Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reforms, Finance, and Current Accounts

We analyze the implications of labor market reforms for an open economy’s human capital investment and future production. A stylized model shows that labor market deregulation can imply more positive current account balances if financial markets are imperfect and labor market institutions not only distort labor allocation, but also smooth income. Empirically, in OECD country-level panel data, we find that labor market deregulation has been positively related to current account surpluses on average and more strongly so when and where financial market access was more limited. These results are robust to inclusion of standard determinants of current account imbalances, and do not appear to be driven by cyclical phenomena.
Brightness Matching, Brightness Cancellation, and Increment Threshold in the Ehrenstein Illusion

Matching and cancellation techniques were used to measure the relative strength of the Ehrenstein illusion in dark figures on a light background (negative contrast) and light figures on a dark background (positive contrast). Brightness enhancement on the former was shown to be maximally 0.28 log unit (relative to the detection threshold), and darkness enhancement on the latter 0.43 log unit. Values differed little with figure–ground contrast (down to a minimum of ±0.5), but decreased with decreasing level of illumination. The luminance increment (decrement) needed to match the illusory brightness (darkness) was similar in size to the luminance decrement (increment) needed to cancel the illusion. The increment threshold for a small test flash measured in three locations relative to the subjective contour delineating the illusion did not differ systematically. The results are compatible with a neurophysiological explanation of the Ehrenstein illusion in terms of line-induced lateral interaction in hypercomplex receptive fields.
Eficácia de endectocidas em infestações naturais por Cochliomyia hominivorax (Mosca-varejeira) em bezerros no Pantanal

Todos os endectocidas injetaveis testados reduzem significativamente a ocorrencia de miiases umbilicais. Entretanto, por sua maior eficacia, o uso de produtos a base de doramectina e recomendavel no manejo extensivo de bezerros recem-nascidos no Pantanal.
Team Boundary Issues Across Multiple Global Firms

Numerous methodological issues arise when studying teams that span multiple boundaries. The main purpose of this paper is to raise awareness about the challenges of conducting field research on teams in global firms. Based on field research across multiple firms (software development, product development, financial services, and high technology), we outline five types of boundaries that we encountered in our field research (geographical, functional, temporal, identity, and organizational)and discuss methodological issues in distinguishing the effects of one boundary where multiple boundaries exist. We suggest that it is important to: (1) appropriately measure the boundary of interest to the study, (2) assess and control for other influential boundaries within and across teams, and (3)distinguish the effects of each boundary on each team outcome of interest. Only through careful attention to methodology can we properly assess the effects of team boundaries and appreciate their research and practical implications for designing and using information systems to support collaborative work.
A composite scheme for text-independent speaker recognition

This work addresses the development of a reliable, high accuracy text-independent speaker recognition system for a small population, with the reference parameters characterizing each speaker obtained from short segments of speech. Initially the potential for speaker discrimination of several different vocal parameter sets was investigated. These included the LPC, Reflection, Cepstrum and Log Area Ratio coefficients, speech power spectrum parameters and the inverse filter spectral coefficients. It was then decided to use any two parameter sets in a composite decision-making scheme. A "repeat feature" was incorporated into the speaker recognition system, whereby a speaker was asked to read a fresh test speech segment if the decisions made by using the two different parameter sets individually were not coincident. Test results indicate that a significant improvement in accuracy is realizable.
Continuous activation of PpIX by daylight is as effective as and less painful than conventional photodynamic therapy for actinic keratoses; a randomized, controlled, single‐blinded study

Background Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a highly effective treatment for actinic keratoses (AK); however, it is time consuming and often painful for the patient. Daylight‐PDT would make the treatment independent of the clinic and less painful due to the continuous activation of small amounts of porphyrins during its formation.
A conflict of strategies: Medicaid managed care and Medicaid maximization.

