Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effectiveness of technology-based patient education on self-reported deprivation of liberty among people with severe mental illness: A randomized controlled trial

Deprivation of liberty (DL) in psychiatric inpatient care is common worldwide. As liberty is a central element of patients’ rights, there is a need to develop most effective methods supporting patients’ personal liberty. The article presents initial results from a study to determine the effectiveness of an information technology (IT)-based patient education programme on patients’ experiences of being deprived of their liberty during their in-hospital stay. An overall sample of 311 patients with schizophrenia spectrum psychosis was randomized into three groups: an intervention group with needs-based computerized patient education, a patient education group with conventional education and a control group with standard care. Data on the general experience of DL were collected at baseline and during the patient discharge process. In general, all patients experienced less DL at the time of their discharge. The change in patients’ experiences of their DL did not differ statistically between the three groups. Male patients in the standard care group were significantly more likely to drop out of the study than female patients. Although technology-based patient education was not found to be superior to other approaches, we did not find any reason to inhibit its utilization in patient care among persons with severe mental health problems. From the healthcare organizations’ perspective, a cost-effectiveness analysis is needed, as the IT education was slightly more time-consuming.
Financial Intermediation and Monetary Policy in a Small Open Economy

This paper analyses the role of a costly financial system in the transmission of monetarypolicy. The new-keynesian model for a small open economy is extended with asimple financial system based in Hamann and Oviedo (2006). The presence of the financialintermediation naturally allows the introduction of standard policy instruments: therepo interest rate and the compulsory requirement of reserves. The model is calibrated tomatch key steady-state ratios of Colombia and is used to evaluate the alternative policyinstruments. The financial system plays an important role in the transmission mechanismof the monetary policy, and determines the final effects on aggregated demand andinflation rates of exogenous modifications of the policy instruments. The monetary policyconducted through the repo interest rate has the standard effects predicted by thenew-keynesian framework. But changes in the compulsory reserve requirement rate maygenerate, under different scenarios, totally different reactions on economic activity, andlittle quantitative effects on inflation rates and aggregate demand. Therefore this lastpolicy instrument appears to be uneffective and unreliable.
Generation of Patterned Cell Co-Cultures inside Tubular Structure Using Electrochemical Biolithography and Electrostatic Assembly

We report a method for producing patterned cell co-cultures inside silicone tubing. A platinum needle microelectrode was inserted through the wall of the tubing and an oxidizing agent electrochemically generated at the inserted electrode. This agent caused local detachment of the anti-biofouling heparin layer from the inner surface of the tubing. The cell-adhesive protein fibronectin selectively adsorbed onto the newly exposed surface, making it possible to initiate a localized cell culture. The electrode could be readily set in place without breaking the tubular structure and, importantly, almost no culture solution leaked from the electrode insertion site after the electrode was removed. Ionic adsorption of poly-L-lysine at the tubular region retaining a heparin coating was used to switch the heparin surface from cell-repellent to cell-adhesive, thereby facilitating the adhesion of a second cell type. The combination of the electrode-based technique with electrostatic deposition enabled the formation of patterned co-cultures within the semi-closed tubular structure. The controlled co-cultures inside the elastic tubing should be of value for cell-cell interaction studies following application of chemical or mechanical stimuli and for tissue engineering-based bioreactors.
How Long Does it Take to Become an Entrepreneurial Society - The Case of German Convergence in Self-Employment

Since the beginning of the transformation of East Germany from a socialist planned economy to a market economy, there has been an ambitious political goal of fostering entrepreneurial activity in that part of the country. One of the most-hoped for results of this undertaking is the anticipated contribution of small and new firms to solving the economic, social, and political problems of East Germany, thereby narrowing the gap between East and West Germany. This paper uses panel data from 1992 to 2005 on 97 German regions to analyze recent convergence in self-employment rates. An astonishing catching-up process is observed for East German regions during the period under study. However, the general convergence between East and West Germany observed during the first years after reunification has not been maintained. In short, some East German regions have achieved convergence with West German selfemployment rates and some have not.
Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to implement and evaluate national surgical planning

