Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Interaction of Communicating Measurement Uncertainty and the Dark Triad on Managers’ Reporting Decisions

ABSTRACT: I conduct an interactive experiment with participants in manager- and investor-like roles to examine whether and how mandating range disclosures for uncertain estimates will influence managers' reporting decisions. I find that managers report less aggressively when ranges are disclosed, such that investors have little aggressive reporting to identify using range disclosures. However, consistent with psychology theory, range disclosures have the greatest effect on managers with stronger levels of psychopathy, narcissism, or Machiavellianism (“the Dark Triad” of personality in psychology). Range disclosures discipline these managers' aggressive reporting, while managers with lower levels of all of these personalities have less aggressiveness to discipline and are insensitive to range disclosure. Consequently, mandating range disclosures should have the greatest effect on managers most in need of reining in—and is unlikely to reveal aggressive reporting to investors (as might be expected) because t.
Mucoadhesive chitosan-dextran sulfate nanoparticles for sustained drug delivery to the ocular surface.

PURPOSE To characterize nanoparticles produced by self-assembly of oppositely charged polymers, cationic chitosan (CS), and anionic dextran sulfate (DS), for drug delivery to the ocular surface. The goal is to overcome the short residence time of topical drugs through their sustained release from mucoadhesive nanoparticles. METHODS Chitosan-dextran sulfate nanoparticles (CDNs) were produced by mixing CS and DS; polyethylene glycol-400 was used as a surface stabilizing agent. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of CS, DS, and CDNs were determined in the wavenumber range of 4,000-700 cm(-1) to assess the ionic interactions in the formation of CDNs. The physicochemical properties, entrapment efficacy, and dissolution profile of CDNs were investigated using Rhodamine B (RhB) and Nile Red (NR) as drug analogs. The mucoadhesiveness of the CDNs was assessed by imaging the retention of the fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled CDNs on the cornea ex vivo, which was subjected to shear stress by a steady stream of saline solution. RESULTS CDNs were obtained by the polyelectrolyte complexation technique. The FTIR spectra of CDNs showed spectral shifts in the amine and sulfate regions, confirming an involvement of electrostatic interactions between cationic CS and anionic DS. The CDNs were spherical in shape and segregated. They possessed a particle size of ~400 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.3 and exhibited a zeta potential of ~40 mV. A high entrapment efficacy of up to 80% was observed with both RhB and NR. In the dissolution experiments, NR was released from CDNs within 60 min, but RhB was not released. This indicates that the release of drugs could depend on their molecular interactions with the particle. Exposure of CDNs to lysozyme, which is found in tears, had no effect on the mean particle size or the surface charge. Instillation of NR, RhB, and FITC in the presence of saline irrigation resulted in their rapid disappearance (<5 min) from the corneal surface. In contrast, fluorescent CDNs showed retention on the cornea even after 60 min. CONCLUSIONS Cationic and biocompatible mucoadhesive CDNs have been developed for sustained drug delivery to the ocular surface. The CDNs were stable to lysozyme and showed prolonged adherence to the corneal surface.
Education for Development: An Analysis of Investment Choices

The principal aim of this book is to make planners and policymakers more aware of the problems that can arise in developing investment strategies for education and the analytical tools and information that are available to help solve them. It draws both on World Bank analysis and research and on the wider literature on planning educational investment. Among the topics discussed are the contribution of education to economic and human development, cost-benefit analysis, the demand for educated manpower, finance, the efficiency and quality of education, equity considerations, and the links between investment in education and in other sectors.
Bayesian Semi-parametric Expected Shortfall Forecasting in Financial M arkets

