Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sexual and reproductive health needs of HIV-positive women in Botswana – a study of health care worker's views

Abstract Botswana's HIV prevalence is one of the highest in the world at 31.8% in the 15–49 years antenatal population. Being HIV-positive for a woman presents unique challenges with regard to sexuality, child bearing, and partner relations. To ensure optimal sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of HIV-positive women, it is important to understand how health care workers (HCWs) are prepared to address SRH issues such as contraception, fertility desires, and partner violence. This study reports on a knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) questionnaire completed by 98 HCWs from clinics located in and nearby Gaborone and analyzed using descriptive and nonparametric statistics. The majority of participants were nurses (43%), health educators (27%), and lay counselors (19%), 82% female, median age of 35 (Interquartile Range (IQR): 29.25–43.75). General HIV/AIDS knowledge was high with a median score of 8.0/9 (89%) (IQR: 8–9). However, the median SRH knowledge score was much lower at 6.0/10 (60%) (IQR: 4–7). Of the three groups, the SRH knowledge scores of lay counselors were significantly lower than nurses (p=0.024). The attitude scores pertaining to issues such as family planning, sexual violence, the health system's ability to offer SRH services, and personal ability to offer SRH services were moderately positive with a median score of 75% (IQR: 69–81%); although nearly 25% of respondents felt that it is irresponsible for an HIV-positive woman to want to have a child. When presented with a case study of an abused, HIV-positive pregnant woman, most respondents indicated they would offer supportive care without judgment; however 28% of respondents indicated they would express disapproval or disappointment for becoming pregnant when she knows she is HIV-positive. The low SRH knowledge scores together with discriminatory attitudes and practices emphasize the need for increased and ongoing training in SRH issues for all HCWs who provide care for HIV-positive women.
IT Spending and Firm Productivity: Additional Evidence from the Manufacturing Sector

The information systems (IS) "productivity paradox" is based on those studies that found little or no positive relationship between firm productivity and spending on IS. However, some earlier studies and one more recent study have found a positive relationship. Given the large amounts spent by organizations on information systems, it is important to understand the relationship between spending on IS and productivity. Beyond replicating positive results, an explanation is needed for the conflicting conclusions reached by these earlier studies. Data collected by the Bureau of the Census is analyzed to investigate the relationship between plant-level productivity and spending on IS. The relationship between productivity and spending on IS is investigated using assumptions and models similar to both studies with positive findings and studies with negative findings. First, the overall relationship is investigated across all manufacturing industries. Next, the relationship is investigated industry by industry. The analysis finds a positive relationship between plant-level productivity and spending on IS. The relationship is also shown to vary across industries. The conflicting results from earlier studies are explained by understanding the characteristics of the data analyzed in each study. A large enough sample size is needed to find the relatively smaller effect from IS spending as compared to other input spending included in the models. Because the relationship between productivity and IS spending varies across industries, industry mix is shown to be an important data characteristic that may have influenced prior results.
Audit Labor Usage and Fees under Business Risk Auditing

ABSTRACT The adoption of business risk audit (BRA) approaches during the 1990s by several leading audit firms has been the subject of considerable scrutiny and commentary. Under BRA, the auditor responds to the increasing complexity of auditee financial reports by acquiring a deep and comprehensive understanding of the auditee's industry, strategy, business models, and processes-tasks best accomplished by higher-ranked labor-and by employing this understanding to make audit labor allocations. Using proprietary data for 165 audits conducted in 2002, we investigate three propositions about audit labor use under BRA. First, relative to pre-BRA benchmarks for the same auditor, we expect BRA audits to use a greater "proportion" of higher-ranked labor. Second, we expect engagements with high assessed auditor business risk (ABR), a summary risk assessment that reflects the BRA auditor's rich understanding of the auditee, to be allocated more labor "and" more higher-ranked labor than pre-BRA benchmarks. Third, at all ranks of labor, we expect a positive association between assessed ABR and levels of labor use. We find empirical evidence consistent with these propositions. We also find that total labor use in our sample is only modestly lower than pre-BRA norms. Analysis of fee data from these engagements suggests that audit fees in 2002 are substantially less than would be expected under pre-BRA benchmarks. After controlling for audit labor use, both total fees and fees per hour increase with assessed ABR for first-year auditees but not for continuing auditees. Overall, our results provide evidence on the impact of the BRA audit regime and speak to the likely impact of BRA on audit effectiveness and efficiency. Copyright (c), University of Chicago on behalf of the Institute of Professional Accounting, 2008.
The effect of stock splits on iShare exchange‐traded funds

