Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The struggle for safe staffing levels in the USA: a political economy of evidence-based practice

This paper examines the debate over nursing staff to patient ratios through the lens of Marxist political economy, arguing that the owners and controllers of healthcare in the USA have a vested interest in opposing mandated minimum ratios, while those involved in carrying out nursing care have a vested interest in their implementation, which coincides with the interests of patients. We examine how evidence-based practice articulates with social power, and proceed to interrogate the research methods used to generate evidence for practice, noting that randomised controlled trials are not suitable for evaluating nurse/patient ratios, which means that observational studies are the primary source of evidence. Representatives of nursing managers have used the fact that observational studies, while demonstrating an association between high ratios and poor outcomes, have not established a causal relationship, to support their argument that there is not sufficient evidence for the imposition of mandatory ratios. We argue that the precautionary principle provides firm justification for mandatory ratios, unless and until a causal relationship has been disproved. We conclude that those involved in the generation of evidence have to choose between technical arguments about the inferiority of observational studies, or emphasising their sufficiency in triggering the precautionary principle.
Strategic human resource management and firm effectiveness in industries experiencing decline

Unstable economic conditions, in conjunction with other external and internal influences, have prompted attempts to understand the nature of organizational decline. While a number of issues have been carefully considered in recent theory and research, little effort has been made to consider the implications of human resource management practices for firms in declining industries. The present study examined human resource practices in three industries that experienced decline, and investigated the relationship of organizational performance with effective human resource management.
Foreign direct investment in developing countries and growth: A selective survey

This article surveys the latest developments in the literature on the impact of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) on growth in developing countries. In general, FDI is thought of as a composite bundle of capital stocks, know-how, and technology, and hence its impact on growth is expected to be manifold and vary a great deal between technologically advanced and developing countries. The ultimate impact of FDI on output growth in the recipient economy depends on the scope for efficiency spillovers to domestic firms, by which FDI leads to increasing returns in domestic production, and increases in the value-added content of FDI-related production.
Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in hookah smokers, cigarette smokers and non-smokers.

OBJECTIVE To find CEA levels in smokers of different categories (hookah smokers, cigarette smokers smoking different brands of cigarettes and different number of cigarettes per day) and to correlate CEA levels with type and rate of smoking. METHODS A total of 122 cigarette smokers (115 men and 7 women) and 14 hookah smokers (all men) with age ranging from 16-80 years were studied. CEA levels were also measured in 36 non-smokers who served as controls. Enhanced chemilumiscent immunometeric technique was applied to measure CEA levels in our subjects. RESULTS The mean CEA levels of cigarette smokers were compared with the mean CEA levels observed in hookah smokers (7.16 +/- 10.4 ng/ml) and non-smokers (2.15 +/- 0.68 ng/ml). The mean value of CEA level observed in cigarette smokers, 9.19 +/- 14.9 ng/ml (n=122) was significantly higher than the levels in non-smokers and hookah smokers (p < 0.0067). It was also observed that CEA levels increased with the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The highest levels were observed in smokers who smoke more than 31 cigarettes per day. The smokers that use relatively cheaper brands of cigarettes had higher levels of CEA compared to those who use high quality brands. CONCLUSION It was concluded that the brands of cigarettes (which were ranked on the basis of price) and the rate of smoking both play an important role in raising the CEA levels. Further the common belief that hookah also called narghile or shisha is a relatively safe mode of smoking is not completely correct; a significant proportion of hookah smokers have high levels of CEA although mean levels of hookah smokers were low compared to cigarette smokers.
An investigation of the associations among sleep duration and quality, body mass index and insulin resistance in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Objectives: To examine direct and indirect associations of sleep duration and quality with insulin resistance, considering body mass index (BMI) as a potential mediator in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Methods: Cross-sectional data from patients enrolled in the Early Activity in Diabetes study. We studied 522 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, 65.9% male, mean age 63.5 ± 10.1 years. Of the total sample 53% had a BMI of ⩾30 kg/m2. Participants completed a 7-day sleep diary and sleep questionnaire. Average sleep duration (minutes), average nap duration (minutes) and average number of night awakenings were derived. Objective measures of height and body weight were obtained for the BMI calculation (kg/m2). Insulin resistance was obtained using the homeostatic model assessment – insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR) standardized technique. Results: Average number of night awakenings was positively correlated with BMI (r= 0.22, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with logged HOMA2-IR (r= -0.16, p = 0.04). Path analysis demonstrated night awakenings were directly associated with BMI and indirectly associated with insulin resistance, whilst considering BMI as a potential mediator (p < 0.05). Sleep duration was not associated with BMI or insulin resistance (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Sleep quality, not sleep duration, plays an important role in insulin resistance in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. BMI may mediate the relationship between indicators of sleep quality and insulin resistance. There is a need to examine the impact of improving sleep quality on obesity and insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Investigating asymmetry in US stock market indexes: evidence from a stochastic volatility model

