Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hand-assisted versus total laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The optimal minimally invasive procedure to procure live donor kidneys for renal transplantation has not been established. This study compared the donor outcome of hand-assisted laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (H-LLDN) with total laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (T-LLDN). METHODS The outcomes of 12 donors undergoing H-LLDN were compared to that of a subsequent series of 12 donors undergoing T-LLDN. Body mass index, operation time, warm ischemia time, hospital stay, surgical complications, and short-term graft function were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS LLDN was successfully performed in all 24 donors. Both approaches resulted in excellent early graft function. The mean operation time in T-LLDN (215 minutes) was slightly shorter than that in H-LLDN (258 minutes), suggesting that the skills developed as surgeons learned the H-LLDN procedure had transferred to their performance of T-LLDN. The mean warm ischemia time of the T-LLDN group (4.5 minutes) was longer than that of the H-LLDN group (3.8 minutes), although this difference was not significant. One minor tear of the lumbar vein occurred in the H-LLDN group and the resultant bleeding necessitated blood transfusion. One mechanical failure occurred when the renal vein was divided by endoscopic gastrointestinal anastomosis in the T-LLDN group. The length of hospital stay, resumption of diet, and the use of narcotic analgesics were not different between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS Both H-LLDN and T-LLDN are safe and effective approaches for the procurement of live donor kidneys. The benefits of the H-LLDN technique include direct manual control of the operative field and increased safety margin. The development of a hospital LLDN program by starting with a hand-assisted approach may reduce the potential bleeding complications and facilitate the safe transition to the cosmetically preferable total laparoscopic approach.
Efficient joint subcarrier and power allocation for achieving green multiuser full-duplex decode-and-forward relay networks

In this paper, we investigate resource allocation algorithm for multiuser full-duplex (FD) decode-and-forward (DF) relay network for improving the energy efficiency (EE). The problem of energy-efficient joint subcarrier and power allocation is formulated as a ratio of the spectral efficiency (SE) of the network to the total energy consumption in the network. The formulated problem is a non-convex fractional mixed binary-integer non-linear programming problem. Further, we resolve this problem by a series of convex transformations and introduce a network penalty factor, which works as EE parameter, to convert the fractional mixed-integer form into a parametric subtractive form, and then design an effective energy-efficient iterative resource allocation algorithm to find the optimal solution. In addition, we also propose a low-complexity suboptimal algorithm. The effectiveness of the proposed iterative and suboptimal algorithms are evinced by simulation results.
Structural Unemployment in the United States: The Effects of Interindustry and Interregional Dispersion

The effects of sectoral shifts, measured by dispersion in the growth rates of employment or earnings across industries or regions, on unemployment are tested in a specification controlling for the effects of other labor-market variables and shifts in the demographic composition of the labor force. Interindustry and geographical shifts in labor demand have significant unemployment effects, with adult males the group most strongly affected. The estimated equations imply that most of the fluctuation in unemployment over the period 1956-87 was due to microeconomic causes rather than aggregate demand. Copyright 1992 by Oxford University Press.
Household Saving in France: Stochastic Income and Financial Deregulation

The household saving ratio in France underwent sharp changes over the past two decades, falling dramatically in the early 1980s before rising more recently. This paper emphasizes two factors in the evolution of private saving in France. The first relates to perceptions of household income growth and uncertainty, which have likely been affected by deteriorating labor market conditions and may therefore help account for the recent increase in saving. The second relates to financial deregulation, which may have lowered saving and increased its sensitivity to interest rate changes. Both have played some role in the evolution of French household saving.
Banking in Kuwait: a customer satisfaction case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate bank customers' attitudes toward various bank services.Design/methodology/approach – The design includes a survey, which looked into determinants of customer satisfaction in the retail‐banking sector in the Middle East, with particular attention to the State of Kuwait. A total of 605 usable questionnaires were randomly distributed to retail customers at various banks within the country.Findings – Using descriptive statistics methods and ANOVA test, the findings of this paper suggest that in general customers in Kuwait (Kuwaiti and non‐Kuwaiti customers) are satisfied with services provided by the retail‐banking sector.Research limitations/implications – The research does not include samples of customers represented among all the bank branches in Kuwait due to cost and time limitations.Practical implications – The paper has implications for management in the banking sector in the State of Kuwait.Originality/value – The paper presents original research f.
The effectiveness of right heart catheterization in the initial care of critically ill patients. SUPPORT Investigators.