The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery defined six surgical indicators and a framework for a national surgical plan that aimed to incorporate surgical care as a part of global public health. Multiple countries have since begun national surgical planning; each faces unique challenges in doing so. Implementation science can be used to more systematically explain this heterogeneous process, guide implementation efforts and ultimately evaluate progress. We describe our intervention using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. This framework requires identifying characteristics of the intervention, the individuals involved, the inner and outer setting of the intervention, and finally describing implementation processes. By hosting a consultative symposium with clinicians and policy makers from around the world, we are able to specify key aspects of each element of this framework. We define our intervention as the incorporation of surgical care into public health planning, identify local champions as the key individuals involved, and describe elements of the inner and outer settings. Ultimately we describe top-down and bottom-up models that are distinct implementation processes. With the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, we are able to identify specific strategic models that can be used by implementers in various settings. While the integration of surgical care into public health throughout the world may seem like an insurmountable challenge, this work adds to a growing effort that seeks to find a way forward.
High Performance Graph Data Management and Mining with X10

Graph data management and mining in HPC environments has been a widely discussed issue in recent times. In this talk I will describe the use of Partitioned Global Address Space languages for graph data mining and management. I will first discuss the rationale behind X10 based graph libraries and graph database benchmarks using ScaleGraph and XGDBench as examples. Next, I will take Acacia which is completely developed with X10 language as an example system and describe our experience with implementing such high performance system with X10. In this talk I will describe how RDF processing and Streaming extensions have been implemented in Acacia. Finally, I will highlight some of the notable areas which need further attention in future.
Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD) provides secondary gene annotation using the Gene Ontology (GO)

The Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD) resources, ranging from genetic and physical maps to genome-wide analysis tools, reflect the scientific progress in identifying genes and their functions over the last decade. As emphasis shifts from identification of the genes to identification of the role of their gene products in the cell, SGD seeks to provide its users with annotations that will allow relationships to be made between gene products, both within Saccharomyces cerevisiae and across species. To this end, SGD is annotating genes to the Gene Ontology (GO), a structured representation of biological knowledge that can be shared across species. The GO consists of three separate ontologies describing molecular function, biological process and cellular component. The goal is to use published information to associate each characterized S.cerevisiae gene product with one or more GO terms from each of the three ontologies. To be useful, this must be done in a manner that allows accurate associations based on experimental evidence, modifications to GO when necessary, and careful documentation of the annotations through evidence codes for given citations. Reaching this goal is an ongoing process at SGD. For information on the current progress of GO annotations at SGD and other participating databases, as well as a description of each of the three ontologies, please visit the GO Consortium page at http://www.geneontology. org. SGD gene associations to GO can be found by visiting our site at http://genome-www.stanford. edu/Saccharomyces/.
A new approach to exploit channel power imbalance in distributed antenna systems with fiber fronthaul

Cloud Modulation (CM) is a novel transmission method that mitigates the non-linear impairments introduced by the Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) links of a distributed antenna system. In CM, constant-envelope phase-modulated radio symbols are transmitted over the fiber fronthaul to mitigate the non-linear distortion originated by the opto-electrical interfaces, optical fibers, and RF power amplifiers. In contrast to contemporary distributed antenna systems, where the amplitude modulation of the radio signal is already present at the input of the RoF link, the amplitude modulation of received CM symbols is achieved over-the-air by selecting the remote antenna unit that should be active at each time symbol. The propagation characteristics of the wireless channel, whose diffuse nature is typically represented with the CLOUD metaphor, creates the desired amplitude modulation and motivates the name of the proposed transmission method. The guidelines to design CM alphabets for different hybrid fiber-wireless scenarios are presented. Notable performance gains are observed when CM is compared to a joint transmission coordinated multi-point scheme in presence of similar levels of non-linear distortion in the RoF fronthaul.
European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Analysis of Treosulfan Conditioning Before Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Children and Adolescents With Hematological Malignancies

Standard myeloablative conditioning regimens for children with hematological malignancies undergoing allogeneic HSCT are based mainly on total body irradiation or busulfan. Their serious short‐ and long‐term side effects warranted the exploration of less toxic alternatives. Treosulfan is increasingly used for adults and children before HSCT due to its potent immunosuppressive and cytotoxic effects combined with low organ toxicity.
Testing for Asymmetry in Interest Rate Volatility in the Presence of a Neglected Level Effect

Empirical evidence documents a level effect in the volatility of short term rates of interest. That is, volatility is positively correlated with the level of the short term interest rate. Using Monte-Carlo simulations this paper examines the performance of the commonly used Engle-Ng (1993) tests which differentiate the effect of good and bad news on the predictability of future short rate volatility. Our results show that the tests exhibit serious size distortions and loss of power in the face of a neglected level effect.
Development of a new experimental model of intramuscular electrical stimulation of the diaphragm in rabbits.

