Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vibration and buckling analysis of a piezoelectric nanoplate considering surface effects and in-plane constraints

This work investigates the surface effects on the vibration and buckling behaviour of a simply supported piezoelectric nanoplate (PNP) by using a modified Kirchhoff plate model. Two kinds of in-plane constraints are defined for the PNP, and the surface effects are accounted in the modified plate theory through the surface piezoelectricity model and the generalized Young–Laplace equations. Simulation results show that the influence of surface effects on the plate resonant frequency depends on the in-plane constraints significantly. For the PNP with different in-plane constraints, the effects of the applied electric potential, the mode number, the plate aspect ratio and the plate thickness on the resonant frequency are examined with consideration of the surface effects. The possible mechanical buckling of the PNP is also studied, and it is found that the surface effects on the critical electric voltage for buckling are sensitive to the plate thickness and aspect ratio. Our results also reveal that there exists a critical transition point at which the combined surface effects on the critical electric voltage may vanish under certain conditions.
The Relative Signalling Power of Dutch-Auction and Fixed-Price Self-Tender Offers and Open-Market Share Repurchases

The authors compare three forms of common stock repurchases. Dutch-auction self-tender offers and open-market share repurchase programs are weaker signals of stock undervaluation than fixed-price self-tender offers. The price increase from buyback announcements is greater when insider wealth is at risk, greater following negative net-of-market stock returns, and unrelated to prior market returns. Buyback announcement returns are also increasing in the fraction of shares sought, which is consistent with both signaling and an upward-sloping supply curve for stock. Copyright 1991 by American Finance Association.
Diversification, Original Sin, and International Bond Portfolios

This paper has two main goals: to analyze country allocations in international bond portfolios and to describe the development of bond markets around the world. In the primary analysis, we find that country weights in U.S. investors' foreign bond portfolios are determined by the openness of capital accounts and potential diversification benefits. Positions in local-currency-denominated bonds are particularly sensitive to past and prospective volatility of returns. Analysis of reallocations in bond portfolios from 1997 to 2001 reveals a flight to quality from countries with low and declining credit ratings; reallocations in U.S. investors' equity portfolios also reveal a discriminating flight from higher credit risks. In the secondary analysis, we present measures of the size and currency composition of bond markets and analyze the development of local currency bond markets. We find that while country size and the level of economic development influence the level of bond market development, past policies---as evidenced in the level and volatility of historical inflation---play an important role. An implication for developing countries is that creditor friendly policies, such as vigilance on the inflation front, can enable local bond market development and in turn attract global investors, in part by promoting the development of derivative instruments that allow the decoupling of bond and currency investments.
Twenty five years follow up of MB leprosy patients retreated with a modified MDT regimen after a full course of dapsone mono-therapy.

BACKGROUND The relentless emergence of dapsone resistance amongst M. leprae threatened leprosy control programmes, and increased the relapse rate of patients cured with dapsone monotherapy. OBJECTIVE The study aimed to analyse the effect on the relapse rate of dapsone-cured multibacillary (MB) leprosy patients, of re-treatment, using a multidrug therapy (MDT) regimen which differed from the WHO recommended regimen. DESIGN 794 MB leprosy patients who had been released from treatment after dapsone monotherapy were selected, amongst them 657 were re-treated for 1 year using the modified multidrug therapy regimen (mMDT) including rifampicin, clofazimine and dapsone, and 137 patients were observed as control cases. RESULTS The regimen was well tolerated with good compliance: 620 patients completed re-treatment with mild side effects and a low incidence of leprosy reactions. There was a statistically significant difference between the relapse rates of re-treated and control groups (chi squaredf = 57.44, P < 0.001). Furthermore, the relapses in the re-treated group were significantly more likely to be later than those in the control group (t = 25.62, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Re-treatment with this modified regimen is acceptable and can reduce the risk of early relapse in dapsone-cured patients. The problem of persisters causing late relapse is likely to remain.
The Nature of the Savings Function in Developing Countries: A Survey of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature

THE savings rate (marginal or average) is regarded as a key performance indicator by development economists, and foreign aid practitioners admonish their clients to increase their savings ratio as a primary condition for achieving a satisfactory rate of economic growth. However, not only have questions been raised regarding the significance of the savings effort as an independent determinant of economic progress, but the formulation of policies designed to increase the savings propensity has suffered from a dearth of knowledge regarding the nature of the savings function in developing countries. A number of alternative savings hypotheses (derived mainly from the literature relating to developed economies) have been advanced, but the paucity of reliable data has made it difficult to test these hypotheses and obtain results which warrant a reasonable degree of confidence. The purpose of this article is: a) to review the theoretical and empirical literature on the savings function in developing countries; b) to assess critically the findings with respect to the major hypotheses; and c) to summarize the state of our knowledge on this important topic. We shall begin with a brief review of the nature of the data on savings in developing countries with which economic analysts must work.
L2-RLS-Based Object Tracking

