Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corporate Demand for Cash: The Influence of Corporate Population Growth and Structure

This paper presents a historical model of non-financial corporate cash demand. Although 1947-1971 data are used here, in another article the writer has applied the same formulation to earlier years. The main thrust of the argument is that (1) Very large firms have had a different demand-forcash function from other firms. (2) When the business population changes substantially, relative increases or decreases in numbers tend to be greater where entry and exit are easier, among smaller firms. Thus, business structure has changed with business population. (3) Aggregate corporate cash holding is therefore influenced over the long run by changes in corporate population, as well as by changes in aggregate receipts, interest rates, and cyclical factors. Empirical estimates indicate that the sector's postwar holding of cash, relative to receipts, was substantially less than it would have been if the composition of the corporate population had not changed as the number of firms "exploded" after 1947.
Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community: Eight Themes from Research on Principals' Perceptions of Professional Learning Communities.

Using a naturalistic inquiry approach and thematic analysis, this paper outlines the findings of a research study that examined 12 Manitoba principals’ conceptions of professional learning communities. The study found that these principals consider the development of professional learning communities to be a normative imperative within the educational culture of their schools, yet their understandings of what constitutes a professional learning community, as defined by Toole & Louis (2002) are varied and partially limited. However, the principals suggested that there are eight dominant themes that are central in their conceptions of “professional learning community. ” The themes are: professional learning communities are about process; structural supports enable the development of professional learning communities; trust as the foundation for adult relationships; congenial relationships dominate conceptions of community; learning is an individual activity; professional teaching is derived from attitudinal attributes; teacher evaluation shapes how principals think about learning in professional communities; and, teacher evaluation impacts principal and teacher relationships in professional learning communities.
Forecasting in Short-Term Planning and Management for a Casino Buffet Restaurant

SUMMARY Demand fluctuation accounts for an important consideration in a restaurant's daily operational decisions. Good short-term planning and management require accurate forecasts of daily demand. The objective of this study is three-fold: (1) to apply, evaluate, and compare different methods of forecasting customer counts for an on-premises buffet restaurant of a local casino in Las Vegas, (2) to describe and propose a combined forecasting approach for this casino buffet restaurant, and (3) to explore the concept of revenue and capacity management for this buffet restaurant. Eight forecasting models were tested and evaluated by two common error measures. The results suggest that a double moving average model was the most accurate model with the smallest MAPE and RMSPE. Extensive discussions on forecasting and planning/management in buffet operations are provided along with recommended future research.
A Mendelian Randomization Study of Circulating Uric Acid and Type 2 Diabetes

We aimed to investigate the causal effect of circulating uric acid concentrations on type 2 diabetes risk. A Mendelian randomization study was performed using a genetic score with 24 uric acid–associated loci. We used data of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-InterAct case-cohort study, comprising 24,265 individuals of European ancestry from eight European countries. During a mean (SD) follow-up of 10 (4) years, 10,576 verified incident case subjects with type 2 diabetes were ascertained. Higher uric acid was associated with a higher diabetes risk after adjustment for confounders, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.20 (95% CI 1.11, 1.30) per 59.48 µmol/L (1 mg/dL) uric acid. The genetic score raised uric acid by 17 µmol/L (95% CI 15, 18) per SD increase and explained 4% of uric acid variation. By using the genetic score to estimate the unconfounded effect, we found that a 59.48 µmol/L higher uric acid concentration did not have a causal effect on diabetes (HR 1.01 [95% CI 0.87, 1.16]). Including data from the Diabetes Genetics Replication And Meta-analysis (DIAGRAM) consortium, increasing our dataset to 41,508 case subjects with diabetes, the summary odds ratio estimate was 0.99 (95% CI 0.92, 1.06). In conclusion, our study does not support a causal effect of circulating uric acid on diabetes risk. Uric acid–lowering therapies may therefore not be beneficial in reducing diabetes risk.
The use of quality of life measures in oral medicine: a review of the literature.

OBJECTIVES To explore the use of patient reported quality of life measures in oral medicine, to highlight the importance of use of these measures in oral medicine practice and to provide guidance for the selection of such measures in the future. METHODS A detailed literature review was undertaken to investigate the use of quality of life measures in oral medicine. The databases searched were MEDLINE (through PubMed), EMBASE, CINDHL, Web of Science Citation Index and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and randomised controlled trials. RESULTS The initial literature search yielded a total of 5310 citations; however, only 63 of these fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Twenty-two articles were regarding oral mucosal conditions, 14 related to orofacial pain disorders and 27 were regarding salivary gland-related conditions. CONCLUSIONS The evaluation of quality of life in oral medicine has a broad applicability, providing information in treatment-based studies and population-based studies. A predominance of generic and oral health specific quality of life measures are being used to a limited extent in oral medicine practice. A scarcity of reports of the development, validation or use of disease specific measures is evident.
Will Developing Country Nutrition Improve with Income? A Case Study for Rural South India

