Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cross-country convergence in a general Lotka–Volterra model

ABSTRACT This paper uses a general Lotka–Volterra model to estimate convergence for 93 countries over the period 1960–2007. It employs an equation with a spatial time lag and common factors. The spatial lag controls for spatial dependence, while the common factors control for strong cross-sectional dependence. As spatial weights matrices, the shares of high-skilled migrants, trade shares and foreign direct investments are used. A simultaneous least squares estimator and a dynamic common correlated effects (DCCE) estimator are employed. The DCCE estimator finds conditional convergence. The paper highlights the importance of controlling for both types of cross-sectional dependence.
Performance of Transgenic Corn Hybrids in Missouri for Insect Control and Yield

Abstract The efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis-transformed corn (Zea mays L.) hybrids compared with comparable nontransformed corn hybrids for controlling first- and second-generation European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), and second-generation southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella Dyar, was determined. Yield comparisons were obtained from the same plots of corn hybrids. Both generations of European and the second-generation of southwestern corn borer were effectively controlled, but the Bt hybrids varied in degree of control. Hybrids from Ciba Seeds, DEKALB, and Mycogen had more European corn borer tunneling than those from Novartis or Cargill, and this was generally ascribed to different transgenic events. The Bt-transformed hybrids had virtually no leaf-feeding damage and less tunneling than the non-Bt corn hybrids. Some Bt corn hybrids had no tunneling, whereas other Bt hybrids had a small amount of tunneling. All of the non-Bt hybrids had significant leaf-feeding damage and stalk tunneling from both insects. Only three live European corn borer larvae (stunted) were found in the Bt corn hybrids while splitting stalks to assess tunnel length. When insect damage was significant, and in some evaluations where damage was not significant, differences in yields among hybrids were observed. No significant insect population differences were observed for five genera of beneficial insects for Bt versus non-Bt corn hybrids. Corn hybrids that have been transformed with the Bt gene provide an effective means of control for corn borers and efforts to reduce the likelihood of development of borer resistance are warranted.
Time-dependent alterations in gene expression of interleukin-8 in the bronchial epithelium of horses with recurrent airway obstruction.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate time-dependent alterations in gene expression of chemokines in bronchial epithelium of recurrent airway obstruction (RAO)-affected horses and whether alterations resulted from increases in gene expression of interleukin (IL)-17 in cells isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). ANIMALS 8 RAO-susceptible horses and 9 control horses. PROCEDURE In 2 experiments, both groups of horses were evaluated after being maintained on pasture and after being stabled and fed dusty hay for 1, 14, 35, and 49 days (experiment 1) or 14 and 28 days (experiment 2). In experiment 1, gene expression of IL-8, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (CXCL1), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in epithelium and IL-8, IL-17, and TLR4 in BALF cells was measured. In experiment 2, bronchial biopsy specimens were evaluated for IL-8 immunoreactivity. RESULTS In RAO-susceptible horses after 14 days of challenge exposure, there was a 3- and 10-fold increase in gene expression of IL-8 for epithelial and BALF cells and an increase in IL-8 immunoreactivity in epithelial cells. Challenge exposure failed to alter gene expression of CXCL1, GM-CSF, G-CSF, and TLR4 in epithelial cells of any horses at any time point. During challenge exposure, gene expression of BALF cell IL-17 was downregulated in control horses (day 1) and upregulated in RAO-affected horses (day 35). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Epithelial-derived IL-8 may promote airway neutrophilia, but the inciting stimulus is unlikely to be IL-17 because upregulation of this gene is subsequent to that of IL-8 in epithelial cells.
Awareness of predatory journals among physicians from Africa and the middle East: An exploratory survey

Objectives: There is a recent proliferation of predatory journals (PJ) targeting unwary authors and unsuspecting institutions. We evaluated the awareness, attitude, and practices related to predatory publishing among physicians from the Middle East and Africa. Subjects and Methods: An online survey of a convenience sample of physicians was conducted. One hundred and forty responses were received. Of these 76 were complete and they formed the basis of this study. Results: Respondents hold a specialty board or equivalent (46.1%), doctorate (26.3%) or Master (13.2%). Half of the respondents published between 1 and 10 articles and less than a fifth had no prior authorship experience. Respondents are reportedly fully aware (30.3%) or fairly familiar but were not confident with details (43.4%), whereas 26.3% have no clear idea about models of publishing (open access [OA] vs. subscription-only). Nearly one third have never heard about predatory publishing and one in six of the respondents may have heard about it, but they were not sure. 69.7% reported no knowledge of Jeffery Beall and his list. The majority thought it might be somewhat difficult (51.4%) or difficult (24.3%) to distinguish between predatory and legitimate OA journals and 40%–60% affirmed knowledge of features of predatory publishing practices. 50%–60% recognized that PJ target authors in the developing nations. Respondents reported a variable frequency of unsolicited E-mails inviting them to submit articles to suspected PJ or act as reviewers or editors. Only a minority would take further action to protest against such invitations. Many respondents suggested warning young researchers and inexperienced authors about PJ by improved supervision and mentorship practices. Conclusions: There is a low awareness of predatory publishing. There were varying attitudes and practices among respondents.
Effects of touchscreen gesture’s type and direction on finger-touch input performance and subjective ratings

