Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Population Pessimism and Economic Optimism in the Asian Giants

The timing of China’s and India’s demographic transitions and the implications of alternative fertility scenarios are explored here using a global economic model incorporating full demographic behaviour and measures of dependency that accurately reflect the changing proportion of workers, rather than working‐aged, in the total population. The baseline scenario confirms that demographic change in India may yield significant gains to future real per capita income, resulting from a continuing sharp decline in its total dependency ratio. For China, these gains are largely in the past, although the positive contribution of declining youth and working‐aged dependency to future per capita income will continue to offset the negative impact of rising aged dependency through to 2030. Whilst a policy change to foster higher fertility rates and hence more rapid population growth in China might ultimately ease its dependency burden, in the short run it will increase it. In any case, such a course is contradictory to the goal of delivering improvements in real per capita income. For India, we confirm that the benefits of further fertility reductions, in the form of increased real per capita income, are substantial.
Evanescent reverberation

One of the main statistical models for fields in reverberation chambers is the so-called “plane wave integral representation” model of David Hill. However, despite being widely known and used, this model (as stated by D. Hill himself) lacks a rigorous demonstration, especially when extending it to e.g. non-spherical volumes, imperfect stirring, presence of a source, etc. In other words, its findings assume ideal reverberant conditions reducing consequently its application domain. This work presents an attempt to analytically continue Hill's plane wave integral representation model in regions where we are close to a source. By including complex angles of integration in the plane wave spectrum, we are able to find a position-dependent expression for the mean-square value of the electric and magnetic fields. Showing some measurements results, we can see that this expression can provide us with a fair description of the field dynamics close to the transmitting antenna.
Nutritional Advice in Older Patients at Risk of Malnutrition during Treatment for Chemotherapy: A Two-Year Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective We tested the effect of dietary advice dedicated to increase intake in older patients at risk for malnutrition during chemotherapy, versus usual care, on one-year mortality. Method We conducted a multicentre, open-label interventional, stratified (centre), parallel randomised controlled trial, with a 1∶1 ratio, with two-year follow-up. Patients were aged 70 years or older treated with chemotherapy for solid tumour and at risk of malnutrition (MNA, Mini Nutritional Assessment 17–23.5). Intervention consisted of diet counselling with the aim of achieving an energy intake of 30 kCal/kg body weight/d and 1.2 g protein/kg/d, by face-to-face discussion targeting the main nutritional symptoms, compared to usual care. Interviews were performed 6 times during the chemotherapy sessions for 3 to 6 months. The primary endpoint was 1-year mortality and secondary endpoints were 2-year mortality, toxicities and chemotherapy outcomes. Results Between April 2007 and March 2010 we randomised 341 patients and 336 were analysed: mean (standard deviation) age of 78.0 y (4·9), 51.2% male, mean MNA 20.2 (2.1). Distribution of cancer types was similar in the two groups; the most frequent were colon (22.4%), lymphoma (14.9%), lung (10.4%), and pancreas (17.0%). Both groups increased their dietary intake, but to a larger extent with intervention (p<0.01). At the second visit, the energy target was achieved in 57 (40.4%) patients and the protein target in 66 (46.8%) with the intervention compared respectively to 13 (13.5%) and 20 (20.8%) in the controls. Death occurred during the first year in 143 patients (42.56%), without difference according to the intervention (p = 0.79). No difference in nutritional status changes was found. Response to chemotherapy was also similar between the groups. Conclusion Early dietary counselling was efficient in increasing intake but had no beneficial effect on mortality or secondary outcomes. Cancer cachexia antianabolism may explain this lack of effect. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00459589
Pooling of cultured samples and comparison of multistate laboratory workflows with the MagMAX sample preparation system and VetMAX quantitative polymerase chain reaction reagents for detection of Tritrichomonas foetus–colonized bulls

The objectives of the current study were 1) to compare sample preparation workflows and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assays (qPCR) as currently used in veterinary diagnostic laboratories with a study protocol utilizing commercially available reagents for individual Tritrichomonas foetus testing, 2) to assess the accuracy of pooling cultured smegma samples followed by extraction and qPCR testing as used in the study laboratory, and 3) to assess the specificity of the currently used primers and probes by sequencing all positive and presumptive positive samples identified in the study laboratory in an attempt to capture any nucleotide variability between T. foetus isolates and to rule out false-positive results possibly due to Simplicimonas moskowitzi. Eight hundred three cultured smegma samples were collected from different regions of the United States with the collaboration of 5 veterinary testing laboratories. The samples were processed individually by the respective laboratories, and then sent to the study laboratory and retested using the study protocol. Comparison testing showed an overall agreement of 95.89% between the veterinary testing laboratories and the study laboratory. One hundred seventy-six positive or presumptive positive samples plus 625 negative qPCR samples were combined and retested using a pooling protocol. Pools consisted of 1 positive sample and 4 negative samples (1/5). These pools were processed using the same study laboratory protocols, and 96% of the positive samples were detected in these pools. Nested PCR followed by sequencing confirmed 175 of the 178 samples classified as positive or presumptive positive in the study laboratory as containing T. foetus–specific DNA.
Incidence of cancer among patients with hidradenitis suppurativa.