OBJECTIVE To examine the association between the use of right heart catheterization (RHC) during the first 24 hours of care in the intensive care unit (ICU) and subsequent survival, length of stay, intensity of care, and cost of care. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING Five US teaching hospitals between 1989 and 1994. SUBJECTS A total of 5735 critically ill adult patients receiving care in an ICU for 1 of 9 prespecified disease categories. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Survival time, cost of care, intensity of care, and length of stay in the ICU and hospital, determined from the clinical record and from the National Death Index. A propensity score for RHC was constructed using multivariable logistic regression. Case-matching and multivariable regression modeling techniques were used to estimate the association of RHC with specific outcomes after adjusting for treatment selection using the propensity score. Sensitivity analysis was used to estimate the potential effect of an unidentified or missing covariate on the results. RESULTS By case-matching analysis, patients with RHC had an increased 30-day mortality (odds ratio, 1.24; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.49). The mean cost (25th, 50th, 75th percentiles) per hospital stay was $49 300 ($17 000, $30 500, $56 600) with RHC and $35 700 ($11 300, $20 600, $39 200) without RHC. Mean length of stay in the ICU was 14.8 (5, 9, 17) days with RHC and 13.0 (4, 7, 14) days without RHC. These findings were all confirmed by multivariable modeling techniques. Subgroup analysis did not reveal any patient group or site for which RHC was associated with improved outcomes. Patients with higher baseline probability of surviving 2 months had the highest relative risk of death following RHC. Sensitivity analysis suggested that a missing covariate would have to increase the risk of death 6-fold and the risk of RHC 6-fold for a true beneficial effect of RHC to be misrepresented as harmful. CONCLUSION In this observational study of critically ill patients, after adjustment for treatment selection bias, RHC was associated with increased mortality and increased utilization of resources. The cause of this apparent lack of benefit is unclear. The results of this analysis should be confirmed in other observational studies. These findings justify reconsideration of a randomized controlled trial of RHC and may guide patient selection for such a study.
Standing on the shoulders of apes: Analyzing the form and function of the hominoid scapula using geometric morphometrics and finite element analysis.

OBJECTIVE The aim was to analyze the relationship between scapular form and function in hominoids by using geometric morphometrics (GM) and finite element analysis (FEA). METHODS FEA was used to analyze the biomechanical performance of different hominoid scapulae by simulating static postural scenarios. GM was used to quantify scapular shape differences and the relationship between form and function was analyzed by applying both multivariate-multiple regressions and phylogenetic generalized least-squares regressions (PGLS). RESULTS Although it has been suggested that primate scapular morphology is mainly a product of function rather than phylogeny, our results showed that shape has a significant phylogenetic signal. There was a significant relationship between scapular shape and its biomechanical performance; hence at least part of the scapular shape variation is due to non-phylogenetic factors, probably related to functional demands. DISCUSSION This study has shown that a combined approach using GM and FEA was able to cast some light regarding the functional and phylogenetic contributions in hominoid scapular morphology, thus contributing to a better insight of the association between scapular form and function.
Determinants of the Survival of Gainsharing Programs

Using data from a 1992 survey of 211 organizations with gainsharing experience, the author examines determinants of the survival of gainsharing. He finds statistically significant associations between program survival and several factors, including employee approval by vote, union participation in program administration, low reliance on outside consultants, re-training, new employee training, small bonus group, labor intensity, sound corporate financial health, and major capital investment. Also positively correlated with program survival was program performance (the degree of success in achieving program goals), but that association was considerably weaker for young programs than for older ones. Variables such as re-training, new employee training, small bonus group, and good corporate financial health affected program survival via their influence on program performance.
How property rights economics furthers the resource-based view: Resources, transaction costs and entrepreneurial discovery

An understanding of Austrian entrepreneurship, in conjunction with property rights, resource-based and transaction costs theory allow us to understand economic rent generation as a dynamic process. The current paper expands Foss and Foss' (2005) application of property rights theory in explaining economic value creation to include not only economising on transaction costs, but also Austrian entrepreneurial discovery for generating new combinations and adaptive responses for transaction costs economising, particularly as a basis for managing strategic change.
Forecasting the 2006 Elections for the U.S. House of Representatives

“To arrive at some understanding of what is going on is hard enough,” said Abraham Kaplan, “without having also to meet the demand that we anticipate what will happen next” (1964, 351). Political scientists have been taught to describe and to explain phenomena rather than to predict them. Kaplan, for one, appeared to think that this was enough. But within the rich soil of explanation, Kaplan admitted (346), lay the seed of prediction. Indeed, Carl G. Hempel and Paul Oppenheim (1948, 138), whom Kaplan took to task for saying so, flatly stated that “an explanation is not fully adequate” unless it also served as the basis for prediction (quoted in Kaplan, 346).
Multiple sclerosis risk in radiologically uncovered asymptomatic possible inflammatory-demyelinating disease

