Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal Monopoly Price Paths with Expanding Networks

In this paper, we survey the literature on optimal pricing of a monopolist operating on a network industry. We also describe explicitly the optimal path of prices for a monopolist facing an expanding demand due to the presence of network effects. The optimal path of prices appears as a function of the network effect intensity and horizon length. Prices are increasing over time and for very low network effect intensity, or very high horizon length, the monopolist will offer the good at zero price in the initial period.
Comparing two approaches to the rate of return to investment in education

The economic value of investment in education has typically been measured by its rate of return, frequently estimated by the internal rate of return or the earning function approach. Given the importance of the rate of return estimates for individuals and countries, especially developing countries, in making decision on educational investment, we need to know how these methods compare as empirical researchers have used only one method, mainly due to data constraints. This study presents and compares the rate of return estimates obtained from these two methods using household data‐sets that have been typically employed in such studies. The results of the study confirm the previously established stylized facts about the rate of return to education. In addition, the internal rate of return approach exhibits ‘diminishing returns’ to schooling, reflecting ever rising cost of higher increments of schooling, while the earning function approach yields the opposite pattern, reflecting the greater relative increase associated in earnings with additional schooling. Moreover, the rate of return is greater using the internal rate of return approach than the earning function approach. Finally, the internal rate of return approach reveals a more accurate estimate of the earning return to the actual amount invested in schooling, whereas the earning function approach is more thorough in measuring earning differences associated with additional schooling.
The Information Content of Option Ratios

A broad stream of research shows that information flows into underlying stock prices through the options market. For instance, prior research shows that both the Put–Call Ratio (P/C) and the Option-to-Stock Volume Ratio (O/S) predict negative future stock returns. In this paper, we compare the level of information contained in these two commonly used option volume ratios. First, we find that P/C ratios contain more predictability about future stock returns at the daily level than O/S ratios. Second, in contrast to our first set of results, O/S ratios contain more predictability about future returns at the weekly and monthly levels than P/C ratios. In fact, our tests show that while P/C ratios contain predictability about future daily returns and, to some extent, future weekly returns, the return predictability in P/C ratios is fleeting. O/S ratios, on the other hand, significantly predict negative returns at all levels: daily, weekly, and monthly. While Pan and Poteshman (2006) show that signed P/C ratios, which require proprietary data, have predictive power, we find that unsigned P/C ratios, which do not require proprietary data, also have predictive power.
FOAMING CONTROL IN ACTIVATED SLUDGE TREATMENT PLANTS BY COAGULANTS ADDITION

This paper presents the results of an investigation that aimed to evaluate the efficiency of various inorganic coagulants and organic polymers to combat filamentous foaming and bulking problems, caused by the proliferation of M. parvicella and/or Gordona amarae. The duration of the investigation covered 14 months. During this period foam samples were taken from the aeration basins of two full-scale wastewater treatment plants that contained high concentrations of M. parvicella and/or Gordona amarae. Bench scale batch experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficiency of the following coagulants: ferric chloride, ferrous chloride, polyaluminium chloride, hydrated aluminium sulphate, cationic polymer. In addition bench scale batch experiments (ammonia uptake rate (AUR) and oxygen uptake rate (OUR) measurements) were conducted to evaluate the toxicity effects of the most promising coagulants on nitrification and organic matter removal. Polyaluminium chloride (PAX) and cationic polymer proved to be the most efficient among all the coagulants investigated. By adding PAX (aluminium application of 6.6 – 11.5 g Al 3+ kg -1 MLSS) a general improvement of the settling properties of the activated sludge was achieved. High foaming control was also achieved with cationic polymer addition at doses in the 3.5 to 4.5 g kg -1 MLSS. According to microscopic analysis of the sludge samples following PAX or polymer addition, the floc strength was improved and flocs appeared more compact and dense. In addition both M. parvicella and Gordona amarae filamentous organisms were embedded inside the floc material, making access to particulate and colloidal substrates more difficult due to increased diffusional resistance. PAX or polymer addition, at the above specified doses, resulted in a 75 – 100 % reduction of the sludge foaming potential. PAX potential toxicity was investigated in the context of this study. PAX addition caused no inhibition on autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria that perform nitrification and organic carbon removal, respectively. The estimated operational costs of PAX and polymer addition for foaming control, are approximately 0.0057 euros m -3 and 0.0026 euros m -3 of wastewater treated,
A NONLINEAR MODEL OF SECURITY PRICE RESPONSES TO UNEXPECTED EARNINGS