Bayesian semi-parametric estimation has proven effective for quantile estimation in general and specifically in financial Value at Risk forecasting. Expected short-fall is a competing tail risk measure, involving a conditional expectation beyond a quantile, that has recently been semi-parametrically estimated via asymmetric least squares and so-called expectiles. An asymmetric Gaussian density is proposed allowing a likelihood to be developed that leads to Bayesian semi-parametric estimation and forecasts of expectiles and expected shortfall. Further, the conditional autoregressive expectile class of model is generalised to two fully nonlinear families. Adaptive Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling schemes are employed for estimation in these families. The proposed models are clearly favoured in an empirical study forecasting eleven financial return series: clear evidence of more accurate expected shortfall forecasting, compared to a range of competing methods is found. Further, the most favoured models are those estimated by Bayesian methods.
Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI)—a simple practical measure for routine clinical use

A simple practical questionnaire technique for routine clinical use, the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) is described. One hundred and twenty patients with different skin diseases were asked about the impact of their disease and its treatment on their lives; a questionnaire, the DLQI, was developed based on their answers. The DLQI was then completed by 200 consecutive new‐patients attending a dermatology clinic. This study confirmed that a topic eczema, psoriasis and generalized pruritus have a greater impact on quality of life than acne, basal cell carcinomas and viral warts. The DLQI was also completed by 100 healthy volunteers; their mean score was very low (1.6%, s.d. 3.5) compared with the mean score for the dermatology patients (24.2%, s.d. 20.9). The reliability of the DLQI was examined in 53 patients using a 1 week test‐retest method and reliability was found to be high (γs=0.99).
The Well-Being of Italians: A Comparative Historical Approach

The paper describes the evolution of the well-being of the Italians during the 150 years since the country's unification. The progress in material standard of living was substantial, with GDP per capita growing 13 times between 1861 and 2010 and hours of work (and hence effort) falling considerably, but was roughly in line with that experienced by most other European countries. By relying on a novel database on household budgets, the paper shows that economic growth was accompanied by a long-run reduction of inequality that appears however to have been reversed in the last two decades. Progress was not limited to the economic domain: educational attainment improved considerably, although less than in other countries; on the other hand, the increase in life expectancy was spectacular and brought Italians to lead the international ranking.
Analysis of Relative Growth Rates Between Domestic and International Earnings of U.S. Based Publicly Traded Restaurant Firms

ABSTRACT This study explores the relative growth rates in earnings of public restaurant firms for a 20-year period from 1981-2000. No significant differences were found in sales growth between multinational and domestic restaurant firms. However, multinational firms significantly outperformed domestic firms in growth of operating income and pre-tax profitability. Multinational restaurant firms also had significantly lower negative growth in domestic earnings when compared to domestic firms. The results imply that multinational restaurant firms are more efficient than domestic firms in converting sales into profits.
Money Demand and Quantity Constraints: Evidence from the Soviet Interview Project

This paper examines the effects of shortages on the demand for money of Soviet citizens. It is the first to examine the demand for money in a centrally planned economy using cross-section data in which alternatives to income and interest rates are used to explain money demand. We find demand for broad money and liquid assets depends on income, illiquid wealth, participation in the underground economy, and the severity of quantity constraints as well as demographic factors. Our findings show that quantity constraints decrease demand for the national currency and increase demand for convertible currencies and barter transactions.
On the Empirical Bayes approach to the problem of multiple testing

We discuss the Empirical Bayes approach to the problem of multiple testing and compare it with a very popular frequentist method of Benjamini and Hochberg aimed at controlling the false discovery rate. Our main focus is the ‘sparse mixture’ case, when only a small proportion of tested hypotheses is expected to be false. The specific parametric model we consider is motivated by the application to detecting genes responsible for quantitative traits, but it can be used in a variety of other applications. We define some Parametric Empirical Bayes procedures for multiple testing and compare them with the Benjamini and Hochberg method using computer simulations. We explain some similarities between these two approaches by placing them within the same framework of threshold tests with estimated critical values. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The copper‐resistant bacterium ACU isolated from the rhizosphere of Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) increased the endurance of Potamogeton crispus L. to copper toxicity

