Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low risk is associated with poorer quality of life than high risk following acute coronary syndrome

BackgroundMorbidity after acute coronary syndromes includes both physical and mental disorders affecting quality of life. The aim of this investigation was to study quality of life at a 3-month follow-up in patients with acute coronary syndrome, with the main objective of exploring whether unstable angina pectoris and myocardial infarction (MI) patients differ in this respect. MethodsThis investigation was part of a prospective risk stratification study of consecutive patients with acute coronary syndrome of whom 814 below the age of 75 years (278 diagnosed with unstable angina pectoris and 536 with myocardial infarction) accepted an invitation to a follow-up visit 3 months after discharge. At follow-up, the patients completed the Cardiac Health Profile, a disease-specific quality of life questionnaire, designed to evaluate perceived cognitive, emotional, social and physical function. ResultsQuality of life was mainly influenced by patient characteristics and previous history. The Cardiac Health Profile scores in unstable angina pectoris patients were significantly higher (i.e. poorer quality of life) than myocardial infarction patients at the 3-month visit (34, 22, 50; median, 25th, 75th percentile and 30, 19, 44; median, 25th, 75th percentile, respectively, P=0.006). The adjusted odds ratio for a poorer quality of life in unstable angina pectoris patients in relation to myocardial infarction patients was 1.39 (95% confidence interval 1.03, 1.87; P=0.03). The highest Cardiac Health Profile scores were seen in the unstable angina pectoris patients without electrocardiogram signs of ongoing ischemia and/or elevated markers of myocardial necrosis. ConclusionPatients with unstable angina pectoris, especially of the low-risk type, and therefore treated accordingly, are more likely to experience poorer quality of life following an acute hospitalization than patients with other types of acute coronary syndrome. Once myocardial infarction or high-risk unstable angina pectoris has been ruled out, these patients still require a careful and systematic follow-up.
Technical analysis and the London stock exchange: testing the MACD and RSI rules using the FT30

This article examines two oscillators – the Moving Average Convergence–Divergence (MACD) and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) – to see if these rules are profitable. Using 60-year data of the London Stock Exchange FT30 Index, it is found that the RSI as well as the MACD rules can generate returns higher than the buy-and-hold strategy in most cases.
Does a purchasing manager’s need for cognitive closure (NFCC) affect decision-making uncertainty and supply chain performance?

Purchasing managers have increasingly assumed a pivotal role in supply chain management. They are extensively involved in the decision-making processes for purchasing and supply decisions. Yet, the extent to which their personal traits may affect decision-making environments and supply chain performance (SCP) has not been subjected to rigorous empirical scrutiny. Extant research has remained largely anecdotal and disjointed. This paper seeks to extend the stream of research in supply chain management by systematically investigating the antecedents and performance outcomes of decision-making uncertainty (DMU). It enhances current SCP literature by incorporating two understudied constructs, namely DMU and purchasing managers’ need for cognitive closure (NFCC), to explore behavioural impacts on SCP. Using structural equation modelling, this study empirically tests a number of hypothesised relationships based on a sample of 201 purchasing firms. Analysis results provide robust support for the links between close buyer–supplier relationships, DMU, the NFCC and the SCP of the buying firm. Implications for future research and supply chain practice are also offered.
Exploring the Sensitivity of Corporate Bond Yield Spreads to Changes in the Yield Curve

Previous empirical work suggests that, when using corporate bond indices, the yield spread sensitivity of corporate bonds to changes in the yield curve is negative and significant, especially for the A and BBB-rated bond categories. We use a sample of 5500 US corporate bonds to construct bond indices from six credit rating categories. We confirm the findings of previous empirical studies. But, also, we find that the yield spreads on AAA and AA-rated bond indices have positive relationships with changes to the yield curve, suggesting heterogeneity in sensitivities across bond rating categories. We then analyse the yield spread sensitivity of individual corporate bonds in our sample. We find that, sensitivities vary across bond ratings categories, and within bond rating categories, sensitivities can vary significantly across maturity and economic sectors. Finally, we use information on bond sensitivities to create bond indices from within the set of A and BBB-rated bonds where the estimated sensitivities are either insignificantly different from zero or significantly positive. These results illustrate the power of the averaging process inherent in using broad bond indices to hide variation in sensitivities within the bond rating category.
Involvement of NMDA glutamate receptors in the acquisition and reinstatement of the conditioned place preference induced by MDMA