In this paper, we present a robust and fast tracking algorithm in which object tracking is achieved by solving ℓ2-regularized least square (ℓ2-RLS) problems in a Bayesian inference framework. First, the changing appearance of the tracked target is modeled with PCA basis vectors and square templates, which makes the tracker not only exploit the strength of subspace representation but also explicitly take partial occlusion into consideration. They can together represent both the intact and corrupted objects well. Second, we adopt the ℓ2-regularized least square method to solve the proposed representation model. Compared with the complex ℓ1-based algorithm, it provides a very fast performance without the loss of accuracy in handling the tracking problem. In addition, a novel likelihood function and a refined update scheme further help to improve the robustness of our tracker. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluations on several challenging image sequences demonstrate that the proposed method performs favorably against several state-of-the-art tracking algorithms.
Industry Structure, Market Rivalry, and Public Policy

UANTITATIVE work in industrial organization has been directed mainly to the task of searching for monopoly even though a vast number of other interesting topics have been available to the student of economic organization. The motives for this preoccupation with monopoly are numerous, but important among them are the desire to be policy-relevant and the ease with which industrial concentration data can be secured. This paper takes a critical view of contemporary doctrine in this area and presents data which suggest that this doctrine offers a dangerous base upon which to build a public policy toward business.
A clinical evaluation in children of the Pharmacia ImmunoCAP system for inhalant allergens

Background The Pharmacia ImmunoCAP system (CAP) for assaying serum IgE specific antibodies was evaluated in a clinical setting against skin‐prick test (SPT) perfonncd using Dome/Hollister‐Steir allergen extracts. The five cotnmon inhalant allergens D. pteronyssinus. D. farinae, mould mix, grass mix and cat epithelium were tested concurrently by both methods in 167 children aged 7.5–12 years. The specific SPT for D. pteronyssinus and D. farinae were also tested against the CAP house dust mite (HDM) mix.
Takeover threats, antitakeover amendments and stock price reaction

We examine the influence of takeover threats on the stock price of firms proposing antitakeover amendments. Stock prices of the majority of firms, which are not takeover targets during the four years surrounding the amendments, are unaffected, while prices of firms that become takeover targets within two years increase significantly. We document weak evidence of wealth losses only for a sample of prior targets. Our findings suggest that shareholders of the average firm are not harmed by antitakeover amendments because they provide either a better bargaining position or an information signal to the market.
Comparisons of Body Mass Index, Perception of Body Weight, Body Shape Satisfaction, and Self-Esteem among Korean Adolescents

The purpose of this study was to compare sex differences in Body Mass Index, subjective perception of body weight, body shape satisfaction, and self-esteem in Korean adolescent boys and girls. Subjects were 109 boys (M age = 16.1 yr., SD =.6) and 131 girls (M age = 16.0 yr., SD = 5), recruited from two high schools in Korea. There were differences in Body Mass Index, perception of body weight, body shape satisfaction, and self-esteem by group. More girls (31%) than boys (16%) evaluated themselves as overweight, while higher proportions of boys (6.4%) than girls (1.5%) were actually overweight. A higher proportion of girls responded that they were dissatisfied with their body shape (61% vs 28%). Self-esteem mean score was significantly higher for the boys than the girls. There was a significant relationship between actual Body Mass Index and perception of body weight. There was a significant negative relation between Body Mass Index and rated self-esteem for girls.
HUNGARY'S COMPETITIVENESS IN AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON - A SUPPLY-SIDE APPROACH

The paper analyses Hungary's competitiveness in international comparison by focusing on the supply-side factors determining competitiveness. Although it attaches outstanding importance to the business-friendly general economic environment mainly in terms of the transition to the market economy and attracting foreign direct investments, the interrelationship among labour productivity, labour costs and nominal and real exchange rates are in its focal point. Its main conclusion is that it is labour productivity which determines international competitiveness in the long run. However, appropriate economic-policy measures are required to prevent the erosion of relative international competitiveness by increasing labour costs and the real appreciation of the national currency.
“Fight the towers! Or kiss your car park goodbye”: How often do residents assert car parking rights in Melbourne planning appeals?

