Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Essays on cartels and competition policy

The aim of this thesis is to investigate cartels and the impact of competition policy from various angles. Chapter 1, joint with Joan-Ramon Borrell, José Manuel Ordóñez-de-Haro and Juan Luis Jiménez, analyzes the relationship between cartel life cycles and business cycles. We analyze the relationship between cartel startups/breakups and economic cycles using a dataset of cartels sanctioned by the European Commission. Results show that cartels are more likely to be formed when the business has evolved positively in the previous months and managers expect prices to decline, but that cartels also tend to breakup when the business has evolved positively. Upturns in firm-specific business cycles appear to cause cartel turnovers: existing cartels die while new ones are set up. Chapter 2 aims at obtaining a precise measure of how much firms benefit from collusion. I evaluate the causal effect of being a cartel member on the revenues and profits of cartelized firms, using comparable non-collusive firms as control group. A dataset of discovered cartel cases in Spain from 1990 to 2014 and an alternative dataset of firms’ balance sheets are used. Results show that firms increase their revenues, on average, between 19% and 26% due to the collusive agreement, while no significant effect is found on profits. Estimations by cartel duration demonstrate that the members of long-lasting cartels not only increase their revenues (29%−50%), but also their profits more than two times. Further analysis shows that cartels that are profitable from the beginning tend to last longer and do not apply for Leniency Programs. Chapter 3, joint with Joan-Ramon Borrell, Juan Luis Jiménez and José Manuel Ordóñezde-Haro, investigates how Leniency Programs destabilize cartels. We study the effect of the Leniency Program on cartel duration, cartel fines and on the years of investigation using a difference-in-differences program evaluation approach. Cartel cases discovered by the European Commission and the Spanish Competition Authority are analyzed. Results show a short-run effect of the Leniency Program: the detected cartels have longer duration than the ones in the control group. In the long-run, the program decreases cartel duration. On the other hand, no significant effect is found on fines, while the duration of the investigation decreases significantly around 0.8-1.3 years.
Real-time performance evaluation of F-BTD scheme for optimized QoS energy conservation in wireless devices

This work proposes and elaborates on the realtime implementation and comparative evaluation with other similar schemes of the Fibonacci-based Backward Traffic Difference (F-BTD). The proposed scheme aims to prolong the lifetime of the nodes in real-time for MICA2dot wireless sensor nodes/motes while at the same time it aims at optimizing the QoS and the overall throughput response of each node. The F-BTD scheme allows the nodes to sleep adaptively according to the estimated volume of incoming traffic. By considering the incoming traffic, the selective F-BTD allows each node to adaptively assign a sleep-time duration for each node's cycle by using traffic's backward difference. The F-BTD sleep-time duration associations of each node are then comparatively evaluated in order to define a minimum duty cycle for the next sleep-time slot of the node. The proposed scheme is being evaluated through Real-Time implementation by using the MICA2dot wireless motes that are exchanging resources in a Mobile Peer-to-Peer manner using a specified motion pattern. Comparative performance evaluations with other similar schemes show the efficiency of the proposed scheme in contrast to the nodes' lifetime extensibility. The proposed framework maximizes further the efficiency and reliability of the resource exchange process of the nodes, while it minimizes the energy consumption.
Do Dividend Flows Affect Stock Returns

We examine price impacts from dividend flows. Eventâ€ study estimates show that stocks experience abnormal returns on the dividend distribution day. Results also show a spillover effect to nonâ€ dividendâ€ paying stocks that are likely to be part of the same benchmark portfolio as the dividendâ€ paying stocks. Regression results indicate that the effect is dependent on the ownership share by professional investors. The temporary nature of the effect on returns is in line with the literature's demandâ€ driven price pressure hypothesis.
Laboratory procedures for the isolation of chlamydia trachomatis from the human genital tract.

