Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The CES Production Function, the accounting identity, and Occam's razor

This paper reconsiders the argument that empirical estimations of aggregate production functions may be interpreted merely as statistical artefact. The reason is that Occam's razor, or Herbert Simon's principle of parsimony, suggests that the aggregate production function, together with the side equations derived from the usual neoclassical optimizing conditions, simply reflect the underlying accounting identity that value added definitionally equals the wage bill plus total profits. This argument is illustrated with respect to the empirical evidence presented by Arrow, Chenery, Minhas and Solow (Review of Economics and Statistics, XLIII, 225-50, 1961) and which led them to derive the Constant Elasticity of Substitution aggregate production function. It is shown that their results are more parsimoniously explained with reference to the underlying accounting identity than to any technological relationship.
Diminished Phagocytosis-Induced Cell Death (PICD) in Neonatal Monocytes upon Infection with Escherichia coli

An imbalance in apoptosis or survival of immune cells plays an essential role in the pathophysiology of sepsis. Phagocytosis-induced cell death (PICD) is a common result of the pathogen-host cell interaction mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Neonatal sepsis is frequently characterized by hyperinflammation. Cord blood monocytes (CBMO) are equivalent to monocytes of adults [peripheral blood monocytes (PBMO)], both in terms of phagocytosis and killing of Escherichia coli. We investigated whether CBMO are less sensitive toward PICD compared with PBMO. Monocytes were infected with green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled E. coli. Phagocytic activity, cell-count, Annexin V staining, hypoploid DNA content, CD95 and CD95L expression, and caspase-8 and -9 activities were analyzed by flow cytometry, ROS production by chemiluminescence, and CD95L mRNA expression by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. With equal phagocytic activity and ROS production, PBMO cell count was decreased by 82 ± 6% versus 28 ± 8% for CBMO after infection. Annexin V binding was enhanced fivefold on PBMO; 56 ± 15% of PBMO showed a hypodiploid DNA content compared with 9 ± 6% of CBMO. Caspases CD95L and CD95L mRNA were up-regulated in PBMO. Our results indicate that CBMO are less sensitive toward E. coli-mediated PICD than PBMO. Modifying monocyte apoptosis may be a target for future interventions in sepsis.
Families' experience with seeking treatment for recent-onset psychosis.

OBJECTIVE Qualitative research methods were used to understand the experiences of families seeking treatment for young people with recent-onset psychosis; such knowledge can inform services design. METHODS The authors conducted open-ended interviews in 1999 through 2002 with family members of 13 patients with recent-onset nonaffective psychotic disorders in the New York metropolitan area, focusing on their experience in seeking treatment and engaging with mental health services. RESULTS Family members described early lack of clarity of diagnosis and obstacles to obtaining treatment. Entry into the mental health system frequently occurred in the context of crisis, with African-American families specifically reporting police involvement. Inpatient hospitalization was depicted as traumatic yet offering relief. Aftercare was described as fragmented, and issues with third-party payers were paramount. Families expressed a desire for more education, information, and support and described their struggles with stigma. These data from families are presented in the context of more recent literature as to the efficacy of specialized treatment programs for early stages of psychotic disorder and their involvement of families. CONCLUSIONS These qualitative research data support the importance of involving and educating families about psychosis: its recognition, its treatment, and access to services. They also highlight the need to address stigma and implement structural changes in treatment that ensure continuity and coverage of care. Specialized first-episode psychosis services may address these issues, and they may minimize the traumatic experiences of involuntary hospitalization and police involvement early in treatment.
IRK(1–3) and GIRK(1–4) Inwardly Rectifying K+Channel mRNAs Are Differentially Expressed in the Adult Rat Brain

Molecular cloning together with functional characterization has shown that the newly identified family of inwardly rectifying K+ channels consists of several closely related members encoded by separate genes. In this report we demonstrate the differential mRNA expression and detailed cellular localization in the adult rat brain of seven members of the IRK and GIRK subfamilies. Using both radiolabeled cRNA riboprobes and specific oligonucleotide probes directed to nonconserved regions of both known and newly isolated rat brain cDNAs, in situ hybridization revealed wide distribution with partly overlapping expression of the mRNAs of IRK1–3 and GIRK1–4. Except for the low levels of GIRK4 transcripts observed, the overall distribution patterns of the other GIRK subunits were rather similar, with high levels of expression in the olfactory bulb, hippocampus, cortex, thalamus, and cerebellum. Marked differences in expression levels existed only in some thalamic, brainstem, and midbrain nuclei, e.g., the substantia nigra, superior colliculus, or inferior olive. In contrast, IRK subunits were expressed more differentially: all mRNAs were abundant in dentate gyrus, olfactory bulb, caudate putamen, and piriform cortex. IRK1 and IRK3 were restricted to these regions, but they were absent from most parts of the thalamus, cerebellum, and brainstem, where IRK2 was expressed predominantly. Because channel subunits may assemble as heteromultimers, additional functional characterization based on overlapping expression patterns may help to decipher the native K+ channels in neurons and glial cells.
Identifying Placebo Effects with Data from Clinical Trials

