Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Moral Hazard, Optimal Contracting and Strategic Competition

This paper opens up the "black box" of firms' profit functions to consider the affect of modelling firms as principal-agent relationships on the outcomes of strategic competition. Using a parameterised model it is found that for large market sizes moral hazard reduces expected output more severely than if firms restricted output to jointly maximise profits i.e. collude. This result is obtained even though firms use fully optimal non-linear incentive contracts. Additionally profit-maximising firms may not always invest in a perfect monitoring technology even if it is welfare enhancing. As such there may be an over-reliance on incentive contracts from a welfare perspective. Overall this paper highlights the importance of modelling firms' internal workings when addressing regulatory and other industrial organisation questions.
Characteristics of general practices associated with emergency-department attendance rates: a cross-sectional study

Background Strategies are needed to contain emergency-department attendance. Quality of care in general practice might influence the use of emergency departments, including management of patients with chronic conditions and access to consultations. Aim The aim was to determine whether emergency‐department attendance rates are lower for practices with higher quality and outcomes framework performance and lower for practices with better patient reported access. Design A cross-sectional study. Setting Two English primary-care trusts, Leicester City and Leicestershire County and Rutland, with 145 general practices. Method Using data on attendances at emergency departments in 2006/2007 and 2007/2008, a practice attendance rate was calculated for each practice. In a hierarchical negative binomial regression model, practice population characteristics (deprivation, proportion of patients aged 65 or over, ethnicity, gender) and practice characteristics (total list size, distance from the emergency department, quality and outcomes framework points, and variables measuring satisfaction with access) were included as potential explanatory variables. Results In both years, greater deprivation, shorter distance from the central emergency department, lower practice list size, white ethnicity and lower satisfaction with practice telephone access were associated with higher emergency-department attendance rates. Conclusions Performance as indicated by the quality and outcomes framework did not predict rates of attendance at emergency departments, but satisfaction with telephone access did. Consideration should be given to improving access to some general practices to contain the use of emergency departments.
Effect of Nimodipine on Cerebral Blood Flow in Human Volunteers

Summary The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of a clinically relevant dose of nimodipine (30 μg/kg/h) on the autoregulation of CBF in 12 young healthy volunteers. Mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) was measured intraarterially (i.a.), and changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) were estimated by the arterio-venous-oxygen [(a-v)O2]-difference method. The lower limit (LL) of CBF autoregulation was calculated by a computerized program and tested for different factors for correction of the Paco2-induced changes in CBF. MABP was increased by norepinephrine (NE) and decreased by ganglion blockade (trimethaphane camphosulfonas) in combination with lower body negative pressure. The MABP manipulations were performed 1 h after infusion of nimodipine. MABP was reduced by 13 mm Hg (8–15 mm Hg), and CBF was increased by 8% (3–12%) during nimodipine infusion. Autoregulation was preserved in 11 of the 12 volunteers. A CO2-correction factor of 1% CBF/0.1 kPa was used. The LL was 75 mm Hg (71–80 mm Hg) [SE 3 mm Hg (2–4 mm Hg)] and not significantly different from a previous control group of healthy volunteers. No side effects were observed. The present study shows a maintained autoregulation of CBF during nimodipine infusion; however, this could be obtained only by reducing the correction for changes in carbon dioxide to 1%/0.1 kPa from 3%/0.1 kPa, which was used in a similar study in healthy volunteers.
Analytic approach to the problem of convergence of truncated Lévy flights towards the Gaussian stochastic process.

An analytic expression for characteristic function defining a truncated L\'evy flight is derived. It is shown that the characteristic function yields results in agreement with recent simulations of truncated L\'evy flights by Mantegna and Stanley [Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 2946 (1994)]. With the analytic expression for the characteristic function, the convergence of the L\'evy process towards the Gaussian is demonstrated without simulations. In the calculation of first return probability the simulations are replaced by numerical integration using simple quadratures.
Title : Private Insurance and Outcomes for Children with Asthma

This study is the first to analyze directly the impact of private insurance coverage generosity, separate from the impact of insurance enrollment on chronically ill children’s prescription adherence, and the subsequent use of other health services. Second, our findings shed light on the recent developments in the economics literature relating to multi-good insurance, and its implications for children’s health by estimating the degree to which prescription drugs, inpatient and outpatient services are substitutes or complements for chronically ill children. Overall, although the study is limited to the privately insured children most likely of middle and upper income families, it has significant policy implications for the optimal design of private and public insurance. There may be important market failures that affect prescription drug adherence and subsequent health outcomes of children regardless of income status. For example, non-portability of health insurance restrains possibilities to select more or less generous coverage through job changes. Purchasing more generous coverage either through the individual market or coverage under a new employer in most cases is subject to pre-existing condition exclusions as well as waiting periods. These constraints are especially pronounced for those with chronic conditions. In addition, our findings have the potential to inform policy by providing evidence as to the need for and effectiveness of various policy proposals such as benefit design mandates for children, government provision of insurance and eligibility criteria for children.
Minimum value sampling algorithm based on CDC

