Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Productivity Decomposition with Allocative Efficiency

We propose a novel approach to decomposing aggregate productivity growth into changes in technical efficiency, allocative efficiency, and variety of goods as well as relative efficiency of entrants and exiters. We measure technical efficiency by the aggregate production possibility frontier and allocative efficiency by the distance from the frontier. Applying our approach to establishment- and firm-level datasets from Japan, we find that the allocative efficiency among survivors declined during the banking crisis period. We also find that the technical efficiency declined during the Global Financial Crisis period. Furthermore, we find that both entrants and exiters were likely to be more efficient than survivors.
Gender Dimorphic Response of HIF-1α Expression in Myocardial Ischemia

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) plays a role in a number of cell protective pathways following ischemia. There are clear gender related differences in the remodeling process and hearts from males tend to dilate in response to pathologic loads and ischemia to a greater degree than hearts from females. Thus, we hypothesized that there would be a gender dimorphic response of HIF-1α to an ischemic event. Male and female rats were sacrificed 5 and 24hrs following coronary ligation (M-MI and F-MI) and HIF-1α expression was determined by immunohistochemistry, western blot and quantitative RT-PCR. Sham operated male and female animals served as controls (M-SH and F-SH). In the ischemic area, histochemical analysis at 5hrs showed that HIF was expressed in 33% of cell nuclei in M-MI and in 55% in F-MI. At 24hrs HIF expression increased to 49% in M-MI and 82% in F-MI (p< 0.05 vs SH and also M-MI vs F-MI). This difference was not only statistically significant between genders at 24 hrs but also within gender at 5 and 24 hrs after ligation. Western blots confirmed that at 24 hrs after ischemia HIF protein increased significantly in both male and female hearts relative to sham animals but that the increase in females was 60% greater than that seen in males. mRNA expression of HIF was significantly increased at 24 hrs in the FMI vs M-MI and shams. Expression of downstream HIF target genes (Heme oxygenase and BNP) was increased in proportion to the levels of HIF expression. These data suggest a novel cellular mechanism to explain the gender dimorphic response to ischemia and also the possibility that exogenous modulation of HIF might represent a new therapeutic approach to preventing LV remodeling.
Rod-shape theranostic nanoparticles facilitate antiretroviral drug biodistribution and activity in human immunodeficiency virus susceptible cells and tissues

Human immunodeficiency virus theranostics facilitates the development of long acting (LA) antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) by defining drug-particle cell depots. Optimal drug formulations are made possible based on precise particle composition, structure, shape and size. Through the creation of rod-shaped particles of defined sizes reflective of native LA drugs, theranostic probes can be deployed to measure particle-cell and tissue biodistribution, antiretroviral activities and drug retention. Methods: Herein, we created multimodal rilpivirine (RPV) 177lutetium labeled bismuth sulfide nanorods (177LuBSNRs) then evaluated their structure, morphology, configuration, chemical composition, biological responses and adverse reactions. Particle biodistribution was analyzed by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT/CT) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) imaging. Results: Nanoformulated RPV and BSNRs-RPV particles showed comparable physicochemical and cell biological properties. Drug-particle pharmacokinetics (PK) and biodistribution in lymphoid tissue macrophages proved equivalent, one with the other. Rapid particle uptake and tissue distribution were observed, without adverse reactions, in primary blood-derived and tissue macrophages. The latter was seen within the marginal zones of spleen. Conclusions: These data, taken together, support the use of 177LuBSNRs as theranostic probes as a rapid assessment tool for PK LA ARV measurements.
Evaluation of Web-Based and Counselor-Delivered Feedback Interventions for Mandated CoUege Students

