Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bi-level Multi-objective Programming Problem with Fuzzy Parameters

paper deals with fuzzy goal programming approach to bi- level multi-objective programming problem with fuzzy parameters. In the proposed approach, the tolerance membership functions for the fuzzily described objective functions are defined by determining individual optimal solution of the objective functions of each of the decision makers. Since the objectives are potentially conflicting in general, possible relaxations of both level decisions are considered by providing preference bounds on the decision variables for avoiding decision deadlock. Then fuzzy goal programming technique is used for achieving highest degree of each of the membership goals by minimizing negative deviational variables. An algorithm is presented with termination criteria. An illustrative numerical example is provided to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach.
Digital Innovation Management: Reinventing Innovation Management Research in a Digital World

Rapid and pervasive digitization of innovation processes and outcomes has upended extant theories on innovation management by calling into question fundamental assumptions about the definitional boundaries for innovation, agency for innovation, and the relationship between innovation processes and outcomes. There is a critical need for novel theorizing on digital innovation management that does not rely on such assumptions and draws on the rich and rapidly emerging research on digital technologies. We offer suggestions for such theorizing in the form of four new theorizing logics, or elements, that are likely to be valuable in constructing more accurate explanations of innovation processes and outcomes in an increasingly digital world. These logics can open new avenues for researchers to contribute to this important area. Our suggestions in this paper, coupled with the six research notes included in the special issue on digital innovation management, seek to offer a broader foundation for reinventing innovation management research in a digital world.
Bangkok Space, and Conditions of Possibility

This is an essay on the ‘conditions of possibility’ (Kant) for thinking about the seemingly bizarre spaces of a grandly chaotic city. It is concerned with the possibility of distinctively different, contradictory (therefore incompatible) yet coexisting general modes of thinking—epistemes or discursive formations (Foucault)—and with the possible processes of their production. I begin with those spaces themselves and with their contested social production (Lefebvre), what they appear to show and what they seem to mask. Then, in the second part of the paper, the task is to explore the conditions that might underlie the remembering of many things and the forgetting of many things (Anderson), in the myriad decisions and actions that account for the production of such spaces. The third part is concerned with what these spaces might themselves tell us about deeper origins, the society itself, and its possible trajectory. A brief final part addresses the most problematic of issues: how is self-aware, self-critical discourse to arise in (against? ) an episteme that eschews the articulation of criticism?
Asymmetric and crash effects in stock volatility for the S&P 100 index and its constituents

The volatility processes of the S&P 100 index and all its constituent stocks are compared after estimating ARCH models from ten years of daily returns, from 1983 to 1992. The leverage effect of Black (1976) is estimated from an extension of the asymmetric volatility model of Glosten et al. (1993) that isolates the effects of the crash in October 1987. The index and the majority of stocks have a greater volatility response to negative returns than to positive returns and the asymmetry is higher for the index than for most stocks. Conclusions about volatility asymmetry and persistence change when the crash is considered to be an extraordinary event.
Measuring Transformation: Assessing and Improving the Impact of Microcredit

The question of impact assessment is one that continues to plague microcredit practitioners. Some contend that existing impact assessment studies are meaningless, while others maintain they are absolutely necessary. The authors of this paper advocate a renewed focus on the transformation of clients and their communities, as well as a new impact assessment model to support and document this focus. They outline the key principles for conducting impact audits that include measurement of transformation among clients. They also review a series of practitioner-oriented impact assessment tools and outline future challenges for practitioners, donors, and academics in improving performance through impact assessment.
Anesthetics and Mild Hypothermia Similarly Prevent Hippocampal Neuron Death in an In Vitro Model of Cerebral Ischemia

