Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predictors of patient response to pulmonary thromboendarterectomy.

OBJECTIVE We sought to identify imaging features that help predict surgical success in patients undergoing thromboendarterectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-nine consecutive patients who underwent pulmonary angiography and thromboendarterectomy during 1995 and 1996 were included. Thirty-four underwent helical CT angiography. Measurements of postoperative pulmonary vascular resistance were compared with preoperative imaging features and preoperative pulmonary vascular resistance. RESULTS The best imaging indicators of a relatively high postoperative pulmonary vascular resistance were the extent of small vessel disease identified on CT angiograms as segments with abnormal perfusion but normal segmental arteries (p = 0.005) and the extent of central disease (p = 0.015). Combined with preoperative pulmonary vascular resistance, these features had a strong correlation with postoperative outcome (p = 0.0005). Segmental arterial disease seen on both conventional angiography and CT angiography correlated poorly with surgical outcome. CONCLUSION In patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, CT angiographic evidence of extensive central vessel disease and limited small vessel involvement indicates a favorable surgical outcome.
Birth Order Effects on Educational Attainment and Educational Transitions in West Germany

Using sibling data from the German Life History Study and fixed-effects models, I find that birth order has a strong negative effect on educational attainment in West Germany—being born later translates to less education. The strength of the birth order effect is comparable to those of many commonly used family background indicators. This finding contrasts many sceptical accounts of birth order found in the sociological and psychological literatures. The results of this study also show the sensitivity of birth order estimates to model specification, pointing to a likely cause for conflicting results in the previous literature. Birth order effects are weaker for females and in larger families, but do not vary according to families' socioeconomic characteristics. The effects are likewise strong at transition from compulsory school to Gymnasium, but not significant on the transition from Gymnasium to university. Overall, the results do not support theories emphasizing the dilution of socioeconomic resources, nor do they support theories on age-crossovers in birth order effects at around age 11. However, the dilution of other family resources such as parental time and attention is a possible candidate. The weaker birth order effects among females can reflect the traditionally gender unequal returns to education, in which intellectual and school performance advantages to lower birth order do not translate into better educational attainment among German women. Overall, these findings underline the importance of birth order in shaping socioeconomic achievement and, more generally, of the factors that affect the experiences and inequalities of children growing up in the same family.
Compensation Policy and Worker Performance: Identifying Incentive Effects from Field Experiments

The role of field experiments in evaluating the effect of compensation policies on worker productivity is considered. Particular attention is paid to the ability of a field experiment to identify the effect of a permanent change in firm policy. While field experiments solve endogeneity problems through randomization, they do so within a specific, and at times artificial, environment that may not be replicated by a permanent policy change. As such, rather than providing a basis for the unrestricted identification of incentive effects, experiments are better thought of as providing exogenous variation with which to identify structural parameters. These parameters can, in turn, be used to predict the effects of policy changes. (JEL: J3, L2, C9) Copyright (c) 2003 The European Economic Association.
Dinâmica Temporal da Criminalidade: Mais Evidências Sobre o Efeito Inércia" nas Taxas de Crimes Letais nos Estados Brasileiros

Utilizando o estimador system GMM (Arellano e Bover 1995; Blundell e Bond 1998), neste artigo, testa-se a hipotese de que existe efeito inercia" nas taxas de crimes violentos letais e intencionais nos estados brasileiros. Estima-se que, aproximadamente, metade da criminalidade de um periodo se transfere para o proximo, alimentando as altas taxas de crimes letais no Brasil. Os resultados aprofundam a discussao sobre o efeito dissuasorio dos gastos com seguranca publica ja que, mais uma vez, esse efeito nao e observado. Felizmente, porem, aumentar a escolaridade parece ser uma das formas de diminuir a taxa de crimes letais nos estados brasileiros.
A Novel 18-Marker Panel Predicting Clinical Outcome in Breast Cancer

Background: Gene expression profiling has made considerable contributions to our understanding of cancer biology and clinical care. This study describes a novel gene expression signature for breast cancer–specific survival that was validated using external datasets. Methods: Gene expression signatures for invasive breast carcinomas (mainly luminal B subtype) corresponding to 136 patients were analyzed using Cox regression, and the effect of each gene on disease-specific survival (DSS) was estimated. Iterative Bayesian model averaging was applied on multivariable Cox regression models resulting in an 18-marker panel, which was validated using three external validation datasets. The 18 genes were analyzed for common pathways and functions using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software. This study complied with the REMARK criteria. Results: The 18-gene multivariable model showed a high predictive power for DSS in the training and validation cohort and a clear stratification between high- and low-risk patients. The differentially expressed genes were predominantly involved in biological processes such as cell cycle, DNA replication, recombination, and repair. Furthermore, the majority of the 18 genes were found to play a pivotal role in cancer. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that the 18 molecular markers were strong predictors of breast cancer–specific mortality. The stable time-dependent area under the ROC curve function (AUC(t)) and high C-indices in the training and validation cohorts were further improved by fitting a combined model consisting of the 18-marker panel and established clinical markers. Impact: Our work supports the applicability of this 18-marker panel to improve clinical outcome prediction for breast cancer patients. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(11); 1619–28. ©2017 AACR.
Cognitive Radio Systems Evaluation: Measurement, Modeling, and Emulation Approach

