Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality Competition and Hospital Mergers-An Experiment # 609

Based on a Salop model with regulated prices, we investigate quality provision behavior of competing hospitals before and after a merger. For this, we use a controlled laboratory experiment where subjects decide on the level of treatment quality as head of a hospital. We fi nd that the post-merger average quality is signifi cantly lower than the average pre-merger quality. However, for merger insiders and outsiders, average quality choices are signifi cantly higher than predicted for pure profi t maximizing hospitals. We show that the upward deviation is potentially driven by altruistic behavior towards patients. Furthermore, we fi nd that in case suffi cient cost synergies are realized by the merged hospitals, this yields a signifi cant increase in average quality choices compared to the scenario without synergies. Finally, we fi nd that our results do not change when comparing individual to team decisions. JEL Classifi cation: C91, C92, I11, L13, L44
Purification and anti-fatigue activity of flavonoids from corn silk

Flavonoids are major active ingredient in corn silk (CS) and possess various pharmacological activities. In this study, microporous resin adsorption technology was used for obtaining purified flavonoids from corn silk (FCS) and its anti-fatigue activity was evaluated. Eight kinds of macroporous resins with different properties were tested through static adsorption and one macroporous resin labeled as AB-8 was selected. Some important parameters were optimized for most effective enrichment and preparative separation. As follows: 1. for adsorption: sample solution FCS concentration was 2.636 mg/mL; processing volume was 4 BV; flow rate was 2 BV/h; temperature was 25°C; 2. for desorption: elution solvent ethanol-water (90%, v/v) solution was 4BV; flow rate was 1.0 BV/h. Flavonoids with content of 63.15% was obtained with a flavonoid recovery of 94.27% in the purification process. The results showed that AB-8 resin revealed a good ability to purify FCS. Swimming exercise results indicated that FCS had anti-fatigue activity of mice by inhibiting the production of blood lactic acid, retarding the formation of BUN and increasing hepatic glycogen concentration. Key words: Macroporous resins, purification, anti-fatigue activity, corn silk.
Cimetidine Anti-ulcer Drug as a Powerful Hydroxyl Radical Scavenger

Cimetidine, which is marketed under the trade name Tagamet, is one of the most potent histamine H2 receptor antagonists for inhibiting excessive acid secretion caused by histamine, and is currently in worldwide clinical use for treating peptic ulcers.i"2) Recently, we have found that this drug exhibited dramatic reactivity with oxygen-derived free radical species. Hence, we focused on its specific
ON GRAPHICAL METHODS TO IDENTIFY POINT SOURCES FROM WIND AND PARTICULATE MATTER-BOUND METAL DATA by

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. é á
Biased Brownian motion

This seminar is concerned with Biased Brownian motion. Firstly Brownian motion and its properties are described. Then we follow Einsteins steps towards mathematical description of Brownian motion. Brownian motor and a physical principle that explains it, Biased Brownian motion, are introduced next. In the second part we turn our attention to an experiment with a single Brownian particle. There we briefly describe the setup of the experiment and explain how optical trap works. Particle dynamics is discussed with the help of two models one originating from Langevin’s equation and another from more general Fokker Planck equation.
' s personal copy Seasoned equity offerings : What fi rms say , do , and how the market reacts ☆

Article history: Received 11 May 2007 Received in revised form 1 April 2008 Accepted 2 April 2008 Available online 10 April 2008 Using a sample of 438 firms that issued seasoned equity, we investigate the ex ante reasons stated by the firm for the use of capital, the actual ex post use of funds, and the market reaction to this information. We find that, regardless of the stated use of funds, firms increase capital expenditures and research and development following an SEO. In addition, firms increase their long term debt following an SEO, even when the stated reason for the capital is to pay down debt. The market reacts more favorably to the anticipated investment increases if the firm provides specific plans for the use of the soon-to-be-raised capital. The evidence is consistent with the view that agency issues are important factors in SEOs. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classifications: G31 G32
Tellurides from the Paleoproterozoic Omai gold deposit, Guiana Shield

