Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Productivity Performance of Export Market Entry and Exit: Evidence from Indian Firms

This paper contributes to the literature on exporting and firm productivity, focusing on export entry (efficiency), learning (post-entry growth) and exit (inefficiency) by Indian firms. Drawing on 7000 firms during 1989–2009, our main objective is to examine the effect of exporting on firm productivity, correcting for selection bias using propensity-score matching, which allows a “like-for-like” comparison between new exporters and nonexporters. Robust to different matching estimators, we find evidence of learning-by-exporting that new exporters acquire rapid productivity growth after entry, relative to nonexporters. We also find that (1) exporters are more productive than nonexporters; (2) productive firms tend to self-select in entering the exporting market, and (3) least productive exporters are found to exit the export market as they experience adverse productivity effect prior to the year of exit. Our robust result on learning-by-exporting suggests that entering export market does appear to be a channel explaining the Indian recent growth miracle.
Combining five acoustic level modeling methods for automatic speaker age and gender recognition

Our focus is to enhance the performance of acoustic-level approaches for speaker age and gender identification. The proposed approach by combining five different acoustic level methods: 1.GMM baseline 2.GMM-SVM mean supervector (stacked means of MAP adapted models) 3.GMM-SVM maximum likelihood linear regression (MLLR) matrix supervector [1] 4.GMM-SVM Tandem posterior probability (TPP) supervector [2] 5. SVM baseline using acoustics level features (including prosodic features)
Valuing Environmental and Natural Resources: The Econometrics of Non-Market Valuation

Non-market valuation has become a broadly accepted and widely practiced means of measuring the economic values of the environment and natural resources. In this work, the authors provide a guide to the statistical and econometric practices that economists employ in estimating non-market values. The authors develop the econometric models that underlie the basic methods: contingent valuation, travel cost models, random utility models and hedonic models. They analyse the measurement of non-market values as a procedure with two steps: the estimation of parameters of demand and preference functions and the calculation of benefits from the estimated models. Each of the models is carefully developed from the preference function to the behavioural or response function that researchers typically deal with.
Exercises to prevent lower limb injuries in youth sports: cluster randomised controlled trial

Abstract Objective To investigate the effect of a structured warm-up programme designed to reduce the incidence of knee and ankle injuries in young people participating in sports. Design Cluster randomised controlled trial with clubs as the unit of randomisation. Setting 120 team handball clubs from central and eastern Norway (61 clubs in the intervention group, 59 in the control group) followed for one league season (eight months). Participants 1837 players aged 15-17 years; 958 players (808 female and 150 male) in the intervention group; 879 players (778 female and 101 male) in the control group. Intervention A structured warm-up programme to improve running, cutting, and landing technique as well as neuromuscular control, balance, and strength. Main outcome measure The rate of acute injuries to the knee or ankle. Results During the season, 129 acute knee or ankle injuries occurred, 81 injuries in the control group (0.9 (SE 0.09) injuries per 1000 player hours; 0.3 (SE 0.17) in training v 5.3 (SE 0.06) during matches) and 48 injuries in the intervention group (0.5 (SE 0.11) injuries per 1000 player hours; 0.2 (SE 0.18) in training v 2.5 (SE 0.06) during matches). Fewer injured players were in the intervention group than in the control group (46 (4.8%) v (76 (8.6%); relative risk intervention group v control group 0.53, 95% confidence interval 0.35 to 0.81). Conclusion A structured programme of warm-up exercises can prevent knee and ankle injuries in young people playing sports. Preventive training should therefore be introduced as an integral part of youth sports programmes.
Ecosystem metabolism along a colonization gradient of eelgrass (Zostera marina) measured by eddy correlation

