Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Panel Analysis of Tourism - Economic Growth Nexus

Over the past several decades, the relationship between tourism and economic growth, for both developing and developed countries, has been a popular issue of debate. Taking into account the fact that the tourism is an important sector in the world economy, the knowledge of the sign and size of the impact of tourism earnings on economic growth is of particular importance to policy makers. This paper aims to explore the impact of tourism earnings on economic growth. Panel data of 113 countries are used for the years that span from 1995 to 2015. The potential contribution of tourism to economic growth is analyzed within the conventional augmented Solow growth model. GMM method is employed to account for a dynamic phenomenon of economic growth. The obtained results indicate a significant positive impact of tourism on economic growth. Furthermore, the obtained results indicate that tourism-economic growth nexus differs among income disparity. The obtained findings imply that low-income countries should enhance their economic growth by strengthening their tourism industry.
Seismic microzonation of the greater Bangkok area using microtremor observations

Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, is located at a remote distance from seismic sources. However, it has a substantial risk from these distant earthquakes due to the ability of the underlying soft clay to amplify ground motions. It is therefore imperative to conduct a detailed seismic hazard assessment of the area. Seismic microzonation of big cities, like Bangkok, provides a basis for site‐specific hazard analysis, which can assist in systematic earthquake mitigation programs. In this study, a seismic microzonation map for the greater Bangkok area is constructed using microtremor observations. Microtremor observations were carried out at more than 150 sites in the greater Bangkok area. The predominant periods of the ground were determined from the horizontal‐to‐vertical (H/V) spectral ratio technique. A microzonation map was then developed for the greater Bangkok area based on the observations. Moreover, the transfer functions were calculated for the soil profile at eight sites, using the computer program SHAKE91, to validate the results from the microtremor analysis. The areas near the Gulf of Thailand, underlaid by a thick soft clay layer, were found to have long natural periods ranging from 0.8s to 1.2s. However, the areas outside the lower central plain have shorter predominant periods of less than 0.4s. The study shows that there is a great possibility of long‐period ground vibration in Bangkok, especially in the areas near the Gulf of Thailand. This may have severe effects on long‐period structures, such as high‐rise buildings and long‐span bridges. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Level Set Based Method to Simulate Contact Line Motion and Dynamic Contact Angles for Multiphase Flow

While various models for slip at a contact line between two fluids and a wall have been proposed, most require that the slip length of the model be suciently resolved in order to achieve convergence. This limitation makes the problems expensive computationally. In this study, a new model is proposed to capture the microscopic surface forces in macroscopic filtered Navier Stokes equations. An additional volumetric source term is added to the Navier Stokes equation while a simple model of shear stress is used for the viscous dissipation at the contact line. The terms are coupled to the levelset method for tracking the interface via the fluid dynamics code NGA. The final results show good comparison to theoretical work by Cox (1), however there is a grid dependence of the slip length in the current implementation.
Presenting Surface Features Using a Haptic Ring: A Psychophysical Study on Relocating Vibrotactile Feedback

In the context of wearable technologies, it is often important for the fingers to be unconstrained so that they can be used to explore the environment. In this paper, we explored the feasibility of presenting vibrotactile cues that represented different textures to one of three locations on the hand and forearm using a wearable device. The first experiment indicated that vibrotactile signals of varying frequency rendered by the tactile display could be encoded by participants in terms of changes along a roughness-smoothness dimension. The differential thresholds measured for vibrotactile frequency were significantly higher on the wrist as compared to the fingerpad and the distal phalanx of the index finger. In two subsequent experiments vibrotactile signals were presented by a tactile ring worn on the distal phalanx and participants evaluated real textures explored by the fingerpad and virtual textures rendered by the ring. It was found that participants could compare and rank in terms of roughness two spatially distributed inputs with reasonable accuracy. In the context of the haptic ring being developed, these findings indicated that it is feasible to display information experienced at the fingertip on a more proximal location on the hand, thus freeing the fingers for other tasks.
WHEN DOES DIVERSIFICATION ADD VALUE: EVIDENCE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND ABNORMAL LONG-TERM STOCK PERFORMANCE

Contrary to prior research indicating that on average, shareholders do not benefit from corporate diversification, we provide evidence of a significant positive relation between diversification and abnormal buy-and-hold returns. Additionally, we show that shareholder gain from corporate diversification is a function of managerial accountability. We introduce and test the effective monitoring hypothesis for diversified firms, and demonstrate that the positive relation between diversification and abnormal returns is concentrated in firms where managers are most likely to be held accountable for policies that reduce shareholder value. The main implication is that gains from corporate diversification are concentrated in firms in which managerial accountability deters managers from taking advantage of asymmetric information created by diversification.
Brand Management in a Niche Sport : A Case Study of An LPGA Golfer ' s Use of Instagram