The Omai deposit, a Paleoproterozoic gold-bearing vein system, is located in the Barama-Mazaruni Supergroup, a typical greenstone belt in north-central Guyana. The deposit is hosted mainly by a shallow-level quartz-monzodioritic stock (Omai stock), quartz-feldspar porphyry and rhyolite dykes, and, to a lesser extent, by adjacent mafic volcanic and sedimentary rocks. In the Omai stock, the gold-bearing quartz veins show an uniform pattem, generally striking 030" and dipping at 2V30". The verns hosted by the quartz-feldspar porphyries and rhyolites are stockworks. The metallic minerals (<27o of the vein volume) have a complex mineralogy consisting ofvarious sulfides, associated with native elements, tungstates, tellurides, and sulfosalts. Telluride minerals are petzite, calaverite, hessite, tellurobismuthite, altaite, melonite, coloradoite, and volynskite. The metal inventory is defined by the Au-Ag-Te-W-Bi-Pb-Zn-Cu-Hg-Mo assemblage, characteristic of both epiand mesothermal deposits. The gangue includes mainly quartz, with minor amounts of ankerite, calcite, albite, white mica, chlorite, and epidote. The conditions of ore formation at Omai are estimated from the stability of telluride sulfide oxide silicate assemblages. The bulk of ore minerals and gangue precipitated at low temperatures (220" to 170'C), whereas solutions are characterized by relatively narrow ranges in Sz (10 17 to 10-rr), Te2 (10-ra to 10 r0 s) and 02 (1013 to 10 36) fugacities and a weakly acidic pH (between 4 and 5.4). Gold was probably transported as sulfide [Au(HS)zand Au(HS)0 or HAu(HS)2O] or thiosulfate complexes, whereas Te was transported as aqueous H2TeO3. Te22-. and HTe complexes.
DET PSYKOLOGISKE FAKULTET Ψ Schizophrenia and Dissociative Identity Disorder : A Theoretical Investigation and Discussion of Dissociative Processes in Schizophrenic Patients with a History of Childhood Adversities

Research indicates that childhood adversities, which are recognized as an etiological factor in dissociative identity disorder (DID), also are prevalent in patients with schizophrenia. Early descriptions of schizophrenia resemble definitions and descriptions of dissociation, a cardinal feature of DID. Dissociation is defined as a lack of integration of personality due to traumatic experiences in childhood. This theoretical paper investigates dissociative processes in schizophrenic patients with a history of childhood adversities. Relevant literature on DID and schizophrenia is reviewed. It is discussed whether positive symptoms, memory impairments, and disordered selfexperience in schizophrenic patients can be understood as dissociative processes. Similarities in neurobiological alterations between schizophrenic patients and people exposed to childhood adversities support the assumption of dissociative processes in the pathology and symptom expression of schizophrenia. A dissociative subtype of schizophrenia has been suggested. The paper advocates a need for the consideration of dissociative processes as a consequence of childhood adversities in schizophrenia. Implications for treatment are discussed.
Industrial Tomography : Systems and Applications ”

This book represents the latest magnum opus in a line of multi-author books on process tomography, with the fi rst dating from 20 years ago. Following in the tradition of Beck and Williams (1) this book presents a comprehensive overview of process relevant tomographic modalities, reconstruction techniques and industrial applications. The editor Professor Mi Wang has done an excellent job in obtaining contributions from many leaders in the fi eld. The technical scope and application of process tomography has grown enormously since the landmark Beck and Williams book (1) from a technology of signifi cant potential to one of substantial impact. While it may be true that medical tomography is notably leading, the challenges of applying tomographic approaches at meaningful scale for the process industries and the complications of using it on manufacturing plant or even offshore, all within the tighter cost constraints of the manufacturing industry are steadily being overcome. There are now a number of companies that specialise in supplying the equipment or services into the process industries. Geir Anton Johansen (Bergen University College, Norway) for example highlights three different commercially available gamma tomography-based offerings. Equally there are competitive offerings for electrical resistance and capacitance tomography, purpose-developed for process tomography. Process tomography is no longer a pet research area and a research tool, but rather it is now becoming an important measurement approach for industry. This book is therefore timely, coming at a time when industrial activity is markedly increasing and while the pace of academic progress is being maintained.
The impact of industrial robots on EU employment and wages: A local labour market approach. Bruegel Working Paper Issue 02/18 April 2018