The technique of isolating Chlamydia trachomatis from the human gential tract by centrifuging clinical specimens on to cell monolayers with subsequent incubation has been improved and simplified. Gentamicin in the media was found to be superior to streptomycin in reducing bacterial contamination of specimens. The infectivity of chlamydial suspensions of laboratory cultured material was significantly reduced by storage at +4 degrees C for more than 48 hours, and by immediate freezing to -70 degrees C. When compared with immediate processing of the specimens, freezing to -70 degrees C was found to reduce the isolation rate of C.trachomatis from men with non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) by approximately 20%. McCoy cells pretreated with idoxuridine were compared with irradiated McCoy cells for the isolation of C. trachomatis from clinical specimens. There was no significant difference in sensitivity between the two systems, but the former is considerably simpler. The effect of the centrifugal force used for inoculating specimens on to the cell monolayers on the isolation rate of C. trachomatis was studied in groups of men with NGU. Maximal isolation rates were obtained with forces of about 3000 G, which were not significantly raised by further increasing the force used. It is suggested that the isolation of C. trachomatis from the genital tract is now well within the capacity of any laboratory equipped with simple cell culture facilities.
Innovations, ICT and ICT‐Driven Labour Productivity in Poland

In this paper, we describe and develop a two-step model, based on the CDM approach and the new firm paradigm, to link innovation outputs and ICT to productivity gains, using micro-level data from 1,000 Polish companies. Our study confirmed the mediating role of innovations and ICT complementarities with respect to productivity gains. However, the main finding is that the strength of this relationship depends on the company's distance to the technological frontier. We show that the more productive a company is, the more important are co-innovative sources of productivity. Thus, support programmes should also be provided to highly productive companies, which require a higher level of ICT complementarities to boost productivity. This finding may hold true for other CEE countries as well.
Risk of solid cancer, cardiovascular disease, anaphylaxis, osteoporosis and fractures in patients with systemic mastocytosis: A nationwide population‐based study

In patients with systemic mastocytosis (SM), several aspects of morbidity remain poorly understood. We assessed the risk of solid cancers, cardiovascular disease, anaphylaxis, osteoporosis, and fractures in SM patients. Using Danish medical registries, we conducted a nationwide population‐based cohort study including 687 adult (≥15 years) SM patients diagnosed during 1997–2012. A comparison cohort of 68,700 subjects from the general Danish population who were alive and without SM at the given SM subject's diagnosis were age‐ and gender‐matched. Outcomes were a new diagnosis of solid cancer, venous thromboembolism (VTE), myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, anaphylaxis, osteoporosis, or fracture. For solid cancers the hazard ratio (HR) was 2.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9–2.8) with a 10‐year absolute risk (AR) in the SM‐cohort of 12.6% (95% CI 9.4–16.3). Specifically, we found a HR of 7.5 (95% CI 4.4–13.0) for melanoma and a HR of 2.5 (95% CI 1.7–3.5) for non‐melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs). For VTE we found a HR of 1.9 (95% CI 1.2–3.0), with a 10‐year AR of 3.9% (95% CI 2.3–6.1); for MI a nonsignificant increased HR of 1.4 (95% CI 0.9–2.3), with a 10‐year AR of 1.8% (95% CI 0.9–3.2); and for stroke a HR of 1.6 (95% CI 1.1–2.3) with a 10‐year AR of 4.6% (95% CI 2.8–6.9). The HR for anaphylaxis was 7.2 (95% CI 5.3–9.9), and the 10‐year AR was 3.1% (95% CI 1.9–4.9). For osteoporosis the HR was 3.6 (95% CI 2.7–4.6) with a 10‐year AR of 7.2% (95% CI 5.2–9.8). For fractures the HR was 1.2 (95% CI 0.9–1.6) and the 10‐year AR was 5.9% (95% CI 3.9–8.4). SM patients are at increased risk of solid cancers – especially melanoma and NMSC—and cardiovascular disease. The risk of anaphylaxis and osteoporosis is clearly increased in SM, though absolute risk was low in this population‐based study. The fracture‐risk was only slightly increased. Am. J. Hematol. 91:1069–1075, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Exploring the Impact of Globalization on Marketing Strategy in a Developing Country

