Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Discrete Equilibrium Price Dispersion

An explicit solution of an equilibrium model with price-setting firms and searching customers makes possible a number of comparative-statics predictions about how cost differences among firms, search costs of customers, and taxes will affect the mean and variance of the distribution of market prices. Another implication of the model is that a firm's demand depends on the difference between its price and the average price in the market.
Inequality and the Financial Accumulation Process: A Computational Economic Analysis of Income and Wealth Dynamics

Our computational economic analysis investigates the relationship between inequality and the financial accumulation process in the study of income and wealth distributions. Extending the baseline model by Levy et al., we characterise the economic process trough featured return structures generating alternative stylised evolutions of income and wealth through historical time. First we explore the limited heuristic contribution of one and two factors models comprising one single stock (capital wealth) and one single flow factor (labour) as pure drivers of income and wealth generation and allocation over time. Then we introduce heuristic models of taxation and financial market pricing in line with the baseline approach. Our computational economic analysis corroborates that the financial accumulation process featuring compound returns plays a significant role as socioeconomic source of inequality, while institutional configurations play a significant role in framing and shaping the aggregate economic process that evolves over socioeconomic space and time.An updated version is available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2628536
Caring for a Surge of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees in Primary Care Clinics

Primary care physicians are rarely mentioned in medical disaster plans. We describe how a group of mostly family physicians and administrators of the JPS Health Network (JPS) took primary responsibility for 3,700 evacuees of Hurricane Katrina who came to Tarrant County, Texas. JPS provided medical care to 1,664 (45%) evacuees during a 2-week period. The most common needs were medications for chronic illnesses and treatment of skin infections (primarily on the feet). The JPS Emergency Department saw only 148 evacuees, most of whom arrived by their own transportation and were not seriously ill. JPS created a triage center located several miles from the hospital that referred almost all evacuees with health care needs to a primary care clinic. It was an effective approach for caring for the medical needs of disaster victims and prevented an emergency department and hospital from being overwhelmed. The JPS experience may guide future planning efforts for natural or manmade disasters, especially pandemic threats.
Capitalizing on Knowledge from Public Research Institutions

Knowledge spillovers from universities and other public research institutions (PRIs) are viewed as essential for innovation. Previous studies examining the impact of such spillovers have been confined to the West, and there are no comparable studies using empirical data from Japan that explore the relationship between spillovers from PRIs and innovation in firms. The author attempts to address this gap by using data from Japanese PRIs and new technology-based firms (NTBFs). He examines several topics: the evidence that knowledge spillovers from PRIs are localized in Japan; the extent to which such spillovers are contingent on geographical proximity; whether the type of tool used to measure spillovers – patents or scientific publications – has a bearing on the results; and the relationship between spillovers and innovation in Japanese NTBFs.
Adrenal cysts: natural history by long-term imaging follow-up.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to determine the natural history of adrenal cysts on the basis of long-term imaging follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS This retrospective study included patients with adrenal cysts who had at least 12 months of imaging follow-up (1993-2010). Medical records were reviewed. Two radiologists reviewed imaging examinations in consensus and recorded wall thickness (thin, ≤ 3 mm; thick, > 3 mm), septations, and calcification. CT attenuation value, MRI signal intensity, the presence or absence of enhancement, and typical sonographic features were used to confirm fluid content of the lesions. Cyst wall enhancement was recorded (thin, ≤ 3 mm and smooth; thick, > 3 mm). Cyst diameter on the initial and most remote follow-up examinations was compared. The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test was applied to assess statistically significant differences in size and CT attenuation on follow-up examinations. RESULTS Twenty patients with unilateral adrenal cysts (seven male and 13 female patients; mean age, 44 years; range, 10-75 years) had a mean imaging follow-up period of 64 months (range, 12-198 months). CT, MRI, and ultrasound examinations were obtained in 19, 11, and 13 patients, respectively. Cysts were diagnosed by lack of enhancement on CT or MRI in 12 patients, typical sonographic features in three patients, and combination of CT and sonographic or MRI features in five patients. Signal intensities typical for fluid were found on all MRI examinations, attenuations of less than 20 HU on 17 of 19 (89%) CT examinations, and features of either simple or mildly complicated cysts on all sonograms. Thin walls, wall calcifications, and thin septations were found in 20 (100%), 12 (60%), and four (20%) lesions, respectively. During the follow-up of 20 lesions, the median cyst diameter increased by 26.0% (interquartile range, 6.8-68.4%) in 12 (60%) patients, decreased by 32.9% (interquartile range, 7.1-42.8%) in six (30%) patients, and was unchanged in two (10%) patients. The median baseline CT attenuation values did not significantly change on follow-up CT examinations (p = 0.72). No patient developed a complication of adrenal cyst. Four patients had histologically confirmed benign adrenal cysts. CONCLUSION Interval enlargement of an adrenal cyst is frequent and as an isolated finding does not indicate malignancy or presence of a complication. However, some adrenal cysts may decrease or remain stable in size over time.
New Sport Teams and the Development of Brand Community