A vertically integrated approach is presented to evaluate the performance of cognitive radio (CR) systems. The approach consists of three pillars: measurement, modeling, and emulation (MME). This integrated approach enables the reproduction of the radio environment in laboratory conditions and aims to guarantee the same performance results as one would obtain in the field. This article provides a detailed explanation for each pillar along with state-of-the-art overviews. Finally, a test bed based on the MME approach is presented.
Concordance Between Respondent Self‐reports and Medical Records for Chronic Conditions: Experience From the Veterans Health Study

Researchers have frequently relied on case identification using clinician-based screening as the standard. This study evaluates a self-administered screening questionnaire developed for use in the Veterans Health Study. We compared concordance between elderly patients' reports of selected chronic illnesses and the medical record. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of using a self-report screening questionnaire for case identification in an outcomes study of elderly respondents. Reports of the presence of selected chronic illnesses were compared in a sample of patients (N = 402) receiving outpatient care between 2 data sources, patient self-report and medical record, to determine overall concordance in 5 common chronic conditions (hypertension, adult-onset diabetes mellitus, chronic low-back pain, osteoarthritis of the knee, and chronic lung disease). Discordance between the 2 data sources varied by condition. Differences in reporting were small for diabetes and hypertension, intermediate for chronic lung disease, and larger for osteoarthritis of the knee and chronic low-back pain, where the chart did not identify substantial proportions of cases reported in the questionnaire. Use of patient-reported screening questionnaires, which are self-administered, is a valid, cost-efficient method to identify some chronic illnesses. Using medical records alone may result in underestimation of some symptom-based conditions.
Are satisfied citizens willing to pay more? Public sector consumerism as equitable social exchange

Treating citizens like customers is a common prescription for public managers, but citizens differ from customers—citizens engage in equitable social exchange that balances individual preferences and assessments with willingness-to-pay for public amenities. This article examines whether citizen satisfaction with the quality and quantity of public amenities drives a citizen's willingness-to-pay for more public provision. Analysing data from a Texas municipality's satisfaction survey, the authors found that a decrease in satisfaction with the quantity of public amenities is associated with an increase in willingness-to-pay, but quality assessments show no relationship. Such behaviour highlights differences between customers and public sector consumers, but also suggests that a rational public is willing to contribute to the resolution of public supply problems.
The new labor market: Immigrants and wages after IRCA

We examine the effect of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) on migrants ’ wages using data gathered in 39 Mexican communities and their U.S. destination areas. We examine changes in the determinants of wages before and after the passage of IRCA, as well as the effects of its massive legalization program. Migrants ’ wages deteriorated steadily between 1970 and 1995, but IRCA did not foment discrimination against Mexican workers per se. Rather, it appears to have encouraged greater discrimination against undocumented migrants, with employers passing the costs and risks of unauthorized hiring on to the workers. Although available data do not permit us to eliminate competing explanations entirely, limited controls suggest that the post-IRCA wage penalty against undocumented migrants did not stem from an expansion of the immigrant labor supply, an increase in the use of labor subcontracting, or a deterioration of the U.S. labor market.
The Impact of Immigration on the Earnings of Natives: Evidence from Australian Micro Data

The present paper provides a new approach to investigate the impact of recent immigrants on the real wages of native Australians. The method involves cross-section analysis of 48 labour markets using data from six consecutive Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) income distribution surveys for the years 1982 through 1996. Recent immigrants are not found to significantly affect the real wages of native Australians. This conclusion remains unchanged when the specific impact of immigration on less educated or young Australian workers is investigated.
The Structure of Corporate Control and Ownership in a Regulatory Environment Unbiased toward One-Share-One-Vote