In theory, robots can directly displace workers from performing specific tasks (displacement effect). But they can also expand labour demand through the efficiencies they bring to industrial production (productivity effect). This working paper adopts the local labour market equilibrium approach developed by Acemoglu and Restrepo to assess which effects dominate and the impact of robots on wage growth and employment rate in Europe.
Responses to Natural Scenes in Cat V 1

[PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , March, 2008; 18 (3): 610-625. Cereb. Cortex Mitchell Steinschneider, Yonatan I. Fishman and Joseph C. Arezzo Primary Auditory Cortex (A1) of the Awake Monkey Spectrotemporal Analysis of Evoked and Induced Electroencephalographic Responses in [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , May, 19 2009; 106 (20): 8356-8361. PNAS and Krish D. Singh Suresh D. Muthukumaraswamy, Richard A.E. Edden, Derek K. Jones, Jennifer B. Swettenham response to visual stimulation in humans Resting GABA concentration predicts peak gamma frequency and fMRI amplitude in [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , UNKNOWN, 2009; 102 (2): 1241-1253. J Neurophysiol J. B. Swettenham, S. D. Muthukumaraswamy and K. D. Singh Cortex to Moving and Stationary Stimuli Spectral Properties of Induced and Evoked Gamma Oscillations in Human Early Visual [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , UNKNOWN, 2009; (): . Cereb. Cortex Bruss Lima, Wolf Singer, Nan-Hui Chen and Sergio Neuenschwander Synchronization Dynamics in Response to Plaid Stimuli in Monkey V1 [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , July, 2010; 20 (7): 1556-1573. Cereb. Cortex Bruss Lima, Wolf Singer, Nan-Hui Chen and Sergio Neuenschwander Synchronization Dynamics in Response to Plaid Stimuli in Monkey V1
Oxidative stress in five wheat varieties (Triticum aestivum L.) exposed to water stress and study of their antioxidant enzyme defense system, water stress responsive metabolites and H2O2 accumulation

Five varieties of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) - KW, UP 2752, PBW 343, SO and LV - were subjected to water stress and sampling was done on the 3rd, 6th and 9th day of stress. RWC decline in KW, UP 2752 and PBW 343 (36.65, 42.34 and 40.75% respectively) was comparatively lesser than in LV and SO (52.93 and 52.67% respectively). In all varieties tested, three antioxidant enzymes (POX, APOX and GR) showed an initial increase. The activity of POX and GR increased with the increase in the duration of stress in KW, UP 2752 and PBW 343, while the activity of APOX declined. However, CAT and SOD showed an initial increase in these varieties, whereas it declined in SO and LV with increase in the period of stress. Accumulation of H2O2 declined during prolonged water stress in KW, UP 2752 and PBW 343, while it increased in LV and SO. The accumulation of MDA content was three times higher in susceptible varieties than in tolerant varieties. The content of proline, phenol and ascorbate increased during water stress whereas the accumulation of carotenoid showed a significant decrease after showing an initial increase in the tested varieties. Higher values of total antioxidant and MSI were recorded in KW, UP 2752 and PBW 343 during stress while after 6 days MSI declined in LV and SO. During water stress there was a general decline in the total chlorophyll content. Analyzing the data, the present work suggested that out of the five varieties, KW, UP 2752 and PBW 343 showed more tolerance to water stress than SO and LV.
CO-ORBITING PLANES OF SUB-HALOS ARE SIMILARLY UNLIKELY AROUND PAIRED AND ISOLATED HOSTS

