Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Input in Health Production: A Focus on Cycling

Cost savings associated with increased gasoline prices and lower levels of urban sprawl have been cited in terms of personal savings, environmental awareness, reduced costs through lower travel times and congestion, and reduced income inequality. Cost savings in terms of improved health, however, are often not cited yet represent another dimension of savings associated with reduced urban sprawl and gas prices. Cycling is a form of exercise that can also be used as a mode of transportation if the surrounding environment facilitates such use. According to the United States Department of Transportation, 73 percent of adults want new bicycle facilities such as bike lanes, trails, and traffic signals. Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (1996-2000) and data from the 1990, 1995, and 2001 waves of the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, I propose to analyze the effects of variations in the built environment in the form of urban sprawl and in real gasoline prices on cycling as a form of physical activity. An empirical exercise using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is then done showing the potential effects that this form of physical activity may have on lowering the prevalence of obesity. This study carries policy implications in terms of improved public awareness and city planning. The author thanks Paula Stephan, John Pucher, Jeff Biddle, Todd Wagner, Joshua Angrist, and seminar participants at the Centers for Disease Control, the University of South Florida, the University of Georgia, and Georgia State University for comments on earlier versions of the paper. The author alone is responsible for errors.
Edinburgh Research Explorer Evaluation of ACCMIP outgoing longwave radiation from tropospheric ozone using TES satellite observations

We use simultaneous observations of tropospheric ozone and outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) sensitivity to tropospheric ozone from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) to evaluate model tropospheric ozone and its effect on OLR simulated by a suite of chemistry-climate models that participated in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ACCMIP). The ensemble mean of ACCMIP models show a persistent but modest tropospheric ozone low bias (5–20 ppb) in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) and modest high bias (5–10 ppb) in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) relative to TES ozone for 2005–2010. These ozone biases have a signiﬁcant impact on the OLR. Using TES instantaneous radiative kernels (IRK), we show that the ACCMIP ensemble mean tropospheric ozone low bias leads up to 120 mW m − 2 OLR high bias lo-cally but zonally compensating errors reduce the global OLR high bias to 39 ± 41 m Wm − 2 relative to TES data. We show that there is a correlation ( R 2 = 0.59) between the magnitude Published Union. of the ACCMIP OLR bias and the deviation of the ACCMIP preindustrial to present day (1750–2010) ozone radiative forcing (RF) from the ensemble ozone RF mean. However, this correlation is driven primarily by models whose absolute OLR bias from tropospheric ozone exceeds 100 m Wm − 2 . Removing these models leads to a mean ozone radiative forcing of 394 ± 42 m Wm − 2 . The mean is about the same and the standard deviation is about 30 % lower than an ensemble ozone RF of 384 ± 60 m Wm − 2 derived from 14 of the 16 ACCMIP models reported in a companion ACCMIP study. These results point towards a proﬁtable direction of combin-ing satellite observations and chemistry-climate model simulations to reduce uncertainty in ozone radiative forcing.
Nutrition, Health, and Regulatory Aspects of Digestible Maltodextrins

Digestible maltodextrins are low-sweet saccharide polymers consisting of D-glucose units linked primarily linearly with alpha-1,4 bonds, but can also have a branched structure through alpha-1,6 bonds. Often, maltodextrins are classified by the amount of reducing sugars present relative to the total carbohydrate content; between 3 and 20 percent in the case of digestible maltodextrins. These relatively small polymers are used as food ingredients derived by hydrolysis from crops naturally rich in starch. Through advances in production technology, the application possibilities in food products have improved during the last 20 years. However, since glucose from digested maltodextrins is rapidly absorbed in the small intestine, the increased use has raised questions about potential effects on metabolism and health. Therefore, up-to-date knowledge concerning production, digestion, absorption, and metabolism of maltodextrins, including potential effects on health, were reviewed. Exchanging unprocessed starch with maltodextrins may lead to an increased glycemic load and therefore post meal glycaemia, which are viewed as less desirable for health. Apart from beneficial food technological properties, its use should accordingly also be viewed in light of this. Finally, this review reflects on regulatory aspects, which differ significantly in Europe and the United States, and, therefore, have implications for communication and marketing.
Role of DaTSCAN and clinical diagnosis in Parkinson disease

# {#article-title-2} We read with interest the article by Dr. de la Fuente-Fernandez1 and the editorial by Drs. Perlmutter and Eidelberg.2 We agree with the authors that the overall accuracy of a clinical diagnosis is numerically identical to the accuracy of DaTSCAN, which questions the DaTSCAN as a diagnostic tool.3 However, DaTSCAN has important and unique clinical value. …
Risk Management for Private Equity Funds

