Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring Risk: Political Risk Insurance Premiums and Domestic Political Institutions

There is a renewed interest in political science on how political risk affects multinational corporations operating in emerging markets. Most existing studies suffer from data problems where researchers can only offer indirect evidence of the relationship between political institutions and political risk. In this paper I utilize a new data resource to explore how domestic institutions affect political risks for multinationals. Utilizing price data from political risk insurance agencies I test how domestic political institutions affect the premiums multinationals pay for coverage against 1) expropriations and contract disputes and 2) government restrictions on capital transactions. I find that constraints on politicians lead to marginally lower expropriation and transfer risks. Democracy, on the other hand, greatly reduces expropriation risk but has no impact on transfer risk.
Embodiment Effects and Language Comprehension in Alzheimer's Disease

It has been shown that when participants are asked to make sensibility judgments on sentences that describe a transfer of an object toward or away from their body, they are faster to respond when the response requires a movement in the same direction as the transfer described in the sentence. This phenomenon is known as the action compatibility effect (ACE). This study investigates whether the ACE exists for volunteers with Alzheimer's disease (AD), whether the ACE can facilitate language comprehension, and also whether the ACE can still be produced if the order of the two events is inverted, that is, whether overt movement can prime comprehension of transfer sentences. In Study 1, participants with AD, younger, and older adults were tested on an adaptation of the ACE Paradigm. In Study 2, the same paradigm was modified to include an arm movement that participants had to perform prior to sentence exposure on screen. In Study 1, young, older adults, and individuals with AD were faster to respond when the direction of the response movement matched the directionality implied by the sentence (ACE). In Study 2, no traditional ACE was found; participants were faster when the direction of the movement immediately preceding the sentence matched the directionality of the sentence. It was found that compatibility effects generated a relative advantage, that transfer schemata are easier to process, and that an ACE-like effect can be the result of mutual priming between language and movement. Results suggested preservation in AD of the neural systems for action engaged during language comprehension, and conditions under which comprehension in AD can be facilitated in real life may be identified.
Determinants of hepatitis C virus treatment completion and efficacy in drug users assessed by meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected drug users (DUs) have largely been excluded from HCV care. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature on treatment completion and sustained virologic response (SVR) rates in DUs. We assessed the effects of different treatment approaches and services to promote HCV care among DUs as well as demographic and viral characteristics. METHODS Studies of at least 10 DUs treated with pegylated interferon/ribavirin that reported SVR were analyzed. Heterogeneity was assessed (Cochran test) and investigated (meta-regression), and pooled rates were estimated (random effects). RESULTS Thirty-six studies comprising 2866 patients were retrieved. The treatment completion rate among DUs was 83.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 77.1%-88.9%). Among studies that included addiction-treated and untreated patients during HCV therapy, the higher the proportion of addiction-treated patients, the higher the HCV treatment completion rate (P < .0001). After adjusting for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/HCV coinfection, sex, and treatment of addiction, support services during antiviral therapy increased treatment completion (P < .0001). The pooled SVR rate was 55.5% (95% CI, 50.6%-60.3%). Genotype 1/4 (P = .0012) and the proportion of HIV-coinfected DUs (P = .0173) influenced the SVR rate. After adjusting for HCV genotype 1/4 and HIV/HCV coinfection, the SVR rate was positively correlated with involvement of a multidisciplinary team (P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS Treatment of addiction during HCV therapy results in higher treatment completion. Our pooled SVR rate is similar to that obtained in registration trials in the general population. Treatment of addiction during HCV therapy will likely be important for HCV-infected DUs undergoing treatment with more complex regimens including direct-acting antivirals.
Stochastic integral representation and regularity of the density for the exit measure of super-Brownian motion

This paper studies the regularity properties of the density of the exit measure for super-Brownian motion with (1 + β)-stable branching mechanism. It establishes the continuity of the density in dimension d = 2 and the unboundedness of the density in all other dimensions where the density exists. An alternative description of the exit measure and its density is also given via a stochastic integral representation. Results are applied to the probabilistic representation of nonnegative solutions of the partial differential equation Δu = u 1+β .
Effect of disrupting seven-in-absentia homolog 2 function on lung cancer cell growth.

