Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enforcing order: Territorial reach and maritime piracy

Existing studies of piracy focus attention on the institutional determinants of maritime piracy, but neglect variation in governments’ reach over territory. We argue that the effect of state capacity on piracy is a function of states’ ability to extend authority over the country’s entire territory. We expect that government reach—a function of geographic factors such as the distance between a country’s capital and its coastline—mediates the effect of state capacity on piracy. Weak governments allow for the planning and implementation of attacks and reduce the risk of capture, but particularly so if sufficient distance separates pirates from political authority. An empirical analysis of country-year data on maritime piracy collected by the International Maritime Bureau for the 1995–2013 period shows that capital–coastline distance mediates the effect of institutional fragility on piracy as hypothesized. These results remain robust for alternative operationalizations of state capacity and reach. In addition, the models perform well in terms of predictive power, forecasting piracy quite accurately for 2013. The expectations and evidence presented in this paper help explain why states with intermediate levels of state capacity but low levels of reach—such as Indonesia, Tanzania or Venezuela—struggle with substantial incidence of piracy.
Disagreement and Biases in Inflation Expectations of Japanese Households(in Japanese)

This study examines how Japanese consumers’ inflation expectations are formed by the use of micro-level dataset of the prediction error of expected inflation rate. Recently in Japan, the interest is growing in the policies that intend to work on the inflation expectations of consumers and firms. Effects of such policy depend on expectation formation mechanism of economic agents. In particular, whether expectations are rational or adaptive, homogenous or heterogenous is an important factor that affects its effectiveness. We examine underlying mechanism of Japanese consumers’ inflation expectations by analyzing the raw data of “Consumer Confidence Survey”. From the data, we find that both statistically significant upward bias and disagreement among households exist in a persistent manner. Our study shows that“Model of asymmetric cost of forecast error” is consistent with this upward bias, while a gap remains from the level of rational expectation. In addition, we offer the empirical evidence that expectation heterogeneity among various groups can be explained with their characteristics only to a limited extent. Among others, we find that the age effect on inflation expectations looks inverted U-shaped.
[Epithelial damage of corneal grafts after prolonged storage in dextran-containing organ culture medium - a prospective study].

BACKGROUND High-molecular dextran added to organ culture medium is used for deswelling of corneal grafts before surgery. As we had the impression to have more often epithelial desquamation if storage time in dextran-containing medium was longer than 1 day, we investigated this problem in a pilot study. METHODS We examined prospectively the effect of the storage period on the graft epithelium one day after penetrating keratoplasty in 137 corneal grafts which were stored in dextran-containing storage medium (dextran T500 6 %). 88 corneal grafts were stored for 1 - 2 days (12 - 48 hours) and 49 corneal grafts were stored for 3 - 4 days (60 - 96 hours). Before deswelling, all 137 grafts had been stored 10 - 14 days in dextran-free organ culture medium. Postoperative epithelial defects observed 1 day after surgery were classified as margin and central erosions of the graft. RESULTS With a storage period in dextran-containing organ culture medium of 1 - 2 days statistically significantly less epithelial defects were observed in comparison to a longer storage period of 3 - 4 days (33 % vs. 57 %, p = 0,005). We found a statistically high significant correlation between storage time in dextran-containing organ culture medium and central erosions (p = 0,001), whereas margin erosions were observed after 1 - 2 days as well as after 3-4 days (p = 0,2). CONCLUSION Our data show that early postoperative epithelial stability of corneal grafts depends on the storage period in dextran-containing organ culture medium.
Identification and the Commitment Shift: Accounting for Gender Differences in Relationship Illusions

