Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Shared random effects analysis of multi‐state Markov models: application to a longitudinal study of transitions to dementia

Multi‐state models are appealing tools for analysing data about the progression of a disease over time. In this paper, we consider a multi‐state Markov chain with two competing absorbing states: dementia and death and three transient non‐demented states: cognitively normal, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (amnestic MCI), and non‐amnestic mild cognitive impairment (non‐amnestic MCI). The likelihood function for the data is derived and estimates for the effects of the covariates on transitions are determined when the process can be viewed as a polytomous logistic regression model with shared random effects. The presence of a shared random effect not only complicates the formulation of the likelihood but also its evaluation and maximization. Three approaches for maximizing the likelihood are compared using a simulation study; the first method is based on the Gauss‐quadrature technique, the second method is based on importance sampling ideas, and the third method is based on an expansion by Taylor series. The best approach is illustrated using a longitudinal study on a cohort of cognitively normal subjects, followed annually for conversion to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and/or dementia, conducted at the Sanders Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Decentralized development in the European Union

In the first of these short reports (Hart, 2001), I introduced the Dynamics of Rural Areas Project (DORA), a four-country European Union research programme then still under way, in reviewing the significance of the Scottish Highlands and Islands for development studies more generally. In this second report, I will summarize the findings of the DORA project and comment on its significance for the future of rural development studies in Europe.1 The third short report, to be published next year, will compare DORA’s European study with analogous approaches to rural development studies in the rest of the world, particularly in North America.
What is the Real Relationship between Income and Charitable Giving?

Many studies have focused on the relationship between income and charitable donations either by comparing income and percentage of income donated to construct a “giving curve” or by calculating the income elasticity of giving. In this article, the authors relate these two types of studies to one another, using 1997 Consumer Expenditure Survey data. They show that giving curves and elasticity models measure different phenomena and investigate ways that the information in each might be combined to enrich future studies of charitable giving.
Managing Technological Transitions Through R&D Alliances

Technological and market transitions are difficult to manage, and collaborations can be viewed as either resources or constraints in dynamic settings. In the biopharmaceutical industry, a paradigmatic shift in the relevant knowledge bases occurred in the mid-1990s, inducing a structural change in the network of R&D collaborations. Search and relational strategies oriented toward exploration versus exploitation have prevailed in different phases of the network evolution. Therefore, biotechnology firms have experienced overwhelming difficulties in reorienting their learning strategies throughout paradigmatic shifts and ambidextrous organizations have been able to attain superior performances in terms of stability and centralization in the R&D network.
Muribasidiospora indica causing a prominent leaf spot disease on Rhus lancea in South Africa

Muribasidiospora indica was identified as the causal organism associated with leaf spots of Rhus lancea in South Africa. The disease appears more commonly in the warmer provinces of South Africa (Gauteng, Free State) than in the Western Cape. The morphological identification of the causal organism was confirmed by comparing sequence data of the large subunit rRNA gene (28S) with that of reference strains of M indica. This is the first confirmed record of this species occurring in Africa, where it appears to be a serious leaf pathogen on members of the Anacardiaceae.
Use of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase recovered from human plasma for phenotypic drug susceptibility testing

Objective: To demonstrate the use of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) recovered directly from plasma for phenotypic drug susceptibility testing. Methods: Plasma from HIV-1 infected individuals with and without drug resistance-associated mutations were selected for the study. The blind coded plasmas were treated to inactivate cellular enzymes. The virions were immobilized on a gel and washed to remove antiretroviral drugs and RT activity blocking antibodies. The immobilized virions were lysed; the viral RT eluted and quantified, all according to the ExaVir Load procedure. The drug sensitivity profiles of each RT were determined using serially diluted drugs and modified Cavidi HS Lenti RT kits. Results: The phenotypic drug sensitivity profiles of the RT and the patterns of drug resistance mutations were highly concordant. Plasma RT from virions devoid of mutations associated with drug resistance had average 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of 1.5 ± 0.93 μM for nevirapine, 0.21 ± 0.099 μM for efavirenz, 7.1 ± 3.2 μM for delavirdine, 0.42 ± 0.15 μM for azidothymidine triphosphate and 0.059 ± 0.018 μM for didehydrothymidine triphosphate. The increase in IC50 value for RT with drug resistance associated substitutions was from 3- to more than 65-fold for non-nucleoside inhibitors and between 2- and 30-fold for thymidine analogue drugs. Conclusion: RT derived from virions recovered from the plasma of HIV infected individuals can be used for analysis of phenotypic drug susceptibility. The methods presented provide rapid alternatives for analysing phenotypic drug susceptibility especially when the therapy is based on non-nucleoside RT inhibitors and thymidine-analogue drugs.
Compensation method of frquency dependent attenuation for tissue harmonic imaging

