Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Covid-19 Associated Hepatitis in children (CACH) during the second wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Central India: Is it a complication or transient phenomenon.

Background: Besides Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2 infection has been associated with Multiple Inflammatory Syndrome in children (MIS-C). However, a unique presentation of a transient form of hepatitis in pediatric age group occurring subsequent to the asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection is yet to be reported in children. Presently the clinical work, temporal association and characteristics different than MIS-C of the cases of CAHC is being dealt with. Methods: As a retrospective and follow up observational study we reviewed all pediatric patients presenting with acute hepatitis during the study period from April 2021 to mid- June 2021. We observed a sudden rise of features of hepatitis in a group of pediatric patients during the second wave of SARS CoV-2 infections, where children or adolescents developing sudden onset acute hepatitis with no history of pre-existing liver disease in the absence of familiar etiology of acute hepatitis and with a recent 3-6 week history of RT-PCR positivity or a retrospectively proven Covid-19 infection with high titer SARS CoV-2 antibodies. Such patients had asymptomatic Covid-19 infection, while another very small group (n=8) patients having findings similar to MIS-C was identified with protracted and grave presentation, having multiple organ involvement along with Covid-19 diagnosis. Routine lab workup along with viral serology of acute hepatitis was performed in all such patients. These patients were negative for Hepatitis A, B, C and E but had high titer of SARS CoV-2 antibodies. Results: Among 33 patients who presented with hepatitis, 25 patients showed unique features of CAHC, they had hepatitis only. These patients did not have any typical Covid-19 symptoms, had normal to borderline inflammatory markers, with admission to general care wards, all recovered on supportive treatment without any complications or mortality. Whereas patients with MIS-C (n=8) required admission to critical care, they had high level of inflammatory markers and 3 (37.5%) had an adverse outcome. Conclusion: With emergence of newer variants of concern such as the Delta variant which caused the massive wave of Covid-19 in India, with varied presentations, CAHC is one of them. Such new entities need to be timely identified and differentiated from other types of emerging syndromes in children for appropriate management.
Assessing the Effects of Behavioral Circadian Rhythm Disruption in Shift-Working Police Academy Trainees

Night shift work, characterized by behavioral circadian disruption, increases cardiometabolic disease risk. Our long-term goal is to develop a novel methodology to quantify behavioral circadian disruption in field-based settings and to explore relations to four metabolic salivary biomarkers of circadian rhythm. This pilot study enrolled 36 police academy trainees to test the feasibility of using wearable activity trackers to assess changes in behavioral patterns. Using a two-group observational study design, participants completed in-class training during dayshift for six weeks followed by either dayshift or nightshift field-training for six weeks. We developed a novel data-post processing step that improves sleep detection accuracy of sleep episodes that occur during daytime. We next assessed changes to resting heart rate (RHR) and sleep regularity index (SRI) during dayshift versus nightshift field training. Secondarily, we examined changes in field-based assessments of salivary cortisol, uric acid, testosterone, and melatonin during dayshift versus nightshift. Compared to dayshift, nightshift workers experienced larger changes to resting heart rate, sleep regularity index (indicating reduced sleep regularity), and alternations to sleep/wake activity patterns accompanied by blunted salivary cortisol. Salivary uric acid, testosterone, and melatonin did not change. These findings show that nightshift work-a form of behavioral circadian rhythm disruption-was detectable in police trainees using activity trackers alone and in combination with a specialized data analysis methodology.
Effect of Silica on the Structure of Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide

The association structures of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in the presence of fumed silica nanoparticles were studied by temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and powder X-ray diffraction. CTAB association structures were found for the adsorption of surfactant on the silica surface namely: a monolayer, a second layer that completed a bilayer, and multilayer structures. The silica surface was found to lower both the melting and crystallization temperatures of the CTAB tails. Higher decomposition temperatures were observed for the near-surface structures compared to bulk CTAB. The enthalpy and entropy changes for CTAB during the melting and crystallization indicate that the CTAB molecules underwent significant structural changes, from surface to bulk-like structures. The enthalpies of melting and crystallization over a wide range of compositions were well modeled with the contributions from .
ZYMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF GELATINASES PATTERNS IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS

Gelatinases belongs to a large family of proteolytic enzymes named matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have a key role in inflammation and autoimmunity. In this study patterns of Gelatinase-A (MMP-2) and Gelatinase-B (MMP-9) activity in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs) have been evaluated in vitro. HPBMCs were cultured in complete RPMI-1640 medium. Then the cells were seeded at a density of 10 5 cells/ml and were incubated with PMA (25ng/ml) or PHA (10 µg/ml) for 24 hours. Afterward the MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities in cell-conditioned media were evaluated by gelatin zymography. Statistical comparisons between groups were made by student T-test. PHA significantly increased MMP-9 activity in hPBMCs after 24 hour incubation time compared with untreated control cells. On the contrary, PMA extensively decreased MMP-9 activity in hPBMCs after 24 hour incubation time compared with untreated control cells. Besides hPBMCs did not show any MMP-2 activity and PHA/PMA had no effect on MMP-2 activity in hPBMCs compared with untreated control cells. According to the results of this study hPBMCs could exhibit MMP-9 activity. PHA and PMA had opposite effect on MMP-9 activity. PHA up-regulated while PMA down-regulated MMP-9 activity in hPBMCs. Thus, PHA/PMA stimulated hPBMCs, may provide valuable screening tools for MMP-9 enhancers/inhibitors and study of the regulatory mechanisms of MMP-9 activity.
The Welfare Effect of Spatial Mismatch: Evidence From the New York Metropolitan Area∗

This paper quantifies the welfare consequences of non-college residence-workplace mismatch within the New York Metropolitan area. I find evidence that since 2000s, there is significant residential and job relocation within the city coupled with the rise in nominal wage inequality. While non-college jobs (non-tradable services) are more concentrated in the urban core, non-college residential share has been declining there. To facilitate welfare analysis, I develop a rich quantitative general equilibrium urban model that features (i) heterogeneous skills making endogenous choices of residence and workplace, (ii) multiple sectors hiring labor with different skill intensity. Using the estimated model, I find that moving from the early 2000 economy to the current one, the rise in welfare inequality exacerbates the rise in income inequality by 1%. Spatial mismatch between jobs and residence reduces the non-college welfare relative to the college group. Policy of relaxing floor area ratio in central locations helps to reduce welfare inequality. ∗I am grateful to Stephen Yeaple, Jonathan Eaton and Elisa Giannone for their tremendous guidance and support throughout this project. I also thank Fernando Parro, Jingting Fan and Michael Gechter for their insightful comments. All errors are my own. †Department of Economics, Pennsylvania State University. E-mail: xxp13@psu.edu. Website: https: //sites.google. com/view/xinlepang/.
Three New Estimates of India’s All-Cause Excess Mortality during the COVID-19 Pandemic

India lacks an authoritative estimate of the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic. We report excess mortality estimates from three different data sources from the pandemic’s start through June 2021. First, extrapolation of state-level civil registration from seven states suggests 3.4 million excess deaths. Second, applying international estimates of age-specific infection fatality rates (IFR) to Indian seroprevalence data implies a higher toll of around 4 million. Third, our analysis of the Consumer Pyramid Household Survey, a longitudinal panel of over 800,000 individuals across all states, yields an estimate of 4.9 million excess deaths. Each of these estimates has shortcomings and they also diverge in the pattern of deaths between the two waves of the pandemic. Estimating COVID-deaths with statistical confidence may prove elusive. But all estimates suggest that the death toll from the pandemic is likely to be an order of magnitude greater than the official count of 400,000; they also suggest that the first wave was more lethal than is believed. Understanding and engaging with the data-based estimates is necessary because in this horrific tragedy the counting— and the attendant accountability—will count for now but also the future. www.cgdev. org Abhishek Anand, Justin Sandefur, and Arvind Subramanian
Assessment of the physicochemical qualities and microbiological profile of Idah River, Kogi State, Nigeria

