Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enrolment of 22,000 adolescent women to cancer registry follow-up for long-term human papillomavirus vaccine efficacy: guarding against guessing

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs, most notably types 16 and 18) cause cervical carcinoma, the second most common cancer among women. Vaccination of adolescents against HPV16/18 might prevent large proportion of cervical and other anogenital cancers. However, because of ethical reasons this cannot be proven by clinical studies. To determine the long-term vaccine efficacy (VE) of HPV16/18 virus-like-particle (VLP) vaccine against cervical carcinoma in situ (CIS+) and invasive cervical carcinoma, the following three population-based cohorts of adolescent women have been enrolled: (1) women vaccinated with the HPV vaccine; (2) women vaccinated with hepatitis A control vaccine; and (3) unvaccinated control women. These cohorts will be passively followed for cumulative incidence of CIS+ endpoints by population-based cancer registry. Overall 24,046 16- to 17-year-old adolescent women from 18 cities in Finland were invited between May 2004 and June 2005 to participate in a phase III trial with bivalent HPV16/18 VLP vaccine. A total of 58,996 18- to 19-year-old women were invited in May 2005 to participate as unvaccinated controls. Women who reported their willingness to participate in an HPV vaccination trial had they been 1–2 years younger were eligible. Cumulative incidence (CI) of CIS+ in our cohorts over 15 years is approximately 0.45%. VE of 70% against CIS+ with 80% power requires 3357–3189 HPV16/18 vaccine recipients, 3357–3189 other vaccine recipients, and 6714–9567 unvaccinated controls. We have now enrolled 2404 HPV16/18 vaccine recipients, 2404 hepatitis A-vaccine recipients, and 5130 unvaccinated controls. This enrolment in addition to our earlier enrolment in another phase III trial guarantees enough power so that by 2020 we can ultimately provide data on the efficacy of HPV16/18 vaccination against CIS+.
Genetic variants in germline TP53 and MDM2 SNP309 are not associated with early onset colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) arising in patients under age 30 is a rare disease, and few cases have been reported within Li‐Fraumeni kindreds. To determine how often alterations in the p53 pathway genes contribute to disease susceptibility, we have evaluated patients with early onset CRC for the presence of germline variants in the p53 gene and MDM2 SNP309.
Influence of stator and rotor pole number combinations and winding configurations on flux-weakening performance of switched-flux PM machines

Based on the dq-axis model, the flux-weakening characteristics of switched-flux permanent magnet machines (SFPMMs) with 12/10, 12/11, 12/13, 12/14 stator/rotor pole number combinations and different winding configurations are analyzed by the flux-linkage method accounting for crosscoupling effect. It is shown that the stator and rotor pole number combinations have significant influence on flux-weakening characteristics of SFPMMs. When SFPMMs have the same structures of stator and rotor, the alternate poles wound one exhibits better flux-weakening capability than all poles wound one. The analyses using the dq-axis model are validated by 2D finite element analysis (FEA).
Technology spillovers of FDI in ASEAN sourcing from local and abroad

Purpose - This paper aims to empirically analyze the role of FDI technology spillover effects in the development patterns of ASEAN. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is based on the analytical framework of Borensztein by utilizing time-series data between 1990 and 2008 in ASEAN countries. Models (1)-(3) estimate parameters by adopting OLS, and Model (4) uses dummy saturation methods in PC Give, Oxmetrics 6 to determine significant dummy variables automatically. By judging the overall significance of each variable and the model, Model (4) has a substantial improvement, and is finally selected to judge the education threshold of each country. Findings - The empirical results render support to the existence of technology spillovers in ASEAN. The regression results also suggest that it is necessary to combine FDI technology spillovers with domestic human capital, that is, in the process of promoting economic development. China's FDI in ASEAN requires lower education threshold, and also has positive effect on economy growth in six countries of ASEAN. Research limitations/implications - As this paper investigates data from many countries, there are some unavoidable differences in the statistical sources and the calibre of data. It is inevitable to have some inaccuracies. This paper tries to process the data into similar calibres and units. Practical implications - The paper examined whether total FDI, intra-ASEAN FDI and FDI from China have played exactly the same role in ASEAN countries. Accordingly, the paper put forward suggestions after combining the characteristics of FDI from China with different local situations of ASEAN host countries. Originality/value - The paper, respectively, takes data of total FDI, intra-ASEAN FDI, FDI from China into the FDI variable in the model, and get three sets of results for each country. The year dummy variable is newly added to the original framework of Borensztein in order to test whether the dependent variable can be affected to a large extent by potential great changes in macro-economies.
Retreatment with Injectable Poly‐l‐Lactic Acid for HIV‐Associated Facial Lipoatrophy: 24‐Month Extension of the Blue Pacific Study