This paper seeks to identify the determinants of corporate ownership and control that emerge in regulatory environments which do not inhibit the issue of shares with differential voting rights and/or the establishment of pyramid holding companies (which serve exactly the same purpose). [Methodologically, the paper follows the seminal study of the US corporate structure by Demsetz & Lehn (1985). ] Such settings tend to produce very concentrated control structures, which contrast sharply with those of the USA, the UK and Australia, where the distribution of shareholder votes in the large public corporations is relatively diffuse. Relatively lenient listing regulations have produced in South Africa a corporate landscape dominated by pyramid holding companies and multilayered diversified corporate groupings. These structures have effectively concentrated the control of most of the large public companies in the hands of a few entrepreneurial families (as well as the two large life insurance mutuals). This setting has enabled us to advance and test hypotheses about control and ownership which would be more difficult to test in a US, UK or Australian setting. Almost all the companies in our sample were found to be under the absolute control of a single identifiable shareholder coalition (usually one or two families) but the underlying percentage shareholding of the controlling group in each company was found to vary dramatically and systematically. We sought to explain that variation and to identify the role of the market as a constraint on the ability of controlling shareholders who wish to dilute their equity stake without surrendering control for the purpose of expanding their companies (without incurring additional debt) and/or diversifying their personal wealth. Demsetz & Lehn had already identified the factors that determine the demand by shareholders for equity dilution but not those constraining their ability to do so. This paper, therefore, attempts to shed light on the way in which principal/agent problems affecting shareholders and managers are resolved when one-share-one-vote is neither enforced nor encouraged by the regulatory environment.
Right lower limb apraxia in a patient with left supplementary motor area infarction: intactness of the corticospinal tract confirmed by transcranial magnetic stimulation

We reported a 50-year-old female patient with left supplementary motor area infarction who presented right lower limb apraxia and investigated the possible causes using transcranial magnetic stimulation. The patient was able to walk and climb stairs spontaneously without any assistance at 3 weeks after onset. However, she was unable to intentionally move her right lower limb although she understood what she supposed to do. The motor evoked potential evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation from the right lower limb was within the normal range, indicating that the corticospinal tract innervating the right lower limb was uninjured. Thus, we thought that her motor dysfunction was not induced by motor weakness, and confirmed her symptoms as apraxia. In addition, these results also suggest that transcranial magnetic stimulation is helpful for diagnosing apraxia.
Malaysian graduates' employability skills enhancement: an application of the importance performance analysis

In an era of globalisation and competitiveness, employers are looking for versatile graduates who are able to drive their organisations to compete successfully in the market place. Now–a–days, obtaining a good degree is no longer sufficient to get a job. Graduates should equip themselves, not only with technical skills, but more importantly, with soft skills. The main objectives of this study are to identify Malaysian graduates' employability skills, to identify the priority of each skill and to highlight the gap between the importance of graduates' employability skills to employers and their level of satisfaction on those skills. In general, the results of the gap analysis showed that employers perceive graduates' employability skills performance as being lower than the importance assigned to those skills. The widest gap was found in communication skills, especially the skill of the English language usage. Using the importance–performance analysis (IPA), 13 attributes fell into the improvement quadrant.
Imperfect competition and macroeconomics: a survey

This survey outlines the general lessons of the recent literature on imperfectly competitive macroeconomies for the theory of monetary and fiscal policy. A general framework is presented which encompasses most of the existing literature. Although money is of itself neutral in these models, the presence of menu costs, expectations which are not unit elastic, or sectoral nominal rigidities can result in a welfare-improving role for monetary policy. Imperfect competition also enhances the scope for the beneficial influence of fiscal policy. We explore the possibilities for multiple Pareto-ranked equilibria and the role of increasing returns to scale.
Agency Problems between Managers and Employees in Nonprofit Organizations: A Discrete Choice Experiment

Most principal–agent literature of nonprofit organizations has focused on the relationship between board members and managers. However, in addition to the role as an agent of the board, the manager also performs a role as principal with respect to the nonprofit employees. By using a discrete choice experiment, we identify the objectives of managers and employees in nonprofit organizations and assess the presence of agency problems in this relationship. Our sample consists of 76 headmasters, 161 teachers, and 39 administrative employees in 74 secondary nonprofit schools in Belgium. We find that the six objectives set out in the experiment play an important role for both headmasters and subordinate staff. However, the results also indicate that some of these objectives are significantly more important for the headmasters. In sum, our results suggest that agency theory and stewardship theory are not necessarily in conflict with each other but can be combined into a more general governance framework for nonprofit organizations. Consequently, we argue that incentive structures that incorporate different types of objectives can facilitate the recruitment and retention of employees in nonprofit organizations.
Multiple ancient horizontal gene transfers and duplications in lepidopteran species