Background General anesthetics reduce neuron loss following focal cerebral ischemia in rodents. The relative efficacy of this action among different anesthetics clinically used for neuroprotection is uncertain. In addition, it remains unclear how anesthetics compare to neuroprotection afforded by mild hypothermia. This study was performed to evaluate the comparative effects of isoflurane, sodium pentothal, and mild hypothermia in a hippocampal slice model of cerebral ischemia and to determine if the mechanism of neuroprotection of isoflurane involves inhibition of glutamate excitotoxicity. Methods Survival and morphology of CA1, CA3, and dentate gyrus neurons in rat hippocampal slices were examined after 10 or 20 min of combined oxygen–glucose deprivation (in vitro ischemia) followed by a 5-h recovery period. Results 10 or 20 min in vitro ischemia at 37°C killed 35–40% of neurons in CA1 (P < 0.001), 6% in CA3 (not significant) and 18% in dentate (P < 0.05). Isoflurane (0.7 and 2.0%, ≈ 0.45 and 1.5 minimum alveolar concentration), pentothal (50 &mgr;m, ≈ 1 minimum alveolar concentration equivalent) and mild hypothermia (34°C) all reduced CA1 cell loss and morphologic damage to similar degrees in 10- and 20-min periods of ischemia (P < 0.001). The noncompetitive N-methyl-d-aspartate antagonist MK-801 prevented cell damage, showing that N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor activation is an important mechanism of injury in this model. Glutamate (1 mm) produced cell loss similar to in vitro ischemia. Isoflurane (2%) prevented cell damage from glutamate exposure. Conclusions In hippocampal slices, neuron death from simulated ischemia was predominately due to activation of glutamate receptors. Isoflurane, sodium pentothal, an N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist, and mild hypothermia prevented cell death to similar degrees. For isoflurane, the mechanism appears to involve attenuation of glutamate excitotoxicity.
Understanding the human parental brain: A critical role of the orbitofrontal cortex

The bond between a parent and an infant often appears to form effortlessly and intuitively, and this relationship is fundamental to infant survival and development. Parenting is considered to depend on specific brain networks that are largely conserved across species and in place even before parenthood. Efforts to understand the neural basis of parenting in humans have focused on the overlapping networks implicated in reward and social cognition, within which the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is considered to be a crucial hub. This review examines emerging evidence that the OFC may be engaged in several phases of parent–infant interactions, from early, privileged orienting to infant cues, to ongoing monitoring of interactions and subsequent learning. Specifically, we review evidence suggesting that the OFC rapidly responds to a range of infant communicative cues, such as faces and voices, supporting their efficient processing. Crucially, this early orienting response may be fundamental in supporting adults to respond rapidly and appropriately to infant needs. We suggest a number of avenues for future research, including investigating neural activity in disrupted parenting, exploring multimodal cues, and consideration of neuroendocrine involvement in responsivity to infant cues. An increased understanding of the brain basis of caregiving will provide insight into our greatest challenge: parenting our young.
Intellectual Property Rights and Rent Protection in a North-South Product-Cycle Model * by Fuat Ş ener † Union College July 2006

This paper constructs a North-South product cycle model of trade and explores the global effects of strengthening Southern Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) protection. Northern entrepreneurs undertake innovation, and Southern entrepreneurs undertake imitation. Successful innovators in the North are engaged in rent protection activities to deter the innovation and imitation efforts of their rivals. Endogenously determined rent protection activities remove the scale effects from the growth structure. I find that a stronger Southern IPR regime reduces the rates of innovation and imitation while leading to a larger North-South wage gap. With regards to multinationalization, I find that a stronger Southern IPR regime raises both the fraction of Multinational industries and the share of production shifted to the South within each Multinational firm.
Two evolving social network models

In our first model, individuals have opinions in [0, 1]d. Connections are broken at rate proportional to their length `, and a randomly chosen end point x connects to an individual chosen at random. If version (i) the new edge is always accepted. In version (ii) a new connection of length `′ is accepted with probability min{`/`′, 1}. Our second model is a dynamic version of preferential attachment. Edges are chosen at random for deletion, then one endpoint (again chosen at random) connects to vertex z with probability proportional to f(d(z)) where f(k) = θ(k + 1) + (1 − θ)(d + 1), and d is the average degree. In words, this is a mixture of degree-proportional and at random rewiring. The common feature of these models is that they have stationary distributions that satisfy the detailed balance condition and are given by explicit formulas. In addition, the first model is closely related to long range percolation, and the second to the configuration model of random graphs. As a result, we can obtain explicit results about the degree distribution, connectivity and diameter for both models.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Diffusion-Weighted MRI: Detection and Evaluation of Treatment Response

Differentiating between cancerous tissue and healthy liver parenchyma could represent a challenge with the only conventional Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) exploits different tissue characteristics to conventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) sequences that enhance hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) detection, characterization, and post-treatment evaluation. Detection of HCC is improved by DWI, infact this technology increases conspicuity of lesions that might otherwise not be identified due to obscuration by adjacent vessels or due to low contrast between the lesion and background liver. It is important to remember that DWI combined with contrast-enhanced MRI has higher sensitivity than DWI alone, and that some patients are not eligible for use of contrast on CT and MRI; in these patients DWI has a prominent role. MRI has advanced beyond structural anatomic imaging to now showing pathophysiologic processes. DWI is a promising way to characterize lesions utilizing the inherent contrast within the liver and has the benefit of not requiring contrast injection. DWI improves detection and characterization of HCC. Proposed clinical uses for DWI include: assessing prognosis, predicting response, monitoring response to therapy, and distinguishing tumor recurrence from treatment effect. Ideally, DWI will help risk stratify patients and will participate in prognostic modeling.
A Reranking Approach for Dependency Parsing with Variable-sized Subtree Features

