Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The neuromuscular blocking action of pancuronium in man during anaesthesia.

The neuromuscular blocking action of pancuronium bromide was investigated in anaesthetized patients. Pancuronium resembles tubocurarine in producing a competitive type block but is about five times as potent as tubocurarine. With a small dose (0.02 mg/kg) the onset of action of the drug was slow, with the time to its maximum effect averaging 4.5 minutes. The maximum effect was, on average, a reduction in twitch height of 69 per cent. With larger doses of the agent (0.05 mg/kg and 0.1 mg/kg) the onset was more rapid and usually a complete block was achieved. The recovery from 0.02 mg/kg and 0.05 mg/kg to 50 per cent of the initial twitch height averaged 12.2 minutes and 36.8 minutes respectively. Repeated doses of the drug produced a greater duration of action with a somewhat greater intensity of block. During recovery from the action of the drug a respiratory acidaemia reduced and a respiratory alkalaemia increased the rate of recovery.
International Firm Investment under Exchange Rate Uncertainty

This article develops a real options theory to examine the effects of exchange rate uncertainty on foreign direct investment. Firms face a choice between participating in foreign markets through exports or investing abroad to relocate production. The model predicts that the most productive firms invest abroad when exchange rate volatility is low and export otherwise, whereas the least productive firms invest abroad when volatility is high. Aggregation over heterogeneous firms produces a negative and nonlinear relation between exchange rate uncertainty and total international investment. An analysis of eighty-four developed and emerging economies over the 1996–2012 period provides empirical support for the model’s predictions.
Rare Event Risk and Heterogeneous Beliefs: The Case of Incomplete Markets

Abstract This paper provides an equilibrium model subject to heterogeneous beliefs about the likelihood of rare events. I explore asset pricing implications in an incomplete capital market and the effects of market completion. Without explicit rare event insurance, investors insure themselves indirectly through the stock and money markets, the risk premium is countercyclical, and flight to quality effects arise. Upon market completion, the risk premium increases as investors increase their exposure to rare event risk. While market completion leads to a more efficient allocation based on investors’ anticipatory utilities, its effect on ex post efficiency is ambiguous.
From Path Dependency to Path Creation

The main assumption of evolutionary economics is that techno-economic change is path dependent, suggesting some kind of gradual development. Referring to Finland, one can demonstrate, however, that countries can undergo fundamental transformation processes within a relatively short period of time. Naturally this has major implications for research on techno-economic change, because the concept of path dependency in which the dominant feedback loops are selfreinforcing cannot be applied to the Finnish case. To understand the transformation process of the Finnish economy, research needs to focus more on processes of path creation. The aim of the article is to contribute to such reframing of research on economic change and to give empirical evidence of path creation processes referring to Finland as a case in point.
Fear and Loathing in University Staffing: The Case of Australian Academic and General Staff

Academic staff and the academic research, teaching and scholarship they undertake are quite properly the prime focus in universities. However, in the modern university, these functions could not be carried out without the input of general (AKA “nonacademic”) staff. Staff who are not members of academe represent about 50% of all staff, and as a group are treated with antipathy by many academics. The terms “governance” and “administration” are misunderstood by many academics and used interchangeably when it suits them. This paper considers the binary divide between “academic” and “non-academic” staff, and considers the importance of terminology in ensuring that the total university can operate as efficiently as possible.
Learning and Change in 20th-Century British Economic Policy

Despite considerable interest in the means by which policy learning occurs, and in how it is that the framework of policy may be subject to radical change, the “black box” of economic policy making remains surprisingly murky. This article utilizes Peter Hall’s concept of “social learning” to develop a more sophisticated model of policy learning; one in which paradigm failure does not necessarily lead to wholesale paradigm replacement, and in which an administrative battle of ideas may be just as important a determinant of paradigm change as a political struggle. It then applies this model in a survey of U.K. economic policy making since the 1930s: examining the shift to “Keynesianism” during the 1930s and 1940s; the substantial revision of this framework in the 1960s; the collapse of the“Keynesian-plus” framework in the 1970s; and the major revisions to the new “neoliberal” policy framework in the 1980s and 1990s.
Depth versus rigidity in the design of international trade agreements

I examine the impact of depth and rigidity in international trade agreements. Increasing the depth of required cooperation lowers the likelihood of full compliance and the stability of a trade regime. In contrast, increasing the rigidity of an agreement raises the likelihood of full compliance and lowers stability. Both depth and rigidity can lower tariffs if a state does not defect from its treaty obligations. I argue that if we control for the benefits of trade liberalization, then observable treaties will have a negative relationship between depth and rigidity. Deep agreements will be flexible, while shallow agreements will be rigid.
The Many Futures of Contracts

