Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can Government Intervention Make Firms More Investment Ready? A Randomized Experiment in the Western Balkans

Abstract Innovative firms with good ideas may still struggle to fine-tune them to the stage where they can attract outside funding. We conduct a five-country randomized experiment that tests the impact of an investment readiness program. Firms then pitched their ideas to independent judges. The program resulted in a 0.3 standard deviation increase in the investment readiness score. Two years later, the average impacts on firm investment outcomes are positive but small in magnitude and not statistically significant. Larger and statistically significant impacts on receiving outside funding occur for smaller firms and for firms with lower likelihoods of otherwise being funded.
Guided Sketching for Visual Search and Exploration in Large Scatter Plot Spaces

Recently, there has been an interest in methods for filtering large scatter plot spaces for interesting patterns. However, user interaction remains crucial in starting an explorative analysis in a large scatter plot space. We introduce an approach for explorative search and navigation in large sets of scatter plot diagrams. By means of a sketch-based query interface, users can start the exploration process by providing a visual example of the pattern they are interested in. A shadow-drawing approach provides suggestions for possibly relevant patterns while query drawing takes place, supporting the visual search process. We apply the approach on a large real-world data set, demonstrating the principal functionality and usefulness of our technique.
Aphid genotypes vary in their response to the presence of fungal endosymbionts in host plants

Genetic variation for fitness‐relevant traits may be maintained in natural populations by fitness differences that depend on environmental conditions. For herbivores, plant quality and variation in chemical plant defences can maintain genetic variation in performance. Apart from plant secondary compounds, symbiosis between plants and endosymbiotic fungi (endophytes) can produce herbivore‐toxic compounds. We show that there is significant variation among aphid genotypes in response to endophytes by comparing life‐history traits of 37 clones of the bird cherry‐oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi feeding on endophyte‐free and endophyte‐infected tall fescue Lolium arundinaceum. Clonal variation for life‐history traits was large, and most clones performed better on endophyte‐free plants. However, the clones differed in the relative performance across the two environments, resulting in significant genotype × environment interactions for all reproductive traits. These findings suggest that natural variation in prevalence of endophyte infection can contribute to the maintenance of genetic diversity in aphid populations.
Strategic bets: An Analysis of Institutional Investors’ Information Advantages

Investors with future-return-related information use it to adjust past decisions that no longer fit. Using this rationale, we decompose institutional trading into adjustive (adjusting past portfolio decisions) and implied (implied by past portfolio weights) trades. Adjustive trades positively predict future stock returns and earnings surprises, whereas implied trades negatively predict returns. The return-predictability of adjustive trades is strong across all stock, institution, portfolio turnover, and flow types. It declines over time but persists among institutions with moderate investment horizons. An institutional investor’s tendency to trade adjustively and the performance of adjustive trades for the top 20% of institutions are highly persistent. The results illustrate the distribution and evolvement of institutional investors’ informational advantages.
Efficacy and kinetics of carprofen, administered preoperatively or postoperatively, for the prevention of pain in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy.

OBJECTIVE To determine what effect the timing of carprofen administration has on the severity of postoperative pain in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy and to investigate the pharmacokinetics of carprofen under these conditions. STUDY DESIGN A prospective, randomized, double-blind, clinical trial. ANIMALS Sixty-two adult bitches weighing between 10 and 25 kgs, undergoing elective ovariohysterectomy. METHODS Examinations were performed for 20 hours postoperatively using subjective visual assessment scoring systems (DIVAS) and objective mechanical nociceptive threshold measurements. Forty dogs were assigned to one of three groups: (1) preoperative carprofen; (2) postoperative carprofen; and (3) no analgesics (saline injections). The dose of carprofen was 4.0 mg/kg subcutaneously. In another 22 bitches, the pharmacokinetics of carprofen given preoperatively or postoperatively at the same dose were examined. RESULTS The dogs given carprofen preoperatively had lower pain scores than the other groups, significantly so at 2 hours postextubation (P < .01 and P < .05, Kruskal-Wallis and post hoc Dunn's). Mechanical pain thresholds measured at the distal tibia showed the development of hyperalgesia at 12 and 20 hours postextubation; this was prevented by both the preoperative (P < .05 at 12 and 20 hours, Kruskal-Wallis) and postoperative (P < .05 at 20 hours, Kruskal-Wallis) administration of carprofen. Mechanical pain threshold testing at the wound showed a significant analgesic effect of carprofen. Plasma concentrations of carprofen were not directly related to analgesia; maximum plasma concentration, the area under the curve to the last data point, and area under the first moment curve up to the last data point were all significantly higher in the dogs given carprofen postoperatively (P < .05, Mann-Whitney). CONCLUSION Preoperative administration of carprofen has a greater analgesic effect than postoperative administration in the early postoperative period in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy. Plasma levels of carprofen are not related to the degree of analgesia achieved. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Carprofen provides effective analgesia after canine ovariohysterectomy. The timing of analgesic administration is important to optimize the control of postoperative pain.
Testing for hepatitis B virus alone does not increase vaccine coverage in non-immunized persons

