Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Economic Consequences of Regulatory Taking Risk on Land Value and Development Activity

In this paper the real options approach to land valuation is extended by: i) showing how land value may be adversely affected where localities threaten a regulatory taking with less than full compensation, ii) quantifying the resulting probability of development, which may increase in an attempt to thwart the taking of development rights; and, iii) measuring the value of lost income on an ex ante basis when an interim taking occurs. We find that the economic impact of such regulation can be substantial, which has implications for measuring just compensation claims as well as for general land use regulatory policy and related legal theory.
A Case of Canine Apocrine Sweat Gland Adenoma, Clear Cell Variant

A cutaneous mass at the base of the retroauricular region of a 4-year-old, female Golden Retriever was examined pathologically. Histologically, the mass formed multiple nodules consisting of a proliferation of large clear cells with abundant cytoplasm. Mitotic figures among the neoplastic cells were very sparse. The large clear cells were intensely positive for cytokeratins (AE1/AE4, cytokeratin 8 and 18) and moderately positive for lysozyme and contained periodic acid-Schiff-positive granules in the cytoplasm. In addition, small flat cells lined the islands of neoplastic large clear cells, and these were strongly positive for alpha-smooth muscle actin and vimentin, and some were positive for cytokeratin (AE1/AE4), suggesting they were myoepithelial cells. No local recurrence or metastasis has been recognized during the 18 months since surgical excision. On the basis of these findings, the present tumor was diagnosed as apocrine sweat gland adenoma, clear cell variant. There have been few previous reports of canine apocrine adenomas showing a clear cell morphology.
The relative efficiency of private and public schools : the case of Thailand

Cost-effectiveness is a key consideration in the policy debate on the appropriate role of private schools in predominantly public school systems. This article analyzes the relative performance of public and private schools in Thailand in enhancing eighth grade student scores in standardized mathematics tests, given student background and school characteristics. Its main conclusion is that private schools are, on average, more effective and less costly than public schools in improving student performance in mathematics.
SiGe Channel Technology: Superior Reliability Toward Ultra-Thin EOT Devices—Part II: Time-Dependent Variability in Nanoscaled Devices and Other Reliability Issues

The time-dependent variability of nanoscaled Si0.45 Ge0.55 pFETs with varying thicknesses of the Si passivation layer is studied. Single charge/discharge events of gate oxide defects are detected by measuring negative bias-temperature instability (NBTI)-like threshold voltage (Vth) shift relaxation transients. The impact of such individually charged defect on device Vth is observed to be exponentially distributed. SiGe channel devices with a reduced thickness of their Si passivation layer show a reduced average number of active defects and a reduced average impact per charged defect on device Vth. Our model for the superior reliability of the SiGe channel technology previously proposed in Part I, which is based on the energy decoupling between channel holes and dielectric defects, is shown to also explain these experimental observations. Other reliability mechanisms, such as 1/f noise, body biasing during NBTI, channel hot carriers, and time-dependent dielectric breakdown, are also investigated. None of these mechanisms are observed to constitute a showstopper for the reliability of this promising novel technology.
Information leakages and the costs of merging in Europe

Based on a comprehensive sample of European mergers over the 1997–2011 period, we find that information leakages experienced by target firms are conditioned on the investor protection characteristics in the target’s country. Specifically, information leakages are smaller for targets in European countries that experienced a greater improvement in rule of law and political stability. We also investigate whether and how bidders respond to information leakages experienced by targets that they are pursuing. We find no evidence that bidders reduce their bids of targets that experience abnormally large stock price run-ups. This implies that bidders incur a portion of the cost of informed trading that occurs before the merger bid is announced. Based on our results, it can be stated that regulatory actions that could reduce the level of informed trading in European countries may allow for a more active and efficient market for corporate control.
Liberal visions and actual power in grassroots civil society: local churches and women's empowerment in rural Malawi

Research from a community study in rural Malawi speaks directly to contemporary debates about civil society. Investigating the role of local churches in empowering citizens, the study found that the local Catholic church was more effectively fostering a nascent sense of political efficacy among women than were local Presbyterian churches. Explaining this finding, the article presents two issues that expose problems in the liberal understanding of civil society, and underscore important themes raised in the critical discourse. First, the study reveals that organisations characterised by decentralised authority structures and internal democracy may fail to contribute to the empowerment of marginalised citizens. Such organisations are prone to reproduce and exacerbate local inequalities and conflicts within their structures. Second, corroborating critical views, the study highlights the importance of recognising how power relations affect the character and operation of civil society organisations. The adjusting of power relations within organisations may be a prerequisite to their serving an empowering role with marginalised citizens.
Household stove improvement and risk of lung cancer in Xuanwei, China.

