Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Property-liability insurance pricing models : an empirical evaluation

Over the past two decades, several pricing models that integrate underwriting and investment performance have been proposed or used to determine property4ability insurance rates. In general, these models have been tested separately and only over a relatively limited time horizon. In this article, the major property-liability insurance pricing models are evaluated over the 60-year period from 1926 through 1985 and the results of the various models are compared in terms of the ability to predict actual underwriting profit margins. Differences between model predictions and realized underwriting profit margin series are examined over the entire period as well as various subperiods in order to demonstrate how individual models perform under different conditions. The goal of this research is to assist actuaries and researchers in the application of pricing models and interpretation of results.
Inhibition of Breast Cancer Resistance Protein (ABCG2) in Human Myeloid Dendritic Cells Induces Potent Tolerogenic Functions during LPS Stimulation

Breast cancer resistance protein (ABCG2), a member of the ATP-binding cassette transporters has been identified as a major determinant of multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells, but ABC transporter inhibition has limited therapeutic value in vivo. In this research, we demonstrated that inhibition of efflux transporters ABCG2 induced the generation of tolerogenic DCs from human peripheral blood myeloid DCs (mDCs). ABCG2 expression was present in mDCs and was further increased by LPS stimulation. Treatment of CD1c+ mDCs with an ABCG2 inhibitor, Ko143, during LPS stimulation caused increased production of IL-10 and decreased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and decreased expression of CD83 and CD86. Moreover, inhibition of ABCG2 in monocyte-derived DCs (MDDCs) abrogated the up-regulation of co-stimulatory molecules and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in these cells in response to LPS. Furthermore, CD1c+ mDCs stimulated with LPS plus Ko143 inhibited the proliferation of allogeneic and superantigen-specific syngenic CD4+ T cells and promoted expansion of CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells in an IL-10-dependent fashion. These tolerogenic effects of ABCG2 inhibition could be abolished by ERK inhibition. Thus, we demonstrated that inhibition of ABCG2 in LPS-stimulated mDCs can potently induce tolerogenic potentials in these cells, providing crucial new information that could lead to development of better strategies to combat MDR cancer.
Aspirin and the Prevention of Experimental Arterial Thrombosis: Difficulty in Establishing Unequivocal Effectiveness

Summary A trial of the efficacy of aspirin in the prevention of thrombotic occlusion of an “aortic loop” in rats was made simultaneously by two experimental surgeons. A relatively large dose of aspirin (80-100 mg/kg/day) was used, starting two days before operation. It appeared that aspirin was of limited benefit, reducing thrombotic occlusions by about 17% seven days after the insertion of the loop into the abdominal aorta. Although the average occlusion time was prolonged by about 17% in aspirin-treated animals, the separate trials gave no conclusive result. When the data from both operators were pooled, a statistically significant protection by aspirin was apparent (p = 0.02), by a two-tailed Student’s t test. However, on using the powerful non-parametric randomization test, the occlusion times in control and aspirin-treated groups appeared not statistically different (p = 0.07). No significant difference was also found between control and treated groups when data were analyzed by X2 test. Independently of the statistical analysis, these data are quite similar to those obtained from aspirin trials in men surviving myocardial infarction. This finding points to the usefulness of the aorta loop as an animal model for arterial thrombosis.
The effects of the GSTP on trade flow: mission accomplished?

This paper investigates whether the Global System of Trade Preferences among developing countries (GSTP) achieves its intent to increase the trade of capital goods between member countries. For this purpose, trade data disaggregated by the degree of commodity differentiation and various GSTP regional dummies are employed in a gravity equation. Estimation results say that the value of trade between GSTP member countries has increased significantly since the formation of the GSTP in 1989, and the trade of differentiated commodities has increased remarkably compared with other commodities. Therefore, it can be asserted that the mission of the GSTP has been accomplished successfully.
A Conceptual Model for a Program of Agricultural Education in Colleges and Universities.