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the pre- and post-split behavior for trades and quotes of iShare exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that split in June 2005. The objective is to determine whether post-split changes in the bid-ask spread, trade turnover, average dollar-size trade, frequency of small trades, trade price location, and order imbalance support either or both of the two widely examined hypotheses for the motivation for share splits. Design/methodology/approach - The impact of the iShares split around the split date was studied, using the measures above to examine the support, if any, for each of two hypotheses, broker promotion and/or the trading inconvenience, with regard to the sample and time period under study. Findings - Bid-ask spread, average dollar order size, and frequency of small trades were found to fail to reject the broker-promotion hypothesis, while the increase in post-split turnover fails to reject the trading-inconvenience hypothesis. Changes in the trade-price-location parameter and in order imbalance fail to support either hypothesis. Practical implications - Because of the importance of basket securities in the determination of the prices for listed securities, issuers of these securities, investors and regulators should be interested whether the price behavior of splitting iShares is similar to that experienced in other securities. Originality/value - Numerous studies in the literature have investigated the effects of stock splits on individual securities, but it is believed, none has yet appeared studying the recent splits in iShares.
Regime-Dependent Relationships Between the Implied Volatility Index and Stock Market Index

Abstract: We examine regime-dependent dynamics between Korea's representative implied volatility index (VKOSPI) and stock market index (KOSPI 200) using a two-regime threshold vector error correction model (TVECM). By analyzing high-quality daily data from January 2003 to June 2013, we make the following interesting observations based on a model with regime splitting. First, regardless of regime, we observe a negative contemporaneous correlation between the VKOSPI and KOSPI 200. Second, while the KOSPI 200 generally leads the VKOSPI under normal market conditions (lower regime), this relationship is overturned when market volatility measured by the VKOSPI level is extremely high (upper regime). Third, in the TVECM framework, the effects of lagged VKOSPI on the KOSPI 200 are positive only in the upper regime, while the effects of lagged KOSPI 200 on the VKOSPI are positive only in the lower regime; this cannot be explained by the traditional framework of an asymmetric volatility phenomenon. Fourth, the KOSPI 200 exhibits greater sensitivity to implied volatility shocks in the upper regime than it does to those in the lower regime.
Preoperative hair removal on the male genitalia: clippers vs. razors.

INTRODUCTION In an effort to reduce the incidence of postoperative surgical site infections (SSIs), many hospitals have adopted a strict practice of preoperative hair removal using clippers, as opposed to razors. However, the skin of the male genitalia is delicate, elastic with irregular skin folds and may be ill-suited for clippers. AIM To compare shave quality and the degree of skin trauma using two methods of preoperative hair removal on the scrotal skin: clippers vs. razors. METHODS Patients undergoing surgery involving the male genitalia requiring preoperative hair removal were randomized to hair removal using clippers or a razor. Immediately following hair removal, a standardized digital photograph was taken of the male genitalia. All digital photos were evaluated in a blinded fashion by groups of urologic surgeons and surgical nurses using a standardized five-point global rating scale. The incidence of SSIs was monitored. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Primary outcomes included blinded global ratings of (i) the completeness of the preoperative hair removal within the surgical field and (ii) degree of skin trauma following hair removal. The incidence of SSIs within 3 months of surgery was monitored throughout the study period. RESULTS Two hundred fifteen consecutive patients were randomized (107 clipper, 108 razor). Overall, preoperative hair removal on the male genitalia using a razor resulted in significantly less skin trauma (P = 2.5E-10) and a more complete hair removal within the surgical field (P = 0.017) compared with clippers. SSIs were identified in four patients during follow-up (1.8%--two using clippers; two, razors). CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that preoperative hair removal on the scrotal skin using a razor results in less skin trauma and improved overall shave quality with no apparent increased risk of SSIs. Based on these findings, surgeons should be permitted their choice of razors or clippers for preoperative preparation of the male genitalia.
Testosterone levels in the male laboratory rat: variation under experimental conditions.

This report describes the variation of testosterone (T) levels in male Wistar rats (250-300 g) bled under typical laboratory conditions. Plasma T in 114 rats ranged from 2-48 nmol/l (median 13.1; 95% confidence range, 10-15) and varied significantly (P < 0.01) during the day (07.30-16.30 h) with an acrophase between 09.00 h and 13.00 h. The distribution of plasma T levels was skewed (P < 0.05) and could be divided into basal values < 26 nmol/l and peaks > 26 nmol/l. Testosterone in testicular tissue and testis veins also varied during the day and was lower (P < 0.02) between 14.30 h and 16.30 h than from 11.30-13.30 h. It was shown that plasma T may differ significantly (P < 0.02) between groups (n = 6-7) of untreated rats bled under identical conditions and it is suggested that gonadotrophin stimulation be included in experimental designs to reduce the difficulty of differentiating between normal variability and treatment effects.
Exposure to primary medical care in New Zealand: number and duration of general practitioner visits.

