Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
International R&D Spillovers between Canadian and Japanese Industries

This paper estimates the effects of intranational and international R&D spillovers on the cost and production structure for ten Canadian and Japanese manufacturing industries. Domestic spillovers generate greater effects on average variable cost and factor intensities compared to international spillovers between the two countries. Private and social rates of return to R&D are calculated for each industry in both countries. Social rates of return to R&D are one and one-half to twelve times the private returns. The Canadian social rates of return are generally two to three times higher than the Japanese rates.
The Metabolic Transition in Japan

The notion of a (socio‐) metabolic transition has been used to describe fundamental changes in socioeconomic energy and material use during industrialization. During the last century, Japan developed from a largely agrarian economy to one of the world's leading industrial nations. It is one of the few industrial countries that has experienced prolonged dematerialization and recently has adopted a rigorous resource policy. This article investigates changes in Japan's metabolism during industrialization on the basis of a material flow account for the period from 1878 to 2005. It presents annual data for material extraction, trade, and domestic consumption by major material group and explores the relations among population growth, economic development, and material (and energy) use. During the observed period, the size of Japan's metabolism grew by a factor of 40, and the share of mineral and fossil materials in domestic material consumption (DMC) grew to more than 90%. Much of the growth in the Japanese metabolism was based on imported materials and occurred in only 20 years after World War II (WWII), when Japan rapidly built up large stocks of built infrastructure, developed heavy industry, and adopted patterns of mass production and consumption. The surge in material use came to an abrupt halt with the first oil crisis, however. Material use stabilized, and the economy eventually began to dematerialize. Although gross domestic product (GDP) grew much faster than material use, improvements in material intensity are a relatively recent phenomenon. Japan emerges as a role model for the metabolic transition but is also exceptional in many ways.
[Comparison of different clinical staging systems for hepatocellular carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE To compare the prognostic efficacy of three clinical staging systems: the Chinese system (CS), CLIP scores, and TNM for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS 107 cases diagnosed as HCC between January 2000 and October 2003 were retrospectively analyzed. Their clinical stages were decided on the basis of data in CLIP or Chinese staging system when the HCC diagnosis had been confirmed. Fifty-three of the 107 patients underwent surgical resection. The TNM stage was therefore determined according to surgico-pathological results. The survival of those patients with respective to different stages were analyzed and compared using Kaplan-Meier curves and Log rank method. RESULTS All the patients were followed up after treatment. The 3-year survival rate in the CS Ia, Ib and CLIP 0 group were 100%. The 1- and 2-year survival rates of CS IIIa group was 68% and 51%, respectively. The 1-year survival in CS IIIb group was only 20.9%. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rate in patients with a CLIP score beyond 4 was 57.1%, 49.9%, and 33.5%, respectively. In patients treated with surgical resection, the CS Ia group and TNM I group had a 3-year survival rate of 100%. The 1- and 3-year survival rate in CS IIb were 83.3% and 75.0%, in TNM III group 93.7% and 77.5%. CONCLUSION The CLIP system may provide accurate prediction of prognosis based on early clinical features. The CS system is comparably efficient in predicting the prognosis of HCC patients, particularly in patients with severe cirrhosis.
Effective risk management outcomes: exploring effects of innovation and capital structure

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that strategic responsiveness is of paramount importance for effective risk management outcomes and to introduce an empirical study to demonstrate this.Design/methodology/approach – Real options logic is adopted to explain how effective risk management capabilities improve performance and how innovation and financial slack enhance this effect. The propositions are examined across 896 companies using two‐stage least square regressions.Findings – The study reveals that risk management effectiveness combines both the ability to exploit opportunities and avoid adverse economic impacts, and has a significant positive relationship to performance. This effect is moderated favorably by investment in innovation and lower financial leverage.Research limitations/implications – The analysis is based on a sample of large firms, which may affect the generalizability of results. Nonetheless, the study shows that effective risk management capabilities differentiate the firm.
PCR MIMICS: competitive DNA fragments for use as internal standards in quantitative PCR.

A rapid and reliable method is described for preparing competitive DNA fragments for quantitative PCR. Synthetic DNAs complementary to previously established PCR primers are ligated together with the primers to both ends of a generic DNA fragment whose length differs from the natural target gene PCR product. After a short ligation step, the properly constructed ligation products (i.e., those that have the correct primer templates on opposite sides of the generic DNA fragment) are preferentially amplified by PCR. The generation of competitive PCR fragments, MIMICS, can be completed in a single day. To perform quantitative PCR, known quantities of PCR MIMICS are spiked into PCR amplification reactions containing the experimental cDNA samples. A visual or radioactive comparison of the PCR products can then be used to determine the initial quantity of target gene. We show that competitive PCR MIMICS can be used to accurately measure small changes in mRNA levels.
Development of an environmental justice index to determine socio-economic disparities of noise pollution and green space in residential areas in Berlin