This study presents evidence that the marginal response of stock price to unexpected earnings declines as the absolute magnitude of unexpected earnings increases. Most previous studies assume a linear relation between unexpected returns (UR) and unexpected earnings (UE). The constant marginal response of prices to earnings in linear models is typically referred to as the earnings response coefficient (ERC) and estimated as the slope coefficient from simple linear regression of UR on UE. Relative to the linear model, a nonlinear approach provides both significantly higher explanatory power and a richer explanation for differences between ERCs and price-earnings ratios. The nonlinear relation described in this paper rests on the premise that the absolute value of unexpected earnings is negatively correlated with earnings persistence. Valuation theory suggests that analysts and investors should place greater emphasis on forecasting high-persistence earnings than low-persistence earnings, because a given amount of the former has a greater valuation impact than the same amount of the
Emotional Labour and Sexual Difference in the Airline Industry

This paper examines service work within the contemporary airline industry which has recently been shaped by managerial initiatives aiming to deliver `quality service'. We focus upon the gendered consequences of this. On the basis of original empirical research, three specific arguments are advanced: firstly, recent competitive pressures and accompanying managerial initiatives are intensifying demands upon female employees for the production of emotional labour, subjective commitment to organisational aims and sexual difference within parts of the airline industry; secondly, despite the enormous power of such managerial demands, the `spaces' for female employees to comply, consent and resist remain `open' within the aspects of the industry studied; thirdly, the power of the gendered managerial prescription investigated here is related to the way it is embedded within the structural and inequitable capital-labour relation. The paper is informed by an approach which places the process of gendering inside class relations, and stresses the need to empirically interrogate the historically-specific `lived experience' of gendered power relations in order to adequately analyse and explain such phenomena.
Continuous infusion 5‐fluorouracil plus weekly cisplatin for pancreatic carcinoma. A mid‐atlantic oncology program study

Fifty‐six previously untreated patients with biopsy‐proven, locally advanced or metastatic and measurable adenocarcinoma of the pancreas were treated with the combination of a protracted intravenous infusion of 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) and low dose weekly bolus cisplatin administered continuously for 10 weeks followed by a 2‐week rest period. The objective response rate was 16% with two patients (4%) achieving a complete response (confidence intervals, 8% to 29%). The median survival time for all treated patients was 5.8 months; however, 26% of all patients were alive at 1 year. Both median survival time and the proportion alive at 1 year exceed that of prior reports involving large patient groups, possibly due to better patient selection.
Fatigue fractures in thoroughbred racehorses: Relationships with age, peak bone strain, and training

The North American Thoroughbred racehorse was chosen as a model to study the pathogenesis of fatigue failure of bone. This species has a high incidence of spontaneous fatigue failure of bone (bucked shins) during its early training. In vivo strain gauge studies of the third metacarpal bone o four young racehorses running at racing speeds showed high principal compressive strains [−4,841 ± 572 (SD) microstrain] while two older horses had lower principal compressive strains (−3,317 microstrain measured at racing speed, −3,250 microstrain extrapolated from a slower speed run). Previously reported intertial property measurements of the third metacarpal bone were related to the diffeence in bone strains seen in young and older horses. The high strains on the surface of the third metacarpal bone associated with young horses in training may lead to high strain, low cycle fatigue. The changing shape of the third metacarpal bone during maturation may be consistent with the lower strains recorded during high speed exercise in theo lder animals. This phenomenon may allow for the accumulation of additional strain cycles in older animals beore failure occurs.
Public opinion regarding oocyte donation in Sweden.

BACKGROUND Oocyte donation has been permitted by Swedish legislation since January 2003. According to the law, offspring have the right to receive identifying information about the donor when they reach a mature age. The aim of the present study was to investigate public opinion regarding different aspects of oocyte donation. METHODS A study-specific questionnaire regarding attitudes towards aspects of oocyte donation was sent to a randomized sample of 1000 women (73% response) and 1000 men (56% response). RESULTS A majority of respondents supported treatment with oocyte donation. Seventeen per cent of the women considered donating in the future, whereas 56% of the men would support their partner. While nearly half of the respondents considered that offspring should receive identifying information of the donor, one-third were opposed to this. Overall, women were more positive towards disclosure to the offspring than were men (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The present results indicate strong support for the use of oocyte donation among a subset of the Swedish population. There was considerable interest among women in donating oocytes anonymously. While a majority advocated openness regarding the donation between parents and child, there was less support for the offspring to have a legal right to receive identifying information about their donor.
Understanding Organising Activity Among US National Unions