At around 20 square metres per space and occupying over 30% of the ground area of many cities, car parking is an expected but unnoticed land use - pulling the proverbial devil's trick of “convincing the world it doesn't exist”. Recent poster slogans in Melbourne calling to “fight the towers! Or kiss your car park goodbye” imply that frustration over a lack or perceived future lack of parking space carries weight in planning conflicts over intensifying Australian cities. The research in this paper was motivated by a suspicion that fears expressed by existing residents about parking are a frequent and prominent but rarely examined planning issue in Victoria. The paper interprets residents' claims made about inadequate parking as conflicts over asserted rights, and their allocation and reallocation through planning. It is based on a content analysis of four months (325 cases) of published Victorian planning appeals from 2012. It is found that over half the appeals featured car parking as a significant issue, and that of these, nine out of ten involved third party objectors. The planning system is called upon to respond to issues arising from car rather than land use, and to do so by making further allowances for cars. This asserted “folk legality” of individual car parking rights is difficult to reconcile with growing literature offering critical perspectives on aggregate costs from “predict and provide” car parking policies. Differences between public and planning interpretations of the role of planning in balancing car parking rights and common good are observed. Ultimately, conflict over asserted parking rights in planning draw out fundamental tensions around who – or what – has the right to occupy space.
Comparison of the angiotensin II antagonist losartan with the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril in patients with essential hypertension

Objective: To evaluate the blood pressure lowering efficacy as well as tolerability and safety of the angiotensin II antagonist losartan compared with that of the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril in patients with mild-to-moderate essential hypertension. Design and methods: The study was a multicentre, double-blind, double-dummy, randomized, parallel study. Patients (n=407) with diastolic blood pressure >95 and <120mmHg at the end of a 2-week baseline placebo period were randomly allocated to receive either 50 mg losartan once a day or 20 mg enalapril once a day for 12 weeks. Blood pressure, clinical and laboratory safety, specific symptoms including coughing determined using a symptoms questionnaire and metabolic variables were examined at baseline and at weeks 6 and 12. Results: Both losartan and enalapril decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure from baseline at weeks 6 and 12. Blood pressure changes from baseline at trough (22-26 h after the dose) did not differ between the two groups in the per-protocol analysis. Response to treatment at trough was excellent or good (diastolic blood pressure <90mmHg or reduction in diastolic blood pressure of lOmmHg) in 51 and 53% of the patients in the losartan and enalapril groups, respectively. Enalapril administration increased dry coughing symptoms whereas losartan did not. The incidence of dry coughing was 1.0 and 12.2% as a spontaneously reported discomfort at week 12 and 3.0 and 15.1% as a clinical adverse experience in the losartan and enalapril groups, respectively. The difference from baseline at week 12 in the incidence of dry coughing between the two groups was 14.9% as a specific symptom in the symptoms questionnaire. Losartan reduced serum uric acid concentration, whereas effects on other metabolic parameters did not differ between the groups. Conclusions: Losartan is an effective and we 11-tolerated antihypertensive drug showing similar blood-pressure-lowering efficacy to that of enalapril at trough. However, in contrast to enalapril, losartan does not increase the incidence of dry coughing. Thus, the angiotensin II antagonist losartan provides a promising new approach to treatment of hypertension.
Staffing and Allocation of Workers in An Administrative Office

The world of work is increasingly characterized by processing of records, forms, or cases. This processing is usually organized as a set of interdependent tasks within an administrative office. A major issue facing such administrative offices is how they should be organized to maximize productivity when short-term reassignment of workers is difficult, costly, or severely restricted. The present work grew out of a study conducted at a County Assistance Office in Western Pennsylvania and addresses three important productivity questions in organizational productivity: (1) How should a given number of workers be allocated across related tasks, (2) will the arrangement that seems best for productivity increase or decrease equity within the office, and (3) what is the optimal size of an office? To answer question 1, we model the administrative office as a closed queueing network. Thus modeled, the problem has an optimal allocation of workers, and we propose an efficient method for finding it. In response to question 2, we show (1) that for offices of a fixed size, the allocation of workers that maximizes throughput also maximizes equity, and (2) that across offices of different sizes, throughput per worker is not monotonicly related to equity. Changes in the size of the office that improve productivity may have lower equity; conversely, changes in the size of the office that improve equity may have lower productivity. Finally, in response to question 3, we show that the previous results can be used to determine the optimal office size in terms of throughput. This result has relevance for situations in which there are multiple offices of the same type. To the extent that worker satisfaction is related to equity, these results imply that managers may have to choose between worker satisfaction and output in setting the size of the office, but for offices of a fixed size, the allocation that maximizes output will also maximize worker satisfaction.
The effects of ERP implementations on the profitability of big firms: the case of Spain