Abstract The aim of this paper was to explore the implications of globalization on Zimbabwe’s Clothing and Textile (C and T) sector thus providing empirical evidence for closing the ‘gap’ between the general understanding of globalization and the crafting of appropriate marketing strategies to assist businesses in the sector to manage the impact of globalization. A two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to collect data from 127 from stakeholders in the C and T sector. The results from a Categorical Critical Component Analysis using SPSS positively support the research hypotheses and the confirmed results were supported at 5 percent level of significance. Based on the results of this research, the paper concludes that moving marketing and marketers towards sustainability requires a range of new ideas and tools based on a critical understanding of the broader market.
Effects of anabolic steroids on nitrogen metabolism and growth of steers fed corn silage and corn-based diets supplemented with urea or combinations of soybean meal and feathermeal.

The objectives of these experiments were to examine whether N retention and feedlot performance by steers administered estradiol 17-beta (E2) alone (metabolism study) or in combination with trenbolone acetate (TAB; feedlot study) could be enhanced by increasing dietary ruminal escape protein. For the metabolism study, 16 Angus steers (average weight = 308 +/- 5 kg) were used in a randomized block design experiment having a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement of treatments. Main factors were E2 administration and supplemental CP source. Steers were fed diets based on corn silage and corn (60:30 DM basis) and were supplemented with urea or three combinations of soybean meal (SBM) and feathermeal (Fth). Combinations and SBM and Fth (SBM:Fth) provided 75:25, 50:50, and 25:75 of supplemental CP on a N basis. Estradiol 17-beta increased (P < .05) N retention and decreased (P < .05) plasma urea N concentrations. Total tract N digestion decreased linearly (P < .05) as the proportion of Fth in the diet increased. However, N retention increased linearly (P < .05) with increased Fth. A CP source x E2 interaction (P < .05) was observed for N retention because retention increased linearly with increasing dietary Fth in cattle receiving E2 but was unaffected (P > .05) in control steers. A growth study was conducted using 128 crossbred steers (400 +/- 19 kg) that received no implant or a combination of E2 (Synovex) and TBA (Finaplix-S). Steers were fed diets containing 75% high-moisture corn, 15% corn silage, and 10% supplement (DM basis) for 84 d (heavy replicate) or 124 d (light replicate). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Realizing the Basic Income: the promotion of transformative knowings through competing claims to expertise

Current initiatives of social innovation bring forward new ways of doing and organizing, but transformative knowings as well. Their efforts towards the realization of those are important sites for the investigation of contemporary tensions of expertise. The promotion of transformative knowings typically involves a large bandwidth of claims to expertise. The attendant contestation is unfolded through the exemplar case of the Basic Income, in which the historically evolved forms of academic advocacy are increasingly accompanied by a new wave of activism. The crowd-funding initiatives, internet activists, citizen labs and petitions for referenda seek to realize the BI through different claims to expertise. Observing both the competition between the diverse claims to expertise and the overall co-production process through which the Basic Income is realized, this contribution concludes with reflections on the politics of expertise involved with transformative social innovation.
Impact of specimen handling and storage on detection of hepatitis C virus RNA

Direct detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in serum or plasma is useful for validating the performance of anti‐HCV assays and for the discrimination of persons with persistent HCV infections from those with resolved infections. Quantitation of HCV RNA may also be useful for disease prognosis and therapeutic monitoring. Previous studies have reported detection of HCV RNA in 50 to 70 percent of blood donors who were positive on anti‐HCV supplemental tests. There is concern that specimen processing and storage conditions might influence the stability, and hence the detectability, of HCV RNA. To address this concern, the rate of detection of HCV RNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using donor pilot tube sera (PTS) previously subjected to routine donor screening and supplemental testing was compared with HCV PCR results obtained with fresh‐frozen plasma (FFP) derived from the same donations. All 16 anti‐HCV supplemental test‐positive donations evaluated were HCV RNA positive with FFP, whereas only 10 (62.5%) were positive with PTS (p = 0.024). None of 11 FFP or PTS samples from HCV enzyme immunoassay‐reactive donations not confirmed by supplemental anti‐HCV assays tested positive for HCV RNA. Direct comparison of sample type (serum vs. plasma) and various storage conditions using specimens from two seropositive donors showed that room‐temperature storage results in marked reduction in HCV RNA signal, while replicate freezing and thawing caused a moderate reduction. These data indicate that well‐controlled sample processing and storage conditions are critical to the sensitive and potentially quantitative analysis of HCV RNA.
Proteomic analysis of mdx skeletal muscle: Great reduction of adenylate kinase 1 expression and enzymatic activity

