Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real Exchange Rates and Trade Protectionism

Real exchange rate movements are robustly related to the rise and fall of trade protectionism. I demonstrate this by presenting a theoretical model that incorporates the real exchange rate into a standard factor proportions model of trade policy preferences. The model demonstrates why some firms' trade policy preferences, and thus total demands for protectionism, change in response to real exchange rate movements. I evaluate the model with data on antidumping investigations in six industrialized countries between the late 1970s and 2004. The exercise suggests that the real exchange rate hypothesis offers a more compelling explanation for protectionist waves than the business cycle hypothesis.
Bene fi t of Left Atrial Roof Linear Ablation in Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation : A Prospective , Randomized Study

Methods and Results-—A cohort of 120 patients with drug-refractory PAF referred for ablation were prospectively randomized into 2 strategies: (1) PV isolation in combination with RL ablation (LA roof ablation [LARA]-1: 59 patients) or (2) PV isolation (LARA-2: 61 patients). Follow-up was performed at 1, 3, and 6 months after the procedure and every 6 months thereafter. After a 3-month blanking period, recurrence was defined as the ocurrence of any atrial tachyarrhythmia lasting ≥30 seconds. PV isolation was achieved in 89% and complete RL block in 81%. RF duration, fluoroscopy, and procedural times were slightly, but not significantly, longer in the LARA-1 group. After 15 10 months, there was no difference in the arrhythmia-free survival after a single AF ablation procedure (LARA-1: 59% vs. LARA-2: 56% at 12 months; log rank P=0.77). The achievement of complete RL block did not influence the results. The incidence of LA macroreentrant tachycardias was 5.1% in the LARA-1 group (n=3) versus 8.2% in the LARA-2 (n=5) (P=ns). Univariate analysis only identified AF duration as a covariate associated with arrhythmia recurrence (hazard ratio, 1.01 [95% confidence interval, 1.002 to 1.012]; P<0.01).
Chronic L‐DOPA administration induces dyskinesias in the 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine‐treated common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)

Dyskinesias occur in the majority of patients with Parkinson's disease chronically treated with L‐DOPA and also occur in several nonhuman primate species after 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and L‐DOPA treatment. The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) shows parkinsonian motor deficits after MPTP administration, and we now report dyskinesias occurring in this species during chronic L‐DOPA exposure. Marmosets rendered chronically parkinsonian after MPTP administration were treated orally with L‐DOPA plus carbidopa for 3 weeks. After several days the animals began to display chorea, choreoathetosis, and dystonia. The severity of dyskinesias varied between the animals, with the most severely parkinsonian animals displaying the most dyskinetic movements. Each animal showed an idiosyncratic pattern of dyskinesias, which was highly reproducible. These L‐DOPA‐primed animals also received other D2, D1, and agonist drugs. Quinpirole, bromocriptine, pergolide, apomorphine, and A‐77636 all produced dyskinesias that were identical in character to those seen after L‐DOPA administration, but the D1 agonist A‐77636 gradually abolished dyskinesias while preserving its antiparkinsonian activity. The MPTP‐treated marmoset provides a useful model in which to study dyskinesias in Parkinson's disease and to examine new therapeutic strategies aimed at alleviating this common side effect of chronic dopamine replacement therapy.
Herd Behaviour, Illiquidity and Extreme Market States

A large amount of studies have attempted to trace the presence of herding during extreme periods at the cross-sectional level by associating herding with the reduction in the cross-sectional dispersion of returns around the market average. In this article we address the issue of whether the estimation of herding on the premises of such frameworks is robust to the thin trading bias whose presence is particularly prevalent in emerging markets. Our study is undertaken in the context of the Banja Luka Stock Exchange, which is one of the world’s most recently established markets. Results indicate that herding is insignificant during extreme return periods with its insignificance persisting even after controlling for thin trading.
Comparison Of The Residual Income Valuation, Abnormal Earnings Growth And Free Cash Flow Models: An Empirical Study Of The Brazilian Capital Market

This study compares the explanatory power of the residual income valuation (RIV), abnormal earnings growth (AEG) and free cash flow (FCF) models in the Brazilian capital market, through an empirical test to compare the three models, using data on companies listed on the BOVESPA. Each model was analyzed annually over the period from 1995 to 2002 by multiple linear regression. The results show that from 1995 to 1999 the RIV model had better explanatory power than the other two models, and from 2000 to 2002 the AEG and RIV models were the same, an indicator of the Brazilian market’s development in the more recent years of the study period. The FCF model had the least explanatory power in all the years analyzed. The results were confirmed by panel data analysis.
Preoperative and Intraoperative Diffusion Tensor Imaging-based Fiber Tracking in Glioma Surgery