Assessment of the physicochemical qualities and microbiological profile of Idah River, Kogi State, Nigeria Deborah Ebunoluwa Adedire, Adijat Ozohu Jimoh, Zainab Kashim-Bello, Bilyaminu Adam Wase Shuaibu, Oluwabukola Atinuke Popoola, Kabiru Isa Pate, Onyinyechi Stainless Uzor, Eno Etingwa, Jumoke Florence Joda, Oyetola Olanrewaju Opaleye, Kehinde Rukayyat Adeniran, Ene Elizabeth Francis, Gbadebo Barnabas Olukotun and Oyekanmi Nashiru
A prospective double blind randomized controlled clinical study comparing intubation with LMA and I-gel for ease of insertion

Aim: The aim of this study to compare the intubating LMA and I-gel for ease of insertion and as a conduit for endotracheal intubation. Methods: A prospective double blind randomized controlled study was conducted in the Department of Anaesthesia, Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India, for 15 months. A total of 100 patients were randomly assigned using a chit method into two groups of 50 each. One group will be allocated I-LMA (group L) and other IGEL (group G). Randomization will be done using concealed envelop technique. All patients will be administered injection glycopyrolate (0.004mg/kg), injection ranitidine (50mg i.v), injection ondansetron (0.1 mg/kg i.v), injection Nalbuphine (0.2mg/kg I.V) before induction. Preoxygenation with 100% oxygen for 3 minutes. Induction will be done with injection Propofol (2.5 mg/kg i.v). I-gel no.3 will be used for female and no. 4 will be used for male. Endotracheal tube size 6.5 mm/7mm for female and size 7mm/7.5mm will be used for male. Endotracheal tube will be introduced through I-gel/I-LMA. Results: The 100 patients selected for the study were randomized into two groups of 50 each. One of the group was administered the I-gel (Group G) and the other group was given I-LMA (Group L). Both groups shown statistically significant difference in weight and height but both the groups were comparable in terms of mean age, sex distribution, and BMI.It was observed that insertion I-gel was easy in 41 out of 50 patients. Difficult insertion took place in 9 patients. It was observed that I-lma insertion was easy in 46 out of 50 patients.Difficult to insertion took place in 4 patients. The comparison of ease of insertion between the two groups did not reveal any statistical significance (p>0.05). I-gel was placed in first attempt in 48 out of 50 patients, 2 patients needed second attempt. The I-LMA was placed in first attempt in 46 out of 50 patients. 4 patients required second attempt for insertion and no patients required third attempt. Endotracheal tube via I-gel was placed in first attempt in 33 out of 50 patients, 6 patients required second attempt for insertion and 11 required third attempt. Conclusion: The time taken to insert ET tube via I-LMA is significantly less than that of. Igel. I-gel can be used as a conduit for endotracheal intubation. Though it is an effective SAD, it is slightly inferior to LMA Fast track as the intubating device.
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS WORKING PAPER SERIES Gini in the Taylor Rule: Should the Fed Care About Inequality?

This study investigates whether the Federal Reserve (Fed) should care about inequality. We develop a Heterogeneous Agent NewKeynesian (HANK)model, which generates empirically realistic inequalities and business cycle properties observed in the U.S. data. Households in the model economy are subject to the aggregate productivity shock and to the idiosyncratic labor efficiency and preference shocks. In addition, the model distinguishes the extensive and intensive margins of labor supply. We consider the income Gini coefficient in a monetary policy rule to see how an inequality-targeting monetary policy might affect aggregate and disaggregate outcomes, as well as economic welfare. First, we find that a monetary policy rule with an explicit inequality target can be welfare improving, even if inequality becomes volatile. In particular, the policy reform can improve the welfare of the poorest the most. Second, there is an efficiency-equity trade-off: an economy should sacrifice a more volatile output in order to have smaller cyclical variations in its inequality measures. Lastly, when the Fed targets the employment of a specific group of households, it can improve economic welfare and stabilize inequality at the same time. JEL classification: E52, D31, D52, D63, J21
Share Repurchases, Risk, and Underpricing