AIM To determine whether hepatitis B virus (HBV)-testing could serve as a gateway to vaccinate non-immunized individuals in a low-prevalent country. METHODS Non-immunized subjects participating in a multi-center, HBV-testing campaign in Paris, France were identified and contacted via telephone 3-9 mo after testing in order to determine vaccination status. Vaccination coverage was evaluated in per-protocol (for all respondents) and intent-to-treat analysis (assuming all non-responders did not vaccinate). RESULTS In total, 1215/4924 (24.7%) enrolled subjects with complete HBV serology were identified as non-immunized and eligible for analysis. There were 99/902 successfully contacted subjects who had initiated HBV vaccination after screening: per-protocol, 11.0% (95%CI: 9.0-13.2); intent-to-treat, 8.2% (95%CI: 6.7-9.8). In multivariable analysis, vaccination was more likely to be initiated in individuals originating from moderate or high HBV-endemic countries (P < 0.001), patients with limited healthcare coverage (P = 0.01) and men who have sex with men (P = 0.02). When asked about the reasons for not initiating HBV vaccination, the most frequent response was “will be vaccinated later” (33.4%), followed by “did not want to vaccinate” (29.8%), and “vaccination was not proposed by the physician” (21.5%). Sub-group analysis indicated a stark contrast in vaccination coverage across centers, ranging from 0%-56%. CONCLUSION HBV-vaccination after HBV screening was very low in this study, which appeared largely attributed to physician-patient motivation towards vaccination. Increased vaccination coverage might be achieved by emphasizing its need at the organizational level.
Do Industrial Incidents in the Chemical Sector Create Equity Market Contagion?

INTRODUCTION This paper examines a number of US chemical industry incidents and their effect on equity prices of the incident company. Furthermore, this paper then examines the contagion effect of this incident on direct competitors. METHOD Event study methodology is used to assess the impact of chemical incidents on both incident and competitor companies. RESULTS This paper finds that the incident company experiences deeper negative abnormal returns as the number of injuries and fatalities as a result of the incident increases. The equity value of the competitor companies suffer substantial losses stemming from contagion effects when disasters that occur cause ten or more injuries and fatalities, but benefit from the incident through increasing equity value when the level of injury and fatality is minor. CONCLUSIONS Presence of contagion suggests collective action may reduce value destruction brought about by safety incidents that result in significant injury or loss of life. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS This research can be used as a resource to promote and justify the cost of safety mechanisms within the chemical industry, as incidents have been shown to negatively affect the equity value of the not just the incident company, but also their direct competitors.
Total intravenous nutrition by peripheral vein in neonatal surgical patients.

A solution for intravenous nutrition which contains amino acids, glucose, electrolytes, and vitamins was infused during long periods through peripheral veins in five neonatal surgical patients. Weight gain and tissue healing were obtained while this solution represented the sole source of nutrition for as long as 51 days. The need for long-term central venous catheterization and its attendant risks were eliminated by the infusion of large volumes (200 to 250 ml/kg/24 hr) of a solution whose solute concentration (total solute 500 to 850 mOsm/kg of water) was significantly lower than that of conventional "hyperalimentation" solutions. The large fluid volumes were well tolerated and the infants maintained normal serum osmolalities, serum electrolytes, and acid-base status.
Decoupling a Resource Constraint Through Fictitious Play in Multi-Agent Sequential Decision Making

When multiple independent agents use a limited shared resource, they need to coordinate and thereby their planning problems become coupled. We present a resource assignment strategy that decouples agents using marginal utility cost, allowing them to plan individually. We show that agents converge to an expected cost curve by keeping a history of plans, inspired by fictitious play. This performs slightly better than a state-of-the-art best-response approach and is significantly more scalable than a preallocation Mixed-Integer Linear Programming formulation, providing a good trade-off between performance and quality.
Child maltreatment as a predictor of adult physical functioning in a prospective British birth cohort

