Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influences of dietary and intraduodenal lipid on alertness, mood, and sustained concentration

The effects of intraduodenal and dietary lipid on alertness, mood and performance in a task requiring sustained attention were investigated in two studies. The first experiment compared the effect of duodenal infusion of either 100 g/l Intralipid (8·36 kJ/min) or isotonic saline (9 g NaCl/l) in paired studies carried out on two non-consecutive days on five male volunteers. Two consecutive 3 h infusions, one of lipid, the other saline, were given blind on each day using a crossover design. Analysis of variance indicated that lipid significantly reduced alertness (P < 0·05) and affected the speed and accuracy of performance in a sustained attention task (P < 0·05). A second experiment compared the effects on eight male volunteers of two isoenergetic lunches of similar appearance, taste and protein content but differing fat and carbohydrate (CHO) contents (fat energy:CHO, 64:18 v. 7:76). Alertness was lower (P < 0·05) and responses to stimuli in a sustained attention task were slower after the high-fat meal than after the low-fat meal (P < 0·05). In conclusion, infusion of lipid into the small intestine, and the substitution of fat for carbohydrate while keeping energy and protein constant in a lunch, both cause an enhanced postprandial decline in alertness and concentration. This may be related to the presence of lipid in the small intestine.
Explaining Success: the Rule of Ten Percent and the Example of Market Share

This article has four aims. First, the author argues that, for good reasons, it has been impossible to find any single variable that accounts for more than 10% of the variation in business performance: he calls this the rule of 10%. Second he shows how a 10% effect can be presented graphically to seem much more significant. Third, given problems of measurement and definition, even the 10% which is explained may prove to be of limited value, which is illustrated with the well-established link between market share and return on investment. Fourth, even where variables can be identified and their contribution quantified, he questions the extent to which this can be done in a form useful to managers. The overall conclusion is that determinants of business success are so complex that managers should reject any “one big explanation” however convincing the presentation.
The Services Sector in India's States: A Tale of Growth, Convergence and Trade

India's success story in services is well documented at the national level, but similar literature does not exist for India's states. We bridge this gap by studying India's services growth at the sub-national level. Contrary to earlier commentary on the unsustainability of India's services growth process, our findings suggest that per capita services may be converging across Indian states (this is not true of per capita income); unlike previous studies on India, evidence is provided using both traditional sigma and beta-convergence measures and advanced panel unit root tests from the recent econometrics literature. A disaggregated analysis of services sectors reveals convergence in railways, public administration and financial services. Finally, a Jensen and Kletzer approach to determine tradability and an additional original methodology provide evidence of most services being ‘traded’ across India's states, suggesting the role of such trade in the services growth story even at the sub-national level.
Intranasal midazolam as an alternative to general anaesthesia in the management of children with oral and maxillofacial trauma.

The study assessed the dosage, clinical sedative effect, and safety of intranasal midazolam in 32 children. Data were complete for 29 patients (21 with lacerations and 8 cases of dental trauma). Sedation was adequate to ensure successful completion of treatment under local with or without topical anaesthetic in 22 of the 29 cases (76%). They became sedated at a mean (SD) of 14 (5) minutes, with completion of treatment at 20 (13) minutes. Sedation was achieved with a mean (SD) of 5 (2)mg of midazolam. There were no signs of respiratory depression or of oxygen desaturation below 94% on pulse oximetry. No supplemental oxygen was required and there were no other complications. We conclude that intranasal midazolam is a safe and effective alternative to general anaesthesia in the definitive treatment of children with oral and maxillofacial injuries.
Misbehavior in Organizations: Theory, Research, and Management

Contents: E.A. Fleishman, J.N. Cleveland, Series Foreword. Preface. Part I: Organizational Misbehavior. Organizational Behavior and Misbehavior. A General Framework for OMB Analysis. Part II: OMB Manifestations and Antecedents. Individual-Level Manifestations of OMB. Production and Political Manifestations. Property Manifestations. Individual-Level Antecedents of OMB. Position and Group-Level Antecedents. Organization-Level Antecedents. Part III: Implications for Research and Management. Managerial Ethics: An OMB Perspective. Measurement Dilemmas in OMB Research. A Model of OMB Management. Appendices.
Using the gravity equation to differentiate among alternative theories of trade: another look

This study compares two alternative approaches–the traditional ordinary least square (OLS) and the Poisson Quasi Maximum Likelihood (PQML) procedures–to estimation of the home market effects for the heterogeneous, the reference priced and the homogeneous goods in the gravity model derived in Feenstra et al. (2001). Despite our findings that the PQML estimation results oftentimes (significantly) differ from those obtained by the OLS procedure, both estimation procedures largely lead to the qualitatively similar conclusions on the existence of the home market effect for the different types of goods with several exceptions.
Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Fixation Techniques for Metastatic Spinal Disease

