentation of Early Field Experience in Agricultural Teacher Education: A National Delphi Study.

The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify the purpose, expected outcomes, and methods of documenting preservice teacher early field experience (EFE) activities in agricultural teacher education programs. A Delphi technique was used to electronically collect data via email and SurveyMonkey®. An expert panel was established and after three rounds of questioning, the panel identified 16 purpose statements, 14 activities and 9 methods of documenting EFE. The findings of this study, as established by a panel of experts who reached consensus, indicated that EFE should be documented via a combination of journaling and portfolio development. The verification of these documents should be completed by the cooperating teacher and through university assessments. Documentation of an EFE experience can be accomplished through journaling, cooperating teacher signature, reflective paper or a review of collective documents. The results of this study can be used to modify and improve EFE by clarifying the purpose, activities and ways of documented activities in agricultural teacher education programs. This study will aid the profession in providing a more congruent EFE experience for preservice teachers.
Analysis of the sustainability reporting initiatives of electric utilities in Brazil

In an effort to attend to the growing concern about the social and environmental impact of organizational activities, several companies have begun to publish corporate sustainability reports. Brazilian power sector, following a worldwide trend, has the great majority of its companies using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework as a model for sustainability reporting. A different model of Corporate Social Report is also required, by law, by the Brazilian National Agency of Electric Energy (ANEEL). In this context, the objective of this paper was to assess how Brazilian electricity utilities are using GRI guidelines and the effect of legislation on the content of this report. For this, an exploratory and comparative study was carried out on the sustainability reports of 12 electric utilities. The indicators used and the content of the 2010 reports were analyzed and compared, in order to verify the presence of a pattern in which the distributors use the guidelines and its indicators. The first findings show that the adopted sustainability concept, the adequacy to the GRI principles, the choice of indicators and the quality of the information reported are quite variable among different companies. The influence of ANEEL on the content of GRI report became quite clear. It is possible to conclude that GRI model is not, in a general way, well used by Brazilian electricity companies, showing there is much to be done to advance sustainability reporting in this sector, especially in relation to transparency and quality of the reports.
Power consumption analysis of a wireless 1K-pixel visual sensor node: to compress or not?

The applicability of wireless sensor networks is usually limited by the lifetime of sensor nodes having a restricted energy supply. In case of visual sensors, the amount of collected data increases significantly, resulting in a high power consumption by the transmitter. Efficient video compression algorithms reduce the amount of data which has to be sent. On the other hand, video codecs are known to be computationally demanding. It is unclear whether or not spending more power on compression and less on transmission increases battery lifetime, especially if processing is performed on a general-purpose reprogrammable microcontroller. This paper presents the power profile of a very low-resolution wireless visual sensor node. The node executing a predictive video coding engine is compared against the system transmitting raw data. Both setups are examined while capturing static and dynamic video content in strictly controlled environment conditions. Experimental results prove that video compression executed on the microcontroller prior to the wireless transmission reduces the power consumption of the sensor mote.
Folate and vitamin B12 status of women of reproductive age living in Hanoi City and Hai Duong Province of Vietnam

Abstract Objectives To assess the folate and vitamin B12 status of a group of Vietnamese women of reproductive age and to estimate the rate of neural tube defects (NTD) based on red blood cell (RBC) folate concentrations. Design and subjects A representative sample of non-pregnant women (15–49 years) living in Hanoi City (n 244) and Hai Duong Province (n 245). Measures RBC folate, plasma vitamin B12 and plasma holo-transcobalamin (holoTC), a sensitive indicator of vitamin B12 status. Results Mean (95 % CI) concentrations of RBC folate, plasma B12 and plasma holoTC were 856 (837, 876) nmol/l, 494 (475, 513) pmol/l and 78 (74, 82) pmol/l, respectively. Only 3 % and 4 % of women had plasma B12 and holoTC concentrations indicative of deficiency. No woman had an RBC folate concentration indicative of deficiency (<317 nmol/l). Only 47 % of women had an RBC folate concentration ≥905 nmol/l. Accordingly, we predict the NTD rate in these regions of Vietnam to be 14·7 (14·2, 15·1) per 10 000 pregnancies. Conclusion There was no evidence of folate and vitamin B12 deficiency among this population of Vietnamese women. However, suboptimal folate status may be placing three out of five women at increased risk of NTD. Reductions in NTD rates are still possible and women would benefit from additional folic acid during the periconceptional period from either supplements or fortified foods.
Evaluating linear approximations in a two-country model with occasionally binding borrowing constraints