Aims: This study aimed to develop endurance to copper stress in Potamogeton crispus L. by inoculation with the anti‐copper strain ACU – a novel Enterobacteriaceae bacterium isolated from the rhizosphere of Eichhornia crassipes with high copper‐removal ability.
GPIOCP: Timing-accurate general purpose I/O controller for many-core real-time systems

Modern SoC / NoC chips often provide GeneralPurpose I/O (GPIO) pins for connecting devices that are not directly integrated within the chip. Timing accurate control of devices connected to GPIO is often required within embedded real-time systems — ie. I/O operations should occur at exact times, with minimal error, neither being significantly early or late. This is difficult to achieve due to the latencies and contentions present in architecture, between CPU instigating the I/O operation, and the device connected to the GPIO — software drivers, RTOS, buses and bus contentions all introduce significant variable latencies before the command reaches the device. This is compounded in NoC devices utilising a mesh interconnect between CPUs and I/O devices. The contribution of this paper is a resource efficient programmable I/O controller, termed the GPIO Command Processor (GPIOCP), that permits applications to instigate complex sequences of I/O operations at an exact time, so achieving timing-accuracy at a single clock cycle level. Also, I/O operations can be programmed to occur at some point in the future, periodically, or reactively. The GPIOCP is a parallel I/O controller, supporting cycle level timing accuracy across several devices connected to GPIO simultaneously. The GPIOCP exploits the tradeoff between placing using a full sequential CPU to control each GPIO connected device, which achieves some timing accuracy at high resource cost; and poor timing-accuracy achieved where the application CPU controls the device remotely. The GPIOCP has efficient hardware cost compared to CPU approaches, with the additional benefits of total timing accuracy (CPU solutions do not provide this in general) and parallel control of many I/O devices.
Health Reform in the States:A Model Of State Small Group Health Insurance Market Reforms

For the fourth time since World War II, national policymakers, in 1992, engaged in a major debate over reforming and regulating the U.S. health care system. One of the most debated issues involved the problem of the uninsured. While Congress and the President garnered national attention debating the issue, several states were already dealing with the issue of health insurance and their own uninsurance problems. Today, in the absence of activity at the federal level, the states have become the de facto leaders in health care reform. Since 1990, forty-six states have adopted small group insurance market reforms. Such reforms are designed to improve the availability of insurance coverage for employees of small firms, who make up the largest segment of the uninsured in the states. This article examines the factors that account for the sudden pop ularity of small group insurance market reforms, and the factors or char acteristics of the states that explain the extent of policies adopted. To examine these questions, a pooled cross-sectional time series model is employed. The results indicate the factors contributing to the adoption of small group health insurance market reforms are a state's regulatory envi ronment, a state's regulatory philosophy, state fiscal health, problem severity, and the activities of neighboring states. Implications of the find ings are also discussed.
Instrument for measurement of optical parameters of turbid media by using diffuse reflectance of laser with oblique incidence angle

An instrument for simultaneous measurement of absorption and reduced scattering coefficients of optically turbid materials is presented. Determination of the coefficient is based on scattering profile of a laser beam illuminating the sample at oblique incidence angle. The back reflected profile is recorded by imaging the scattered laser spot on material surface, and the coefficients calculated by determining the asymmetry and the slope of the reflectance profile. Several phantoms having different combinations of absorption and scattering coefficients were measured. Results were in good agreement with the reference values with absolute errors from 0.005 to 0.46 mm-1 and from 0.034 to 0.25 mm-1 for absorption and reduced scattering coefficients, respectively, and strong linear dependency with the reference values.
DESIGNER Extracts as Tools to Balance Estrogenic and Chemopreventive Activities of Botanicals for Women’s Health