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the intraoperative displacement of major white matter tracts during glioma resection by comparing preoperative and intraoperative diffusion tensor imaging-based fiber tracking. METHODS:In 37 patients undergoing glioma surgery, preoperative and intraoperative diffusion tensor imaging was performed with a 1.5-T magnetic resonance scanner applying an echo-planar imaging sequence with six diffusion directions. For three-dimensional tractography, we implemented a knowledge-based multiple-region-of-interest approach applying user-defined seed regions in the color-coded maps of fractional anisotropy. Tracking was initiated in both the retrograde and orthograde directions according to the direction of the principal eigenvector in each voxel of the region of interest. The tractography results were also assigned color, applying the convention used in color-coded fractional anisotropy maps. RESULTS:Preoperative and intraoperative fiber tracking was technically feasible in all patients. Fiber tract visualization gave a quick and intuitive overview of the displaced course of white matter tracts in three-dimensional space. Comparison of preoperative and intraoperative tractography depicted a marked shifting of major white matter tracts during glioma removal. Maximum white matter tract shifting ranged from −8 to +15 mm (+2.7 ± 6.0 mm; mean ± standard deviation); in 29.7%, an inward and in 62.2%, an outward shifting was detected. CONCLUSION:Comparing preoperative and intraoperative fiber tracking visualizes a marked shifting and deformation of major white matter tracts because of tumor removal. This shifting emphasizes the need for an intraoperative update of navigation systems during resection of deep-seated tumor portions near eloquent brain areas. Fiber tracking is a method not only for preoperative neurosurgical visualization but also for further intraoperative planning.
The Long-Run Performance Of Companies That Withdraw Seasoned Equity Offerings

We examine the long-run stock price and operating performance of companies that withdraw seasoned equity offerings. Firms that withdraw an offering provide an opportunity to examine whether markets fully adjust to the information conveyed when managers announce the intent to issue shares, independent of any agency problems that might be intensified by the completion of the offering. As in completed seasoned equity offerings (SEOs), long-horizon event-time operating and stock price performance in sample firms is substantially lower than what is observed among control firms. Underperformance is also observed in an equal-weighted calendar-time analysis. Results are consistent with overpricing among small firms that attempt, but then withdraw, SEOs.
Structural determinants of specificity in the cysteine protease cruzain

The structure of cruzain, an essential protease from the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, was determined by X‐ray crystallography bound to two different covalent inhibitors. The cruzain S2 specificity pocket is able to productively bind both arginine and phenylalanine residues. The structures of cruzain bound to benzoyl‐Tyr‐Ala‐fluoromethyl ketone and benzoyl‐Tyr‐Ala‐fluoromethyl ketone at 2.2 and 2.1 Å, respectively, show a pH‐dependent specificity switch. Glu 205 adjusts to restructure the S2 specificity pocket, conferring tight binding to both hydrophobic and basic residues. Kinetic analysis of activated peptide substrates shows that substrates placing hydrophobic residues in the specificity pocket are cleaved at a broader pH range than hydrophilic substrates. These results demonstrate how cruzain binds both basic and hydrophobic residues and could be important for in vivo regulation of cruzain activity.
The Mutual Impact of Global Strategy and Organizational Learning: Current Themes and Future Directions

Despite the interest in issues of knowing and learning in the global strategy field, there has been limited mutual engagement and interaction between the fields of global strategy and organizational learning. The purpose of our article is to reflect on and articulate how the mutual exchange of ideas between these fields can be encouraged. To this end, we first conduct a review of the intersection of the fields of global strategy and organizational learning. We then present two recommendations regarding how the interaction between the two fields can be enhanced. Our first recommendation is for global strategy research to adopt a broader notion of organizational learning. Our second recommendation is for global strategy research to capitalize on its attention to context in order to inform and enhance organizational learning theory. We discuss the use of context in a number of common research designs and highlight how the scope for theoretical contributions back to organizational learning varies with the research design that is adopted.
Does dedicated pre-abortion contraception counselling help to improve post-abortion contraception uptake?

Objective Many studies have shown a disappointing periabortion contraceptive uptake. This study investigated whether the provision of dedicated and targeted contraception counselling at the pre-abortion assessment visit can improve the post-abortion contraception uptake. Methods The study comprised a 3-month prospective reaudit of the abortion clinic. Results Of the 104 women seen during the re-audit period, 96% received post-abortion contraception. The majority (73%) of the women chose and received one of the less user-dependent contraceptive methods such as intrauterine contraceptive devices, the intrauterine contraceptive system, the progestogen injectable and subdermal implants. Conclusion It was found that the provision of targeted contraception counselling by a dedicated team during the pre-abortion assessment visit can dramatically improve post-abortion contraception uptake.
Microenterprise development and the entreprenurial poor: including the excluded?