In this article, we review the literature on interfirm contracting in an effort to synthesize existing research and direct future scholarship. While transaction cost economics (TCE) is the most prominent perspective informing the “optimal governance” and “safeguarding” function of contracts, our review indicates other perspectives are necessary to understand how contracts are structured: relational capabilities (i.e., building cooperation, creating trust), firm capabilities, relational contracts, and the real option value of a contract. Our review also indicates that contract research is moving away from a narrow focus on contract structure and its safeguarding function toward a broader focus that also highlights adaptation and coordination. We end by noting the following research gaps: consequences of contracting, specifically outcome assessment; strategic options, decision rights, and the evolution of dynamic capabilities; contextual constraints of relational capabilities; contextual constraints of contracting capabilities; complements, substitutes, and bundles; and contract structure and social process.
Risk, risk aversion and the optimal time to produce

This paper studies the order-fulfillment process of a supplier producing a customized capital good. When they decide at what time to begin production, suppliers in these industries typically face the following dilemma. On the one hand, their customers expect them to be responsive and the time that they are prepared to wait for the product is much shorter than the time needed to produce and deliver it. On the other hand, it is risky for the suppliers to start production before the customers confirm their orders due to inventory holding costs and the possibility of order cancellation. We offer a model to help understand this dilemma and investigate the comparative statics effects of lead time, lead time uncertainty and the risk aversion of the supplier. Relative to existing work, our model has two novel components: demand distribution updating and the supplier's risk attitude. Previous empirical studies reveal that the supplier is very conservative when commencing the order fulfillment. The studies attribute this to high holding and cancellation costs relative to the delay cost. Our model provides two alternative explanations. First, other than costs, when the supplier starts to produce depends also on how the distribution of the demand arrival time is updated as time progresses. Second, although the effect of increasing risk aversion of the supplier on the optimal time to produce is ambiguous, we show that it plays a major role in the decision and thus it alone may have caused the supplier to be conservative.
Extent of central lymph node dissection for papillary thyroid carcinoma in the isthmus

Purpose The incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) arising from the isthmus is low; however, these tumors have aggressive clinical and pathological features. Moreover, the existing guidelines regarding the extent of surgery for this type of tumor are unclear. Methods This study enrolled 282 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy with bilateral central lymph node dissection. The patients were divided into 2 groups based on the location of the median line of the PTC. Group I included patients in whom the median line was located between the lateral margins of the trachea; group II included all others. We compared the 2 groups and conducted a multivariate analysis to assess risk factors for contralateral node metastasis from a PTC arising from the isthmus. Results Patients in group I had significantly higher frequencies of extrathyroidal extension and central lymph node metastasis. Group I also had a higher frequency of contralateral node metastasis, and a tumor size >1.0 cm was identified as an independent risk factor for contralateral node metastasis among patients in this group. Conclusion Bilateral central lymph node dissection could be considered for patients with isthmic PTCs >1.0 cm in size who have clinically suspicious node metastasis.
Motor Skill Learning Is Associated with Phase-Dependent Modifications in the Striatal cAMP/PKA/DARPP-32 Signaling Pathway in Rodents

Abundant evidence points to a key role of dopamine in motor skill learning, although the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms are still poorly understood. Here, we used a skilled-reaching paradigm to first examine changes in the expression of the plasticity-related gene Arc to map activity in cortico-striatal circuitry during different phases of motor skill learning in young animals. In the early phase, Arc mRNA was significantly induced in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), cingulate cortex, primary motor cortex, and striatum. In the late phase, expression of Arc did not change in most regions, except in the mPFC and dorsal striatum. In the second series of experiments, we studied the learning-induced changes in the phosphorylation state of dopamine and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein, 32k Da (DARPP-32). Western blot analysis of the phosphorylation state of DARPP-32 and its downstream target cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) in the striatum revealed that the early, but not late, phase of motor skill learning was associated with increased levels of phospho-Thr34-DARPP-32 and phospho-Ser133-CREB. Finally, we used the DARPP-32 knock-in mice with a point mutation in the Thr34 regulatory site (i.e., protein kinase A site) to test the significance of this pathway in motor skill learning. In accordance with our hypothesis, inhibition of DARPP-32 activity at the Thr34 regulatory site strongly attenuated the motor learning rate and skilled reaching performance of mice. These findings suggest that the cAMP/PKA/DARPP-32 signaling pathway is critically involved in the acquisition of novel motor skills, and also demonstrate a dynamic shift in the contribution of cortico-striatal circuitry during different phases of motor skill learning.
International Trade and Manufacturing Employment: Is India Following the Footsteps of Asia or Africa?