High definition of medical ultrasound images is strongly required. Recently, studies for ultrasound imaging using second harmonics have been advanced for this purpose. However, a living body has the property of frequency dependent attenuation (FDA). FDA is a problem that cannot be ignored when using the second harmonics for imaging. In this study, we propose an FDA compensation method for second harmonic pulse compression imaging in which ideal formed FM chirp echoes are received after having the distortion due to FDA by modulating the amplitude of a transmission signal.
A Study of Pay Satisfaction and Work-to-Family Conflict

The authors suggest that employees offset their work–family conflict (WFC) levels with their pay satisfaction levels, on the basis of exchange and justice theories. Data was randomly collected from public sector teachers working in 95 public sector primary and secondary schools located in Islamabad and Rawalpindi cities, Pakistan. Results indicate that satisfaction with pay has a negative relationship with WFC. An analysis of the dimensions of pay satisfaction indicate that satisfaction with pay level, benefits level and pay structure was negatively related to WFC, but pay raises were not. Age moderate the relationship between satisfaction with pay and WFC such that higher pay satisfaction decreases WFC more for younger employees than the older employees.
The Effect of Project Types and Technologies on Software Developers' Efforts

Considering intrinsic valuation of software developers as the main motive for participating in open source projects, we examine the (Nash) equilibrium effort levels of the software developers in implementing projects that follow one of the three different technologies: the summation, the weakest-link, and the best-shot. Under the summation technology, developers having higher intrinsic valuation exert more effort in open source projects but all developers in commercial projects expend the same effort. Under the weakest-link technology, regardless of the types of the projects, all developers exert the same effort at equilibrium. In open source projects, the developer with the lowest intrinsic valuation has a crucial role in determining the equilibrium effort level while, in case of commercial projects, the equilibrium effort level is bounded by the net wage. Finally, under the best-shot technology, only one developer makes serious effort and the others free ride in both open source and commercial projects.
Farm-level benefits to investments for mitigating land degradation: empirical evidence from Ethiopia

Resource conservation programs have often been launched without careful evaluation of farmers' intertemporal tradeoffs in undertaking conservation investments. Such investments often have long pay back periods and reduce short-term household incomes. The critical question is whether long-term benefits would be sufficient to compensate farmers' immediate costs. Lack of empirical data on crop responses to soil erosion has hindered policy-relevant research. This study uses empirical data from the Ethiopian highlands to estimate the damage from soil erosion and evaluate the profitability of proposed conservation investments. A farm-level model is developed to study economic incentives to implement proposed conservation methods. Results show that incentives to invest in conservation practices are very low except for low cost methods like grass strips. The yield penalty due to area loss and high investment costs contribute to this. Policies focusing on minimizing the area loss effect and subsidizing the initial investment costs are shown to improve farmers' incentives to conserve the soil. A preferred policy option in the short-term is supporting low cost technologies that provide short-term benefits to poor farmers.
The Sickness Impact Profile: Development and Final Revision of a Health Status Measure

The final development of the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), a behaviorally based measure of health status, is presented. A large field trial on a random sample of prepaid group practice enrollees and smaller trials on samples of patients with hyperthyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis and hip replacements were undertaken to assess reliability and validity of the SIP and provide data for category and item analyses. Test-retest reliability (r = 0.92) and internal consistency (r = 0.94) were high. Convergent and discriminant validity was evaluated using the multitrait–multimethod technique. Clinical validity was assessed by determining the relationship between clinical measures of disease and the SIP scores. The relationship between the SIP and criterion measures were moderate to high and in the direction hypotheszed. A technique for describing and assessing similarities and differences among groups was developed using profile and pattern analysis. The final SIP contains 136 items in 12 categories. Overall, category, and dimension scores may be calculated.
Symmetric and antisymmetric states: A general feature of two-component systems.

