Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Meta-analysis of incidence of rare events

This is a review of methods for the meta-analysis of incidence of rare events using summary-level data. It is motivated and illustrated by the dataset used in a published analysis of cardiovascular safety in rosiglitazone trials. This review compares available methods for binary data, considering risk-difference, relative-risk and odds-ratio scales, fixed-effect and random-effects models, and frequentist and Bayesian approaches. Particular issues in this dataset include low incidence rates, the occurrence of studies with no events under one or all treatments, and discrepancy among results achieved using different statistical methodologies. The common method of adding a correction factor to handle zeroes may introduce bias where the incidence of events is small, as in this case. Alternative analyses on the log-odds scale are shown to give similar results, but the choice between them is less important than the potential sources of bias in any meta-analysis arising from limitations in the underlying dataset. It is important to present results carefully, including numerical and graphical summaries on the natural scale of risk when the analysis is on a statistically appropriate scale such as log-odds: the incidence rates should accompany an estimated ratio (of odds or risk) to put the analysis into the proper context. Beyond the statistical methodologies which are the focus of this paper, this dataset highlights the importance of understanding the limitations of the data being combined. Because the rosiglitazone dataset contains clinically heterogeneous trials with low event rates that were not designed or intended to assess cardiovascular outcomes, the findings of any meta-analysis of such trials should be considered hypothesis-generating.
Pitavastatin Restores Vascular Dysfunction in Insulin-Resistant State by Inhibiting NAD(P)H Oxidase Activity and Uncoupled Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase-Dependent Superoxide Production

3-Hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) may benefit the vasculopathy of insulin resistance independent of its lipid-lowering effects. Because imbalance of nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide anion (O2−) formation may lead to vascular dysfunction, we investigated the effect of statin on vasomotion of insulin-resistant state to clarify the mechanism by which statin ameliorates the impaired function. In the isolated aorta, contraction induced by angiotensin II was more potent in Zucker fatty rats (ZF) compared with that in Zucker lean rats. Both angiotensin II type 1 receptor expression and O2− production were upregulated in ZF. In addition, deficiency of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) contributes to the endothelial dysfunction in ZF. Oral administration of pitavastatin for 8 weeks normalized angiotensin II-induced vasoconstriction and endothelial function in ZF. Pitavastatin treatment of ZF increased vascular BH4 content, which was associated with twofold increase in endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) activity as well as a 60% reduction in endothelial O2− production. The treatment also markedly downregulated protein expression of angiotensin II type 1 receptor and gp91phox, whereas expression of guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase I was upregulated. Pitavastatin restores vascular dysfunction by inhibiting NAD(P)H oxidase activity and uncoupled eNOS-dependent O2− production.
Trade and the structure of South African production, 1984-97

With the onset of trade liberalisation, fears have been raised concerning the impact of trade on manufacturing output, employment and growth. Using an input–output methodology, this article decomposes South African output growth between 1984 and 1997 into final demand expansion, trade flows and technology. There are two main findings. First, trade liberalisation has not deindustrialised the manufacturing sector. Although import penetration has risen, export growth has matched and exceeded the potential import-induced losses in domestic production. South Africa's response thus conforms closely to international evidence. Secondly, a combination of strong growth in capital-intensive exports and import penetration in ultra-labour-intensive sectors has aided the structural shift in production towards capital-intensive sectors. However, capital-biased supply-side policies, as well as endemic problems within ultra-labour-intensive sectors, suggest that domestic factors and not trade liberalisation lie behind this shift.
The end of disciplinary modernisation? The Asian economic crisis and the ongoing reinvention of Singapore

Singapore's high-speed post-independence economic development from the 1960s to the 1990s - an expression of a desire to be an insider within advanced capitalism - was wrought through a state-imposed 'disciplinarity' that is here described as 'disciplinary modernisation'. The result was a protective- interventionist state that supported the free trade process. The ideological model that Singapore used was drawn from a Western European model of an interventionist state with social-democratic credentials, although the Singapore government rapidly developed illiberal impulses. The result was a Fordist-Taylorised factory-society that was simultaneously paternalistic and protective. However, the end of the Cold War and the 1997 Asian economic crisis have increasingly problematised that model. Can the Singapore government continue its established format of economic disciplinary-interventionism within what is now a realm of free-market ideology increasingly predicated upon US economic practices dominated by services and information? The government has hastened economic deregulation and now urges its citizenry to be more 'creative' - it wants a population that will be an autonomous mass with intelligent productivity. However, such hopes are at odds with the favoured disciplinary modalities of rule. This article explores the contradictory desire for 'managed change'. With the end of the Cold War, exponents of the new global capitalism seem to lack a vision of the future, and even revel in a short-term pragmatism. The Singapore government's present casting about for new directions is part and parcel of that uncertainty - at the very least it shows that the end of the Cold War has not resulted in a world that is post-historical.
Shift 'n' touch: combining Wii Balance Board and Cubtile