Botanical dietary supplements contain multiple bioactive compounds that target numerous biological pathways. The lack of uniform standardization requirements is one reason that inconsistent clinical effects are reported frequently. The multifaceted biological interactions of active principles can be disentangled by a coupled pharmacological/phytochemical approach using specialized (“knock-out”) extracts. This is demonstrated for hops, a botanical for menopausal symptom management. Employing targeted, adsorbent-free countercurrent separation, Humulus lupulus extracts were designed for pre- and postmenopausal women by containing various amounts of the phytoestrogen 8-prenylnaringenin (8-PN) and the chemopreventive constituent xanthohumol (XH). Analysis of their estrogenic (alkaline phosphatase), chemopreventive (NAD(P)H-quinone oxidoreductase 1 [NQO1]), and cytotoxic bioactivities revealed that the estrogenicity of hops is a function of 8-PN, whereas their NQO1 induction and cytotoxic properties depend on XH levels. Antagonization of the estrogenicity of 8-PN by elevated XH concentrations provided evidence for the interdependence of the biological effects. A designed postmenopausal hop extract was prepared to balance 8-PN and XH levels for both estrogenic and chemopreventive properties. An extract designed for premenopausal women contains reduced 8-PN levels and high XH concentrations to minimize estrogenic while retaining chemopreventive properties. This study demonstrates the feasibility of modulating the concentrations of bioactive compounds in botanical extracts for potentially improved efficacy and safety.
Making Monetary Policy More Effective: The Case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The paper looks at the challenges of conducting monetary policy in a context of high dollarization of the banking system and weak institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The empirical analysis confirms the limited effectiveness of the Central Bank of Congo in controlling inflation, despite a rapid policy response to inflation shocks. Options available to enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy are limited. After exploring the pros and cons of different exchange regimes we conclude that strengthening the current monetary policy framework remains the first-best option, given the country’s exposure to frequent terms-of-trade shocks.
A p-well GaAs MESFET technology

A p-well GaAs MESFET technology that permits the development of precision mixed-mode integrated circuits is discussed. The p- and n-type regions of the structure are formed by implanting Be/sup 9/ and Si/sup 29/, respectively. The potential of the p-well is constrained by connecting it to the source of the MESFET, ensuring that the source-drain junctions never become forward biased. The p-type layers are beneficial in reducing short-channel effects and in improving both control and matching of pinch-off voltages. Because the p-well GaAs MESFET eliminates the long time constant associated with the drain-current transients and the frequency-dependent g/sub ds/, fast-settling GaAs operational amplifiers and comparators free of frequency-dependent hysteresis are possible. Digital circuits with propagation delay and fanout characteristics independent of frequency and logic patterns are also possible. These advantages arise because the constrained p-well effectively shields the device from trap-related charge fluctuations in the substrate. <<ETX>>
A Simple Fractionation Method for Preparation of Fluorescein-labeled Gamma Globulin.∗

Summary A relatively simple method for separation of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled gamma globulin from serum has been presented. The procedure has been applied to a number of labeled anti-bacterial and anti-viral sera, and the labeled gamma globulin obtained gave definite specific fluorescence when used in the staining procedure with markedly low background fluorescence. The authors wish to acknowledge the technical assistance of Mrs. F. Malone.
Traveling Abroad Internal and External Motives toward Different Sports Fan Types

Sport events are gradually showing higher potential to make significant contribution to contemporary society. Current events are being developed at local, regional and national level, having economic, commercial, political and socio-cultural implications. Different types of fans are the main target of the global sports industry. Therefore, marketers should be aware of sports fans’ needs, discern their motives and predict their buying attitude, estimate the driving forces urging fans to devote time, money and effort to be attend sport events. The scope of the present study is to develop a new sports fan classification scheme, as well as, to evolve a variety of models, like LOGIRE models, aiming at exploring the existence of specific motives, both internal and external that induces fans to attend sports events held abroad. The research was based on personal interviews using a sample 315 persons. Research results revealed six different sports fan types with concrete internal and external motives. More importantly, a new fan type emerged adopting all the behaviour characteristics of the temporary fan type, as well as, the local fan type.
Mice Deficient in N-Acetylgalactosamine 4-Sulfate 6-O-Sulfotransferase Are Unable to Synthesize Chondroitin/Dermatan Sulfate containing N-Acetylgalactosamine 4,6-Bissulfate Residues and Exhibit Decreased Protease Activity in Bone Marrow-derived Mast Cells*