To investigate the pathophysiological events of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, we analyzed alterations of protein expression in hindlimb muscles of three month old mdx mice using two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. About 40 differentially expressed proteins from the cytosolic fraction and 20 from the microsomal fraction of mdx hindlimb muscles were identified. Among these altered proteins, adenylate kinase 1 (AK 1) was particular interesting because its decrease in abundance was so dramatic (> four‐fold). Enzymatic assays demonstrated that AK 1 activity was also decreased in mdx mice. Furthermore, the expression and enzymatic activity of AK 1 were consistently reduced in mdx mice at one and six months of age, suggesting a direct relationship between the lack of dystrophin and alteration of AK 1. Along with AK 1, creatine kinase (CK) provides a major pathway for regulation of nucleotide ratios and energy metabolism in muscles. To gain a better understanding of mechanisms of energy metabolism, we also investigated CK activities in these mdx mice at different ages. Our results suggested that decreased AK 1 expression and activity might result in redistribution of energy flow through the alternative CK system, thus a compensatory potential might limit cellular energy failure in mdx skeletal muscle.
The Effect of Intellectual Capital Measurement on Profitability and Market Price

Recently, the role of Intellectual Capital is becoming one of the important strategies of the company to develop and grow, enhance it is able to improve the company's value with the utilization of existing resources Intellectual capital is the knowledge that gives information about the company's intangible value, which can affect durability and contribute to the company's competitive advantage. This research aims to analyze the intellectual capital measurement, which is able to increase profitability and market price. The research variable consists of Value Added Capital Employed, Value Added Human Capital, and Structural Capital Value Added as the independent variables, and profitability as well as Market price as the dependent variable. The population of this research is the banking company listed on the Indonesia stock exchange over the period 2014-2016. The sampling technique using purposive sampling method and using samples of 36 banking companies. The data analysis tools using WarpPLS 3.0. The result shows that only Value Added Capital Employed affects on the profitability and market price. Keywords— Intelectual Capital. Profitability, Market Price
Distribution of postsynaptic GABAa receptor aggregates in the deep cerebellar nuclei of normal and mutant mice

In the central nervous system, the aggregation of receptors is crucial for synapse formation and function. To study the role of presynaptic terminals in the maintenance of postsynaptic specializations, we analyzed the synaptic contacts between Purkinje cells and neurons of the deep cerebellar nuclei in two in vivo models: the Lurcher and Purkinje cell‐deficient (PCD) mutant mice. These mutants lose their Purkinje cells at different postnatal stages. By using confocal scanner microscopy and immunohistochemistry, we studied the distribution of the α subunit of the γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor (GABAARα1) and gephyrin, one of its anchoring proteins, in relation to the distribution of presynaptic markers, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), or synaptophysin. In Lurcher the distribution of GABAA receptor aggregates on the membrane of postsynaptic neurons was not affected by the important loss of GAD‐positive terminals, whereas in PCD, the number of large GABAA receptor aggregates increased. In both mutants the number of aggregates of gephyrin decreased. Most of these remaining aggregates were clustered to form groups, some of which were in front of GAD‐positive terminals. This study shows, for the first time, the localization of GABAARα1 in Lurcher and PCD mutant mice. It clearly establishes that GABAARα1 and gephyrin are differentially affected by deafferentation. Because the receptor aggregates are maintained while the gephyrin aggregates are lost, as a result some receptor aggregates are not associated with any gephyrin. These two postsynaptic components appeared to be regulated by different mechanisms. J. Comp. Neurol. 447:210–217, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Real and financial cycles: estimates using unobserved component models for the Italian economy

