Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating Equilibrium in Health Insurance Exchanges : Analysis of the Californian Market under the ACA ∗

This paper develops and estimates a model of a regulated health insurance exchange, in which insurers’ ability to adjust prices across buyers with different observed risk or preferences is restricted. I show conditions under which the joint distribution of risk and preferences is identified, even when the econometrician does not observe any information on individual risk. These primitives can then be used to simulate equilibrium under alternative regulations. I estimate the model with data from the first year of the Californian exchange under the Affordable Care Act, where age-rating restrictions and a subsidy program determine the way in which insurers’ decisions translate to expected profits. For this market, I investigate alternative designs of the subsidy program. Compared to the subsidy formula mandated by the healthcare reform, the adoption of a voucher program – providing buyers with a lump-sum equal to 70-80% of their expected expenditure – would transfer welfare away from insurers, favoring consumers and/or taxpayers. Simulations of equilibrium under this alternative policy result in total coverage between 100-115% of the levels achieved by the current regulations, while also reducing government expenditure, average premiums, and markups, by 0-20%, 12-15%, and 22-27%, respectively.
Single-tone spectrum allocation under SINR requirements

In this paper we investigate the problem of allocating spectrum among radio nodes under SINR requirements. This problem is of special interest in dynamic spectrum access networks where topology and spectral resources differ with time and location. The problem is to determine the number of radio nodes that can transmit simultaneously while still achieving their SINR requirements and then decide which channels these nodes should transmit on. Previous work have shown how this can be done for a large spectrum pool where nodes allocate multiple channels from that pool which renders a linear programming approach feasible when the pool is large enough. In this paper we extend their work by considering arbitrary individual pool sizes and allow nodes to only transmit on one channel. Due to the accumulative nature of interference this problem is a non-convex integer problem which is NP-hard. However, we introduce a constraint transformation that transforms the problem to a binary quadratic constraint problem. Although this problem is still NP-hard, well known heuristic algorithms for solving this problem are known in the literature. We implement a heuristic algorithm which yields both good solutions and can be implemented in a distributed manner. Simulation results show that this approach provides solutions within an average gap of 10% of solutions obtained by a genetic algorithm for the original non-convex integer problem.
Applications of endoscopic ultrasonography in pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND Accurate staging of pancreatic cancer is essential for surgical planning and for identification of locally advanced and metastatic disease that is incurable by surgery. Advances in endoscopic sonography (EUS), computed tomography (CT), and positron emission tomography have improved the accuracy of staging and reduced the number of incomplete surgical resections. Tissue acquisition is necessary in nonsurgical cases when chemoradiotherapy is considered. The complex regional anatomy of the pancreas makes cytologic diagnosis of malignancy at this region difficult without exploratory surgery. Although CT-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is used for this purpose, reports of an increased risk of peritoneal dissemination of cancer cells and a false-negative rate of nearly 20% make this a poor choice. The ability to position the EUS-transducer in direct proximity to the pancreas by means of the stomach and duodenum, combined with the use of FNA, increases the specificity of EUS in detecting pancreatic malignancies. METHODS The current literature regarding the accuracy of EUS with FNA in the evaluation of pancreatic cancer is reviewed. RESULTS EUS accuracy ranges from 78% to 94% for tumor staging and from 64% to 82% for nodal staging. EUS also enables FNA of lesions that are too small to be identified by CT or MRI or too well encased by surrounding vascular structures to safely allow percutaneous biopsy. The accuracy for detecting invasion into the superior mesenteric artery and vein is lower than that for detecting portal or splenic vein invasion, especially for large tumors. EUS permits delivery of localized therapy such as celiac plexus neurolysis for pain control and direct intra-lesional injection of antitumor therapy. CONCLUSIONS EUS in combination with FNA is a highly accurate method of preoperative staging of pancreatic cancer, especially those too small to be characterized by CT or MRI, and it has the ability to obtain cytological confirmation of pancreatic cancer.
Degradation of Endosulfan using Pseudomonas sp . ED 1 isolated from pesticide contaminated soil

Bacterium capable of degrading endosulfan was isolated and found to be tolerant to (250 ppm) endosulfan than the rest of the isolates obtained from the soil contaminated with endosulfan. The 16s rRNA sequence analysis indicated that bacterium belonged to Pseudomonas sp. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis showed the disappearance of β-endosulfan and formation of a new metabolite in the medium inoculated with Pseudomonas sp. ED1. Gas chromatography-mass spectrum (GC-MS) analysis showed the presence of unidentified end product as endosulfan monoaldehyde. To identify the responsive gene for degradation of endosulfan; endosulfan degrading Esd expression construct in pET14b (pET14b-esdplasmid vector) was used as positive control for detection of the specific gene in the strain ED1. Dot blot showed the positive expression of endosulfan degrading genes in the strain ED1.
A Hierarchical Linear Model of Educational Productivity.