Employing higher-order subtree structures in graph-based dependency parsing has shown substantial improvement over the accuracy, however suffers from the inefficiency increasing with the order of subtrees. We present a new reranking approach for dependency parsing that can utilize complex subtree representation by applying efficient subtree selection heuristics. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach in experiments conducted on the Penn Treebank and the Chinese Treebank. Our system improves the baseline accuracy from 91.88% to 93.37% for English, and in the case of Chinese from 87.39% to 89.16%.
Examining Sen's capability approach to development as guiding theory for development policy

﻿ The purpose of this dissertation is to examine to what extent Sen's freedom-centred view of development, with its existing theoretical foundations, offers sufficient theoretical insights for guiding development policies towards the enhancement of human freedoms. The theoretical part of the dissertation focuses on the three foundational building stones of Sen's freedom-centred view of development. First, the capability approach sets the evaluation space of development in the capabilities that people have reason to choose and value, but by doing so, it is argued that Sen's capability approach contains tensions between human freedom and human well-being that can be loosened by thickening this evaluation space with a substantial view of human well-being. Second, the capability approach views individual agency as central in development, but because of the socio-historical dimension of human freedom and agency, it is argued that concepts of collective capabilities and of socio-historical agency are more central in promoting human freedoms. Third, promoting human freedoms cannot be dissociated from democratic policy-making. But because the link between the two is not necessary, it is argued that the capability approach's consequentialist evaluation of human well-being will have to be thickened by a procedural evaluation which assesses the exercise of political freedom through certain normative principles of decision-making. The empirical part of the thesis illustrates these theoretical arguments through the analysis of two case studies, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. The case studies particularly point to a country's socio-historical agency, or collective capability in promoting human well-being, through socio-historical narratives. These narratives assess a country's collective capability in promoting human freedoms by looking at the country's socio-historical reality, and how its members have appropriated that reality in the course of the country's history, opening up or closing down opportunities for realising policy decisions towards the removal of unfreedoms.
The Immunogenicity and Safety of a Combined DTaP-IPV//Hib Vaccine Compared with Individual DTaP-IPV and Hib (PRP~T) Vaccines: a Randomized Clinical Trial in South Korean Infants

Recommended infant vaccination in Korea includes DTaP-IPV and Hib vaccines administered as separate injections. In this randomized, open, controlled study we assessed the non-inferiority of immunogenicity of DTaP-IPV//Hib pentavalent combination vaccine (Pentaxim™) compared with licensed DTaP-IPV and Hib (PRP~T) vaccines. We enrolled 418 healthy Korean infants to receive either separate DTaP-IPV and Hib vaccines (n = 206) or the pentavalent DTaP-IPV//Hib (n = 208) vaccine at 2, 4, 6 months of age. Antibodies to all components were measured before the first vaccination and one month after the third, and safety was assessed after each vaccination including recording of reactions by parents. We confirmed the non-inferiority of DTaP-IPV//Hib compared with DTaP-IPV and Hib vaccines; 100% of both groups achieved seroprotection against D, T, IPV and PRP~T, and 97.5%–99.0% demonstrated seroresponses to pertussis antigens. Antibody levels were similar in both groups, except for those to the Hib component, PRP~T. In separate and combined groups geometric mean concentrations of anti-PRP~T antibodies were 23.9 and 11.0 µg/mL, respectively, but 98.3% and 97.4% had titers ≥ 1 µg/mL, indicative of long-term protection. All vaccines were well tolerated, with no vaccine-related serious adverse event. Both groups had similar safety profiles, but the combined vaccine group had fewer injection site reactions. The immunological non-inferiority and similar safety profile of DTaP-IPV//Hib vaccine to separate DTaP-IPV and Hib vaccines, with the advantage of fewer injections and injection site reactions, supports the licensure and incorporation of DTaP-IPV//Hib into the Korean national vaccination schedule (Clinical trial registry, NCT01214889).
Does government ideology matter in monetary policy? An “interactive” panel analysis for OECD countries