BACKGROUND On the basis of some case reports, a relationship has been suggested between hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and the development of nonmelanoma skin cancer. OBJECTIVES To confirm this relationship and to explore the risk of other cancers among patients with HS. PATIENTS Patients with a discharge diagnosis of HS were obtained from the computerized database of hospital discharge diagnoses from January 1, 1965, through December 31, 1997. A total of 2119 patients with HS were identified. SETTING All hospitals in Sweden. DESIGN With record linkage to the Swedish National Cancer Registry, standardized incidence ratios (SIR [the ratio of the observed to expected incidence]) were calculated to estimate relative risk. RESULTS The risk of developing any cancer in the cohort with HS increased 50% (95% confidence interval of SIR, 1.1-1.8, based on 73 observed cases). Statistically significant risk elevations were observed for nonmelanoma skin cancer (5 cases; SIR, 4.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-10.7), buccal cancer (5 cases; SIR, 5.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.8-12.9), and primary liver cancer (3 cases; SIR, 10.0; 95% confidence interval, 2.1-29.2). CONCLUSIONS This study confirms an increased risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer among patients with HS. The risk for buccal cancer and primary liver cancer was also elevated among this cohort, but these associations should be interpreted cautiously because the combination of multiple significance testing and the few observed cases may have generated chance findings.
Composite Measures for the Evaluation of Investment Performance

The composite measures of investment performance: the reward-to-variability index, by Sharpe ([29], [30]) and Lintner [23], and the reward-to-volatility index, by Treynor [33], were developed after Markowitz ([24], [25]) and Tobin [32] popularized the mean-variance framework of analyzing the problems of certain investments. Since these are ex ante measures they are not directly applicable to the evaluation of ex post performance. A theoretical basis for doing so has been provided by Jensen ([17], [18]) who also developed another composite performance measure, the predictability index. In practice, these composite measures have been found to have problems. Foremost, they have been observed to exhibit systematic biases. Various causes of the biases have been proposed. These are: the existence of unequal lending and borrowing rates, the failure to consider higher moments of return distributions, and the elusive “true” holding period.
Online Dating in Japan: A Test of Social Information Processing Theory

This study examines the experiences of past and present members of a popular Japanese online dating site in order to explore the extent to which Western-based theories of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and the development of online relationships are relevant to the Japanese online dating experience. Specifically, it examines whether social information processing theory (SIPT) is applicable to Japanese online dating interactions, and how and to what extent Japanese daters overcome the limitations of CMC through the use of contextual and other cues. Thirty-six current members and 27 former members of Match.com Japan completed an online survey. Using issue-based procedures for grounded theory analysis, we found strong support for SIPT. Japanese online daters adapt their efforts to present and acquire social information using the cues that the online dating platform provides, although many of these cues are specific to Japanese social context.
Factors Associated with Army Obstetricians-Gynecologists’ Practice of HIV Prevention Education during Routine Gynecologic Care

The authors evaluate obstetricians-gynecologists’ (OB-GYNs’) anxiety about clinical uncertainty and patient, physician, and organizational factors associated with their selection of HIV-related educational activities for high-risk and low-risk written case simulations. A total of 117 U.S. Army OB-GYNs completed a mailed, anonymous questionnaire. Overall, informants were much less likely to educate in response to the low-risk simulation; however, more informants who were anxious about uncertainty were more likely to do so in a model that included supportive institutional policies, willingness to educate despite patient barriers, and comfort with the topic. OB-GYNs were more likely to educate in response to the high-risk simulation given greater willingness to discuss HIV despite organizational barriers, supportive policies, and comfort. Findings suggest a need to better understand the role that anxiety about uncertainty plays in HIV prevention and the need to promote organizational policies that support and remove barriers to clinically based education.
The Love Triangle: Loyal Relationships among Providers, Customers, and Their Friends

