Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
GASTROSCOPY WITHOUT SEDATION USING LIDOCAINE GEL FOR PHARYNGEAL ANAESTHESIA-PATIENT EXPECTATIONS AND BEHAVIOUR

Objectivos: Estudar o benefício do gel de lidocaína 2% na anestesia da faringe, na gastroscopia. Métodos: Administrou-se 15 minutos antes da endoscopia 5 ml de gel de lidocaína 2% na faringe de 309 utentes, que aceitaram não ser sedados. Fizeram-se entrevistas antes e depois do exame. Resultados: Depois do exame, 73,7% dos doentes consideraram o exame como fácil, 83,6% mais fácil do que esperavam e apenas 4,2% não o recomendariam; não houve diferenças entre os sexos, idades, nem entre os que tomavam sedativos. Antes do exame, 13,7% dos homens e 32,3% das mulheres desejavam ser sedados (p < 0,001). Depois do exame, 21,2% de ambos os sexos gostariam de ter sido sedados; as mulheres mudaram mais de opinião; 76,3% dos homens e 61,4% das mulheres não quiseram ser sedados e não mudaram de opinião. Os doentes com mais de 50 anos apresentaram significativamente menos: agitação das pernas, (odds-ratio (OR): 0,349); choro (OR: 0,416) e vómitos (OR: 0,349) do que os doentes com menos de 50 anos, sem diferenças entre sexos. Conclusões: Com gel de lidocaína, três quartos dos doentes consideraram a gastroscopia como fácil e não desejaram sedação. Os doentes devem ser encorajados a experimentar o exame sem sedação. Summary
Product Ratings in Health Insurance Markets: Reducing Transaction Cost, Asymmetric Information, or Both?

On today's health insurance markets, product quality ratings are a widespread phenomenon. The results of several empirical studies suggest that quality certi cates actually a ect consumers' health insurance choices. However, the reasons for the observed relationship have not been examined yet. From a theoretical perspective, the reduction of information asymmetries as well as transaction cost reduction constitute a reasonable explanation for the impact of product ratings on consumer choices. Our study focuses on these potential reasons and examines whether information asymmetry reduction, transaction cost reduction or both are responsible for the observed e ect. To do that, we conducted a discrete choice experiment in the context of a U.S. health insurance online marketplace. Our results indicate that transaction cost reduction is the major if not the only reason for the impact of product ratings on health insurance choices. Our results have implications on the welfare e ect of product ratings. JEL-Code: I11 I18 G22 D12 L15 C93
A two‐step procedure for testing partial parameter stability in cointegrated regression models

This article studies the problem of testing partial parameter stability in cointegrated regression models. The existing literature considers a variety of models depending on whether all regression coefficients are allowed to change (pure structural change) or a subset of the coefficients is held fixed (partial structural change). We first show that the limit distributions of the test statistics in the latter case are not invariant to changes in the coefficients not being tested; in fact, they diverge as the sample size increases. To address this issue, we propose a simple two‐step procedure to test for partial parameter stability. The first entails the application of a joint test of stability for all coefficients. Upon a rejection, the second conducts a stability test on the subset of coefficients of interest while allowing the other coefficients to change at the estimated breakpoints. Its limit distribution is standard chi‐square. The relevant asymptotic theory is provided along with simulations that illustrate the usefulness of the procedure in finite samples. In an application to US money demand, we show how the proposed approach can be fruitfully employed to estimate the welfare cost of inflation.
FEMALE PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLES

Objective: Spinal manipulation with high-velocity and low-amplitude (HVLA) manipulation is frequently used for the treatment of lumbopelvic pain; however, the effect on the pelvic floor has been poorly studied in the past. The objective of this study was to quantify the intravaginal pressure (IVP) and the basal perineal tonus (BPT), measured in terms of pressure, before and after the HVLA manipulation in patients without neuromuscular and skeletal dysfunctions. Methods: In this experimental, noncontrolled, nonrandomized study, IVP was obtained through a perineometer introduced into the volunteers' vagina while in dorsal horizontal decubitus. Forty young, healthy university volunteer women with no history of vaginal delivery participated. All voluntary contractions of the perineal muscles were measured in 3 different ways: phasic perineal contraction (PPC), tonic perineal contraction, and perineal contraction associated to accessory muscles. New pressure measurements were obtained immediately after the HVLA manipulation on the volunteers' sacrum. The pressures were registered and transcribed directly to a personal computer with specific software. Results: The average IVPs obtained in millimeters of mercury before and after the HVLA manipulation were 56.01 (±25.54) and 64.65 (±25.63) for PPC, 445.90 (±186.84) and 483.14 (±175.29) for tonic perineal contraction, and 65.62 (±26.56) and 69.37 (±25.26) for perineal contraction associated to accessory muscles, respectively. There was significant statistical variation only for PPC (P = .0020) values. The BPT increased regardless of the type of contraction (P b .05). Conclusion: High-velocity and low-amplitude manipulation of the sacrum was associated with an increase of PPC and of BPT in women who had no associated osteoarticular diseases. These preliminary discoveries could be helpful in the future study of the treatment of women with perineal hypotony. (J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2010;33:109-116) Key Indexing Terms: Pelvic Floor; Perineum; Manipulation, Spinal; Muscle Tonus; Muscular Contraction
Feasibility and Accuracy of a Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing Instrument to Ascertain Prior Immunization With Human Papillomavirus Vaccine by Self-Report: Cross-Sectional Analysis

Background Ascertaining history of prior immunization with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can be challenging and resource-intensive. Computer-assisted self-interviewing instruments have the potential to address some of the challenges of self-reporting, and may also reduce the time, costs, and efforts associated with ascertaining immunization status. Objective This study assesses both the feasibility and the accuracy of a computer-assisted self-interviewing instrument to ascertain a patient’s history of immunization with the HPV vaccine. Methods We developed both a survey and a Web-based data collection system using computer-assisted self-interviewing to ascertain self-reported HPV vaccine immunization history. We implemented the instrument in a sample of adult women enrolled in an ongoing study of the HPV vaccine. Vaccine records from prior sources of care were reviewed to verify reported immunization history. Results Among the 312 participants who provided HPV vaccine immunization history by self-report, almost all (99%) were able to do so using the computer-assisted self-interviewing instrument. The median survey completion time was 10 minutes (IQR 7-17). The accuracy of self-report was 84%, sensitivity was 89%, specificity was 80%, and the negative predictive value was 92%. Conclusions We found that it is feasible to collect a history of immunization with the HPV vaccine using a computer-assisted self-interviewing instrument. This approach is likely to be acceptable to adult women and is reasonably accurate in a clinical research setting.
Elementary Education as an Intellectual Space of (Not)Experiencing Democratic Practices by Children

The presented article addresses the problem of learning in democracy by children at the early educational stage. The main objective of the conducted research was to present and analyze the activities of teachers in terms of creating conditions for children to experience democratic practices in the learning process. The background of this research is a review of the contemporary considerations on the idea of democratization in relation to the education of a child at early school age in the contemporary reality. In the course of the research, the author of the study searches for the answers to questions concerning the main problem: Do and what actions undertaken by teachers during integrated classes are conducive to learning in democracy by children at early school age? As a result of the conducted qualitative research using observation of integrated classes (daily blocks of classes) hosted by primary class teachers, the author categorized teachers’ actions hindering or preventing the child participation in the education process, building space for student autonomy in cognition and understanding of the world, and facilitating effective learning in the course of interaction with other participants of the educational
Methane in the Atmosphere of Western Siberia: Results of Satellite Observations and Simulations