Some 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) users become dependent as a result of chronic consumption. A greater understanding of the neurobiological basis of the rewarding effects of MDMA could contribute to developing effective pharmacotherapies for MDMA-related problems. The present study evaluated the role of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors (NMDARs) in the acquisition and reinstatement of conditioned place preference (CPP) induced by MDMA. Adolescent male mice were conditioned with 1 or 10 mg/kg MDMA and pretreated with 5 or 10 mg/kg of the NMDAR antagonist memantine during acquisition of conditioning (experiment 1), or before a reinstatement test (experiment 2). In addition, the effects of memantine on acquisition of chocolate-induced CPP and the effects of memantine and MDMA on a passive avoidance task were evaluated. Memantine did not exert any motivational effects, but blocked the acquisition of MDMA-induced CPP. Moreover, following acquisition and extinction of MDMA-induced CPP, memantine did not induce reinstatement but blocked reinstatement of the CPP induced by priming with MDMA. Memantine did not block the CPP induced by chocolate, and it partially reversed the impairing effects of MDMA on memory. Our results demonstrate that NMDARs are involved in acquisition of the conditioned rewarding effects of MDMA and in priming-induced reinstatement of CPP following extinction. Moreover, they suggest the validity of memantine for the treatment of MDMA abuse.
Strategic consensus, top management teams, and innovation performance

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the educational level and diversity of a firm's top management team (TMT), moderated by strategic consensus, influence its innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach - Using Poisson regression analysis, the proposed models were tested on 97 innovative Spanish firms selected from the Dun and Bradstreet database of 2000. Findings - Results show that a higher educational level in the TMT has a positive and direct effect on innovation performance, while functional diversity and diversity in TMT tenure have a direct and negative effect. However, in a situation of strategic consensus in the TMT, the relationship between functional diversity and innovation is positive. Originality/value - The paper makes several contributions to previous research. First, few studies have considered the influence of the characteristics and composition of the TMT on the organization's innovation performance. Second, this paper responds to the calls of researchers to enrich the upper echelon theory by considering strategic consensus as a process of interaction between the members of the TMT that modifies the relationship between TMT diversity and the firm's innovation performance.
Attitudes, experience and knowledge among farmers to recycling of sludge

Abstract Today's wastewater systems have been built to improve the hygiene level within households and the quality of water for other users, but have on the other hand created another environmental problem in the production of sludge. In many Western societies more than 50% of sludge produced is being distributed on agricultural land, and resistance to this practice among farmers is growing. In a survey answered by 1050 farmers, attitudes, experiences and knowledge towards use of sludge were investigated. Reasons for use were soil conditioner properties and compensation schemes. Reasons for non-use were fear of toxic compounds and infectious remnants, restrictions on use of land and unfamiliarity with use. There was more knowledge among users than among non-users. Compensation for sludge among farmers implied a perception of sludge as a waste. If farmers must accept sludge, then reliable and complete information from trusted sources is required: economic arguments about agronomic benefits are not sufficient and confidence with other stakeholders and a feeling of justice in solving environmental problems are central aspects.
Taxes, Failure Costs, and Optimal Industry Capital Structure: An Empirical Test

SINCE 1958 WHEN FRANCO Modigliani and Merton Miller (M-M) provided the first proof, invariance propositions have been central to the theory of corporate finance. M-M stated their proposition in two equivalent forms: that the "value of a firm is independent of its capital structure" and that "the average cost of capital to any firm is completely independent of its capital structure. "' The rationale is well known. Given the expected return on assets for a firm, individual arbitrage2 will ensure that the value of the firm is simply this expected return capitalized at the rate appropriate to firms in the same risk class. This rate is the average cost of capital and does not depend upon financing decisions of the firm. Consequently, the value of the firm does not depend upon its financing decisions but only on its risk class and its investment decisions. If taxes, in particular the preferential treatment of interest payments, and failure costs are included in the analysis, the two forms of the original M-M proposition may no longer be equivalent. Even if the financial decisions of the firm do not affect its cost of capital, they still may change the firm's expected earnings by altering its tax liability and probability of failing.3 These changes in expected earnings would affect the value of the firm. It is thus possible for the second form of the original M-M proposition to be true even if the first form is not. Additionally, by altering characteristics of the firm's income stream besides its expected value, changes in capital structure may affect its average cost of capital.4 Then neither form of the M-M proposition would be true. The empirical validity of either M-M proposition then depends (at least partially) upon the empirical relevance of taxes and failure costs. Little testing has been done. Recently Miller [12] has suggested that the size of the net tax subsidy to debt over all market participants and the direct costs of bankruptcy may be small, but little has been done to relate these factors to variations in capital structure. That is what we attempt here. The form of the M-M proposition that we test in this study is that although taxes and costs of failure do not affect the average cost of capital, they do affect expected income and so imply an optimal capital structure. More precisely, measures are constructed of the tax advantage to debt and the costs of failure for 38 major industries, and an attempt
Differences in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in urban and rural India: a problem of urbanization