Microenterprise develpment has received much attention as being a participatory strategy that can potentially alleviate poverty by including the excluded in the process of development. But recent controversies regarding the purposes, processes and profitability of alternative microenterprise development techniques suggest that participation means different things to different people. A review of three types of microenterprise development institutions suggests that while some programme policies discourage participation, others encourage ‘inclusion’ only in token. Only a few programmes support genuine participation of the entreprenurial poor. Key policy issues related to the participatory principles, benefits and costs of microenterprise development are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sociocultural facilitators and barriers to condom use during anal sex among men who have sex with men in Guangzhou, China: an ethnographic study

Abstract This ethnographic study explored how cultural belief systems shaped sexual risk practices among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Guangzhou, China. A specific focus was on how these men's sexual practices varied across sexual venues and among different partners in order to better understand sociocultural facilitators and barriers to condom use in the Guangzhou community. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured in-depth interviews with MSM and ethnographic observations in MSM sexual venues in the city. The thematic analysis focused specifically on the accounts of unprotected sex occasions. We found that an erotic idea of “rouyu” (desire of physical flesh) embedded in a subculture of MSM and a metaphor for condom use as being inferior and promoting distance posed a considerable barrier to condom use among these MSM. Some men reported gaining a positive self-concept related to same-sex identity through unprotected sex. These MSM's subjective evaluations of HIV risk were closely tied to the perceived characteristics of sex partners and sexual venues. We conclude by advocating specific sociocultural interventions in emerging risk venues, such as saunas/bathhouses, to better meet the needs of the MSM community in Guangzhou.
House Price Appreciation, Transactions and Structural Change in the British Housing Market: A Macroeconomic Perspective

This paper constitutes the first of two interrelated studies and is concerned with the relationship between house prices and transactions. Using aggregate time-series data, we find a strong relationship in Britain between the two variables, but the relationship changed during the 1990s. Transactions became much lower. We suggest that structural changes in macroeconomic relationships are increasingly likely to occur in a world of greater inequality and our results are one symptom. We argue that macroeconomic estimation needs to be complemented by careful microeconomic analysis. The second study, also appearing in this issue, therefore examines the microeconomic aspects of the issue. Copyright 2003 American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association
Restrictive dermopathy: a disorder of fibroblasts

Restrictive dermopathy is a rare, lethal genodermatosis, characterized by a thin, tightly adherent skin which causes a dysmorphic facies, arthrogryposis and respiratory insufficiency. The recorded cases to date show a remarkable phenotypic similarity. Thinning of the dermis and the arrangement of collagen in parallel bundles appear to be constant findings. We have found many dead and degenerating fibroblasts in the dermis on ultrastructural examination, and have demonstrated their poor growth in vitro. Studies of collagen from a skin sample showed a marked increase in mature cross‐links, indicating a decrease in skin collagen turnover. These findings suggest a primary disorder of fibroblasts, and may explain the apparent arrest in growth and differentiation of the skin which appears to be important in the pathogenesis of this rare condition.
Socioeconomic differentials in divorce risk by duration of marriage

Using register-based data on Finnish first marriages that were intact at the end of 1990 (about 2.1 million marriage-years) and followed up for divorce in 1991-1993 (n = 21,204), this research explored the possibility that the effect of spouses' socioeconomic position on divorce risk varies according to duration of marriage. The comparatively high divorce risks for spouses with little formal education and for spouses in manual worker occupations were found to be specific to marriages of relatively short duration. In contrast, such factors as unemployment, wife's high income, and living in a rented dwelling were found to increase divorce risk at all marital durations.
Policy Ineffectiveness or Offsetting Behavior? An Analysis of Vehicle Safety Inspections

Over 60 million registered motor vehicles in 20 states are subject to mandatory periodic safety inspection. The effect of safety inspection on roadway casualties has been estimated by several studies, with mixed results. We present a unique test of inspection effectiveness by analyzing the policy's impact on old cars in use and on repair industry revenue. Our results indicate that inspection has no significant impact on old cars or repair industry revenue, which implies that inspection does not improve the mechanical condition of vehicles. Unlike studies that examine casualties, our tests allow us to distinguish between policy ineffectiveness and Peltzman-type offsetting behavior as sources of inspection failure.
Is the Pharmaceutical Industry in a Productivity Crisis?

