Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Will Congestion Pricing Ever Be Adopted

Transportation planners and economists are urging us to adopt congestion pricing - to charge motorists more for driving on crowded roads during rush hours and less for traveling on uncrowded roads in off-peak hours. By putting a price on peak-hour travel, we would encourage motorists to switch to less crowded alternate routes or, better yet, take public transit, join a carpool, or travel at a time of day when the roads are less crowded. Such tolls might even induce some travelers to alter the origins or destinations of their trips or to cancel less important trips, thereby cutting their total amount of auto travel. Â In his recent article in ACCESS (Spring 1993), Kenneth Small suggested why the idea of congestion pricing is gaining much more attention today, even though it has been around for decades. In part it's because electronic toll collection now allows us to vary prices on roads by time of day and location without awkward and costly toll booths which themselves slow traffic. Congestion pricing has also become attractive because governments are strapped for funds, and road pricing is potentially a lucrative source of revenue.
Trade, import competition and productivity growth in the food industry

Melitz and Ottaviano’s (2008) firm-heterogeneity model predicts that trade liberalization induces a selection process from low to high productivity firms, which translates to an industry productivity growth. A similar firms’ selection effect is induced by market size. In this paper, these predictions are tested across 25 European countries and 9 food industries, over the 1995–2008 period. Using different dynamic panel estimators we find strong support for the model predictions, namely that an increase in import penetration is systematically positively related to productivity growth. The results are robust to measurement issues in productivity, controlling for market size, country and sector heterogeneities, and for the endogeneity of import competition. Interestingly, this positive relationship is almost exclusively driven by competition in final products coming from developed (especially EU-15) countries, suggesting that EU food imports are closer substitutes for domestic production than non-EU imports. These results have some potentially interesting policy implications.
Are 'Better' Ideas More Likely to Succeed? An Empirical Analysis of Startup Evaluation

Entrepreneurs face high uncertainty, and often make costly investments in new business ideas without knowing the expected payoff. This paper empirically examines whether ex-ante assessment of early-stage startup ideas can predict their subsequent commercialization. We leverage an entrepreneurship program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in which early-stage venture ideas, presented in the form of succinct standardized summaries, elicit subjective evaluations from a large set of experienced entrepreneurs and executives. Using data on 652 ventures in multiple industry sectors, evaluated over an 8-year period, we find that ideas that elicit more positive evaluations are significantly more likely to ultimately reach commercialization. We further show that these results are driven by venture ideas with documented intellectual capital in research-and-development-intensive sectors, such as life sciences and medical devices. We find no evidence, by contrast, that experts can effectively assess the commercial potential of venture ideas in non-R&D-intensive sectors such as consumer web and enterprise software. Finally, we find that industry-specific and scientific expertise is not critical to experts' collective ability to predict ventures' commercial viability.
Client and Server Synchronization Expressed in Types

Synchronization based on semaphores, monitors, or atomic actions is in general not visible through object types. Often we use unnecessary or even conflicting synchronization in clients and servers because of missing information. Process types – a kind of behavioral types – solve this problem so far only partially: Types specify synchronization required from clients, but they hide the servers’ synchronization. In this paper we propose a solution based on dynamic token management (in addition to static token management already existing in process types). This approach extends conventional object types in a straightforward way, supports subtyping under consideration of synchronization, ensures racefree programs, and still does not expose implementation details to clients.
Endoscopic Dacryocystorhinostomy with Adjunctive Mitomycin C for Canalicular Obstruction

Purpose to report our experience in treating distal and common canalicular obstruction by trephination followed by topical low-dose mitomycin C (0.03%) and silicone intubation during endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). Methods Noncomparative interventional case series of five eyes of five patients with epiphora and clinical evidence of distal or common canalicular obstruction. Only patients with canalicular obstruction at a distance of at least 7 mm distance from the punctum were offered this treatment. Treatment consisted of DCR and trephination under transnasal endoscopic view followed by topical mitomycin C. The major outcome was defined by the patients' subjective assessment of improvement and by objective evaluation of patency by endoscopic examination of the internal ostium, and the passage of fluorescein to the nose (Jones 1). Results Four patients were symptom free, and Jones 1 positive after a mean follow-up period of 15.4 months. One patient had recurrence of her distal canalicular narrowing and needed a Jones tube. No adverse reactions or complaints were reported during and following mitomycin C use. Conclusions Trephination of distal or common canalicular obstruction under endoscopic vision and adjunctive topical Mitomycin C should be considered as a possible viable approach to an external approach canaliculodacryocystorhinostomy.
Flat Tax Reforms in the Us: A Boon for the Income Poor