Background Natural history of patients with incidentally discovered lesions that fulfill magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) criteria for multiple sclerosis (MS) in the absence of objective clinical symptoms suggestive of central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory-demyelinating disease is not well defined. Objective We evaluated the risk of developing symptomatic MS in patients with radiologically uncovered asymptomatic possible inflammatory-demyelinating disease (RAPIDD). Methods We identified and longitudinally followed a cohort of 22 patients from two tertiary care MS centers: Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey, and Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, after an initial MRI study fulfilling the Barkhof–Tintore MRI criteria completed for other reasons unrelated to MS. Results Eight of 22 patients developed an objective clinical symptom consistent with a CNS inflammatory-demyelinating syndrome and fulfilled dissemination in space and time criteria for definite MS. Median age at the time of diagnosis of MS was 44.8 years (range 28.3–71.4 years). Time taken for the development of definite MS was studied by survival analysis. Cumulative event rates were; 12 months: 9%, 24 months: 15%, 36 months: 30.4%, and 60 months: 44.6%. Six of 22 patients were followed beyond 60 months. Two of these six patients developed MS later (at 66 and 112 months, respectively). Three patients remained asymptomatic despite follow-up of 10 years. Conclusions Patients with RAPIDD develop MS at a similar rate to treated patients (and less frequently than placebo groups) with clinically isolated syndromes from prior randomized controlled studies. Some patients with RAPIDD continue to have radiological evolution of subclinical disease without MS symptoms despite long follow-up periods.
Does Foreign Direct Investment Enhance Private Capital Formation in Latin America? A Pooled Analysis for the 1981-2000 Period

This paper analyzes the theoretical and empirical links between key economic variables such as foreign direct investment (FDI) and private investment spending in Latin America during the 1981-2000 period. The pooled model tests the complementarity hypothesis which suggests that increases in FDI raise the marginal productivity of private capital via the transfer of more advanced technology and managerial knowhow, thereby inducing higher rates of private investment spending. The paper also addresses the issue of whether changes in the real exchange rate (expenditure-switching policies) have a deflationary effect on the economies of Latin America. The findings suggest that (lagged) FDI, public investment spending, and real credit to the private sector have a positive and significant effect on private capital formation, while lagged changes in the real exchange rate, particularly its volatility, have a negative effect. Finally, the application of panel unit root tests on the stacked residuals of the pooled regressions suggest that the included variables have a stable, non-spurious (cointegrated) relationship.
Research on the Application of K-means Cluster Analysis in Undergraduate Instructional Management

Through probing into the application of K-means cluster analsis in the daily instructional management, our teacher can know how to make good use of multivariate statistical analysis software SPSS to analyze students' scores. Thus it can help the teachers know better about how the students have grasped and understood each course. And it can also help the teachers understand the course structure and clarify the interactive relationship among these courses so that they could teach students according to their aptitude and improve instructional quality constantly.
Unobservable Individual Effects, Marriage and the Earnings of Young Men

While there is compelling evidence that married men earn more than unmarried men, the source of this premium remains unsettled. Using panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Men, we show that much of the premium normally attributed to marriage is associated with unobservable individual effects that are correlated with marital status and wages. To the extent there is a gain, it is purely an intercept shift and no more than 5% to 7%. Our findings cast doubt on the interpretation that marriage enhances productivity through specialization.
The accentuated CEO career horizon problem: evidence from international acquisitions

We develop a conceptual model of the career horizon problem of CEOs approaching retirement and discuss its implications on firm risk taking, specifically in engagement in international acquisitions. Based on prospect theory and agency theory, we emphasize the legacy conservation and wealth preservation concerns of CEOs and investigate how their holdings of in-the-money unexercised options and firm equity accentuate or mitigate the career horizon problem. The model is tested in the context of international acquisitions with a sample of 293 U.S. firms over a five-year period (1995-1999). We find that a longer CEO career horizon is associated with a higher likelihood of international acquisitions. We also find that CEOs nearing retirement with high levels of in-the-money unexercised options and equity holdings are less likely to engage in international acquisitions than CEOs with low levels of in-the-money options and equity holdings. The study raises important considerations about the implications of CEOs' equity and in-the-money option holdings on firm risk taking at various stages of their career horizon. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effect of cardiopulmonary bypass duration on renal injury after congenital heart surgery in infants and young children.

