Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advance Directives in Nursing Homes

Background: The German Advance Directives Act of 2009 confirms that advance directives (ADs) are binding. Little is known, however, about their prevalence in nursing homes, their quality, and whether they are honored. Methods: In 2007, we carried out a cross-sectional survey in all 11 nursing homes of a German city in the state of North Rhine–Westphalia (total nursing home population, 1089 residents). The ADs were formally analyzed and assessed by 3 raters with respect to 5 clinical decision-making scenarios. The specifications of the ADs were compared with what the nurses reported that they would do in each scenario. Results: 11% of the nursing home residents had a personal AD, and a further 1.4% an AD by proxy. 52% of the 119 ADs that we analyzed contained no documentation of the patient’s decision-making capacity and/or voluntariness, and only 3% contained documentation of a medical consultation. Most ADs failed to state what should be done in case the patient acutely became incapable of consenting to treatment (inter-rater agreement [IRA] >83%). For the case of permanent decisional incapacity, many ADs contained ambiguous information (IRA<43%). 23 directives stated that the patient should not have cardiopulmonary resuscitation in case an arrest occurred in the patient’s current clinical condition, but the nurses reported a corresponding do-not-resuscitate agreement for only 9 of these 23 patients. Conclusion: In 2007, ADs were rare in these German nursing homes, and most of the existing ones were invalid, of little meaning, and/or disregarded by the nursing staff. There is little reason to believe that the Advance Directives Act of 2009 will bring about any major change in this miserable status quo. Advance care planning, a system-oriented concept still uncommon in Germany, could give new impulses to promote a cultural change in this respect.
Complementary Assets and Value Creation Beyond Information Technology Investments

This work was aimed at analyzing the relationships between some selected complementary assets (independent variables) and some specified benefits/value creation (dependent variables), beyond Information Technology (IT) investments in an organizational setting. The purpose was to determine significant complementary assets that impact greatly on value creation beyond IT investments.With 175 questionnaires sent to IT project and program managers of companies in the Telecom industry in Ghana, and analyzed,thefollowing findings were revealed: for value creation beyond IT investments to be achieved, the staff must be computer literate, there must be the availability of experts and firms around to help in resolving IT problems quickly and timely that crop up, and the staff must be empowered to be innovative with IT. Again, the results showed that most of the complementary assets employed in this work, tend to favor benefits of Improved staff morale and Improved business processes. Also, one of the strongest positive relationships was found to exist between “supportive organizational culture that values efficiency and effectiveness” as predictor variable and “service/product quality” as response variable.
Forecasting Inflation: A Disaggregated Approach Using ARIMA Models

he monetary authorities of a large number of countries recognize that price stability, that is, an environment of low and stable inflation rate, is the main contribution that monetary policy can give to economic growth. In the case of the Philippines, price stability is the ultimate objective of monetary policy under the inflation targeting (IT) framework which was adopted in 2002. This shift required not only a change in the conduct of monetary policy but also the institution of key elements necessary to support the new framework.
Quantifying “ Political Islands ” with Persistent Homology

Recent political discourse in the U.S. has made much ado about a growing demographic and political divide between urban and rural communities. Moreover, cities and metropolitan areas have long been described as “islands of blue in a sea of red,” prompting lively discussions of the potential implications of such political geography. Does something about urban living cause people to shift their political views? Are Democrats self-segregating into cities? Or is there another explanation? Additional concerns arise, as one may wonder whether the concentration of blue (Democratic) voters in dense urban areas makes it harder to avoid gerrymandering. How can we locate these political “islands” to better study them and identify trends in their formation? These are just a few of the questions about America’s political gap that pervade mainstream discussion. U.S. politics has become increasingly polarized1 over the last several years, impacting policy debate and electoral behavior and in turn leading to partisan gridlock. We use tools from topological data analysis (TDA) to examine the problem of largescale identification of political islands. To explore this subject, we have proposed several methods to examine TDA of geospatial
Modification of Lipid Fraction in Ensiled High Moisture Corn