BACKGROUND Lung cancer rates in rural Xuanwei County, Yunnan Province, are among the highest in China. Residents traditionally burned "smoky" coal in unvented indoor firepits that generated very high levels of air pollution. Since the 1970s, most residents have changed from firepits to stoves with chimneys. This study assessed whether lung cancer incidence decreased after this stove improvement. METHODS A cohort of 21 232 farmers, born from 1917 through 1951, was followed retrospectively from 1976 through 1992. All subjects were users of smoky coal who had been born into homes with unvented firepits. During their lifetime, 17 184 subjects (80.9%) changed permanently to stoves with chimneys. A hospital record search detected 1384 cases of lung cancer (6.5%) during follow-up. Associations of stove improvement with lung cancer incidence were analyzed with product-limit plots and multivariable Cox models. In 1995, indoor concentrations of airborne particles and benzo[a]pyrene were compared in Xuanwei homes during smoky coal burning in stoves with chimneys and in unvented stoves or firepits. RESULTS A long-term reduction in lung cancer incidence was noted after stove improvement. In Cox models, risk ratios (RRs) for lung cancer after stove improvement were 0.59 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.49 to 0.71) in men and 0.54 (95% CI = 0.44 to 0.65) in women (for both, P<.001). Incidence reduction became unequivocal about 10 years after stove improvement. Levels of indoor air pollution during burning with chimneys were less than 35% of levels during unvented burning. CONCLUSION Changing from unvented to vented stoves appears to benefit the health of people in China and may do so in other developing countries as well.
Policy pragmatism: Qatar and the global events circuit

Purpose – The paper aims to give an interesting insight into the rise in event bidding and delivery of sports mega‐events from Qatar and the Middle East. This paper seeks to examine the shift in government policies and citizen relationships in the Middle East and Gulf Region, focusing on the specific case of Qatar from its staging of the 15th Asian Games in 2006 to present.Design/methodology/approach – The paper begins with an overview of the main literature on the importance of sport events as a vehicle for securing global profile for cities and nations. The paper draws upon the authors' participation at the 15th Asian Games and interviews conducted there and latterly, desk‐based research involving scrutiny of Qatar's recent policy pronouncements and published materials pertaining to sporting events in the intervening period since the 2006 Games.Findings – The findings are presented in the form of a case study, using the Asian Games as a starting point and finishing with Qatar's latest bids for sporting .
Antipsychotics and cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease: the LASER-Alzheimer’s disease longitudinal study

Objective: To investigate in a longitudinal cohort of people with Alzheimer’s disease whether taking antipsychotics is associated with more rapid cognitive deterioration. Method: From a sample of 224 people with Alzheimer’s disease recruited as epidemiologically representative, those taking antipsychotic drugs for more than 6 months were compared with those who were not, in terms of change in three measures of cognition. The effects of potential mediators and confounders (demographic factors, neuropsychiatric symptoms, cognitive severity and cholinesterase inhibitors) were also examined. Results: No significant difference was observed in cognitive decline between those taking antipsychotics (atypical or any) and others on any measure of cognition. The only predictor of more cognitive decline was greater baseline cognitive severity (B = 3.3, 95% confidence interval 0.6 to 6.1, t = 2.4, p<0.05). Although mortality was higher in those treated with antipsychotics, this reflected their greater age and severity of dementia. The results were the same when the whole cohort was included rather than the select group with potential to change who had been taking antipsychotics continuously. Conclusions: In this, the first cohort study investigating the effects of atypical antipsychotics on cognitive outcome in Alzheimer’s disease, those taking antipsychotics were no more likely to decline cognitively over 6 months. Although clinicians should remain cautious when prescribing antipsychotic drugs to people with Alzheimer’s disease, any increase in cognitive deterioration is not of the magnitude previously reported. There is a need for cohort studies that follow up patients from first prescription in clinical practice for a period of months rather than weeks to determine “real-life” risks and benefits.
Risks, Costs and Labour Markets: Explaining Cross‐National Patterns of Far Right Party Success in European Parliament Elections

What is the impact of the economy on cross national variation in far right-wing party support? This paper tests several hypotheses from existing literature on the results of the last three EP elections in all EU member states. We conceptualise the economy affects support because unemployment heightens the risks and costs that the population faces, but this is crucially mediated by labour market institutions. Findings from multiple regression analyses indicate that unemployment, real GDP growth, debt and deficits have no statistically significant effect on far right-wing party support at the national level. By contrast, labour markets influence costs and risks: where unemployment benefits and dismissal regulations are high, unemployment has no effect, but where either one of them is low, unemployment leads to higher far right-wing party support. This explains why unemployment has not led to far right-wing party support in some European countries that experienced the 2008 Eurozone crisis.
Spray Versus Forced Coagulation in Large Loop Excision of the Transformation Zone: A Randomized Trial