A medical treatment is said to have placebo effects if patients who are optimistic about the treatment respond better to the treatment. This paper proposes a simple test for placebo effects. Instead of comparing the treatment and control arms of a single trial, one should compare the treatment arms of two trials with different probabilities of assignment to treatment. If there are placebo effects, patients in the higher‐probability trial will experience better outcomes simply because they believe that there is a greater chance of receiving treatment. This paper finds evidence of placebo effects in trials of antiulcer and cholesterol‐lowering drugs.
Governance Regulatory Changes, International Financial Reporting Standards Adoption, and New Zealand Audit and Non-Audit Fees: Empirical Evidence

This study examines the association between overseas and New Zealand governance regulatory reforms and New Zealand companies’ audit and non-audit fees. Our models use temporal and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) indicator variables to relate the timing of the fee changes to the incidence of the overseas and local reforms. We find that audit fees increased in New Zealand over 2002–2006. Such increases associate reliably with the transition to and adoption of NZ IFRS and not with earlier overseas governance reforms. Our study also documents a decrease in non-audit fees over the same period, but we find no IFRS effect for non-audit fees.
The economics of earnings: Payment systems and internal labour markets

The Economics of Earnings analyses the wages that people earn, the jobs they do, and the labour market laws and rules within which they operate. Moving away from the conventional emphasis on point-in-time one-period decisions, it stresses informed worker choice over the life-cycle - the human capital approach. Within this framework, the book synthesises research results so as to point the way to better labour market policies. Government policy is often directed towards labour market issues such as education subsidies, training programmes, health and safety laws, and employment protection laws. By using models based on informed worker choice - the supply side - this book will assist concerned individuals in government, industry and academic study to evaluate and improve labour market policies and practices.
The impact of auction characteristics on prices of agricultural products traded online: evidence from cherries

This article provides an empirical study on the relationship between auction characteristics and prices using a data set on cherry sales from the online auction site Yahoo! Kimo. Using three alternative measures of the dependent variable, results indicate that reputation variables have a statistically important association with auction prices. The extent of reputation's impact on prices varies substantially depending on the model specification and estimation technique. The article highlights the effectiveness of a nonlinear specification for both measuring and interpreting the underlying reputation variables. The use of a “Buy It Now” option, size, and country of the origin is correlated with prices at statistically significant levels. Several econometric concerns regarding the empirical modeling strategy are discussed.
Convergence of corporate governance systems

Differentiates market (e.g. USA) from group‐based (e.g. Germany) corporate governance systems, traces their evolution and asks whether they are converging. Puts forward a theoretical convergence model based on the belief that agency problems can best be solved by specific corporate control mechanisms, recognizing that it would demand more changes from group‐based than from market systems. Examines current trends for both relating to institutional/regulatory environments, the market for corporate control and the focus on shareholder value creation/activism. Presents statistics from the USA, UK, Germany and France to show their trends towards the convergence model and discusses them in some detail. Concludes that they have all moved towards the model although in different ways and at different rates.
Structural and Functional Diversity of Plant Virus 3′-Cap-Independent Translation Enhancers (3′-CITEs)

Most of the positive-strand RNA plant viruses lack the 5′-cap and/or the poly(A)-tail that act synergistically to stimulate canonical translation of cellular mRNAs. However, they have RNA elements in the 5′- or 3′-untranslated regions of their RNAs that are required for their cap-independent translation. Cap-independent translation enhancers (CITEs) have been identified in the genomic 3′-end of viruses belonging to the family Tombusviridae and the genus Luteovirus. Seven classes of 3′-CITEs have been described to date based on their different RNA structures. They generally control the efficient formation of the translation initiation complex by varying mechanisms. Some 3′-CITEs bind eukaryotic translation initiation factors, others ribosomal subunits, bridging these to the 5′-end by different mechanisms, often long-distance RNA–RNA interactions. As previously proposed and recently found in one case in nature, 3′-CITEs are functionally independent elements that are transferable through recombination between viral genomes, leading to potential advantages for virus multiplication. In this review, the knowledge on 3′-CITEs and their functioning is updated. We also suggest that there is local structural conservation in the regions interacting with eIF4E of 3′-CITEs belonging to different classes.
How do Workers Fare During Transition? Perceptions of Job Insecurity among Russian Workers, 1995-2004