Abstract This study examined how finger-touch input performance (i.e. task completion time, failure status, and error rate) and subjective ratings (i.e. performance and physical demand) are influenced by touchscreen gestures’ type and direction. Twenty participants performed one-touch (i.e. drag and swipe) and two-touch (i.e. pinch and spread) gesture tasks on a tablet, using several major directions (i.e. eight directions for one-touch and four directions for two-touch gestures). The results showed that swipe was approximately 4.5 times faster than drag, but pinch and spread showed no significant difference in task completion time. Dragging and pinching showed more failures or higher error rates compared to swiping and spreading, respectively. One-touch gestures in the horizontal directions were rated to have higher performance and lower physical demand than those in the vertical and diagonal directions. Two-touch gestures in the horizontal directions took the shortest time but caused more failures and higher error rates. Practitioner Summary: This study provides evidence for the effects of touchscreen gestures’ type and direction on human performance and subjective ratings, which varied depending on the number of fingers used. Designers should arrange related touchscreen components accordingly, to improve touch-finger input performance and reduce user workload.
The United States Free Trade Agreements: How Successful Have They Been?

ABSTRACT The United States has entered into Free Trade Agreements with 20 countries. Did these agreements boost trade—especially exports—beyond that experienced by a control group of 80 other countries? Did the efforts and costs in implementing and maintaining these agreements yield incremental trade? Discussing five attenuating factors and introducing a method utilizing compound annual growth rates, we compared the pre- and post-implementation trade growth of the agreements, and also against the control group. Results are mixed and some agreements disappoint, possibly with basis in an attenuating factor. The overall effect on U.S. exports from the agreements is low.
Improving the Treatment of Holding Gains and Default Losses in National Accounts

Holding gains and losses and default losses play key roles in the operations and reported income of financial intermediaries and other businesses, but are excluded from the national accounts definition of income. Measures that combine income and holding gains/losses and that adjust the income of lenders for predictable default losses are needed to understand the operating results of businesses and the resources available to households, and should be presented in supplementary accounts. Changing the national accounts treatment of retained earnings of corporations to include retained earnings in the income of shareholders would provide improved insight into the roles of holding gains and saving in changes in the wealth of households and governments. To measure output properly in the core national accounts, apparent holding gains that are really payments for services must be distinguished from true holding gains, and expected default losses must be excluded from FISIM on loans.
Work Intensity in Slovakia in Relationship with Socio-Economic Characteristics of Households

Objective: The aim of this article is to evaluate the relationship between work intensity and educational attainment of the household head and household type in Slovakia. Research Design & Methods: Statistical analyses were carried out in analytics software SAS Base and SAS Enterprise Guide by means of contingency, correspondence analysis and multinomial logistic regression. Empirical analyses are based on data from the survey EU-SILC 2015. Findings: The article provides estimates of the probabilities of individual degrees of households’ work intensity depending on the household type and educational attainment level of the household head, while simultaneously in both cases households are broken down by economic activity of the household head. The presented analysis revealed categories of households which are the most and the least threatened by labour market exclusion from the point of view of the considered factors. Implications & Recommendations: While the social inclusion monitor in Europe says that in 2012 (quasi-) joblessness was typical for households with three or more children, our analysis for 2014 did not confirm this. The exclusion from the labour market in 2014 was the most typical in Slovakia for households without dependent children, where there is no more than one person in productive age. Contribution & Value Added: The article is not limited only to the very low work intensity which is used to assess the progress in the reduction of (quasi-) joblessness, but focuses on all the levels of work intensity (very low, low, medium, high and very high).
Diabetes Increases Atrophy and Vascular Lesions on Brain MRI in Patients With Symptomatic Arterial Disease

