Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Examination Of The Consistency Of Risk Differentials Between Historical Measures Of Risk And The Risk Implied By Economic Value Added

The corporate world is continually striving to identify an effective means of evaluating management performance. Corporate concern over this issue stems from both the perspective of managerial compensation and maximizing shareholder value. Some companies have used such measures as returns on assets, equity, or investment. Some have relied on other measures like inventory management, trade credit management, or cash management. The common ground shared by these measures is that they rely on accounting measures of firm activity. The weakness of using such means to measure firm performance is that they are driven by a rule-based system, and anyone with sufficient understanding of the rules can manipulate the information to present the picture of the firm’s performance in a way that may not track with the reality of the firm’s performance. This does not suggest that managers will engage in such numerical fiddle-dee-dee; rather, it suggests that the opportunity to do so exists, and must somehow be incorporated into the shareholder’s interpretation of the reported performance. This situation leaves firms in the position of needing a better performance measure by which to evaluate the work of its management. One alternative performance measure offered to meet this need was introduced in the early 1980's by Stern Stewart and Company and is known as Economic Value Added or EVA®. (Ehrbar, 1998) The basic premise underlying EVA is an effort to encourage managers and other employees to think and act as entrepreneurs rather than employees.
Balancing Parenthood and Academia

The present research investigated the influence of gender and tenure status in academicians’ experiences of balancing parenthood and an academic career. Men (n = 85) and women (n = 179) employed full-time in tenure-track academic positions with at least one child younger than the age of 16 responded via the Internet to a 36-item questionnaire assessing experiences and perceptions regarding work and family demands. Results revealed group differences based on gender but no differences based on tenure status alone and no significant interactions between gender and tenure status. Women reported greater academic and family stress and perceptions of less institutional support for balance of work and family as compared to men. Results are discussed in terms of the rational and role demand models of work/family stress.
Line roughness estimation and Poisson denoising in scanning electron microscope images using deep learning

Abstract. We propose the use of deep supervised learning for the estimation of line edge roughness (LER) and line width roughness (LWR) in low-dose scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. We simulate a supervised learning dataset of 100,800 SEM rough line images constructed by means of the Thorsos method and the ARTIMAGEN library developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. We also devise two separate deep convolutional neural networks called SEMNet and EDGENet, each of which has 17 convolutional layers, 16 batch normalization layers, and 16 dropout layers. SEMNet performs the Poisson denoising of SEM images, and it is trained with a dataset of simulated noisy-original SEM image pairs. EDGENet directly estimates the edge geometries from noisy SEM images, and it is trained with a dataset of simulated noisy SEM image-edge array pairs. SEMNet achieved considerable improvements in peak signal-to-noise ratio as well as the best LER/LWR estimation accuracy compared with standard image denoisers. EDGENet offers excellent LER and LWR estimation as well as roughness spectrum estimation.
Depression and Osteoporosis: A Research Synthesis with Meta-Analysis

Major depressive disorder has been associated with low bone mineral density. The strength of this association, however, varies greatly among studies; the direction of the causative link is still controversial, and the etiology remains unclear. We aimed to confirm this association, assess its magnitude and estimate its clinical relevancy. A total of 535 articles were initially identified and the research synthesis was based on 33 qualified articles. Of these, 25 articles (or 76%) showed an inverse relationship between major depression or minor depression or depressive symptoms and bone mineral density or bone turnover. Meta-analysis could be performed on 20 of the initially selected 33 articles. Standardized weighted differences in mean AP spine, total femur and femoral neck bone mineral density, each from at least 10 studies, were computed in g/cm (2) and transformed into percent differences. At each site, bone mass was lower in subjects with depression as compared to controls: AP spine bone mineral density was 4.73% lower (95% CI -7.28% to -2.19%, p<0.0001; n=16 studies), total femur bone mineral density was 3.53% lower (95% CI -5.66% to -1.41%, p<0.001; n=13 studies), and femoral neck bone mineral density was 7.32% lower (95% CI -10.67% to -3.96%; p<0.0005; n=8 studies). In conclusion, major depressive disorder was associated with lower bone mineral density at the AP spine, femoral neck, and total femur. The deficits in bone mineral density in subjects with depression are of clinical significance and likely to increase fracture risk over the lifetime of these subjects.
Business Legitimacy and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Russian Context