This paper analyzes changes in firms' cash flows and discount rates around share repurchase announcements. Both cash flow and discount rate volatility decrease significantly after repurchase announcements. The decrease in volatility is smallest for firms that are likely to be underpriced and that experience the highest initial market reactions and long-term returns after the announcement. Firms with the largest decrease in volatility do not experience significantly positive long-term returns. Moreover, the level of the discount rate decreases from one quarter before until up to three years after the repurchase announcement for firms that are likely to be underpriced. The findings suggest that financial market participants learn about firms' systematic risk when firms announce share repurchases.
Arbitrage-Based Recovery

We develop a novel recovery theorem based on no-arbitrage principles. Our Arbitrage-Based Recovery Theorem does not require assuming time homogeneity of either the physical probabilities, the Arrow-Debreu prices, or the stochastic discount factor; and it requires the observation of Arrow-Debreu prices only for one single maturity. We perform several different density tests and mean prediction tests using 25 years of S&P 500 options data, and we find evidence that our method can correctly recover the probability distribution of the S&P 500 index level on a monthly horizon.
The Credit-Risk Relevance of Loan Impairments Under IFRS 9 for CDS Pricing: Early Evidence

Since 2018, banks have implemented the expected credit loss (ECL) model under International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 9 to estimate loan losses, which replaces the incurred loss model under International Accounting Standard (IAS) 39. The key novelty of the ECL model is the incorporation of forward-looking information for recognizing accounting loan loss provisions (LLPs), which provides ample room for managerial discretion. Over the period 2014–2019, I first show that the shift to the ECL model improves the timeliness of loan loss recognition. However, under the IFRS 9 regime managers also use their accounting discretion more aggressively over LLP estimates to smooth earnings. I then investigate whether IFRS 9 improves the relevance of LLPs for credit default swap (CDS) pricing. I report that LLPs under IFRS 9 are incrementally more relevant than under IAS 39 for CDS pricing but mostly concentrated amongst banks with weaker pre-IFRS 9 information environments. I further show that under the IFRS 9 regime, LLPs are relevant for CDS pricing only when LLPs consistently reflect future expected losses while earnings smoothing via LLP generally impair the credit-risk relevance of LLPs. Finally, I find that strong governance is imperative for providing useful LLP estimates for CDS pricing.
The Effects of Competitive Density on Traded and Local Market Performance in the Nonprofit Performing Arts Sector

This study examines the effects of local competition on product innovation and performance in local versus traded markets, with empirical evidence from the performing arts sector. Local markets feature locally produced and consumed offerings and consistent patterns of competitive density. Traded markets feature non-local economic exchanges that create revenue flows from one geographic market to another and divergent levels of competitive density. High levels of competitive density create intense rivalry in the local market, which fosters product innovation and success in traded markets. By explicitly accounting for these countervailing effects, conceptually and empirically, this study offers fresh insights into equivocal findings regarding the effects of competitive concentration. The results offer compelling evidence that competitive density in the performing arts has a positive effect on product innovation, an increasingly positive effect on traded market performance, and negative effects on local market performance attributable to competitive rivalry.
Innovation Capability, Network Embeddedness and Economic Performance

