Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contesting Global Governance: Multilateral Economic Institutions and Global Social Movements

Preface List of abbreviations 1. Contesting global governance: multilateralism and global social movements 2. The World Bank and women's movements 3. The World Trade Organisation and labour 4. The World Bank, the World Trade Organisation and the environmental social movement 5. The International Monetary Fund and social movements 6. Complex multilateralism: MEIs and GSMs References Index.
Joint coherence in games of incomplete information

Decisions are often made under conditions of uncertainty about the actions of supposedly-rational competitors. The modeling of optimal behavior under such conditions is the subject of noncooperative game theory, of which a cornerstone is Harsanyi's formulation of games of incomplete information. In an incomplete-information game, uncertainty may surround the attributes as well as the strategic intentions of opposing players. Harsanyi develops the concept of a Bayesian equilibrium, which is a Nash equilibrium of a game in which the players' reciprocal beliefs about each others' attributes are consistent with a common prior distribution, as though they had been jointly drawn at random from populations with commonly-known proportions of types. The relation of such game-theoretic solution concepts to subjective probability theory and nonstrategic decision analysis has been controversial, as reflected in critiques by Kadane and Larkey and responses from Harsanyi, Shubik, and others, which have appeared in this journal. This paper shows that the Bayesian equilibrium concept and common prior assumption can be reconciled with a subjective view of probability by i supposing that players elicit each others' probabilities and utilities through the acceptance of gambles, and ii invoking a multi-agent extension of de Finetti's axiom of coherence no arbitrage opportunities, a.k. a. "Dutch books". However, the Nash property of statistical independence between players is weakened, and the probability distributions characterizing a solution of the game admit novel interpretations.
Efficacy and Safety of Trastuzumab as a Single Agent in First-Line Treatment of HER2-Overexpressing Metastatic Breast Cancer

PURPOSE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of first-line, single-agent trastuzumab in women with HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred fourteen women with HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer were randomized to receive first-line treatment with trastuzumab 4 mg/kg loading dose, followed by 2 mg/kg weekly, or a higher 8 mg/kg loading dose, followed by 4 mg/kg weekly. RESULTS The objective response rate was 26% (95% confidence interval [CI], 18.2% to 34.4%), with seven complete and 23 partial responses. Response rates in 111 assessable patients with 3+ and 2+ HER2 overexpression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) were 35% (95% CI, 24.4% to 44.7%) and none (95% CI, 0% to 15.5%), respectively. The clinical benefit rates in assessable patients with 3+ and 2+ HER2 overexpression were 48% and 7%, respectively. The response rates in 108 assessable patients with and without HER2 gene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis were 34% (95% CI, 23.9% to 45.7%) and 7% (95% CI, 0.8% to 22.8%), respectively. Seventeen (57%) of 30 patients with an objective response and 22 (51%) of 43 patients with clinical benefit had not experienced disease progression at follow-up at 12 months or later. The most common treatment-related adverse events were chills (25% of patients), asthenia (23%), fever (22%), pain (18%), and nausea (14%). Cardiac dysfunction occurred in two patients (2%); both had histories of cardiac disease and did not require additional intervention after discontinuation of trastuzumab. There was no clear evidence of a dose-response relationship for response, survival, or adverse events. CONCLUSION Single-agent trastuzumab is active and well tolerated as first-line treatment of women with metastatic breast cancer with HER2 3+ overexpression by IHC or gene amplification by FISH.
Measuring State Tax Burden

THE present system of state and local taxation might be characterized by a critical observer as a hodgepodge, born of expediency, nurtured by political force, and preserved by inertia. Even the kindest critic might concede that the framework has come into being without benefit of architectural plan. But whatever its evolution, this complex of state and local tax systems is a significant challenge to the descriptive powers of the economist. This challenge is nowhere more striking than in the simple question: How does State A compare in tax burden with State B and the other states? This question is of practical concern to many policy-forming groups. How well it has been answered is the subject of this paper. Traditional methods of measuring state tax burden' are simple in design and construction, but their simplicity is that of the unweighted average which, far from being without weight factors, is based upon an arbitrary and often unrealistic system of equal weights. Traditional methods of measuring state tax burden rest upon equally arbitrary assumptions, not generally made explicit, which may be adjusted within logically valid limits to produce widely varying results. It will be the specific purpose of this paper to strip from these methods their superficial covering in order that we may appraise their structure, operation, and end product. I
A soil moisture retrieval model using a parameterized first-order model