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) and dermatan sulfate (DS) containing N-acetylgalactosamine 4,6-bissulfate (GalNAc(4,6-SO4)) show various physiological activities through interacting with numerous functional proteins. N-Acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase (GalNAc4S-6ST) transfers sulfate from 3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate to position 6 of N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate in CS or DS to yield GalNAc(4,6-SO4) residues. We here report generation of transgenic mice that lack GalNAc4S-6ST. GalNAc4S-6ST-null mice were born normally and fertile. In GalNAc4S-6ST-null mice, GalNAc(4,6-SO4) residues in CS and DS disappeared completely, indicating that GalNAc4S-6ST should be a sole enzyme responsible for the synthesis of GalNAc(4,6-SO4) residues in both CS and DS. IdoA-GalNAc(4,6-SO4) units that account for ∼40% of total disaccharide units of DS in the liver of the wild-type mice disappeared in the liver DS of GalNAc4S-6ST-null mice without reduction of IdoA content. Bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs) derived from GalNAc4S-6ST-null mice contained CS without GlcA-GalNAc(4,6-SO4) units. Tryptase and carboxypeptidase A activities of BMMCs derived from GalNAc4S-6ST-null mice were lower than those activities of BMMCs derived from wild-type mice, although mRNA expression of these mast cell proteases was not altered. Disaccharide compositions of heparan sulfate/heparin contained in the mast cells derived from BMMCs in the presence of stem cell factor were much different from those of heparan sulfate/heparin in BMMCs but did not differ significantly between wild-type mice and GalNAc4S-6ST-null mice. These observations suggest that CS containing GalNAc(4,6-SO4) residues in BMMCs may contribute to retain the active proteases in the granules of BMMCs but not for the maturation of BMMCs into connective tissue-type mast cells.
Mass Balance Source Apportionment Modeling of Indoor Air Pollution Exposures During the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

Mass balance modeling was used to apportion previously measured carbon monoxide and respirable particle exposures of women preparing coffee during Ethiopian coffee ceremonies. The coffee ceremony generates smoke indoors from the use of charcoal and incense. This creates inhalation exposures, particularly for the women preparing the coffee. Understanding the health risks associated with this practice will be improved with knowledge of the relative contribution to combustion byproduct exposures from the different sources. Source fingerprints were developed in the laboratory for carbon monoxide and respirable particle emissions from charcoal and incense. A mass balance model determined that the majority of the carbon monoxide exposures were from charcoal use and that the respirable particle exposures were approximately half from incense and half from charcoal. Efforts to decrease health risks from these exposures must be directed by Ethiopian cultural stakeholders who understand the exposure conditions, the health risks, and the societal context.
Controlled Clinical Comparison of New Pediatric Medium with Adsorbent Polymeric Beads (PF Plus) versus Charcoal-Containing PF Medium in the BacT/Alert Blood Culture System

ABSTRACT We conducted a controlled clinical comparison of PF Plus, the new pediatric medium with adsorbent polymeric beads, versus the charcoal-containing PF medium in the BacT/Alert blood culture system. A total of 2,381 pediatric cultures were enrolled, and 1,703 (71.5%) were deemed to be compliant and acceptable for analysis. Seventy-two cultures (4.2%) had a positive result with 80 clinically significant microorganisms. The results showed that the PF Plus medium yielded more clinically significant microorganisms than the BacT/Alert system (P < 0.05). In addition, the PF Plus bottle yielded positive results an average of 5.0 h earlier than the PF bottle for compliant clinically significant cultures (18.3 h versus 23.2 h, P = 0.004). PF Plus is an improved medium for detecting microorganisms that cause pediatric bloodstream infections.