It is well known that US aggregate union election activity under the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has fallen for several years. It is also well known that NLRB win rates have increased moderately during the Sweeney era relative to the later part of the Kirkland years. This article sheds new light on organising activity and win rates, by examining these data on a national union basis. The results show that several unions, including most of the largest nationals, experienced both increases in organising activity and increased win rates for the period of 1999 to 2004 compared with the years 1990–95 (the end of the Kirkland era). While explanations of variations in inter-union organising success remain elusive, understanding and building on the experience of these ‘resurging unions’ holds the promise of union renewal more generally.
Financial developments and the rate of growth of output: An alternative approach

This paper uses a new specification and approach to estimate the effects of financial developments on the steady state rate of growth of output in India, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand and the Philippines for the period 1970 to 2006. These growth effects, though small, are found to be significant except for the Philippines. The trend rate of growth of total factor productivity (TFP), which is due to the omitted but trended variables, is the highest for Malaysia and moderate for India and Thailand. However, TFP is insignificant or negative in the Philippines and Korea.
The Impact of Community College Retraining on Older Displaced Workers: Should We Teach Old Dogs New Tricks?

The authors estimate the returns to retraining for older displaced workers—those 35 or older—by estimating the impact of community college schooling on earnings. The analysis relies on longitudinal administrative records covering workers displaced from jobs in Washington State during the early 1990s. The authors find that older displaced workers participated in community college schooling at lower rates than younger workers. Among those who participated, however, the impact on quarterly earnings was similar across the two age groups. One academic year of community college schooling is estimated to have increased long-term earnings by about 7% for older men and by about 10% for older women. Although these percentages are consistent with those reported in the schooling literature, estimates of the social internal rates of return from this retraining may differ substantially among older and younger workers because of differences in their work lives and their opportunity costs of retraining.
Scapulohumeral joint luxation in alpacas: 10 cases (2003-2009).

OBJECTIVE To describe the clinical findings, treatments, and outcome in alpacas treated for scapulohumeral joint luxation (SHJL). DESIGN Retrospective case series. ANIMALS 10 alpacas. PROCEDURES Medical records of alpacas with SHJL that were treated at 2 referral hospitals were reviewed. History, signalment, physical examination results, radiographic findings, treatments, complications, and outcome were evaluated. RESULTS Records for 8 male and 2 female alpacas with 16 instances of SHJL were reviewed. Three male alpacas each had 2 recurrences of SHJL in the treated limb. The proportion of male alpacas treated for SHJL was significantly greater than the proportion of female alpacas treated for SHJL. Closed reduction was used in 2 female and 3 male alpacas; SHJL reccurred in the 3 males. Stabilization by use of a lateral extracapsular tension band suture technique was performed successfully in 4 male alpacas; in another male alpaca, reluxation caused by self-inflicted trauma occurred postoperatively. In 2 male alpacas, arthrodesis was performed but residual lameness remained 1 year after surgery. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE SHJL should be considered as a differential diagnosis in alpacas with thoracic limb lameness. Luxation may occur more frequently in males. A closed reduction technique may be used successfully to treat acute luxations. Extracapsular stabilization by use of the lateral extracapsular tension band suture technique was successful for treatment of recurrent SHJL and SHJL that could not be reduced via closed reduction.
Public expenditures and the unemployment rate in the American states: panel evidence

We reexamine the Unemployment Rate (UR) – government expenditure nexus in a panel of 50 State and Local Governments (SLGs) over the period 1977–2006 to provide new pre-recession empirical evidence that helps put the expectations on the effects of the federal relief to SLGs in a broader context. We found that: (1) per capita real public spending (total and capital, assistance and subsidies, wages and salaries, and social insurance categories) was part of a cointegrating relationship with UR and real per capita state personal income. (2) With the exception of social insurance, other spending variables, when statistically significant, actually had a depressing effect on UR. The magnitude of this effect, however, was generally small. UR was most sensitive to increases in wages and salaries. (3) Long-term causality analysis based on panel error-correction coefficients provided consistent evidence of a causal effect from spending to UR, but less consistent evidence of such effect in the opposite direction. Social insurance, however, drove UR. (4) The size of the error-correction coefficients suggested a slow response of UR to deviations from the cointegrating relationship. (5) The marginal effect of spending on UR increased with the amount of the federal grants received. Our results suggest that public spending may not serve as a quick fix in relation to UR. They also seem to favour allocation of the federal funds to wage and salaries and assistance and subsidies, but not to capital and social insurance expenditures to lower UR.
'Post-neoclassical Endogenous Growth Theory': What Are Its Policy Implications?