The Indian manufacturing sector has rapidly increased its integration with the world economy since the 1991 trade reforms. We examine whether trade integration created or destroyed jobs in the Indian manufacturing sector, and compare India's employment outcomes with four other countries—Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa, and Vietnam. We find that the impact of international trade on manufacturing employment seems to be similar to those found for the two African countries rather than the two Asian countries, a surprising result for a country with an apparent comparative advantage in labor-intensive manufacturing goods, and a large excess supply of unskilled labor.
Alzheimer's disease, dental amalgam and mercury.

BACKGROUND Mercury, or Hg, is a neurotoxin that has been speculated to play a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, or AD. Dental amalgam releases low levels of Hg vapor and is a potential source of Hg for a large segment of the adult population. METHODS The authors studied 68 subjects with AD and 33 control subjects without AD to determine Hg levels in multiple brain regions at autopsy and to ascertain the subjects' dental amalgam status and history. The subjects were from central Kentucky and Elm Grove, Wis. The authors conducted dental amalgam assessments during the lives of the majority of subjects and in some subjects at the time of autopsy only. The authors also determined three dental amalgam index scores--Event (placement, repair or removal of amalgam), Location and Time In Mouth--in addition to the numbers of and surface area of occlusal amalgam restorations. The authors determined Hg levels in multiple brain regions and performed full neuropathologic evaluations to confirm the normal status of the brain or the presence of AD. RESULTS The authors found no significant association of AD with the number, surface area or history of having dental amalgam restorations. They also found no statistically significant differences in brain Hg level between subjects with AD and control subjects. CONCLUSIONS Hg in dental amalgam restorations does not appear to be a neurotoxic factor in the pathogenesis of AD. The authors found that brain Hg levels are not associated with dental amalgam, either from existing amalgam restorations or according to subjects' dental amalgam restoration history. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Dental amalgam restorations, regardless of number, occlusal surface area or time, do not relate to brain Hg levels.
Does Experience Matter?

This article demonstrates that the probability of an international crisis involving the United States declines as a presidential administration gains time in office. This finding invalidates three widely held theories about the relationship between the American democratic cycle and foreign policy that (1) there might be a honeymoon period immediately following election in which new presidents are unlikely to become involved in foreign crises, (2) presidents might systematically use the ``rally round the flag'' effect to bolster their electoral prospects, or that more generally, (3) foreign policy might be primarily tied to the democratic constraints of the electoral cycle. This finding also stands in partial contrast to recent work suggesting that, globally, leadership experience does not influence the likelihood of a militarized interstate dispute, while leader age does. The differing conclusions are the result of both the unique American case and the differing formulations of conflict.
Physician Adoption of Personal Digital Assistants (PDA): Testing Its Determinants Within a Structural Equation Model

Research has begun to explore the determinants of personal digital assistant (PDA) adoption in health care. Much of this research has, however, been inconsistent in its treatment of key constructs and its methodological approaches. The current study takes a stricter approach and tracks the pre- and postadoption beliefs of physicians provided with an actual PDA within a single health care facility in the United States. Results show that age, position in hospital, beliefs about health IT, and cluster ownership are significant, direct predictors of the physician's preadoption beliefs about PDAs. Contrary to prior research findings, both ease of use and usefulness perceptions significantly influenced the physician's intent to adopt PDAs. More important, results show that physicians focus on a broader range of PDA factors during preadoption assessment of the technology, while actual use is based solely on the PDA's ease of use. Moreover, the preadoption usefulness perceptions do not influence postadoption usefulness. Hence, the cognitive and affective determinants of intent to use are seemingly different from those used to evaluate PDA use.
The Residential Water Demand Effect of Increasing Block Rate Water Budgets

We investigate the effect of introducing a fiscally neutral increasing block rate water budget price structure on residential water demand. We estimate that demand was reduced by around 17%, although the reduction was achieved gradually over more than three years. As intermediate steps we derive estimates of price and income elasticities that rely only on longitudinal variability. We investigate how different subpopulations responded to the pricing change and find evidence that marginal, rather than average, prices may be driving consumption. We also derive alternative rate structures that might have been implemented, and assess their estimated demand effects. (JEL Q25)
A Nation of Sceptics? The Czech EU Accession Referendum of 13–14 June 2003

The Czech Republic's 13–14 June 2003 referendum on accession to the European Union was the seventh of nine held in candidate states due to join the EU on 1 May 2004. Despite the presence of two strong Eurosceptic parties and the perceived Euroscepticism of Czech public opinion, the pro-accession camp scored a convincing victory. This account analyses the historical, political and institutional context of the referendum and the campaign. It concludes that despite high elite contention over the EU and the overwhelming resources advantage of the ‘Yes’ camp, Czech voters were minimally influenced by the campaign. Rather, they took their cue from longstanding positive linkages of ‘Europe’ with democracy, market reform and Czech identity.
Financial Analyst Assessment of Company Earnings Quality

