Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Unfair Chances and Gender Discrimination on Labor Supply

This paper examines salary gaps by gender and nationality at the World Bank Group between 1987 and 2015 using a unique panel of all employees over this period. The paper develops and implements a dynamic simulation approach that models existing gaps as arising from differences in job composition at entry, entry salaries, salary growth and attrition. There are three main findings. First, 76 percent of the $27,400 salary gap across the average male and female staff at the World Bank Group can be attributed to composition effects, whereby men entered the World Bank Group at higher paid positions, particularly in the earlier half of the sample. Second, salary gaps 15 years after joining the World Bank Group can favor either men or women depending on their entry position. Third, for the most common entry-level professional position (known as Grade GF at the World Bank Group) there is a gender gap of 3.5 percent in favor of males 15 years after entry. The majority of this gap (84 percent) is due to differences in salary growth rather than differences in entry salaries or attrition. The pattern of these gaps is similar for staff from different nationalities. The dynamic decomposition method developed here thus identifies specific areas of concern and can be widely applied to the analysis of salary gaps within firms.
Causes of vomiting in dogs and usefulness of clinical investigations

Summary Objective To find the most common diagnoses of dogs where vomiting was the main reason for referral and to determine the usefulness of various diagnostic investigations. Material and methods 213 dogs referred for vomiting as main or one of the main causes were analysed retrospectively. Diagnosis was reassessed and categorized into six groups, namely gastrointestinal, systemic, non-gastrointestinal abdominal, neurological, miscellaneous or no diagnosis. All diagnostic investigations were reviewed to assess their usefulness to reach a diagnosis. The usefulness of a diagnostic investigation was scored into the following four groups: enabled a diagnosis; assisted a diagnosis; no assistance, diagnosis reached by another procedure; no assistance, no final diagnosis made. Results In 203 dogs (95.3%) a diagnosis was reached and was categorised as gastrointestinal (43.7%), systemic (27.7%), non-gastrointestinal abdominal (16.4%), neurological (1.4%) and miscellaneous (6.1%). Laboratory tests enabling or assisting a diagnosis as blood tests in 12.2%; 26.8%, as faecal analysis in 6.6%; 1.4%, as ultrasound in 5.2%; 17%, as cytology in 3.3%; 4.2%, as urinalysis in 2.3%; 9.9% and as radiographs in 1.9%; 8.5% of all cases. Conclusion Overall, there was a high incidence of dogs referred for vomiting with non-gastrointestinal diseases. Amongst them, renal problems were most commonly seen, which emphasises the need to perform a urinalysis in most dogs with vomiting as major complaint. However, vomiting can be due to a large variety of underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and no single problem seems to be much more common compared to other problems in a referral institution. Clinical relevance Based on this investigation it is not possible to clearly state a most useful single diagnostic test in dogs with emesis, however, it could clearly been shown that more than one test is often needed to reach a final diagnosis. This is important for owners to understand but also for referring veterinarians.
A randomized controlled study of preemptive lamivudine in patients receiving transarterial chemo‐lipiodolization

Reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) during chemotherapy is well documented. However, there are limited data on this complication in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing transarterial chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of preemptive lamivudine therapy in reducing hepatitis due to HBV reactivation in patients with HCC undergoing transarterial chemo‐lipiodolization (TACL) and to seek predictors of this event. A total of 73 consecutive HCC patients undergoing TACL using epirubicin 50 mg/m2 and cisplatin 60 mg/m2 at monthly intervals were prospectively and randomly assigned to receive lamivudine 100 mg daily from the start of TACL (preemptive group) or not (control group). During the study, 11 (29.7%) of 37 patients in the control group and 1 (2.8%) of 36 patients in the preemptive group developed hepatitis due to HBV reactivation (P = .002). In addition, there were significantly more incidences of overall hepatitis (P = .021) and severe grade of hepatitis (P = .035) in the control group. With multivariate Cox regression model, a baseline HBV DNA level of more than 104 copies/mL was the only independent predictor of hepatitis due to HBV reactivation during chemo‐lipiodolization (P = .046). In conclusion, preemptive lamivudine therapy demonstrated excellent efficacy in reducing hepatitis due to HBV reactivation and hepatic morbidity during TACL. Preemptive therapy should be considered in HCC patients with an HBV DNA level of more than 104 copies/mL. Further studies are needed to confirm the value of this approach in patients with low‐level viremia. (HEPATOLOGY 2006;43:233–240.)
An evaluation of prescription device moisturizers