To determine the relative importance of school and individual factors in the determination of science learning, achievement test scores were analyzed in relation to individualand school-level factors in a national sample of about 2,000 tenth-grade students participating in the Longitudinal Study of American Youth. Hierarchical linear analyses showed that individual measures accounted for most of the variance. Previous achievement was the preponderant influence on subsequent achievement. Nonetheless, initial science attitude, instructional time, the home environment, and exposure to mass media were also significant individual-level influences on science achievement. (Author) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** A Hierarchical Linear Model of Educational Productivity Deidra J. Young Curtin University of Technology Arthur J. Reynolds Pennsylvania State University Herbert J. Walberg University of Illinois at Chicago Paper presented to the Annual Meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Atlanta, Georgia, 15-19 April 1993. "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Deidra Young TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). " 2 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office 01 Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Llz This document has been reproduced of "'Waived from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quehly Points of new or opinions stated in this docu ment do not necessanly represent official oEni position or ono A Hierarchical Linear Model of Educational Productivity Deidra J. Young, Curtin University of Technology Arthur J. Reynolds, Pennsylvania State University Herbert Walberg, University of Illinois at Chicago
Autonomic and brain responses associated with empathy deficits in autism spectrum disorder

Accumulating evidence suggests that autonomic signals and their cortical representations are closely linked to emotional processes, and that related abnormalities could lead to social deficits. Although socio‐emotional impairments are a defining feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), empirical evidence directly supporting the link between autonomic, cortical, and socio‐emotional abnormalities in ASD is still lacking. In this study, we examined autonomic arousal indexed by skin conductance responses (SCR), concurrent cortical responses measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging, and effective brain connectivity estimated by dynamic causal modeling in seventeen unmedicated high‐functioning adults with ASD and seventeen matched controls while they performed an empathy‐for‐pain task. Compared to controls, adults with ASD showed enhanced SCR related to empathetic pain, along with increased neural activity in the anterior insular cortex, although their behavioral empathetic pain discriminability was reduced and overall SCR was decreased. ASD individuals also showed enhanced correlation between SCR and neural activities in the anterior insular cortex. Importantly, significant group differences in effective brain connectivity were limited to greater reduction in the negative intrinsic connectivity of the anterior insular cortex in the ASD group, indicating a failure in attenuating anterior insular responses to empathetic pain. These results suggest that aberrant interoceptive precision, as indexed by abnormalities in autonomic activity and its central representations, may underlie empathy deficits in ASD. Hum Brain Mapp 36:3323–3338, 2015. © 2015 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published byWiley Periodicals, Inc.
Teacher behaviours that influence young children's reasoning

Children are expected to develop the habit of reasoning from their earliest years at school. However, there has been limited emphasis on strategies that teachers can use to support young children’s reasoning. We report on a case study of four teachers who implemented mathematical investigations that provided reasoning opportunities for their classes of seven-to-eight year olds. An analysis of teacher behaviours and their students’ responses suggests that reasoning is influenced by (1) teachers’ expectations of reasoned actions and responses, (2) instruction in reasoning as systematised thinking, and (3) authentic opportunities for reasoning. These influences are discussed together with examples of how these teacher behaviours support or inhibit reasoning.
The Two Main Forms of Histiocytic Sarcoma in the Predisposed Flatcoated Retriever Dog Display Variation in Gene Expression