OBJECTIVE To examine the influence of state strategies aimed at increasing federal Medicaid matching dollars on the design of states' Medicaid managed care programs. STUDY DESIGN Data obtained from the 1996-1997 case studies of 13 states to examine how states have adapted the design of their Medicaid managed care programs in part because of maximization strategies, to accommodate the many roles and responsibilities that Medicaid has assumed over the years. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Our study showed that as states made the shift to managed care, some found that the responsibilities undertaken in part through maximization strategies proved to be in conflict with their Medicaid managed care initiatives. Among other things, the study revealed that most states included provisions that preserved the health care safety net, such as adapting the managed care benefit package and promoting the participation of safety net providers in managed care programs. In addition, most of the study states continued to pay special subsidies to safety net providers, including hospitals and clinics. CONCLUSIONS States have made real progress in moving a large number of Medicaid beneficiaries into managed care. At the same time, many states have specially crafted their managed care programs to accommodate safety net providers and existing funding mechanisms. By making these adaptations states, in the long run, may compromise the central goals of managed care: controlling costs and improving Medicaid beneficiaries' access to and quality of care.
Supply with Cognitive Behavior Therapy as First-Line Treatment in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

a Schoen Klinik Roseneck, Prien am Chiemsee, Germany; b Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; c Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany; d Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; e Psychotherapy Private Practice, Münster, Germany; f Schoen Klinik Bad Bramstedt, Bad Bramstedt, Germany; g Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; h Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Deep Convolutional Neural Network for Age Estimation based on VGG-Face Model

Automatic age estimation from real-world and unconstrained face images is rapidly gaining importance. In our proposed work, a deep CNN model that was trained on a database for face recognition task is used to estimate the age information on the Adience database. This paper has three significant contributions in this field. (1) This work proves that a CNN model, which was trained for face recognition task, can be utilized for age estimation to improve performance; (2) Over fitting problem can be overcome by employing a pretrained CNN on a large database for face recognition task; (3) Not only the number of training images and the number subjects in a training database effect the performance of the age estimation model, but also the pre-training task of the employed CNN determines the performance of the model.
Influence of stricture dilation and repeat brushing on the cancer detection rate of brush cytology in the evaluation of malignant biliary obstruction.

BACKGROUND The sensitivity for cancer detection of brush cytology at ERCP is relatively low. Manipulation of the stricture and repeated tissue sampling may increase the yield. This study compared the cancer detection rate of brush cytology before and after biliary stricture dilation. METHODS In patients with a biliary stricture at ERCP of suspected malignant origin, the stricture was sampled with a cytology brush and then dilated with either a graduated dilating catheter or a dilating balloon (4-8 mm). Brushing was then repeated in all patients. Specimens were interpreted as normal, atypical (benign), highly atypical (suspicious for cancer), and malignant. Final diagnoses were based on cytology plus surgery, EUS, percutaneous biopsy, autopsy, or clinical follow-up. RESULTS A total of 139 patients with suspected malignant obstructive jaundice underwent 143 ERCPs (116 ultimately found to have malignant obstruction, and 27 benign disease). Dilation was performed with a catheter in 68 cases, balloon in 73, and both in 2. Brush cytology had a sensitivity of 34.5% (40/116) before dilation and 31% (36/116) after dilation (p = NS). However, sensitivity with predilation and postdilation brushing specimens combined was 44% (51/116), which was higher than that for either the predilation or postdilation brush cytology (p = 0.001). Cancer detection rates were 34.7% (17/49) after dilation with the catheter and 27.7% (18/65) after balloon dilation (p = NS). CONCLUSIONS Stricture dilation does not improve the sensitivity of brush cytology for the detection of cancer, which remains relatively low. However, repeat brushing increases the diagnostic yield and should be performed when sampling biliary strictures with a cytology brush at ERCP.
T‐helper 1 and T‐helper 2 adjuvants induce distinct differences in the magnitude, quality and kinetics of the early inflammatory response at the site of injection