In this article we quantify the aggregate, distributional and welfare consequences of two revenue neutral flat-tax reforms using a model economy that replicates the U.S. distributions of earnings, income and wealth in very much detail. We find that the less progressive reform brings about a 2.4% increase in steady state output and a more unequal distribution of after-tax income. In contrast, the more progressive reform brings about a -2.6% reduction in steady state output and a distribution of after-tax income that is more egalitarian. We also find that in the less progressive flat-tax economy aggregate welfare falls by -0.17% of consumption, and in the more progressive flat-tax economy it increases by 0.45% of consumption. In both flat-tax reforms the income poor pay less income taxes and obtain sizeable welfare gains.
Preparation for Bias as a Buffer Against the Effect of Racial Discrimination on Academic Attitudes of African American College Students

Racial inequalities in the education system are an issue that has yet to be adequately addressed. Given how discriminatory experiences adversely impact African American students, it is important to understand how their educational attitudes are impacted and ways that students can be protected from these harmful experiences. The study aims to answer six research questions: 1) How does racial discrimination predict African American college students’ value placed in education? 2) How does racial discrimination predict African American college students’ expectations for success? 3) How do preparation for bias messages predict the value they place in education? 4) How do preparation for bias messages predict African American college students’ expectations for success? 5) Do preparation for bias messages buffer the effect of racial discrimination on value placed in education? 6) Do preparation for bias messages buffer the effect of racial discrimination on expectations for success? INDEX WORDS: African Americans, Education, Educational value, Educational expectations, Racism, Racial socialization PREPARATION FOR BIAS AS A BUFFER AGAINST THE EFFECT OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ON ACADEMIC ATTITUDES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS
Assessing Attitudes towards Statistics among Medical Students: Psychometric Properties of the Serbian Version of the Survey of Attitudes Towards Statistics (SATS)

Background Medical statistics has become important and relevant for future doctors, enabling them to practice evidence based medicine. Recent studies report that students’ attitudes towards statistics play an important role in their statistics achievements. The aim of the study was to test the psychometric properties of the Serbian version of the Survey of Attitudes Towards Statistics (SATS) in order to acquire a valid instrument to measure attitudes inside the Serbian educational context. Methods The validation study was performed on a cohort of 417 medical students who were enrolled in an obligatory introductory statistics course. The SATS adaptation was based on an internationally accepted methodology for translation and cultural adaptation. Psychometric properties of the Serbian version of the SATS were analyzed through the examination of factorial structure and internal consistency. Results Most medical students held positive attitudes towards statistics. The average total SATS score was above neutral (4.3±0.8), and varied from 1.9 to 6.2. Confirmatory factor analysis validated the six-factor structure of the questionnaire (Affect, Cognitive Competence, Value, Difficulty, Interest and Effort). Values for fit indices TLI (0.940) and CFI (0.961) were above the cut-off of ≥0.90. The RMSEA value of 0.064 (0.051–0.078) was below the suggested value of ≤0.08. Cronbach’s alpha of the entire scale was 0.90, indicating scale reliability. In a multivariate regression model, self-rating of ability in mathematics and current grade point average were significantly associated with the total SATS score after adjusting for age and gender. Conclusion Present study provided the evidence for the appropriate metric properties of the Serbian version of SATS. Confirmatory factor analysis validated the six-factor structure of the scale. The SATS might be reliable and a valid instrument for identifying medical students’ attitudes towards statistics in the Serbian educational context.
Stress distribution patterns of implant supported overdentures-analog versus finite element analysis: A comparative in-vitro study

Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to asses & compare the load transfer characteristics of Ball/O-ring and Bar/Clip attachment systems in implant supported overdentures using analog and finite element analysis models. Methodology: For the analog part of the study, castable bar was used for the bar and clip attachment and a metallic housing with a rubber O-ring component was used for the ball/O-ring attachment. The stress on the implant surface was measured using the strain-gauge technique. For the finite element analysis, the model were fabricated and load applications were done in a similar manner as in analog study. Results: The difference between both the attachment systems was found to be statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: Ball/O-ring attachment system transmitted lesser amount of stresses to the implants on the non-loading side, as compared to the Bar-Clip attachment system. When overall stress distribution is compared, the Bar-Clip attachment seems to perform better than the Ball/O-ring attachment, because the force was distributed better.
An abattoir-based study on helminthes of slaughtered goats (Capra hircus L., 1758) in upper Egypt, Egypt