ObjectiveLarge loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ) is the standard surgical treatment for cervical dysplasia. The optimal way to achieve local hemostasis in women undergoing LLETZ is unknown. Materials and MethodsIn a prospective, randomized trial, we compared spray coagulation and forced coagulation in women undergoing LLETZ in a 1:1 ratio. The primary endpoint was time to complete local hemostasis (TCLH). Secondary endpoints were blood loss (&Dgr; hemoglobin before and after LLETZ), pain (numerical visual analog scale, 5-step graphical visual analog scale measured 2–3 hours after LLETZ), and perioperative/postoperative complications (intraoperative need for sutures, postoperative bleeding, infection, and unscheduled readmission). Analysis was by intention to treat. ResultsOne hundred fifty-one women were enrolled and were eligible for analysis. Mean (SD) TCLH in 80 women with forced coagulation was 43.3 (38.5) and 28.9 (22.9) seconds in 71 women with spray coagulation (p < 0.001). The secondary endpoints blood loss (&Dgr; hemoglobin, −0.8 [0.8] vs −0.7 [1.1]; p = 0.115), pain (numerical visual analog scale, 4.1 [0.9] vs 4.2 [0.9]; p = 0.283, graphical visual analog scale (1.9 [1.3] vs 1.8 [1.3]; p = 0.888), and perioperative/postoperative complications (6/71 [8%] vs 7/80 [9%]; p = 0.822) were comparable between the 2 arms. In a multivariate analysis, coagulation method (odds ratio = 0.18; 95% CI = 0.09–0.38; p < 0.001) and size of the cervix (odds ratio = 2.43; 95% CI = 1.16–5.15; p = 0.021) were independent predictors of TCLH. ConclusionsSpray coagulation is superior to forced coagulation in women undergoing LLETZ and should be used as the standard approach.
The American Faculty: The Restructuring of Academic Work and Careers

Higher education is becoming destabilized in the face of extraordinarily rapid change. The composition of the academy's most valuable asset-the faculty-and the essential nature of faculty work are being transformed. Jack H. Schuster and Martin J. Finkelstein describe the transformation of the American faculty in the most extensive and ambitious analysis of the American academic profession undertaken in a generation. A century ago the American research university emerged as a new organizational form animated by the professionalized, discipline-based scholar. The research university model persisted through two world wars and greatly varying economic conditions. In recent years, however, a new order has surfaced, organized around a globalized, knowledge-based economy, powerful privatization and market forces, and stunning new information technologies. These developments have transformed the higher education enterprise in ways barely imaginable in generations past. At the heart of that transformation, but largely invisible, has been a restructuring of academic appointments, academic work, and academic careers-a reconfiguring widely decried but heretofore inadequately described. This volume depicts the scope and depth of the transformation, combing empirical data drawn from three decades of national higher education surveys. The authors' portrait, at once startling and disturbing, provides the context for interpreting these developments as part of a larger structural evolution of the national higher education system. They outline the stakes for the nation and the challenging work to be done.
Child Mortality in the LDCs: The Role of Trade, Institutions and Environmental Quality

Child mortality is a persistent problem for the worldÂ’s least developed countries (LDCs). Given that trade fosters economic development, one plausible solution is to raise the low levels oftrade in the LDCs, but how effective this approach might be could depend on the quality of institutions. In this paper, we use a novel instrumental variable approach to estimate the effect that trade might have on child mortality in the LDCs. We find that trade does not lead to lower levels of child mortality. In fact, in autocratic LDCs, trade could even cause child mortality to increase as we find that pollution, which adversely affects health, may rise with trade.
Different risk factors influence peptic ulcer disease development in a Brazilian population.

AIM To investigate age, sex, histopathology and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) status, as risk factors for gastroduodenal disease outcome in Brazilian dyspeptic patients. METHODS From all 1466 consecutive dyspeptic patients submitted to upper gastroscopy at Hospital das Clinicas of Marilia, antral biopsy specimens were obtained and subjected to histopathology and H. pylori diagnosis. All patients presenting chronic gastritis (CG) and peptic ulcer (PU) disease localized in the stomach, gastric ulcer (GU) and/or duodenal ulcer (DU) were included in the study. Gastric biopsies (n = 668) positive for H. pylori by rapid urease test were investigated for vacuolating cytotoxin A (vacA) medium (m) region mosaicism by polymerase chain reaction. Logistic regression analysis was performed to verify the association of age, sex, histopathologic alterations, H. pylori diagnosis and vacA m region mosaicism with the incidence of DU, GU and CG in patients. RESULTS Of 1466 patients submitted to endoscopy, 1060 (72.3%) presented CG [male/female = 506/554; mean age (year) ± SD = 51.2 ± 17.81], 88 (6.0%) presented DU [male/female = 54/34; mean age (year) ± SD = 51.4 ± 17.14], and 75 (5.1%) presented GU [male/female = 54/21; mean age (year) ± SD = 51.3 ± 17.12] and were included in the comparative analysis. Sex and age showed no detectable effect on CG incidence (overall χ² = 2.1, P = 0.3423). Sex [Odds ratios (OR) = 1.8631, P = 0.0058] but not age (OR = 0.9929, P = 0.2699) was associated with DU and both parameters had a highly significant effect on GU (overall χ² = 30.5, P < 0.0001). The histopathological results showed a significant contribution of ageing for both atrophy (OR = 1.0297, P < 0.0001) and intestinal metaplasia (OR = 1.0520, P < 0.0001). Presence of H. pylori was significantly associated with decreasing age (OR = 0.9827, P < 0.0001) and with the incidence of DU (OR = 3.6077, P < 0.0001). The prevalence of m1 in DU was statistically significant (OR = 2.3563, P = 0.0018) but not in CG (OR = 2.678, P = 0.0863) and GU (OR = 1.520, P= 0.2863). CONCLUSION In our population, male gender was a risk factor for PU; ageing for GU, atrophy and metaplasia; and H. pylori of vacA m1 genotype for DU.
Open innovation process in developing-country manufacturing organisations: extending the Stage-Gate model