Although risk management has been a well-ploughed field in financial modeling for over three decades, the understanding how to correctly quantify and manage the risks of investing in private equity remains limited and continues to considerably lag that of other traditional asset classes. The objective of this paper is to fill this gap by developing the first comprehensive risk management framework for private equity fund investments. The framework captures the three main sources of risks that private equity investors face when investing in the asset class: market risk, liquidity risk, and cash flow risk. Underlying the framework is a stochastic model for the value and cash flow dynamics of private equity funds, which allows deriving three dynamic risk measures for private equity fund investments: Value-at-Risk (VaR), Liquidity-Adjusted Value-at-Risk (LVaR), and Cash-Flow-at-Risk (CFaR). The model is calibrated to historical data of buyout funds and the dynamics of the developed risk measures are illustrated using Monte-Carlo simulations. A sensitivity analysis shows the impact of changes in the main model parameters on risk measures.
System-level evaluation of downlink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) for non-full buffer traffic model

For the past few years, we proposed non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) as a promising multiple access scheme for further improvement of spectrum efficiency for LTE enhancements and the 5th generation mobile communications system (5G). Currently, the system performance of NOMA, considering practical assumptions, different deployment scenarios and NOMA specific functionalities, including multi-user pairing, transmit power allocation, and combination with MIMO is being evaluated and discussed in academia, industry, and standardization [5-16]. In addition, the most of existing evaluations for NOMA focus on the full buffer traffic model, which is widely adopted for the evaluation of mobile radio access system. However, further investigations with non-full buffer traffic model are also important to clarify the system performance of NOMA for different types of the traffic. This paper investigates the system-level performance of NOMA with non-full buffer traffic model for different levels of packet arrival rates and sizes. In addition, the impact of the scheduling algorithm such as α-fair gradient scheduler, which controls the fairness level of the resource allocation, is also discussed. Based on computer simulations, we show that for the non-full buffer case, NOMA can still provide a large performance gain compared to that of orthogonal multiple access (OMA) in particular for small packet sizes. It is also shown that under full buffer traffic model, α-fair gradient scheduler is able to trade-off between average user packet throughput and 5% user packet throughput; however, this does not hold for the case of non-full buffer traffic model.
Perceptions of Beginning Public School Principals

This study was designed to determine the level of competency that beginning principals perceived they had in their primary areas of responsibility when appointed to the position. Secondarily, the study determined what beginning principals perceived to be their greatest challenges and frustrations, most familiar and most unfamiliar areas of responsibility, and who was most and least helpful to them as new principals. The findings indicated that beginning principals are challenged by the following: delegating responsibilities and becoming familiar with the principal's role, the local school, and school operations. Their major frustrations were role adjustment, the (large) amount of responsibility, and time management.
Lipid Profile Improvement after Four Group Psychological Interventions in Combination to Nutritional and Physical Activity Instructing Among Overweight and Obese Individuals

Background: Research background approved weight loss would result in improvement of lipid profile. Nowadays, weight management is attained by modifying psychological mediators, as well as dieting and making individuals do more physical activity. Hence, This research was performed to compare effectiveness of different psychological interventions on lipid profile improvement among individuals with overweight and obesity. Methods: Using quasi-experimental design, 68 participants with mean age 26 years and 9 months (ranged from 20 to 43) were randomly assigned into 4 groups (including LEARN, CBT, CT, and MCT), and eventually 61 participants completed the treatment protocols. BMI was calculated by Omron digital body composition instrument, and blood lipids and glucose concentrations were measured prior to and after all interventions. Results: Data analysis by using t-test for dependent groups analysis revealed lipid profile, FBS, and BMI were significantly modified after applying 4 interventions comparing baseline and post treatment mean differences(P<0.05). Furthermore, repeated measure design analysis showed there were significant mean differences (P<0.05) in HDL cholesterol, TG levels and FBS levels among 4 groups. Scheffe test revealed more detailed significant differences among four groups in HDL cholesterol, and FBS concentration varieties (P<0.05). Conclusions: Adding psychological interventions to dietary plans and regular physical activities in overweight management would consider as a valuable step in optimizing physiological outcomes and that’s because of correcting mind-body interactional pathways among obese and overweight individuals.
Status and Multiple Growth Regimes

In order to explain multiple growth regimes, one of the working hypotheses is based on initial conditions. Using a standard optimal growth with the status effect represented by wealth a la Friedman (1953), this paper obtains multiple growth regimes based on initial conditions without reliance on other assumptions such as nonlinearities of production or consumption functions and heterogeneous agents/savings behavior. With the status effect, the resulting equilibrium distribution is characterized by a group with a lower level of income and another group with a higher level of income. Globally, a sufficiently strong monetary policy may be an instrument in order for an economy in poverty traps to take off and become wealthy in the long run. Locally, our model sheds light on the relationship between money/inflation and capital in the long run that, given general cash-in-advance constraints on investment relative to consumption, is determined by the curvature of the utilities of wealth and consumption.
Board Capital and the Downward Spiral: Antecedents of Bankruptcy in a Sample of Unlisted Firms