BACKGROUND Facial lipoatrophy occurs in HIV‐positive patients taking highly active antiretroviral therapy and during natural aging. Injectable poly‐l‐lactic acid (PLLA) is a device approved internationally for restoration and correction of the signs of HIV‐associated facial lipoatrophy. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the long‐term safety, duration of effect, and satisfaction with serial injections of PLLA for HIV‐associated facial lipoatrophy. METHODS AND MATERIALS In this single‐site, open‐label, retreatment study, 65 HIV‐positive patients were treated with injectable PLLA every 5 weeks (until optimal recorrection). Presenting degree of lipoatrophy based on the James scale (1=mild, 4=severe) was reviewed. Skin thickness was measured at fixed points with calipers. Patients completed a post‐retreatment satisfaction questionnaire. RESULTS Nearly 10% of patients had persistent correction >36 months, based on patient report. Approximately 50% required three or fewer retreatments to maintain satisfactory correction (determined by patient and physician). Milder lipoatrophy on initial presentation required fewer retreatments and had more sustained correction. Time to first retreatment varied according to James scale score: 1 (21.4 months) and 4 (13.0 months). The mean patient satisfaction score was 4.9 (1=dissatisfied, 5=very satisfied) at study end. No serious adverse events were reported. CONCLUSION Injectable PLLA is a safe and effective long‐term treatment option for HIV‐associated lipoatrophy. Dr. Mest is a consultant for Dermik Aesthetics, a division of sanofi‐aventis U.S. LLC, and Dr. Humble is a consultant for Dermik Laboratories, a business of sanofi‐aventis U.S. LLC. Study materials were provided by Dermik Laboratories.
Optimal scheduling of unbalanced distribution networks to improve the contribution of renewables and network balancing performance

High penetration of photovoltaic (PV) units in distribution networks along with unbalanced nature of residential loads deteriorates the voltage quality metrics and ends in unbalanced operations. The ever increasing number of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and their smart charging/discharging processes provides a potential opportunity for lessening the voltage unbalance factor (VUF), operated independently at each of the single-phase's components. On the other hands, in different types of operation modes, collaboration of voltage conditioning devices such as under-load tap-changing (ULTC) transformer with PEVs and PV units necessitates adoption of efficient distribution management systems (DMSs). Contributing to this context, this study develops a DMS concentrating on various types of control methods say as symmetric and asymmetric operation of devices. The main goal is to achieve the best operation characteristics in unbalanced conditions and boosting the hosting capacity of renewable energy resources. The proposed approach is modeled as a non-linear problem (NLP) and tested on an IEEE 33-bus test network. Results are discussed in depth.
MARKET INTERNALIZATION OF EXTERNALITIES: WHAT IS FAILING?

The usual internalization of externality ‘by the market’ can be thought of through two different exchange modes: competitive markets, with Kenneth J. Arrow (1969); or bargaining, with Ronald H. Coase (1960). Although, in both cases, ‘externality’ refers to a non-exchanged effect that produces suboptimalities, these authors are working with two different, implicit conceptions of externality, rooted in different analytical worlds and calling for different institutions—parametric prices for the former but not for the latter. Moreover, while both start out with different theoretical frameworks, the authors share a concern for realism and unite when they introduce transaction costs, both advocating a policy design that calls for taking into account the costs of the different solutions. Nevertheless, this introduction of transaction costs does not itself escape consistency problems, since they do both maintain a reference to their respective ideal worlds.
Diffusion of levofloxacin into bone and synovial tissues.