Surface soil moisture is a key parameter in material exchange and energy cycle at the land surface and atmosphere interface. In this study, a soil moisture retrieval algorithm was developed based on a parameterized first-order radiative transfer (RT) model. This method was validated in ground surface covered by vegetation in Tibet. The results showed that the RMSE of the retrieved soil moisture reached about 4% by using the parameterized first-order RT model. The retrieval results were also compared to zero-order RT model and noted that both zero-order and first-order RT model varied similarily but the first-order retrieval algorithm seemed to be more accurate than zero-order model. Future work will investigate possible improments to the algorithm extend testing of the algorithm to other regions.
Mating-Induced Shedding of Cell Walls, Removal of Walls from Vegetative Cells, and Osmotic Stress Induce Presumed Cell Wall Genes in Chlamydomonas1

The first step in sexual differentiation of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is the formation of gametes. Three genes, GAS28, GAS30, and GAS31, encoding Hyp-rich glycoproteins that presumably are cell wall constituents, are expressed in the late phase of gametogenesis. These genes, in addition, are activated by zygote formation and cell wall removal and by the application of osmotic stress. The induction by zygote formation could be traced to cell wall shedding prior to gamete fusion since it was seen in mutants defective in cell fusion. However, it was absent in mutants defective in the initial steps of mating, i.e. in flagellar agglutination and in accumulation of adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate in response to this agglutination. Induction of the three GAS genes was also observed when cultures were exposed to hypoosmotic or hyperosmotic stress. To address the question whether the induction seen upon cell wall removal from both gametes and vegetative cells was elicited by osmotic stress, cell wall removal was performed under isosmotic conditions. Also under such conditions an activation of the genes was observed, suggesting that the signaling pathway(s) is (are) activated by wall removal itself.
Simultaneous blockade of non‐NMDA ionotropic receptors and NMDA receptor‐associated ionophore partially protects hippocampal slices from protein synthesis impairment due to simulated ischemia

A large body of evidence exists to demonstrate that excitatory amino acids (EAA) and their receptors are involved in the pathophysiological mechanisms linking several acute brain insults, such as cerebral ischemia, to neuronal degeneration and death. Accordingly, the use of EAA receptor antagonists can be beneficial in attenuating or preventing the neuronal irreversible damage subsequent to various neuropathological syndromes. We have investigated the effect of 15 min of simulated ischemic conditions, i. e. , oxygen/glucose deprivation, on hippocampal slices preparation measuring, as neurotoxicity indexes, both the amino acids efflux in the incubation medium, detected by HPLC, and the inhibition of protein synthesis, evaluated as 3H‐Leucine incorporation into proteins. Accumulation of neurotransmitter amino acids was measured in the medium during the “ischemic” period. Glutamate increased 30‐fold over the basal level while aspartate was sevenfold and GABA 12‐fold higher than in normal conditions. After a reoxygenation period of 30 min, the rate of protein synthesis of hippocampal slices subjected to “ischemia” was reduced to 35–50% of controls. The non‐competitive NMDA antagonist MK‐801 (100 μM) and the competitive NMDA antagonist CGP 39551 (100–250 μM) as well as the non‐NMDA receptor antagonist NBQX (100 μM) and AP3 (300 μM) were unable to counteract the metabolic impairment when they were present alone in the incubation fluid during simulated “ischemia. ” An incomplete, but highly significant (p < 0.001), protection from protein synthesis impairment was achieved in the presence of an equimolar concentration (100 μM) of MK‐801 and NBQX. A similar protective effect could be reproduced using 100 μM NBQX in concomitance with a high Mg++ (20 μM) voltage‐dependent block of the NMDA receptor‐associated channel but not exposing the slices to a NBQX (100 μM) and CGP 39551 (100–250 μM) mixture. The recovery of protein synthesis in the presence of the MK‐801/NBQX effective combination was not paralleled by a detectable decrease in the amount of amino acids released in the incubation medium during the “ischemic” period. Taken together, the present data allow new insights into neurotoxicity‐mediating mechanisms, suggesting that multiple additive processes are involved and that antagonists acting at different sites on excitatory amino acid receptor subtype can show different neuroprotective potency. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The use and perceived importance of annual reports by investment analysts in the Netherlands

The research findings reported in this paper focus on the use and perceived importance of annual reports by investment analysts in the Netherlands. The study was held among the members of the Dutch Association of Investment Analysts by means of a postal questionnaire survey. The research findings are compared with those of similar studies in the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Three main categories of investment analysts are distin guished, viz. investment advisers, portfolio managers and directors/heads of department. The annual report appears to be a vital, though not sufficient source of information to investment analysts. However, there are some clear differences between the three categories concerning the use and perceived importance of (parts of) the annual report. The research findings are, to a large extent, consist ent with the results of similar studies among investment analysts from abroad.
The Pricing of Risky Debt When Interest Rates are Stochastic