PURPOSE To develop an animal model of diaphragmatic electrical stimulation able to generate an appropriate ventilatory support through the direct implantation of electrodes in the diaphragm (electroventilation). METHODS Six New Zealand female rabbits (2-3 kg) were placed on mechanical ventilation. Then, a laparotomy was performed in order to identify the motor points in each hemidiaphragm, followed by the implantation of the electrodes for diaphragmatic stimulation. We tested two types of electrodes according to the conduction of electrical stimulation: unipolar and bipolar. The electrodes were placed on different occasions in the same animals and tested with current intensities of 20, 26 and 32 mA. Each current intensity was repeated three times for 10 respiratory cycles with 1 minute interval between each cycle, and 5 minutes for new current intensity. We recorded the relationship between current intensity and inspiratory volume. RESULTS The electrodes adequately stimulate the diaphragm and obtain inspired volumes using different intensity currents. The bipolar electrode generated inspiratory volumes as high as 4.5 times of baseline while the unipolar electrode reached up to 3.5 times of baseline. CONCLUSION This model has proved to be effective for studying the performance of the diaphragm under different electrical stimulations using different set of electrodes.
Political economy of IPO underpricing: the evidence from China

This paper looks at the IPO underpricing puzzle in a political economy perspective, as previous theories have considered only the ‘market economy factor’ in IPO underpricing, and failed to incorporate the ‘political economy factor’ in determining IPO underpricing. This is particularly relevant to emerging markets such as China, where the IPO is not only a process of raising fresh capital, but also one of privatisation. By examining the Chinese case with the political economy perspective, we find that the IPO underpricing is negatively related to the proportion of the shares held by various government organisations. We also offer explanations using an angle of political economy.
The Determinants of Innovation in Green Supply Chains: Evidence from an Italian Sectoral Study

In the last years attention has increased to the eco-innovation topic. Empirical studies have demonstrated that innovating firms grow faster, have higher productivity and are more profitable than their less innovative counterparts (Geroski et al., 1993; Roper and Hewitt-Dundas, 1998). Drawing upon a database of over 300 enterprises operating within eight defined green production chains working in the Province of Milan, this paper assesses the determinants and drawbacks of innovation. In particular, using an econometrical approach, we tested the following propositions: a) small dimension of enterprises is an obstacle to their innovation power; b) The adoption of an international strategy of production and commercialisation is an opportunity and a stimulus to eco-innovation; c) cooperation with research partners can help SMEs to overcome difficulties and help them to develop and offer eco-sustainable products and services. The econometric analysis shows a positive impact of dimension and level of internationalization on innovation capabilities. In addition, cooperation with research centers and access to capital market are positively related with effective innovations.
Study on the knowledge sharing of communities of practice based on the small-world network model

In view of the crucial importance of communities of practice (CoPs) for organizations, the aim of our study was to further explore how to cultivate and support them for organizations from the perspective of network structure. Based on the small-world network model, we developed a model about the knowledge sharing network of CoPs, proposed the concepts of knowledge sharing frequency and centralization of CoPs, addressed the relation with knowledge sharing of CoPs, and found knowledge sharing frequency and centralization of CoPs should keep in a moderate level. At last, according the results of our study, we provided some useful theoretical guidance for organizations to cultivate and support CoPs.
The Dutch's Real World Financial Institute: Introducing Quantum-Like Bayesian Networks as an Alternative Model to deal with Uncertainty

In this work, we analyse and model a real life financial loan application belonging to a sample bank in the Netherlands. The log is robust in terms of data, containing a total of 262 200 event logs, belonging to 13 087 different credit applications. The dataset is heterogeneous and consists of a mixture of computer generated automatic processes and manual human tasks. The goal is to work out a decision model, which represents the underlying tasks that make up the loan application service, and to assess potential areas of improvement of the institution's internal processes. To this end we study the impact of incomplete event logs for the extraction and analysis of business processes. It is quite common that event logs are incomplete with several amounts of missing information (for instance, workers forget to register their tasks). Absence of data is translated into a drastic decrease of precision and compromises the decision models, leading to biased and unrepresentative results. We investigate how classical probabilistic models are affected by incomplete event logs and we explore quantum-like probabilistic inferences as an alternative mathematical model to classical probability. This work represents a first step towards systematic investigation of the impact of quantum interference in a real life large scale decision scenario. The results obtained in this study indicate that, under high levels of uncertainty, the quantum-like models generate quantum interference terms, which allow an additional non-linear parameterisation of the data. Experimental results attest the efficiency of the quantum-like Bayesian networks, since the application of interference terms is able to reduce the error percentage of inferences performed over quantum-like models when compared to inferences produced by classical models.
Time‐series analysis, forecasting and econometric modelling: The structural econometric modelling, time‐series analysis (SEMTSA) approach