Abstract In this study we explored brand community markers in the context of newly established sport teams. We examined whether managers of new sports teams utilize group experience, organizational history, ritual/traditions and physical facility in their branding strategies. A case study approach was used; featuring both interviews with managers of three newly established New Zealand professional sports teams and direct observations of games. The findings revealed managers generally considered group experience, history and heritage, ritual/traditions and physical facility to be important, but they failed to implement and apply these mechanisms to an overall marketing strategy. Evidence of the four mechanisms was only apparent on an infrequent and fragmented basis. Promotion of these antecedents was largely absent from the team's branding strategies. This is the first study to extend the study of brand communities from successful and established brands to new organizations and explored how the different mechanisms relate to this environment.
The contest determinant of delight and disappointment: a case study of online banking

Purpose: This study considers perceived online service quality and online service recovery as antecedents to online satisfaction for the purposes of investigating which factor has the most significant impact on online customer satisfaction and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach: An online questionnaire method approach was used to survey 428 customers of online banking (123 of whom reported a service failure). Exploratory factor analyses, oblique rotation and varimax rotation were used to assess scale validity. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling based on partial least squares and bootstrapping analysis. Results: Perceived service quality and service recovery have direct/indirect effects on customer loyalty through customer satisfaction. The mediating role of satisfaction was also confirmed. Rather than service recovery, e-quality is the most important predictor of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Management implication: Antecedents such as online service quality, service recovery and satisfaction can be used to forecast customer loyalty in e-banking. However, it is more important to increase customer satisfaction, which requires placing an external focus on developing what will ‘go right’ in the first place by enhancing online perceived service quality, instead of preventing dissatisfaction through recovery, which is an internal focus on fixing what has ‘gone wrong’. Original value: This study is the first to provide important insights into both the direct and indirect impacts of e-service quality and e-service recovery on building relationships characterised by customer satisfaction and loyalty as well as providing definitive evidence in terms of the various sub-dimensions of service quality and service recovery.
Litigation and Settlement under Two-Sided Incomplete Information

This paper deals with a simple game of litigation and settlement with incomplete information. Parties are assumed to have the choice between settling their dispute out of court or resorting to costly litigation. The set of sequential equilibria is characterized and conditions are given under which an efficient equilibrium does exist. Efficient equilibria, however, will be ruled out by various tests of refinement. A comparative statics analysis is carried out with respect to the quality of private information which parties are assumed to receive before any moves have to be made.
DSM–IV personality disorders in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys

Background Little is known about the cross-national population prevalence or correlates of personality disorders. Aims To estimate prevalence and correlates of DSM–IV personality disorder clusters in the World Health Organization World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys. Method International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE) screening questions in 13 countries (n = 21 162) were calibrated to masked IPDE clinical diagnoses. Prevalence and correlates were estimated using multiple imputation. Results Prevalence estimates are 6.1% (s.e. = 0.3) for any personality disorder and 3.6% (s.e. = 0.3), 1.5% (s.e. = 0.1) and 2.7% (s.e. = 0.2) for Clusters A, B and C respectively. Personality disorders are significantly elevated among males, the previously married (Cluster C), unemployed (Cluster C), the young (Clusters A and B) and the poorly educated. Personality disorders are highly comorbid with Axis I disorders. Impairments associated with personality disorders are only partially explained by comorbidity. Conclusions Personality disorders are relatively common disorders that often co-occur with Axis I disorders and are associated with significant role impairments beyond those due to comorbidity.
Hotels' environmental management systems (ISO 14001): creative financing strategy

Purpose – Environmental concerns have been increasing in the travel industry. However, most hotels are unwilling to develop an international environmental management system (EMS) probably due to a lack of resources and knowledge. In order to encourage more organizations to take part in the EMS, three cases adopting international EMS are investigated to ascertain the ways to support the formation of EMS. Based on their experience, hoteliers are encouraged to team up with green members to apply for research funding for the investigation and implementation of EMS. Also, “energy performance contracting” methods to finance environmental improvement projects in hotels were also discussed.Design/methodology/approach – A single case study approach was adopted to illustrate the differences in the resources mobilization for setting EMS in these three hotels. A search of documentary evidence and interviews with hotel staff was the main instrument for data collection.Findings – The Shangri‐la Hotel used its own resou.
All‐cause and cardiovascular mortality risk after surgery versus radioiodine treatment for hyperthyroidism