We derive a closed form solution for the valuation of risky discount debt when interest rates are stochastic. We extend Merton's [1974] approach to risky discount debt valuation under constant interest rates to the stochastic interest rate environment of Vasicek [1977]. Business risk is modelled as a geometric Brownian motion that is correlated with interest rates. We derive and explore the relationship between the credit premium and the term premium of corporate debt. In a banking environment, the results can also be applied to analyze (a) the allocation of capital to banking activities of varying credit risk and interest rate risk, (b) the measurement of relative capital adequacy when compared to peer banks, and (c) the interest rate risk-minimizing funding strategy.
A Comparison of Two Quadratic Approaches to Hedging in Incomplete Markets

This paper provides comparative theoretical and numerical results on risks, values, and hedging strategies for local risk‐minimization versus mean‐variance hedging in a class of stochastic volatility models. We explain the theory for both hedging approaches in a general framework, specialize to a Markovian situation, and analyze in detail variants of the well‐known Heston (1993) and Stein and Stein (1991) stochastic volatility models. Numerical results are obtained mainly by PDE and simulation methods. In addition, we take special care to check that all of our examples do satisfy the conditions required by the general theory.
The Politics of Research on Educational Productivity

Productivity is a core value in how social organizations are structured and governed. Operating costs, outcomes and political context need to be examined in an analysis of productivity. Central to studies of the politics of school productivity is an understanding of the key role of politics and ideology in framing the complex issues of poverty and equal education opportunity. Debates about educational productivity will not be fruitful if only the technical merits of statistical procedures and research methodologies are considered. Education production research must also take into account purpose, values, and politics to be meaningful.
Stress by Heat Shock Induces Massive Down Regulation of Genes and Allows Differential Allelic Expression of the Gal/GalNAc Lectin in Entamoeba histolytica

ABSTRACT Gene expression analysis by microarray assay revealed that when exposed to stress, Entamoeba histolytica exhibits a specific heat shock response, together with a dramatic overall reduction in gene transcription as well as differential allelic expression of key genes participating in virulence, such as the galactose/N-acetylgalactosamine (Gal/GalNAc) lectin.
Electric Field Controlled Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect at Light Reflection From an Electro-Optic/Magneto-Optic Bilayer

The Kerr rotation for light reflection from a bilayered structure composed of an electro-optic semiconductor film and a slab with high values of magneto-optic and magneto-electric interactions is theoretically investigated. The influence of a dc external electric field on the optical plane rotation angles is analyzed. The influence of frequency dispersion of the system permittivities on the Kerr rotation is studied.
A Repertory Grid Analysis Of Austria's Image As A Summer Vacation Destination

This research demonstrates the appropriateness of repertory grid technique to destination image research. In this particular application, the grid, originally developed by GeorgeA. Kelly, was used to investigate the images held by English vacationers of Austria as a summer destination. The grid was used to find out how tourists construed destination countries and to discover how they perceived Austria in terms of the constructs generated. Austria was placed in its competitive context by comparing its image with that of Switzerland, which the Austrian National Tourist Office cites as a major competitor.
Improvement of Solubility and Oral Bioavailability of Rutin by Complexation with 2-Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin

The object of this study was to enhance the solubility, dissolution rate, and oral bioavailability of rutin by complexation with 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CyD). The interaction of rutin with cyclodextrins (CyDs) was evaluated by the solubility, and ultraviolet (UV) and circular dichroism (CD) spectrophotometries. The chemical and enzymatic stability of rutin was examined in an alkaline buffer solution and in rat small intestinal homogenates, respectively. Dissolution rates of rutin and its CyD complexes were measured by the dispersed amount method. In vivo absorption studies of rutin after oral administration via conventional tablet containing rutin alone or its β-CyD complexes was performed on beagle dogs. The stability constants calculated from the phase solubility method increased in the order of HP-γ-CyD < G2-β-CyD < β-CyD < HP-β-CyD. Spectroscopic studies also revealed that HP-β-CyD and β-CyD formed a relatively more stable inclusion complex with rutin. The dissolution rates of rutin increased by the complexation with CyDs in the order of rutin alone < HP-β-CyD ≤ β-CyD. HP-β-CyD inhibited the hydrolysis of rutin in the alkaline buffer solution and the small intestinal homogenates of rats, suggesting that HP-β-CyD may stabilize rutin in a gastrointestinal tract after oral administration. When the tablet containing rutin or its β-CyD complexes was administered to beagle dogs, the plasma levels of homovanillic acid (HVA) (a major stable metabolite of rutin) after oral administration of HP-β-CyD complex were much higher than in either that of rutin alone or in its β-CyD complex. The in vivo absorption study suggests that HP-β-CyD increased the oral bioavailability of rutin from the gastrointestinal tracts of beagle dogs because of the increase in solubility, faster dissolution rate, and gastrointestinal stability. HP-β-CyD has a significant advantage with respect to providing high aqueous solubility while maintaining a lack of toxicity in oral pharmaceutical preparations of rutin.
Use of slow-release melatonin in treatment-resistant depression.