Departments or programs of agricultural education have been a part of many universities since the turn of the century. Most were established in response to the need for high school teachers of agriculture for the newly-funded federal vocational agriculture programs throughout the country. The National Vocational Education Act of 1917, commonly called Smith-Hughes, provided for programs of vocational agriculture in rural high schools for the purpose of developing interest and competency in farming. Although similar programs existed prior to 1917. the demand for teachers was increased many fold with the advent of the Federal legislation. In Ohio, as an example, there were 58 agriculture teachers in 1916; within a year after the passage of Smith-Hughes, a new crop of 17 teachers had been prepared for Ohio schools (Wolf, 1969).
Institutional sustainability indicators: an analysis of the institutions in Agenda 21 and a draft set of indicators for monitoring their effectivity

Objectives of sustainable development are defined for the economic, social and environmental dimension, but for effective compliance as well as for sustainability characteristics such as justice or participation they must be complemented by core institutional objectives. The CSD's set of sustainability indicators was the first one to explicitly take into account the institutional dimension of sustainability, and other organizations such as the World Bank and the OECD have followed. Like most pioneers, the indicators suggested offer significant room for improvement. In order to measure the effectiveness of the relevant institutions, Agenda 21 has been analysed regarding its institutional content (organizations, mechanisms, orientations). From this basis, the purposes of the institutions have been determined in a stepwise approach and indicators developed that permit us to measure the progress achieved against the purposes of the respective institution. The methodology developed can be applied to other international agreements, providing the basis for an integrated reporting system. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.
Heat Waves and Cold Spells: An Analysis of Policy Response and Perceptions of Vulnerable Populations in the UK

Heat waves and cold spells pose ongoing seasonal risks to the health and well-being of vulnerable individuals. Current attempts to address these risks in the UK are implemented through fuel-poverty strategies and heat-wave planning. This paper examines evidence from the UK on whether heat waves and cold spells are addressed differently by public policy in the UK given that risks are mediated by similar perceptions that shape behavioural responses by vulnerable individuals. It is based on a review of UK policies and on a qualitative interview study of risk perceptions of elderly people as a primary identified vulnerable group to these weather extremes. The study involved in-depth repeat interviews with fifteen elderly respondents in summer 2007 and winter 2008 in Norwich (UK). Results suggest that neither heat risks nor cold risks are perceived as personal risks and therefore planned preventive measures by individuals are largely elusive. Cold risk policy reduces vulnerability; policy related to heat relies on early warning and public information programmes and does not reduce underlying vulnerability. Both types of policies largely ignore public perceptions of risks and could benefit from a more cohesive approach, supporting similar measures to reduce seasonal vulnerability.
Influences on expatriate social networks in China

This study applied social network theory to investigate the factors influencing expatriate social networks and the consequences of expatriate social networks in China. Based on analysis of 171 Taiwanese expatriates in China, this study found that core self-evaluations and extraversion are significant for expatriates in developing expressive and instrumental ties with host country nationals. Moreover, job autonomy assists expatriates in developing instrumental ties with host country nationals. The expressive and instrumental ties of expatriates with host country nationals are significant for overseas adaptation. Finally, instrumental ties with host country nationals are significant for expatriate job performance.
Strategies for the construction sector in the information technology era

The construction industries in many countries are starting to consider seriously the strategic use of information technology (IT). The use of information technology in construction is extending beyond the stage of piecemeal application for improving the efficiency of discrete operations by individual organizations to the advanced stage where IT is applied strategically in commercial enterprises, government agencies and professional institutions. Progress in construction in this regard appears to lag behind that in most other sectors of the economy. This paper considers the nature and the background of this progression in construction by examining proposals by Earl (1989) of nine basic prerequisites to the IT era which make a strategic approach timely. Each prerequisite is outlined and how it has been met in other sectors of the economy considered. The extent to which these prerequisites apply in construction and the scope for their application in the near future are examined. It is argued that all organiz.
Us Credit Unions: An Empirical Investigation of Size, Age and Growth

An econometric analysis of the growth performance of US credit unions for the period 1992-2001 investigates empirical relationships between size, age and growth. Ceteris paribus larger credit unions grew faster than smaller unions. State credit unions grew faster than federal credit unions, and single bond credit unions grew faster than multiple bond credit unions. The size-growth gradients were generally steeper for state than for federal credit unions, and for single bond than for multiple bond credit unions. These patterns are attributed to variations in legislation and regulatory treatment. There is some evidence that younger credit unions tended to outgrow older ones. This seems consistent with a life cycle typology of credit union growth and development. There is also evidence of a positive persistence of growth effect. The cross-sectional variance of growth is inversely related to size, but is largely independent of age.
Economics of South African townships : special focus on Diepsloot