Manuscript Type. Empirical. Research Question/Issue. This study examines whether certain proxies for board incentives and board capital are linked with bankruptcy in unlisted firms. Research Findings/Insights. Based on data analyzed over a five‐year period with a sample of 232 matched pairs of unlisted firms, results reveal that firms with boards led by an independent Board Chair (vs. CEO duality), and including longer‐tenured directors, and directors with fewer additional directorships on average, are less likely to become bankrupt. Results of analyses of board size and board change support a “reputation” hypothesis, i.e. that directors begin to flee firms in a downward spiral prior to bankruptcy. Theoretical/Academic Implications. Results support an eclectic model of board incentives and board capital, which integrates elements of agency and resource dependence theories, and the group decision‐making literature to explain governance antecedents of firms that went bankrupt. It builds on a model proposed by Hillman and Dalziel, while identifying important differences, including lack of support for predicted moderating effects between board incentives and board capital. Findings also support applicability of the threat‐rigidity logic and reputation hypothesis in this context, and the importance of anchoring corporate governance research more precisely on prediction of certain levels of performance. Practitioner/Policy Implications. Findings support governance recommendations to separate Board Chair and CEO leadership and limit a director's number of outside directorships. Negative effects of director tenure on bankruptcy contradict the notion of “term limits,” suggesting that benefits of firm‐specific knowledge and experience may outweigh risks of entrenchment.
PHRENOLOGY : What Can Neuroimaging Tell Us About Distributed Circuitry ?

■ Abstract Unsupervised models of how the brain identifies and categorizes the causes of its sensory input can be divided into two classes: those that minimize the mutual information (i.e., redundancy) among evoked responses and those that minimize the prediction error. Although these models have the same goal, the way that goal is attained, and the functional architectures required, are fundamentally different. This review describes the differences, in the functional anatomy of sensory cortical hierarchies, implied by the two models. We then consider how neuroimaging can be used to disambiguate between them. The key distinction reduces to whether backward connections are employed by the brain to generate a prediction of sensory inputs. To ascertain whether backward influences are evident empirically requires a characterization of functional integration among brain systems. This review summarizes the approaches to measuring functional integration in terms of effective connectivity and proceeds to address the question posed by the theoretical considerations. In short, it will be shown that the conjoint manipulation of bottom-up and top-down inputs to an area can be used to test for interactions between them, in elaborating cortical responses. The conclusion, from these sorts of neuroimaging studies, points to the prevalence of top-down influences and the plausibility of generative models of sensory brain function.
Cyclical Behaviour of the Portuguese Economy: 1953-1995

This paper describes some empirical regularities in Portuguese macroeconomic time-series over the period 1953-1995, using the very detailed dataset of Pinheiro et al (1999). This task is carried out by examining the relationship between the aggregate cycle and the cyclical behaviour of various economic series, such as production, expenditure, external accounts, labour market, productivity, savings, income distribution and monetary variables. This study follows previous research conducted at Banco de Portugal on the Portuguese business cycle, i.e. Correia et al (1992), Dias (1997) and Neves and Belo (2002), but with a considerable larger degree of detail in the number and variety of economic series considered. This paper is organised as follows. Section 2 describes the data. Section 3 highlights the main stylised facts of Portuguese business cycles. Finally, section 4 concludes.
Cephalometric evaluation of the effects of the Twin Block appliance in subjects with Class II, Division 1 malocclusion amongst different cervical vertebral maturation stages