AIMS To estimate (among different population groups and different practice types) average duration of visit to a general practitioner, average number of visits, and average population exposure to primary medical care in New Zealand. METHODS Observational study using a representative survey of visits to general practitioners in New Zealand. Average exposure to primary medical care for a particular class of patient (e.g. by age group) was calculated as the average of the product of number of visits over the past 12 months and duration of visit for the current visit. Comparisons were made across different demographic groups of patients and different practice types. RESULTS Annual exposure to primary medical care was highest amongst the elderly (65+ years), followed by adults (18-64 years). Adjusting for age, gender, NZDep2001, rural/urban, and organisation type, average annual exposure to primary medical care was higher in the European ethnic group than in the Maori, Pacific, and Asian ethnic groups. Exposure to primary medical care did not differ significantly across NZDep2001 quintiles after controlling for other co-variates. CONCLUSIONS Annual exposure to primary medical care is both a direct measure of utilisation of primary medical care and also an indicator of access. Primary medical care exposure measurement can be used to monitor equity of service provision across different population groups: groups with high identified health care needs should have relatively high exposure to primary medical care. The most obvious breach of this principle is for Maori and Pacific users of primary medical care and for those living in deprived areas. Similarly, the low overall exposure to primary medical care for the Asian ethnic group is concerning and warrants further exploration.
Exclusion from school: a view from Scotland of policy and practice

This paper reports research on the nature and extent of exclusion from school in Scotland 1994-6. The research involved: documentary analysis of local authority policies on exclusion, supplemented by telephone interviews with officials responsible for the operation of policy; a survey of 176 headteachers; an analysis of information about 2,710 excluded pupils; and case studies of eight secondary and four primary schools. A wide variation in local authority policy was found although most authorities emphasized exclusion as a last resort. Most exclusions were short term with pupils returning to their original school but a significant number of pupils lost more that a week's schooling and about 30 per cent had been excluded more than once. Schools with similar characteristics varied markedly in their exclusion rates and this could largely be explained by their different ethos. Key elements in understanding differences in ethos were beliefs about the purpose of schools, the curriculum on offer, school relations with the outside world and decision making about exclusion. These findings are placed in the context both of research on exclusions in England and of current policy concerns with social exclusion.
Responses to competition effects of two anuran tadpoles according to life‐history traits

Experimental manipulations of the densities of two larval anurans, Pelodytes punctatus and Bufo bufo, showed that these species compete asymmetrically in semi-natural conditions. Growth, mass at metamorphosis, date of metamorphosis, and survival were used as measures of response to interspecific competition. A mechanistic approach was used to collect information on the behaviour of the two species in different conditions. The competitive superiority of Pelodytes at individual level was correlated with a larger body, faster growth rate, increased per capita competitive impact on conspecifics, and greater reduction in the availability of trophic and spatial resources. In the presence of Pelodytes, Bufo showed slower growth, smaller size at metamorphosis and reduced survival. In the interspecific treatments Bufo individuals modified their behaviour by increasing activity and use of the water column while Pelodytes did not change their foraging activity or space use in the aquaria. However, the presence of Bufo resulted in a reduced larval period and smaller size at metamorphosis. We hypothesise that the presence of Bufo act as a signal of environmental degradation and shorten the larval period of Pelodytes, a typical temporal pond breeder. The smaller Bufo tadpoles are potentially stronger competitors at population level because they use relatively large amounts of energy (greater densities and higher metabolic rates). Consequently, they use larger proportions of the shared resources than their larger competitor. A possible evolutionary response for larger tadpoles is the development of interference mechanisms or “escaping” from ephemeral ponds where mortality by drying represent a high risk.
Process parameter calibration for millimeter-wave CMOS back-end device design with electromagnetic field analysis

This paper presents a systematic procedure for calibrating process parameters for electromagnetic field analysis. A few CMOS back-end material parameters are first chosen as fitting parameters by sensitivity analysis, and then their values are unambiguously determined from contour maps showing electrical characteristics versus effective material parameters. Calibration with measured data for 1-170 GHz is shown to give reasonably predictive simulation even at higher frequencies. Extraction of effective complex permittivities are also attempted up to 325 GHz in the presence of dummy metal fills for two filling patterns. The results indicate that the effective-parameter approach to dummy metal fills can reproduce measured propagation constants of transmission lines. The predictive power of such a simple approach is yet to be assessed.
Wavelet Analysis of Neuroelectric Waveforms: A Conceptual Tutorial