SummaryThe present study describes the occurrence of various gastrointestinal helminths and liver flukes in goats from post mortem examinations performed between 2010 and 2011. Forty five adult goats were euthanized necropsy examination and for identification of adult gastrointestinal helminths and liver flukes. Eleven animals (24.44 %) were found to be infected with one or more species of gastrointestinal helminth. Haemonchus contortus emerged as the most prevalent species (15.5 %), with Moniezia expansa and Fasciola gigantica also being common (11.11 % and 4.4 %, respectively). Additionally, Haemonchus longistipes, Cysticercus tenuicollis, and Paramphistomum microbothrium were present at low infection rates (2.2 %). Mixed infections were similarly most prevalent. Haemonchus longistipes; the most pathogenic Strongyle nematode of camels was reported for the first time infecting goats in Egypt. The present study indicates that abattoir surveys would reveal the prevalence of various species of problematic helminths, and thus appropriate measures can be adopted to control the respective worms.
The Cambridge High Tech Cluster: Resilience and Response to Cyclical Trends

This paper explores trends shown by technology based companies in the Cambridge area over the cycles of the past two decades. Influences from the macro-economy include the impact of the information revolution on the area, the recession of the early 1990s and the technology crash of 2000. The expansion of the cluster of Cambridge tech firms over time reflects the extent to which firm entries have exceeded exits since the 1960s and the high survival rates of new firms. There has been sector-specific volatility in the current decade, pre-figuring economic difficulties since evident elsewhere. In order to reveal the dynamics behind trends at the cluster level, data are examined by sector, size and cohort. This shows that the decline in firm numbers between 2002 and 2006 reflects the founding of large numbers of short-lived IT software firms during the technology boom.Branches of corporations headquartered elsewhere have increasingly been attracted to the area but the larger tech based businesses in the Cambridge area are found to be those long-standing to Cambridge. Branch firms were more prone to closure and relocation than the larger indigenous firms with their accumulated local competence. Biotech and R&D experienced steady growth through the 1990s and 2000s with an increase in firm and job numbers. The biotechnology sector contracted along with the recent reduction in venture capital but the R&D sector continued to grow.Cambridge technology firms have been attractive targets for acquisition by corporations seeking to improve their innovation performance by buying promising technology. The number of acquisitions rose during the boom years, particularly in Biotech and IT, with associated cutbacks in employment in acquired units. The boom in venture capital investment and the incidence of acquisition during the boom period may be related. VCs seek early exit from their investments and acquisition rates fell along with the fall in local venture capital funding.After 2004, the fall in the number of tech start-ups (as compared with county VAT registrations for all new firms) and increasing numbers of exits, indicate that Cambridge tech-based firms were experiencing pressures specific to high tech. Long term effects of lower firm entries will depend on survival rates and the growth of surviving firms. During the recession of the early 1990s, a smaller cohort of tech start-ups achieved higher survival rates than those started in boom years. The number of new firms active in emerging technology sectors points to continuing innovation and diversity among firms in the Cambridge technology cluster despite a contraction in numbers of start-ups which anticipated the economic downturn. In the current financial situation, knowledge based firms engaged in technological and creative activity are more important than ever as providers of exports and of the skills of the future.
Understanding Internet Banking Adoption and Use Behavior: A Hong Kong Perspective

This study investigates adoption/use behavior within the context of Hong Kong Internet Banking services. A research framework based on the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM2) and Social Cognitive Theory is developed to identify factors that would influence the adoption and continue use of Internet Banking. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is employed to examine the entire pattern of inter-correlations among the eight proposed constructs, and to test related propositions empirically. A survey involving a total of 499 university students is conducted and confirmatory factor analysis used to determine the measurement efficacies. The results reveal that both subjective norm and computer self-efficacy indirectly play significant roles in influencing the intention to adopt Internet Banking. Perceived ease of use has a significant indirect effect on intention to adopt/use through perceived usefulness, while its direct effect on intention to adopt is not significant.
Nationwide implementation of integrated community case management of childhood illness in Rwanda