BACKGROUND Improvements in surgical techniques and perioperative management mean that more complex cardiac procedures are being performed on very young patients. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of the duration of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) on renal injury after congenital heart surgery in infants and young children. MATERIAL AND METHODS 58 children with ages ≤ 3 years undergoing CPB surgery were divided into three groups according to the duration of their CPB: Group I was < 90 min, n = 15; Group II, 90-149 min, n = 25; and Group III was ≥ 150 min, n = 18. Urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, interleukin-18, microalbumin and α1-microglobulin were measured at baseline and 4 h, 6 h, 12 h and 24 h after surgery. RESULTS No significant differences were noted among the groups in terms of gender, age, weight and baseline serum creatinine. The incidence of acute kidney injury (based on serum creatinine increase) after surgery were 13.3% (2/15) in Group I, 52.0% (13/25) in Group II and 77.8% (14/18) in Group III. 4 children developed acute renal failure (ARF) requiring peritoneal dialysis; all of them were in Group III. The levels of urinary biomarkers increased significantly, peaked at 4 h and remained elevated up to 24 h after surgery. Group III had significantly higher levels of urinary biomarkers than Groups I and II at 4-12 h after surgery, while the levels were not significantly different at 24 h. CONCLUSIONS Prolonged CPB duration was related to more severe renal tubular injury and acute renal failure. Measurements of urinary kidney specific biomarkers in infants and children with a CPB duration of more than 150 min might help identify those at high risk for ARF.
Algorithm for synthesis of 3dB-bandwidth Tchebyscheff bandpass DBR filters

This paper presents an original algorithm complementary to the synthesis process of filters with Dual Behavior Resonators (DBRs). This algorithm allows including in the synthesis of such filters technological and topological aspects that permit to obtain a specified 3dB-bandwidth, departing from a Tchebyscheff response with the desired ripple. The algorithm inclusion results in a DBR filter which fits in a remarkable manner the 3dB-bandwidth. Along with the equal-ripple-bandwidth, the other electrical specifications are also fulfilled.
The Impact of Financing Surpluses and Large Financing Deficits on Tests of the Pecking Order Theory

This paper extends the basic pecking order model of Shyam-Sunder and Myers by separating the effects of financing surpluses, normal deficits, and large deficits. Using a panel of US firms over the period 1971-2005, we find that the estimated pecking order coefficient is highest for surpluses (0.90), lower for normal deficits (0.74), and lowest when firms have large financing deficits (0.09). These findings shed light on two empirical puzzles: 1) small firms, although having the highest potential for asymmetric information, do not behave according to the pecking order theory, and 2) the pecking order theory has lost explanatory power over time. We provide a solution to these puzzles by demonstrating that the frequency of large deficits is higher in smaller firms and increasing over time. We argue that our results are consistent with the debt capacity in the pecking order model.
Neuroendocrine Dysfunction in Cluster Headache

Current views on cluster headache pathogenesis indicate a primary central nervous system dysfunction, in particular a hypothalamic involvement. To confirm the hypothalamic involvement in cluster headache we evaluated the hypothalamic-pituitary axis responsiveness with the thyrotrophin releasing hormone (TRH) test. A dose of 200 μg of TRH was administered i.v. to nine healthy controls, 32 patients with cluster headache during cluster period and 16 in remission period. Delta maximum thyrotrophin (TSH) was significantly lower in patients with cluster headache during cluster period (p < 0.05 versus healthy controls and cluster headache patients in remission). No difference was observed between healthy controls and cluster headache patients in remission. A monoaminergic dysfunction at the hypothalamic level is hypothesized.
SHOULD THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES FORM A CURRENCY UNION

This paper examines some of the factors related to the formation of a currency union in Southeast Asia. The main part of the paper presents the results of our examination of the correlation of shocks for the Southeast Asian countries using a structural vector autoregression. The shocks are identified using restrictions on the long-run coefficient matrix as suggested by Blanchard and Quah (1989). The correlations of shocks for the EU and NAFTA countries are used for comparison. The Southeast Asian countries are shown to have more strongly correlated shocks than the EU countries. Compared with the NAFTA countries, external shocks are more closely correlated for the ASEAN countries, but the supply and demand shocks are less correlated. Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, in particular, exhibit a high degree of correlation of shocks. Other criteria for monetary union, such as intra-regional trade, openness of the economy, and similarity of monetary policy are also examined.
Differences between White Americans and Asian Americans for Social Responsibility, Individual Right and Intentions Regarding Organ Donation

This study examined factors affecting intention to enroll in an organ donor registry and intention to talk to family about organ donation. Participants indicated their views about maintaining body integrity as an individual right and donating organs as a social responsibility. Results showed that the influence of social responsibility on intention to enroll was stronger for white Americans than for Asian Americans. Individual right was negatively associated with intention to enroll among Asian Americans, but not among white Americans. Social responsibility was significant for intention to talk among both white Americans and Asian Americans, but individual right was not significant.