Countries everywhere are divided into two distinct spatial realms: one urban, one rural. Classic models of development predict faster growth in the urban sector, causing rapid migration from rural areas to cities, lifting average incomes in both places. The process continues until the marginal productivity of labor is equalized across the two realms. The pattern of rising urbanization accompanying economic growth has become one of the most visible and self-evident empirical facts of development across the world, with almost 200,000 people making the rural-to-urban trek every day, according to the United Nations. Cities across the world are powering growth, development, and modernization. The study then takes a close look at Diepsloot, a large township in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Area, to bring out more vividly the economic realities and choices of township residents. Although atypical in many ways, by the virtue of being newer, poorer, and more informal, with a bigger concentration of migrants (many of them foreign nationals), than the historically established townships, Diepsloot also retains many of the economic characteristics of South African townships: Issues of joblessness, uneven access to basic public services, and overwhelming levels of crime and violence are almost as pervasive in Diepsloot as they are in other T&IS. At the same time, an emergent informal sector more visibly pervades the township than seen in the average township, which makes it a particularly useful place to study in order to develop an understanding of the kinds of economic activities that are feasible in townships. It focuses particularly on the nature of business activity in the township, the key investment-climate constraints faced by its firms, income and expenditure patterns across households, and some aggregative social and human indicators. In a first attempt of its kind for a township, the report also develops a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) of Diepsloot for a comprehensive and consistent picture of the place, including the circular flow of income within the township, the nature of its interaction with the rest of the South African economy, and a simple multiplier analysis of its economy.
Inside Police Custody: An Empirical Account of Suspects' Rights in Four Jurisdictions

This empirical study of the procedural rights of suspects in four EU jurisdictions - France, Scotland, the Netherlands and England and Wales - focuses on three of the procedural rights set out in the EU Roadmap for strengthening the procedural rights of suspected or accused persons in criminal proceedings - the right to interpretation and translation; the right to information; and the right to legal assistance. In addition to analysis of empirical data, the book also includes training guidelines for lawyers and polcie officers across the EU.
Hybrid strategies in Greece: a pleasant surprise

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically whether a hybrid, compared with other forms of competitive advantage, contributes to better business performance.Design/methodology/approach – Based on 105 food manufacturing firms in Greece, a European Union (EU) member state, this study performs a factor analysis, a cluster analysis and an analysis of variance.Findings – This study provides evidence in favour of the hybrid as the best‐performing form of competitive advantage for Greek food firms. Specifically, the findings show pure (the cost‐based nichers: 36 firms), combined (the hybridists: 49 firms) and stuck‐in‐the‐middle (the confused strategists: 20 firms) strategic alternatives that differ in terms of performance.Research limitations/implications – Research on Porter's dominant paradigm within Europe is surprisingly limited. Given the call for further research on competitive strategy to focus on European firms, this Greek study extends Porter's original model and represents one of.
Conflict and Interdependence

This article investigates the relationship between interdependence and conflict, using U.S.-Warsaw Pact trade and conflict data during détente as a case study. A theoretical framework is developed in which incentives to reduce conflict are related to the desire to protect the benefits of an interaction. Asymmetric interdependence can lead to linkage diplomacy and to greater conflict reduction by one side than the other. These hypotheses are tested empirically. A strong, inverse relationship between trade and conflict is found, and trade is found to cause a greater reduction in Warsaw Pact conflict than in U.S. conflict. We further investigate the relationship between trade and conflict in various types of goods, as well as the trade/conflict relationship between the United States and the individual Warsaw Pact members. These results are of importance in understanding the use of trade and other interactions as a diplomatic tool, and in comparing the foreign policies of particular Warsaw Pact members.
Gender differences in environmental concern among Swedish citizens and politicians

Numerous studies find modest, consistent gender differences in environmental concern within the general publics of North American and European countries, but results from the few studies of gender differences among politicians are inconsistent. We test if women report stronger environmental concern than men across four levels of the Swedish polity, utilising three data sets: a representative sample of the general public, a survey of all representatives in municipal-level and county-level councils, and a survey of members of the Swedish Parliament. Results from our multivariate ordered logistic regression models reveal a consistent pattern across the lower three levels: women report greater environmental concern than men in the general public and in municipal and county councils. In the Swedish Parliament, however, the apparent effect of gender is largely explained by political orientation.
The Economic Geography of Financing Clean Energy Technologies

This article seeks to describe the geography of clean tech investment which has emerged in recent years in the USA and the UK. An empirical approach was used, relying on close-dialogue interviews with senior investment managers in both markets. The article draws three conclusions. First, clean tech investment is often strongly influenced by physical geography, particularly in the area of renewable energy technologies. Second, regulatory settings play a strong role in the flow of investment. Third, capital flows unevenly between the different stages of technological maturity in clean energy products — a phenomenon which has been described as the ‘valley of death’ financing gap.
Product Market Regulation and the Benefits of Wage Moderation