Labor market conditions deteriorated substantially in the1990s during Russia's transition from plan to market, generating pervasive and prolonged economic insecurity. Our objective is to document perceptions of job insecurity among Russian workers over the course of the transition period and evaluate whether these perceptions are consistent with actual economic outcomes. We use RLMS data to examine perceptions of job insecurity among Russian workers between 1995 and 1998, when economic conditions were relatively chaotic, and between 2000 and 2004, when economic conditions had stabilized. We employ two measures to assess worker perceptions of job insecurity: one reflects workers' concerns about job loss, and the second evaluates their concern about ability to find employment in case of a lay-off. Our descriptive analysis focuses on workers who perceived their job situation as insecure during this period, categorizing workers based on their socio-demographic characteristics, job characteristics and region of residence. Using ordered probit analysis, we study conditional distributions of our measures of perceived job insecurity, and how those varied by worker characteristics, current economic conditions, and over time. Similar to studies conducted in developed market economies, we find that perceptions of job security are higher among workers with more education, among workers with status positions (supervisory responsibilities), and among workers who live in locales that are not adversely affected by economic conditions. Unlike these studies, however, we find that perceptions differ between men and women; age is negatively, rather than positively, correlated with confidence in keeping one's current job; and longer job tenure does not improve perceptions of job security. We find that worker perceptions are largely consistent with actual labor market conditions. Specifically, perceptions of job security were very low in years of major economic change and uncertainty (1995-1998), but improved during the years of relative economic stability (2000-2004). In both periods, workers with relatively weak positions in the labor market tended to have lower perceptions of job insecurity.
Agricultural Risk Management and Production Efficiency among Peasant Farmers in Benue State, Nigeria

This study analysed relationship between agricultural risk management strategies and production efficiency among peasant farmers in Benue State, Nigeria. Data for the study were collected from randomly sampled130 peasant farmers in Benue State using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse data collected. The study showed that majority of the respondents (45.54%) operated within a technical efficiency r ange of 0.50 and less than 0.90. Majority of the respondents (35.27%) operated within an allocative efficiency range of 0.0001 and less than 0.001. Majority of the respondents (37.50%) operated within an economic efficiency range of 0.0001 and less than 0. 001. Technical efficiency among the respondents varied substantially ranging between 0.292 and 1.00, with a mean technical efficiency of 0.778. Allocative efficiency among the respondents varied widely ranging between 0.0001 and 0.869, with a mean allocati ve efficiency of 0.148. Economic efficiency among the respondents varied substantially ranging between 0.0001 and 0.869, with a mean economic efficiency of 0.127. There was a significant positive correlation between
Novice founders and re-starters in Japanese business society

We divide the 941 new Japanese entrepreneurs into 'novice founders' and 're-starters' in business, and compare the effects of their comparative advantages on economic performance. When observing the actual sales and the liquidity constraints at start-up, re-starters do not always suffer a disadvantage in Japanese business society. Good performance depends on the start-up industry. In this point, re-starters have entirely advantage over novice founders. For the managerial ability to recruit talented employees, successful re-starters and novice founders recruit the employees from 'previous coworkers' and from 'applicants to the want ads', respectively. As for the managerial ability to raise the morale of employee, successful re-starters introduce the 'merit-based pay system', and novice founders encourage the 'acquisition of any qualifications'. Public support agencies do not exert a positive effect on both entrepreneurs' sales. Further research is needed to examine what types of support programme make new entrepreneurs successful.
Thirlwall's law and the long-term equilibrium growth rate: an application to Brazil

This paper uses the balance-of-payments-constrained model to estimate the determinants of the long-run rate of growth of Brazil. Contrary to previous tests for the country found in the literature, this paper uses a different approach to test the long-run relationship between actual growth rates and those predicted by Thirlwall's law, extended to include capital flows. The regression results, apart from providing renewed support for the thesis that the country's growth rate has been constrained by the balance of payments, allow us to argue that Thirlwall's law is associated with a notion of long-run equilibrium growth rate which is fundamentally distinct from that of mainstream economics.
HOW DO SMALL FIRMS MAKE INVENTORY ACCOUNTING CHOICES

In the past, the attention of studies on inventory method choices has invariably been focused on large firms' motivations to use LIFO. Small firms' inventory accounting decisions are different from those of large firms due to the fact that there are differences in financial reporting considerations. This study examines small firms' inventory accounting choices from the perspective of three major factors (firm size, risk, and managerial ownership). It was found that firm size, financial risk, and the interaction effect between financial risk and business risk are significantly correlated with the LIFO choice for small firms.
Conceptualizing the European Diplomatic Space: A Framework for Analysis of the European External Action Service