This study provides empirical evidence on asymmetry in financial returns using a simple stochastic volatility model which allows a parsimonious yet flexible treatment of both skewness and heavy tails in the conditional distribution of returns. In particular, it is assumed that returns have a Skew-GED conditional distribution. Inference is conducted under a Bayesian framework using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods for estimating the properties of the posterior distributions of the parameters. One is also able to perform some specification testing via Bayes factors. The data set consists of daily and weekly returns on the DJ30, S&P500 and Nasdaq US stock market indexes. The estimation results are consistent with the presence of substantial asymmetry and heavy tails in the distribution of US stock market indexes.
The Non-Neutrality of Inflation for International Capital Movements

This paper studies the question of how unilateral changes in the rate of inflation affect the international allocation of capital. Presenting a model that incorporates a transaction motive for money holding and capital income taxation with historical cost accounting, it counters the view that inflation will be neutral in a world of perfect foresight and costless arbitrage: under mild conditions, domestic inflation will unambiguously induce a capital export. The paper includes a discussion of the Fisher effect. The empirical observation of a less than one-to--one translation of inflation into nominal interest rates is shown to be compatible with the model, and in fact the capital export turns out to be stronger the lower the degree of translation.
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA "LA SAPIENZA"

In this paper, we build on the insights of the Trade Restrictiveness Index (TRI) approach by computing uniform tariff equivalents for the European Union primary sector using the Global Trade Analysis Project model and its associated data base. The main contribution of the paper is to extend and adapt the definition of the TRI, in order to make it consistent with the structure of a multi-regional Applied General Equilibrium model. In this perspective, we define a “modified TRI” based on the direct welfare evaluation (rather than on the Balance of trade function) and extend its definition in order to take into account the terms of trade impact. Finally, an empirical application of the index is provided with reference to two policy scenarios: the liberalization of the Common Agricultural Policy and the implementation of the “Agenda 2000” reform. J.E. L. Classification: C68, F13, Q17
HIV–HCV co‐infected patients with low CD4+ cell nadirs are at risk for faster fibrosis progression and portal hypertension