Abstract Under a linear approximation, a standard two-country business cycles model with incomplete markets delivers consumption and debt dynamics that are non-stationary (unit root) and a bond price that is independent of the wealth distribution. We argue that these two features are due to the local nature of the approximation and we show that they survive even when second or third order local approximations are used. However, these features disappear when debt limits and the associated precautionary motives are taken into account by a standard, global solution method. We subsequently investigate whether this qualitative difference has significant quantitative implications regarding the linear solution as an approximation to the model’s equilibrium dynamics. Policy function differences between the local and global solutions can be large and remain significant even in the case of debt limits as loose as the natural debt limit. These differences can lead to significant discrepancies in implied simulated second moments. In a benchmark calibration, the cross-country correlation of consumption is 0.61 under linearization, but only 0.38 when a policy iteration algorithm is used.
Predicted and Measured Speech Recognition Performance in Noise with Linear Amplification

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the applicability of the Speech Intelligibility Inde- (SII) in hearing aid fitting. It was hypothesized that estimated speech intelligibility, based on the SII, could be a more reliable measure than real speech recognition results for comparing hearing aid characteristics. Design The test subjects were 29 elderly persons (66 to 80 yr) with mild-to-moderate hearing loss, who were using monaurally fitted linear hearing aids. They were selected from the files at Sahlgrenska hearing clinic. Speech recognition scores were obtained at fi-ed speech-to-noise ratios with Phonemically Balanced (PB) words in speech-weighted noise and in low-frequency noise. A Just-Follow-Conversation (JFC) test was performed with connected speech presented in the same background noises. The subjects were tested without hearing aid and with their hearing aids set at three different frequency responses. Predicted speech recognition scores were calculated for each condition based on the SII, complemented with a correction for sensorineural hearing impairment. The calculations involved speech and noise spectra, pure tone thresholds and insertion gain responses. Results For each condition, the measured speech recognition scores were, on average, well predicted by the calculated scores. The intra-individual standard deviation of the predicted scores was estimated to be about one percent unit. The group results of the JFC test were in agreement with the word recognition results for the aided conditions, but a floor effect was observed for the unaided conditions. Conclusions Speech intelligibility prediction based on the modified SII is a valid estimate of speech recognition performance of hearing-impaired persons with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Estimated intelligibility based on the SII is more reliable than actually measured speech recognition performance, for comparing amplification conditions within subjects.
Modulation of interhemispheric interactions across symmetric and asymmetric bimanual force regulations

The corpus callosum is essential for neural communication between the left and right hemispheres. Although spatiotemporal coordination of bimanual movements is mediated by the activity of the transcallosal circuit, it remains to be addressed how transcallosal neural activity is involved in the dynamic control of bimanual force execution in human. To address this issue, we investigated transcallosal inhibition (TCI) elicited by single‐pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in association with the coordination condition of bimanual force regulation. During a visually‐guided bimanual force tracking task, both thumbs were abducted either in‐phase (symmetric condition) or 180° out‐of‐phase (asymmetric condition). TMS was applied to the left primary motor cortex to elicit the disturbance of ipsilateral left force tracking due to TCI. The tracking accuracy was equivalent between the two conditions, but the synchrony of the left and right tracking trajectories was higher in the symmetric condition than in the asymmetric condition. The magnitude of force disturbance and TCI were larger during the symmetric condition than during the asymmetric condition. Right unimanual force tracking influenced neither the force disturbance nor TCI during tonic left thumb abduction. Additionally, these TMS‐induced ipsilateral motor disturbances only appeared when the TMS intensity was strong enough to excite the transcallosal circuit, irrespective of whether the crossed corticospinal tract was activated. These findings support the hypotheses that interhemispheric interactions between the motor cortices play an important role in modulating bimanual force coordination tasks, and that TCI is finely tuned depending on the coordination condition of bimanual force regulation.
What explains the differences in income and labour utilisation and drives labour and economic growth in Europe? A GDP accounting perspective