Sub-halos in dark-matter-based cosmological simulations tend to be distributed approximately isotropically around their host. The existence of highly flattened, co-orbiting planes of satellite galaxies has therefore been identified as a possible problem for these cosmological models, but so far studies have not considered the hosts' environments. That satellite planes are now known around both major galaxies in the Local Group raises the question whether they are more likely to be found around paired hosts. In a first attempt to investigate this possibility, we focus on the flattening and orbital coherence of the 11 brightest satellite galaxies of the vast polar structure (VPOS) around the Milky Way (MW). We search for VPOS analogs in the “Exploring the Local Volume in Simulations” suite of cosmological simulations, which consist of 24 paired and 24 isolated host halos. We do not find significant differences between the properties of sub-halo distributions around paired and isolated hosts. The observed flattening and the observed orbital alignment are each reproduced by only 0.2%–2% of paired and isolated systems incorporating the obscuration of satellites by randomly oriented galactic disks. Only 1 of all 4800 analyzed realizations (0.02%) reproduces both parameters simultaneously, but the average orbital pole of this sub-halo system does not align as well with the normal to the plane fit as observed. That the MW is part of a galaxy pair thus does not help to explain the existence of the VPOS if the satellite galaxies are identified with sub-halos found in dissipationless simulations.
Mountain pastures of Qilian Shan: plant communities, grazing impact and degradation status (Gansu province, NW China)

Abstract Environmental degradation of pasture areas in the Qilian Mountains (Gansu province, NW China) has increased in recent years. Soil erosion and loss of biodiversity caused by overgrazing is widespread. Changes in plant cover, however, have not been analysed so far. The aim of this paper is to identify plant communities and to detect grazing-induced changes in vegetation patterns. Quantitative and qualitative relevé data were collected for community classification and to analyse gradual changes in vegetation patterns along altitudinal and grazing gradients. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) was used to analyse variation in relationships between vegetation, environmental factors and differential grazing pressure. The results of the DCA showed apparent variation in plant communities along the grazing gradient. Two factors - altitude and exposure - had the strongest impact on plant community distribution. Comparing monitoring data for the most recent nine years, a trend of pasture deterioration, plant community successions and shift in dominant species becomes obvious. In order to increase grassland quality, sustainable pasture management strategies should be implemented.
Nonlinear Household Earnings Dynamics, Self-Insurance, and Welfare

Earnings dynamics are much richer than typically assumed in macro models with heterogeneous agents. This holds for individual-pre-tax and household-post-tax earnings and across administrative and survey data. We estimate two alternative processes for household after-tax earnings and study their implications using a standard life-cycle model. Both processes feature a persistent and a transitory component, but although the first one is the canonical linear process with stationary shocks, the second one has substantially richer earnings dynamics, allowing for age-dependence of moments, non-normality, and nonlinearity in previous earnings and age. Allowing for richer earnings dynamics implies a substantially better fit of the evolution of cross-sectional consumption inequality over the life cycle and of the individual-level degree of consumption insurance against persistent earnings shocks. The richer earnings process implies lower welfare costs of earnings risk.
Mono-or polytherapy for first-line treatment of status epilepticus ?

Status epilepticus (SE) is one of the most frequent neurological emergencies, and a rapid and effective treatment is warranted. Current guidelines recommend a step-wise approach using a sequence of different anti-epileptic drugs (AED) with be benzodiazepines (BZD) being the first treatment proposed. In order to provide a more effective treatment as soon as possible, some authors have suggested using a combined polytherapy as first line treatment. Strong evidences support the use of BZD, mostly lorazepam and midazolam as initial monotherapy treatment for SE. Insufficient data are available to support the use of nonsedating AED as phenytoin, valproic acid or levetiracetam without a previous BZD administration. Studies assessing the role of a combined initial therapy are rare, if not missing. Moreover, due to the wide range of SE etiologies a “one fits all” initial polytherapy seems difficult to achieve. After reviewing the available evidences, guidelines and current practices regarding monoand polytherapy as first line treatment in SE in adults, we propose a rational algorithm for early anti-seizure treatment in SE.
Tests of the Pecking Order Theory and the Tradeoff Theory of Optimal Capital Structure