Summary. Patients co‐infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are fraught with a rapid fibrosis progression rate and with complications of portal hypertension (PHT) We aimed to assess the influence of immune function [Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stage] on development of PHT and disease progression in HIV–HCV co‐infection. Data of 74 interferon‐naïve HIV–HCV co‐infected patients undergoing liver biopsy, measurement of portal pressure and of liver stiffness and routine laboratory tests (including CD4+ cell count, HIV and HCV viral load) were analysed. Time of initial exposure (risk behaviour) was used to assess fibrosis progression. Fibrosis progression, time to cirrhosis and portal pressure were correlated with HIV status (CDC stage). HIV–HCV patients had rapid progression of fibrosis [0.201 ± 0.088 METAVIR fibrosis units/year (FU/y)] and accelerated time to cirrhosis (24 ± 13 years), high HCV viral loads (4.83 × 106 IU/mL) and a mean HVPG at the upper limit of normal (5 mmHg). With moderate or severe immunodeficiency, fibrosis progression was even higher (CDC‐2 = 0.177 FU/y; CDC‐3 = 0.248 FU/y) compared with patients with higher CD4+ nadirs (CDC‐1 = 0.120 FU/y; P = 0.0001). An indirect correlation between CD4+ cell count and rate of fibrosis progression (R = −0.6654; P < 0.001) could be demonstrated. Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) showed early elevation of portal pressure with median values of 4, 8 and 12 mmHg after 10, 15 and 20 years of HCV infection for CDC‐3 patients. Patients treated with highly active anti‐retroviral therapy (HAART) had similar rates of progression and portal pressure values than patients without HAART. Progression of HCV disease is accelerated in HIV–HCV co‐infection, being more pronounced in patients with low CD4+ cell count. A history of a CD4+ cell nadir <200/μL is a risk factor for rapid development of cirrhosis and PHT. Thus, HCV treatment should be considered early in patients with HIV–HCV co‐infection and largely preserved CD4+ cell counts.
Tax-Related Financial Statement Restatements and Auditor-Provided Tax Services

In this study, the authors investigate the association between auditor-provided nonaudit tax services (NATS) and financial reporting quality for public companies in a post-Sarbanes-Oxley environment. They measure the quality of financial reporting by means of appropriately screened financial statement restatements. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) restricts the scope of auditor-provided tax services and simultaneously bans other major nonaudit services by the auditor. The authors argue that the restriction limits the potential financial reporting quality benefits of NATS, while the ban simultaneously makes those services a relatively more important source of revenue to the auditor, exacerbating the potential for impairment of independence. Consequently, pre-Sarbanes-Oxley results may not hold in a post-Sarbanes-Oxley environment. On examination, they find no significant association between auditor-provided NATS and general financial statement restatements. However, they find a significant negative association between such services and tax-related financial statement restatements. Thus, in a post-Sarbanes-Oxley environment, the benefits of auditor-provided NATS seem to manifest themselves in higher quality tax-related financial statement management assertions.
A level study of the effects of central bank intervention on exchange rates

We study the effects of sterilised intervention operations executed on behalf of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) using tick-by-tick transactions data between 1986 and 1995. We extend the preliminary analysis of (Economic Journal 109 (1999) 662) by matching these data with indicative intra-day exchange rate quotes and news-wire reports of central bank activity. Using an event study approach we find that intervention has important short-run effects on exchange rate returns. In particular, among various results, we find that i) intervention has a stronger impact when the SNB moves with-the-market and when its activity is concerted with that of other central banks and ii) exchange rate returns move in the 15 min interval prior to interventions.  2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Price Expectation and the Pricing of Stock Index Futures: Evidence from Developed and Emerging Markets

This study examines how well the pricing model of Hsu and Wang (2004) explains the behavior of stock index futures prices for the developed markets (such as the S&P 500 index futures market) and the emerging markets (such as the Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) Taiwan stock index futures market). It also compares the pricing performance of three alternative pricing models of stock index futures: the cost of carry model, the Hemler and Longstaff (1991) model, and the Hsu–Wang model. Overall, the Hsu–Wang model provides significantly better pricing performance than that of the cost of carry model in emerging markets with high degrees of imperfection. Moreover, this study also observes that the Hemler and Longstaff (1991) model performs better than the cost of carry model in estimating prices of the TAIFEX futures, suggesting that the incorporation of stochastic market volatility is beneficial to predict the TAIFEX futures prices.
Effects of bariatric surgery on mortality in Swedish obese subjects.