The Virginia coastal bays experienced local extinction of eelgrass (Zostera marina) during the early 1930s, and restoration beginning in 2001 has generated an ecosystem state change from bare to vegetated sediments. Oxygen fluxes were measured seasonally using the eddy correlation technique at three sites representing different stages of seagrass colonization: unvegetated (bare), 5 yr, and 11 yr since seeding. Derived seasonal ecosystem respiration (R) and gross primary production (GPP) increased up to 10‐fold and 25‐fold, respectively, with meadow age. Although hourly oxygen (O2) fluxes were highly correlated with light at the vegetated sites, no identifiable trends with light were observed at the bare site. The light compensation point where O2 production and respiration are in balance increased from 46 µmol photons m−2 s−1 to 257 µmol photons m−2 s−1 and 63 µmol photons m−2 s−1 to 472 µmol photons m−2 s−1 at the 5 yr and 11 yr seagrass sites, respectively, with increasing seasonal temperatures from 12.3°C to 27.9°C and 9.3°C to 30.5°C, respectively. This suggests that more light, and thus more O2 production, is required to offset increasing respiration with both temperature and meadow age. Photosynthesis—irradiance curves generated from hourly O2 fluxes throughout the seasons were used to estimate annual net ecosystem metabolism (NEM). Annual NEM rates at the bare, 5 yr, and 11 yr sites were −7.6, 8.6, and −7.0 mol O2 m−2 yr−1, respectively. Although the system went through a period of net autotrophy during early stages of colonization, the ecosystem state change from unvegetated sediments to dense seagrass meadows changed the magnitude of both GPP and R, but not the overall metabolic balance of the system.
Has Globalisation Changed the Phillips Curve? Firm-Level Evidence on the Effect of Activity on Prices

The flattening of the Phillips curve observed in the industrial countries has been attributed to globalisation, while the traditional explanation centres on monetary policy credibility. The empirical literature is not conclusive, since macroeconomic data are affected by substantial identification problems. This paper argues that recourse to micro data is needed to identify structural changes in the slope of the Phillips curve. Taking advantage of a unique dataset including about 2,000 Italian firms, the paper tests whether a change in the link between capacity utilisation and prices is confirmed at company level, after controlling for inflation expectations, and whether it is concentrated among those firms that are more exposed to globalisation on either the product or the labour market. The answer is negative in all cases. The results do not support the view that the flattening of the Phillips curve is due to globalisation.
A Computational Exploration of Problem-Solving Strategies and Gaze Behaviors on the Block Design Task

The block design task, a standardized test of nonverbal reasoning, is often used to characterize atypical patterns of cognition in individuals with developmental or neurological conditions. Many studies suggest that, in addition to looking at quantitative differences in block design speed or accuracy, observing qualitative differences in individuals’ problem-solving strategies can provide valuable information about a person’s cognition. However, it can be difﬁcult to tie theories at the level of problem-solving strategy to predictions at the level of externally observable behaviors such as gaze shifts and patterns of errors. We present a computational architecture that is used to compare different models of problem-solving on the block design task and to generate detailed behavioral predictions for each different strategy. We describe the results of three different modeling experiments and discuss how these results provide greater insight into the analysis of gaze behavior and error patterns on the block design task.
A Novel Bit Error Rate Reduction Method for 3GPP-LTE-SCFDMA Using the Multiwavelet Transform

1 Foundation of Technical Education, IRAQ 2 Dept. of ECE, SHIATS (Deemed to be University), Allahabad, UP, INDIA 3 Prof. at Dept. of ECE, SHIATS (Deemed to be University), Allahabad, UP, INDIA _________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract: The rapid development of wireless communication technology has brought great convenience to people's lives and work. The goal of next generation of mobile wireless communication system is to achieve ubiquitous, high quality, high-speed mobile multimedia transmission with minimum bit error rate BER. To achieve this goal, the third generation partnership project 3GPP has developed the Long Term Evolution LTE. So, LTE has been considered as one of the core technologies of 4 th generation 4G wireless communication system. The LTE uses the Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access SC-FDMA for uplink because of its ability to reduce BER and peak to average power ratio PAPR as compare to Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OFDMA that is used in downlink. In this paper a novel approach for implementing the SCFDMA was proposed using the Multiwavelet Transform MWT instead of Fast Fourier Transform FFT in order to reduce the BER and more robustness against fading channels. The new system was tested under six types of different channels cases. The results show that the proposed system gives lower BER as compare with the old system based on FFT.
Measuring Market Power in a Dynamic Oligopoly Model: The Dallas-Forth Worth Milk Market Case