This paper aims to analyse the incidence of the implementation of ERP systems on the profitability of the biggest Spanish firms. To reach this objective, we sent a questionnaire to a sample of companies. We also gathered the financial statements of these companies. The main results indicate a significant decrement in the profitability of the companies that implemented an ERP system. The reason for this decrement was a reduction in the profit margin, which was caused by an increase in the operational expenses. The results also suggest that adopting firms manipulated earnings to hide the deterioration of their performance. The profitability of non-ERP firms remained unchanged, so the productivity paradox assumption is not supported.
Psychopathology and Disability in Children With Unexplained Chest Pain Presenting to the Pediatric Emergency Department

Objective: Chest pain is a common presentation in the pediatric emergency department (PED). In the majority of cases, no clear medical cause is found. Among adults with noncardiac chest pain, psychopathology including panic disorder is common. We assessed the likelihood and type of psychopathology as well as the health status of children and adolescents with unexplained chest pain who presented to the PED. Methods: We performed a semistructured diagnostic interview of children 8 to 17 years old who presented to an urban, tertiary-care PED with a primary complaint of chest pain for which no medical cause was found. We used Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria to diagnose psychopathology. We also assessed pain severity, extent of other somatic complaints, quality of life, and functional disability using standard, validated instruments. Results: We enrolled 32 children with a mean age of 12.8 (SD, 2.9) years (range, 8-17 years); 47% were female. Twenty-six (81%) were diagnosed with a Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition anxiety disorder; 9 (28%) had full-criteria panic disorder. Quality of life was compromised in multiple domains, and children reported a range of functional disabilities due to chest pain. Other somatic symptoms, including other pain complaints, were commonly reported in this sample. Conclusion: Unexplained chest pain in the PED is frequently associated with potentially treatable anxiety disorders. Emergency physicians should consider the possibility of anxiety disorders in patients with medically unexplained chest pain.
Bias and Accuracy of Management Earnings Forecasts: An Evaluation of the Impact of Auditing*

This paper assesses how the bias and accuracy of managers' earnings forecasts in prospectuses were affected by a 1989 regulation that required the forecasts to be audited by public accountants. Theory suggests that auditors' association with the forecasts would reduce positive (optimistic) bias, by reducing moral hazard. Regulators expected that the audit requirement would also improve the accuracy of the forecasts. Both predictions were tested using management earnings forecasts disclosed in prospectuses of Canadian initial public offerings. The results show that audited forecasts contained significantly less positive bias than reviewed forecasts, but there was only a marginally significant improvement in accuracy.
Current Account and Real Effective Exchange Rate Misalignments in Central Eastern EU Countries: An Update Using the Macroeconomic Balance Approach

Using the IMF Consultative Group on Exchange Rate Issues methodology, we make an assessment of the current account and price competitiveness of the Central Eastern European Countries that joined the EU between 2004 and 2014. We present results for the “Macroeconomic Balance” approach, which provides a measure of current account equilibrium based on its determinants together with misalignments in real effective exchange rates. We believe that a more refined analysis of the misalignments may useful for the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure. This is especially the case for these countries, which have gone through a transition phase and boom/bust periods since their independence. Because such a history may have influenced a country’s performance, any evaluation must take account of each country’s particular characteristics. We use a panel setup of 11 EU new member states (incl. Croatia) for the period 1994-2012 in static and dynamic frameworks, also controlling for the presence of cross-sectional dependence and checking specifically for the role of exchange rate regimes, capital flows and global factors.We find that the estimated coefficients of the determinants meet with expectations. Moreover, the foreign capital flows, the oil balance, and relative output growth seem to play a crucial role in explaining the current account balance. Some global factors such as shocks in oil prices or supply might have played a role in worsening the current account balances. Having a pegged exchange rate regime (or being part of the euro zone) affects the current account positively. The real effective exchange rates behave in accord with the current account gaps, which clearly display cyclical behaviour. The current accounts and real effective exchange rates come close to equilibria in 2012 in most of the countries and the rebalancing is completed for some countries that were less misaligned in the past, such as Poland and Czech Republic, but also for Lithuania. When foreign direct investments are introduced as a determinant for these countries, the misalignments are larger in the boom periods (positive misalignments) whereas the negative misalignments are smaller in magnitude.
Growing nowhere: Privileging economic growth in planning policy

This article explores the relationship between planning and economic growth, examining the impact of planning strategies which increasingly privilege economic growth as the key objective. Drawing from research in two contrasting English urban local authorities – one experiencing growth, the other decline, the article examines how economic growth is understood and defined locally. It also examines how a low growth context, coupled with a changing policy context is impacting on local decision making. The research finds that economic growth has become a dominant objective of local planning policy but questions the efficacy of this approach arguing that it does not necessarily address place-based challenges and may actually undermine the ability of local government to use the planning system to improve quality of life for residents.