Previous work revealed gender differences in relationship illusions. Women, and not men, perceived their dating partners more favorably than their partners' self-perceptions. In two studies, the authors replicated these findings and showed they are moderated by relationship commitment but not by relationship satisfaction. Dating men low in commitment devalued their partners' virtues, whereas those high in commitment exaggerated their partners' virtues compared to their partners' self-perceptions. In contrast, dating women showed relationship illusions irrespective of their commitment. In Study 2, similar results were obtained with relationship-specific identification. Moreover, men's commitment mediated the effect of identification with the relationship. This suggests that gender differences in relationship identities exist at a general level and that men need to identify with and then commit to a specific relationship before they exhibit pro-relationship thinking, which women exhibit as general dispositions.
Influence of organic manures on carrot (Daucus carota L.) crops grown in a long-term field experiment in Sweden

Abstract This study evaluated the effects of organic agriculture manuring systems on carrot (Daucus carota) root morphology and sugar and polyacetylene content. Carrots were harvested three times per season 2006–2007 in a long-term field experiment at Skilleby research farm, Sweden. The effects of pelleted chicken manure, fresh farmyard manure and composted farmyard manure (COM) were compared against control plots left unmanured since the field experiment started in 1991. The carrots were analyzed for root size, root shape, amount of soluble sugars and amount of falcarinol-type polyacetylenes. Differences between manuring systems were found to be smaller than the variation between harvest years and harvest occasions, probably due to the grass-clover ley included in the crop rotation system. On an average for the six harvests, manuring with COM increased root length by 6% compared with fertilizing with pelleted chicken manure. Carrots fertilized with pelleted chicken manure also had 6–7% lower total soluble sugar content than carrots manured with 50 t ha−1 of composted or fresh manure. The falcarinol to total falcarinol-type polyacetylenes ratio was 15.4% in carrots manured with 50 t ha−1 of composted or fresh manure and 14.7% in carrots fertilized with pelleted chicken manure. Seasonal fluctuations in falcarinol-type polyacetylenes were more pronounced in carrots manured with fresh or composted manure than in carrots fertilized with pelleted chicken manure. The results suggest that manuring organic carrots with compost may be the most beneficial strategy, at least in systems where fertilizer is applied only once per crop rotation, whether directly to the carrot crop or in the preceding crop.
Decentralized Minimum Power Multi-Cell Beamforming with Limited Backhaul Signaling

A decentralized solution is proposed for the coordinated multi-cell multi-antenna minimum power beamformer design problem with single-antenna users. The optimal minimum power beamformers can be obtained locally at each base station (BS) relying on limited backhaul information exchange between BSs. The original centralized problem is reformulated such that the BSs are coupled by real-valued inter-cell interference terms. The coupling is handled by taking local copies of the interference terms at each BS and enforcing consistency between them. The consistency constraints are then decoupled by a standard dual decomposition approach leading to a distributed algorithm. The proposed method is able to guarantee feasible solutions even if the interference information is outdated or incomplete. In addition, the proposed approach allows for a number of special cases, where the backhaul information exchange is reduced at the cost of somewhat sub-optimal performance. The performance of the proposed coordinated multi-cell transmission is compared with the coherent multi-cell beamforming and with inter-cell interference nulling in different scenarios with varying interference. A near-optimal performance can be achieved even with significantly reduced backhaul information exchange and with relatively high velocities and/or low backhaul signaling rates.
Aurora B Kinase Activity is Required to Prevent Polar Cortical Ingression during Cytokinesis

Cytokinesis requires proper regulation of microtubule dynamics. It has been suggested that dynamic astral microtubules prevent cortical ingression. However, it remains unknown how astral microtubules maintain their dynamic state. Here we show that aurora B kinase, a component of the chromosome passenger complex, is required to sustain the dynamic state of astral microtubules during cytokinesis. Treatment of HeLa cells with Hesperadin, an inhibitor of aurora B kinase, caused abnormal cortical protrusion, leading to cortical ingression in the protruding region and cytokinesis failure. Actin filaments, myosin II, and RhoA failed to localize at the equator but instead distributed along the lateral and/or polar cortex in cells treated with Hesperadin. Time-lapse analyses of microtubule dynamics showed that, in cells treated with Hesperadin, abnormally bundled astral microtubules targeted the protruding region. Mitotic kinesin-like protein 1 (MKLP1), a component of the spindle midzone required for bundling of microtubules, was not detected along bundled astral microtubules in cells treated with Hesperadin, suggesting that factors other than MKLP1 may be involved in this process. Our results suggest that aurora B kinase activity is required for proper regulation of microtubule dynamics to ensure that cytokinesis occurs precisely at the cell equator.
Second stage of labor and intraventricular hemorrhage in early preterm infants in the vertex presentation