BACKGROUND Hyperactivated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and/or RAS signaling drives cellular transformation and tumorigenesis in human lung cancers, but agents that block activated EGFR and RAS signaling have not yet been demonstrated to substantially extend patients' lives. The human homolog of Drosophila seven-in-absentia--SIAH-1 and SIAH-2--are ubiquitin E3 ligases and conserved downstream components of the RAS pathway that are required for mammalian RAS signal transduction. We examined whether inhibiting SIAH-2 function blocks lung cancer growth. METHODS The antiproliferative and antitumorigenic effects of lentiviral expression of anti-SIAH-2 molecules (ie, a dominant-negative protease-deficient mutant of SIAH-2 [SIAH-2(PD)] and short hairpin RNA [shRNA]-mediated gene knockdown against SIAH-2) were assayed in normal human lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells and in human lung cancer BZR, A549, H727, and UMC11 cells by measuring cell proliferation rates, by assessing MAPK and other activated downstream components of the RAS pathway by immunoblotting, assessing apoptosis by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated UTP end-labeling (TUNEL) assay, quantifying anchorage-independent cell growth in soft agar, and assessing A549 cell-derived tumor growth in athymic nude mice (groups of 10 mice, with two injections of 1 x 10(6) cells each at the dorsal left and right scapular areas). All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS SIAH-2 deficiency in human lung cancer cell lines reduced MAPK signaling and statistically significantly inhibited cell proliferation compared with those in SIAH-proficient cells (P < .001) and increased apoptosis (TUNEL-positive A549 cells 3 days after lentivirus infection: SIAH-2(PD) vs control, 30.1% vs 0.0%, difference = 30.1%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 23.1% to 37.0%, P < . 001; SIAH-2-shRNA#6 vs control shRNA, 27.9% vs 0.0%, difference = 27.9%, 95% CI = 23.1% to 32.6%, P < . 001). SIAH-2 deficiency also reduced anchorage-independent growth of A549 cells in soft agar (mean number of colonies: SIAH-2(PD) vs control, 124.7 vs 57.3, difference = 67.3, 95% CI = 49.4 to 85.3, P < . 001; shRNA-SIAH-2#6 vs shRNA control: 27.0 vs 119.7, difference = 92.7, 95% CI = 69.8 to 115.5, P < . 001), and blocked the growth of A549 cell-derived tumors in nude mice (mean tumor volume on day 36 after A549 cell injection: SIAH-2(PD) infected vs uninfected, 191.0 vs 558.5 mm(3), difference = 367.5 mm(3), 95% CI = 237.6 to 497.4 mm(3), P < . 001; SIAH-2(PD) infected vs control infected, 191.0 vs 418.3 mm(3), difference = 227.5 mm(3), 95% CI = 87.4 to 367.1 mm(3), P = . 003; mean resected tumor weight: SIAH-2(PD) infected vs uninfected, 0.12 vs 0.48 g, difference = 0.36 g, 95% CI = 0.23 to 0.50 g, P < . 001; SIAH-2(PD) infected vs control infected, 0.12 vs 0.29 g, difference = 0.17 g, 95% CI = 0.04 to 0.31 g, P = . 016). CONCLUSIONS SIAH-2 may be a viable target for novel anti-RAS and anticancer agents aimed at inhibiting EGFR and/or RAS-mediated tumorigenesis.
An Optimized Mouse Model for Transient Ischemic Attack

Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) are brief neurological deficits ofcerebrovascular origin that are followed by complete clinical recovery. Although a plethora of animal models exist for ischemic stroke, a verified TIA model is lacking. We aimed to optimize such a model in mice, investigating the impact of varying durations (from 2.5 to 20 minutes) of intraluminal middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo). Three conditions were required to mimic clinical TIA reliably: 1) an objective demonstration of occlusion and reperfusion (assessed by laser Doppler flowmetry); 2) no permanent neurological deficit (assessed by sensorimotor neurological evaluation); and 3) no lesion at 24 hours after reperfusion (assessed by magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]). We observed high incidences of MRI lesions with MCAo durations of 15 minutes or longer. In contrast, no permanent neurological deficits or MRI lesions were observed in animals with MCAo below or equal to 10 minutes. Middle cerebral artery occlusion of 12.5 minutes rarely induced MRI lesions, but histopathologic evaluation using routine and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling staining revealed minute ischemic changes even after 2.5-minute MCAo. Abundance of necrotic and apoptotic changes gradually increased with the duration of ischemia. These results indicate that 10 minutes or shorter focal cerebral ischemia proves a suitable mouse TIA model; in addition, they indicate that MRI-negative microscopic ischemic damage may occur with even a few minutes of arterial occlusion.
The Implications of Absorption Cost Accounting and Production Decisions for Future Firm Performance and Valuation

We examine how inventory overproduction among high fixed costs firms affects these firms’ contemporaneous and future accounting performance, and how financial analysts and the stock market incorporate implications of these relations in their reactions. We find that higher fixed costs firms engaging in opportunistic overproduction are able to increase their contemporaneous return on assets (ROAs), but only those higher fixed costs firms that also experience inventory increases, sales declines, and issue common stock also experience declines in their future accounting performance. We further find that financial analysts are aware of this phenomenon and appropriately reduce their forecasts of future earnings per share (EPS) for higher fixed costs firms that experience sales declines and inventory increases. In general, we do not find that the stock market penalizes such opportunistic overproduction.
The ubiquitous weekend effect: moving past proving it exists to clarifying what causes it

Since the publication of the influential paper by Bell and Redelmeier in 2001,1 the ‘weekend effect’, whereby patients admitted to hospital over the weekend experience worse outcomes compared with apparently similar patients admitted during weekdays, has been explored in at least 105 studies.2–6 In this issue, Ruiz et al 7 document such an effect across four countries (Australia, England, Netherlands, and the USA) that contribute to the Global Comparators Project8 where electronic summary data are combined across borders. Twenty-eight metropolitan city hospitals contributed data from nearly 3 million admissions. The ubiquitous weekend effect is replicated yet again among emergency admissions in all four countries for hospital mortality measured at 7 days and, except for Australia, at 30 days. For elective surgical procedures, a weekend effect on mortality was observed in all four countries and additionally a ‘Friday effect’ was seen in Dutch hospitals included in the study. The findings are interesting, but should we all rush to Australia to see how acute medical services should be organised so as to avoid a high 30-day mortality rate associated with emergency admissions? Hospitals included in this study constitute only a very small proportion of all hospitals in respective countries. The data are unlikely to be representative and consequently drawing any conclusion with regard to international comparison could be misleading. The existence of weekend mortality effects within 7 days following admission has been demonstrated previously in a larger study covering >500 hospitals in Australia.9 Failure to confirm the 7-day weekend mortality hike at 30 days in the current study can plausibly be ascribed to a diminished signal-to-noise ratio; as time passes new and recurrent illness supervenes, diluting any effect from the …
Group hedonic balance and pair programming performance: affective interaction dynamics as indicators of performance

Inspired by research on the role of affect in marital interactions, the authors examined whether affective interaction dynamics occurring within a 5-minute slice can predict pair programming performance. In a laboratory experiment with professional programmers, Group Hedonic Balance, a measure of the balance between positive and negative expressed affect, accounted for up to 35% of the variance in not only subjective but also objective pair programming performance. Implications include a new set of methods to study pair programming interactions and recommendations to improve pair programming performance.
The Voluntary Sector: Comparative Perspectives in the UK