Eukaryotic horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events are increasingly being discovered yet few reports have summarized multiple occurrences in a wide range of species. We systematically investigated HGT events in the order Lepidoptera by employing a series of filters. Bombyx mori, Danaus plexippus and Heliconius melpomene had 13, 12 and 12 HGTs, respectively, from bacteria and fungi. These HGTs contributed a total of 64 predicted genes: 22 to B. mori, 22 to D. plexippus and 20 to H. melpomene. Several new genes were generated by post‐transfer duplications. Post‐transfer duplication of a suite of functional HGTs has rarely been reported in higher organisms. The distributional patterns of paralogues for certain genes differed in the three species, indicating potential independent duplication or loss events. All of these HGTs had homologues expressed in some other lepidopterans, indicating ancient transfer events. Most HGTs were involved in the metabolism of sugar and amino acids. These HGTs appeared to have experienced amelioration, purifying selection and accelerated evolution to adapt to the background genome of the recipient. The discovery of ancient, massive HGTs and duplications in lepidopterans and their adaptive evolution provides further insights into the evolutionary significance of the events from donors to multicellular host recipients.
PROFIT SHARING, WAGE BARGAINING, AND UNEMPLOYMENT

This paper examines the effects of profit sharing in an economy with decentralized wage bargaining. Profit sharing makes workers' income more sensitive to wage changes, and this leads to wage moderation. But economywide profit sharing may also improve workers' outside income opportunities, and this strengthens the union's hand in bargaining and tends to raise wages. It turns out that equilibrium unemployment is reduced by profit sharing as long as the elasticity of substitution between labor and capital is less than one, whereas unemployment is increased if the elasticity of substitution is greater than one. Copyright 1990 by Oxford University Press.
Analyzing the impacts of final demand changes on total output using input-output approach: The case of Japanese ICT sectors

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impacts of final demand changes on total output of Japanese Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sectors in future time. This study employs one of analysis tool in Input-Output (IO) analysis, demand-pull IO quantity model, in achieving the purpose. There are three final demand changes used in this study, namely (1) export, (2) import, and (3) outside households consumption changes. This study focuses on "pure change" condition, the condition that final demand changes only appear in analyzed sectors. The results show that export and outside households consumption modifications give positive impact while opposite impact could be seen in import change.
Cell‐specific transgene expression from a widely transcribed promoter using Cre/lox in mice

Summary: Mice carrying two or more transgenes are used frequently to evaluate oncogene interactions during carcinogenesis. However, neoplastic transformation typically results in reduced expression both of differentiation‐specific genes and of transgenes that use their promoters. In contrast, the more widely expressed metallothionein (MT) gene remains expressed at a high level in certain neoplasms, including those developing in pancreas. We have developed a system to maintain high‐level, tissue‐specific transgene expression during pancreatic carcinogenesis that uses Cre recombinase and a lox site‐containing target transgene. Cre was expressed in pancreatic acinar cells under control of the elastase promoter (EL). Cre‐mediated target transgene recombination placed a previously silent open‐reading frame, encoding rat transforming growth factor alpha (TGFα), under control of the MT gene promoter. As long as DNA rearrangement does not occur in other cell types that express MT, TGFα expression will be restricted to acinar cells. Development of an effective target transgenic mouse required evaluation of multiple lineages to identify one with sufficient TGFα expression to induce pancreatic lesions after transgene rearrangement. genesis 32:277–286, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Signaling Events in Amyloid β-Peptide-induced Neuronal Death and Insulin-like Growth Factor I Protection*

Amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) is implicated as the toxic agent in Alzheimer's disease and is the major component of brain amyloid plaques. In vitro, Aβ causes cell death, but the molecular mechanisms are unclear. We analyzed the early signaling mechanisms involved in Aβ toxicity using the SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line. Aβ caused cell death and induced a 2- to 3-fold activation of JNK. JNK activation and cell death were inhibited by overexpression of a dominant-negative SEK1 (SEK1-AL) construct. Butyrolactone I, a cdk5 inhibitor, had an additional protective effect against Aβ toxicity in these SEK1-AL-expressing cells suggesting that cdk5 and JNK activation independently contributed to this toxicity. Aβ also weakly activated ERK and Akt but had no effect on p38 kinase. Inhibitors of ERK and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways did not affect Aβ-induced cell death, suggesting that these pathways were not important in Aβ toxicity. Insulin-like growth factor I protected against Aβ toxicity by strongly activating ERK and Akt and blocking JNK activation in a PI3K-dependent manner. Pertussis toxin also blocked Aβ-induced cell death and JNK activation suggesting that Gi/o proteins were upstream activators of JNK. The results suggest that activation of the JNK pathway and cdk5 may be initial signaling cascades in Aβ-induced cell death.