OBJECTIVES The degree of penetration of an antibiotic into the infected site is an important determinant of therapeutic success. Levofloxacin is widely used in the treatment of serious infections. However, there are only few studies concerning its diffusion into bone tissue and none concerning its diffusion into synovial tissue. Our objective was to quantify levofloxacin bone and synovial tissue penetration and to compare our data with the breakpoint for susceptible organisms. PATIENTS AND METHODS In an open-label study, 12 subjects who were undergoing elective total hip replacement received a single, parenteral, 500 mg dose of levofloxacin. Plasma, cortical and cancellous bone, and synovial tissue samples were collected a mean of 1.2 h later and analysed by a validated HPLC method. RESULTS The mean +/- S.D. plasma concentration of levofloxacin at the time of bone removal was 7.5 +/- 1.3 mg/L. The levofloxacin concentrations were 7.4 +/- 2.2 mg/kg in cancellous bone tissue and 3.9 +/- 1.2 mg/kg in cortical bone tissue. The levofloxacin concentration was 8.9 +/- 2.1 mg/kg in synovial tissue. The mean +/- S.D. ratios of levofloxacin concentration in bone and plasma (bone/plasma) were 1.0 +/- 0.4 for cancellous bone tissue and 0.5 +/- 0.1 for cortical bone tissue. The ratio of levofloxacin concentration in synovial tissue and plasma (synovial tissue/plasma) was 1.2 +/- 0.4. CONCLUSIONS The concentrations of levofloxacin achieved in cancellous and cortical bone tissue and in synovial tissue are greater than the breakpoint for susceptible organisms, which is < or =2 mg/L.
Land Tenure and Allocative Efficiency in Niger

Using field-level data, we investigate whether traditional land tenure systems are an impediment to allocative efficiency in Niger. We find that yields are strongly influenced by the manpower available to farming households, an indication that marginal returns to labor and land are not equalized across households. We uncover no relationship between manuring and whether or not local customs allow land sales. But manuring is influenced by tenure security: farmers who cultivate both borrowed and owned fields divert manure toward the latter. Our findings do not imply that a change in land tenure system is called for. Copyright 1996, Oxford University Press.
Using Trend Data to Evaluate the Differential Response of State Borrowing to Revenue Volatility

Revenue volatility has been a major concern for many state governments as it affects public service delivery and government operation in various ways. Among those, revenue volatility often affects the extent to which state governments utilize borrowing to pay for their infrastructure. As state governments have been ever increasing their reliance on borrowing to finance their capital needs, this paper aims to explore the differential impact of revenue volatility measured by negative versus positive revenue deviation of from trend on state governments' decision in debt financing capital spending. These relationships are empirically examined by modeling various factors that explain state governments' reliance on debt financing with the US Census Bureau's State Government Finance database covering 1987–2004. Findings suggest negative revenue deviation caused a state to decrease the issuance of general obligation (GO) debt and GO debt as a proportion of total long‐term debt issuance when the magnitude of the deviation is below the medium range, but increase the issuance of revenue debt and long‐term debt only when the deviation is high. In the scenario of positive deviation from trend, both the direction and its magnitude increased the issuance of the GO and long‐term debt as well as the GO share. Findings from this research provide new insight into the effects of revenue volatility on the financing choices of state governments. It also has important implications for state public administrators who aim to mitigate the negative impact of revenue uncertainty and exercise a proactive control over state debt burden.
Crisis Bargaining and Nuclear Blackmail