With the increasing maturity of many sectors of the tourism industry, providers have enhanced their efforts to develop loyal relationships with selected customers—a strategy that theoretically results in higher profits and a more stable competitive advantage. There is mounting evidence, however, that most loyalty programs are ineffective in generating psychological attachment to the provider. Therefore, the primary purpose of this article was to document the factors associated with the formation of ongoing, stable, and intimate (i.e., loyal) relationships between individuals and a provider of a cruise package. Data from 20 in-depth interviews with purposefully selected cruisers suggested that loyal relationships between customers and a cruise provider depended on the treatment customers received from the provider, the opportunities customers had to help the provider, and the bond they had with a larger community of cruisers. Implications for the integration and extension of loyalty theory are discussed, and suggestions for the development of effective loyalty programs are offered.
Computational Analysis of Acoustic Descriptors in Psychotic Patients

Various forms of psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia, can influence how we speak. Therefore, clinicians assess speech and language behaviors of their patients. While it is difficult for humans to quantify speech behaviors precisely, acoustic descriptors, such as tenseness of voice and speech rate, can be quantified automatically. In this work, we identify previously unstudied acoustic descriptors related to the severity of psychotic symptoms within a clinical population (N=29). Our dataset consists of semi-structured interviews between patients and clinicians. Psychotic disorders are often characterized by two groups of symptoms: negative and positive. While negative symptoms are also prevalent in disorders such as depression, positive symptoms in psychotic disorders have rarely been studied from an acoustic and computational perspective. Our experiments show relationships between psychotic symptoms and acoustic descriptors related to voice quality consistency, variation of speech rate and volume, vowel space, and a parameter of glottal flow. Further, we show that certain acoustic descriptors can track a patient’s state from admission to discharge. Finally, we demonstrate that measures from the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) can be estimated with acoustic descriptors.
Framing Innovation Opportunities While Staying Committed to an Organizational Epistemic Stance

This paper examines how an organization’s culture, and in particular its stance toward the pursuit of knowledge and innovation, matters when confronting new digitally enabled practices for generating novel insights. We draw on an in-depth interpretive study of how two innovation consulting firms encountered crowdsourcing for innovation. Our findings suggest that, although both organizations relied on a similar set of organizational arrangements in their daily consulting work, they enacted different positions vis-a-vis crowdsourcing: one firm further experimented with it, whereas the other rejected it altogether. These different positions emerged as organizational actors examined, framed, and evaluated crowdsourcing as an alternative for generating knowledge. To interpret these findings, we draw on philosophy of science and develop the concept of organizational epistemic stance, defined as an attitude that organizational actors collectively enact in pursuing knowledge. Our analysis suggests that when organ.
A New Variance Ratio Test of Random Walk in Emerging Markets: A Revisit

Using a nonparametric variance ratio (VR) test, we revisit the empirical validity of the random walk hypothesis in eight emerging markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). After correcting for measurement biases caused by thin and infrequent trading prevalent in nascent and small stock markets, we cannot reject the random walk hypothesis for the MENA markets. We conclude that a nonparametric VR test is appropriate for emerging stock markets, and argue that our findings can reconcile previously contradictory results regarding the efficiency of MENA markets.
Application of the Beta Coefficient in the Market of Direct residential Real Estate Investments

Abstract The beta coefficient is one of the most popular indices used in contemporary finances. Despite the fact that there are justified doubts connected with its application, it is currently difficult to imagine a situation in which the cost of capital would be calculated without the use of the CAPM model. Thus, an attempt at answering the question whether and to what degree beta may be used in the real estate market constitutes an interesting problem. This is because on the one hand, the formal structure suggests that beta should not be used for assets which are not included in the benchmark but, on the other hand, such a benchmark should, at least theoretically, contain all market assets. Therefore, a decision was made to have a closer look at this issue, with the analysis of the possibility of using the beta coefficient in the residential real estate market set as the objective. Using the database of prices in the direct real estate investment created by the NBP, a comparison was conducted with regard to features of undertaken investments on the basis of an analysis of systematic risk calculated using selected indices available on the Polish market.
Is sustainable tourism an obstacle to the economic performance of the tourism industry? Evidence from an international empirical study