Vaccine adjuvants activate the innate immune system and thus influence subsequent adaptive T‐cell responses. However, little is known about the initial immune mechanisms preceding the adjuvant‐induced differentiation of T‐helper (Th) cells. The effect of a T‐helper 1 (Th1) adjuvant, dimethyldioctadecylammonium liposomes with monophosphoryl lipid‐A (DDA/MPL), and a T‐helper 2 adjuvant, aluminium hydroxide [Al(OH)3], on early, innate chemotactic signals and inflammatory cell influx at the site of injection was therefore investigated. Injection of the adjuvants into the peritoneal cavity of mice demonstrated distinct differences in the magnitude, quality and kinetics of the response. The inflammatory response to DDA/MPL was prominent, inducing high local levels of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and a pronounced inflammatory exudate consisting of neutrophils, monocytes/macrophages and activated natural killer cells. This was in contrast to the response induced by Al(OH)3, which, although sharing some of the early chemokine signals, was more moderate and consisted almost exclusively of neutrophils and eosinophils. Notably, Al(OH)3 specifically induced the release of a significant amount of interleukin (IL)‐5, whereas DDA/MPL induced high amounts of tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), IL‐1α and IL‐6. Finally, a microarray analysis confirmed that the effect of DDA/MPL was broader with more than five times as many genes being specifically up‐regulated after injection of DDA/MPL compared with Al(OH)3. Thus, the adjuvants induced qualitatively distinct local inflammatory signals early after injection.
Effect of high volume epidural morphine, ketamine and butorphanol on halothane minimum alveolar concentration in ponies.

This study determined the effects of epidurally administered morphine, ketamine and butorphanol on halothane minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) in ponies. Seven ponies were anaesthetised with thiopentone and succinylcholine, intubated and anaesthesia maintained with halothane. Ventilation was controlled and blood pressure was maintained within normal limits. Following the determination of baseline halothane MAC for the pelvic and thoracic limbs the ponies were given morphine (0.1 mg/kg bwt), ketamine (0.8 or 1.2 mg/kg bwt), butorphanol (0.05 mg/kg bwt) or saline, epidurally, to a final volume of 0.15 ml/kg bwt. The halothane MAC for the pelvic and thoracic limbs was redetermined following each treatment. The baseline halothane MAC for the control group was mean +/- s.e. 0.85 +/- 0.02% and no significant change occurred after saline administration. Morphine significantly (P = 0.002) decreased MAC from, mean +/- s.e. 0.90 +/- 0.05% to 0.77 +/- 0.06% in the pelvic limb. Ketamine significantly decreased MAC in the pelvic limb from mean +/- s.e. 0.86 +/- 0.06% to 0.71 +/- 0.04%, and 0.82 +/- 0.03% to 0.71 +/- 0.02%, for the low (P = 0.008) and high dose (P = 0.001), respectively. No significant change in MAC occurred following butorphanol. No treatment reduced halothane MAC for the thoracic limb.
Major histocompatability complex class I expression and glial reaction influence spinal motoneuron synaptic plasticity during the course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Recent studies have shown that major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) expression directly influences the stability of nerve terminals. Also, the acute phase of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) has shown a significant impact on inputs within the spinal cord. Therefore, the present work investigated the synaptic covering of motoneurons during the induction phase of disease and progressive remissions of EAE. EAE was induced in C57BL/6J mice, which were divided into four groups: normal, peak disease, first remission, and second remission. The animals were killed and their lumbar spinal cords processed for in situ hybridization (IH), immunohistochemistry, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicated an increase in glial reaction during the peak disease. During this period, the TEM analysis showed a reduction in the synaptic covering of the motoneurons, corresponding to a reduction in synaptophysin immunolabeling and an increase in the MHC I expression. The IH analysis reinforced the immunolabeling results, revealing an increased expression of MHC I mRNA by motoneurons and nonneuronal cells during the peak disease and first remission. The results observed in both remission groups indicated a return of the terminals to make contact with the motoneuron surface. The ratio between excitatory and inhibitory inputs increased, indicating the potential for development of an excitotoxic process. In conclusion, the results presented here indicate that MHC I up‐regulation during the course of EAE correlates with the periods of synaptic plasticity induced by the infiltration of autoreactive immune cells and that synaptic plasticity decreases after recurrent peaks of inflammation. J. Comp. Neurol. 518:990–1007, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Electronic Data Interchange in medical care: an evaluation study.