Abstract Objective: To investigate the association between exposure to second stage of labor and duration of second stage, and risk of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) among infants delivered <30 weeks of gestation. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among 158 singleton vertex deliveries (97 vaginal and 61 cesarean). Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the risk of IVH related to second stage. Results: Infants exposed to second stage as compared to those not exposed to second stage irrespective of their mode of delivery had increased risk of mild IVH (odds ratio [OR] 2.69; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15, 6.29) but not of severe IVH (OR 1.14; 95% CI 0.33, 3.84). No relation with risk of mild (OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.95, 1.01) and severe (OR 1.00; 95% CI 0.95, 1.05) IVH was observed for each 1 min increase in duration of second stage. We also observed no significant association between quartiles of duration of second stage and risk of mild (p = 0.20) and severe (p = 0.29) IVH. We did not observe any significant interaction by gestational age, chorioamnionitis, birth weight or presenting complaint on admission. Conclusion: The risk of mild IVH was increased in those exposed to a second stage of labor. However, no clear association was observed between duration of second stage and mild or severe IVH.
Biochemical Analysis of a Novel Lipolytic Enzyme YvdO from Bacillus subtilis 168

The predicted amino acid sequence of Bacillus subtilis yvdO exhibits similarity to that of the proteins belonging to the patatin family of lipolytic enzymes. In the present study, YvdO was overproduced in Escherichia coli and purified, and its enzymatic properties were determined. YvdO hydrolyzed p-nitrophenyl fatty acid esters. The enzyme was specific to middle-chain fatty acids, and its optimum pH was approximately 7.5. It maintained 86% of its initial activity after incubation for 30 min at 80 °C, and its secondary structure was retained at up to 80 °C. Free myristic acid was detected as the product of the reaction with YvdO and 1-myristoly-2-lyso-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, while YvdO did not hydrolyze 1,2-dimyristoly-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. These results suggest that YvdO is a novel thermostable lipolytic enzyme that has the ability to hydrolyze lysophospholipids.
Report of AAPM Task Group 162: Software for planar image quality metrology

PURPOSE The AAPM Task Group 162 aimed to provide a standardized approach for the assessment of image quality in planar imaging systems. This report offers a description of the approach as well as the details of the resultant software bundle to measure detective quantum efficiency (DQE) as well as its basis components and derivatives. METHODS The methodology and the associated software include the characterization of the noise power spectrum (NPS) from planar images acquired under specific acquisition conditions, modulation transfer function (MTF) using an edge test object, the DQE, and effective DQE (eDQE). First, a methodological framework is provided to highlight the theoretical basis of the work. Then, a step-by-step guide is included to assist in proper execution of each component of the code. Lastly, an evaluation of the method is included to validate its accuracy against model-based and experimental data. RESULTS The code was built using a Macintosh OSX operating system. The software package contains all the source codes to permit an experienced user to build the suite on a Linux or other *nix type system. The package further includes manuals and sample images and scripts to demonstrate use of the software for new users. The results of the code are in close alignment with theoretical expectations and published results of experimental data. CONCLUSIONS The methodology and the software package offered in AAPM TG162 can be used as baseline for characterization of inherent image quality attributes of planar imaging systems.
CONNECTION BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION INTO ROMANIAN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZE ENTERPRISES