Abstract The creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS) has a significant impact not only on European foreign policy-making, but also, more widely, on the transformation of the European political order, and represents a further step in the evolution of a European administrative space. Analysing the EEAS as an instance of European administrative space will inform on the shape of the Euro-polity, in that more independent European administrative capacities in area of core state-powers could be interpreted as an indicator for a shift of the EU’s political order. Based on direct observation, document analysis and expert interviews with EEAS officials, the paper presents a first overview of the outcomes of this capacity-building exercise, suggests a comprehensive conceptual framework for analysis and concludes that the EEAS can be seen as an instance of the European administrative space.
A Formal Framework for Defining Entity-Based, Data Source Integration

This paper describes a formal, settheoretic framework for multi-source, entity-based data integration. The framework provides a structure and notation for defining and expressing solutions to problems related to entity-based integration. The expressiveness of the framework is illustrated by using it to define a commonly used integration operator (Naive Accuracy Optimization).
Transmembrane tyrosine phosphatase LAR induces apoptosis by dephosphorylating and destabilizing p130Cas

LAR is a transmembrane receptor‐like protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP). Genetic studies of Drosophila LAR suggest that LAR may function to regulate cell adhesions or adhesion‐mediated signal transduction. The over‐expression of LAR in mammalian tissue culture cells does not affect cell adhesion but induces caspase‐dependent apoptosis. This study investigates molecular mechanisms of LAR‐induced apoptosis by searching for in vivo substrates of LAR which are responsible for LAR‐induced apoptosis.
Aiming at innovation: a case study of innovation capabilities in the Swedish defence industry

Many firms are struggling with altering and developing their organisational capabilities. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to organisational capability theory by providing insights from an empirical setting of the successive process of developing capabilities to respond to sudden and disruptive changes to the market context. This paper is based on an exploratory interview study of a Swedish defence supply organisation. We argue that to develop capabilities, firms need to question the logic behind how to generate new knowledge. The organisation, we studied, did not question the overall assumptions in its development organisation, nor did it revisit the underlying norms and values of its product development organisation. The initiatives it launched in response to change and to develop their capabilities were ambitious, but insufficient; they did not address the critical issue of knowledge generation. Changes in the context pinpoint the strategic change aspect of the development of innovating capabilities.
Medical expertise and patient involvement: a multiperspective qualitative observation study of the patient's role in oncological decision making.

BACKGROUND Decision making in oncology poses intricate ethical questions because treatment decisions should account not only for evidence-based standards but also for the patient's individual values and preferences. However, there is a scarcity of empirical knowledge about patient involvement in oncological decision making. METHODS Direct, nonparticipant observation was used as a qualitative research method to gain an understanding of the interplay between medical expertise and patient participation in oncological decision making. Based on a multiperspective approach, observations were performed in three settings (tumor conference, ward round, and outpatient clinic) in the oncology department of a German university hospital. The observation transcripts were analyzed using central features of qualitative data analysis. RESULTS Major differences were identified regarding the decision-making processes in the three settings related to the patient's presence or absence. When the patient was absent, his or her wishes were cited only irregularly; however, patients actively advanced their wishes when present. Preselection of treatments by physicians was observed, narrowing the scope of options that were finally discussed with the patient. Dealing with decisions about risky treatments was especially regarded as part of the physician's professional expertise. CONCLUSION The study reveals aspects of decision making for cancer patients that have been underexposed in the empirical and theoretical literature so far. Among these are the relevance of structural aspects for the decisions made and the practice of preselection of treatment options. It should be further discussed how far medical expertise reaches and whether therapeutic decisions can be made without consulting the patient.
Activity and Travel Changes of Users of Job Access Transportation Service: Analysis of a User Survey

The Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program of the FTA provides funding to improve the access to and from jobs for welfare recipients and low-income individuals. The objective of the study was to develop a comprehensive profile of JARC service riders on several economic, social, perceptual, and travel-related indicators on the basis of a data set that was collected by the authors from riders of fixed-route and demand-responsive services in 23 locations across the country that were funded by this program. The economic indicators considered include incomes of riders, full-and part-time work status, employment tenure, reported changes in employment status (transitioning from unemployment to employment), and changes in wages incurred after using the service. Social indicators include vehicle ownership, driver's license, and educational attainment. Where possible, JARC service riders were compared with a national sample of automobile and transit users; the data for these measures were obtained from the d.