This study investigates sell-side financial analysts' interpretations of the phrase “earnings quality” and their preference for accounting methods. The data are a sample consisting of 479 sell-side financial analyst full-text reports for a set of companies stratified on exchange, SIC code, and size in three recent time periods. These reports illustrate the importance placed by analysts on identifying companies' core earnings. The results show that analysts associate high earnings quality with near-term earnings predictability. This predictability is defined in an economic sense in terms of a low level of earnings volatility, and in an accounting sense in terms of management discretion over the establishment and adjustment of certain conservative reserves, allowances, and off-balance-sheet assets. Limited association was found between earnings quality and the application of conservative accounting methods, per se.
Disclosure Transparency about Activity in Valuation Allowance and Reserve Accounts and Accruals-based Earnings Management

We examine the relation between the transparency of disclosures about activity in valuation allowance and reserve accounts and accruals-based earnings management. We classify disclosures as being transparent if they provide detailed information about activity in the allowance and reserve accounts during the fiscal period. We find strong evidence that the extent of accruals-based earnings management is lower among companies with transparent disclosures than among companies without transparent disclosures. We also investigate whether the extent of accruals-based earnings management is lower for companies that provide transparent disclosures in one comprehensive schedule (i.e., the Schedule II) relative to those that provide transparent disclosures spread throughout the notes to the financial statements. Although regulators have expressed concern that the omission of a Schedule II could indicate a greater likelihood of earnings management, our results indicate that it is the omission of transparent disclosures rather than the omission of a comprehensive schedule outlining activity in the allowance and reserve accounts that affects earnings management. Our findings suggest that regulators, auditors, and investors should consider subjecting companies that fail to provide transparent disclosures to additional scrutiny.
Reversal of clavulanate resistance conferred by a Ser-244 mutant of TEM-1 beta-lactamase as a result of a second mutation (Arg to Ser at position 164) that enhances activity against ceftazidime

The mutation of Arg-244 to Ser (Arg-244-->Ser mutation) in the TEM-1 beta-lactamase has been shown to produce resistance to inactivation by clavulanate in the mutant enzyme and resistance to ampicillin plus clavulanate in a strain of Escherichia coli producing this enzyme. The Arg-164-->Ser mutation in the TEM-1 beta-lactamase (TEM-12 enzyme) is known to enhance the activity of the enzyme against ceftazidime, resulting in resistance to the drug in a strain producing the mutant enzyme (D. A. Weber, C. C. Sanders, J. S. Bakken, and J. P. Quinn, J. Infect. Dis. 162:460-465, 1990). The doubly mutated derivative of the TEM-1 enzyme (Ser-164/Ser-244) retains the characteristics of the Ser-164 mutant enzyme, i.e., enhanced activity against ceftazidime and sensitivity to inactivation by clavulanate. It also confers the same phenotype as the Ser-164 mutant enzyme, i.e., resistance to ceftazidime and ampicillin, with reversal of this resistance in the presence of clavulanate. Thus, the Arg-164-->Ser mutation in the TEM-1 beta-lactamase suppresses the effect of the Arg-244-->Ser mutation which, by itself, reduces the sensitivity of the enzyme to inactivation by clavulanate.
Human Capital Investments and Relative Earnings Mobility: The Role of Education, Training, Migration, and Job Search

A major question in economic development is how a country can increase its rate of output growth. Although the quantity of capital and labor are central in many theoretical models of output determination, the empirical evidence from growth-accounting models indicates that the amount of capital and the hours of labor employed account for only a small proportion of the growth in per capita product. ' On the basis of these findings, theorists have extended growth-accounting models to identify other factors that stimulate growth. According to the findings of these models, quality and deployment of inputs, organizational modes, and technology are all keys to growth.2 By making changes and investments that affect these factors, countries can move toward greater growth and development. Of the resources available to low income countries, labor remains the most abundant. These countries can thus achieve major gains in output through labor investments. Whenever a country reallocates labor from lowto high-productivity activities and sectors, whenever it improves labor quality through education and training, it fuels economic growth. An extensive empirical literature documents the direct productivity-enhancing effects of human capital in the agricultural as well as the industrial sectors.3 Most institutions and researchers concerned with development acknowledge human capital development and deployment as a central source of growth and especially per capita growth.4 Representative of this perspective are G. Psacharopoulos and A. Arriagada, who view limited human capital development as "the