The majority of human beings worldwide live in urban areas; hence, methods to assess the quality of the urban environment and its impact on human well-being are of the utmost importance. Particularly relevant are areas with low levels of environmental justice, defined as areas where low biophysical quality meets low socio-economic status, and where resources and strategies for coping are rare. This paper develops and applies an index to assess the patterns of environmental justice in residential areas with a strong focus on stakeholder integration. We concentrate on the relationship between socio-economic disparities of environmental burdens, such as traffic noise, and of environmental benefits, such as vegetation, in residential areas of Berlin, Germany. To develop an environmental justice index, we combined the environmental burdens and benefits with a socio-economic indicator. As a result, we identify city-wide patterns of environmental justice in Berlin. While there was a high positive correlation between vegetation and socio-economic status, the patterns for noise pollution were very heterogeneous. Our approach provides a transparent and modular index allowing an area-wide monitoring of environmental justice in urban areas. Such an analysis is urgently needed to develop adequate decision-making strategies for all inhabitants to make living in a healthier city possible.
ICDAR 2015 competition on text line detection in historical documents

This paper describes the ANDAR-TL competition (ANncestry Document Analysis and Recognition Text Lines) held at the 13th International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition (ICDAR-2015). This competition uses the ANDAR-TL-1K dataset of 1300 images consisting of text-lines in paragraph form drawn from collections from the eighteenth and nineteenth century. These images are labeled with the coordinate location of the first character of the left-most word on each line (the origin point) and the objective of this competition is to use the training part of this dataset to develop and submit for evaluation a system that detects the locations of text-line origin points in the images from the validation set. Four teams submitted seven systems for scoring and evaluation. The results of this scoring are reported, along with brief descriptions of each system.
A Quadratic Approximation-Based Local Search Procedure for Multiobjective Genetic Algorithms

We devise in this paper a local search procedure for multiobjective genetic algorithms (GAs). The proposed local search process employs quadratic approximations for all objective functions involved in the optimization problem. The samples gathered by the algorithm along the evolutionary process are used to fit these quadratic approximations around the point selected to local search, therefore no extra cost of function evaluation is required. After that, a locally improved solution is easily estimated from the quadratic associated problem. We demonstrate the hybridization of our proposed procedure with SPEA 2.
Multicenter Evaluation of AMPLICOR and Automated COBAS AMPLICOR CT/NG Tests for Neisseria gonorrhoeae

ABSTRACT The fully automated COBAS AMPLICOR CT/NG and semiautomated AMPLICOR CT/NG tests were evaluated in a multicenter trial for their ability to detect Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections. Test performance compared to that of culturing was evaluated for 2,192 matched endocervical swab and urine specimens obtained from women and for 1,981 matched urethral swab and urine specimens obtained from men. Culture-negative, PCR-positive specimens that tested positive in a confirmatory PCR test for an alternative target sequence within theN. gonorrhoeae 16S rRNA gene were considered to be true positives. The overall prevalences of gonorrhea were 6.6% in women and 20.1% in men. The COBAS AMPLICOR and AMPLICOR formats yielded concordant results for 98.8% of the specimens and exhibited virtually identical sensitivities and specificities. The results that follow are for the COBAS AMPLICOR format. With the infected patient as the reference standard, the resolved sensitivities of PCR were 92.4% for endocervical swab specimens and 64.8% for female urine specimens. There were no significant differences in these rates between women with and without symptoms. Among symptomatic men, COBAS AMPLICOR sensitivities were 94.1% for urine and 98.1% for urethral swabs; for asymptomatic men, the results were 42.3 and 73.1%, respectively. In comparison, the sensitivities of culturing were 84.8% for endocervical specimens, 92.7% for symptomatic male urethral specimens, and only 46.2% for urethral specimens obtained from asymptomatic men. When PCR results were analyzed as if only a single test had been performed on a single specimen type, the resolved sensitivity was always higher. The resolved specificities of PCR were 99.5% for endocervical swab specimens, 99.8% for female urine specimens, 98.9% for male urethral swab specimens, and 99.9% for male urine specimens. The internal control revealed that 2.1% of specimens were inhibitory when initially tested. Nevertheless, valid results were obtained for 99.2% of specimens because 60.0% of the inhibitory specimens were not inhibitory when a second aliquot was tested. The COBAS AMPLICOR CT/NG test for N. gonorrhoeae exhibited high sensitivity and specificity with urethral swab and urine specimens from men and endocervical swab specimens from women and thus is well suited for diagnosing and screening for N. gonorrhoeae infection.
Noncontiguous Processor Allocation Algorithms for Mesh-Connected Multicomputers