Moisturization of the skin is important for both medical and cosmetic purposes. The development of prescription device moisturizers, receiving 510K approval on the basis of the physical reduction in transepidermal water loss, provided a new dermatologic category. This investigator‐blinded research utilized a split body model in 60 subjects to examine the effect of a traditional moisturizer as compared to a prescription device moisturizer in the treatment of mild to moderate symmetrical eczema of the arms or legs. This study demonstrated parity between the two moisturizers based on subject and investigator assessments.
Paraquat Resistance of Weeds - the Case of Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq

The paper gives an overview of literature on paraquat resistance of weeds and the proposed mechanism of resistance. New results we achieved on horseweed ( Conyza canadensis /L./, Cronq.) are discussed in detail. It was demonstrated that there is no significant constitutive difference related to the paraquat resistance between untreated susceptible and paraquat-resistant horseweed plants. The lower sensitivity of flowering resistant plants may be due to the fact that paraquat content in treated leaves of flowering resistant plants was only 25% as compared to those measured at rosette stage. Our results confirm that paraquat resistance is not based on elevated level and activity of antioxidant enzyme system. The hypothesized role of polyamines in the resistance mechanisms can be excluded. The higher putrescine and total polyamine content of paraquat treated resistant leaves can rather be regarded as a general stress response, than as a symptom of paraquat resistance. A paraquat-inducible protein is supposed to play a role in the resistance, which presumably functions by binding paraquat to an inactivating site and/ or by carrying paraquat to metabolically inactive cell compartment (vacuole, cell wall). From model experiments it is concluded that paraquat and diquat preferentially form hydrophylic interactions with proteins containing a higher amount of lysine and glutamic acid. Consequently, the reason for paraquat resistance in horseweed is probably a hydrophylic interaction of paraquat with a protein, leading to inactivation of paraquat through forming a conjugate and/or sequestration into the vacuole or the cell wall.
Results of epidemic simulation modeling to evaluate strategies to control an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

OBJECTIVE To assess estimated effectiveness of control and eradication procedures for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in a region of California. SAMPLE POPULATION 2,238 herds and 5 sale yards in Fresno, Kings, andTulare counties of California. PROCEDURE A spatial stochastic model was used to simulate hypothetical epidemics of FMD for specified control scenarios that included a baseline eradication strategy mandated by USDA and supplemental control strategies of slaughter or vaccination of all animals within a specified distance of infected herds, slaughter of only high-risk animals identified by use of a model simulation, and expansion of infected and surveillance zones. RESULTS Median number of herds affected varied from 1 to 385 (17% of all herds), depending on type of index herd and delay in diagnosis of FMD. Percentage of herds infected decreased from that of the baseline eradication strategy by expanding the designated infected area from 10 to 20 km (48%), vaccinating within a 50-km radius of an infected herd (41%), slaughtering the 10 highest-risk herds for each infected herd (39%), and slaughtering all animals within 5 km of an infected herd (24%). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results for the model provided a means of assessing the relative merits of potential strategies for control and eradication of FMD should it enter the US livestock population. For the study region, preemptive slaughter of highest-risk herds and vaccination of all animals within a specified distance of an infected herd consistently decreased size and duration of an epidemic, compared with the baseline eradication strategy.
Third turn position in British election phone-in conversations