This paper explores how developing-country manufacturing organisations undertake open innovation activities along different stages of new product development (NPD) process. The data were collected through face-toface interviews with senior research and development executives, and design and product engineers in three manufacturing organisations in Pakistan. The results suggest that inbound open innovation activities such as customer involvement, external networking and inward licensing were prevalent in selected organisations, whereas outbound innovation activities such as venturing or spin-offs and outward licensing of intellectual property were not practiced. The three cases add to the academic knowledge via the extension of Cooper’s Stage-Gate model of NPD. The proposed staged model of open innovation not only demonstrates the dynamics of open innovation along different stages of NPD, but also incorporates the enabling role of information and communication technology. Given the focus of current open innovation literature on developed regions, this study explores different stages of the open innovation process in developing-country organisations.
The General Determinants of Share Returns: An Empirical Investigation on the Dhaka Stock Exchange

This paper investigates the underlying factors that determine share returns on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. The empirical analysis does not support the critical condition of the Capital Asset Pricing Model of a positive relationship between share return and beta. However, it shows that variables such as size, price to book, volume of shares traded, earnings yield and cash flow yield have a significant influence on share returns. The degree and direction of relationship among the variables are similar to other emerging markets, but are not always consistent with developed markets perhaps due to lack of homogeneous expectations regarding risk return characteristics and different market microstructure.
Rio's Favelas and the Myth of Marginality

than cities as a whole, and so far show no sign of decreasing, or of being a temporary phenomenon. One of the major ways of identifying these urban poor sectors in Latin America has been to label them as &dquo;marginal&dquo; and their condition as one of &dquo;marginality. &dquo; The concept of marginality has been so widely used and the set of stereotypes it implies have been so widely accepted-not only by popular wisdom and by social scientists, but by policy makers and power holders as well-that it has taken on a life of its own. Recent studies, however, have shown that these stereotypes, or &dquo;myths of marginality,&dquo; are not only empirically false and analytically misleading but disastrous in their policy implications. In this article I argue that the favelados or urban squatters* are not marginal but integrated into the society, albeit in a manner detrimental to their own interests. They are not separate from, or on the margin of the system, but are tightly bound into it in a severely radically asymmetrical form. They contribute their hard work, their high hopes and their loyalities, but they do not benefit from the goods and services of the system. I contend that the favela dwellers are not economically and politically marginal but exploited and repressed: not socially and culturally marginal but stigmatized and excluded from a closed social
Signal Design for Reduced Complexity and Accurate Cell Search/Synchronization in OFDM-Based Cellular Systems

This paper proposes a variant of the frequency-domain synchronization structure specified in the long-term evolution (LTE) standard. In the proposed scheme, the primary synchronization signal used in step-1 cell search is the concatenation of a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence and its conjugate (as opposed to only the ZC sequence in LTE). For step-2 cell search, we propose a complex scrambling sequence requiring no descrambling and a new remapped short secondary synchronization signal that randomizes the intercell interference (as opposed to the first/second scrambling sequence and swapped short signals in LTE). Through a combination of analysis and simulation, we demonstrate that the proposed synchronization signals lead to lower searcher complexity than LTE, a lower detection error rate, a shorter mean cell search time, and immunity toward a frequency offset.
Specialisation patterns in Europe

The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether specialisation has increased in European Union countries, and to determine whether specialisation patterns are consistent with trade theories. I present evidence of increasing specialisation in European Union countries between 1968 and 1990. I identify which industries have increased in geographical concentration and show that the characteristics of these industries are consistent with what is predicted by trade theories. The industries with increasing geographical concentration are characterised by high scale economies and high proportions of intermediate goods in production, providing support for the new trade theories and the economic geography theories.