Background and Purpose— Diabetes type 2 (DM2) is associated with accelerated cognitive decline and structural brain abnormalities. Macrovascular disease has been described as a determinant for brain MRI changes in DM2, but little is known about the involvement of other DM2-related factors. Methods— Brain MRI was performed in 1043 participants (151 DM2) with symptomatic arterial disease. Brain volumes were obtained through automated segmentation. Results— Patients with arterial disease and DM2 had more global and subcortical brain atrophy (−1.20% brain/intracranial volume [95%CI −1.58 to −0.82], P<0.0005 and 0.20% ventricular/intracranial volume [0.05 to 0.34], P<0.01), larger WMH volumes (0.22 logtransformed volume [0.07 to 0.38], P<0.005), and more lacunar infarcts (OR 1.75 [1.13 to 2.69], P<0.01) than identical patients without DM2. In patients with DM2, high glucose levels (B−0.12% per mmol/L [−0.23 to −0.01], P<0.05) and diabetes duration (B−0.05% per year [−0.10 to −0.001], P<0.05) were associated with global brain atrophy. Conclusion— In patients with symptomatic arterial disease, DM2 has an added detrimental effect on the brain. In patients with DM2, hyperglycemia and diabetes duration contribute to brain atrophy.
Water Governance in Cambodia: From Centralized Water Governance to Farmer Water User Community

Cambodia has abundant water resources in the wet season and a scarcity of water in the dry season. These phenomena undermine the development in this country and pose a threat to long-term development. Hence, the governance of water becomes critically important for the current and future development of Cambodia. Thus, this study is undertaken to understand the current water governance practice, challenges and constraints that prevent Cambodia from managing water effectively, and identify opportunities to improve it. In doing this, the study examines the water governance in Cambodia from a large-scale water management system and three community-based water resource management systems and farmer water user communities (FWUCs) in three provinces around Cambodia. It concludes that the current water governance practice in Cambodia is still too weak and fragmented to address the water security issues affecting the country, and thus, reorganization of the current structure and system of the water governance framework would be required to address long-term water security issues.
Simplification of IVF: minimal monitoring and the use of subcutaneous highly purified FSH administration for ovulation induction.

During the past few years much effort has been put into simplifying the clinical management of in-vitro fertilization/embryo transfer cycles. One important step was the introduction of transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte collection, as previously described. This study describes further simplifications of the clinical management of ovarian stimulation. During the period 1st January 1991 to 31st August 1993, three major simplification steps were introduced. All cycles were down-regulated with a gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist according to a long protocol permitting fairly precise programming of the oocyte collection. During period I (n = 329 cycles), closer monitoring by several pelvic ultrasound scans and serum oestradiol was used for monitoring the ovarian stimulation. During period II (n = 230 cycles), only one ultrasound scan was used for monitoring the ovarian cycle; oocyte collections during weekends were avoided. During period III (n = 386 cycles), further simplification of the clinical management was introduced by using a highly purified follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) (Fertinorm/Metrodin HP), which was self-administered s.c. for ovarian stimulation. The take-home baby rates per started cycle for periods I, II and III were 16.4, 32.6 and 31.3% respectively. These figures indicate that when using long down-regulation with a GnRH agonist, simplification of the monitoring of the ovarian stimulation is possible without decreasing the pregnancy rate. Furthermore, the use of a highly purified FSH, self-administered s.c. , greatly simplified treatment without compromising cycle outcome or increasing the risk of developing an ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.
Expansion of Masood's cytologic index for breast carcinoma and its validity

Background: The incidence of breast carcinoma is increasing in developing countries due to adoption of western life-style. Fine-needle aspiration cytology is the initial method to evaluate the palpable breast lesions. The neoadjuvant therapy is helpful in treating high grade rather than low grade breast carcinomas. Masood cytologic index (MCI) delineates all the breast lesions into four groups. The carcinoma group is not graded further. Aim: The present study proposes a method for the expansion of carcinoma group into three grades. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 breast carcinoma cases were prospectively studied by comparing expansion of MCI with modified bloom Richardson (MBR) grading over a period of 3 years. Results: Altogether 43/50 cases (86%) had concordance with histopathological grading. The analysis revealed a R2 value of 60%, which was significant. The P value of anisonucleosis, nucleoli and chromatin pattern were 0.001, 0.049 and 0.02 respectively, which were significant. Conclusions: The present study with the expansion of carcinoma category of MCI into three grades similar to MBR will help the treating surgeon to plan the management accordingly. The results obtained in this study need to be subjected to multicentric study with a large number of cases.
The Effect of Oral Prednisolone with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