We derive a dynamic structural model based on a dynamic supergame model and measure market power for the Dallas-Forth Worth milk market in the U.S. In particular, we analyze the cyclical behavior of firm conduct and evaluate bias in static market-power measures in a unified manner by deriving and estimating a dynamic first-order condition for profit maximization. We find that firm conduct in the Dallas-Forth Worth milk market is countercyclical against demand shocks and expected future cost shocks. We also demonstrate that the conduct parameter in a static model underestimates true market power if firms' behaviors are posited by a dynamic supergame.
HIV transmission through breastfeeding: a study in Malawi.

CONTEXT Understanding the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission through breastfeeding is essential for advising HIV-infected mothers and formulating public health policy recommendations. OBJECTIVE To measure the frequency, timing, and risk factors of HIV transmission through breast milk. DESIGN Prospective cohort study conducted between 1994 and 1997, with follow-up of infants through 24 months of age. SETTING Postnatal clinic of tertiary care hospital, Blantyre, Malawi. PARTICIPANTS A total of 672 infants (HIV-negative at birth) born to HIV-infected women who had not received antiretroviral drugs during or after pregnancy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Incidence of HIV in breastfed infants by age and maternal and infant risk factors for HIV transmission, using proportional hazard models to derive risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS Forty-seven children became HIV-infected while breastfeeding but none after breastfeeding had stopped. The cumulative infection rate while breastfeeding, from month 1 to the end of months 5, 11,17, and 23, was 3.5%, 7.0%, 8.9%, and 10.3%, respectively. Incidence per month was 0.7% during age 1 to 5 months, 0.6% during age 6 to 11 months, and 0.3% during age 12 to 17 months (P = .01 for trend). The only factors significantly associated with low risk of postnatal HIV transmission in a multivariate model were high maternal parity (RR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.09-0.56) and older maternal age (RR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.23-0.84). CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that the risk of HIV infection is highest in the early months of breastfeeding, which should be considered in formulating breastfeeding policy recommendations.
Haemostatic monitoring during postpartum haemorrhage and implications for management

Summary Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is a major risk factor for maternal morbidity and mortality. PPH has numerous causative factors, which makes its occurrence and severity difficult to predict. Underlying haemostatic imbalances such as consumptive and dilutional coagulopathies may develop during PPH, and can exacerbate bleeding and lead to progression to severe PPH. Monitoring coagulation status in patients with PPH may be crucial for effective haemostatic management, goal-directed therapy, and improved outcomes. However, current PPH management guidelines do not account for the altered baseline coagulation status observed in pregnant patients, and the appropriate transfusion triggers to use in PPH are unknown, due to a lack of high-quality studies specific to this area. In this review, we consider the evidence for the use of standard laboratory-based coagulation tests and point-of-care viscoelastic coagulation monitoring in PPH. Many laboratory-based tests are unsuitable for emergency use due to their long turnaround times, so have limited value for the management of PPH. Emerging evidence suggests that viscoelastic monitoring, using thrombelastography- or thromboelastometry-based tests, may be useful for rapid assessment and for guiding haemostatic therapy during PPH. However, further studies are needed to define the ranges of reference values that should be considered ‘normal’ in this setting. Improving awareness of the correct application and interpretation of viscoelastic coagulation monitoring techniques may be critical in realizing their emergency diagnostic potential.
Power and Paradigms: The Dutch Response to Pressures for Shareholder Value