In this paper we study the behavior of total methane content in the atmosphere of Western Siberia using satellite observations and simulations. The AIRS/AQUA data show the increase of the total methane content at rate ~3.3±0.2 ppbv/year for 2003–2018. Using the global chemical transport model MOZART4, we analyzed the contributions of remote sources to the total methane content in the region’s atmosphere. According to climatic models, the average value of methane emissions from bog complexes in Western Siberia was established for the period 2000–2013, and projected estimates of emissions up to 2050 are obtained.
The Effect of Mandatory Disclosure Dissemination on Information Asymmetry: Evidence from the Implementation of the EDGAR System

I study the effect of the implementation of the SEC’s EDGAR system on two unique forms of information asymmetry: (1) asymmetry between managers and investors, and (2) asymmetry among different groups of investors. Information asymmetry theory suggests that firms’ adoption of the EDGAR system can have two effects—one that benefits investors and one that is detrimental to at least some investors. I find that the implementation of EDGAR lowered information asymmetry between managers and investors but had the unintended consequence of increasing information asymmetry (i.e., widening the information gap) between moreand less-sophisticated investors. I also validate Kim and Verrecchia’s (1997) measure of information asymmetry among investors. Taken together, my results suggest that while EDGAR was beneficial to investors, it also benefited some investors at the expense of others. Moreover, employing only traditional information asymmetry measures (e.g., bid-ask spreads) does not provide a complete picture of the consequences of disclosure. This paper is based on my dissertation at the University of Georgia. I appreciate helpful comments and suggestions from my dissertation committee: Steve Baginski, Ted Christensen, and Frank Heflin (chair). I also appreciate feedback from Paul Demere, Ryan Johnson, Ling Lisic, Bob Resutek, Patrick Ryu, Bryce Schonberger, Kristen Valentine, James Warren, Ben Whipple, and workshop participants at the 2019 AAA Annual Meeting, the University of Georgia, and the 2019 BYU Accounting Research Symposium. Finally, I thank Peng-Chia Chiu and Novia Chen for kindly providing brokerage house closures and mergers data. Contact information: gomez@uga.edu. Moore-Rooker Hall B317, 610 South Lumpkin Street, Athens, GA 30602.
The hydrophobic modification of gypsum binder by peat products: physico-chemical and technological basis

Gypsum binder is a quick-setting and fast-hardening material that is used widely in the construction industry for plastering and as an ingredient of concrete, other binding materials, etc. The issue addressed here is its short shelf life (around three months) which arises because it is hygroscopic, i.e. it readily absorbs moisture and begins to set during transport and storage. The main methods that are currently available for protecting gypsum binder against unwanted exposure to moisture and water vapour are considered, and hydrophobic modification with the bitumen released during peat thermolysis (a method previously considered for cement) is proposed as a promising alternative. Because there is overlap in the temperature ranges used in the manufacture of gypsum binder and those required for the initial stages of thermal decomposition of the organic matter in peat, it is expected that hydrophobisation could be achieved during the established manufacturing process without any changes to plant or procedures. The optimum concentration of organic (peat) additive for gypsum rock mined from the Shushokskoye deposit in Russia is derived experimentally. With 0.5–1 % of peat additive, the strength grading of the gypsum plaster is preserved and its storage time without caking and hydration increases, even under adverse conditions (100 % relative humidity). The proposed method is compatible with current gypsum production technology, it does not require any changes in equipment, and the prices of mineral raw materials and semi-finished peat products are approximately the same. Thus, the incorporation of hydrophobic modification using peat into the manufacturing process for gypsum binder is unlikely to increase the cost of the product.
Lefschetz fibrations and symplectic structures

In this thesis, we study a relation between symplectic structures and Lefschetz fibrations to shed some light on 4-manifold theory. We introduce symplectic manifolds and state some results about them. We then introduce Lefschetz fibrations, which are a generalization of fiber bundles, and discuss them briefly to obtain an intuitive understanding. The main theorem of this thesis is a result obtained by Gompf [4]. It provides a way to construct a symplectic structure on a general Lefschetz fibration with homologeously nonzero fiber. We also discuss a generalization of this, achieved by Gompf [6], that generalizes this result to arbitrary even dimensions.
[Non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus: care in an area of Barcelona].