The goal of this paper is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurship- innovation - performances in SMEs based on a research conducted into Romanian small businesses. A total of 800 SMEs supply the data for the study. The results indicate a direct relationship between these three concepts. Innovation is directly related to performance and mediates in the entrepreneurship-performance link. These connections don’t differ between SMEs, thus size is not a key factor in explaining the contributions of entrepreneurship to innovation and performance of SMEs. The study's sample is limited to IT&C SMEs in Romania. Whilst the objectives of the study were met, we consider that more studies are needed in order to compare SMEs in other sectors of economy and on different contexts. The study emphasize the importance of entrepreneurship to innovation and performance in SMEs.
Fundamental frequency of phonation and perceived emotional stress.

Nonlinguistic information about the speaker's emotional state is conveyed in spoken utterances by means of several acoustic characteristics and listeners can often reliably identify such information. In this study we investigated the effect of short- and long-term F0 measures on perceived emotional stress using stimuli synthesized with the LPC coefficients of a steady vowel and varying F0 tracks. The original F0 tracks were taken from naturally occurring speech in highly stressful (contingent on terror) and nonstressful conditions. Stimuli with more jitter were rated as sounding more hoarse but not more stressed, i.e., a demonstrably perceptible amount of jitter did not seem to play a role in perceived emotional stress. Reversing the temporal pattern of F0 did not affect the stress ratings, suggesting that the directionality of variations in F0 does not convey emotional stress information. Mean and maximum F0 within an utterance correlated highly with stress ratings, but the range of F0 did not correlate significantly with the stress ratings, especially after the effect of maximum F0 was removed in stepwise regression. It is concluded that the range of F0 per se does not contribute to the perception of emotional stress, whereas maximum F0 constitutes the primary indicator. The observed effects held across several voices that were found to sound natural (three male voices and one of two female ones). An effect of the formant frequencies was also observed in the stimuli with the lowest F0; it is hypothesized that formant frequency structure dominated the F0 effect in the one voice that gave discrepant results.
The Natural History of Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis: 45-Year Follow-up Evaluation

Study Design. A prospective study of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis was initiated in 1955 with a radiographic and clinical study of 500 first-grade children. Objective. To determine the natural history of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis. Summary of Background Data. Most studies on the natural history of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis are based on patient populations presenting with pain. Critical to any natural history investigation is the study of a population of affected individuals, whether symptomatic or not, from onset of the condition through their lives. Methods. By study of a population from the age of 6 years to adulthood, 30 individuals were identified to have pars lesions. Data collection at a 45-year follow-up assessment included magnetic resonance imaging, a back pain questionnaire, and the SF-36 Survey. Results. No subject with a pars defect was lost to follow-up evaluation once a lesion was identified. Subjects with unilateral defects never experienced slippage over the course of the study. Progression of spondylolisthesis slowed with each decade. There was no association of slip progression and low back pain. There was no statistically significant difference between the study population SF-36 scores and those of the general population the same age. Conclusions. This report is the only prospective study to document the natural history of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis from onset through more than 45 years of life in a population unselected for pain. Subjects with pars defects follow a clinical course similar to that of the general population. There appears to be a marked slowing of slip progression with each decade, and no subject has reached a 40% slip.
[Anesthesia with remifentanil combined with desflurane or sevoflurane in lumbar intervertebral disk operations].