The World Bank and others maintain that the major mechanism for improving nutrition in poor communities is increases in income. Aggregate estimates of food expenditure are consistent with such a possibility, implying income/expenditure elasticities close to one. However, the high degree of aggregation at which such estimates are made means that the considerable increase in price per nutrient as income increases is ignored, and the nutrient elasticities are therefore overstated. Estimates for a rural south Indian sample indicate that this bias is considerable and that the true nutrient elasticities with respect to income may be close to zero. Copyright 1987 by University of Chicago Press.
THE COST OF CAPITAL OF A COMPANY UNDER AN IMPUTATION TAX SYSTEM

: One of the issues arising out of the introduction of an imputation tax for companies in Australia is the effect it is likely to have on the definition and measurement of a company's cost of capital. Insofar as there is a difference between the value of a dollar of franked relative to unfranked dividends, conventional definitions for the cost of capital are inappropriate and new definitions are required. This has implications for the measurement of a company's cost of capital and for the definition of net cash flows that are used in conjunction with the cost of capital. This paper sets out these definitions and an approach for measuring the cost of capital. The new definition of the cost of capital replaces the effective company tax rate T with T(l - γ) where γ is the value of personal tax credits. Further, the definition of the risk premium in the capital asset pricing model requires an adjustment for the capitalized value of personal tax credits to maintain consistency between the cost of capital and cash flows which are defined on an after-company tax but before-personal tax basis.
Risk Classification Model for Design and Build Projects

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if the various risk sources in Design and Build projects can be classified into three risk groups of cost, time and quality using the discriminant analysis technique. Literature search was undertaken to review issues of risk sources, classification of the identified risks into a risk structure, management of risks and effects of risks all on Design and Build projects as well as concepts of discriminant analysis as a statistical technique. This literature review was undertaken through the use of internet, published papers, journal articles and other published reports on risks in Design and Build projects. A research questionnaire was further designed to collect research information. This research study is a survey research that utilized cross-sectional design to capture the primary data. The data for the survey was collected in Nigeria. In all forty (40) questionnaires were sent to various respondents that included Architects, Engineers, Quantity Surveyors and Builders who had used Design and Build procurement method for their recently completed projects. Responses from these retrieved questionnaires that measured the impact of risks on Design and Build were analyzed using the discriminant analysis technique through the use of SPSS software package to build two discriminant models for classifying risks into cost, time and quality risk groups. Results of the study indicate that time overrun and poor quality are the two factors that discriminate between cost, time and quality related risk groups. These two discriminant functions explain the variation between the risk groups. All the discriminating variables of cost overrun, time overrun and poor quality demonstrate some relationships with the two discriminant functions. The two discriminant models built can classify risks in Design and Build projects into risk groups of cost, time and quality. These classifications models have 72% success rate of classification of risks in Design and Build projects. These models are strongly recommended for use of clients, Design and Build contractors and Risk Managers for the management, control and mitigation of future risks in new Design and Build projects. These models will offer appreciable improvements in risk management and mitigations which can enhance better management of future Design and Build projects. This study also recommends that clients and contractors using Design and Build approach should watch out for emerging issues of cost overrun and poor quality in their projects as these can dictate classification of newly encountered risks. Keywords: Risk classification, model, Design and Build projects
Bowel preparation for CT colonography: blinded comparison of magnesium citrate and sodium phosphate for catharsis.

PURPOSE To compare colonic cleansing and fluid retention of double-dose magnesium citrate with those of single-dose sodium phosphate in patients undergoing computed tomographic (CT) colonography. MATERIALS AND METHODS This retrospective HIPAA-compliant clinical study had institutional review board approval; informed consent was waived. The study included 118 consecutive patients given single-dose sodium phosphate for bowel catharsis and 115 consecutive patients at risk for phosphate nephropathy, who were instead given double-dose magnesium citrate. The bowel preparation regimen was otherwise identical. Four-point scales were used to assess residual stool and fluid in the six colonic segments, and attenuation of residual fluid was measured. An a priori power analysis was performed, and unpaired t tests with Welch correction were used to compare the two groups on stool and fluid scores and fluid attenuation. RESULTS Both cathartic regimens offered excellent colon cleansing, with no significant difference for residual stool in any of the six segments. Stool scores of 1 or 2 (ie, no residual stool or residual stool <5 mm) were recorded in 88.6% (627 of 708) of colonic segments in the sodium phosphate group and in 88.1% (608 of 690) in the magnesium citrate group. No clinically important differences were seen in residual fluid scores in any of the six segments, with the only significant difference seen in the sigmoid colon (2.17 for sodium phosphate vs 2.44 for magnesium citrate; P< 0.01). Fluid attenuation was significantly different between magnesium citrate and sodium phosphate groups (790 HU +/- 216 vs 978 HU +/- 160; P <.001). CONCLUSION Both sodium phosphate and magnesium citrate provided excellent colon cleansing for CT colonography. Residual stool and fluid were similar in both groups, and fluid attenuation values were closer to optimal in the magnesium citrate group. Since bowel preparation provided by both cathartics was comparable, magnesium citrate should be considered for CT colonography, particularly in patients at risk for phosphate nephropathy.
New public governance, the third sector and co-production