This paper discusses the technological upgrading of China in photovoltaics technology. It explores the patterns of innovation and network embeddedness and their impact on economic performance at the firm level. Identifying the main innovators over 1995-2014 with patent and market share indicators, the landscape of their activities is inspected through two hierarchical cluster analyses in parallel: first, against the quantity, quality and diversity of patents, and second, against global-integration, component-size and position in technological knowledge networks. The resulting clusters are cross-related to understand their interrelations with age, size, turnover and productivity of actors. The multivariate analysis of variance shows a significant relationship between innovation-network concurrency and the age, turnover and productivity. Global-integration in small-world networks is significantly related with economic performance. Quality of innovation shows higher importance than quantity and diversity. While specialisation in high-tech fields has positive impact on turnover, production-oriented firms with low-tech focus have higher productivity.
Efficient Estimation of Bid-Ask Spreads from Open, High, Low, and Close Prices

We propose a novel estimation procedure of bid-ask spreads from open, high, low, and close prices. Our estimator is asymptotically unbiased and optimally combines the full set of price data to minimize the estimation variance. When quote data are not available, our estimator generally delivers the most accurate estimates of effective bid-ask spreads numerically and empirically. The estimator is derived under permissive assumptions that allow for stylized facts typically observed in real market data, is easy to implement, and can be applied to liquid and illiquid market segments, both in low and high frequency.
Dynamics of Corporate Dividend Policy under Hyperinflation and Dollarization: A Quantile Regression Approach

Purpose: Zimbabwe experienced hyperinflation (2000-2008) followed by dollarization from 2009 onwards which had implications on dividend policy. In this context, this study isolates the main determinants and examines their behaviour across the distribution of dividend policy. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs quantile regression analysis and a sample of 30 firms listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), covering the period 2000 to 2016. The fixed effects (FE) analysis is applied as a base model. Finding(s): The most robust determinants are ownership structure, earnings per share (EPS) and taxation. In our context, results are more informative, than those based on FE analysis by showing the change in the impact of each explanatory variable across the distribution. EPS has a positive and significant impact on dividend policy throughout the distribution in both sample periods. Its effect increases in magnitude as firms move from low to high quantiles. The other variables are useful in explaining dividend policy at selected points of the distribution. Thus, there is clear heterogeneity in the determinants of dividend policy. Research limitations/implications: The study shows the importance of developing dividend policy by focusing on the position of the firm on the distribution. Dividend policy should be developed in view of the earnings potential of the firm, ownership concentration and perceived changes in fiscal policy. A well-designed policy should have a differentiated approach to influencing corporate dividends. Originality/value: This study enhances our understanding of dividend policy in unique markets. It confirms the applicability of dividend relevance theories. Furthermore, It shows that quantile analysis provides more reliable estimates than those obtained using standard panel data models.
Stocks Abnormal Returns and Rate of Dividend Announcements

The present research study examined the impact of different dividend rate announcements on stocks prices in the Indian stock market. Stocks selected from S&P BSE 500 index and study period from 2008 – 2017. The sample used for this study is 1755 pure cash dividend announcements (492 large-caps, 425 mid-caps, and 838 small-caps). Dividend rates are classified into six classifications to test the stocks' abnormal returns to different dividend classifications. Event methodology market model used to calculate Average Abnormal Returns (AAR) and Cumulative Average Abnormal Returns (CAAR). The results were observed twenty-one times based on market capitalization and dividend rate wise for a final dividend announcement. The results of the study are not the same for different dividend rate classifications and different market capitalizations. The study found positive abnormal returns on event day in most of the classifications, and it is similar to Litzenberger and Ramaswamy (1982), Asquith and Mullins Jr (1983), Grinblatt, Masulis and Titman (1984), Chen, Nieh, Da Chen, and Tang (2009) and many previous research results studied in major developed stock markets and emerging stock markets. Full sample and small-cap final dividend rate 100 percent to 199 percent average abnormal returns are positively significant, and other final dividend rate classification abnormal returns are positive in most of the observations, but returns are not significant. Large-cap average abnormal returns are more sensitive to different dividend rates, and small-cap reacts positively in all classifications. So, different market capitalization final dividend actions impact on stocks in India varies in different dividend rate classifications.