It is shown that in both the nuclear shell model, considering explicitly proton and neutron degrees of freedom (seniority scheme), and in particle-core coupling model calculations, 2/sup +/ levels with symmetric and antisymmetric character in the constituent unperturbed basis result. Besides the excitation energy for such 2/sup +/ levels, the E2 decay properties also are studied. Constructive and destructive interference between the two distinct E2 matrix elements results for the 2/sub 1//sup +/ (symmetric) and 2/sub 2//sup +/ (antisymmetric) levels, respectively. Applications are shown for the Cd (Z = 48) and the N = 84 nuclei.
Exercise prescription for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases: part II

Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory studies have provided definitive evidence that physical activity is able to improve fitness and reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Moreover, physical exercise also seems to significantly reduce the risk of developing other chronic diseases such as obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, tumours and depression. Promoting physical activity in the general population is therefore one of the primary objectives of our healthcare institutions. Although the benefits of an active lifestyle have been demonstrated by numerous scientific data, only a few numbers of Italians and Europeans take up regular physical exercise. To promote physical activity, both in the general population and in subjects affected by cardiovascular diseases, the Italian Federation of Sports Medicine, the Italian Society of Sports Cardiology, the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists, the Italian Society of Cardiology, the Italian Association of Out-of-Hospital Cardiologists and the Italian Group of Cardiac Rehabilitation have promoted the constitution of a Task Force made up of experts in the fields of sports cardiology. The document produced by the Task Force is intended for healthcare professionals, and deals with the role of physical activity in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. It examines the beneficial effects of physical activity on the cardiovascular system, while analysing the possible risks involved and how they can be avoided. The rational principles underlying the prescription of physical activity in the cardiologic setting are described, as are the modalities for prescribing such activity.
Service operations management: from the roots up

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess developments in the service literature over the last six years and to lay out some challenges and opportunities for the operations management academic community.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on issues raised in a previous paper and contains the results of a literature review and a content analysis of around 250 papers from three journals.Findings – The paper suggests that there is a window of opportunity for operations academics to engage in the service arena and apply their knowledge and skills to answer fundamental questions in the areas of quality, productivity and efficiency, and to apply their expertise in business services and the not‐for‐profit and voluntary sectors.Research limitations/implications – This polemic reflects the biased opinions of the author.Originality/value – Assesses developments in the service literature.
Internationalisation and Economic Performance of Enterprises: Evidence from Polish Firm-Level Data

This paper provides evidence on the relative performance of internationalized firms using Polish firm-level data spanning over the period of 1996-2005. We distinguish between three modes of internationalization: foreign direct investment, exporting and importing of capital goods. Our results point strongly at superior performance of foreign affiliates vs. domestic firms, exporters vs. non-exporters and importers vs. non-importers. There seem to be important learning effects associated with becoming a foreign affiliate or an exporter. We also find evidence for significant horizontal and backward productivity spillovers from all three types of international activity.
Pulse evaluation of high voltage SIC diodes

The U. S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is evaluating silicon carbide switches and diodes to determine the range of high power and pulsed power applications for which SiC is a sensible material to use. This study focused on 6 kV, SiC P-i-N diodes which were designed by Cree Inc. and packaged and pulse tested at ARL. Diodes were pulsed at a single shot rate both individually and in parallel. Individual diodes were pulsed as high as 5.9 kA (corresponding to an action of 4.5 × 103 A2s) for 25 single shots before failing, and as high as 5.0 kA (with an action of 3.5×103 A2s) for over 100 shots without failure. Five diodes paralleled in the pulse testbed carried a total current of 23 kA with each diode sharing 19–21% of the total peak current. Eight diodes in parallel reached over 39 kA peak current. The ultimate goal is to combine 8–10 diodes in a single, compact package for higher current applications.
Propionic Acid Preservatives for Hay

Hay producers working in humid environments are wellacquainted with the consequences of baling moist hays, which include heating, molding, losses of dry matter (DM) and nutritive value, and the possibility of spontaneous combustion. These problems are initiated through respiration by active plant cells and/or microorganisms associated with the hay that consume plant sugars in the presence of oxygen to yield carbon dioxide, water, and heat:
Elevated resting energy expenditure among HIV-seropositive persons receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy.

OBJECTIVES To ascertain the relationships between resting energy expenditure (REE), HIV RNA in plasma, and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis using data of a large cohort study of nutrition in relation to HIV disease. METHODS HIV RNA in plasma, REE, fat-free mass (FFM), and medication regimens were assessed at 530 visits among 372 participants in a cohort study of HIV-seropositive men and women. RESULTS HIV RNA in plasma was directly correlated with REE. After adjustment for FFM, age, CD4 cell count and HAART use, there was an increase in REE of 90 kJ/day per log10 copies/ml increase in HIV RNA [95% confidence interval (CI) 16-164; P = 0.02). HAART use had an independent effect on REE. In patients reporting HAART use, adjusted REE was 339 kJ/day higher than in those not reporting HAART use (95% CI 177-501; P = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Viral load and HAART appear to exert independent effects on REE. Although HAART may decrease metabolic rate by lowering viral burden, it appears to increase metabolic demands through some mechanism(s) independent of its effect on viral burden. This may result in elevated REE despite control of viral replication.
Universally Composable Attribute-based Group Key Exchange