Little is known about the long‐term side‐effects of different treatments for hyperthyroidism. The few studies previously published on the subject either included only women or focused mainly on cancer outcomes. This register study compared the impact of surgery versus radioiodine on all‐cause and cause‐specific mortality in a cohort of men and women.
ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE FOCUS AND STYLE OF POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AMONG BELGIAN, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE PARLIAMENTARIANS

This article analyses the attitudes of members of parliament towards representation. Based on the PARENEL project dataset, it takes an individual-level approach to examine the focus and style of representation of Belgian, French and Portuguese representatives. It shows that, given the complexity of the process of representation, MPs have various principals and develop multiple foci of representation. It also demonstrates the impact of electoral rules, career patterns and MPs' goals on their focus of representation.
Network formation with value heterogeneity: centrality, segregation and adverse effects

We investigate formation of economic and social networks where agents may form or cut ties. The novelty is combining a setup where agents are heterogeneous in their talent for generating value in the links they form and value may also accrue from indirect ties. We provide sufficient conditions for assortative matching: agents of greater talent have partners of greater talent. A novel feature is that agents with higher talent are more central in networks. Another novel feature is degree assortativity: partnered agents have a similar number of partners. Two suboptimal network structures are noteworthy. One network displays excess assortativity as high and low talented types fail to connect, and thus inefficient due to payoff externalities despite otherwise obeying the conditions of Becker (1973). In another suboptimal network an agent of low talent becomes excessively central.
Evaluating the Mexico city policy: How US foreign policy affects fertility outcomes and child health in Ghana

US development assistance represents a significant source of funding for many population programs in poor countries. The Mexico City policy, known derisively as the global gag rule, restricts activities of foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive such assistance. The intent of the policy is to reduce the use of abortion in developing countries—a policy that is born entirely of US domestic politics and that turns on and off depending on the political party in power. I examine here whether the policy achieves its aim, and how the policy affects reproductive outcomes for women in Ghana. Employing a woman-by-month panel of pregnancies and woman fixed effects, I estimate whether a given woman is less likely to abort a pregnancy during two policy periods versus two nonpolicy periods. I find no evidence that any demographic group reduces the use of abortion as a result of the policy. On the contrary, rural women significantly increase abortions. This effect seems to arise from their increased rate of conception during these times. The policy-induced budget shortfalls reportedly forced NGOs to cut rural outreach services, reducing the availability of contraceptives in rural areas. The lack of contraceptives likely caused the observed 12 percent increase in rural pregnancies, ultimately resulting in about 200,000 additional abortions and between 500,000 and 750,000 additional unintended births. I find that these additional unwanted children have significantly reduced height and weight for age, relative to their siblings. Rather than reducing abortion, this policy increased pregnancy, abortion, and unintended births, resulting in more than a half-million children of significantly reduced nutritional status.
NGOs as intermediaries in post-disaster rural reconstruction: findings from research in India

Drawing upon research conducted in Gujarat, India, this article identifies the potential and limitations for NGOs to serve as intermediaries (between beneficiaries, governments, and international relief/development organisations) on post-disaster rural reconstruction projects. Findings reveal that NGOs can play important roles in facilitating the design and construction of high-quality, culturally appropriate housing; revitalising and diversifying livelihoods; and reducing physical and social vulnerability to future disasters. NGOs should have clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and accountability measures in post-disaster reconstruction projects, but they also need a certain amount of autonomy to protect their organisational philosophies and flexibility to make day-to-day decisions.
[Expression of TEKT4 protein decreases in the ejaculated spermatozoa of idiopathic asthenozoospermic men].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of the TEKT4 protein in the pathogenesis of idiopathic asthenozoospermia. METHODS We separated and purified the ejaculated sperm from idiopathic asthenozoospermia patients and normozoospermic men by Percoll discontinuous density gradients, and detected the distribution and the expressions of TEKT4 mRNA and TEKT4 protein by RT-PCR and Western blot. RESULTS RT-PCR revealed that the expression of TEKT4 mRNA was significantly lower in the sperm of the idiopathic asthenozoospermia patients than in those of the normozoospermic men (0.59 +/- 0.13 vs 0.75 +/- 0.15, t = 4.325, P < 0.05), and Western blot confirmed the results of RT-PCR (0.48 +/- 0.14 vs 0.69 +/- 0.13, t = 5.939, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The expression of TEKT4 is significantly decreased in the ejaculated sperm of idiopathic asthenozoospermia patients, which might be one of the causes of idiopathic asthenozoospermia.
The international EECP patient registry (IEPR): Design, methods, baseline characteristics, and acute results

Background: In 1998, the International EECP Patient Registry (IEPR) was organized to document patient characteristics, safety, and efficacy during the treatment period, and long‐term outcomes. All centers with EECP facilities were invited to join the voluntary Registry. The Registry population comprises all patients starting EECP therapy for treatment of angina pectoris in participating centers.
The effect of bleaching agents on the surface hardness of tooth colored restorative materials.