The paper decomposes GDP both in terms of level per capita and growth rate, so as to identify the sources of income differences and of economic growth for all EU27 member states. This accounting approach has multiple advantages, although a number of substantial caveats should be borne in mind when interpreting the results. In particular, the detailed accounting approach helps distinguish exogenous from policy-influenced growth drivers. The combination of lower per-hour productivity and lower labour utilisation is the cause of relatively low per capita GDP in euro area and EU15 countries, while weak productivity remains the main concern in the new member states. GDP growth rate has been broken down into 12 items, including an indicator of labour quality, based upon the composition of employment by educational attainment.
Does Income Inequality Derive the Separatist Terrorism in Turkey?

Separatist terrorism has been a severe problem for Turkey since the mid-1980s. The conventional wisdom contends that economic deprivation in southeastern Turkey is the fundamental reason for the long-running battle against the Kurdish rebels. Considering that there is limited empirical literature on the roots of terrorism in Turkey, yielding conflicting results about the claim that the main cause of terrorism is deprived economic conditions, this study aims to answer whether there is a causal relationship between income inequality and separatist terrorism in Turkey. To this end, the Global Terrorism Data Base for the period of 1973–2006, two Theil indices of pay inequality as proxy for income inequality, and the vector autoregression and Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA) methods are utilized. The results support the early findings that income inequality, a particular focus in this paper and an essential indicator of economic deprivation, is not a main cause of escalation of separatist terrorism in Turkey.
Saturable sinusoidal uptake is rate-determining process in hepatic elimination of docetaxel in rats

Identifying kinetic determinants of hepatic elimination of drugs would be crucial for better understanding its pharmacokinetics and predicting drug interactions. Present study investigated the kinetics of sinusoidal uptake of docetaxel and its impact on the overall hepatic elimination of docetaxel in rats. The non-renal clearance (CLNR; hepatic elimination) of docetaxel were significantly reduced by co-administration of intravenous rifampicin, a potent inhibitor of organic anion transporting peptides (OATPs; Oatps), at a dose of 20 mg/kg. Docetaxel uptake into isolated rat hepatocytes was found to be temperature/concentration/energy-dependent, saturable, and reduced by Oatps inhibitors (rifampicin and bromosulfophthalein). Moreover, docetaxel uptake into perfused rat liver was significantly reduced in the presence of 10-µM rifampicin. However, docetaxel metabolism in rat hepatic microsome was not affected by rifampicin at less than 50 µM. Based on the comparison of intrinsic clearances related to hepatic clearance, it can be suggested that sinusoidal uptake could be the rate-determining process in the overall hepatic elimination of docetaxel in rats.
Internal audit and audit fees: further evidence

Purpose - The paper aims to examine the direction of the relationship between a firm's internal audit function and its external audit fees, extending a previous study by Goodwin-Stewart and Kent, which used data from 2000. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses publicly available information to analyse the relationship between internal audit and audit fees. Findings - The findings support Goodwin-Stewart and Kent's result that the existence of an internal audit function in a firm has a significantly positive relationship with audit fees. In fact, the strength of this relationship has increased since 2000. Research limitations/implications - The study focuses on the top 300 public companies from a market capitalisation perspective and, therefore, the results may not be generalisable to other smaller public companies or to private firms. Second, the dichotomous experimental variable used in the study (existence of internal audit) might not be an ideal measure of internal audit usage since it may not be sensitive enough to capture all the variation in external audit fees. The findings suggest that companies use internal audit and audit fees in a complementary way to strengthen their overall control/operating environment. Originality/value - Although the study extends and validates work already completed by Goodwin-Stewart and Kent, the true value of its result is that users can use publicly available information to determine that firms with an internal audit function are more likely to use it in a complementary way with audit fees, thereby potentially indicating a commitment by that firm to a stronger monitoring/control environment.
Money Creation and the Theory of the Banking Firm