The aim of this work is to study the changes of the lipidic fraction of ensiled high moisture corn (HMC). 11 maize hybrids were used, ensiled each in 3 mini experimental silos of 100 litres. For each hybrid 1 sample of fresh high moisture corn was obtained immediately after milling and 3 samples of ensiling HMC were kept after 2, 7 and 12 months. All samples were analysed for pH, dry matter, lactic acid, ammonia-N, ether extract, fatty acid composition and volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Ether extract of fresh high moisture corn was 35.7 g/kg dry matter (DM) and increased after 2 and 7 months of storage up to 39.4 g/Kg DM (P≤0.01); after 12 months it decreased to 38.1 g/kg DM (P≤0.01). Both saturated fatty acids (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) percentages decreased from 18.23% to 15.47% and from 24.84% to 23.57% respectively (before ensiling vs 12 months P≤0.01). Linoleic acid percentage increased from 55.34% to 59.44% (before ensiling vs 12 months P≤0.01). The linoleic acid content (g/kg of DM) increased on average from 19,1 before ensiling to 22.5 after 12 months of ensiling. These differences may affect the linoleic acid content of heavy pig diets when maize is used as HMC instead of corn meal.
Comparing Consumer Preferences for Locally Grown and Certified Organic Produce in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States

Two separate surveys were administered (17–19 Nov. 2008 and 7–10 Apr. 2009) to consumers residing in five metropolitan areas in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States (1710 for Survey 1 and 1518 for Survey 2) to investigate and compare consumer stated preferences toward locally grown and certified organic produce. In Survey 1, participants were asked to indicate whether they agreed that purchasing locally grown produce was more important than purchasing organically grown produce. In addition, they were asked to report whether locally grown and certified organic were factors in their produce purchasing decision. Compared with their counterparts (each demographic examined independently), White/Anglos, Asian Americans, and those aged 25 years and older agreed that purchasing locally grown produce was more important than purchasing organically grown produce. A greater percentage of participants aged 37 years and older (average of 65%) and 66% of White/Anglo participants selected ‘‘produce was grown in my local area. ’’ In addition, a greater percentage of participants aged between 21 and 64 years (average of 32%) and 48% of Asian Americans selected ‘‘produce was grown using ‘certified’ organic methods,’’ compared with their counterparts. In Survey 2, participants were presented with six pairwise comparisons and asked to indicate their stated preference between each of the two options, which included combinations of ‘‘locally grown,’’ ‘‘not locally grown,’’ ‘‘certified organic,’’ and ‘‘not certified organic. ’’ Stated preference for locally grown produce was highest among the following participant groups (each group examined independently): those aged 37 years and older, White/Anglo participants, those without children living in their household, females, and participants with income levels $25,000 and greater. In addition, stated preference for certified organic was highest among the following groups (again, each group examined independently): those aged between 21 and 36 years; Black/African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americans; those with children living in their household; females; and participants with income levels of $25,000 and greater. Produce industry members in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region (e.g., farmers, distributors, retail store owners, restauranteurs, agricultural extension personnel) can incorporate this research into marketing plans, purchasing decisions, or educational or applied research programs as appropriate.
Alternative Index Weighting Strategies on the Swedish Stock Market

The Market-Capitalization index reweighting has since long had the role as the conventional tool for passive investments through its simplicity and CAPM framework conformance. Nowadays, alternative index reweightings are getting increased traction in the light of market-capitalization criticism and suggested risk-return improvements and possibilities of desired characteristics. This study sets to examine four alternative index reweightings; the Minimum Variance, the Equal Weights, the Equal Risk Contribution and the Risk-Weighted Alpha reweighting methods, as well as compare these indices to the benchmark Market-Capitalization weighted index over a number of quantitative measures. The stock universe chosen is the OMXS30 constituents of the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm Stock Exchange and the study also discusses the feasibility of introducing the alternative methods to the exchange. The study shows that all computed alternative methods beat the benchmark in terms of risk-adjusted return, as well as return in absolute measures. Index weight characteristics over time, especially as an effect of short-selling constraints, do however impact the weightings significantly and with regards to feasibility do not all alternative indices show on definite prevalence over the Market-Capitalization index for the examined data set and time period. Possible improvements of the data collection, method decisions and tools for analysis are also discussed as a reference for further studies. The findings of the study conclude in not being able to reject the proposal of an alternative index launch on the Swedish stock market. Acknowledgements: We would like to thank our tutor, Michael Halling, for valuable thoughts, insights and support throughout the writing of this thesis.
An Analysis of the New Norwegian Customer Satisfaction Barometer (New NCSB) in a Supermarket Context AUTORES