Sustainability has become an important strategic objective for tourism destinations worldwide. All analytical tourism competitiveness models make direct or indirect positive references to sustainability. It is accepted that sustainable tourism can reduce resource costs and help create market differentiation. Nevertheless, it has traditionally been considered that, short term, sustainability measures can reduce profitability and compromise competitiveness. Debates on the progress, implications, and practicality of sustainable tourism remain open. The relationship between economic sustainability, and environmental and sociocultural sustainability, is a central but largely unresearched area for tourism scholars, especially at the macro level. This study explores that difficult but essential area, using the World Economic Forum's empirical evidence from 128 countries, backed by the economic data search tool of the World Travel & Tourism Council. It demonstrates that progress in tourism sustainability does not affect a country's main economic tourism indicators in the short term, and does not constrain profitability and competitiveness. It also finds that sustainable tourism is not a luxury that only rich countries can afford, nor should it prevent development and perpetuate poverty in developing countries. An effective marketing and communication program about sustainable tourism is, however, found to be essential for economic success.
Unravelling Trends and Seasonality: A Structural Time Series Analysis of Transport Oil Demand in the UK and Japan

This paper demonstrates the importance of adequately modelling the Underlying Energy Demand Trend (UEDT) and seasonality when estimating transportation oil demand for the UK and Japan. The structural time series model is therefore employed to allow for a stochastic underlying trend and stochastic seasonals using quarterly data from the early 1970s, for both UK and Japan. It is found that the stochastic seasonals are preferred to the conventional deterministic dummies and, more importantly, the UEDT is found to be highly non-linear for both countries, with periods where it is both upward and downward sloping.
The Ets Transcription Factor ELF5 Functions as a Tumor Suppressor in the Kidney

Renal cell carcinoma is an important clinical disease with poorly understood etiology. ELF5 is an epithelial-specific member of the Ets family of transcription factors, characterized by the 80 amino acid Ets domain that binds the purine-rich GGAA/T Ets motif found in the promoter regions of a variety of genes. Since ELF5 is highly expressed in kidney and has been postulated to function as a tumor suppressor, at least in the context of the breast, we investigated its role in kidney cancer. In renal cell carcinoma ELF5 expression was consistently decreased in tumor samples versus normal. ELF5 mRNA was decreased in 94% of lesions tested and ELF5 protein was undetectable in 40/40 kidney-derived carcinomas. Re-expression of the ELF5 gene in 786-O renal carcinoma cells suppressed their tumorigenic capacity in vitro and in vivo. This work is the first to suggest that ELF5 has tumor suppressor activity in the kidney.
Incremental Variables and the Investment Opportunity Set

Variables with strong marginal explanatory power in cross-section asset pricing regressions typically show less power to produce increments to average portfolio returns, for two reasons. (1) Adding an explanatory variable can attenuate the slopes in a regression. (2) Adding a variable with marginal explanatory power always attenuates the values of other explanatory variables in the extremes of a regression’s fitted values. Without a restriction on portfolio weights, the maximum Sharpe ratios in the GRS statistic of Gibbons, Ross, and Shanken (1989) provide little information about an incremental variable’s impact on the portfolio opportunity set.
Yeast GSK-3 kinase regulates astral microtubule function via phosphorylation of the microtubule-stabilizing kinesin Kip 2

The S. cerevisiae kinesin Kip2 stabilises astral microtubules and facilitates spindle positioning through transport of microtubule-associated proteins, such as the yeast CLIP-170 homologue Bik1, dynein and the Adenomatous Polyposis Colirelated protein Kar9 to the plus ends of astral microtubules. Here, we show that Kip2 associates physically with its processivity factor Bim1, the yeast homologue of the EB1 plus end-tracking protein. This interaction requires an EB1-binding motif in the N-terminal extension of Kip2 and is negatively regulated by phosphorylation through Mck1, the yeast Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3. In addition, Mck1-dependent phosphorylation decreases the intrinsic microtubule affinity of Kip2. Reduction in Kip2 phosphorylation leads to stabilisation of astral microtubules and accumulation of Kip2, dynein and Kar9 at microtubule plus ends, while loss of Mck1 function leads to defects in spindle positioning. Furthermore, we provide evidence that a subpopulation of Mck1 at the bud-cortex phosphorylates Kip2. We propose that yeast GSK-3 spatially controls astral microtubule dynamics and the loading of dynein and Kar9 on astral microtubule plus ends by regulating Kip2 interactions with Bim1 and microtubules. Jo ur na l o f C el l S ci en ce • A dv an ce a rt ic le
Shared Relay Networks with Linear Receivers at the Relay: Two-Cell Case

The downlink performance of a two-cell relay enhanced wireless network is investigated. A single relay is shared by the two base stations in the system. The relay is assumed to be placed in a geographic region covered by both base stations. The relay station is operating in the decode-and-forward mode. Closed-form approximations which estimate the exact results extremely closely are derived for the outage probability and the ergodic rate of the system. The impact of finite rate channel state information feedback on the user ergodic rate is examined.