As professional niche sports do not inherently come with the mass media appeal of the more prominent sport leagues, they are habitually tasked with finding unique ways to extend brand awareness and generate consumer interest. The purpose of this case study was to examine a year’s worth of a Ladies Professional Golf Association golfer’s (i.e., Natalie Gulbis) Instagram posts as they relate to brand management. A total of 400 photos and their captions were analyzed inductively, which resulted in the emergence of three primary categories (athletic expertise, community outreach, and travel) with six subsequent themes. Photos were also tagged as being either golf (n = 219) or non-golf related (n = 181). These themes are discussed as they relate to Gulbis’ brand management, as well as the impact her posts could have on the LPGA, sponsors, and other niche sport participants.
Influence of dietary vitamin D 3 supplementation on the sarcomere length, Warner-Bratzler shear force, shortening of ageing time, and sensory acceptance of culinary beef muscles

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of dietary vitamin D 3 supplementation on ageing time, tenderness, and consumer acceptance of 3 muscles: longissimus lumborum, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus from crossbreed bulls. Bulls (n = 48) were divided into 4 experimental groups (n = 12 each) that were administered ground oats supplemented with various amounts of vitamin D 3 (0.0, 3.5, 7.0, or 10.0 × 10 6 IU) at 1 day before slaughter. To determine the effect of vitamin D 3 addition, changes in tenderness were measured by sarcomere length and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF). In addition, all of the muscles were examined organoleptically by a team of 20 panelists. The results show that the dose of vitamin D 3 significantly (P < 0.01) increased the sarcomere length and reduced the WBSF-value during ageing, as compared to meat samples from the control group (without vitamin D 3 ). The 7.0 × 10 6 IU dose was found to be the most effective (P < 0.01). Consumer research data confirmed the findings of the instrumental analyses.
CROSS-SPECIES AMPLIFICATION STUDY OF Tor douronensis AND Tor tambroides USING MICROSATELLITES FROM OTHER CYPRINIDS

This study examined twenty six microsatellite primers developed from three cyprinid fishes (Cyprinus carpio, Barbus barbus and Barbonymus gonionotus) in two indigenous mahseer, Tor douronensis and T. tambroides. A total of 10 (38%) and 12 (46%) primers were successfully amplified producing four and five polymorphic loci in T. douronensis and T. tambroides, respectively. The number of alleles per locus ranging from 2 to 5 and 2 to 7 in T. douronensis and T. tambroides, respectively. A significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) was observed at three loci (Barb37, Barb59 and Barb62) in one or more populations in T. tambroides while two loci (Barb37 and Barb62) were deviated in T. douronensis population of Batang Ai. Bayesian cluster analysis performed with STRUCTURE showed that the most likely K value identified was K = 2 with no evidence of population substructuring, similar to those identified by the UPGMA dendrogram. The low genetic distances among populations were also supported by low interpopulation genetic differences (FST) among pairwise populations in both mahseer. Overall, the identified microsatellite loci exhibit promise for use in fine scale population structure analysis of T. douronensis and T. tambroides natural populations.
GUIDELINE TG 13 : Updated Tokyo Guidelines for acute cholangitis and acute cholecystitis TG 13 antimicrobial therapy for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis

Therapy with appropriate antimicrobial agents is an important component in the management of patients with acute cholangitis and/or acute cholecystitis. In the updated Tokyo Guidelines (TG13), we recommend antimicrobial agents that are suitable from a global perspective for management of these infections. These recommendations focus primarily on empirical therapy (presumptive therapy), provided before the infecting isolates are identified. Such therapy depends upon knowledge of both local microbial epidemiology and patient-specific factors that affect selection of appropriate agents. These patient-specific factors include prior contact with the health care system, and we separate community-acquired versus healthcare-associated infections because of the higher risk H. Gomi (&) Center for Clinical Infectious Diseases, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1, Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0431, Japan e-mail: hgomi-oky@umin.ac. jp J. S. Solomkin Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA T. Takada F. Miura Department of Surgery, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan S. M. Strasberg Section of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA H. A. Pitt Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA M. Yoshida Clinical Research Center Kaken Hospital, International University of Health and Welfare, Ichikawa, Japan S. Kusachi Department of Surgery, Toho University Medical Center Ohashi Hospital, Tokyo, Japan T. Mayumi Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Ichinomiya Municipal Hospital, Ichinomiya, Japan S. Kiriyama Department of Gastroenterology, Ogaki Municipal Hospital, Ogaki, Japan M. Yokoe General Internal Medicine, Nagoya Daini Red Cross Hospital, Nagoya, Japan Y. Kimura Department of Surgical Oncology and Gastroenterological Surgery, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan R. Higuchi Department of Surgery, Institute of Gastroenterology, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Tokyo, Japan J. A. Windsor Department of Surgery, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand C. Dervenis First Department of Surgery, Agia Olga Hospital, Athens, Greece K. -H. Liau Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Nexus Surgical Associates, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore, Singapore M. -H. Kim Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan, Seoul, Korea 123 J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Sci (2013) 20:60–70 DOI 10.1007/s00534-012-0572-0
Persuasive Trash Cans