A lot of consumer satisfaction barometers have been proposed by the literature. Initiatives for such propose in Brazil begun to take form in the end of 90’s. Initially, Rossi and Slongo (1997) proposed a method for measuring costumer satisfaction, basing on a state-ofart review and their practical consulting experience. As a result, subsequent ideas emerged. However, a dilemma is that the validity, the reliability, and the methods used to assess customer satisfaction and related constructs continue to learn, to adapt, and to improve over time. Thus, this paper tries to understand the modifications and improvements proposed by the new NCSB in Brazil. New NCSB is considers one of the last satisfaction barometers projected by the literature. The method was a survey in a supermarket context, including 264 respondents. The convergent and discriminant validity were supported for all constructs evaluated, using structural equation modeling. In summarize, the results showed support to seven from twelve hypotheses proposed by the model (the relations supported were: Quality on Satisfaction; Complaing Handling on Satisfaction; Price on Satisfaction; Satisfaction on Image; Satisfaction on Affective Commitment; and Affective Commitment on Loyalty). Conclusions for the model as overall and general comments from each hypothesis end the paper. Key-Words: Satisfaction, Barometer, Supermarket Resumo: Muitos Barômetros de satisfação de consumidor foram propostos pela literatura nos últimos anos. Iniciativas para tal finalidade começaram a tomar forma no fim da década de 90. Inicialmente, Rossi e Slongo (1997) proporam um método por medir a satisfação de cliente, sob a fundamentação de uma revisão de estado-de-arte no tópico e a experiência de consultoria. Como resultado, idéias subseqüentes emergiram. Porém, um dilema é que a validade, a confiança, e os métodos de avaliar a satisfação de cliente continuam sendo modificados, adaptados e melhorados com o passar dos anos e avanço das técnicas estatísticas. Assim, este paper tenta entender as modificações e melhorias propostas pelo new NCSB no Brasil. O new NCSB é considerado um dos últimos barômetros de satisfação projetados pela literatura. O método de pesquisa foi o de uma survey em um contexto de supermercado, enquanto incluindo 264 respondentes. A validade convergente e discriminante dos construtos foi encontrada, utilizando a modelagem de equações estruturais. Em resumo, os resultados mostraram suporte para sete de doze hipóteses propostas pelo modelo norueguês (as relações apoiadas foram: Qualidade sobre Satisfação do Consumidor; Gerenciamento da Reclamação sobre Satisfação; Preço sobre Satisfação; Satisfação sobre Imagem; Satisfação sobre Compromisso Afetivo; e Compromisso Afetivo sobre Lealdade). Conclusões para o modelo, bem como comentários globais e gerais de cada hipótese, finalizam o trabalho teórico-empírico. Palavras-Chaves: Satisfação, Barômetros, Supermercado
Details for the discussion of “Large covariance estimation by thresholding principal orthogonal complements”

We provide the details for the results stated in our contribution to the discussion of “Large covariance estimation by thresholding principal orthogonal complements” by Fan, Liao and Mincheva (2013). In particular, we present the rates for estimating the covariance matrix as well as the lagged covariance matrix in high-dimensional, approximate factor models when using a. the empirical covariance matrix, b. an estimate based on the observed factors, c. an estimate based on estimated factors. Further, we provide some simulations results and describe the simulation setting in detail.
Energy Transfer by Lactating Hooded Seals and Nutrient Deposition in Their Pups during the Four Days from Birth to Weaning

Hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) have a lactation period of 4 d. The rate of milk energy transfer must be very high to ensure that pups are weaned with sufficient energy reserves to withstand the lengthy postweaning fast. Milk energy transfer was measured by isotope dilution (n = 6), and energy deposition was assayed by chemical analysis of pups at birth (n = 4) and weaning (n = 5). Estimates of body water content obtained by isotope dilution and direct analysis were not significantly different. Water constituted only 71.7% ± 0.50% (SE) of lean body mass at birth, indicating developmental maturity. Newborn pups were also high in fat (14.0% ± 0.78%) and energy (10.1 ± 0.25 MJ/kg). Pups consumed 7.52 ± 0.469 kg/d milk containing 187 ± 11.6 MJ/d. Total milk and energy yields were estimated as 30.1 kg and 746 MJ. Pups deposited 88% of ingested fat, 41% of protein, and 84% of energy. Of the weight gain, 82% was fat. The energy content of pups increased nearly fourfold from birth to weaning, but protein content increased by only 11%. At weaning, the energy content of the pup was similar, relative to maternal metabolic size (17. 7 MJ/kg0.75), to that in other species with longer lactation periods. We conclude that extreme abbreviation of lactation is feasible as a reproductive strategy in the hooded seal because (1) most of the growth of the lean body and 27% of the energy deposition in pups occur in utero, (2) females produce large amounts of high-fat milk, and (3) the pups are very eficient at converting milk fat to stored lipids.
FACTORS AFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL BUDGET AND PERFORMANCE BASED ON NORTH TORAJA DISTRICT