*Department of Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India †Department of Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA ‡Initiative for Cardiovascular Health Research in Developing Countries & Division of Hospital Medicine, Hackley Hospital, Muskegon, MI, USA §Division of Non-communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi 110029, India
Demand Dynamics With Socially Evolving Preferences

In this work we, first, identify a few stylized facts concerning microconsumption acts. Second, building on them, we develop a simple model of 'boundedly rational' consumers who endogenously evolve their preferences via both innovation and social imitation. Third, we explore some statistical properties of the demand patterns generated by the model which, despite its simplicity, are surprisingly in line with the empirical evidence. These results, we suggest, bring encouraging support to microfoundations of demand theory based on cognitive and behavioral foundations more in tune with the psychological and sociological evidence, based on heterogeneous agents who are much less 'rational' and much more social than in standard theory, and who collectively discover 'along the way' what they like within a growing universe of available commodities. Copyright 1999 by Oxford University Press.
Industrial Relations and Trade Union Effects on Innovation in Germany

: This paper provides a thoretical and empirical evaluation of unions’effects on innovative activity, focussing on institutional details and country-specific factors. We represent results of an econometric investigation for Germany using data at the industry and establishment level. In contrast to US studies, no statistically significant negative influence of unions on innovative activity shows up from industry-level data. Establishment-level data, however, indicate that the presence of a works council is positive for R & D if union density is not “too high”. This is in line with the more cooperative nature of industrial relations in Germany.
On the Metastability of Quadratic Majority Dynamics on Clustered Graphs and its Biological Implications

We investigate the behavior of a simple majority dynamics on network topologies that exhibit a clustered structure. By leveraging on recent advancements in the analysis of dynamics, we prove that, when the initial states of the nodes are randomly initialized or when they satisfy a slight bias condition, the network rapidly and stably converges to a configuration in which the clusters maintain internal consensus on two different states. This is the first analytical result on the behavior of dynamics for non-consensus problems on non-complete topologies, based on the first symmetry-breaking analysis in such setting. In the context of the study of Label Propagation Algorithms, a class of widely used heuristics for clustering in data mining, it represents the first theoretical result on the behavior of a label propagation algorithm with quasilinear message complexity. In the context of evolutionary biology, dynamics such as the Moran process have been used to model the spread of mutations in genetic populations. Our results shows that, when the probability of adoption of a given mutation by a node of the evolutionary graph depends super-linearly on the frequency of the mutation in the neighborhood of the node, and the underlying evolutionary graph has a clustered structure, there is a non-negligible probability for \emph{species differentiation} to occur. Finally, in the context of neuroscience, evolutionary graph dynamics have been used to model the innervation of synapses on muscular junctions during development. Our result, corroborated by numerical simulations on a wider class of dynamics, provide evidence that, in order for the model to comply with experimental evidence on the outcome of the innervation process, either the innervation sites do not exhibit spatial bottlenecks or the dynamics cannot be based on majority-like mechanism.
What determines the openness of a firm to external knowledge? Evidence from the Korean service sector

This paper examines the factors that influence a firm's openness to external sources of knowledge in the Korean service sector. Related literature suggests the following factors: a firm's appropriability strategy, absorptive capacity, startup and size. Using the 2006 Korean Innovation Survey of service industries, I test whether and how these factors influence the degree of openness for Korean service firms. I find the following: first, a firm becomes more open to external sources by about 0.04 units when the appropriability strategy becomes tighter in one additional scale. Second, a firm becomes more open by 0.513 units when the share of highly educated employees increases by 1%. A startup is less open than an established firm by up to 0.457 units. As firm size increases in terms of employment by 1%, the firm becomes more open by 0.02 units. In Korean service industries, having highly educated employees and being a startup seem to be more influential factors for a firm's openness.
Stock Liquidity, Feedback Prices, And Asset Liquidity: Evidence From The Tunisian Stock Market

This paper explores how feedback prices influence firms' investment on asset liquidity through stock liquidity. Using a sample of the Tunisian listed firms between 1999 and 2010, empirical results confirm that stock market liquidity plays a significant role in investment decisions and show that high stock liquidity encourages firms to invest more on asset liquidity to overcome feedback prices (negative and positive feedback). Therefore, the paper’s findings demonstrate the link between stock markets and the current business activity of the firm. Furthermore, the results indicate how stock liquidity strengthens feedback prices effects on managerial decisions and choices, which highlights the importance of stock liquidity.
Manager Divestment in Leveraged Buyouts