Surgical treatment of spinal metastasis is generally a palliative procedure. Although minimally invasive surgical (MIS) techniques are supposedly less morbid than open techniques, there is a lack of stratification of MIS techniques based on anticipated longevity. A simple stratification into three percutaneous surgical techniques based on modified Tokuhashi score is here proposed.
Demography, National Savings and International Capital Flows

This paper addresses the relationship between age distributions, national savings and the current account balance. The results point to substantial demographic effects, with increases in both the youth and old-age dependency ratios associated with lower savings rates. They also point to differential effects on savings and investment, and thus to a role for demography in determining the current account balance. The estimated demographic effect on the current account balance exceeds six percent of GDP over the last three decades for a number of countries and, given expected demographic trends, is likely to be substantially larger over the coming decades.
Clinical outcomes of a percutaneous cholecystostomy for acute cholecystitis: a multicentre analysis.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to review a series of consecutive percutaneous cholecystostomies (PC) to analyse the clinical outcomes. METHODS All patients who underwent a PC between 2000 and 2010 were reviewed retrospectively for indications, complications, and short- and long-term outcomes. RESULTS Fifty-three patients underwent a PC with a median age was 74 years (range 14-93). 92.4% (n = 49) of patients were American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) III and IV. 82% (43/53) had ultrasound-guided drainage whereas 18% (10/53) had computed tomography (CT)-guided drainage. 71.6% (n = 38) of PC's employed a transhepatic route and 28.4% (n = 15) transabdominal route. 13% (7/53) of patients developed complications including bile leaks (n = 5), haemorrhage (n = 1) and a duodenal fistula (n = 1). All bile leaks were noted with transabdominal access (5 versus 0, P = 0.001). 18/53 of patients underwent a cholecystectomy of 4/18 was done on the index admission. 6/18 cholecystectomies (33%) underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy and the remaining required conversion to an open cholecystectomy (67%). 13/53 (22%) patients were readmitted with recurrent cholecystitis during follow-up of which 7 (54%) had a repeated PC. 12/53 patients died on the index admission. The overall 1-year mortality was 37.7% (20/53). CONCLUSIONS Only a small fraction of patients undergoing a PC proceed to a cholecystectomy with a high risk of conversion to an open procedure. A quarter of patients presented with recurrent cholecystitis during follow-up. The mortality rate is high during the index admission from sepsis and within the 1 year of follow-up from other causes.
Monetary Rules When Economic Behaviour Changes

This paper examines the implications of changes in economic behaviour for simple inflation-forecast­based monetary rules of the type currently used at two inflation-targeting central banks. Three types of changes in economic behaviour are considered, changes that are motivated by developments in monetary and fiscal policy in the 1990s: changes in monetary policy credibility, changes in the slope of the Phillips curve, and changes in the degree of income stabilization from automatic fiscal transfers. Analysis is conducted using stochastic simulations of a model of the Canadian economy. Two questions are posed: First, what are the implications of these types of changes in economic behaviour for the stochastic properties of the economy? Second, how are efficient inflation-forecast­based rules affected by these changes in behaviour? Perhaps the most interesting results are with respect to credibility. When monetary credibility increases, the central bank can attain more stable output and inflation. But increasing credibility is a double-edged sword. To reap its benefits, the central bank must, in general, adjust its reaction function. If it does not, volatility can increase. Les auteurs examinent les consequences des changements de comportement des agents economiques pour l'application de regles monetaires simples reposant sur la prevision de l'inflation, du genre de celles actuellement utilisees par deux banques centrales ayant etabli des cibles en matiere d'inflation. Ils analysent trois types de changement de comportement causes par l'evolution des politiques monetaire et budgetaire depuis le debut des annees 1990 : les changements de credibilite de la politique monetaire, les variations de la pente de la courbe de Phillips et les modifications du degre de stabilisation automatique des revenus assure par les paiements de transfert et les rentrees fiscales. L'analyse des auteurs se fonde sur l'execution de simulations stochastiques au moyen d'un modele de l'economie canadienne. Deux questions sont abordees. Premierement, quelles sont les incidences de ces changements de comportement sur les proprietes stochastiques de l'economie? Deuxiemement, comment ces changements influent-ils sur une regle efficace de politique monetaire basee sur la prevision de l'inflation? Les resultats les plus interessants de l'etude se situent probablement au chapitre de la credibilite. Lorsque la credibilite de la politique monetaire s'accroit, la banque centrale reussit mieux a attenuer les variations de la production et de l'inflation. Cependant, il s'agit la d'une arme a double tranchant. Pour jouir des avantages lies a une plus grande credibilite, la banque centrale doit generalement modifier sa fonction de reaction : sinon, la volatilite peut augmenter au lieu de diminuer.
Is anemia an accurate predictor of vitamin A status in Pakistani children?