Heavy drinking represents a significant problem on college campuses in the United States, with over 30% of students meeting criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse (Knight et al, 2002). National survey data indicate that 80% to 85% of U.S. college students reported drinking (O'Malley & Johnston, 2002), and 40% to 45% reported a heavy drinking episode at least once in the 2 weeks prior to the survey (Wechsler et al., 2002). Heavy drinking is also associated with multiple social and interpersonal problems such as arguing with friends, engaging in unplanned sexual activity, drinking and driving, getting into trouble with the law, and having academic difficulties (Abbey, 2002; Cooper, 2002; Hingson, Heeren, Zakocs, Kopstein, & Wechsler, 2002; Juhnke, Schroat, Cashwell, & Gmutza, 2003; Perkins, 2002; Vik, Carrello, Täte, & Field, 2000; Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, & Lee, 2000). In addition, heavy episodic drinking is associated with severe consequences such as unintended injuries, assault, and death (Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, 2005). Over the past decade, alcohol prevention programs have been implemented on college campuses in an effort to reduce heavy drinking. Despite these efforts, research examining national drinking trends indicates an increase in binge drinking, driving under the influence of alcohol, and alcoholrelated unintentional injury deaths among college students (Hingson, Zha, & Weitzman, 2009). Although heavy drinking is a problem for college students in general, reviews of the literature have identified mandated students (i.e., students who receive sanctions for violating campus alcohol policies) as a high-risk group for heavy drinking relative to the general
Detection of aster yellows group (subgroup 16SrI-B) phytoplasma in oats based on nested PCR and RFLP in Lithuania

Phytoplasma strains were detected in oats (Avena sativa L.) in Lithuania exhibiting disease symptoms of stunting, sterile, deformed and yellow spikes. A phytoplasmacharacteristic 1.8 kb and 1.2 kb rDNA PCR products were amplified from DNAs of all diseased but not healthy oat plants tested, using phytoplasma universal primer pairs P1/P7 and R16F2n/R16R2 confirming that symptomatic plants were infected by phytoplasma. Phytoplasma was termed oat stunt (OatSt). Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of amplified 16S rDNA indicated that diseased oats were infected by phytoplasma belonging to the group 16SrI (aster yellows, AY, group) and subgroup 16SrI-B. This is the first report of phytoplasma belonging to 16SrI (aster yellows) group and 16SrI-B phytoplasma subgroup identified in oat plants.
Evaluating benthic survey techniques for validating maps of coral reefs derived from remotely sensed images

Field validation of maps derived from airborne or satellite imagery is essential to enable their use for monitoring and managing coral reef habitats. Methods of benthic survey in coral reef ecosystems have been documented elsewhere, yet a comparative evaluation of methods for integrating field data with remote sensing has not been completed. In addition to meeting standard field survey requirements, data for validation of maps produced from remotely sensed images have several unique requirements in terms of spatial coverage, timing, information content and positional accuracy. This study compares ten different methods used to determine benthic cover for verifying image-based maps in coral reef environments. At three locations the field survey techniques were applied to the same section of reef, under similar environmental conditions, to measure benthic cover characteristics. The techniques tested were: line intercept transect, point intercept transect, 0.5 x 0.5m quadrat with ten points; 0.5 x 0.5m quadrat visual estimates, photographic transect, photographs of 25 or five cells in a 5.0 x 5.0m grid and visual estimates of a 5.0 x 5.0m grid. Digital photographic analysis used two different methodologies based on 12 and 1024 point processing. The final comparison covered both field survey and data processing techniques, in terms of: benthic cover, time and cost, degree of expertise, spatial intensity and the power of the final result. From this comparison it was concluded that the photographic transect using 1024 point analysis was the overall best choice given no limits on resources and available expertise.This implies that the method is also sufficient for any imagery with lower spectral or spatial resolution. Our findings should enable scientists or managers to make a more informed selection of field survey for mapping and validating maps derived from remotely sensed data.
Epidemiology And Antifungal Susceptibility Patterns Of Invasive Fungal Infections From 2012 To 2014 In A Teaching Hospital In Central China