Large and medium companies have failed to acquire legitimacy and respectability within the vast strata of the society in Russia. This resulting crisis of confidence may have serious consequences, including increasing intervention by the state. The study, which is based on the survey of 129 firms in Russia, seeks to establish, first, whether the attitude towards and understanding of CSR by Russian managers was similar to that of their western counterparts, and second, to find out if the conditions of low generalized trust would stimulate Russian firms to develop CSR as a means of increasing their legitimacy with the stakeholders as is suggested in literature. Our survey provides evidence of a discrepancy between attitudes predicted by theory and those revealed by managers. This leads us to consider a range of economic, social and political factors in the search for an explanation for the discrepancy.
Prophylactic sustained inflation is just one step to preventing bronchopulmonary dysplasia

I am glad to see that the Sustained Lung Inflation (SLI) trial (1) still draws a great deal of attention and I would like to clarify some aspects of the trial, in response to the comments by Gupta and Argarwal (2) in Acta Paediatrica. A meta-analysis carried out in 2016 demonstrated that starting non-invasive respiratory support from birth could reduce the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and death. However, about 50% of very low birth weight infants who are initially on nasal continuous positive airway pressure need subsequent intubation and mechanical ventilation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Prevalence and clinical features of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders in northern Japan

Objective: To clarify the prevalence and clinical characteristics of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) in Japan and compare them with those in other ethnic populations. Methods: Data processing sheets were sent to all related institutions in northern Japan and were collected from April to May 2016. Prevalence was determined on March 31, 2016, using the 2015 International Panel for NMO Diagnosis criteria. Results: The crude prevalence was 4.1/100,000 (95% confidence interval 2.2–6.9) for NMOSD in northern Japan, with a significantly higher number of female than male patients (female: male 12:2). The positivity for anti-aquaporin-4 antibody was 78.6%, and the mean age at onset was 45.2 years. All patients were subjected to preventive therapy in the form of treatment with steroids or immunosuppressive agents. Conclusions: Our results showed that the prevalence of NMOSD in the Japanese population is similar to that in Caucasians.
Serum KL-6 and surfactant protein-D as monitoring and predictive markers of interstitial lung disease in patients with systemic sclerosis and mixed connective tissue disease.

BACKGROUND Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is frequent complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). The disease is heterogeneous, and its outcome is unpredictable. Some patients have severe and progressive deterioration of ILD, which is the leading cause of mortality. We aimed to determine whether serum levels of Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) and surfactant protein-D (SP-D) correlate with SSc/MCTD-associated ILD activity. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 40 patients with SSc/MCTD-associated ILD: 29 patients with SSc and 11 patients with MCTD. Measurement of serum KL-6 and SP-D levels, pulmonary function tests, and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) performed in parallel were reviewed. RESULTS Serum KL-6 correlated positively with diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) (% predicted) and disease extent on HRCT, and the changes in serum levels of KL-6 were significantly related to the changes in forced vital capacity (FVC) in SSc/MCTD-associated ILD. On the other hand, multivariate logistic regression analyses with calculation of the area under the curve of the receiver-operating characteristic curve suggested that a higher serum level of SP-D was a significant predictor of FVC decline in SSc/MCTD-associated ILD. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that serum KL-6 can be a useful monitoring tool of SSc/MCTD-associated ILD activity. In contrast, serum SP-D may be a significant predictor of potential FVC decline in the short term.
Reflections on the Blum Experiment

THE problem discussed in this article is very simple: why has France had nothing worth calling an economic recovery since 1930 ? Why is she the only country to have passed from one period of depression into another without enjoying aninterval of prosperity in the meantime ? I shall not carry the analysis beyond the time when the world economy itself began to decline anew. There is nothing surprising in the downward trend of the French economy since the winter of 1937-1938. What does require explanation is the stagnation of her industry and trade during 1936 and 1937. For reasons which will become clear as we proceed, I shall divide the period under discussion into four subperiods: (I) from July, 1935 (the final attempt by the Laval Government to carry out a policy of deflation) to June, 1936 (formation of the Blum Government); (2) from June, 1936 to September, I936 (first devaluation of the franc); (3) from September, 1936 to March, 1937 (general enforcement of the forty-hour week Law); (4) from March, 1937 to the autumn of I937 (beginning of the recent decline in world economic activity). The economic history of these two years clearly cannot be fully discussed in a few pages. My aim is simply to point out its most important features, giving only a brief mention to those which are well-known and undisputed but considering more fully those points which are controversial. In particular, I want to show why the attempts made to restore prosperity during this period proved futile and to refute the view, very widely held, that the Blum experiment failed because its authors, owing to their reluctance to discard orthodox formulas, were not sufficiently bold.
Clinical and Neuropathological Findings in Lewy Body Dementias