BACKGROUND Obesity is associated with increased mortality. Weight loss improves cardiovascular risk factors, but no prospective interventional studies have reported whether weight loss decreases overall mortality. In fact, many observational studies suggest that weight reduction is associated with increased mortality. METHODS The prospective, controlled Swedish Obese Subjects study involved 4047 obese subjects. Of these subjects, 2010 underwent bariatric surgery (surgery group) and 2037 received conventional treatment (matched control group). We report on overall mortality during an average of 10.9 years of follow-up. At the time of the analysis (November 1, 2005), vital status was known for all but three subjects (follow-up rate, 99.9%). RESULTS The average weight change in control subjects was less than +/-2% during the period of up to 15 years during which weights were recorded. Maximum weight losses in the surgical subgroups were observed after 1 to 2 years: gastric bypass, 32%; vertical-banded gastroplasty, 25%; and banding, 20%. After 10 years, the weight losses from baseline were stabilized at 25%, 16%, and 14%, respectively. There were 129 deaths in the control group and 101 deaths in the surgery group. The unadjusted overall hazard ratio was 0.76 in the surgery group (P=0.04), as compared with the control group, and the hazard ratio adjusted for sex, age, and risk factors was 0.71 (P=0.01). The most common causes of death were myocardial infarction (control group, 25 subjects; surgery group, 13 subjects) and cancer (control group, 47; surgery group, 29). CONCLUSIONS Bariatric surgery for severe obesity is associated with long-term weight loss and decreased overall mortality.
Comparative epidemiology and virology of fatal and nonfatal cases of hand, foot and mouth disease in mainland China from 2008 to 2014

This study aimed to analyze the epidemiology and virology of fatal and nonfatal hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) cases in Mainland China. A total of 10 714 237 survivors and 3046 deaths were reported from 2008 to 2014 June, with a case fatality rate of 0.03%. The morbidity of the survivors increased from 37.6/100 000 in 2008 to 139.6/100 000 in 2013 and peaked in 2012 at 166.8/100 000. However, the mortality varied around 0.03–0.04/100 000 across the time. Most of the survivors were distributed in the southern and eastern China, predominantly in the Guangxi and Hainan Province, whereas deaths were dominant in southern (Guangxi) and southwestern (Guizhou) China. The two groups showed similar seasonal fluctuations from 2008 to 2014, peaking in spring and early summer. Of the total cases, 93.97% were children less than 5 years of age, with those ≤ 2 years old accounting for 60.08% versus 84.02% in the survivor and death groups, respectively. Boys were at higher risk of infection than girls in both groups. Five years of virological surveillance showed that 43.73%, 22.04%, and 34.22% of HFMD cases were due to EV71, CoxA16 and other enteroviruses, respectively. EV71 was encountered in most deaths, with no substantial effect of age, gender, month, and year on incidence. Subgenotype C4a was the prevalent EV71 strain in Mainland China, with no significant difference in the VP1 gene related to virulence between the two groups. In conclusion, based on the largest population study, fatal and nonfatal HFMD cases, mainly caused by C4a of EV71, are circulating in Mainland China with a low‐cause fatality rate. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fragmentation and dynamical collapse of the starless high-mass star-forming region IRDC 18310-4

Context. Because of their short evolutionary time-scales, the earliest stages of high-mass star formation prior to the existence of any embedded heating source have barely been characterized until today. Aims: We study the fragmentation and dynamical properties of a massive starless gas clump at the onset of high-mass star formation. Methods: Based on Herschel continuum data we identify a massive gas clump that remains far-infrared dark up to 100 μm wavelengths. The fragmentation and dynamical properties are investigated by means of Plateau de Bure Interferometer and Nobeyama 45 m single-dish spectral line and continuum observations. Results: The massive gas reservoir (between ~800 and ~1600 M⊙, depending on the assumed dust properties) fragments at spatial scales of ~18 000 AU in four cores. Comparing the spatial extent of this high-mass region with intermediate- to low-mass starless cores from the literature, we find that linear sizes do not vary significantly over the whole mass regime. However, the high-mass regions squeeze much more gas into these similar volumes and hence have orders of magnitude larger densities. The fragmentation properties of the presented low-to high-mass regions are consistent with gravitational instable Jeans fragmentation. Furthermore, we find multiple velocity components associated with the resolved cores. Recent radiative transfer hydrodynamic simulations of the dynamic collapse of massive gas clumps also result in multiple velocity components along the line of sight because of the clumpy structure of the regions. This result is supported by a ratio between viral and total gas mass for the whole region <1. Conclusions: This apparently still starless high-mass gas clump exhibits clear signatures of early fragmentation and dynamic collapse prior to the formation of an embedded heating source. A comparison with regions of lower mass reveals that the linear size of star-forming regions does not necessarily have to vary much for different masses, however, the mass reservoirs and gas densities are orders of magnitude enhanced for high-mass regions compared to their lower-mass siblings.
Cri-Du-Chat Syndrome: Clinical Profile and Chromosomal Microarray Analysis in Six Patients