Abstract Do nuclear weapons offer coercive advantages in international crisis bargaining? Almost seventy years into the nuclear age, we still lack a complete answer to this question. While scholars have devoted significant attention to questions about nuclear deterrence, we know comparatively little about whether nuclear weapons can help compel states to change their behavior. This study argues that, despite their extraordinary power, nuclear weapons are uniquely poor instruments of compellence. Compellent threats are more likely to be effective under two conditions: first, if a challenger can credibly threaten to seize the item in dispute; and second, if enacting the threat would entail few costs to the challenger. Nuclear weapons, however, meet neither of these conditions. They are neither useful tools of conquest nor low-cost tools of punishment. Using a new dataset of more than 200 militarized compellent threats from 1918 to 2001, we find strong support for our theory: compellent threats from nuclear states are no more likely to succeed, even after accounting for possible selection effects in the data. While nuclear weapons may carry coercive weight as instruments of deterrence, it appears that these effects do not extend to compellence.
In search of a "sapient game"

The search for a sapient human activity should start by selecting the desirable features for the game; 1) should be mainly abductive 2) the abduction should be performed on an explicit knowledge-memory structure 3) must perform actions on the world resulting in modifications in the memory structure. I propose that the activity in question is the human activity resulting in "meaningful learning". A system implementation of this human activity as a game would be a learning-concepts device that could make its abductions through the use of a mechanism such as Bayes theorem on a concepts network. The topology of the network is provided by a classifying mechanism such as ID3 algorithm on lists of concepts. The "game" can no longer be a simulated one as the Chess game is, it must be implemented in a physical robot interacting with its physical environment.
If it's Good for the Firm, it's Good for Me: Insider Trading and Repurchases Motivated by Undervaluation

My findings suggest that information inherent in insider trading can be used to identify undervalued repurchasing firms. I examine the relation between insider trading and the performance of open market repurchase (OMR) firms. I show that firms with high net insider buying prior to open market repurchase announcements not only earn abnormal stock returns in both the short- and long-run, but also exhibit better operating performance. Overall, the evidence is consistent with insiders timing their trades prior to open market repurchase announcements.
THE USE OF INFLOW PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIPS TO IDENTIFY RESERVOIR RESPONSE DURING PRODUCTION TESTS IN A GEOTHERMAL WELL

The behavior of four inflow performance relationships are analyzed and discussed. Two of them are developed for petroleum systems and two others are developed for geothermal fluid containing high and low salinity respectively. A methodology to determine the maximum flow rate (Wmax) that a well can produce for a specific stage of its productive life, using these inflow relationships is presented. Also it is showed the way to identify the intervals of the dimensionless pressure values (pD), for which the maximum flow rate can be considered as stable and as a reservoir response according to its bottom flowing pressure (pwf). Application of this methodology to four cases of production test in wells was carried out, founding that the intervals of pD values where the stabilized flow is identified is a function of the magnitude of the well flow capacity. INTRODUCTION Reservoir engineering for well characterization uses among other tools, the inflow curves also known as IPR curves (Inflow Performance Relationships). The inflow curve of a well is equivalent to the output curve but it is measured at bottom hole conditions. Both curves are individuals for each well and vary with the productive life of the well. The output curves are obtained from the measurements at surface conditions of the flow and pressure. The original application of inflow curves was done in the petroleum industry (Muskat, 1937; Evinger and Muskat, 1937; Horner, 1951; Gilbert, 1954; Weller, 1966; Vogel, 1968; Wiggins, 1994). Also several authors (Grant et al., 1982; Kjaran and Elliasson, 1982; Garg and Riney, 1984; Chu, 1988; James, 1989; Gunn and Freeston, 1991a) began to utilize the technique of output curves in geothermal reservoirs. Also different geothermal inflow performance relationships were developed assuming the fluid as: a) pure water (Iglesias and Moya, 1990), b) a mixture H2O-CO2 (Moya, 1994; Moya et al., 1998), c) a ternary mixture H2O-CO2-NaCl with low salinity (Montoya, 2003), and d) a ternary mixture H2O-CO2NaCl with high salinity (Meza, 2005). INFLOW RELATIONSHIPS There are many applications of inflow relationships and one of them is the determination of the maximum flow (Wmax) that a well can produce. The value of the maximum flow is useful in the design of exploitation, and to fix the reference value from which it can identify the decline in the well production. The inflow curves are related by their respective dimensionless relations, which utilize the variables of flow and pressure obtained in a well test production. The dimensionless expressions of these variables are:
Nonconvexities, Retirement, and the Elasticity of Labor Supply