This paper describes the evaluation of the first phase of the Communication Project Apeldoorn (COPA). The aim of COPA was to investigate the contribution of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to quality of care and practice efficiency. In this project over 33 general practitioners (GPs), 12 pharmacists and two hospitals (with one management) participated. In order to limit the number of variables for the evaluation study a limited number of messages was implemented: free-text messages between GPs; admission/discharge reports from hospitals to GPs, laboratory test reports from hospital to GP. The goal of the evaluation of the first phase of the project was to study message flow, the effect of integration with the Electronic Medical Record and the use of those data for patient care. In order to compare the use of EDI with the original situation (i.e. regular mail) a baseline study was performed. In this study the procedure for handling laboratory test reports and admission/discharge reports was also investigated. The results of the baseline study were compared with the evaluation of the use of EDI.
Extraction of the Interface State Density of Top-Gate Graphene Field-Effect Transistors

Novel electrical measurement method, discharge current analysis (DCA), is introduced to extract the density and energy distribution of charge traps at the dielectric interface of top-gate graphene field-effect transistors. Using DCA method, the highest charge trap density ~1013 (cm-2 · eV-1) is extracted at Fermi level ~0.4 eV. This is the first quantitative estimation of trap density at a specific Fermi level of graphene.
Oesophageal squamous cell cancer in a South African tertiary hospital: a risk factor and presentation analysis.

BACKGROUND Squamous carcinoma of the oesophagus (SCO) is the most common form of oesophageal cancer in South Africa (SA). Risk factors include male gender, smoking, alcohol consumption and low socio-economic status (SES). This study assessed the risk factors for SCO in KwaZulu-Natal. METHOD Information on patients managed at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital (IALCH), Durban, South Africa, between 1 October 2013 and 31 December 2014 was retrieved from a prospective database of Oesophageal Cancer (OC). Data collected included demographics, risk factors, symptoms and clinical findings. RESULTS One hundred and fifty-nine patients (159) with SCO were identified. The site of tumour location was in the middle 96 (60.4%), distal 42(26.4%) and proximal 17(10.6%) oesophagus. The male to female ratio was 1:1 with an age range of 22-93 years (mean 60.6; SD±12.1). Females were significantly older than males (p = 0.018). Eighty-eight per cent were Black African. Dysphagia was reported in 158 (99.4%) of patients and loss of weight in 149(95.5%). Thirty-six patients were HIV positive (age 52.8; SD±9.7) and significantly younger than those without HIV infection (age 61.2; SD±11.5). Most patients had low SES and poor dental health. Male patients were significantly more likely to use tobacco (p < 0.001; Odds Ratio (OR) 7.8) and consume alcohol (p < 0.001; OR 7.7) than females who were 2.5 times more likely to report a family history of cancer (p = 0.017; OR 2.6). CONCLUSION An equal gender distribution was observed. Male patients with SCO reported the expected risk factors; however these were not observed amongst women. SES may contribute to the development of SCO. Poor dental health may be a surrogate marker for low SES and a possible risk factor for SCO. HIV positive individuals present a decade younger when compared with HIV negative patients.
LONG-TERM USERS OF PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS: EMBODYING MASCULINIZED STRESS AND FEMINIZED NERVES