The explosive growth of data increases the burden of storage systems. At the same time, the redundant data result in a waste of storage space and an increase in cost. Data deduplication is urgently required to alleviate these problems. Similarity detection is very critical to the performance of data deduplication. This technique reduces memory consumption and improves the data deduplication ratio by sampling. In this paper, we improve the Enhanced Position-Aware Sampling algorithm (EPAS), proposing minimum value sampling algorithm based on Content-Defined Chunking (CDC), which introduces the sampling algorithm into the data chunking process, continuously calculating the hash value of the sliding window and then selecting the minimum value as a sample. The experiment shows that data deduplication ratio of the proposed algorithm is higher than EPAS algorithm at the same sampling ratio.
Identifying and prioritizing the components of the quality of working life affecting the effectiveness of quality system by combining the techniques of ELECTRE and ANP (Case Study)

The quality of working life represents a type of corporate culture and management; the staffs feel the sense of ownership, autonomy, responsibility and self-esteem. This study was aimed to identify and prioritize the quality components of working life affecting the effectiveness of quality system by combining the techniques of ELECTRE and ANP. This study is descriptive – survey. In this study, the most important components were selected and finalized by questionnaire filled out by 3 companies (Shiraz Zam Zam Co., Fars Glucosin Co. and Shiraz Ronak Co.) and statistical analysis. Also the data was analyzed by the techniques of ELECTRE and ANP after gathering data by pairwise comparison questionnaire and collecting the views of experts. The results shows that 9 components were verified and 3 of them were rejected. Also, they implies that by the technique of ELECTRE, the component of “financial and welfare matters” is the most dominant component and by the technique of ANP, the component of “commitment” is the best quality component of working life affecting the effectiveness of quality system.
Adjuvant intra-arterial iodine-131-labelled lipiodol for resectable hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective randomised trial.

BACKGROUND Resection of hepatocellular carcinoma is potentially curative, but local recurrence is common. In this prospective randomised trial, we aimed to find out if one dose of postoperative adjuvant intra-arterial iodine-131-labelled lipiodol could reduce the rate of local recurrence and increase disease-free and overall survival. METHODS Patients who underwent curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma and recovered within 6 weeks were randomly assigned one 1850 MBq dose of 131I-lipiodol or no further treatment (controls). We compared rates of recurrence and disease-free and overall survival (the primary endpoints) between the two groups by intention to treat. We planned an interim analysis when 30 patients (both groups together) had been followed up for a median of 2 years, with the intention of stopping early if the between-group difference in disease-free survival was significant (p=0.029). FINDINGS Between April, 1992, and August, 1997, we recruited 43 patients: 21 received intra-arterial 131I-lipiodol and 22 received no adjuvant treatment. During a median follow-up of 34.6 (range 14.1-69.7) months, there were six (28.5%) recurrences among the 21 patients in the adjuvant treatment, compared with 13 (59%) in the controls (p=0.04). Median disease-free survival in the treatment and control groups was 57.2 (0.4-69.7) and 13.6 (2.1-68.3) months, respectively (p=0.037). 3-year overall survival in the treatment and control groups was 86.4% and 46.3%, respectively (p=0.039). The interim analysis showed a significant increase in disease-free survival in the treatment group compared with the controls (p=0.01), so we closed the trial early. 131I-lipiodol had no significant toxic effects. INTERPRETATION In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, one 1850 MBq dose of intra-arterial 131I-lipiodol given after curative resection significantly decreases the rate of recurrence and increases disease-free and overall survival.
Seeking to Reduce Nonbeneficial Treatment in the ICU: An Exploratory Trial of Proactive Ethics Intervention*