We consider two life cycle models of labor supply that use nonconvexities to generate retirement. In each case we derive a link between hours worked prior to retirement, the intertemporal elasticity of substitution for labor (IES), and the size of the nonconvexities. This link is robust to allowing for credit constraints and human capital accumulation by younger workers and suggests values for the IES that are . 75 or higher.
A study on RF/microwave tunable inductor topologies

Recently, tunable structures gained importance due to frequency agile microwave circuits such as tunable filters, matching networks, amplifiers, etc. that are needed to realize reconfigurable radios. Deploying tunable inductors would increase the flexibility in reconfigurable microwave circuits when used in conjunction with variable capacitors. In this paper we investigate several tunable inductor topologies. Each proposed topology has certain advantages/disadvantages and these are addressed throughout the paper.
Enriching Scanner Panel Models with Choice Experiments

This research examines the methods, viability, and benefits of pooling scanner panel choice data with compatible preference data from designed choice experiments. The fact that different choice data sources have diverse strengths and weaknesses suggests it might be possible to pool multiple sources to achieve improved models, due to offsetting advantages and disadvantages. For example, new attributes and attribute levels not included in the scanner panel data can be introduced via the choice experiment, while the scanner panel data captures preference dynamics, which is, at best, difficult with experimental data. Our application, involving liquid laundry detergent, establishes the feasibility and desirability of doing such augmentations of scanner panel data: The joint scanner panel/choice experiment model has significantly better prediction performance on a holdout data set than does a pure scanner panel model. Thus, we extend the concept of choice data enrichment into another domain and demonstrate that data enrichment can add significantly to one's understanding of preferences reflected in scanner panel data.
The Short Circuit Electromagnetic Force of the Three-Phase Encapsulated Gas Insulated Bus-Bar

This paper discribes various optimum design conditions for a three-phase encapsulated gas insulated bus-bar (3 phase GIB) on the basis of the results of the quantitative analysis and the experiments with respect to the short circuit electromagnetic force. It reveals that the characteristics of the short circuit oscillation in 3 phase GIB are notably different from those in single phase bus-bars. The experiments showed that the fundamental mode oscillation of conductors was dominant with strong attenuation of 10 ~ 12%. The effect of enclosure current should also be taken into account in case of aluminuim enclosure.
The evaluation of management education and development: an overview

Views about the nature and purpose of evaluation have developed quite dramatically over the last two decades. Unfortunately many peoples' expectations about what evaluation should be doing have not kept pace with these developments. In addition there has been a large amount of work carried out on the evaluation of general educational and social programmes, and much of this is both parallel to, and complimentary to, the evaluation of management training. This paper reviews recent trends in both fields using ideas from educational evaluation to clarify some of the problems encountered repeatedly in training evaluation and to suggest what might be more realistic expectations of evaluative activities.
Evidence of Impact: Examination of Evaluation Studies Published in the Journal of Extension

Research was conducted to explore the level of evidence of impact collected through program evaluation (outcome studies) by Extension as published in JOE. Articles reviewed were those listed under the headings of "Feature Articles" and "Research in Brief" in 5-year increments (1965-69, 1975-79, 1985-89, 1995-99, and 2005-09). The design used a form of quantitative content analysis. The data indicate that 88.5% of the articles documented evidence above the level of participation and that almost two-thirds were measuring outcomes; however, only 5.6% documented long-term outcomes. The findings have implications for improving Extension's public value through documented evidence of impact.