Current processor allocation techniques for highly parallel systems are typically restricted to contiguous allocation strategies for which performance suffers significantly due to the inherent problem of fragmentation. As a result, message-passing systems have yet to achieve the high utilization levels exhibited by traditional vector supercomputers. We are investigating processor allocation algorithms which lift the restriction on contiguity of processors in order to address the problem of fragmentation. Three noncontiguous processor allocation strategies-paging allocation, random allocation, and the Multiple Buddy Strategy (MBS)-are proposed and studied in this paper. Simulations compare the performance of the noncontiguous strategies with that of several well-known contiguous algorithms. We show that noncontiguous allocation algorithms perform better overall than the contiguous ones, even when message-passing contention is considered. We also present the results of experiments on an Intel Paragon XP/S-15 with 208 nodes that show noncontiguous allocation is feasible with current technologies.
A link failure recovery algorithm for Virtual Network Function chaining

This paper addresses Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) placement and chaining in the presence of physical link failures. A decision tree approach to the NP-Hard VNF placement and chaining problem is used to minimize the penalties induced by service interruptions due to link outages. Formulating the problem as decision tree reduces the complexity significantly and leads to a new reliable algorithm, named R-SFC-MCTS, that builds incrementally the decision tree to efficiently search for good placement and chaining solutions. Execution time is improved thanks to the Monte-Carlo Tree Search strategy. The proposed link failure recovery algorithm selects and assigns reliable paths to prevent and avoid the negative effects of link failures and reactively re-maps impacted virtual links in safer physical paths once an outage occurs in the infrastructure. The performance of R-SFC-MCTS is compared via extensive simulations with a baseline and a reactive solution in terms of: i) acceptance rate, ii) induced penalties iii) provider revenue loss and iv) the final provider's profit.
Measuring the impact of flooding on UK house prices: A new framework for small sample problems

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to show how the measurement of the effect of flooding on house value can be invaluable information for professional valuers and homeowners alike. In the UK, even for an event as devastating as the autumn 2000 flood, the number of properties affected in any one town is small and so robust estimation is problematic and methodology applied elsewhere needs modification. A new framework for analysing the effect of flooding on house value in the UK is presented.Design/methodology/approach – Data issues play a crucial role in determining the methodology employed in any analysis. A repeat sales methodology is proposed which allows for the tracking of effects through time. The analysis can be extended to multiple sites via a block design thereby increasing the sample size.Findings – Empirical analysis of one case study site demonstrates the inherent small sample problem and yet reveals patterns that fall in line with expected outcomes in many respects.Research limitations/.
Dynamic Price Relationships in the Grain and Cattle Markets, Pre and Post-Ethanol Mandate

This paper determines the dynamic interaction between prices of corn, soybean, grain sorghum (milo), wheat, feeder cattle and live (fed) cattle by taking into account the surge in corn consumption stemming from the boost of mandated ethanol production. Corn is a major carbohydrate-feed component of livestock, with grain sorghum and wheat serving as close substitutes. Moreover, soybean is an important protein-feed component. Being non-stationary data, a vector autoregressive (VAR) model (Sims, 1980) that includes an ‘error correction’ term is applied to the series; likewise known as a vector error correction (VEC) model (Engel and Granger, 1987 and Johansen, 1989). Two separate periods are estimated. The first considers prices prior to recent ethanol mandates. The second includes increased corn consumption from ethanol production, mandated by Energy Policy Acts of 2005 and 2007. Results are consistent with past literature regarding feeder and live cattle prices, among others. More importantly, we find support for the notion of modified feed rations in feedlot operations, given the increased corn prices following the post-ethanol mandated period. The finding is corroborated by two different methods, one via Granger Causality and other via impulse response functions.
Bronchiectasis severity: time to score.

A phase II clinical trial for ONO-4819CD, an EP4 agonist, was completed for the treatment of mild to moderate ulcerative colitis (http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00296556) (18). Therefore, it is possible to conduct clinical trials using either PGE2 derivatives or EP4 agonists in lung transplant patients for the prevention of PGD. However, there are still a significant number of questions that need to be answered experimentally before embarking on a human study. Should the treatment target PGE2, EP4, EP2/EP4, or all of them? A personalized medicine approach would suggest that specific genotypes of lung transplant recipients in PGE2 genes dictate the candidacy for this therapy. Should the treatment start at the time of organ procurement? How long should the treatment be and should this treatment replace some of the immunosuppression drugs? What are the systemic effects of this kind of treatment? In conclusion, the study by Diamond and colleagues represents an important advance in lung transplant research. It will serve as the basis for future animal and translational studies to further elucidate the therapeutic potential of PGE2 in PGD. Understanding the mechanistic roles of PGE2 pathway in PGD may lay the foundation for the development of personalized therapies to prevent or treat the devastating effects of PGD and thus lead to significantly improved survival for patients undergoing lung transplantation. n
Crisis and Recovery in the German Economy: The Real Lessons