Objective Child maltreatment (abuse and neglect) has established associations with mental health; however, little is known about its relationship with physical functioning. Physical functioning (ie, the ability to perform the physical tasks of daily living) in adulthood is an important outcome to consider, as it is strongly associated with an individual’s ability to work, and future disability and dependency. We aimed to establish whether maltreatment was associated with physical functioning, independent of other early-life factors. Setting 1958 British birth cohort. Participants 8150 males and females with data on abuse and who participated at age 50 years. Outcome measures The primary outcome was poor physical functioning at 50 years (<65 on the Short-Form 36 survey physical functioning subscale). Secondary outcomes included mental health and self-reported health at 50 years. Results 23% of participants reported at least one type of maltreatment; 12% were identified with poor physical functioning. Neglect (ORadj 1.55, 95% CI 1.24 to 1.93), psychological abuse (ORadj 1.49, 1.17–1.88) and sexual abuse (ORadj 2.56, 1.66–3.96) were associated with poor physical functioning independent of other maltreatments and covariates, including childhood social class, birth weight and childhood illness. Odds of poor physical functioning increased with multiple types of maltreatment (ptrend <0.001); ORadj ranged from 1.49 (1.23–1.82) for a single type to 2.09 (1.53–2.87) for those reporting > 3 types of maltreatment, compared with those with none. Associations of similar magnitude were observed for mental and self-reported health outcomes. Conclusions Child neglect, psychological and sexual abuse were associated with poor physical functioning at 50 years, with accumulating risk for those with multiple types of maltreatment. Associations were independent of numerous early-life factors and were comparable in magnitude to those observed for mental health and self-rated health. Prevention or alleviation of the ill effects of maltreatment could be an effective policy intervention to promote healthy ageing.
Correction on Testing the Mediating Role of Open Innovation on the Relationship between Intellectual Property Rights and Organizational Performance: A Case of Science and Technology Park

The present study was conducted in Semnan Science and Technology Park and aimed to analyze the relationship among intellectual property rights, open innovation, and organizational performance of 30 New Technology Based Firms (NTBFs). Senior managers, middle managers, and business owners were considered as appropriate respondents for study. A total of 140 questionnaires were distributed among the respondents, and 126 filled questionnaires were returned. The research method used in this study is descriptive-correlation and the analysis was carried out utilizing Structural Equation Modeling. The factors analysis and the findings show that intellectual property rights have a significant positive relationship with open innovation. Further, open innovation has a significant positive relationship with organizational performance. Moreover, no significant relationship between intellectual property rights and organizational performance was established. But, intellectual property rights affect organizational performance positively, through open innovation acting as a mediator.
Common warts from immunocompetent patients show the same distribution of human papillomavirus types as common warts from immunocompromised patients

We studied the papillomfiviruses (HPV) found in 131 common warts Irom 111 immunocompetent patients by amplification of viral DNA sequences with the general‐primer‐mediatcd polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The virus types were determined by restriction‐enzyme cleavage and reverse‐hlot analysis. Results were confirmed by using the Southern blot technique.
Ascertaining species of origin from confiscated meat using DNA forensics

Abstract Poaching of wildlife for local consumption and commercial purposes is a major threat to the loss of the world's biodiversity which has even resulted in the extirpation of the numerous species at local or regional scale. Law enforcement agencies have been working in the implementation of the Wildlife Protection Act to combat illegal trade of wildlife for parts and products all across the world. Nevertheless, several times confiscated materials have been altered and fabricated so much that their morphological identification often got difficult. In the last few decades, DNA technology has revolutionized species identification in forensic investigations and has shown its power in the firm identification of those fabricated materials. We received a confiscated material, appeared to be chopped raw meat with no intact morphological identity. The accused was caught by the officials of the State Forest Department after he put pictures on social media depicting his involvement in cooking and eating of animal meat, suspected to be of wildlife origin. On homology search, we found a 99% identity of the confiscated material with Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and neighbour joining trees based on genetic distances clustered the query sequence with the Asian Palm Civet with 100% bootstrap support. The present study exhibits hope for ascertaining species identification from the processed meat in reliable assessment for wildlife forensics. This case study extends, the role of the authenticated references as available on the public database, highlighting the application of DNA forensics in identifying species even from the phenotypically altered materials.
Détermination absolue de g dans le cadre de l'expérience de la balance du watt