Objective:To investigate whether the proactive intervention of a clinical ethicist in cases of prolonged lengths of stay in a critical care setting reduces nonbeneficial treatment while increasing perceived patient/surrogate and provider satisfaction and reducing associated costs. Nonbeneficial treatment is defined here as the use of life-sustaining treatments delivered to patients who had been in the ICU for 5 days and did not survive to discharge. Design:Prospective randomized exploratory trial from October 2007 to February 2010 in the adult ICU of a large, urban, not-for-profit community hospital. Setting:Medical/surgical ICU of California Pacific Medical Center, a large tertiary not-for-profit hospital in San Francisco, CA. Patients:Three hundred eighty-four patients with ICU lengths of stay of five days or greater. Patients were randomized to either an intervention arm (Proactive Ethics Intervention) (n = 174) or control arm (n = 210). There were 56 patients in the intervention arm and 52 patients in the control arm who did not survive to discharge. Interventions:Proactive ethics intervention involves a trained bioethicist in the care of all ICU patients with a length of stay greater than or equal to 5 days. The intervention used a nine step process model designed to look for manifest or latent ethics conflicts and address them. Measurements and Main Results:The primary outcome measures were days in the ICU; overall length of hospital stay; mortality; nonbeneficial treatments, for example, provision of nutritional support; surrogate and survivor satisfaction, and cost. The intervention and control arms showed no significant difference in mortality. Proactive Ethics Intervention, at the 95% CI, was not associated with reductions of overall length of stay (23 d for intervention and 21 d for control, p = 0.74), ICU days (11 in each arm, p = 0.91), life-sustaining treatments (days on ventilator: intervention, 14.6; control, 13.7; p = 0.74; days receiving artificial nutrition and hydration: intervention, 16.5; control, 15.9; p = 0.85), or cost ($167,350.00 for intervention and $164,670.00 for control, p =0.92) in patients who did not survive to discharge. Perceptions of quality of care by patients and providers showed no difference between intervention and control arms. Conclusion:Our study finds that Proactive Ethics Intervention, provided to all patients in a critical care setting for 5 days, and before an ethical conflict has been recognized, is ineffective in reducing overall length of hospital stay, ICU days, nonbeneficial treatments, or hospital costs. It is also not effective in increasing perceptions of quality of care by patients or providers.
High data rate communication with millimeter wave fiber-fed wireless access systems

The 60 GHz band is an excellent choice for wireless applications requiring gigabit-plus data rates especially considering the large bandwidth and high allowable transmit power. Out of all the currently available wireless technologies, millimeter wave brings the world closer to the promise of gigabit and multi-gigabit wireless speeds at longer range required Also as 4G capabilities are added to today's urban 2G/3G networks or are rolled out as greenfield deployments, cell site backhaul and aggregation network requirements will rise from the tens and hundreds of megabits/second into the gigabits/second of capacity range. This paper describes new approach to construct 60-GHz-band fiber-fed wireless access systems, it will act as a simple antenna base-station architecture and provide full compatibility with dense wavelength-division multiplexing fiber-optic networks. The frequency related instability and poor phase-noise characteristics of these optically heterodyned signals do not affect transmission quality at all by using self-heterodyne wireless transmission techniques.
Fuzzy logic control for high precision positioning of a Six Phase Induction Machine in faulted mode

The main goal of increasing the number of phases in an induction machine is to ensure its performance in all the operating modes such as normal, disturbed and faulted settings. The faulted mode of a Six Phase Induction Motor (SPIM) denotes that the SPIM is working with one or more missing phases. This situation leads to high torque ripples and bad tracking behaviour. A suitable robust control law has then to be applied to cope with these effects. Therefore, this paper presents the design and implementation of fuzzy logic control associated with indirect field oriented control method for high precision positioning of the shaft rotor of the SPIM in healthy and faulted modes. The proposed fuzzy controller has been first tested in simulation and then implemented on an advanced test bed built up in our laboratory. Simulation results have been validated experimentally.
Continuously innovating the study of continuous innovation: from actionable knowledge to universal theory in continuous innovation research

Whereas there is a wealth of contributions on the topic of continuous innovation (CI) in firms, there is still a clear need for works addressing how the existing knowledge on combining various types of innovation with operational excellence and strategic flexibility in a fruitful manner. Any attempt to generate actionable knowledge about CI that at the same time lives up to the traditional academic requirements of rigor and relevance poses significant challenges to researchers, calling for a more comprehensive and multi-faceted methodological approach, attending to multiple evaluation criteria and possible revisions of research roles and processes. This paper aims to recommend how to produce CI actionable knowledge and to take the first steps in progressing from this form of knowledge to a universal theory of CI. In doing so, the paper calls for a 'continuous innovation' in the way CI research is accomplished, and aims at proposing some key building blocks and evaluation criteria of a basic framework able to overcome the pre-paradigmatic stage in which CI research seems to be stuck. Moreover, it presents four papers from the International CINet Conference held in 2007 Goteborg (SE) and one from the 2010 Zurich.
An empirical study of an enjoyment‐based response hierarchy model of watching MDTV on the move

Purpose – This paper adopts a response hierarchy model to examine drivers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for using mobile digital television (MDTV) while on the move.Design/methodology/approach – The study used a regional quota sampling method to examine the viewing habits of drivers who have a mobile digital television installed in their vehicles and was carried out in two steps. The first stage had interviews with eight car stereo distributors, and the second stage used a questionnaire to ascertain the viewing habits and content selection of drivers watching TV in their vehicles.Findings – SEM analysis of a survey of 480 MDTV‐using drivers in Taiwan revealed an enjoyment‐based model of MDTV use since enjoyment has the most significant effect on drivers' affect, intention to use, and use behavior. Perceived ease of use and subjective norms had a lesser effect. The non‐significant effect of concentration and perceived risk imply that while drivers enjoy watching MDTV, they do not believe they switch.
Life stage, not climate change, explains observed tree range shifts