Introduction As participants of the national China Hospital Invasive Fungal Surveillance Net program, we sought to describe the epidemiology and antifungal susceptibility patterns of yeast isolates obtained from patients with invasive fungal infection at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, China. Methods A total of 434 yeast isolates recovered from blood and other sterile body ﬂuids were identified to species by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization –time of flight mass spectrometry with or without supplementation by DNA sequencing. Antifungal susceptibilities were determined by Sensititre YeastOneTM YO10 methodology. Results Candida albicans was the most common causative species (33.9% of isolates) but significantly decreased in frequency from 37.2% to 27.7% from 2012 to 2014. C. tropicalis was the next most common pathogen (25.1%), followed by C. parapsilosis complex (17.3%), C. glabrata (9%), and C. pelliculosa (6.7%), with other species comprising 8% of isolates. Caspofungin, micafungin, and anidulafungin exhibited potent in vitro activities against the majority of Candida isolates. Azoles demonstrated in vitro activities against C. albicans with a susceptibility rate of >95% and against C. parapsilosis complex, >95% isolates were susceptible. Among C. tropicalis and C. glabrata isolates, resistance rates to fluconazole and voriconazole were 11.9%, 9.1% and 7.7%, 28.2%, respectively. Of note, C. pelliculosa had a high incidence rate in newborns and high rates of resistance to fluconazole and voriconazole of 55.2% and 41.4%, respectively. Conclusion The present study provided valuable local surveillance data on the epidemiology and antifungal susceptibilities of invasive yeast species, which is essential for guiding antifungal treatment protocol development.
Trade Elasticities and the Marshal Lerner Condition for India

In this paper, we attempt to empirically verify the Marshall Lerner condition in relation to India’s external trade. These conditions ensure that a devaluation of the exchange rate causes an improvement in the trade balance. Alongside, we also produce estimates of equilibrium export and import elasticities using a multivariate cointegration approach.
Prevalence of tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (TB/HIV) co-infections amongst patients with bronchopulmonary disorders in Lagos.

Tuberculosis (TB) still remains a global public health problem of enormous dimension. This study was carried out between March 2007 and June 2008 to determine the prevalence of TB and TB/HIV co-infections amongst patients with bronchopulmonary disorders in Lagos State, Nigeria. 1280 patients were screened for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) by microscopy and culture at the TB reference laboratory of the Nigerian institute of medical research Lagos. Information on HIV status of each patient was obtained from medical records. Of the 1,280 patients, 318 (24.8%) were diagnosed positive for AFB while 236 patients (18.4%) were co-infected with TB and HIV. Amongst the co-infected patients, TB was diagnosed in 45 (14%) by microscopy alone, in 145 (46%) by culture alone and in 46 (15%) by both microscopy and culture. The higher yield of TB cases by culture alone compared to microscopy alone further confirms the higher sensitivity of culture for TB case detection amongst TB/HIV co-infected patients. In addition, the high burden (24.8%) of TB amongst the screened patients calls for differential diagnosis of this infection amongst cases with bronchopulmonary disorders seen in health facilities. Key words:
Maraviroc Induced CCR5 Blockage for HIV Infected Individuals isAssociated with Increased Rates of Respiratory Tract Infections

Background: Maraviroc is an allosteric, non-competitive blocker of CCR5, interfering with its ability to bind to the HIV GP120 and thus preventing HIV cell entry. CCR5 is involved in recruiting immune cells to sites of viral invasion in the respiratory tract. This postulated role of CCR5 led us to perform a meta-analysis of the largest clinical drug trials that evaluated CCR5 antagonists, as part of antiretroviral regimens, with focus on the occurrence of respiratory infections in general and viral infections in particular in CCR5 antagonist recipients. Data source and eligibility criteria: Clinical trials involving administration of Maraviroc to HIV infected individuals were reviewed with emphasis on reported respiratory infections. We included in the analysis those studies enrolling more than 100 participants in the maraviroc treatment arm. Results: We compared individuals treated with optimized background regimen plus placebo to those receiving the background regimen along with the CCR5 anatagonist maraviroc. We found in the clinical data significantly more respiratory infections in the CCR5 blocker treated arm than in the control arm. Limitations: The studies had limited microbiological analysis of respiratory infections and the categorization differs between the studies included. Conclusions: This observation suggests that the CCR5 blockade may lead to more infections caused by other viruses and respiratory pathogens in HIV infected patients and the incidence of such infections needs to be carefully assessed.
Civilian Victimization and Ethnic Civil War