Abstract Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is still one of the most important problems in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass. The purpose of this prospective study was to assess the beneficial effects of oral prednisolone on pulmonary functions in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass. Methods: Forty patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were divided into two groups randomly and were given 20 mg oral prednisolone once daily perioperatively (Group I, n = 20) or identical placebo (Group II, n = 20). FEV1 values, dates of intensive care unit and hospital stays of the two groups were compared. Results: FEV1 values during the admission to our hospital were similar in each group mean predicted FEV1: 56.7 ± 5.35% in Group I and 57.2 ± 4.88% in Group II (p = 0.759). After 10 days of oral prednisolone treatment in Group I, predicted FEV1 values were significantly different between two groups (63.2%± 4.24 and 57.9%± 4.38) (p = 0.0001). While predicted FEV1 values revealed difference between two groups at the date of discharge (p = 0.0001) the values became similar at the third month (55.6%± 4.09 in Group I and 55.45%± 3.87 in Group II) (p = 0.897). Conclusion: Various types of complications may occur after cardiopulmonary bypass. Oral prednisolone not only decreases the rates of complications (reintubation, intubation times, and rhythm disturbances) but also decreases the cost of cardiac operations according to shorter hospital stays.
Long-Term Effects of Evidence-Based Supported Employment on Earnings and on SSI and SSDI Participation Among Individuals With Psychiatric Disabilities.

OBJECTIVE This study examines the long-term effects of evidence-based supported employment services on three vocational outcomes: labor force participation, earnings, and attainment of Social Security Administration (SSA) nonbeneficiary status through suspension or termination of disability cash payments due to work (NSTW). METHOD Data from 449 individuals with psychiatric disabilities who participated in a multisite controlled trial of supported employment were matched to SSA data over a 13-year period (2000-2012) following supported employment services. Long-term outcomes were analyzed using random effects regression models comparing participants in the experimental and control conditions on measures of employment, earnings, and attainment of NSTW. The authors adjusted for time, age, race/ethnicity, gender, education, schizophrenia diagnosis, substance abuse history, and geographic region. RESULTS Overall outcomes were modest across the 13-year follow-up, with 32.9% of participants having any earned income and 13.1% ever attaining NSTW. Supported employment recipients were almost three times as likely as control subjects to be employed over 13 years (odds ratio=2.89). Although earnings were low, supported employment participants had significantly higher earnings per month than control subjects over time (parameter estimate=$23.82) and were more likely than control subjects to attain NSTW (odds ratio=12.99). The supported employment effect diminished and was completely attenuated over time. CONCLUSIONS The study's findings indicate a small but significant vocational advantage accruing to recipients of evidence-based supported employment in the decade following service delivery, adding to the evidence on the durability of supported employment effects. Results can inform policies designed to help workers enhance economic security and reduce dependence on Social Security disability benefits.
Wound care in primary health care: District nurses' needs for co-operation and well-functioning organization

Most patients with leg- and foot ulcers are managed within non-institutional care. The aim of this study was to investigate the district nurses' wound management, including wound appearance, assignment of responsibility, guidelines for wound treatment and co-operation with other professional groups. The study has a descriptive quantitative approach. Data was collected using a wound registration form and a questionnaire. The selection of participants was made by random sampling. District nurses (n = 26) in five health-care centers situated in central Stockholm and two of its suburbs, participated in the study. The results show that the wound appearance is dominated by traumatic wounds. Approximately 40% of the wounds were not medically diagnosed. The area of responsibility of different professional groups was not defined and guidelines for wound treatment were mostly lacking. The decision about wound management was generally made by the district nurse. Co-operation with the general practitioner was lacking and when a consultation with dermatologist was required, the routines concerning referral were undefined. Co-operation with the assistant nurses consisted of redressing the wounds in home care. Interprofessional co-operation was regarded as important for wound healing. The paper provides insights into the district nurses' wound management and co-operation in wound care.
Preparing Educational Hackers

As technology creates change at a faster pace than ever before, education battles to remain relevant. With no one right way to design schools, some teachers are hacking —that is, acting innovatively—in the public K-12 system. This chapter discusses a qualitative research aimed at examining characteristics and conditions under which teachers hack their classroom pedagogy in disruptive innovation, emphasizing the study’s implications for teacher education. Participants were eight public school teachers from Massachusetts with more than 1 year experience in the profession, working in the classroom at the time of the study, and demonstrating pedagogic innovation. The results show recurring notions connected to teachers as hackers, their professional identities, the ways they act, and common characteristics of idealism, motivation, reflection, adaptation, and resource -fulness. The framework of hacking to describe innovative actions of public school teachers adds to existing terminology and offers a fresh lens through which to view and re-struc ture teacher education. The recommendations can serve as a north star for preparing teachers to reform the twenty-first century public school system from within.