Part 1: Voluntary Sector Inputs and Processes 1. Introduction 2. The Economic Scope and Scale of the UK Voluntary Sector in Comparative Perspective 3. Mainstreaming the Voluntary Sector into the UK Policy Agenda 4. The Horizontal Voluntary Sector Policy Agenda: Initial Implementation Experiences Part 2: Voluntary Sector Impacts and Outcomes Introduction to Part 2 5. Overall Voluntary Sector Impacts: Research and Rhetoric in the UK 6. The Impact of Voluntary Sector Social Housing 7. The Impact of Voluntary Sector Social Care and Support for Older People 8. The Impact of Voluntary Sector Environmental Organisations Part 3: Conclusion 9. Summary and Conclusion: Comparative Perspectives on the Monster
Marketing Locally Grown Food Products in Globally Branded Restaurants

Abstract This research study measures the perception patrons of a McDonald's restaurant for locally grown food products used in standard menu items. A survey questionnaire attempts to determine differences in consumer knowledge regarding the use of local Swiss food products and whether an increase in frequency of patronizing the restaurant will occur as a result of this program. The issue of perception differences between different demographic groups of local food products has not been addressed by McDonald's Switzerland. An implied benefit of local product use should be an improvement of brand image and extension of brand value. Do local customers and travelers perceive this brand value extension?
Opening and Closing the Market: Evidence from the London Stock Exchange

Abstract We investigate the performance of call markets at the open and close using a unique natural experiment provided by the London Stock Exchange where traders can choose between a call and an off-exchange dealership system. Although the call market dominates dealers in terms of price discovery, it suffers from a high failure rate to open and close trading especially when trading conditions are difficult. The call's trading costs increase with asymmetric information, slow trading, order flow imbalances, and uncertainty. Traders' resort to use of call auctions is negatively correlated with firm size, implying that the call may not be the optimal method for opening and closing trading of medium and small sized stocks.
Assembling of Fluid Filtration System for Quantitative Evaluation of Microleakage in Dental Materials

INTRODUCTION: There are several methods for evaluating microleakage in dentistry, for example dye or bacterial leakage, electro-chemical methods, radioisotope labeling and fluid filtration. The purpose of this study was to assemble the fluid filtration system for quantitative evaluation of microleakage in dental materials. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The roots were connected to a tube filled with an underwater pressure supply. A bubble was introduced into the water to measure endodontic leakage. A digital camera and professional software were utilized to record and measure the bubble displacement. RESULTS: Our system was constructed successfully and functioned correctly. CONCLUSION: In this pilot study we found this system efficient for the evaluation of microleakage of dental materials.
The development of regional unemployment differentials in Finland in the 1990s

This paper addresses the issue of regional response to national economic cycles. Two basic alternatives for a region to react to national development are presented. The empirical analysis deals with the unemployment situation in Finland which has undergone rapid changes in the 1990s. The main questions are: Has a significantly different regional pattern of unemployment begun to arise in Finland? Has the dynamics of regional unemployment differentials changed? In analysing regional unemployment differentials, methods based on sequential and recursive estimations are used. The results suggest that unemployment has been more equally shared among regions than in previous recessions. The dynamics seems to have met with changes.
Data Management in Large-scale P 2 P Systems 1

Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing offers new opportunities for building highly distributed data systems. Unlike client-server computing, P2P can operate without central coordination and offer important advantages such as a very dynamic environment where peers can join and leave the network at any time; direct and fast communication between peers, and scale up to large number of peers. However, most deployed P2P systems have severe limitations: file-level sharing, read-only access, simple search and poor scaling. In this paper, we discuss the issues of providing high-level data management services (schema, queries, replication, availability, etc.) in a P2P system. This implies revisiting distributed database technology in major ways. We illustrate how we address some of these issues in the APPA data management system under development in the Atlas group.
The Need for Formal Evidence Synthesis in Food Policy: A Case Study of Willingness-to-Pay