Several protocols implementing attribute-based group key exchange, which allows users with certain set of attributes to establish a session key, have been proposed in recent years. However, attacks on attribute-based group key exchange in current research have been considered only in stand-alone fashion. Thus these protocols may be vulnerable when run with other protocol sessions concurrently. We treat the security of attribute-based group key exchange in the universal composability framework to ensure that a protocol remains secure when run with arbitrary protocol sessions concurrently. More specifically, we define an ideal functionality for attribute-based group key exchange first, then propose a two-round protocol based on a primitive called encapsulation policy attribute-based key encapsulation mechanism. In addition, a complete security proof of our protocol in the universal composability framework under random oracle model is given.
Calculating Poverty Measures from the Generalised Beta Income Distribution

Data for measuring poverty are frequently available in a summary form that describes the proportion of income or expenditure for each of a number of population proportions. While various discrete poverty measures can be applied directly to data in this limited form, they typically require an arbitrary approach to within-group interpolation. This problem can be overcome by fitting either a parametric income distribution or a Lorenz curve to the grouped data and computing the required quantities from estimated parameters. The Lorenz curve approach is widely used by the World Bank, but can encounter problems. As an alternative, in this article we show how to calculate several poverty measures from parameters of the generalized beta income distribution, and its popular special cases. An analysis of poverty changes in countries from South and Southeast Asia is used to illustrate the methodology.
Biofuels and ecoagriculture: can bioenergy production enhance landscape-scale ecosystem conservation and rural livelihoods?

Global development of the biofuel sector is proceeding rapidly, driven by national policy mandates, government subsidies, and profit opportunities for farmers, agribusiness and energy companies. To date, most investment in—and dialogue on—biofuels has focused on large-scale production of liquid transport fuels. A smaller set of efforts has explored the potential of biofuels to promote rural development by reducing energy poverty among the world's two billion poorest people. Here, we consider the potential of these diverse approaches to promote the goals of ecoagriculture: namely, sustainable agricultural production (including biofuel feedstocks), conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services and viable rural livelihoods. Using a landscape planning framework, we review empirical evidence and identify criteria for designing biofuel production systems that promote this trio of goals. Biofuel development has the greatest potential when biomass production is an ‘interstitial’ activity and when processing and use occurs at the local level. Larger scale production for regional or global liquid fuel markets may be beneficial under some circumstances, but a stronger policy framework is needed to guide this approach. To advance biofuels for sustainable development, while avoiding serious risks, investment must shift to include a variety of ecoagriculture-compatible pathways. Supportive public policies and market incentives must be developed before the biofuel sector develops strong path-dependence toward unsustainable outcomes.
Data Envelopment Analysis Revisited: A Neophyte's Perspective

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is an approach to efficiency measurement that has been the subject of much academic enquiry. During the last two decades or so thousands of papers, books and dissertations have been written. However, given the fast-growing nature of this field, it is essential to provide comprehensive and systematic guides. This paper revisits DEA in a language palatable to educators, students and practitioners. It defines the approach, illustrates its use and discusses its strengths and limitations. After discussing the basic models, it describes some of its extensions, applications and software available. The issues surrounding the practical application of DEA are also reviewed. The paper concludes by suggesting that the use of DEA is still the province of specialists and that further research should consider ways to make it more widely accessible.
Evaluating Benign and Malignant Musculoskeletal Lesions With Radionuclide Angiography and SPECT Using Tc-99m MIBI

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of radionuclide angiography and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using Tc-99m hexakis-2-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (Tc-99m MIBI) for analyzing musculoskeletal lesions. Materials and Methods: Radionuclide angiography and SPECT using Tc-99m MIBI were performed in 36 patients with various soft tissue and bone pathologies (18 benign and 18 malignant lesions). The ratio of the counts of the lesion to that of the contralateral normal area was calculated from the region of interest drawn on the MIBI scan. The MIBI-uptake ratio was calculated using SPECT and the MIBI-perfusion index was calculated using radionuclide angiography. Results: The MIBI-uptake ratio in malignant lesions (4.80 ± 4.43) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that in benign lesions (1.83±2.48). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the MIBI-uptake ratio for malignant lesions were 72%, 83%, 78%, 81%, and 75%, respectively. The MIBI-perfusion index in malignant lesions (17.68 ± 21.19) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that in benign lesions (2.25 ± 2.56). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the MIBI-perfusion index for malignant lesions were 87%, 75%, 81%, 77%, and 86%, respectively. Conclusions: The MIBI-uptake ratio and MIBI-perfusion index using Tc-99m MIBI can yield important additional information with which to differentiate musculoskeletal lesions.