BACKGROUND Most non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) care is provided at the primary care level. The aim of this study was to evaluate the recommendations of the European NIDDM Policy Group (ENPG) in a primary care setting in an urban area. PATIENTS AND METHODS During 1994 clinical information concerning a group of patients attended in the primary care setting of an area of Barcelona city was recorded prospectively on a computerised information sheet. RESULTS 483 patients were evaluated (age: 68.9 +/- 0.5 years; males: 43.3%; 13.1 +/- 0.4 years of NIDDM evolution), 303 treated without insulin and 180 with insulin. A 37.9% of patients never had carried out self-glucose monitoring and the patients with insulin practised it more frequently (p = 0.03). Levels of basal glycemia, HbA1c' total and HDL cholesterol, basal triglycerides and body mass index were poor in 65.8%, 57.3%, 25.2%, 48.2%, 20.7% and 59.6% of the patients, respectively. Retinopathy and microalbuminuria have never been screened in 32.9% and 95.4% of the patients, respectively: in both cases the situation was worst in those without insulin (p = 0.00 and p = 0.02, respectively). Amaurosis was present in 3.9% of patients, clinical neuropathy in 16.8%, clinical peripheral neuropathy in 19.0%, ischemic heart disease in 13.3%, lower limb amputations in 2.1% and a stroke history in 10.1%. All these complications and the level of HbA1c were higher in patients with insulin (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The attainment of the recommendations of ENPG is scarce at the primary care level. Patients had insufficient blood glucose self-monitoring, metabolic control and screening for retinopathy and microalbuminuria.
Twin Default Crises

Twin Default Crises are rare and severe episodes of borrower and bank defaults. We build a quantitativemodel that links borrower and bank solvency. This is crucial to reproduce key features of thedata both in normal times and in Twin Default Crises. Specialization exposes banks to non-diversifiableborrowers’ default risk. Fluctuations in the non-diversifiable component of credit risk and bank leverageare important determinants of Twin Default Crises. Capturing the frequency and severity of Twin DefaultCrises is key for the correct calibration of bank capital requirements. Our framework implies highercapital requirements than alternative frameworks that do not model the link between borrower and bankdefault.
Effects of Transport Infrastructure Improvement on the International and Domestic Freight Flow in Japan

This paper examined Japanese domestic distribution structure from the relation between industrial accumulation and transport infrastructure in order to reveal the structure of freight flow and its changes from 1980 to 2000, on the basis of the Logistics Census, Census of Manufacturing, and Social Overhead Capital in Japan. Our findings, as an average characteristic (evidence) of Japanese transport structure, indicate that both domestic and international freight flow are strongly linked to the scale economies emerging from industrial accumulation, and that transport infrastructure does not contribute to an increase in the overseas shipping volume; however, it does increase the volume to domestic regions. However, this suggests that transport infrastructure on the shipping to other domestic regions is maintained enough, and this has contributed to reorganization (relocation) of industrial accumulation in Japan. JEL classification: R40, R42, R53
A Library of Elastic Tensors for Lowermost Mantle Seismic Anisotropy Studies and Comparison With Seismic Observations