Two studies tested littering norm activation by trash can design. The first was a scenario study using a 4 (norm type: social injunctive vs. social descriptive vs. personal vs. control) × 2 (activation type: explicit vs. implicit activation) between-group design, with judgments of a litterer as the dependent variable. Explicit norm activation was more effective than implicit activation. A field study subsequently tested the effect of personal norm activation on actual littering behavior, following a 2 (explicit activation: no vs. yes) × 2 (Implicit activation: no vs. yes) between-group design. Here, both explicit activation through a verbal prompt and implicit activation through design had significant effects, reducing the amount of litter by 50%. A post hoc survey revealed significant effects of age and gender on the personal norm against littering. These findings helped explain the absence of norm activation effects in the youngest age group as found in the field study.
General on Glaucoma and Oxidative Stress. Comments on Study Design: “Biomarkers of Lipid Peroxidation in the Aqueous Humor of Primary Open-angle Glaucoma Patients”

Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy that causes progressive changes in the visual field and whose main known risk factor is the increased IOP [1]. Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is associated with asymptomatic and irreversible vision loss, although its cause is unknown, it is known that in the presence of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) occurs sequentially death of retinal ganglion cells by apoptosis and optic nerve fibres in its evolution cause glaucomatous optic atrophy and permanent loss of vision [2]. There has never been unanimously to establish which of the two injuries, structural or functional, it can first be detected. However, experts generally agree that early diagnosis is critical to improving the prognosis of glaucomatous patient.
Production of Medium-Chain-Length Poly(3-Hydroxyalkanoates) from Saponified Palm Kernel Oil by Pseudomonas putida: Kinetics of Batch and Fed-Batch Fermentations

The kinetics of medium-chain-length poly(3-hydroxyalkanoates), PHAMCL production by Pseudomonas putida PGA1 in batch and fed-batch fermentations were studied. With saponified palm kernel oil (SPKO) supplying the free fatty acids mixture as the sole carbon and energy source, PHAMCL accumulation is encouraged under ammonium-limited condition, which is a nitrogen stress environment. The amount of PHAMCL accumulated and its specific production rate, qPHA were influenced by the residual ammonium concentration level in the culture medium. It was observed that in both fermentation modes, when the residual ammonium was exhausted (< 0.05 gL-1), the PHAMCL accumulation (11.9) and qPHA (0.0062 h-1) were significantly reduced. However, this effect can be reversed by feeding low amount of ammonium to the culture, resulting in significantly improved PHAMCL yield (71.4) and specific productivity (0.6 h-1). It is concluded that the feeding of low ammonium concentration to the culture medium during the PHAMCL accumulation has a positive effect on sustaining the PHAMCL biosynthetic capability of the organism. It was also found that increasing SPKO concentration in the medium significantly reduced (up to 50) the volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (KLa) of the fermentation system.
Reliability, construct validity and responsiveness to change of the PROMIS-29 in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease.

OBJECTIVES PROMIS-29 is a generic health-related quality of life instrument. Our objective was to assess the reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness to change of PROMIS-29 in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). METHODS Seventy-three participants with SSc-ILD were administered patient reported outcomes (PROs) at baseline and follow-up visits which included PROMIS-29 and other measures of generic health, dyspnea, and cough instruments. We assessed internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's α, an alpha of ≥ 0.70 was considered satisfactory. We assessed the responsiveness to change using linear regression models. RESULTS Mean age of the participants was 51.9 years and the mean disease duration was 7.9 years after first non-Raynaud's symptom. Of the 73 participants, 56.2% were classified as diffuse SSc and 26% limited SSc. The baseline (mean ± SD) FVC % predicted was 73.9±15.5 with a DLCO % predicted of 57.7±21.1; 95.9% had fibrotic NSIP pattern on HRCT. PROMIS-29 scores were 0.2 to 0.9 SD below the US population. Cronbach's α reliability was acceptable for all domains (ranged from 0.77 to 0.98). All scales showed statistically significant correlations with hypothesised PROMIS-29 domains (p≤0.05 for all comparisons). PROMIS-29 showed none-to-small discriminatory ability in comparison with physiologic measures (FVC and DLCO). There was no significant relationship between the change in FVC versus the change in PROMIS-29 measures over time. CONCLUSIONS PROMIS-29 has adequate reliability and construct validity for evaluation in SSc-ILD. It has moderate-to-large correlations with other PROs. The PROMIS-29 domains were not found to change over time in this cohort, likely due to stable nature of the observational cohort.
The Determinants of Corporate Board Size and Composition: An Empirical Analysis