ABSTRACT Objectives: To evaluate the cephalometric changes in skeletal, dentoalveolar and soft tissue variables induced by Clark's Twin Block (CTB) in Class II, Division 1 malocclusion patients and to compare these changes in different cervical vertebral maturation stages. Methods: Pre- and post-treatment/observation lateral cephalograms of 53 Class II, Division 1 malocclusion patients and 60 controls were compared to evaluate skeletal, dentoalveolar and soft tissue changes. Skeletal maturity was assessed according to cervical vertebral maturation stages. Pre- and post-treatment/observation mean changes and differences (T2-T1) were compared by means of Wilcoxon sign rank and Mann-Whitney U-tests, respectively. Intergroup comparisons between different cervical stages were performed by means of Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U-test (p ≤ 0.05) . Results: When compared with controls, there was a significant reduction in ANB angle (p < 0.001), which was due to a change in SNB angle in CS-2 and CS-3 (p < 0.001), and in SNA (p < 0.001) and SNB (p = 0.016) angles in the CS-4 group. There was significant increase in the GoGn-SN angle in CS-2 (p = 0.007) and CS-4 (p = 0.024), and increase in Co-Gn and Go-Gn amongst all cervical stages (p < 0.05). There was significant decrease in U1-SN and increase in IMPA amongst all cervical stages (p < 0.05). There was significant retraction of the upper lip in CS-3 (p = 0.001), protrusion of the lower lip in CS-2 (p = 0.005), increase in nasolabial angle in CS-4 (p = 0.006) and Z-angle in CS-3 (p = 0.016), reduction in H-angle in CS-2 (p = 0.013) and CS-3 (p = 0.002) groups. When pre- and post-treatment mean differences were compared between different cervical stages, significant differences were found for SNA, SNB and UI-SN angles and overjet. Conclusions: The Twin-Block along with the normal craniofacial growth improves facial esthetics in Class II, Division 1 malocclusion by changes in underlying skeletal and dentoalveolar structures. The favorable mandibular growth occurs during any of the cervical vertebral maturation stages, with more pronounced effect during CS-3 stage.
Winning the Last Mile of E-Commerce

Which e-businesses will prevail? New research on e-fulfillment may hold the key. After all, getting a customer's online order is not enough: E-businesses also must show that they can deliver products quickly and efficiently. Hau L. Lee and Seungjin Whang, professors of operations, information and technology at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, have studied a few successful online companies and their innovative ways of applying order-fulfillment strategies. Although the principles are not new, Internet technologies enable them to be applied in new and expanded ways. The two core concepts for improving e-fulfillment efficiency are making more use of information flows instead of physical product flows and capitalizing on existing pipelines and infrastructures. Those concepts underlie five key e-fulfillment strategies: logistics postponement, dematerialization, resource exchange, leveraged shipments and clicks-and-mortar. Whether the strategy expands on time-tested models or is a breakthrough, the trick is to determine the best one for a given situation. A computer company might use logistics postponement. By capturing more-accurate information, it could assemble final goods on demand and thereby save money by postponing delivery decisions until after receiving the final word on what the customer wants. Other companies might use dematerialization, converting physical products into information flows, just as a music CD can be converted to MP3 format or Egreetings.com substitutes digital flows for paper greeting cards sent by regular mail. With resource exchange, an e-company that needs to move a load from Hong Kong to San Francisco might borrow a ship from another company that needs a cost-effective way to return its empty vessel to California. Webvan uses the leveraged-shipment strategy, making the most of existing networks. With its clicks-and-mortar model, CVS covers the last mile by having customers pick up their online orders. Some online purchasers in Japan do the same: 7dream.com utilizes the ubiquitous 7-Eleven stores to enable a group of Japanese companies to do bulk deliveries. Pointing out ways that companies are extending e-fulfillment value beyond cost containment, the authors also demonstrate how secondary opportunities are taking companies beyond the last mile.
Double Moral Hazard: an Experiment on Warranties

The paper designs a two-stage experiment to analyze a market for durable goods with warranties. In such a market double moral hazard may arise as the seller can reduce (increase) the initial quality of the product sold, while the buyer can reduce (increase) the maintenance effort. In the first stage of the experiment we analyze the impact of the warranty on the equilibrium levels of the initial quality of the product and the effort of the buyer. In this respect, we show the suboptimality of the equilibria with warranty. In the second stage, we analyze the role of signaling and reputation in an intertemporal model. In this context the final quality of the product depends on whether quality and effort are complements or substitutes.
From Brownian motion with a local time drift to Feller's branching diffusion with logistic growth

We give a new proof for a Ray-Knight representation of Feller's branching diffusion with logistic growth in terms of the local times of a reflected Brownian motion $H$ with a drift that is affine linear in the local time accumulated by $H$ at its current level. In Le et al. (2011) such a representation was obtained by an approximation through Harris paths that code the genealogies of particle systems. The present proof is purely in terms of stochastic analysis, and is inspired by previous work of Norris, Rogers and Williams (1988).
String instability in coupled harmonic oscillator systems

In this paper we consider the problem of disturbance response for a simple system of coupled harmonic oscillators. We suppose that the oscillators are connected in a string in which each oscillator tries to track its predecessor. Motivated by terminology from the problem of vehicle platooning, we say that the system is string unstable if the effect of a disturbance to the lead oscillator is amplified as it propagates along the string. By using a new Bode-like integral relation that must be satisfied by the complementary sensitivity function, we provide sufficient conditions for string instability.