Serum retinol and hemoglobin levels were determined in 532 children aged 6-60 months living in urban slums of Karachi, Pakistan. Overall 67% (358 of 532) of children had hemoglobin levels of less than 11 g/dl, the World Health Organization definition of anemia for this age group. Estimations for red blood cell indices (hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and red blood cell count) were done on a sample of 391 children to classify anemia morphologically. A similar percentage (69.8% [273 of 391 children]) of anemia was found in this group. The anemia was predominantly microcytic and hypochromic. Normocytic normochromic anemia was present in only 16.5%. Serum retinol levels were significantly correlated with hemoglobin (P < 0.002), hematocrit (P < 0.01), and red blood cell (P < 0.001) levels. However, anemia was found to be a poor predictor (positive predictive value [PPV] = 2.5%) for the presence of vitamin A deficiency (retinol < 10 micrograms/dl). The PPV increased to 54% if 20 micrograms/dl, which is an indicator of marginal vitamin A status, was used as the cutoff point. The sensitivity of the hemoglobin test was found to be 75% in correctly identifying vitamin A deficiency when retinol levels of 10 micrograms/dl and 20 micrograms/dl were both used as the cutoff points for deficiency. The specificity for the hemoglobin test varied from 33% to 40% when levels of 10 micrograms/dl and 20 micrograms/dl were used as the cutoff points for vitamin A deficiency. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Investor Attention and Time-Varying Comovements

This paper analyses the effect of an increase in market-wide uncertainty on information flow and asset price comovements. We use the daily realised volatility of the 30-year treasury bond futures to assess macroeconomic shocks that affect market-wide uncertainty. We use the ratio of a stock's idiosyncratic realised volatility with respect to the S&P500 futures relative to its total realised volatility to capture the asset price comovement with the market. We find that market volatility and the comovement of individual stocks with the market increase contemporaneously with the arrival of market-wide macroeconomic shocks, but decrease significantly in the following five trading days. This pattern supports the hypothesis that investors shift their (limited) attention to processing market-level information following an increase in market-wide uncertainty and then subsequently divert their attention back to asset-specific information.
Identification of an Anchor Residue for CheA-CheY Interactions in the Chemotaxis System of Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Transfer of a phosphoryl group from autophosphorylated CheA (P-CheA) to CheY is an important step in the bacterial chemotaxis signal transduction pathway. This reaction involves CheY (i) binding to the P2 domain of P-CheA and then (ii) acquiring the phosphoryl group from the P1 domain. Crystal structures indicated numerous side chain interactions at the CheY-P2 binding interface. To investigate the individual contributions of the P2 side chains involved in these contacts, we analyzed the effects of eight alanine substitution mutations on CheA-CheY binding interactions. An F214A substitution in P2 caused ∼1,000-fold reduction in CheA-CheY binding affinity, while Ala substitutions at other P2 positions had small effects (E171A, E178A, and I216A) or no detectable effects (H181A, D202A, D207A, and C213A) on binding affinity. These results are discussed in relation to previous in silico predictions of hot-spot and anchor positions at the CheA-CheY interface. We also investigated the consequences of these mutations for chemotaxis signal transduction in living cells. CheA(F214A) was defective in mediating localization of CheY-YFP to the large clusters of signaling proteins that form at the poles of Escherichia coli cells, while the other CheA variants did not differ from wild-type (wt) CheA (CheAwt) in this regard. In our set of mutants, only CheA(F214A) exhibited a markedly diminished ability to support chemotaxis in motility agar assays. Surprisingly, however, in FRET assays that monitored receptor-regulated production of phospho-CheY, CheA(F214A) (and each of the other Ala substitution mutants) performed just as well as CheAwt. Overall, our findings indicate that F214 serves as an anchor residue at the CheA-CheY interface and makes an important contribution to the binding energy in vitro and in vivo; however, loss of this contribution does not have a large negative effect on the overall ability of the signaling pathway to modulate P-CheY levels in response to chemoattractants.
Unions, innovation and investment: Australian evidence

Machin and Wadhwani have produced evidence indicating that trade unions encourage investment in the UK. This paper uses comparable data to ascertain whether their finding holds with respect to Australia. In general, and contrary to the UK study, the net effect of unions on investment in Australia is found to be negative. Nevertheless, investment levels at workplaces where unions were active were above the levels at non-union workplaces, offering support for the union-voice hypothesis which Machin and Wadhwani use to explain their results.
The effects of ill health on entering and maintaining paid employment: evidence in European countries