We compared clinical features in three groups of pathologically defined patients evaluated for dementia during life: (i) Alzheimer's disease (AD); (ii) Lewy body variant of Alzheimer's Disease (LBV), with Lewy bodies (LB) and AD; (iii) diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD), with LB alone. All three groups had similar initial cognitive symptoms. LBV and DLBD had Parkinsonian signs, though resting tremor was extremely rare. Delusions and hallucinations were relatively more frequent in LBV and DLBD than in AD. On neuropsychological testing, the LBV group had relatively greater impairment than AD on visuospatial and executive tests. LB therefore contribute to the clinical picture of dementia.
The Cost Effectiveness of Individual and Family Therapy for Schizophrenia in Managed Care

The Cost Effectiveness of Individual and Family Therapy for Schizophrenia in Managed Care Fu Fan Chiang School of Family Life, BYU Master of Science Much research has explored the cost effectiveness of psychotherapy for schizophrenia. However, to date, no studies have investigated the cost effectiveness of family and individual therapy for schizophrenia in the “real world” of managed care. The purpose of the present study is to compare the cost effectiveness of individual and family therapy for schizophrenia in one leading Health Care Insurer: CIGNA. Six years of outpatient data (2001–2006) and more than 2,100 unique schizophrenic outpatients are included. Research questions in this study concern the total treatment costs, the cost effectiveness, recidivism rates and the dropout rates of individual and family outpatient therapy. The findings show that family therapy is a more cost effective treatment than individual therapy by having lower total treatment costs and recidivism rates. However, family therapy has higher dropout rates than individual therapy.
Prognosis following locally recurrent soft‐tissue sarcoma. A staging system based on primary and recurrent tumour characteristics

We have shown that the clinical growth rate of local recurrence from soft‐tissue sarcoma could be expressed as a growthrate index (GRI) which was predictive for metastasis, and which was able to identify 2 equal populations of good (80% 2‐year MFS) and poor survivors (33%). We now report the associations between characteristics of the primary and GRI, and combine primary and locally recurrent tumour characteristics in a staging system. We studied 460 adult patients with soft‐tissue sarcomas of the extremities and trunk wall who were diagnosed and treated between 1964 and 1990, of whom 134 developed local recurrences and 151 metastases. The association of primary tumour size, histologic malignancy grade, depth, spontaneous necrosis, intratumoral vascular invasion and S‐phase fraction with local recurrence, GRI and metastasis were examined. High GRI was associated with primary tumours that were larger, deeper, more malignant, underwent spontaneous tumour necrosis, demonstrated intravascular invasion and had a higher S‐phase fraction. The same factors were also strongly associated with the incidence of metastasis. A multivariate analysis found GRI and primary tumour necrosis to be the strongest and most significant prognostic factors. GRI and tumour necrosis were combined in a staging system that identified groups with good survival (79 to 94% 2‐year MFS), intermediate survival (61% 2‐year MFS) and exceptionally poor survival (6% 2‐year MFS). These findings validate our earlier assertion that high GRI reflects highly malignant tumours. A staging system composed of primary tumour necrosis and GRI can identify patients who may be suitable candidates for trials of adjuvant chemotherapy. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
COST-UTILITY ANALYSIS OF INTERFERON BETA-1B IN SECONDARY PROGRESSIVE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Objectives: Interferon beta-1b has recently become available for the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). This study aims at estimating the cost-effectiveness of this new treatment that has been shown in a clinical trial to reduce the progression of the disease. Effectiveness is measured as the number of quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained from the reduction in progression. Because the clinical trial period will only capture part of the treatment's effect in terms of QALYs gained, since benefits achieved during the trial will have an effect beyond it, the cost-effectiveness analysis involves modeling over the longer term using complementary data. Methods: A Markov model with states based on disability expressed by EDSS scores was used. Transition probabilities were calculated directly from clinical trial data for the first 3 years and then extrapolated to 10 years. Mean costs and utilities for each Markov state were calculated from a population-based cross-sectional study in Sweden. Results: The incremental cost per QALY is SEK 342,700 (US $39,250;US $1 = SEK 8.73, March 10, 2000) when all costs (direct, informal care, and indirect) are included (discounted 3%). When indirect costs are excluded, the cost per QALY is SEK 542,000 ($62,100). Conclusions: Cost-effectiveness analysis in SPMS requires that the effect of treatment beyond clinical trials be included. Also, analysis should be done from a societal perspective, since many of the costs occur outside the healthcare system. The cost-utility ratios estimated in this analysis are at or below the mean threshold value indicated in a recent survey of health economists ($60,000).
Debt and Risk Preference: A Household Level Analysis