In this paper an account of our experiences in modelling and forecasting the annual output growth rates of 18 industrialized countries is presented. A structural econometric modelling, rime-series analysis (SEMTSA) approach is described and contrasted with other approaches. Theoretical and applied results relating to variable and model selection and point and turning-point forecasting are discussed. A summary of results and directions for future research concludes the paper.
Institutional Inconsistency and Political Instability: Polity Duration, 1800–2000

This article examines how political institutional structures affect political instability. It classifies polities as autocracies or democracies based on three institutional dimensions: election of the executive, constraints on executive decision-making authority, and extent of political participation. It hypothesizes that strongly autocratic and democratic regimes will exhibit the greatest stability resulting from self-enforcing equilibria, whereby the maintenance of a polity's institutional structure is in the interest of political elites, whether through autocratic or democratic control. Institutionally inconsistent regimes (those exhibiting a mix of institutional characteristics of both democracy and autocracy) lack these self-enforcing characteristics and are expected to be shorter-lived. Using a log-logistic duration model, polity survival time ratios are estimated. Institutionally consistent polities are significantly more stable than institutionally inconsistent polities. The least stable political systems are dictatorships with high levels of political participation. The most unstable configuration for polities with an elected executive is one where the executive is highly constrained, but the electorate is very small.
The development and performance evaluation of a Continuous Auditing Assistance System

This study proposes a Continuous Auditing Assistance System (CAAS), which can assist auditors to assess potential weaknesses in the information systems. Auditors can perform auditing tasks independently, give feedback immediately on the extraordinariness and reach the objectives of continuous auditing. A prototype system is implemented to demonstrate the feasibility of this study. Sixty practitioners participated in the study to examine the utility of the system. The results indicate that this CAAS can benefit auditors in detecting potential internal control weaknesses and the weakness in the information systems more effectively and more efficiently.
Stock Price Information Content, Idiosyncratic Volatility and Expected Return

How idiosyncratic risks are priced in capital asset is always concerned in the financial sector. This paper theoretically analyzes the impact of idiosyncratic volatility on the expected return from the perspective of stock price’s information content, and use Chinese A-share market data, from 1994 to 2013, to do the empirical test. It finds that, if other conditions remain unchanged, when the degree of stock price information content is low, idiosyncratic volatility and expected return are negatively correlated; when the degree of stock price information content is rich, idiosyncratic volatility and expected return are positively correlated. After taking the impact of different regression methods and time spans into consideration, the conclusions are still valid, which indicates that the conclusions are robust. The reason for the above phenomenon is that idiosyncratic volatility is mainly driven by noise or information, which has different impacts on expected return.
A Savings Subsidisation System in a Model of Endogenous Fertility and Endogenous Growth: An Extension of Wigger (1999)

Population ageing is now an established demographic characteristic of many economies. Economists working in the endogenous growth theory tradition have sought to model the relationship between public pensions, financed on a 'Pay-As-You-Go' basis, and the growth in per capita incomes. The resultant intergenerational wealth redistribution from young to older people seems to decrease private savings, diminish capital accumulation, and lower the growth of per capita incomes. The underlying transmission mechanism appears to be a crowding out effect in private capital markets contingent upon the introduction of public pension systems. A growing literature exists on the interrelationships between public pension schemes, fertility rates and endogenous growth. Following Wigger's (1999) pioneering overlapping generations endogenous growth model, we extend this model to examine the effects of a savings subsidisation system on the rate of per capita income growth, fertility and voluntary intrafamily wealth transfers, where parents view children both as an insurance good and a consumption good. Moreover, children care about the consumption levels of their parents. An increase in contributions to a savings subsidised public pension scheme will crowd out private intergenerational transfers from the young to the old and thereby negate the usefulness of children as an insurance good.
The Reliability of Estimation Procedures in Portfolio Analysis

The Markowitz model for the efficient diversification of investments [12] has, over the years since its original formulation, provided the basis for many investigations into the question of portfolio selection. Amongst the more notable contributions to the theory are the works of Fama [6] and Mandelbrot [11], Smith [17], Latané [10], Arditti [1], and Blume [2].