Examination of gene functions in specific tumor types improves insight in tumorigenesis and helps design better treatments. Due to the rarity of histiocytic/dendritic cell sarcoma in humans, it is difficult to accrue such knowledge. Therefore, comparative research of these cancers in predisposed dog breeds, such as the Flatcoated retriever, can be of value. Histiocytic sarcoma in the dog can be grouped into a soft tissue- and visceral form. The soft tissue form at first is localized, while the visceral form progresses more quickly to a terminal state, which might be related to variations in gene expression. Microarray analyses were performed on fresh-frozen tissue from Flatcoated retrievers with either soft tissue- or visceral histiocytic sarcoma. Expression differences of ten most significantly differentially expressed genes were validated with quantitative real-time PCR (q PCR) analyses. Q PCR analyses confirmed the significantly aberrant expression of three of the selected genes: C6 was up-regulated; CLEC12A and CCL5 were down-regulated in the visceral histiocytic sarcoma compared to the soft tissue form. The findings of our study indicate that these two forms of histiocytic sarcoma in the dog display a variation in gene expression and warrant analysis of functional changes in the expression of those genes in these rare sarcomas in man.
Entrepreneurial orientation and business performance of small and medium scale enterprises of Western Province in Sri Lanka

The economic growth of developing countries can be sustained by the expansion of private sector, as they are the engine of growth. Many scholars have argued that Entrepreneurial Orientation is one of the salient factors which contribute to the performance of SMEs. However, the recent literature provides contradictory findings about the relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation and performance. Accordingly this study aimed at investigating the level of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) of owner(s)/manager(s) of SMEs and the relationship between EO and business performance of manufacturing SMEs in Western province. This study adopted deductive approach and used both descriptive and inferential statistical tools in analyzing the collected data. Findings revealed that the Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) among owner/managers of manufacturing SMEs in Western province is at high level. Among the dimensions of EO, innovativeness shows high influence on business performance. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.4038/kjm.v2i2. 6550 Kelaniya Journal of Management Vol.2(2) 2013:51-67
Aid Allocation by German NGOs: Does the Degree of Public Refinancing Matter?

Using a new dataset for 41 German non-governmental organizations (NGOs), we analyze the allocation of NGO aid across recipient countries in a Tobit regression framework. By identifying for each NGO the degree of public refinancing, we address the largely unresolved issue of whether financial dependence on the government impairs the targeting of NGO aid. It turns out that German NGOs are more active in poorer countries, while they do not complement official aid by working under difficult local conditions. Beyond a certain threshold, rising financial dependence weakens their poverty orientation and provides an incentive to engage in “easier�? environments. In addition, we find that the NGOs follow the state as well as NGO peers when allocating aid. This herding behavior is, however, hardly affected by the degree of public refinancing.
Scientific Explanations: Characterizing and Evaluating the Effects of Teachers' Instructional Practices on Student Learning.

Teacher practices are essential for supporting students in scientific inquiry practices, such as the construction of scientific explanations. In this study, we examine what instructional practices teachers engage in when they introduce scientific explanation and whether these practices influence students' ability to construct scientific explanations during a middle school chemistry unit. Thirteen teachers enacted a project-based chemistry unit, How can I make new stuff from old stuff? , with 1197 seventh grade students. We videotaped each teacher's enactment of the focal lesson on scientific explanation and then coded the videotape for four different instructional practices: modeling scientific explanation, making the rationale of scientific explanation explicit, defining scientific explanation, and connecting scientific explanation to everyday explanation. Our results suggest that when teachers introduce scientific explanation, they vary in the practices they engage in as well as the quality of their use of these practices. We also found that teachers' use of instructional practices can influence student learning of scientific explanation and that the effect of these instructional practices depends on the context in terms of what other instructional practices the teacher uses. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 53–78, 2008
103-INFLUENCE OF THE LIFE STYLE ON STRESS PERCEPTION OF ACTIVE AND SEDENTARY BANK CLERKS