Abstract An election radio phone-in program is designed for questions and answers, thus providing a context for direct interaction where lay-participants can engage with politicians’ responses. The current study aims at examining the third position that follows a question-answer sequence in a phone-in conversation, when radio hosts and/or callers evaluate politicians’ answers. Previous research has shown that radio hosts may offer a comeback to the caller, terminate the call, or ask their own question; and that a caller may come back on their own initiative. The aim of this article is to discover if there are patterns that underlie this diversity in the third position in radio phone-in conversations. The data consist of 4 hours and 20 minutes of transcribed conversations from election phone-ins from the Leading Britain’s Conversation (LBC) radiobroadcast prior to the 2015 general election. Using Conversation Analysis, this study looks at the sequential context and the substantive content of utterances to examine if the design and the content of the question and answer have bearing on the third position. The findings show that hosts either offered a comeback to callers or terminated the call right away when the politician’s answer was non-evasive and lacking opposition; that hosts or callers pursued an answer when evasion and opposition were apparent, and that callers pursued only when they showed oppositional stance taking in the questioning position.
Emergency department patient compliance with follow-up for outpatient exercise stress testing: a randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION Numerous patients are assessed in the emergency department (ED) for chest pain suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and subsequently discharged if found to be at low risk. Exercise stress testing is frequently advised as a follow-up investigation for low-risk patients; however, compliance with such recommendations is poorly understood. We sought to determine if compliance with follow-up for exercise stress testing is higher in patients for whom the investigation is ordered at the time of ED discharge, compared with patients who are advised to arrange testing through their family physician (FP). METHODS Low-risk chest pain patients being discharged from the ED for outpatient exercise stress test and FP follow-up were randomized into 2 groups. ED staff ordered an exercise stress test for the intervention group, and the control group was advised to contact their FP to arrange testing. The primary outcome was completion of an exercise stress test at 30 days, confirmed through both patient contact and stress test results. Patients were unaware that our primary interest was their compliance with the exercise stress testing recommendations. RESULTS Two-hundred and thirty-one patients were enrolled and baseline characteristics were similar between the 2 groups. Completion of an exercise stress test at 30 days occurred in 87 out of 120 (72.5%) patients in the intervention group and 60 out of 107 (56.1%) patients in the control group. The difference in compliance rates (16.4%) between the 2 groups was statistically significant (Chi(2) = 6.69, p < 0.001) with a relative risk of 1.29 (95% confidence interval 1.18-1.40), and the results remained significant after a "worst case" sensitivity analysis involving 4 control group cases lost to follow-up. When subjects were contacted by telephone 30 days after the ED visit, 60% of those who were noncompliant patients felt they did not have a heart problem and that further testing was unnecessary. CONCLUSION When ED staff order an outpatient exercise stress test following investigation for potential ACS, patients are more likely to complete the test if it is booked for them before ED discharge. After discharge, many low-risk chest pain patients feel they are not at risk and do not return to their FP for further testing in a timely manner as advised. Changing to a strategy of ED booking of exercise stress testing may help earlier identification of patients with coronary heart disease.
Antibodies to a conserved-motif peptide sequence of the Plasmodium falciparum thrombospondin-related anonymous protein and circumsporozoite protein recognize a 78-kilodalton protein in the asexual blood stages of the parasite and inhibit merozoite invasion in vitro