Objectives: To examine the effects of ill health on selection into paid employment in European countries. Methods: Five annual waves (1994–8) of the European Community Household Panel were used to select two populations: (1) 4446 subjects unemployed for at least 2 years, of which 1590 (36%) subjects found employment in the next year, and (2) 57 436 subjects employed for at least 2 years, of which 6191 (11%) subjects left the workforce in the next year because of unemployment, (early) retirement or having to take care of household. The influence of a perceived poor health and a chronic health problem on employment transitions was studied using logistic regression analysis. Results: An interaction between health and sex was observed, with women in poor health (odds ratio (OR) 0.4), men in poor health (OR 0.6) and women (OR 0.6) having less chance to enter paid employment than men in good health. Subjects with a poor health and low/intermediate education had the highest risks of unemployment or (early) retirement. Taking care of the household was only influenced by health among unmarried women. In most European countries, a poor health or a chronic health problem predicted staying or becoming unemployed and the effects of health were stronger with a lower national unemployment level. Conclusion: In most European countries, socioeconomic inequalities in ill health were an important determinant for entering and maintaining paid employment. In public health measures for health equity, it is of paramount importance to include people with poor health in the labour market.
Is Housing Wealth a Sideshow?

Do housing price fluctuations play an important role in the economic security of retirees, or is housing wealth just a sideshow to the determination of consumption and saving? Using panel data on saving from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and aggregate time- series data, I find that shifts in housing wealth do affect consumption and saving, especially for younger households. On the other hand, few elderly households appear to be tapping into their housing windfalls to finance retirement consumption. The precautionary saving approach can explain this puzzle. If housing wealth rises, households require less insurance against future contingencies, and will respond by spending more out of (nonhousing) wealth. But not every elderly household encounters a bad outcome requiring the liquidation of household equity. Hence the median elderly family will not actively spend housing windfalls. The theoretical and empirical results therefore suggest that housing wealth is not a sideshow.
Growth dynamics of the developing lateral geniculate nucleus

Segregated binocular maps in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) develop from stages where they initially completely overlap. Here, we show that segregation occurs at different rates across the depth of the nucleus and that the volume of the ipsilateral projection does not decrease significantly during this period, rather LGN volume expands markedly and its shape changes. Hence, we have examined the differential growth of the ferret LGN during the process of segregation by using novel shape modelling techniques. These have facilitated quantification of its three‐dimensional structure at successive developmental stages as well as the definition of growth vectors which illustrate shape change. This has been undertaken in direct representations of the LGN and those normalised for size and orientation. Spatiotemporal aspects of shape change have then been compared with different measurements of its cellular population. Initial stages of segregation are associated with a large expansion of the rostrocaudal axis of the nucleus along which segregation takes place, and an expansion of caudal regions that will eventually contain the binocular representation. Later stages are associated with dorsoventral expansions and a consolidation of the rostrocaudal axis. The pace of shape change peaks toward the end of the period of segregation when the nucleus has adopted ∼50% of its adult shape. After segregation, nuclear growth is mainly isotropic. The mature shape of the nucleus is achieved before it reaches its full size and while cell density and cell sizes are still changing. J. Comp. Neurol. 430:332–342, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Supervised heart rate tracking using wrist-type photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals during physical exercise without simultaneous acceleration signals

PPG based heart rate (HR) monitoring has recently attracted much attention with the advent of wearable devices such as smart watches and smart bands. However, due to severe motion artifacts (MA) caused by wristband stumbles, PPG based HR monitoring is a challenging problem in scenarios where the subject performs intensive physical exercises. This work proposes a novel approach to the problem based on supervised learning by Neural Network (NN). By simulations on the benchmark datasets [1], we achieve acceptable estimation accuracy and improved run time in comparison with the literature. A major contribution of this work is that it alleviates the need to use simultaneous acceleration signals. The simulation results show that although the proposed method does not process the simultaneous acceleration signals, it still achieves the acceptable Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 1.39 Beats Per Minute (BPM) on the benchmark data set.
Bank Efficiency and Macro-economic Factors: The Case of Developing Countries

Abstract This paper examines the effects of macro-economic factors on bank efficiency of commercial banks in Asia, Middle East/North Africa, and Africa. To achieve the objective, the stochastic frontier approach (SFA) was used to simultaneously estimate the parameters of the stochastic frontier and the inefficiency model. The results show that the effect of macro-economic factors on bank efficiency differs across region. Cost inefficiency of the commercial banks in the Asian region is negatively related to the real gross domestic product per capita, credit to the private sector, and market concentration but is positively related to trade openness. Banks cost inefficiency in the Middle East/North Africa is negatively related to trade openness but is positively related to market concentration suggesting that banking market in this region should be more open to competition.