INTRODUCTION The work, while human activity, has passed through significant changes in its conception, organization, and daily practical. The transformations are occurring quickly, imposing the worker to adapt to this new reality, producing more and with higher quality and efficiency. However, in this new reality, that we call “globalization”, the human being has been placed in secondary position on the production process (Richard, 1997). Many researches has been denouncing the globalization problems, pointing the great pressure exerted in the workers of organizations, aiming the increase of production, the automation of tasks, changing technologies every day, decreasing the remuneration and increasing workload. Among other problems, this has been object of discussion and analysis in some congresses and academical meetings in the whole world (IEA, 1997). Rosh apud Lipp (1996) and Nahas (2001) say that some occupations are clearly recognized as more stressful and susceptible stress elicitation problems, among them it is detached the bank clerks profession. The banking system is traditionally a focus of financial and social tension in Brazil, because it's in a close way related to the sudden economic plans, politics changes and institutional crises, always suffering more pressures to increase productivity, effectiveness and time reduction for accomplishment of tasks. According to Bonamin (1994), as resulted of this pressure, processes of stress can occur, disclosing itself of diverse forms, as irritability, absenteeism and psychosomatic illnesses in different contexts as in work, leisure and family. According to Lipp (2002), stress can be defined as a very complex reaction, composed by psychophysiologycal alterations that occur when the person is forced to face situations that exceed your ability of confrontation. The function of the outcome to stress is the person adaptation to the new situation, which is generated by the challenging stimulation. However, in case of this mechanism don't be enough for adaptation, the organism will be continually investing upon the stressful agent resulting in unnecessary dispend of energy (MARGIS et al., 2003). The practice of physical activity regularly has been associated with stress reduction. Some studies suggest that exercise elicits the improvement the neural systems efficiency related with the capacity to deal with the stressful agents. A more healthful and active life style, associated with habits of physical activity and cares about health, seems to be related to a better quality of life, mental and physical well being, and the increase of productivity (HACKFORT, 1994; SAMULSKY; LUSTOSA, 1996; FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DE MÉDECINE SPORTIVE, 1998). Despite the several articles published about the benefits of the physical exercise over mental health, many researchers are still questioning the veracity of this possible influence (SAMULSKY and LUSTOSA, 1996). This way, to add information regarding the subject, the present study verified the relation between life style and perceived stress of bank clerks.
Priming and the brain: an unexpected case of reverse priming with a prologue on the paradox of free will

Previous studies have found that priming participants for the goal to achieve leads them to perform better in a task, such as a word-search puzzle, than control participants. The current study investigated the effects of priming participants for the goal to achieve, the effects of priming participants for the goal to give up, and effects of priming for the goal to achieve and give up simultaneously. We measured differences in behavior and brain activity between these conditions. Our results indicate that, contrary to what we had predicted, priming participants for the goal to achieve leads them to find fewer words in a word-search task than control participants; this is true even when the giving-up prime is present simultaneously. On the other hand, priming participants to give up has no significant effect on the number of words found. Similar results were observed in terms of the amount of time the participants spent working on the puzzles. We also found that neither priming for achievement nor priming to give up has a significant main effect on brain activity, but a significant interaction was observed. We concluded that it is possible that the environmental conditions in which the participants were tested, which may have motivated them to protect their self-worth, priming participants for the goal to achieve has a reverse behavioral priming effect.
The Use of Currency Derivatives by Brazilian Companies: An Empirical Investigation

This paper studies the use of foreign currency derivatives for a sample of non-financial Brazilian companies from 1996 to 2004. The paper verifies that some of the hypotheses presented by the optimal hedging literature are able to explain the Brazilian companies decision to use currency derivatives and their decision on the amount to use. Moreover, the paper shows that the macroeconomic environment and country-specific factors not analyzed in previous empirical work also play a role in determining the companies risk management practices and that the use of currency derivatives has an impact on the ompanies decision regarding their capital structure and the currency composition of their debt.
Analysis of Food and Drug Administration–Approved Anticancer Agents in the NCI60 Panel of Human Tumor Cell Lines

Since the early 1990s the Developmental Therapeutics Program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has utilized a panel of 60 human tumor cell lines (NCI60) representing 9 tissue types to screen for potential new anticancer agents. To date, about 100,000 compounds and 50,000 natural product extracts have been screened. Early in this program it was discovered that the pattern of growth inhibition in these cell lines was similar for compounds of similar mechanism. The development of the COMPARE algorithm provided a means by which investigators, starting with a compound of interest, could identify other compounds whose pattern of growth inhibition was similar. With extensive molecular characterization of these cell lines, COMPARE and other user-defined algorithms have been used to link patterns of molecular expression and drug sensitivity. We describe here the results of screening current Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved anticancer agents in the NCI60 screen, with an emphasis on those agents that target signal transduction. We analyzed results from agents with mechanisms of action presumed to be similar; we also carried out a hierarchical clustering of all of these agents. The addition of data from recently approved anticancer agents will increase the utility of the NCI60 databases to the cancer research community. These data are freely accessible to the public on the DTP website (http://dtp.cancer.gov/). The FDA-approved anticancer agents are themselves available from the NCI as a plated set of compounds for research use. Mol Cancer Ther; 9(5); 1451–60. ©2010 AACR.