This paper presents a nontechnical, conceptually oriented introduction to wavelet analysis and its application to neuroelectric waveforms such as the EEG and event related potentials (ERP). Wavelet analysis refers to a growing class of signal processing techniques and transforms that use wavelets and wavelet packets to decompose and manipulate time-varying, nonstationary signals. Neuroelectric waveforms fall into this category of signals because they typically have frequency content that varies as a function of time and recording site. Wavelet techniques can optimize the analysis of such signals by providing excellent joint time-frequency resolution. The ability of wavelet analysis to accurately resolve neuroelectric waveforms into specific time and frequency components leads to several analysis applications. Some of these applications are time-varying filtering for denoising single trial ERPs, EEG spike and spindle detection, ERP component separation and measurement, hearing-threshold estimation via auditory brainstem evoked response measurements, isolation of specific EEG and ERP rhythms, scale-specific topographic analysis, and dense-sensor array data compression. The present tutorial describes the basic concepts of wavelet analysis that underlie these and other applications. In addition, the application of a recently developed method of custom designing Meyer wavelets to match the waveshapes of particular neuroelectric waveforms is illustrated. Matched wavelets are physiologically sensible pattern analyzers for EEG and ERP waveforms and their superior performance is illustrated with real data examples.
One Way Arbitrage, Foreign Exchange and Securities Markets: A Note

theorem in the case of traders with exogenous needs to acquire foreign currency. Recently, Deardorff [3] coitned the phrase "one way arbitrage" to describe the behavior of those traders and showed that it probably precludes "round trip" covered interest arbitrage from breaking even. Deardorff's analysis focuses on the conditions under which, in the presence of transaction costs, there would be both spot and forward transactions on the foreign exchange markets at equilibrium. In this paper, we extend the analysis to derive the conditions under which transactions would exist in both the home and foreign securities markets and we generalize the results to the case of transactions in all markets.
Incidence and associated factors for single and recurrent falls among the elderly in an urban community of Beijing.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the incidence of falls and recurrent falls, and explore associated factors for single and recurrent falls among urban community-dwelling elderly in Beijing. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in 472 elderly in the Longtan community of Dongcheng district, Beijing in 2009. Data regarding the incidence of fall and recurrent falls in the previous year, as well as associated factors were collected from the elderly through face-to-face interviews. RESULTS The incidence of falls and recurrent falls was 17.8% and 6.1%, respectively, and it increased with age (χ2for trend=21.06, 19.20, P=0.001, 0.002). Binary logistic stepwise regression analysis showed that age (OR=2.20), living alone (OR=4.67) and gait disturbance (OR=1.27) were risk factors, while housing with elevators (OR=0.35), appropriate width/height of stair steps (OR=0.78), sufficient lighting for stairway (OR=0.45) and regular exercise (OR=0.12) could lower the risk for single fall; factors such as low monthly family income (OR=1.39), poor vision (OR=1.83), low physical ability (OR=4.47), abnormal static balance (OR=2.48), and fear of falls(OR=2.23) were risk factors, while appropriate width/height of stair steps (OR=0.49) and easiness of access to daily supplies (OR=0.41) were protective factors for recurrent falls. CONCLUSION The incidence of falls in community-dwelling elderly people in Beijing is common, and falls and their related injuries have been associated with both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
New-Firm Survival and the Technological Regime

The survival rates of over 11,000 firms established in 1976 are compared across manufacturing industries. The variation in ten-year survival rates across industries is hypothesized to be the result of differences in the underlying technological regime and industry-specific characteristics, especially the extent of scale economies and capital intensity. Based on 295 four-digit standard industrial classification industries, new-firm survival is found to be promoted by the extent of small-firm innovative activity. The existence of substantial scale economies and a high capital-labor ratio tends to lower the likelihood of firm survival. However, these results apparently vary considerably with the time interval considered. Market concentration is found to promote short-run survival, while it has no impact on long-run survival. Copyright 1991 by MIT Press.
Inflation variability and the relationship between inflation and growth

We examine the effect of inflation variability and economic growth using annual historical data on both developing and developed countries. The data cover 182 developing countries and 31 developed countries for the period 1961–2009. Proxying inflation variability by the five-year coefficient of variation of inflation, we obtain the following results: (1) For developing countries, there is significant evidence to suggest that when the rate of inflation exceeds 10% inflation variability has a negative effect on economic growth. (2) For developed countries, there is no significant evidence that inflation variability is detrimental to growth.
Post–Initial Public Offering Operating Performance and Its Determinants: Initial Public Offering Characteristics and Corporate Governance Practices

Abstract We examine the post–initial public offering (IPO) operating performance of firms going public in Borsa Istanbul. Covering the period 2007–13 and 102 IPO firms, we find that operating performance indicators except cash flows from operations over total assets decline following the IPOs relative to the pre-IPO year, confirming the previous research, albeit to a lesser extent than in the previous studies. We document that number of intermediaries and intermediation type act as determinants of post-IPO performance measures. We also find evidence suggesting the role of firm-specific corporate governance practices in the post-IPO operating performance.