Ideas from new growth economics are considered in the context of British economic policy. A distinction is drawn between "broad capital" and "endogenous innovation" growth models and the latter are seen as more helpful. Solow's insight that in the long run growth is independent of routine investment is regarded as still valid but the neoclassical assumption of convergence in technology is not. A key goal of policy should be to target the rate of total factor productivity growth and thus to address market failures inhibiting technology transfer. Policy initiatives should include institutional reforms as well as the appropriate design of taxes and subsidies. Copyright 1996 by Oxford University Press.
Farmer and Market Interactions in using Biotech Cotton Varieties and Seed. A Case in Northern China

Abstract This paper analyses the extent to which farmers in northern China actually benefit from market development for biotech cultivars and seeds, and how they interact with that development. It firstly appraises similarities and discrepancies observed in this development in China when compared to India, for which the experience has been more widely reported to the international community. It then examines the data obtained in Hebei Province. The results reveal strong competition with a large number of cultivars, including a substantial share of illegal cultivars, and, paradoxically, show high seed prices. In return, this competition is heightened by growers’ strategies for adapting to uncertainty when buying seeds. The future of commercial seeds and the use of biotech cultivars are at stake. Competition without some form of control and regulation could be detrimental to both growers and operators in the cultivar and seed sector and could jeopardise investment in breeding and biotechnology.
Why Envy Outperforms Admiration

Four studies tested the hypothesis that the emotion of benign envy, but not the emotions of admiration or malicious envy, motivates people to improve themselves. Studies 1 to 3 found that only benign envy was related to the motivation to study more (Study 1) and to actual performance on the Remote Associates Task (which measures intelligence and creativity; Studies 2 and 3). Study 4 found that an upward social comparison triggered benign envy and subsequent better performance only when people thought self-improvement was attainable. When participants thought self-improvement was hard, an upward social comparison led to more admiration and no motivation to do better. Implications of these findings for theories of social emotions such as envy, social comparisons, and for understanding the influence of role models are discussed.
Sensitivity analysis on the all pairs q-route flows in a network

Given an undirected edge-weighted network in which one edge capacity is allowed to vary, we propose in this paper a polynomial algorithm that needs only two 2-cuttrees computations to provide the all pairs maximum 2-route flow values. Moreover, we provide an extension to the case where k edge capacities may vary, and show that 2^k 2-cut-trees computations are necessary in order to determine the all pairs maximum 2-route-flow values. This makes our algorithm polynomial whenever k = O(polylog n).
Allopurinol use and risk of non-fatal acute myocardial infarction

Objectives To quantify the risk of non-fatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI) among users of allopurinol. Methods We carried out a population-based case–control study over the period 2001–2007 in patients aged 40–90 years. Patients who had prescriptions of allopurinol or an episode of AMI before the start date of follow-up were excluded from the main analysis. Allopurinol initiators were classified as current users if their last prescription ended in the 30-day window before the recorded date of AMI for cases and a random date for controls. The association between use of allopurinol and non-fatal AMI was measured through an OR and adjusted for confounding factors by an unconditional logistic regression. Results We identified 3171 cases of non-fatal AMI and 18 525 controls. Cases had a lower prevalence of current use of allopurinol (0.82%) than controls (1.03%), yielding to an OR of 0.52 (95% CI 0.33 to 0.83). The decreased risk was driven by men (OR in men=0.44; 95% CI 0.25 to 0.76; OR in women=0.90; 0.36 to 2.23). No difference by age was observed. The effect was only observed at higher doses (300 mg or greater OR=0.30; 0.13 to 0.72; <300 mg OR=0.67; 0.37 to 1.23) and with prolonged treatments (<31 days, OR=1.12 (0.55 to 2.29); 31–180 days, OR=0.61; 0.29 to 1.29; >180 days OR=0.21; 0.08 to 0.53; p for trend=0.001). Among those with a previous AMI, allopurinol use also showed a significant reduced risk of recurrence (OR=0.16; 0.04 to 0.76). Conclusions The present study supports the hypothesis that allopurinol is associated with a reduced risk of non-fatal AMI, which seems to be dose-dependent and duration-dependent.
Higher Education, Mental Ability, and Screening

Using regression analysis we find that mental ability, education, and background factors are important determinants of earnings at several points in the individual's life cycle. Real social rates of return to education based on this analysis range from 11 percent for those with some college to about 2 percent for those with a Ph.D., while private rates are slightly higher. Rates of return to an undergraduate degree are about 8 percent. We conclude that these returns reflect, in part, the use of education as a relatively inexpensive screening device by employers, and without screening the private returns might be up to 50 percent below those mentioned above.