OBJECTIVE To examine antidepressant augmentation with and hypnotic effects of slow-release melatonin (SR-melatonin) in patients with treatment-resistant depression. DESIGN Open-label trial. SETTING Tertiary care outpatient depression clinic. PATIENTS Nine outpatients who had failed to respond to 2 or more 8-week trials of antidepressant medication. INTERVENTIONS Patients received SR-melatonin 5 mg per day for the first 2 weeks and 10 mg per day for the final 2 weeks, in addition to their antidepressant medication. OUTCOME MEASURES Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, Axis 1 Disorders, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), Beck Depression Inventory, Response Style Questionnaire, sleep and fatigue measures. RESULTS One patient was excluded after 1 week because of the development of a mixed affective state. In the remaining 8 patients there was a 20% mean decrease in HRSD scores after 4 weeks of treatment, with no individual achieving an improvement of 50% or more. There was a 36% decrease on the 3-item HRSD related to insomnia, with 4 of 8 patients showing at least a 50% improvement on this measure. The greatest decrease in insomnia occurred during the last 2 weeks of the study, following the increase in dosage to 10 mg per day of SR-melatonin. Patients also reported significantly lower levels of fatigue post-treatment. CONCLUSIONS SR-melatonin may be a useful adjunct for sleep, but does not substantially augment existing antidepressant therapies in some patients with treatment-resistant depression.
Discussion of “Analysts’ Cash Flow Forecasts and the Decline of the Accruals Anomaly” and “Analysts’ Cash Flow Forecasts and Accrual Mispricing”

This discussion examines several research design choices in two papers, Mohanram (2014) and Radhakrishnan and Wu (2014, hereafter, RW), both of which analyze the association between the incidence of cash flow forecasts and the decline in the strength of the association between accruals and future returns (the accruals anomaly, documented by Sloan 1996; Xie 2001, and others). As reported by, for example, Green, Hand, and Soliman (2011), and as confirmed in both Mohanram and RW, the returns to a strategy that is long in firms with extreme negative accruals and short in firms with extreme positive accruals have decreased since the early 2000s. Mohanram and RW both aim to trace this decrease in the accruals anomaly returns to the availability of cash flow forecasts. The idea that cash flow forecasts would reduce or eliminate the accruals anomaly is based on the view that cash flow forecasts, in combination with earnings forecasts, are effectively forecasts of accruals. Making better information about the next period’s accruals readily available to investors is predicted to reduce the accruals anomaly by preempting the otherwise surprising reversal in realized accruals at the next fiscal year end. The two papers reach similar conclusions and draw similar inferences, specifically, that the accrual anomaly arises from a cognitive bias that is ameliorated by better information about future accruals. The papers are contemporaneous and independent work, and we consider neither paper a replication of the other, in that neither attempts an exact-aspracticable retracing of another’s research, including all aspects of the research design. As each paper contains a brief discussion of how it differs from the other paper, we do not discuss those differences. Instead, our discussion considers three aspects of the research designs. Although our discussion focuses only on these two papers and the accruals anomaly trading strategy, we believe that our comments have implications beyond that context. We first discuss the research design choice to use pooled estimations for tests of a trading strategy. We provide evidence that a pooled estimation will almost inevitably yield the main results in both papers, given the simultaneous over-time decline in accruals anomaly returns and over-time increase in the incidence of cash flow forecasts on I/B/E/S. The reason is that the indicator variable for cash flow forecasts implicitly weights the later sample period more heavily than the earlier sample period, when returns to the accruals anomaly were higher. This implicit weighting scheme mechanically yields a significant interaction of the cash flow forecast indicator with accruals measures in a pooled estimation, even if investors do not actually use the information in cash flow forecasts. The implication of this discussion, beyond the specific context of the two papers, extends to the more general context of the interpretation of coefficients from pooled estimations. These estimations
Competition among universities: The role of preferences for research and government finance *

We build on previous results to explore the effect of student mobility on university behaviour. Our results suggest that, if universities do not care for research, they do not react to increased competition when students are able to choose where to study. Further, neither do they react to the incentives provided by the government through the financing scheme. Preferences for research thus turn out to be the key element for success of policies which aim at (i) enhancing competition in the higher education sector and (ii) affecting resulting levels of education quality and research through incentives provided by the financing scheme. Classification-JEL : L3, I22.
Hedonic Pricing Models for Vehicle Registration Marks

This paper attempts to link Chinese numerology to the determination of vehicle registration mark (VRM) prices in Hong Kong through the hedonic pricing analysis. The values of different patterns of the numbers and Roman alphabet letters are examined. We find that there is a very strong preference for the number 8, that visually appealing patterns add great values to a VRM and that the non-transferable VRMs are more expensive than transferable ones. We also show that their prices move in tandem with the Hang Seng Index. The findings suggest that the government can raise revenue by auctioning off intangible assets containing alphanumerical identification marks.