Simple Summary Meta-analysis is a statistical technique used to combine results of different studies on the same topic. These methods are gaining increasing popularity in the field of consumer behaviour; however, the issue of publication bias, which is the tendency for the study outcome to influence whether the research is published or not, has received little attention in this field. This research, therefore, looked to explore publication bias in willingness-to-pay, using the example of willingness-to-pay for farm animal welfare. A systematic search of four online databases led to the inclusion of 54 studies for analysis. Publication bias was assessed by using four different tests. The results indicate that publication bias is present in the literature, with willingness-to-pay for farm animal welfare being overestimated as a result. Given the use of willingness-to-pay in policy, stakeholders should ensure that results of meta-analysis are assessed for publication bias. Abstract Meta-analysis is increasingly utilised in the understanding of consumer behaviour, including in relation to farm animal welfare. However, the issue of publication bias has received little attention. As willingness-to-pay (WTP) is widely used in policy, it is important to explore publication bias. This research aimed to evaluate publication bias in WTP, specifically public WTP for farm animal welfare. A systematic review of four databases yielded 54 studies for random effects meta-analysis. Publication bias was assessed by the Egger test, rank test, contour-enhanced funnel plots, and the Vevea and Hedges weight-function model. Results consistently indicated the presence of publication bias, highlighting an overestimation of WTP for farm animal welfare. Stakeholders should be wary of WTP estimates that have not been critically evaluated for publication bias.
Structure of rapidly frozen gap junctions

The structure of gap junctions in the rabbit ciliary epithelium, corneal endothelium, and mouse stomach and liver was studied with the freeze-fracturing technique after rapid freezing to near 4 degrees K from the living state. In the ciliary epithelium, the connexons were randomly distributed, separated by smooth membrane matrix. In the corneal endothelium, both random and crystalline arrangements of the connexons were observed. In the stomach and liver, the connexons were packed but not crystalline. Experimental anoxia or lowered pH caused crystallization of the connexons within 20-30 min. In the ciliary epithelium, the effects of prolonged anoxia or low pH could not be reversed . In addition, invaginated or annular gap junctions increased in number, but their connexons were usually distributed at random. Rapid freezing thus demonstrates that gap junctions of different tissues are highly pleiomorphic in the living state, and this may explain their variations in structure after chemical fixation. The slow time-course and irreversibility of the morphological changes induced by prolonged anoxia or low pH suggest that connexon crystallization may be a long-term consequence rather than the morphological correlate of the switch to high resistance.
Consensus conditions of linear descriptor multi-agent systems

For descriptor multi-agent systems (DMASs) with agents described by the same or different descriptor linear time-invariant systems, the conditions of consensusability with respect to a set of admissible consensus protocols are proposed by using the tools of algebra, graph and descriptor linear system theory. The consensusability conditions depend on both the structure properties of each agent's dynamics and the topology within the DMASs. Designing state feedback control laws can guarantee that the considered DMASs are consensusable with respect to a given admissible set. A provided example shows the applicability of the proposed approach.
International Trade with Equilibrium Unemployment

While most standard economic models of international trade assume full employment, Carl Davidson and Steven Matusz have argued over the past two decades that this reliance on full-employment modeling is misleading and ill-equipped to tackle many important trade-related questions. This book brings together the authors' pioneering work in creating models that more accurately reflect the real-world connections between international trade and labor markets. The material collected here presents the theoretical and empirical foundations of equilibrium unemployment modeling, which the authors and their collaborators developed to give researchers and policymakers a more realistic picture of how international trade affects labor markets, and of how transnational differences in labor markets affect international trade. They address the shortcomings of standard models, describe the empirics that underlie equilibrium unemployment models, and illustrate how these new models can yield vital insights into the relationship between international trade and employment. This volume also includes an indispensable general introduction as well as concise section introductions that put the authors' work in context and reveal the thinking behind their ideas. Economists are only now realizing just how important these ideas are, making this book essential reading for researchers and students.