Athrombospondin-related anonymous protein (TRAP) of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum shares highly conserved amino acid sequence motifs with the circumsporozoite protein of all plasmodia sequenced so far, as well as with unrelated proteins like thrombospondin and properdin. Although it was first described as an asexual blood stages protein, there has been some controversy about its expression in these stages. Pursuant to our interest in the conserved sequences within the malaria antigens, we synthesized an 18-residue peptide (18-mer) representing a conserved motif of TRAP and raised polyclonal antibodies against it. In an immunoblot assay in which we probed proteins from the asexual blood stages of the parasite, we found that this antibody recognized predominantly a 78-kDa protein in the whole parasite lysate. Furthermore, in another immunoblot, the recombinant TRAP constructs containing the conserved-motif sequence were distinctly recognized by the antipeptide antibodies, whereas a construct lacking the motif sequence was not, suggesting that the antibodies specifically cross-reacted with a protein which might be a TRAP-like protein present in the asexual blood stages of the parasite. Also, in an immunofluorescence assay, this antibody brightly stained the acetone-fixed trophozoites of the parasite. Most significantly, anti-18-mer immunoglobulin G, as well as antipeptide antibody against a smaller (nonamer) construct representing the most conserved motif within the 18-mer, inhibited the merozoite invasion of erythrocytes in a dose-dependent manner. These results provide evidence of the expression of TRAP or a TRAP-like protein in the asexual blood stages of the parasite and of a possible role of the conserved motifs in the parasite-host cell interaction during the process of invasion.
Rehabilitation nursing in Australia: a valid and valued specialty

Abstract While rehabilitation nursing has been largely overlooked in Australia, it is becoming more visible. Its invisible nature is highlighted when a comparison to acute care nursing is made. However, through the activities of the rehabilitation nurses’ professional nursing organisation and recent research there is a growing awareness of the nature of rehabilitation. That rehabilitation does not fit the current classifications for nursing specialties is also highlighted as a problem. This paper aims to expose rehabilitation nursing as a valid and valued specialty.
Interaction of Mint2 with TrkA Is Involved in Regulation of Nerve Growth Factor-induced Neurite Outgrowth*

TrkA receptor signaling is essential for nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced survival and differentiation of sensory neurons. To identify possible effectors or regulators of TrkA signaling, yeast two-hybrid screening was performed using the intracellular domain of TrkA as bait. We identified muc18-1-interacting protein 2 (Mint2) as a novel TrkA-binding protein and found that the phosphotyrosine binding domain of Mint2 interacted with TrkA in a phosphorylation- and ligand-independent fashion. Coimmunoprecipitation assays showed that endogenous TrkA interacted with Mint2 in rat tissue homogenates, and immunohistochemical evidence revealed that Mint2 and TrkA colocalized in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. Furthermore, Mint2 overexpression inhibited NGF-induced neurite outgrowth in both PC12 and cultured dorsal root ganglion neurons, whereas inhibition of Mint2 expression by RNA interference facilitated NGF-induced neurite outgrowth. Moreover, Mint2 was found to promote the retention of TrkA in the Golgi apparatus and inhibit its surface sorting. Taken together, our data provide evidence that Mint2 is a novel TrkA-regulating protein that affects NGF-induced neurite outgrowth, possibly through a mechanism involving retention of TrkA in the Golgi apparatus.
Quantifying the Effect of Information and Ability Spillovers on Analyst Earnings Forecast Accuracy

We estimate the effect of information and ability spillovers on sell-side analysts’ quarterly EPS forecast accuracy. Using a model that relates mean peer group ability along with the analyst’s own ability to the analyst’s forecast accuracy, we find that spillovers from peer analysts are large, positive, and statistically significant across economic sectors. Specifically, our estimates indicate that spillovers are between 70 percent to 100 percent as important as an analyst’s own ability when determining earnings forecast accuracy. We additionally estimate a 20 percent marginal effect ratio of increasing peer ability by one standard deviation to a one standard deviation increase in innate abilities. These findings are robust to methods to control for outliers and to an alternative estimation period. We also find that the spillover effect on forecast accuracy is greater for forecasts released early in the quarter. Finally, we fail to find any interactive effect of spillovers based on analysts’ available resources but find weak evidence that spillovers affect EPS forecast accuracy for less experienced analysts.
Psychosocial problems of women with stress urinary incontinence.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was evaluation of the influence of stress urinary incontinence on women's quality of life. MATERIAL AND METHOD The study covered 275 women between 30-65 years of age. The study was conducted using the following tools: Gaudenz Questionnaire, King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ), Female Sexual Function Index (FIFI) Questionnaire, and a questionnaire devised by the authors of the study. RESULTS The study shows that the disease has a negative effect on evaluation of the quality of thee women's lives. The symptoms of stress urinary incontinence had a significant influence on the feeling of emotional comfort, social and professional activity of the surveyed women - respectively p= 0.000; p=0.000; p=0.000. Nearly every third woman (28.7%) felt great mental discomfort related to the disease symptoms, 31.7% a considerable discomfort, 33.1% a moderate, and very few women (6.5 %) claimed that the disease had a minimal effect on their emotional state. About two-thirds of the surveyed women (68.7%) were sexually active, and the remaining 31.3% declared the lack of sexual intercourse. CONCLUSIONS The occurrence of stress urinary incontinence symptoms affects the quality of life of women, especially their mental state and interpersonal contacts. Most women with the symptoms of stress urinary incontinence fulfill their sexual needs; however, many of them do not feel complete satisfaction with their sex life.
Negotiation in the Shadow of an Extremist Threat: Insurgencies and the Internal Commitment Problem