While many studies provide insights into the causes of wartime civilian victimization, we know little about how the targeting of particular segments of the civilian population affects the onset and escalation of armed conflict. Previous research on conflict onset has been largely limited to structural variables, both theoretically and empirically. Moving beyond these static approaches, this article assesses how the state-led targeting of specific ethnic groups affects the likelihood of ethnic conflict onset and the evolution of conflicts once they break out. Relying on a new data set with global coverage that captures the ethnic identity of civilian victims of targeted violence, we find evidence that the state-led civilian victimization of particular ethnic groups increases the likelihood that the latter become involved in ethnic civil war. We also find tentative, yet more nuanced, evidence that ethnic targeting by state forces affects the escalation of ongoing conflicts.
Inflation and Growth: A Mixed Relationship in an Innovation-Driven Economy

This paper investigates the effects of monetary policy on long-run economic growth via different cash-in-advance constraints on R&D in a Shumpeterian growth model with vertical and horizontal innovations. The relationship between inflation and growth is contingent on the weights of two innovations on growth, the relative entry cost, and the relative extent of diminishing returns to innovation. The model can generate a mixed (monotonic or non-monotonic) relationship between inflation and growth, provided that the relative strength from the entry costs and from the extent of diminishing returns may change with monetary policy. In particular, when the relative entry cost of horizontal R&D compared to vertical R&D is low, inflation and growth can exhibit an inverted-U shaped relationship depending on the weights of two innovations on economic growth. Finally, the model is calibrated by applying the aggregate data of the US economy, and we find that the threshold value of the inflation rate is around 2.8%, which is closely consistent with recent empirical estimates. JEL classification: O30; O40; E41.
Precision tests via radiative $\mu$ and $\tau$ leptonic decays

The branching fractions of radiative leptonic $\tau$ decays $(\tau \to l \nu \bar{\nu} \gamma$, $l=e,\mu)$ were recently measured by the Babar collaboration with a relative error of about 3%. The measurement of the branching ratio $\mathcal{B} (\tau \to e \bar{\nu} \nu \gamma)$, for a minimum photon energy of 10 MeV in the $\tau$ rest frame, differs from our recent SM prediction by 3.5 standard deviations, whereas our result agrees with Babar's value for $\mathcal{B} (\tau \to \mu \bar{\nu} \nu \gamma)$. Our predictions also agree with the measurement of $\mathcal{B} (\mu \to e \bar{\nu} \nu \gamma)$ by the MEG collaboration. We also report on a recent proposal to test the $\tau$ dipole moments via precise measurements of radiative leptonic $\tau$ decays at high-luminosity $B$ factories.
Evidence from Iranian listed companies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of debt maturity structure and types of institutional ownership on accounting conservatism by using different financial variables and proxies. Design/methodology/approach – Employing panel data analysis in the R programming language, the authors test their hypotheses on a sample of 143 (858 firm-year observations) companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during 2011–2016. Findings – Using Basu (1997) and Beaver and Ryan (2000) models as proxies for accounting conservatism, the findings suggest a non-significant relationship between accounting conservatism and debt maturity structure. Contrary to the primary expectation, the results indicate that short-maturity debts are also non-significantly and negatively associated with accounting conservatism in financially distressed firms. Finally, using both conservatism measures, the authors document that there is no significant relationship between both active and passive institutional ownership and accounting conservatism as well as debt maturity structure. Originality/value – The current study is the first study conducted in a developing country like Iran, and the outcomes of the study may be helpful to other developing nations.
Deficiência de ferro e anemia em escolares da área rural de Novo Cruzeiro (Minas Gerais) Brasil.