We explore the relationship between risk preference and the level of unsecured debt at the household level within the context of a two period theoretical framework, which predicts that debt is a function of risk aversion. We test the predictions of our theoretical framework for a sample of households drawn from the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the U.S. Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). Using a sequence of questions from the 1996 PSID and the 1989 to 2004 SCF, we construct measures of risk preference allowing us to explore the implications of interpersonal differences in risk preference for the accumulation of unsecured debt at the household level. Our empirical findings, which accord with our theoretical priors, suggest that risk preference is an important determinant of the level of unsecured debt acquired at the household level with risk aversion serving to reduce the level of unsecured debt accumulated by households.
Action Potential Alternans and Irregular Dynamics in Quinidine‐Intoxicated Ventricular Muscle Cells Implications for Ventricular Proarrhythmia

BackgroundCardiac cells display rate-dependent beat-to-beat variations in action-atential duration (APD), action potential amplitude (APA), and excitability during periodic stimulation. We hypothesized that quinidine causes a marked increase in the variability of APD, APA, and excitability of ventricular cells isolated from quinidine-toxic, arrhythmic ventricles. Methods and ResultsAction potentials were recorded from right ventricular endocardial tissues (2× 1 cm, <2 mm thick) isolated from dogs in which ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF) were induced with intravenous quinidine (80-100 mg/kg) over a 5-hour period in vivo (n=7). As the basic cycle length (BCL) of stimulation was progressively shortened, rate-dependent variations in APD and APA occurred. The initial dynamic change was alternans of APD and APA that could be either in or out of phase between two cells. The magnitude of alternans was a function of the BCL and the strength of the stimulation current. At critically short BCLs, irregular APD and APA behavior emerged in the quinidine-intoxicated cells. In control cells (n=16) isolated from three nontreated dogs, APD and APA remained constant at all BCLs tested (2,000-300 msec). Quinidine increased the slope of the APD restitution curve compared with control. The observed quinidine APD restitution curve was fitted with a biexponential equation, and computer simulation using the fitted restitution curve reproduced the aperiodic APD seen in the quinidine toxic cells during periodic stimulation. Thus, the observed irregular APD behavior was predictable from the restitution curve. ConclusionsQuinidine toxicity increases the temporal and spatial variability of APD and APA in the ventricle that may promote the initiation of reentrant VT/VF in vivo. The slope of the APD restitution curve provides a method to quantitate inhomogeneities in repolarization time and could be a useful marker for proarrhythmia.
Evaluation of MODIS-Aqua Atmospheric Correction and Chlorophyll Products of Western North American Coastal Waters Based on 13 Years of Data

There is an increasing need for satellite-derived accurate chlorophyll-a concentration (chla) products to improve fisheries management in coastal regions. However, the methods used to derive these products have to be evaluated, so the associated uncertainties are known. The performance of three atmospheric correction methods, the near infrared (NIR), the shortwave infrared (SWIR), and the Management Unit of the North Seas Mathematical Models with an additional modification (MUMM + SWIR), and derived chla products based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer AQUA (MODIS) images acquired from 2002 to 2014 over the west coast of Canada and the United States were evaluated. The atmospherically corrected products and above-water reflectance were compared with in situ AERONET (N ~ 650) and above-water reflectance (N ~ 34) data, and the Ocean Color 3 MODIS (OC3M)-derived chla were compared with in situ chla measurements (N ~ 82). The statistical analysis indicated that the MUMM + SWIR method was the most appropriate for this region, with relatively good retrievals of the atmospheric products, improved retrieval of remote sensing reflectance with bias lower than 20% for the OC3M bands, and improved retrievals of chla (r = 0.83, slope = 0.89, logRMSE = 0.33 mg m−3 for ±1 h). The poorest chla retrievals were achieved with the SWIR and NIR methods. These results represent the most comprehensive satellite data analysis of MODIS retrievals for this region and provide a framework for the MUMM + SWIR method that can be further tested in other coastal regions of the world.
Successful Renal Retransplantation after Post‐Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease

Post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is a rare but severe complication of renal transplantation. Reduction of immunosuppression is essential for controlling PTLD but may induce graft loss. Retransplantation after PTLD is considered dangerous, because immunosuppressive treatment resumption may trigger hematological relapse. We retrospectively report six patients (five adults, one child) who underwent a second renal transplantation after successfully treated PTLD.