The exact mechanism for lowermost mantle seismic anisotropy remains unknown; however, work on the elasticity and deformation of lower mantle materials has constrained a few possible options. The most probable minerals producing anisotropy are bridgmanite, postperovskite, and ferropericlase. While there is an extensive literature on the elasticity and deformation of lower mantle minerals, we create a comprehensive uniform database of D″ anisotropy scenarios. In order to characterize a range of the possible fabrics for D″ anisotropy, we carry out VPSC (visco‐plastic self‐consistent modeling) to predict textures for each proposed mineral and dominant slip system. We numerically deform each mineral under different geometrical scenarios: simple shear, pure shear, and extension. By using published single crystal elasticity values, we produce a library of 336 candidate elastic tensors. We used the elastic tensor library to revisit previously published D″‐associated seismic anisotropy studies for crossing raypaths (Siberia, North America, the Afar region of Africa, and Australia). While we cannot identify a single, unique mechanism that explains all of these data sets, we find that postperovskite (dominant slip on [100](010) or [100](001)) and periclase (dominant slip on {100}<011>) provide the best fit to the observations and suggest reasonable shear directions for each region of interest. Bridgmanite generally provides a poor fit to the observations; however, we cannot completely rule out any particular model. As the number of anisotropy observations for D″ increases, this elastic tensor library will be helpful for observational seismologists in identifying possible mechanisms of anisotropy and shear directions at in the lowermost mantle.
draft-bonaventure-mptcp-experience-00-Experience with Multipath TCP

This document discusses operational experiences of using Multipath TCP in real world networks. It lists several prominent use cases for which Multipath TCP has been considered and is being used. It also gives insight in some heuristics and decisions that have helped to realize these use cases. Further, it presents several open issues that are yet unclear on how they can be solved.
Distribution Theory of the Least Squares Averaging Estimator∗

This paper derives the limiting distributions of least squares averaging estimators for linear regression models in a local asymptotic framework. We show that the averaging estimators with fixed weights are asymptotically normal and then develop a plug-in averaging estimator that minimizes the sample analog of the asymptotic mean squared error. We investigate the focused information criterion (Claeskens and Hjort, 2003), the plug-in averaging estimator, the Mallows model averaging estimator (Hansen, 2007), and the jackknife model averaging estimator (Hansen and Racine, 2012). We find that the asymptotic distributions of averaging estimators with data-dependent weights are nonstandard and cannot be approximated by simulation. To address this issue, we propose a simple procedure to construct valid confidence intervals with improved coverage probability. Monte Carlo simulations show that the plug-in averaging estimator generally has smaller expected squared error than other existing model averaging methods, and the coverage probability of proposed confidence intervals achieves the nominal level. As an empirical illustration, the proposed methodology is applied to cross-country growth regressions.
Spinning the Results : Overinterpretation and Misreporting of diagnostic Accuracy Studies

Reporting that distorts or misrepresents data — intentionally or unintentionally — to make interventions look favourable is called overinterpretation, also referred to as ‘spin’ [1-3]. ‘Spin’ is a term initially associated with politics, where facts are often distorted or selectively reported in order to give favourable soundbites about a political party to an unsuspecting public. The term is also gaining ground in scientific research [4]. For instance, more than 40% of reports of randomized trials evaluated by the French researcher Boutron and her colleagues were found to have distorted interpretation in two or more sections of the main text of the article [2]. ‘Spin’ was also identified in about half of the press releases and media coverage on published reports of randomized trials in a study carried out by Yavchitz and colleagues. In that study, ‘spin’ in the article abstract conclusion was the main factor associated with ‘spin’ in press releases [3]. Diagnostic accuracy studies are also susceptible to overinterpretation or ‘spin’. Such studies evaluate the ability of a test or marker to correctly identify a target condition, and express the results as estimates of a test’s sensitivity and specificity. A study by Lumbreras and colleagues examined reports of molecular diagnostic tests and demonstrated that more than half (56%) of the reports had overinterpreted the clinical applicability of the molecular test under evaluation [4]. Because the results of medical tests often guide the subsequent management of patients, it is important not to take results of test performance at face value but to critically appraise the findings. The clinical use of tests based on exaggerated conclusions may lead to incorrect clinical decisions, compromised patient safety and lead to unnecessary health care costs [6]. In this review we discuss the frequency of overinterpretation in diagnostic accuracy studies and a subset of imaging studies based on the results of a recently published review from a team of researchers in the Netherlands. We examined recent reports of 126 diagnostic studies available in MEDLINE between January and June 2010 in journals with an impact factor of 4 or higher. Studies evaluating imaging tests comprised the largest group (n=53, 42%) in our review.