Recovery characteristics, haemodynamic profile, analgesic requirement and costs were evaluated and compared in patients undergoing elective lumbar discectomy with remifentanil-based anaesthesia using either desflurane or sevoflurane as the volatile anaesthetic agent. Sixty-two patients (ASA I/II status) were randomly assigned to receive either desflurane and remifentanil or sevoflurane and remifentanil (in oxygen/air) for anaesthesia. After induction with 0.5 microgram/kg/min remifentanil, 4 to 5 mg/kg thiopentone and 0.5 mg/kg atracurium, the patients received 0.25 microgram/kg/min remifentanil and 0.5 +/- 0.05 MAC of one of the volatile anaesthetic agents for further maintenance of anaesthesia. At the end of surgery, early emergence from anaesthesia was recorded by assessing the time to sufficient spontaneous respiration, eye opening and tracheal extubation. The total demand of piritramide in the postoperative period was determined using patient-controlled analgesia (PCA device). Quality of pain therapy was assessed via a verbal ranking scale (VRS). Side-effects such as postoperative nausea, vomiting or shivering were recorded in the postanaesthetic care unit. In both groups, the haemodynamic profile was nearly identical. Mean arterial pressure (-18%) and heart rate (-23%) were significantly reduced throughout anaesthesia in both groups. All recovery parameters were significantly shorter in the desflurane group in comparison with the sevoflurane group (e.g. time to tracheal extubation: 8.5 +/- 3.0 min vs. 11.9 +/- 4.6 min). No significant differences between the groups were observed concerning the amount of piritramide required, side-effects such as nausea and vomiting or the total cost of anaesthesia. In conclusion, both anaesthetic techniques provide adequate haemodynamic stability and postoperative pain control in a surgical procedure with minimal trauma. Incidence and severity of side-effects such as nausea, vomiting or shivering did not differ between the groups and were acceptable under clinical conditions. Costs for desflurane were significantly higher than those for sevoflurane, but total costs were not different between the groups. Concerning recovery profile, desflurane/remifentanil seems to have small advantages over sevoflurane/remifentanil in patients undergoing lumbar vertebral disc resection.
Plasma Cell Leukemia Occurring in a Patient with Thrombocythemia Treated with Hydroxyurea and Busulphan

Plasma cell leukemia (PCL) is a rare aggressive lymphoproliferative disease with a short median survival and a very poor prognosis. We report the case of a 63-year-old man who developed a PCL after 5 years of chemotherapy with hydroxyurea and busulphan for Essential thrombocythemia (ET). The karyotype showed a deletion of chromosome 7 and the plasma cells cytofluorimetric examination revealed a high expression of Multidrug Resistance related P-glycoprotein (PGP). After the second cycle of VAD chemotherapy the patient had a severe pneumonia and died with refractory PCL. This is a rare example of the coexistence of a chronic myeloproliferative and lymphoproliferative diseases in the same patient, and to the best of our knowledge, the first reported in the literature involving PCL and ET. Moreover, this case shows the possibility of secondary malignancies developing in patients treated with busulphan and hydroxyurea for chronic myeloproliferative disorders.
Essays on consumer choices relevant to climate change : stated preference evidence from Germany

One of the major challenges that our world faces today and in the future is humaninduced climate change. The primary cause of global warming, leading to climate change, is the burning of fossil fuels for energy and transport, which increases the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Energy efficiency and renewable energy sources are considered by many as the proverbial “silver bullet” to avoid the worst climate change scenarios. However, the support for and success of any effort to improve energy efficiency and expand renewable energies strongly depends on preferences and choices of consumers. In four distinct but related essays, the present doctoral thesis examines consumer preferences for alternative-fuel vehicles and building energy retrofits. It makes use of data from two dedicated Germany-wide surveys, one of car buyers and the other of house owners. Each of these surveys included a discrete choice experiment, where respondents were faced with hypothetical choice situations. The car buyers were asked to select the car they preferred most from sets of seven vehicles with different fuel types. The house owners, on the other hand, first selected their preferred retrofit alternative from binary choice sets and then indicated whether they would actually undertake the selected retrofit activity if it were on the market. Similar choice experiments have been used before in transportation and energy research. But in contrast to previous studies, this work includes a wider range of alternative fuels and explicitly considers environmental benefits of energy retrofits. Based on the choice data, barriers to the widespread adoption of alternativefuel vehicles and building energy retrofits are identified, and it is examined to what extent environmental aspects influence consumer choice behavior in Germany. The doctoral thesis confirms existing evidence on the impact of fuel availability on demand for alternative-fuel vehicles, primarily coming from North America, in the