1. Co-Production as a Maturing Concept Taco Brandsen, Victor Pestoff and Bram Verschuere Part 1: What Is Co-Production? Conceptual and Theoretical Perspectives 2. Co-Production and Third Sector Social Services in Europe: Some Crucial Conceptual Issues Victor Pestoff 3. From Engagement to Co-Production: How Users and Communities Contribute To Public Services Tony Bovaird and Elke Loeffler 4. Co-Production: Contested Meanings and Challenges for User Organizations Benjamin Ewert and Adalbert Evers 5. Third Sector and the Co-Construction of Canadian Public Policy Yves Vaillancourt 6. From Co-Production to Co-Governance John M. Ackerman Part 2: How Does Co-Production Work? 7. Co-Production from a Normative Perspective Edgar S. Cahn and Christine Gray 8. Co-Production and Network Structures in Public Education David O. Porter 9. The Conditions for Successful Co-Production in Housing: A Case Study of German Housing Cooperatives Taco Brandsen and Jan-Kees Helderman 10. Co-Production in an Information Age Albert Meijer Part 3: How Does Co-Management Work? 11. Co-Management to Solve Homelessness: Wicked Solutions for Wicked Problems Kerry Brown, Robyn Keast, Jennifer Waterhouse, Glen Murphy and Myrna Mandell 12. Co-Management in Urban Regeneration: New Perspectives on Transferable Collaborative Practice Hans Schlappa 13. 'Don't Bite The Hand That Feeds You? ' On The Partnerships between Private Citizen Initiatives and Local Government Karolien Dezeure and Filip De Rynck 14. Co-Producing Safety or Participative Window Dressing? Regulation Partnerships in German Local Governance Arrangements Matthias Freise 15. The Potential of Nonprofit-Government Partnerships for Promoting Citizen Involvement Ichiro Tsukamoto Part 4: Effects Of Co-Production: Service Quality, Accountability and Democracy 16. Co-Production and Service Quality: A New Perspective for the Swedish Welfare State Johan Vamstad 17. Co-Production: An Alternative to the Partial Privatization Processes in Italy and Norway Andrea Calabro 18. The Challenges of Co-Management for Public Accountability: Lessons From Flemish Childcare Diederik Vancoppenolle and Bram Verschuere 19. New Public Governance, Co-Production and Third Sector Social Services in Europe: Crowding In and Crowding Out Victor Pestoff 20. Conclusion: Taking Research on Co-Production a Step Further Taco Brandsen, Bram Verschuere and Victor Pestoff
Coding techniques for data-storage systems

As information-bearing objects, data-storage systems are natural consumers of information-theoretic ideas. For many issues in data-storage systems, the best trade-off between cost, performance and reliability, passes through the application of error-correcting codes. Error-correcting codes that are specialized for data-storage systems is the subject studied by this thesis. On the practical side, central challenges of storage systems are addressed, both at the individual-device level and higher at the enterprise level for disk arrays. The results for individual devices include a new coding paradigm for Multi-Level Flash storage that benefits storage density and access speed, and also a higher-throughput algorithm for decoding Reed-Solomon codes with large decoding radii. The results for storage arrays address models and constructions to combat correlated device failures, and also introduce new highly-regular array-code constructions with optimal redundancy and updates. On the theoretical side, the research stretches across multiple layers of coding theory innovation: new codes for new error models, new codes for existing error models, and new decoding techniques for known codes. To bridge the properties and constraints of practical systems with the mathematical language of coding theory, new well-motivated models and abstractions are proposed. Among them are the models of t asymmetric limited-magnitude errors and clustered erasures. Later, after maximizing the theory's power in addressing the abstractions, the performance of storage systems that employ the new schemes is analytically validated.
Grid Performance Prediction: Requirements, Framework, and Models

Grid performance prediction (GPP) is critical for grid middleware component services and grid (middleware) users to make optimized grid resource usage decisions to meet QoS requirements committed in SLAs. Other sophisticated concepts in grid like multi-criteria scheduling, grid capacity planning, and grid advance reservation are also dependant on GPP. GPP spreads over all levels of grid resources in multiple dimensions. We explore it at different coarse grain levels to discover the most wanted grid performance prediction needs of different human and service clients of grid and/or grid services, and present a comprehensive grid performance prediction framework to support at fine grain levels. We also provide a broad architecture of ALP (application level prediction) and NLP (network level prediction) for our grid middleware
[Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in children with autism spectrum disorders].