Cri-du-chat syndrome is a chromosomal disorder caused by a deletion of the short arm of chromosome 5. The disease severity, levels of intellectual and developmental delay, and patient prognosis have been related to the size and position of the deletion. Aiming to establish genotype-phenotype correlations, we applied array-CGH to evaluate six patients carrying cytogenetically detected deletions of the short arm of chromosome 5 who were followed at a genetics community service. The patients' cytogenetic and clinical profiles were reevaluated. A database review was performed to predict additional genes and regulatory elements responsible for the characteristic phenotypic and behavioral traits of this disorder. Array-CGH analysis allowed for delineation of the terminal deletions, which ranged in size from approximately 11.2 Mb to 28.6 Mb, with breakpoints from 5p15.2 to 5p13. An additional dup(8)(p23) (3.5 Mb), considered to be a benign copy number variation, was also observed in one patient. The correlation coefficient value (ρ = 0.13) calculated indicated the presence of a weak relationship between developmental delay and deletion size. Genetic background, family history, epigenetic factors, quantitative trait locus polymorphisms, and environmental factors may also affect patient phenotype and must be taken into account in genotype-phenotype correlations.
Stochastic Stackelberg Equilibria with Applications to Time Dependent Newsvendor Models

In this paper we prove a sufficient maximum principle for general stochastic differential Stackelberg games, and apply the theory to continuous time newsvendor problems. In the newsvendor problem a manufacturer sells goods to a retailer, and the objective of both parties is to maximize expected profits under a random demand rate. Our demand rate is an Ito-Levy process, and to increase realism information is delayed, e.g., due to production time. We provide complete existence and uniqueness proofs for a series of special cases, including geometric Brownian motion and the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, both with time variable coefficients. Moreover, these results are operational because we are able to offer explicit solution formulas. An interesting finding is that more precise information may be a considerable disadvantage for the retailer.
A New Distortion Model for Strong Inhomogeneity Problems in Echo-Planar MRI

This paper proposes a new distortion model for strong inhomogeneity problems in echo planar imaging (EPI). Fast imaging sequences in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), such as EPI, are very important in applications where temporal resolution or short total acquisition time is essential. Unfortunately, fast imaging sequences are very sensitive to variations in the homogeneity of the main magnetic field. The inhomogeneity leads to geometrical distortions and intensity changes in the image reconstructed via fast Fourier transform. Also, under strong inhomogeneity, the accelerated intravoxel dephase may overly attenuate signals coming from regions with higher inhomogeneity variations. Moreover, coarse discretization schemes for the inhomogeneity are not able to cope with this problem, producing discretization artifacts when large inhomogeneity variations occur. Most of the existing models do not attempt to solve this problem. In this paper, we propose a modification of the discrete distortion model to incorporate the effects of the intravoxel inhomogeneity and to minimize the discretization artifacts. As a result, these problems are significantly reduced. Extensive experiments are shown to demonstrate the achieved improvements. Also, the performance of the new model is evaluated for conjugate phase, least squares method (minimized iteratively using conjugated gradients), and regularized methods (using a total variation penalty).