We examine changes in managers' investment in the firm around leveraged buyouts and find agency costs counter to those described in extant literature. In majority of deals during 1997–2008, managers divested a portion of their pre‐LBO shareholdings while maintaining an ownership stake in the post‐LBO firm. Such divestment opportunities encourage managers to behave in a way that benefits existing shareholders but is costly to new investors. We report a positive relation between management's divestment and pre‐LBO earnings management, market timing, and better buyout pricing. Although managerial divestment also leads to subpar post‐buyout performance, the involvement of private equity mitigates it.
Perpetual leapfrogging in international competition

Technological leadership has shifted at various times from one country to another. This analysis proposes a mechanism that endogenously explains this perpetual cycle of technological leapfrogging by incorporating international knowledge spillovers into a two-country dynamic model of innovation with the dynamic optimization of an infinitely-lived consumer. In the model, innovation productivity in each country endogenously increases over time because of domestic learning-by-doing and learning from foreign capital. The analysis shows that if international spillovers through learning from foreign capital are sufficiently large, technological leadership may first shift from one country to another, and then perpetually alternate between the two countries.
How Well Do We Measure Training?

This article compares various measures of on‐the‐job training, from a new source that matches establishments and workers, allowing us to compare the responses of employers and employees to identical training questions. Establishments report 25% more hours of training than do workers, although workers and establishments report similar incidence rates of training. Both establishment and worker measures agree that there is much more informal training than formal training. Further, informal training is measured about as accurately as formal training. Finally, we show that measurement error reduces substantially the observed effect of training, in particular the effect of training on productivity growth.
The effect of monetary policy on housing: a factor-augmented vector autoregression (FAVAR) approach

This study examines the link between monetary policy and the housing market. The analysis is conducted using impulse response functions derived from a factor-augmented vector autoregression (FAVAR) model. The FAVAR methodology as developed by Bernanke et al. (2005) avoids the degrees of freedom problem present in standard vector autoregression (VARs) models. The estimations are conducted using 120 macroeconomic time series in monthly frequency for the period January 1959 to August 2001. Results indicate that housing starts respond negatively to monetary policy shocks. This result is consistent across regions in the United States. In the case of housing permits and mobile home shipments, the response to a monetary policy shock is positive at first, but becomes negative after a few periods.
Prolonged ambulatory antroduodenal manometry in humans.

OBJECTIVES To perform prolonged ambulatory recordings of antroduodenal motor activity in humans. METHODS Antroduodenal manometric recordings were performed in 20 normal subjects (12 male, eight female, ages 19-41 years), using a 5-channel solid state catheter assembly (three antral, two duodenal transducers) positioned under fluoroscopy. A glass electrode simultaneously recorded pH in the antrum. RESULTS Continuous, simultaneous recordings of antral and duodenal motor activity were obtained for 22.5 +/- 0.3 h. During fasting, 131 complete migrating motor complexes (MMCs) were recorded (6.6 +/- 0.9/subject). The average interval from onset of recording to completion of the first MMC cycle was 498 +/- 19.24 minutes. Significant diurnal variations were observed in MMC frequency (awake vs asleep: 0.25/subject/h vs 0.64/subject/h; p < 0.05), period (shorter during sleep), phase I duration (longer during sleep), and phase II duration (shorter during sleep). Among females, MMCs were more frequent and shorter. After meal administration, duodenal recording sites demonstrated a typical "fed" response; antral distension and/or retrograde catheter movement, on meal ingestion, however, precluded reliable antral "fed" recordings. CONCLUSIONS Prolonged ambulatory antroduodenal manometry provides detailed and reliable information on fasting antral and duodenal motor activity, antral distension, and/or retrograde catheter migration on meal ingestion; there are limits, however, to the usefulness of this methodology for the evaluation of the fed motor response in the antrum.
Consumer Demand for Pesticide Free Food Products in Canada: A Probit Analysis

"Pesticide Free Production [TM] (PFP [TM] ) is a new crop production strategy that has emerged in the Canadian prairies. Emphasis is placed on substituting human capital for chemical inputs in field crop production. Consumer response to the introduction of food products containing PFP [TM] inputs is unknown. A consumer survey was developed and implemented to assess what food products consumers would purchase if available in a PFP [TM] form and what factors affect demand for PFP [TM] food products. Results from a probit model suggest strong consumer interest in food products containing grains and oilseeds produced in a PFP [TM] cropping system. Respondents concerned with pesticides in the environment and/or food products, who would switch grocery stores to purchase a PFP [TM] food product, who were less than 36 years of age, had higher average household income and who would pay a premium for a PFP [TM] food product were more likely to choose food products with PFP [TM] ingredients. " Copyright 2005 Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.