OBJECTIVE To examine serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and to explore the relationship between vitamin D level and ASD. METHODS Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were determined by the HPLC-MS/MS method in 117 children with newly diagnosed ASD and 109 healthy controls. Vitamin D status were classified into normal (>30 ng/mL), insufficiency (10-30ng/mL) and deficiency (<10 ng/mL) according to 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. RESULTS Serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (19±9 ng/mL)in children with ASD was significantly lower than that in healthy controls (36±13 ng/mL; P<0.01). The rate of vitamin D insufficiency plus deficiency in the ASD group was significantly higher than in the control group (89.7% vs 52.3%; P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency is common in children with ASD and might be as one of the environmental or genetic factors for ASD.
Confidence Sets with Expected Sizes for Multiclass Classification

Multiclass classification problems such as image annotation can involve a large number of classes. In this context, confusion between classes can occur, and single label classification may be misleading. We provide in the present paper a general device that, given an unlabeled dataset and a score function defined as the minimizer of some empirical and convex risk, outputs a set of class labels, instead of a single one. Interestingly, this procedure does not require that the unlabeled dataset explores the whole classes. Even more, the method is calibrated to control the expected size of the output set while minimizing the classification risk. We show the statistical optimality of the procedure and establish rates of convergence under the Tsybakov margin condition. It turns out that these rates are linear on the number of labels. We apply our methodology to convex aggregation of confidence sets based on the V-fold cross validation principle also known as the superlearning principle. We illustrate the numerical performance of the procedure on real data and demonstrate in particular that with moderate expected size, w.r. t. the number of labels, the procedure provides significant improvement of the classification risk.
Worse Than Chance? Performance and Confidence Among Professionals and Laypeople in the Stock Market

In two studies, stock market professionals (N1 = 22, N2 = 21) and laypeople (N1 = 29, N2 = 34) provided thirty-day forecasts for twenty stocks and estimated the size of their own errors as well as their own and the other group's mean errors. Both groups predicted that the errors made by professionals would be half the size of the errors made by laypeople. In reality, the errors of both groups were about the size predicted for the laypeople. Participants also estimated their ability to pick the best performing stock from two options. Both groups proved to be overconfident. Professional predictions were only successful 40% of the time, a performance below what could be expected from chance alone. Self reports and correlations between forecasts and price movements suggested that the professionals based their predictions on specific information of the stocks without sufficient awareness of the unreliability of this information, while the laypeople used simple heuristics based on previous price movements.
Foreign Investment along the Lower Yangzi: Nanjing 1988–93

China's approach to restructuring from a state-socialist-run economy to one based upon market forces is an ongoing process with a number of adjustments. Adjustments reflect pressures arising from foreign investors, economic bottlenecks, management, and labour as well as from local, regional, and national political interests. Spatial reallocation of resources and opportunities has enabled China to sustain rapid growth without major internal constraints. Nanjing is a case in point. Investment patterns reflect a regional variation in development but, notwithstanding local inputs, the end result fits in with the overarching federal model. Expansion in the Nanjing region is driven by foreign investors searching for new opportunities and the need for state enterprises to restructure. Growth is diversified among a number of sectors and balanced between the domestic and foreign markets. Management and technological transfers are providing a solid foundation for continued expansion. Nanjing appears to have found a niche in the Yangzi basin as a regional centre and possibly as a future gateway city.
The Predictability of ASEAN-5 Exchange Rates

In an attempt to determine the predictability of ASEAN exchange rates, five currencies including Malaysian ringgit, Thailand baht, Singapore dollar, Indonesian rupiah and the Philippines peso, denominated in US dollar as well as Japanese yen, were modeled using advanced time series analysis. Results suggested that Singapore exchange rate could be better predicted when denominated in US dollar, most probably because the East Asian Financial Crisis did not affect them both. On the other hand, other Asean exchange rates were better predicted when denominated in Japanese yen, as they had closer economic ties with Japan. However, while Japan had undergone serious recession after the crisis, it did not experience dramatic political instability as experienced by Indonesia, hence Indonesian rupiah remained unpredictable by yen. These results show that although advanced time series analysis dealt with economic fundamentals implicitly; it still could be a powerful tool for exchange rates modeling and forecasting, especially in the medium to long term.