In this paper we examine the empirical features of both the business and the financial cycle in Italy. We employ univariate and multivariate trend-cycle decompositions based on unobserved component models. Univariate estimates highlight different cyclical properties (persistence, duration and amplitude) of real GDP and real credit to the private sector. Multivariate estimates uncover the presence of feedback effects between the real and the financial cycle. In addition, in the most recent period (2015–2016) the multivariate approach highlights a wider output gap than that estimated by the univariate models considered in this paper.
Scrambler therapy.

UNLABELLED In neuropathies there are complex reactions that modify the homeostatic equilibrium of pain system. In such a context the Scrambler Therapy (ST5) interferes with pain signal transmission, by ''mixing'' a ''non-pain'' information into the nerve fibres. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of ST5 in the treatment of neuropathic pain. The ST5 consists of a multiprocessor apparatus able to simulate 5 artificial neurons by the application of surface electrodes on skin pain areas. A total of 226 patients, all suffering from intense drug-resistant neuropathic pain, were recruited for this trial in 2004. INCLUSION CRITERIA neuropathic pain, very high baseline visual analogue scale (VAS). EXCLUSION CRITERIA pacemaker users, neurolithic blocks or neurolesive pain control treatment. The treated neuropathic pain syndromes were: failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS), sciatic and lumbar painpost-herpetical (PHN), trigeminal neuralgia, post-surgery nerve lesion neuropathy, pudendal neuropathy, brachial plexus neuropathy, low back pain (LBP), others. The trial programme: 1 to 6 therapy sessions of 5 treatments, each one lasting 30 min. Pain intensity was evaluated using VAS before and after each treatment. The statistical significance of VAS was measured using the paired t-test. The total results show 80.09% of responders (pain relief>50%), 10.18% of partially responders (pain relief from 25% to 49%) and 9.73% of no responders (patients with pain relief<24% or VAS>3). The CONCLUSIONS is draen that ST5 produced a statistically significant (P<0.0001) pain relief in all treated neuropathies.
A Composite Cytology–Histology Endpoint Allows a More Accurate Estimate of Anal High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion Prevalence

Background: There is debate about the accuracy of anal cytology and high-resolution anoscopy (HRA), in the diagnosis of anal human papillomavirus (HPV)-related squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL). Few studies have performed both simultaneously in a large sample of high-risk individuals. Methods: At baseline in a community-based cohort of HIV-infected and uninfected homosexual men ages ≥35 years in Sydney, Australia, all men underwent anal swabbing for cytology and HPV genotyping, and HRA-guided biopsy. We evaluated the separate and combined diagnostic accuracy of cytology and histology, based on a comparison with the prevalence of HPV16 and other high-risk (HR) HPV. We examined trends in HPV prevalence across cytology–histology combinations. Results: Anal swab, HRA, and HPV genotyping results were available for 605 of 617 participants. The prevalence of cytologically predicted high-grade SIL (HSIL, 17.9%) was lower than histologically diagnosed HSIL (31.7%, P < 0.001). The prevalence of composite-HSIL (detected by either method) was 37.7%. HPV16 prevalence was similar in men with HSIL by cytology (59.3%), HSIL by histology (51.0%), and composite-HSIL (50.0%). HPV16 prevalence was 31.1% in men with composite-atypical squamous cells suggestive of HSIL, to 18.5% in men with composite-low-grade SIL, to 12.1% in men with composite-negative results (Ptrend < 0.001). Conclusions: Significantly more HSIL was detected when a composite cytology–histology endpoint was used. Increasing grade of composite endpoint was associated with increasing HPV16 prevalence. Impact: These data suggest that a composite cytology–histology endpoint reflects meaningful disease categories and is likely to be an important biomarker in anal cancer prevention. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(7); 1134–43. ©2016 AACR.