ONE OF THE MOST widely accepted propositions in economics is that total demand deposits of commercial banks are determined by the quantity of cash reserves and the reserve ratio. The multiple expansion process is described, albeit in simplified form, in every principles textbook. In more advanced treatments, this "pure theory of fractional reserve banking" is extended to incorporate reserve leakages to currency and other forms of deposits, desired excess reserves, differential reserve requirements, etc. But even with the elaborate specification and testing of money supply theory by Brunner [6], Cagan [7], Friedman and Schwartz [10] and others, there is growing dissatisfaction with this type of analysis. To a large extent, this arises because private bank responses are treated as almost trivially mechanical. They may, -as the theory posits, be able to force deposits on the general public equal to some precise multiple of reserves under certain conditions. Alert students soon recognize the irony, however, that when shifts to currency or to banks with different reserve ratios are permitted, it is apparently the behavior of the general public which determines total deposits from a given monetary base. Even the size of each bank depends on the public's whim from this perspective. The theory of money creation has rightly been criticized by Gurley and Shaw [13] and Tobin [27] for ignoring that banks are firms. It should be possible to describe bank operations explicitly with the same models of the individual firm and industry as are used with other producers. A more adequate description of bank reactions can then help in clarifying these puzzles in the money creation process. Other micro models of banking following lines which are more or less familiar for nonbanking pursuits have been presented recently. Klein's model [17] was for purposes other than reconciling the theory of money creation with the theory of the firm. Pesek [20] had this as one of his objectives, but his paper and the present one differ, among other ways, in certain matters of emphasis.1 The tasks here are to show that, rather than being determined one-sidedly, the equilibrium money stock results from meaningful interaction of the public's tastes with the price-output decisions of individual banks and
Trade Effects of Exchange Rates and their Volatility: Chile and New Zealand

Trade deficits and surpluses are sometimes attributed to intentionally low or high exchange rate levels. The impact of exchange rate levels on trade has been much debated but the large body of existing empirical literature does not suggest an unequivocally clear picture of the trade impacts of changes in exchange rates. In addition, much of the evidence on this subject considers currencies of large economies, and overwhelmingly the United States.This study examines the impact of exchange rates and their volatility on trade flows in two small, open economies – Chile and New Zealand – with three major trading partners, in two broadly defined sectors – agriculture on the one hand and manufacturing and mining on the other. It finds that exchange volatility impacts trade flows in the small, open economies more than was found for larger economies. Findings do not clearly indicate the direction of the impact, i.e. whether this volatility increases or decreases trade in all countries and sectors. Exchange rate levels, on the other hand, affect trade in both agriculture and manufacturing and mining sectors although their magnitude differs depending on the trading partner and sector. Moreover, this study indicates that a depreciation in the exchange rates in Chile and New Zealand would not lead to a strong change in their trade balances with three main trading partners across the board.
Optimal Motorway Speed and Some Valuations of Time and Life

In this paper the relationships between speed, accidents and petrol consumption are analysed in an attempt to reveal some of the trade-offs made by individuals and governments in their choice of speed and speed limits. In Section I a model is presented from which a general formula for optimal average speed is derived. In Section II the model is applied to calculate the optimal speed on British motorways, given the technical relationships between speed and accidents, speed and fuel consumption and given values of life and time. In Section III the model is used to calculate the shadow prices for life and for time, implied by a particular chosen average speed. /TRRL/