Rising R&D expenditures and falling counts of new drug approvals since 1996 have lead many observers to conclude that there has been a sharp decline in research productivity in the pharmaceutical industry over the past decade. A close look at the underlying data, however, suggests that these trends are greatly exaggerated: properly measured, research output is unlikely to have fallen as much as these figures imply, while trends in R&D expenditure are seriously overstated by failing to account for inflation in R&D input costs. Some of the increase in R&D investment is a necessary, indeed welcome, response to new technological opportunities and can be expected to deliver a handsome return of innovative drugs in future years. The rising cost per new drug approved is nonetheless a serious cause for concern, particularly where this is driven by transactions costs and other inefficiencies in the market for basic research, and by late-stage abandonment of drug development projects on purely economic grounds. Policies that make "small" markets more attractive, build capacity in translational medicine, reduce the cost, time, and uncertainty of regulatory review, maximize access to basic research, and encourage greater cooperation and collaborative research within the industry that can all contribute to greater R&D efficiency.
Causality in the VIX futures market

This study examines the price-discovery function and information efficiency of a fast growing volatility futures market: the Chicago Board of Option Exchange VIX futures market. A linear Engle–Granger cointegration test with an error correction mechanism (ECM) shows that during the full sample period, VIX futures prices lead spot VIX index, which implies that the VIX futures market has some price-discovery function. But a modified Baek and Brock nonlinear Granger test detects bi-directional causality between VIX and VIX futures prices, suggesting that both spot and futures prices react simultaneously to new information. Quarter-by-quarter investigations show that, on average, the estimated parameters are not significantly different from zero, thus providing further evidence supporting information efficiency in the VIX futures market. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark
CEREBROSPINAL FLUID CONCENTRATIONS OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS IN EARLY-PHASE SEVERE TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

In our previous study of patients with early-phase severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), the anti-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-10 concentration was lower in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) than in serum, whereas proinflammatory IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α concentrations were higher in CSF than in serum. To clarify the influence of additional injury on this disproportion between proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators, we compared their CSF and serum concentrations in patients with severe TBI with and without additional injury. All 35 study patients (18 with and 17 without additional injury) had a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 8 or less upon admission. With the exception of additional injury, clinical characteristics did not differ significantly between groups. CSF and serum concentrations of two proinflammatory mediators (IL-1β and TNF-α,) and three anti-inflammatory mediators (IL-1 receptor antagonist [IL-1ra], soluble TNF receptor-I [sTNFr-I], and IL-10) were measured and compared at 6 h after injury. CSF concentrations of proinflammatory mediators were much higher than the corresponding serum concentrations in both patient groups (P < 0.001). In contrast, serum concentrations of anti-inflammatory mediators were much higher than the paired CSF concentrations in patients with additional injury (P < 0.001), but serum concentrations were lower than or equal to the corresponding CSF concentrations in patients without additional injury. CSF concentrations of IL-1β, IL-1ra, sTNFr-I, and IL-10 were significantly higher (P < 0.01 for all) in patients with high intracranial pressure (ICP; n = 11) than in patients with low ICP (n = 24), and were also significantly higher (P < 0.05 for all) in patients with an unfavorable outcome (n = 14) than in patients with a favorable outcome (n = 21). These findings indicate that increased serum concentrations of anti-inflammatory mediators after severe TBI are mainly due to additional extracranial injury. We conclude that anti-inflammatory mediators in CSF may be useful indicators of the severity of brain damage in terms of ICP as well as overall prognosis of patients with severe TBI.
On equilibrium real exchange rates in euro area: Special focus on behavioral equilibrium exchange rates in Ireland and Greece

This paper focuses on the intra-euro-area imbalances. Therefore the first aim of this paper is to identify euro-area countries exhibiting macroeconomic imbalances. The subsequent aim is to estimate equilibrium real exchange rates for these countries and to compute their degrees of real exchange rate misalignment. The intra-area balance is assessed using the Cluster Analysis and the Principle Component Analysis; on this basis Greece and Ireland are selected as the two euro-area countries with largest imbalances in 2010. Further the medium-run equilibrium exchange rates for Greece and Ireland are estimated applying the Behavioral Equilibrium Exchange Rate (BEER) approach popularised by Clark and MacDonald (1998). In addition, the long-run equilibrium exchange rates are estimated using the Permanent Equilibrium Exchange Rate (PEER) model. Employing the BEER and PEER approaches on quarterly time series of real effective exchange rates (REER) from 1997: Q1 to 2010: Q4 we identify an undervaluation of the Greek and Irish REER around their entrance to the euro area. For the rest of the period analysed their REER is broadly in line with estimated BEER and PEER levels.