AIM OF THE STUDY The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of at-home (Opalesence/Dr. kit 15%, Ultradent, Products, Inc. South Jordan, UT, USA) and in-office (Superoxol 35%, Sultan Chemists, Inc., Englewood, NJ, USA) bleaching on the surface hardness of the following tooth colored restorative materials: composite resin, Point-4 (P4), Kerr Corporation, Orange, CA, USA; ormocer, Admira (AD),VOCO, Germany; compomer Dyract AP (DY), Dentsply DeTrey GmbH, Germany; and resin modified glass ionomer cement, Fuji II LC (FL), GC Corporation, Japan. METHODOLOGY Sixty specimens were prepared; 15 specimens of each material (each group n = 5, control after 15 days, at-home and in-office). All specimens were stored in distilled water at room temperature for 24 hrs before testing. A universal testing machine (Micromet 2100 series micro hardness testers) was used for testing Vicker's surface hardness for the three groups for every tested material. All results were statistically analyzed with one way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Post hoc Tukey HSD tests (P < 0.05), and percentage changes for Tukey. RESULTS All the tested materials showed an increase in Vicker's surface hardness between base line (24 hrs) and the control group after 15 days storage in distilled water except DY which showed a decrease in surface hardness. All tested materials showed a decrease in surface hardness from control group after 15 days and both at-home and in-office bleaching agents except DY which showed increased values. SIGNIFICANCE At-home as well as in-office bleaching agents have a softening effect on some tooth colored restorative material, and the patient must be aware before using them.
Optimal Monitoring Policies in Agencies

This article considers a principal-agent problem in which the principal has access to a costly monitoring technology that can be used to acquire additional information about the agent's actions subsequent to observing the agent's output. Although randomized monitoring policies are feasible, we show that in a variety of contexts optimal monitoring policies are deterministic and "lower-tailed," that is, there exists some critical level of output such that further investigation of the agent's actions occurs if and only if output falls below this critical level.
Exercise performance and training in cardiac patients with atrial fibrillation.

PURPOSE Exercise training in cardiac patients with chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) has received little attention in the literature. Therefore, this study compared exercise performance and the effect of an exercise training program over a period of 3 months in patients with and without AF. METHODS Data in patients with AF (n = 19) were compared with a control group of patients in sinus rhythm (n = 44), drawn from a database of 2,116 patients. Patients performed a maximal exercise test on the bicycle until exhaustion before and after an ambulatory exercise training program where exercise training was offered 3 times a week for 3 months. RESULTS Before training, peak oxygen uptake (VO2) was significantly lower in patients with AF compared with the control group (1271 +/- 368 versus 1496 +/- 414 mL/min, P < 0.05). Exercise training significantly increased peak VO2 in both groups (+31%, P < 0.001 in AF and +25%, P < 0.001 in the control group). The gain in peak VO2 did not significantly differ between both groups. A significant decrease in resting heart rate was achieved in both groups after exercise training. AF was also a significant and independent determinant of peak VO2 in the total database, but not of the change in peak VO2. CONCLUSIONS Exercise training significantly improves exercise performance in cardiac patients with AF. AF affects exercise performance but does not impair the beneficial effects of training. Patients with chronic AF should therefore not be dissuaded from participating in exercise training after a cardiac event.
Interleukin‐1‐inducible MCPIP protein has structural and functional properties of RNase and participates in degradation of IL‐1β mRNA

In human monocyte‐derived macrophages, the MCPIP gene (monocyte chemoattractant protein‐induced protein) is strongly activated by interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β). Using bioinformatics, a PIN domain was identified, spanning amino acids 130‐280; such domains are known to possess structural features of RNases. Recently, RNase properties of MCPIP were confirmed on transcripts coding for interleukins IL‐6 and IL‐12p40. Here we present evidence that siRNA‐mediated inhibition of the MCPIP gene expression increases the level of the IL‐1β transcript in cells stimulated with LPS, whereas overexpression of MCPIP exerts opposite effects. Cells with an increased level of wild‐type MCPIP showed lower levels of IL‐1β mRNA. However, this was not observed when mutant forms of MCPIP, either entirely lacking the PIN domain or with point mutations in this domain, were used. The results of experiments with actinomycin D indicate that lower levels of IL‐1β mRNA are due to shortening of the IL‐1β transcript half‐life, and are not related to the presence of AU‐rich elements in the 3′ UTR. The interaction of the MCPIP with transcripts of both IL‐1β and MCPIP observed in an RNA immunoprecipitation assay suggests that this novel RNase may be involved in the regulation of expression of several genes.