The recognition of the existing relationship between iron deficiency and the presence or not of anemia has been subject of debate worldwide in the area of nutrition, especially because this deficiency is one of the most prevalent in the world. Objective: The present study aims at describing the occurrence of iron deficiency among students in a rural area and the frequency of anemia due to this deficiency. Methods and Casuistry: Hemoglobin, serum iron (Fe), transferring saturation (TS)and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) were evaluated in 479 school children from the rural area of Novo Cruzeiro (Minas Gerais), in the valley of the Jequitinhonha river. The population under study comprised 7 to 15 year-old students, 50,1% being males. Results: The frequency of anemia was 12.1%, and the indicative parameters of iron deficiency showed Fe deficiency in 17.1%, TIBC in 31.7% and decreased TS in 36.2% of them. When relating serum iron and TS with increased TIBC (indicative of deficiency) and low hemoglobin level it was verified that 41.5% of the anemic students had anemia due to iron deficiency. The other cases of anemia (58,5%) can be explained by other causes such as nutritional deficiencies and hemoglobinopatias. Anemia hasn’t occurred among the subjects with increased TIBC 26.7%. Conclusion: There is a significant frequency of iron deficiency and anemia due to iron deficiency among this population.
Soil suitability of reclaimed salt affected soil for wheat

Using parametric and limitation approaches, productivity of reclaimed alkali and saline soils was evahi~ted for wheat. Properties like drainage, teJ.1ure/structure, nature of clay, exchange capacity, organic matter, calcium carbonate, sodium saturation and soluble salts were used to evaluate productivity. Original alkali soils have low productivity index of 19, whereas saline soils have lower productivity index of 15. On reclamation, alkali soils achieved highfjroductivity index of 62 producing 57 q ha° l wheat grains as against less than 1 q ha° l when unreclaimed. In case of artificially drained saline soils the productivity index of 43 was achieved which increased the wheat grain yield from less than 1 q ha° l to 51 q ha° . It is, observed that reclaimed alkali soils with the Bt -horizon are highly productive and light textured, artificially drained saline soils having cambic B-horizon are moderatelyprod~ctive for wheat crop. Additional keywords: Productivity indices. ~ ~. ' ' . ;.
Normalising Non-standardised Orthography in Algerian Code-switched User-generated Data

We work with Algerian, an under-resourced non-standardised Arabic variety, for which we compile a new parallel corpus consisting of user-generated textual data matched with normalised and corrected human annotations following data-driven and our linguistically motivated standard. We use an end-to-end deep neural model designed to deal with context-dependent spelling correction and normalisation. Results indicate that a model with two CNN sub-network encoders and an LSTM decoder performs the best, and that word context matters. Additionally, pre-processing data token-by-token with an edit-distance based aligner significantly improves the performance. We get promising results for the spelling correction and normalisation, as a pre-processing step for downstream tasks, on detecting binary Semantic Textual Similarity.
Content-Based Methods in Peer Assessment of Open-Response Questions in MOOCs to Grade Students as Authors and as Graders

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) use different types of assignments in order to evaluate student knowledge. Multiple-choice tests are particularly apt given the possibility for automatic assessment of large numbers of assignments. However, certain skills require open responses that cannot be assessed automatically yet their evaluation by instructors or teaching assistants is unfeasible given the large number of students. A potentially effective solution is peer assessment whereby students grade the answers of other students. However, to avoid bias due to inexperience, such grades must be filtered. We describe a factorization approach to grading, as a scalable method capable of dealing with very high volumes of data. Our method is also capable of representing open-response content using a vector space model of the answers. Since reliable peer assessment requires students to make coherent assessments, students can be motivated by their assessments reflecting not only their own answers but also their efforts as graders. The method described is able to tackle both these aspects simultaneously. Finally, for a real-world university setting in Spain, we compared grades obtained by our method and grades awarded by university instructors, with results indicating a notable improvement from using a content-based approach. There was no evidence that instructor grading would have led to more accurate grading outcomes than the assessment produced by our models. ∗Corresponding author: Tel: +34 985 182 028 Email addresses: oluaces@uniovi.es (Oscar Luaces), jdiez@uniovi.es (Jorge Díez), ciamparo@udc.es (Amparo Alonso-Betanzos), atrolor@upo.es (Alicia Troncoso), abahamonde@uniovi.es (Antonio Bahamonde) Preprint submitted to Knowledge-Based Systems February 15, 2016