Le projet balance du watt propose de relier la definition du kilogramme a la constante de Planck h. La pesee de la masse impliquee necessite une determination de l'acceleration de la pesanteur g avec une exactitude meilleure que 10-8. Cette these vise a realiser cette determination a l'aide d'un gravimetre atomique et d'un site gravimetrique dedie. Avec un gravimetre relatif caracterise, une cartographie gravimetrique des deux massifs consacres a l'experience du LNE a ete realisee puis un modele des variations de gravite a ete developpe. Il permet de determiner la difference de gravite entre deux points dans un volume de 50 m3 au dessus des massifs avec une incertitude inferieure a 3 µGal (3 * 10-8 m.s-2). Entre les deux points centraux, l'incertitude est inferieure au µGal. La determination absolue de g est realisee avec un nouveau gravimetre absolu mobile a ondes de matiere de 87Rb. Sa conception repose sur le travail debute en 2002 avec la realisation d'un prototype dont les limites ont ete identifiees. Les differents elements de ce nouveau gravimetre sont caracterises dans cette these. Les premiers signaux ont ete obtenus en 2009 puis l'instrument a ete le premier gravimetre atomique a participer a une comparaison internationale : l'ICAG'09 au BIPM. La caracterisation de l'instrument a ete poursuivie sur le site du LNE ou la sensibilite atteint un plateau a 0,4 µGal apres 100 min de mesure. Le budget d'incertitude obtenu de 5,4 µGal a ete eprouve lors d'une comparaison bilaterale avec un FG5 : l'ecart de mesure obtenu est de (4,3 +- 6,2) µGal (k=1).
Recessive hyperekplexia mutations of the glycine receptor α1 subunit affect cell surface integration and stability

The human neurological disorder hyperekplexia is frequently caused by recessive and dominant mutations of the glycine receptor α1 subunit gene, GLRA1. Dominant forms are mostly attributed to amino acid substitutions within the ion pore or adjacent loops, resulting in altered channel properties. Here, the biogenesis of glycine receptor α1 subunit mutants underlying recessive forms of hyperekplexia was analyzed following recombinant expression in HEK293 cells. The α1 mutant S231R resulted in a decrease of surface integrated protein, consistent with reduced maximal current values. Decreased maximal currents shown for the recessive α1 mutant I244N were associated with protein instability, rather than decreased surface integration. The recessive mutants R252H and R392H encode exchanges of arginine residues delineating the intracellular faces of transmembrane domains. After expression, the mutant R252H was virtually absent from the cell surface, consistent with non‐functionality and the importance of the positive charge for membrane integration. Surface expression of R392H was highly reduced, resulting in residual chloride conductance. Independent of the site of the mutation within the α1 polypeptide, metabolic radiolabelling and pulse chase studies revealed a shorter half‐life of the full‐length α1 protein for all recessive mutants as compared to the wild‐type. Treatment with the proteasome blocker, lactacystin, significantly increased the accumulation of α1 mutants in intracellular membranes. These observations indicated that the recessive α1 mutants are recognized by the endoplasmatic reticulum control system, and degraded via the proteasome pathway. Thus, the lack of glycinergic inhibition associated with recessive hyperekplexia may be attributed to sequestration of mutant subunits within the endoplasmatic reticulum quality control system.
Service operations: what’s next?

The purpose of this paper is to present exciting and innovative research questions in service operations that are aligned with eight key themes and related topics determined by the Journal of Service Management (JOSM) Service Operations Expert Research Panel. By offering a good number of such research questions, this paper provides a broad range of ideas to spur conceptual and empirical research related to service operations and encourage the continued creation of deep knowledge within the field, as well as collaborative research across disciplines that develops and incorporates insights from service operations. ,Based on a Delphi study, described in the companion article, “Service Operations: What Have We Learned? ,” the panel identified eight key research themes in service operations where leading-edge research is being done or has yet to be done (Victorino et al., 2018). In this paper, three or four topics within each theme are selected and multiple questions for each topic are proposed to guide research efforts. The topics and questions, while wide-ranging, are only representative of the many ongoing research opportunities related to service operations. ,The field of service operations has many interesting research topics and questions that are largely unexplored. Furthermore, these research areas are not only increasingly integrative across multiple themes within operations but often transcend functional disciplines. This creates opportunities for ever more impactful research with a greater reach throughout the service system and suggests that service researchers, regardless of functional affiliation, can contribute to the ongoing conversation on the role of service operations in value creation. ,Leveraging the collective knowledge of the JOSM Service Operations Expert Research Panel to expand on the research themes generated from the Delphi study, novel questions for future study are put forward. Recognizing that the number of potential research questions is virtually unlimited, summary questions by theme and topic are also provided. These questions represent a synopsis of the individual questions and can serve as a quick reference guide for researchers interested in pursuing new directions in conceptual and empirical research in service operations. This summary also serves as a framework to facilitate the formulation of additional research topics and questions.
Radiation Pattern Reconstruction from the Near-Field Amplitude Measurement on Two Planes using PSO

The paper presents a new approach to the radia- tion pattern reconstruction from near-field amplitude only measurement over a two planar scanning surfaces. This new method for antenna pattern reconstruction is based on the global optimization PSO (Particle Swarm Optimiza- tion). The paper presents appropriate phaseless measure- ment requirements and phase retrieval algorithm together with a brief description of the particle swarm optimization method. In order to examine the methodologies developed in this paper, phaseless measurement results for two diffe- rent antennas are presented and compared to results obtai- ned by a complex measurement (amplitude and phase).