Manuscript Type. Empirical. Research Question/Issue. In recent years, research aimed at identifying and relating the antecedents and consequences of diffusing organizational practices/ideas has turned its attention to debating the international adoption and implementation of the Anglo‐American model of corporate governance, i.e., a shareholder value orientation (SVO). While financial economists characterize the adoption of an SVO as necessary and performance‐enhancing, behavioral scientists have disputed such claims, invoking institutional contingencies in the appropriateness of an SVO. Our study seeks to provide some resolution to the debate by developing an overarching sociopolitical perspective that links the antecedents and consequences of the adoption of the contested practice of SVO. Research Findings/Insights. We test our framework using extensive longitudinal data from 1992–2006 from the largest listed corporations in the Netherlands. We find a negative relationship between SVO adoption and subsequent firm performance, although this effect is attenuated when accompanied by greater SVO alignment among major owners and a firm's visible commitment to an SVO. Theoretical/Academic Implications. This study extends prior research on the diffusion of contested organizational practices that has taken a sociopolitical perspective by offering an original contingency perspective that addresses how and why the misaligned preferences of corporate owners will affect (i) a company's inclination to espouse an SVO, and (ii) the performance consequences of such misalignment. Practitioner/Policy Implications. This study suggests that, when board members are considering the adoption of new ideas/practices (e.g., SVO), they should consider the contextual fitness of the idea/practice with the firm's owners and their interests.
The Effects of Antidepressant Treatment in Prenatally Stressed Rats Support the Glutamatergic Hypothesis of Stress-Related Disorders

Abnormalities of synaptic transmission in the hippocampus represent an integral part of the altered programming triggered by early life stress, which enhances the vulnerability to stress-related disorders in the adult life. Rats exposed to prenatal restraint stress (PRS) develop enduring biochemical and behavioral changes characteristic of an anxious/depressive-like phenotype. Most neurochemical abnormalities in PRS rats are found in the ventral hippocampus, a region that encodes memories related to stress and emotions. We have recently demonstrated a causal link between the reduction of glutamate release in the ventral hippocampus and anxiety-like behavior in PRS rats. To confer pharmacological validity to the glutamatergic hypothesis of stress-related disorders, we examined whether chronic treatment with two antidepressants with different mechanisms of action could correct the defect in glutamate release and associated behavioral abnormalities in PRS rats. Adult unstressed or PRS rats were treated daily with either agomelatine (40 mg/kg, i.p.) or fluoxetine (5 mg/kg, i.p.) for 21 d. Both treatments reversed the reduction in depolarization-evoked glutamate release and in the expression of synaptic vesicle-associated proteins in the ventral hippocampus of PRS rats. Antidepressant treatment also corrected abnormalities in anxiety-/depression-like behavior and social memory performance in PRS rats. The effect on glutamate release was strongly correlated with the improvement of anxiety-like behavior and social memory. These data offer the pharmacological demonstration that glutamatergic hypofunction in the ventral hippocampus lies at the core of the pathological phenotype caused by early life stress and represents an attractive pharmacological target for novel therapeutic strategies.
Lower cost quantum gate realizations of multiple-control Toffoli gates

A systematic method is presented for realizing multiple-control Toffoli gates using elementary quantum gates. Results are presented showing that for the NOT, controlled-NOT and the two square root of NOT gates, the method produces circuits as good and in certain cases better than those known to date. A major feature of the work reported here is that in addition to the previously studied cases of one and the maximum required ancillary lines, the presented method covers all cases in between. The approach is general and can be directly applied to other sets of elementary gates.
Improving the Efficiency of Organic Solar Cells upon Addition of Polyvinylpyridine