Many theories have been proposed to explain how corporate boards are structured. This paper groups these theories into three hypotheses and tests them empirically. We utilize a unique panel dataset that tracks corporate board development from the time of a firm's IPO through 10 years later. The data indicate that: (i) board size and independence increase as firms grow in size and diversify over time; (ii) board size - but not board independence - reflects a trade-off between the firm-specific benefits of monitoring and the costs of such monitoring; and (iii) board independence is negatively related to the manager's influence and positively related to constraints on such influence. These results are consistent with the view that economic considerations - in particular, the specific nature of the firm's competitive environment and managerial team - help explain cross-sectional variation in corporate board size and composition. Nonetheless, much of the variation in board structures remains unexplained even when all three hypotheses are combined, suggesting that idiosyncratic factors affect many individual boards' characteristics.
The efficacy and safety of nutrient supplements in the treatment of mental disorders: a meta‐review of meta‐analyses of randomized controlled trials

The role of nutrition in mental health is becoming increasingly acknowledged. Along with dietary intake, nutrition can also be obtained from “nutrient supplements”, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, amino acids and pre/probiotic supplements. Recently, a large number of meta‐analyses have emerged examining nutrient supplements in the treatment of mental disorders. To produce a meta‐review of this top‐tier evidence, we identified, synthesized and appraised all meta‐analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting on the efficacy and safety of nutrient supplements in common and severe mental disorders. Our systematic search identified 33 meta‐analyses of placebo‐controlled RCTs, with primary analyses including outcome data from 10,951 individuals. The strongest evidence was found for PUFAs (particularly as eicosapentaenoic acid) as an adjunctive treatment for depression. More nascent evidence suggested that PUFAs may also be beneficial for attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder, whereas there was no evidence for schizophrenia. Folate‐based supplements were widely researched as adjunctive treatments for depression and schizophrenia, with positive effects from RCTs of high‐dose methylfolate in major depressive disorder. There was emergent evidence for N‐acetylcysteine as a useful adjunctive treatment in mood disorders and schizophrenia. All nutrient supplements had good safety profiles, with no evidence of serious adverse effects or contraindications with psychiatric medications. In conclusion, clinicians should be informed of the nutrient supplements with established efficacy for certain conditions (such as eicosapentaenoic acid in depression), but also made aware of those currently lacking evidentiary support. Future research should aim to determine which individuals may benefit most from evidence‐based supplements, to further elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
The effects of a cash transfer intervention on sexual partnerships and HIV in the HPTN 068 study in South Africa

Abstract Evidence on cash transfer interventions for HIV prevention in adolescent girls and young women is unclear and indicates that they may not work uniformly in all settings. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 22 girls and young women post-intervention to determine how a cash transfer study (HPTN 068) in South Africa was perceived to influence sexual behaviours and to explore mechanisms for these changes. Participants described how the intervention motivated them to increase condom use, have fewer partners, end risky relationships and access HIV testing services at local primary health clinics. Changes were attributed to receipt of the cash transfer, in addition to HIV testing and sexual health information. Processes of change included improved communication with partners and increased negotiation power in sexual decision-making. Economic empowerment interventions increase confidence in negotiating behaviours with sexual partners and are complementary to sexual health information and health services that provide young women with a foundation on which to make informed decisions about how to protect themselves.
Taking Punishment into Your Own Hands: An Experiment

In a punishment experiment, we separate the demand for punishment in general from the demand to conduct punishment personally. Subjects experience an unfair split of their earnings from a real effort task and have to decide on the punishment of the person who determines the distribution. First, it is established whether the allocator's payoff is reduced and, afterwards, subjects take part in a second price auction for the right to (physically) carry out the act of payoff reduction themselves. Subjects bid positive amounts and are happier if they get to punish personally.
An ab initio study of Fe-doped Nickel Oxide

In the following pages we investigate the magnetic properties of the dilute magnetic semiconductor Fe-doped NiO from an ab initio approach; the incentive being the need to discover how the observation of ferromagnetism in the doped crystal mentioned has come about. Hartree-Fock and B3LYP Hamiltonians are employed to find the natural state of pure and doped NiO in various arrangements of the magnetic ions’ spin, and finally geometry optimisations are performed of the most stable configuration.