This paper examines the effect of government ideology on monetary policy in a quarterly data set of 15 OECD countries in the period 1980.1-2005.4. The partisan approach predicts that leftist governments implement expansionary monetary polices and thus decrease the central bank interest rate. We argue, however, that ideology-induced policy will only matter, if at all, when central bank dependence is high and the effect of an exchange rate target is taken into account. Our Taylor-rule specification accordingly focuses on the interactions of new indicators for government ideology, de facto exchange rates and central bank independence. The results are sensitive to the inclusion of the lagged short term nominal interest rate in the empirical model: Without lagged dependent variable the results suggest that leftist governments even increased short term interest rates. In contrast, this effect disappears when the lagged dependent variable is included.
Hypertriglyceridemia, an important and independent risk factor for acute pancreatitis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Purpose Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a frequent inflammatory disease of the pancreas with multiple causes, among which high triglyceride (TG) level is the most common. The main purpose of this study has been to research the prevalence of AP in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and to underline the importance of hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) as a risk factor in triggering AP. The possible link between AP and glycemic control has been studied also, alongside some cardiovascular risk factors and long-term diabetes complications. Patients and methods The patient cohort comprised 1,586 patients with DM, admitted to the Internal Medicine Clinic of Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Disease within the Emergency Hospital in Timisoara between January and August 2016. Following a series of clinical and biological investigations, these patients were diagnosed with AP. The patients’ antidiabetic treatment and chronic diabetes-related complications have also been recorded. Results The prevalence of pancreatitis in this group of patients was 3.7%. The presence of pancreatitis was associated with a higher HbA1c (8.5% vs 7.7%; P<0.001), fasting glycemia (167.5 vs 95 mg/dL; P<0.001), postprandial glycemia (244.5 vs 118 mg/dL; P<0.001), total cholesterol (256.5 vs 189.5 mg/dL; P<0.001), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) (208.7 vs 112.8 mg/dL; P<0.001), and TGs (495 vs 161 mg/dL; P<0.001). HDL cholesterol (HDLc) was found to be a significant protective factor against the risk of pancreatitis. On the contrary, high LDLc values were a significant risk factor for pancreatitis along with high non-HDLc and high TG values, respectively. Conclusion The development of AP events in patients with DM is associated with unsatisfactory glycemic control, HTG, hypertension, and the presence and severity of DM chronic complications. In this study, the prevalence of AP events in patients with DM was 3.7%.
Aberrant promoter methylation of p16 and MGMT genes in lung tumors from smoking and never-smoking lung cancer patients.

Aberrant methylation in gene promoter regions leads to transcriptional inactivation of cancer-related genes and plays an integral role in tumorigenesis. This alteration has been investigated in lung tumors primarily from smokers, whereas only a few studies involved never-smokers. Here, we applied methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction to compare the frequencies of the methylated promoter of p16 and O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) genes in lung tumors from 122 patients with non-small cell lung cancer, including 81 smokers and 41 never-smokers. Overall, promoter methylation was detected in 52.5% (64 of 122) and 30.3% (37 of 122) of the p16 and MGMT genes, respectively. Furthermore, the frequency of promoter methylation was significantly higher among smokers, compared with never-smokers, for both the p16 [odds ratio (OR) = 3.28; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.28-8.39; P = . 013] and MGMT (OR = 3.93; 95% CI = 1.27-12.21; P = .018) genes. The trend for a higher promoter methylation frequency of these genes was also observed among female smokers compared with female never-smokers. Our results suggest an association between tobacco smoking and an increased incidence of aberrant promoter methylation of the p16 and MGMT genes in non-small cell lung cancer.
Effects of Sleep Position on Infant Motor Development

Background. As a result of the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation that healthy infants be placed on their side or back for sleep, the percentage of infants sleeping prone has decreased dramatically. With the increase in supine sleeping, pediatricians have questioned if there are differences in the rate of acquisition of early motor milestones between prone and supine sleeping infants. Methods. To examine this question, we performed a prospective, practice-based study of healthy term infants. Infants were recruited before the age of 2 months. Parents were asked to record infant sleep position and awake time spent prone until 6 months of age. A developmental log was used to track milestones from birth until the infant was walking. Age of acquisition of eight motor milestones was determined, and the mean ages of milestone attainment of prone and supine sleepers were compared. Results. Three hundred fifty-one infants completed the study. Prone sleepers acquired motor milestones at an earlier age than supine sleepers. There was a significant difference in the age of attainment of rolling prone to supine, tripod sitting, creeping, crawling, and pulling to stand. There was no significant difference in age when infants walked. Conclusions. The pattern of early motor development is affected by sleep position. Prone sleepers attain several motor milestones earlier than supine sleepers. However, all infants achieved all milestones within the accepted normal age range. Pediatricians can use this information to reassure parents. This difference in milestone attainment is not a reason to abandon the American Academy of Pediatrics' sleep position recommendations.