Euro-area real wages have decelerated sharply in the last 20 years, but this has not yet translated into visibly lower unemployment or faster growth. Weak output growth after such a cost shock is somewhat puzzling and has led some to question the benefits of wage moderation. By isolating structural from cyclical factors in a panel of industrial countries, I show that structurally slower real wage growth, that is, "wage moderation," does raise output growth and lower unemployment rates. However, I show that the impact on both variables depends crucially on product market regulation: weaker competition and barriers to entry mute the growth effects of structural real wage changes by allowing incumbent firms to appropriate larger rents. In this context, overly regulated product markets in the euro area are undermining the effects of labor market reforms on output and employment.
Finnish Nurses’ Views on End-of-Life Discussions and a Comparison with Physicians’ Views

This study investigated Finnish nurses’ experiences and views on end-of-life decision making and compared them with physicians’ views. For this purpose, a questionnaire was sent to 800 nurses, of which 51% responded. Most of the nurses had a positive attitude towards and respect for living wills, more often than physicians. Most also believed that a will had an effect on decision making. Almost all of the nurses considered it their responsibility to talk to physicians about respecting living wills. Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders were often interpreted to imply partial or complete palliative (symptom-orientated) care, which may cause confusion. Half of the nurses reported that a DNR decision was discussed always or often with a patient who was able to communicate; physicians were more positive in this respect. Surprisingly, many nurses (44%) stated that active treatment continued too long. Two-thirds thought that their opinions were taken into account sufficiently, even though only half believed that, in general, they had some impact.
Dynamic application mapping on CTH network: a performance-centric approach

Communication cost in terms of energy consumption and network latency, along with the dynamic allocation time of the tasks and their execution time, is the primary design concern of a run-time mapping and scheduling strategy that may significantly affect the overall performance of an application. The present work proposes a dynamic mapping and scheduling algorithm based on the Cube-Tree-Hybrid (CTH) topology. The CTH network can integrate a large number of IP cores under significantly low network diameter, as opposed to mesh. Moreover, the design of CTH comes with considerable path diversity. For the above properties, mapping on CTH becomes simpler than mesh, which successfully minimizes the communication hop distance amongst various tasks of an application. Extensive experimentation has been done across several synthetic and real application workloads. Compared to the prevalent mesh-based mapping techniques, the proposed algorithm achieves a minimum gain of 56% on communication latency, whereas it is 36% in total power consumption. Minimum 14% improvement on applications' deadline satisfaction is achieved.
Equity With Warrants in Private Placements

We examine private equity with warrant (unit) placements and compare them with private equity placements. Firms making unit placements are smaller, younger, riskier, and characterized by higher information asymmetry than equity-placing firms. Furthermore, unit-placing firms experience good pre-placement stock performance; however, their post-placement performance is poor and worse than that of equity-placing firms. We also find that very few of the placed warrants are in the money at expiration. Our results are consistent with the window of opportunity hypothesis and the theory that warrants are especially desirable to a clientele of overoptimistic investors.
Inward oriented and outward oriented trade strategies

This article utilises the classification of developing countries according to their trade orientation that has recently been made available by the World Bank from the background work by Greenaway. It examines the effect of trade on economic development of the countries within each group, the efficiency of investment, and the industrialisation process under alternative trade strategies. The hypothesis that international trade benefits most developing countries and that an outward orientation leads to a more efficient use of resources and growth is partially supported by the econometric results. The methodology used, while giving rise to some estimation problems, exposes some dubious results obtained in cross‐section studies.
Fetal and uteroplacental haemodynamics during short‐term atenolol treatment of hypertension in pregnancy

Fetal circulation was studied by means of combined realtime and pulsed Doppler ultrasound in 14 women with pregnancy‐associated hypertension before and during the first and third days of treatment with the β1‐selective blocker, atenolol; in seven of the women the maternal uterine arcuate blood velocity waveform was also studied. Blood flow characteristics were normal both in the fetus and in the maternal arcuate artery, compared with those in uncomplicated pregnancies of corresponding gestational ages. Volume blood flow remained unchanged in the fetal descending aorta, and in the umbilical vein during atenolol treatment, whereas the pulsatility index increased in the fetal descending aorta and in the arcuate artery. This suggests that the peripheral vascular resistance, both on the maternal and fetal side of the placenta, increased during short‐term antihypertensive treament with atenolol.