Between 2008 and 2011, Rwanda introduced iCCM of childhood illness nationwide. One year after iCCM rollout, community-based treatment for diarrhea and pneumonia had increased significantly, and under-5 mortality and overall health facility use had declined significantly. Between 2008 and 2011, Rwanda introduced iCCM of childhood illness nationwide. One year after iCCM rollout, community-based treatment for diarrhea and pneumonia had increased significantly, and under-5 mortality and overall health facility use had declined significantly. ABSTRACT Background: Between 2008 and 2011, Rwanda introduced integrated community case management (iCCM) of childhood illness nationwide. Community health workers in each of Rwanda's nearly 15,000 villages were trained in iCCM and equipped for empirical diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria; for malnutrition surveillance; and for comprehensive reporting and referral services. Methods: We used data from the Rwanda health management information system (HMIS) to calculate monthly all-cause under-5 mortality rates, health facility use rates, and community-based treatment rates for childhood illness in each district. We then compared a 3-month baseline period prior to iCCM implementation with a seasonally matched comparison period 1 year after iCCM implementation. Finally, we compared the actual changes in all-cause child mortality and health facility use over this time period with the changes that would have been expected based on baseline trends in Rwanda. Results: The number of children receiving community-based treatment for diarrhea and pneumonia increased significantly in the 1-year period after iCCM implementation, from 0.83 cases/1,000 child-months to 3.80 cases/1,000 child-months (P = .01) and 0.25 cases/1,000 child-months to 5.28 cases/1,000 child-months (P<.001), respectively. On average, total under-5 mortality rates declined significantly by 38% (P<.001), and health facility use declined significantly by 15% (P = .006). These decreases were significantly greater than would have been expected based on baseline trends. Conclusions: This is the first study to demonstrate decreases in both child mortality and health facility use after implementing iCCM of childhood illness at a national level. While our study design does not allow for direct attribution of these changes to implementation of iCCM, these results are in line with those of prior studies conducted at the sub-national level in other low-income countries.
Interrelationships Between Strength, Anthropometrics, and Strongman Performance in Novice Strongman Athletes

Winwood, PW, Keogh, JWL, Harris, NK, and Weaver, LM. Interrelationships between strength, anthropometrics, and strongman performance in novice strongman athletes. J Strength Cond Res 26(2): 513–522, 2012—The sport of strongman is relatively new; hence, specific research investigating this sport is currently very limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between anthropometric dimensions and maximal isoinertial strength to strongman performance in novice strongman athletes. Twenty-three semiprofessional rugby union players with considerable resistance training and some strongman training experience (age 22.0 ± 2.4 years, weight 102.6 ± 10.8 kg, height 184.6 ± 6.5 cm) were assessed for anthropometry (height, body composition, and girth measurements), maximal isoinertial performance (bench press, squat, deadlift, and power clean), and strongman performance (tire flip, log clean, and press, truck pull, and farmer's walk). The magnitudes of the relationships were determined using Pearson correlation coefficients, and interpreted qualitatively according to Hopkins (90% confidence limits ∼±0.37). The highest relationship observed was between system force (body mass + squat 1-repetition maximum) and overall strongman performance (r = 0.87). Clear moderate to very large relationships existed between performance in all strongman events and the squat (r = 0.61–0.85), indicating the importance of maximal squat strength for strongman competitors. Flexed arm girth and calf girth were the strongest anthropometric correlates of overall strongman performance (r = 0.79 and 0.70, respectively). The results of this study suggest that body structure and common gymnasium-based exercise strength are meaningfully related to strongman performance in novice strongman athletes. Future research should investigate these relationships using more experienced strongman athletes and determine the relationships between changes in anthropometry, isoinertial strength, and strongman performance to determine the role of anthropometry and isoinertial strength in the sport of strongman.
Survey of applications of radar refractivity retrievals

The absence of small-scale moisture measurements near the surface is a major limitation in forecasting convective precipitation (Emanuel et al., 1995; Dabberdt and Schlatter, 1996; National Research Council, 1998). Recent breakthroughs in retrieving near-surface refractivity from weather radar are providing new opportunities for highresolution, near-surface moisture measurements (Fabry et al., 1997; Fabry, 2004; Cheong et al., 2008). Refractivity retrievals obtained from the WSR-88D network can provide moisture measurements with very high spatial (as small as 2 km) and temporal resolution (4.2–10 minutes depending on volume coverage pattern). These measurements provide superior spatial resolution to the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), which has an average spacing of 90 km (Koch and Saleeby, 2001).
Neonatal hypersusceptibility to endotoxin correlates with increased tumor necrosis factor production in mice.

Septic shock is a major cause of mortality in neonates. The hypothesis was tested that neonatal age is associated with altered sensitivity to shock-inducing bacterial products or proinflammatory cytokines (or both). Mice of different ages were inoculated with various doses of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), superantigenic staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), or recombinant tumor necrosis factor-alpha (rTNF-alpha), alone or in combination with the sensitizing agent D-galactosamine. Neonatal mice were markedly more susceptible to LPS-induced lethality but more resistant to SEB than were adults (P < .05). Mice of different ages did not differ, however, in their sensitivity to lethal activities of rTNF-alpha. Neonatal susceptibility to LPS and SEB correlated directly with plasma TNF-alpha but not IFN-gamma levels, which was confirmed by TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma blockade experiments. These data document marked age-related differences in the pathophysiology of septic shock and suggest that IFN-gamma is not an obligatory mediator of either LPS- or SEB-induced lethality in neonates.