Owing to its strong dependence on exports, Germany was among the economies hit hardest by the financial crisis. But unlike almost all other countries, Germany emerged from the crisis quickly and stronger than before. What lies behind this success story, if at all it is one? The commonplace – neoliberal – answer is that Germany's success is the hard-won reward for strict economic management, combining fiscal conservatism and structural reforms of welfare and the labour market. The latter, by reducing labour costs, fostered competitiveness, boosted growth, and increased employment. “Progressive” economists arguing that Germany beggared its Eurozone neighbours by squeezing workers’ wages, share a similar view. However, this particular explanation of Germany's resilience is wrong and unhelpful. Germany's export success cannot be explained in terms of its (labour) cost competitiveness, but is caused by strong non-price competitiveness. This, in turn, is due – much more than is normally recognized – by the remaining distinctly non-neoliberal dimensions of Germany's economic model (including a Keynesian crisis response). German and European policymakers preaching austerity and structural labour-market changes as the model for other Eurozone countries, misunderstand Germany's rebound from crisis, with serious costs to Eurozone populations.
The complete mitochondrial genome of natural Cobitis elongatoides (Cypriniformes: Cobitidae)

Abstract Cobitis elongatoides is a small sized freshwater fish species that is widely distributed in Europe, especially in Croatia. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of C. elongatoides is sequenced to be 16,540 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, a control region and the origin of the light strand replication. The overall base composition of C. elongatoides in descending order is A 29.37%, T 28.53%, C 25.34%, and G 16.76%, with a slight A + T bias. The mitogenome sequence data may provide useful information to the population genetics analysis of C. elongatoides and the elucidation of evolutionary mechanisms in Cobitidae.
The Supreme Court and Criminal Justice Disputes: A Neo-Institutional Perspective

This study conceptualizes the U.S. Supreme Court as a political institution whose decisionmaking behavior over time can be effectively explained and predicted. A four-variable model is constructed as a means of better understanding the Court's policy outputs in criminal justice disputes. This model represents Court decisions as a function of the institution's political composition, the generally stable attitudes of its members, its policymaking priorities, and the political environment. The results indicate that the model has substantial explanatory and predictive capacity when applied to Supreme Court criminal rights cases from 1946 to 1986.
Normal cardiopulmonary responses during incremental exercise in 20- to 70-yr-old men.

Healthy men (N = 1424, age 20-70 yr) underwent a progressive incremental treadmill exercise test to volitional maximum. Cardiopulmonary variables were measured breath-by-breath. The aerobic power (VO2max) declined at an average yearly rate of 0.33 ml.kg. -1min-1, HRmax declined 0.685 beats.min-1.yr-1, and max O2 pulse declined at an annual rate of 0.115 ml.beat-1.kg-1*100. Gas exchange threshold (GET) expressed as percentage of VO2max was 58% and 69% in the youngest (20-30 yr) and oldest (61-70 yr) decades, respectively. The average decline in VE, Vt, f, and PETCO2 over the entire age range was 29%, 10%, 21%, and 7%, respectively. There were increases in VE/VO2, and VE/VECO2, from age 20-70 yr of 13% and 14%, respectively, but no changes across 5 decades in PETO2. Physical (height and weight) as well as life-style characteristics (leisure time activity, place of residency, smoking), were found to be potent predictors in most of the cardiopulmonary values at maximal exercise and therefore should be incorporated in the predictive equations for such variables. Normal response patterns of most cardiopulmonary variables throughout the range of exercise intensities were shown to be age-affected and thus should be standardized for age decades.
The Nationwide Economic Downturn and Adolescents ’ Values and Behaviors : Questions , Theory , and Predictions

Based on Greenfield’s theory of social change and human development, we predicted that adolescents’ values, behaviors, and self-assessments would become more collectivistic and less individualistic during the Great Recession (2008–2010) compared to the prerecession period (2004-2006), thereby reversing long-term trends from the 1970s. Data came from Monitoring the Future, a nationally representative yearly survey of 12th graders. Concern for others and environmentalism increased from the prerecession period to recession, reversing long-term declines. Long-term trends toward increasing materialism partially reversed: Wanting a job making lots of money continued to increase, the increase in the importance of money leveled off, and the increase in desiring to own expensive material items reversed. Long-term trends toward increasingly positive self-views continued. Correlations with economic indicators (median income, employment rate) over the entire time period (1976–2010) showed that collectivism was high and individualism was low during times of economic deprivation, consistent with Greenfield’s theory.