This study aims to examine and analyze the factors that influence the performance-based budgeting of regional revenues and expenditures in North Toraja Regency. This research is located in North Toraja Regency and will be conducted for 1 month. The population in this study were all regional work units in the North Toraja Regency Government. The technique used in this study was a survey. The survey is used if the population elements are relatively few and heterogeneous in nature, so that all 74 (seventy four) members of the supervisory apparatus of the North Toraja Regency Government will become respondents. The type of data in this research is quantitative data. Quantitative data is data that is measured in a numerical scale (numbers). Data analysis in this study was carried out using multiple linear regression analysis with the help of the Stata 14 program. To measure the variables in this study, researchers used a Likert scale. This study uses 5 (five) independent variables, namely the commitment factor of all organizational components (X1), administrative improvement (X2), sufficient resources (X3), reward (X4), sanctions (X5) and 1 (one) dependent variable. namely the preparation of performance-based Local government budget (Y).
VALIDATING INFORMATION SYSTEMS SUCCESS MODEL WITHIN OPEN EDUCATION CONTEXT

As being the most important component of distance and open education activities, Learning Management Systems (LMS) should be improved and evaluated for better management of learning facilities. In this study, it is aimed to evaluate Atatürk University, Open Education Faculty (ATA-AOF) LMS in the scope of updated DeLone and McLean (D&M) Information Systems Success framework. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) approach has been used to employ the model. The results show that system quality, service quality and information quality have significant effect on user satisfaction in the context of LMS. Additionally, in contrast to D&M model, the findings show that service quality does not have impact on perceived system use. The study has great importance because of high number of participants (3067) and validation of IS success model within Open Education Faculty for IS Success literature.
Comparative evaluation of effects of space closure with and without canine retraction

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of closing loop during retraction by comparing the effect on incisors and anchorage unit with and without canine retraction. Materials and Methods: 30 patients treated with first bicuspid extraction were randomly divided into two groups. In Group I canine retraction was carried out before space closure after which tear drop shaped closing loop was given. In Group II no canine retraction was carried out and tear drop loop was given for space closure. The duration of the study was four months. Lateral Cephalograms were taken at the start (T0) and end of study period (T4). Results: Group II shows statistically significant reduction in incisor inclination in relation to the NA and SN line. A statistically significant change was seen on the anchorage unit on comparing the two groups. The horizontal distance from molar to ptv was increased in Group II. Group I showed lesser mesial movement of the molar in relation to ptv. Conclusion: The effects found during retraction were different in both the groups. The incisor inclination and mesial movement of molars was significantly greater in group II as compared to the group I.
The Impact of Debt Market Timing on Capital Structure

This paper empirically examines whether firms engage in market timing when issuing new debt and the influence this has on their capital structure over the 1970–2006 period. Using alternative hot-market measures and controlling for other effects, such as structural shifts in the debt market, industry, book-to-market, price-to-earnings, size, tax rates and adjustment costs based on debt credit ratings, we find that firms issue substantially more (less) debt when market conditions are perceived as hot (cold). The high levels of debt issuance cannot be explained by large debt capacity, fast growth or investment opportunities of debt issuers. Rather, the hot-market effect reflects firms’ debt market timing attempts. Moreover, the results indicate that there is a persistent hot-market effect on the capital structure of debt issuers; hot-market issuing firms do not actively rebalance their leverage to stay within an optimal capital structure range. JEL Classification: G14; G31; G32.
Evaluation of Two Rapid Antigen Tests for Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Virus

Nucleic acid and antibody detection assays have been utilized in COVID-19 laboratory diagnosis. However, the use of viral antigenic proteins for diagnosis has not been successfully developed. Using viral antigen allows rapid direct viral detection earlier than production of antibodies. The present study was aimed at evaluating the performance of two COVID-19 rapid antigen detection tests, which are BIOCREDIT COVID-19 Ag (RapiGEN Inc., Korea) and Standard Q COVID-19 Ag (SD Biosensor, Korea), in comparison with RT-PCR. These tests were performed on 80 COVID-19 RT-PCR positive respiratory samples and 20 RT-PCR negative control samples. BIOCREDIT COVID-19 Ag and SD Biosensor RAD kits recorded total sensitivities of 52.5% and 68.7% and specificities of 46% and 96%, respectively. In high viral load samples, BIOCREDIT COVID-19 Ag and SD Biosensor RAD kits recorded higher sensitivities of 60% and 77%, compared to 45% and 60% in normal viral load samples, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of the 2 antigen kits varied significantly with P values of <0.000001 and 0.0135, respectively. The evaluated RAD tests presented promising performance which was relatively better for SD-Biosensor than BIOCREDIT RAD tests, especially in high viral load samples. However, antigen tests are still considered substandard in comparison with RT-PCR in detecting SARS-CoV-2.