REBECCA H. BEST: Negotiation in the Shadow of an Extremist Threat: Insurgencies and the Internal Commitment Problem. (Under the direction of Navin Bapat) The effect of insurgent factionalization on peace process has become in recent years a topic of much research. Although many insurgencies are not factionalized, those that are include several long-running and highly visible conflicts including those in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Northern Ireland, and Darfur. Much of this work has assumed that when governments negotiate with an insurgent faction, they negotiate with that faction which is least extreme in its preferences. In this dissertation, I find support for the proposition that government decisions regarding which faction to include in negotiations may be more influenced by the strength of the faction than by that faction’s ideology. I also find that while factional preferences matter, they may say more about when peace is possible than about which faction the government will select as its negotiating partner.
What is the value of world heritage status for a German national park? A choice experiment from Jasmund, 1 year after inscription

There is an ongoing debate about whether World Heritage (WH) status has a significant tourism value. However, Su and Lin and Wuepper and Patry argue that the better question is which sites benefit and suggest a general pattern. In both studies, it is argued that in addition to broad regional trends, more remote and less famous destinations benefit most. We test this statement with a choice experiment at a small, remote, national park in northeast Germany. We find a per-person increase in willingness to pay of €4.70 which translates into an overall value increase of €3.8 million annually. Additionally, 9% of the visitors report they only know of the park because of the media coverage of its WH inscription and 15% report to have been convinced about the park’s quality by its WH status.
Tracking the Response of Burkholderia cepacia G4 5223-PR1 in Aquifer Microcosms

The introduction of bacteria into the environment for bioremediation purposes (bioaugmentation) requires analysis and monitoring of microbial population dynamics to define persistence and activity from both efficacy and risk assessment perspectives. Burkholderia cepacia G4 5223-PR1 is a Tn5 insertion mutant which constitutively expresses a toluene ortho-monooxygenase that degrades trichloroethylene (TCE). This ability of G4 5223-PR1 to degrade TCE without aromatic induction may be useful for bioremediation of TCE-containing aquifers and groundwater. Thus, a simulated aquifer sediment system and groundwater microcosms were used to monitor the survival of G4 5223-PR1. The fate of G4 5223-PR1 in sediment was monitored by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy, a colony blot assay, and growth on selective medium. G4 5223-PR1 was detected immunologically by using a highly specific monoclonal antibody which reacted against the O-specific polysaccharide chain of the lipopolysaccharides of this organism. G4 5223-PR1 survived well in sterilized groundwater, although in nonsterile groundwater microcosms rapid decreases in the G4 5223-PR1 cell population were observed. Ten days after inoculation no G4 5223-PR1 cells could be detected by selective plating or immunofluorescence. G4 5223-PR1 survival was greater in a nonsterile aquifer sediment microcosm, although after 22 days of elution the number of G4 5223-PR1 cells was low. Our results demonstrate the utility of monoclonal antibody tracking methods and the importance of biotic interactions in determining the persistence of introduced microorganisms.