We investigate implications of the tradeoff theory and the pecking order theory. The results suggest that firms adjust their debt levels according to target debt ratios as well as the pecking order. Firms are slower in adjusting and less responsive to their financial needs when it is to increase the debt level. The pecking order is found to be much more binding force for small firms and nondividend paying firms, supporting the hypothesis that small firms are more likely to follow the pecking order because of the difficulty in accessing external financing sources. We also find that small firms are significantly slower when the adjustment requires an increase in debt level according to the target adjustment model.
Short Term Effects of Childhood Cancer and its Treatments on Nutritional Status: a Prospective Cohort Study

Introduction: Few studies have identified the nutritional risks of children treated for cancer in the western world. This study aimed to assess the effect of cancer and its treatment on nutritional status. towards meeting the energy and dietary requirements. Results are median; Inter Quartile Range (IQR). Results: 26 children (18 (69%) were male and 8 (315) were female) participated. At both diagnosis and three months, the 'leukae- mias' group (n = 10, median age 6.3; IQR 4.2-10.5 years) demonstrated excess Body Mass Index (BMI) centiles (66.0; 41.5-82.2 and 79.5; 70- 94.2; p 0.05) , plus excessive energy intake ad libitum at diagnosis only (% of Estimate Average Requirement (EAR) (102; 91-137; p 0.05), and had low energy intake ad libitum (% of EAR) 63; 51-129 at diagnosis (p < 0.05) and high need (35%)for enteral feeding (ENF).
X-ray flares from Sgr A$^*$: Star-disk interactions?

Sgr A*, the putative black hole in our Galactic Center (GC), is extraordinary dim in all frequencies. Apparently the black hole is unable to accrete at the Bondi accretion rate for some reason. Another mystery of Sgr A* is the recently discovered large magnitude and short duration X-ray flares (Baganoff et al. 2001). Here we point out that X-ray flares should be expected from star passages through an inactive (i.e. formerly accreting) disk. There are thousands of stars in Sgr A* stellar cluster, and each star will pass through the disk twice per orbit. A shock hot enough to emit X-rays is formed around the star when the latter is inside the disk. We develop a simple yet somewhat detailed model for the X-ray emission from the shock. The duration of the flares, their X-ray spectra, frequency of events, and weakness of emission in the radio and near infra-red appear to be consistent with the available observations of X-ray flares. We therefore suggest that at least a fraction of the observed flares is due to the star-disk passages. Such star-disk flares are also of interest in the nuclei of nearby inactive galaxies, especially in connection with perspective Constellation-X and XEUS X-ray missions.
Therapeutic effect of curcumin against nicotine-induced reproductive dysfunction in male rats

Objectives: Nicotine is the major component of cigarette smoke, which causes injurious effects on reproductive system and adversely affects spermatogenesis and fertilizing potential of sperm. The current study aimed to clarify the possible protective effect of curcumin against nicotineinduced testicular toxicity, inflammation and oxidative stress in rats. Material and Methods: Forty male wistar rats were divided into four groups. (1) Control, (2) Nicotine, (3) Curcmin and (4) Nicotine + curcumin. Cytokines, inflammatory mediators, sexual hormones, oxidant and antioxidant parameters were assessed in all groups. Results and Conclusion: Intraperitoneal injection of adult rats with nicotine for eight weeks showed significant reductions in the weight of testes, epididymis, seminal vesicles, ventral prostate, sexual hormones, antioxidants, sperm concentration and sperm motility. While significantly increased cytokines and inflammatory mediators, superoxide anion and lipid peroxides as well as the percentage of dead sperms and the rate of abnormal sperms. However, co-administration of curcumin with nicotine prevented the degenerative changes induced by nicotine, significantly reduced oxidative stress parameters, cytokines and inflammatory mediators and restored the biochemical changes occurred in the testis tissues as well as sperm characteristics.