Ongoing climate change is expected to shift tree species distribution and therefore affect forest biodiversity and ecosystem services. To assess and project tree distributional shifts, researchers may compare the distribution of juvenile and adult trees under the assumption that differences between tree life stages reflect distributional shifts triggered by climate change. However, the distribution of tree life stages could differ within the lifespan of trees, therefore, we hypothesize that currently observed distributional differences could represent shifts over ontogeny as opposed to climatically driven changes. Here, we test this hypothesis with data from 1435 plots resurveyed after more than three decades across the Western Carpathians. We compared seedling, sapling and adult distribution of 12 tree species along elevation, temperature and precipitation gradients. We analyzed (i) temporal shifts between the surveys and (ii) distributional differences between tree life stages within both surveys. Despite climate warming, tree species distribution of any life stage did not shift directionally upward along elevation between the surveys. Temporal elevational shifts were species specific and an order of magnitude lower than differences among tree life stages within the surveys. Our results show that the observed range shifts among tree life stages are more consistent with ontogenetic differences in the species' environmental requirements than with responses to recent climate change. The distribution of seedlings substantially differed from saplings and adults, while the distribution of saplings did not differ from adults, indicating a critical transition between seedling and sapling tree life stages. Future research has to take ontogenetic differences among life stages into account as we found that distributional differences recently observed worldwide may not reflect climate change but rather the different environmental requirements of tree life stages.
A tractable analytical model for interference characterization and minimum distance enforcement to reuse resources in three‐dimensional in‐building dense small cell networks

In this paper, we address mainly 2 important issues, namely, characterizing co‐channel interference and enforcing a minimum distance between femtocell base stations (FCBSs) for reusing resources in FCBSs deployed in a 3‐dimentional multi‐floor building. Each floor is modeled as a group of square‐grid apartments, with one FCBS per apartment. We propose a simple yet reasonable analytical model by using planar‐Wyner model for intra‐floor interference and linear‐Wyner model for inter‐floor interference modeling in a 3‐dimensional multi‐floor building to derive a minimum distance between co‐channel FCBSs for optimization constraints, namely, link level interference, spectral efficiency, and capacity. As opposed to orthogonal resource reuse and allocation (ORRA) where resources are reused once, using the proposed model, we develop 2 strategies for reusing resources more than once, that is, non‐ORRA, within a multi‐floor building. An algorithm of the proposed model is developed by including an application of the model to an ultra‐dense deployment of multi‐floor buildings. With an extensive numerical analysis and system level simulation, we demonstrate the capacity outperformance of non‐ORRA over ORRA by manifold. Further, with a fairly accurate yet realistic estimation, we show that the expected spectral efficiency of fifth‐generation networks can be achieved by applying the proposed model to an ultra‐dense deployment of FCBSs.
Bionomics and vector potential of Anopheles subpictus as a malaria vector in India: An overview.

Anopheles subpictus has been recognised as an important vector of malaria in Sri Lanka and some other countries like Malaysia and Maldives. It has been found to play an important role in malaria transmission as a secondary vector in certain parts of Odisha and coastal areas of south India. An. subpictus is a widely distributed mosquito species that breeds in a variety of fresh as well as saline water habitats. The species is a complex of four sibling species provisionally designated as: sibling species A, B, C and D, but the role of these sibling species in malaria transmission is not clearly known. As there is limited research work available on this species in India, it was thought prudent to review the bionomics and the role of An. subpictus in malaria transmission in Indian context. Further studies are required on the bionomics of An. subpictus and its role in malaria transmission in other parts of the country under the influence of changing ecological conditions.
Thyrotropin‐Releasing Hormone (TRH) in chronic schizophrenia: A CONTROLLED STUDY

A controlled study on the effect of synthetic Thyrotropin‐Releasing Hormone (TRH) versus placebo in 10 drug‐free chronic schizophrenics is presented TRH 600 μg or placebo was administered intravenously on 4 consecutive days in a double‐blind cross‐over design and the schizophrenic symptoms were scored daily by use of two rating scales (CPRS and NOSIE). Blood samples were taken before and 30 and 45 minutes after the first and the fourth injection an analyzed for TSH. No changes in symptom intensity were found during the TRH or placebo treatment period and no difference was obtained between the two treatments. The dose of TRH used caused a significant increase in the plasma level of TSh which indicated a normal pituitary responsiveness to TRH. The data do not support the notion that TRH has a beneficial effect in chronic schizophrenic patients.