This article examines long-term users of psychotropic drugs (43 men and 57 women) and their views on women's and men's reasons for using these drugs. The data came from written statements (N = 56) given on open-ended questions from a survey of users and from taped interviews with 10 respondents. Men's accounts expressed a notion of men as experiencing external pressures which created “masculinized stress. ” On the one hand, this stress could be handled with alcohol, while, on the other hand, the use of psychotropic drugs indicated a loss of men's assumed self-regulatory power and autonomy. Women related the reasons for their psychotropic drug use to their experience of emotional labor. Nevertheless, they did not tend to identify the psychological consequences of their experience as related to work. Rather, they labelled these as health consequences – women being more “emotional” than men and suffering from “nerves. ” These lay accounts reflect the representations of gender-specific psychological distinctions and the effort to construct gender-specific etiologies. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue. ]
Log-opponent chromaticity coding of colour space

The distribution of colours in an image often provides a useful cue for image indexing and object recognition. However, two problems are reported in the literature: firstly, colour distributions are dependent on the illumination colour, and secondly, that colour distributions represented as histograms are large in size thus limiting the scale of the database that might reasonably be indexed. Both of these problems have been separately addressed in the literature. But, the derived solutions are not compatible with one another. We look at both problems together and at the same time we develop a parsimonious representation which consists of distinct illuminant dependent and independent parts. Our representation is based on a log-opponent chromaticity representation. By using chromaticities we avoid the problem of brightness indeterminancy. Opponency gives a perceptually relevant and efficient coding. Finally, the use of logarithms renders illuminant change simple to model: as the illumination changes, so the distribution of log-opponent chromaticities undergo a simple translation. We code log-opponent chromaticity distributions by the distribution mean and the lowest k statistical moments. We show that only the mean in this expansion depends on illumination. Experiments show two important results-indexing using both mean and as few as 8 moments delivers near perfect indexing for an illuminant colour corrected database, while indexing without the mean delivers near perfect indexing for Funt et al's illuminant dependent images.
Current trends in endotoxin detection and analysis of endotoxin–protein interactions

Abstract Endotoxin is a type of pyrogen that can be found in Gram-negative bacteria. Endotoxin can form a stable interaction with other biomolecules thus making its removal difficult especially during the production of biopharmaceutical drugs. The prevention of endotoxins from contaminating biopharmaceutical products is paramount as endotoxin contamination, even in small quantities, can result in fever, inflammation, sepsis, tissue damage and even lead to death. Highly sensitive and accurate detection of endotoxins are keys in the development of biopharmaceutical products derived from Gram-negative bacteria. It will facilitate the study of the intermolecular interaction of an endotoxin with other biomolecules, hence the selection of appropriate endotoxin removal strategies. Currently, most researchers rely on the conventional LAL-based endotoxin detection method. However, new methods have been and are being developed to overcome the problems associated with the LAL-based method. This review paper highlights the current research trends in endotoxin detection from conventional methods to newly developed biosensors. Additionally, it also provides an overview of the use of electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and docking programs in the endotoxin–protein analysis.
Base tilt of poly[d(A)]–poly[d(T)] and poly[d(AT)]–poly[d(AT)] in solution determined by linear dichroism

We have measured the CD, isotropic absorption, and LD of poly[d(A)]–poly[d(T)] and poly[d(AT)]–poly[d(AT)] in the vacuum‐uv spectral region. The reduced dichroism (LD divided by isotropic absorption) varied as a function of wavelength and was independent of shear gradient. Thus, the bases are not perpendicular to the helix axis in solution. Since the directions of the transition dipoles are known, the orientations of the bases in the polymers can be calculated from the reduced dichroism spectra. The results show that the base normals are tilted at angles greater than 25°, with respect to the helix axis, and thymine is tilted more than adenine for both polymers. The tilt axes of adenine and thymine are not parallel, indicating a large propeller twist. Space‐filling models of poly[d(A)]–poly[d(T)] and poly[(AT)]–poly[d(AT)] are built based on our results, and the conformations of the two (A + T) polymers in solution are discussed.