We report on the efficiency improvement of organic solar cells (OPVs) based on the low energy gap polyfluorene derivative, APFO-3, and the soluble C60 fullerene PCBM, upon addition of a residual amount of poly (4-vinylpyridine) (PVP). We find that the addition of 1% by weight of PVP with respect to the APFO-3 content leads to an increase of efficiency from 2.4% to 2.9%. Modifications in the phase separation details of the active layer were investigated as a possible origin of the efficiency increase. At high concentrations of PVP, the blend morphology is radically altered as observed by Atomic Force Microscopy. Although the use of low molecular weight additives is a routine method to improve OPVs efficiency, this report shows that inert polymers, in terms of optical and charge transport properties, may also improve the performance of polymer-based solar cells.
Proton Pump Inhibitor Usage and the Risk of Myocardial Infarction in the General Population

Background and Aims Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have been associated with adverse clinical outcomes amongst clopidogrel users after an acute coronary syndrome. Recent pre-clinical results suggest that this risk might extend to subjects without any prior history of cardiovascular disease. We explore this potential risk in the general population via data-mining approaches. Methods Using a novel approach for mining clinical data for pharmacovigilance, we queried over 16 million clinical documents on 2.9 million individuals to examine whether PPI usage was associated with cardiovascular risk in the general population. Results In multiple data sources, we found gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) patients exposed to PPIs to have a 1.16 fold increased association (95% CI 1.09–1.24) with myocardial infarction (MI). Survival analysis in a prospective cohort found a two-fold (HR = 2.00; 95% CI 1.07–3.78; P = 0.031) increase in association with cardiovascular mortality. We found that this association exists regardless of clopidogrel use. We also found that H2 blockers, an alternate treatment for GERD, were not associated with increased cardiovascular risk; had they been in place, such pharmacovigilance algorithms could have flagged this risk as early as the year 2000. Conclusions Consistent with our pre-clinical findings that PPIs may adversely impact vascular function, our data-mining study supports the association of PPI exposure with risk for MI in the general population. These data provide an example of how a combination of experimental studies and data-mining approaches can be applied to prioritize drug safety signals for further investigation.
Tourism Sensemaking: Strategies to Give Meaning to Experience

Accurate and useful assessment of tourism market opportunities, network behavior, and tourism destination management performance requires solid foundations in performance evaluation theory as well as applying metrics covering both sensemaking contexts and outcomes. "Advances in Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research" seeks to advance knowledge and sense-making skills in interpreting cultural, organizational, and personal influences relating to tourism and hospitality behaviors. The ten papers in this volume make explicit current tourism assessment practices and look at how such assessments are being conducted and how to go about accomplishing prescribing and applying advanced assessment metrics. With a multi-regional focus that includes Asia, Europe, and North American this volume examines a variety of topics including: using importance-performance analysis to discern cultural differences in image perceptions with application to international visitors to Mauritius; network analysis methods for modelling tourism inter-organizational systems; and, tools for overcoming continuing bad performance in tourism destination management.
Mental Accounting: A New Behavioral Explanation of Covered Call Performance

The empirical performance of covered call writing is quite puzzling in the traditional finance framework. Covered call writing is typically a risk reducing strategy so its expected return should be less than the expected return on the underlying in an efficient market. However, recent empirical evidence suggests (covering a period from 1988 onwards) that the covered call writing has nearly the same return as the underlying whereas the standard deviation of returns is considerably less. Market professionals consider a call option to be a surrogate for the underlying. Such mental accounting of a call option with the underlying has strong support in laboratory experiments. We show that such mental accounting embodied in the principle, assets with similar payoffs must have the same expected returns, provides a new behavioral explanation for the puzzling empirical performance of covered call writing.
Liberalization, growth and structural change: evidence from Nepalese manufacturing

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the consequences of liberalization on industrial structure in Nepal, a least developed country with weak institutions and severe infrastructure bottlenecks. Results suggest some structural change in manufacturing output and trade orientation which appears to be due to a change in incentive structure, but no significant improvements were recorded in total factor productivity growth which is of central importance for a least developed country like Nepal. Export intensity rose significantly in the postliberalization period despite poor productivity performance of export-oriented industries while import intensity fell due mainly to improved competitiveness in import competing industries and a fall in imports for smuggling to India.