Combining input devices opens up new possibilities for interaction. We have investigated a Nintendo Wii Balance Board which allows foot input through weight-shifting together with an Immersion Cubtile which is a 3D multi-touch device. We have developed a framework that allows a mapping of inputs from both devices to output actions simulating keyboard strokes as well as mouse clicks and movements. Thus, with this setup, existing computer applications can be controlled. Exemplarily, a first-person shooter was used as a starting point for investigating this new device combination.
Is There Long Memory in Indian Stock Market Returns? An Empirical Search

The issue of long memory, though has important theoretical and practical implications, has not received much attention in India. This article examines the issue of long memory in mean of the stock returns by employing a set of sophisticated time-series tests including a bias reduced log periodogram test of Andrews and Guggenberger. The study used daily values of 29 major indices including sectoral indices traded on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange from April 2003 to March 2012, which provide insights into relation between composition of indices and long memory. The findings of the study suggest significant presence of long memory in mean returns of the medium- and small-sized indices and weaker evidences for large cap indices. Further, the study identifies a relationship between presence of long memory and market structure variables. The use of linear models in the presence of long memory would result in incorrect inferences, and this calls for investigation of appropriate long memory model to generate profits in Indian stock market.
Adaptive workload distribution for local and remote Clouds

Cloud systems include both locally based servers at user premises and remote servers and multiple Clouds that can be reached over the Internet. This paper describes a smart distributed system that combines local and remote Cloud facilities. It operates with a task allocation system that takes decisions to allocate tasks dynamically to the service that offers the best overall Quality of Service and a routing overlay which optimizes network delay for data transfer between clouds. Internet-scale experiments exhibit the effectiveness of our approach in adaptively distributing workload across multiple clouds.
The relationship between perceived task attributes and job satisfaction and performance among plateaued and nonplateaued managers

Christopher Orpen is Professor of Management in the School of Management at Deakin University, Victoria, Australia. Previously he was Professor of Psychology in the School of Psychology, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Professor Orpen is the author of numerous articles in professional j oumals, as well as of five books, including Principles of Personnel Psychology, Behaviour in Work Organizations, and Ideology in Personnel Management. His major research interest lies in devising ways and means by which organizations can become more responsive to the needs of the members.
Transport Costs Decline and Regional Inequalities: Evidence from France

This Paper first develops a tractable economic geography model we use to investigate the decline of transport costs as a cause of regional inequalities. Next, we perform a structural estimation of this model using a new dataset on road transport costs between the 341 French Employment Areas. We find that intermediate inputs and geographical features play a critical role in the concentration pattern of French economic activities. Estimations being consistent with plausible values for the structural parameters of the model, we finally provide simulations of French local sectoral employment and production conditions. We find a very strong core-periphery structure of short-run profits, which means that large concentration incentives exist in France. By contrast, a short-run analysis of the impact of a transport costs decline reveals that whereas dispersive forces become prevalent at the country level, agglomeration incentives strenghtens specialization within a large number of the French regions. As regards profits, the emergence of a duo-centric structure confirms such a feature.
Reduced inhibition during epileptiform activity in the in vitro hippocampal slice.

1. Intracellular recordings were made from CA1 pyramidal cells in the hippocampal slice in vitro. The responses to orthodromic and antidromic activation and to ionophoretically applied GABA were studied. 2. The epileptogenic agent sodium benzyl penicillin reduced the recurrent i.p.s.p. evoked by subthreshold antidromic stimulation. Reversal potential studies of the i.p.s.p. and resistance measurements showed that this reduction was mainly due to a decrease in i.p.s.p. conductance. 3. Penicillin also reduced the conductance and associated membrane potential changes induced by ejecting GABA near the soma or into the apical dendritic region. 4. The mixed e.p.s.p.‐i.p.s.p. evoked by orthodromic stimulation was converted to a pure depolarizing potential as the i.p.s.p. was blocked. Concurrently the probability of discharge to a constant orthodromic stimulus was increased. Similar changes were seen in a low chloride solution. 5. The time course of the reduction of inhibition was similar to that of the enhanced orthodromic response seen after penicillin treatment. 6. We conclude that reduction of postsynaptic inhibition is partly responsible for the increased probability of orthodromic discharge caused by penicillin. The longer latency all‐or‐nothing burst seen in some cells, however, seems to require an additional mechanism, although reduced inhibition may facilitate the triggering of this burst.
Influence of different salting processes on the evolution of the volatile metabolites of vacuum-packed fillets of farmed and wild sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) stored under refrigeration conditions: a study by SPME-GC/MS.

BACKGROUND Fish shelf-life extension is a topic of great interest. In this study the behaviour of salted and unsalted farmed and wild European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) fillets during storage was analysed through the evolution of their volatile metabolites. Farmed and wild sea bass fillets were brine-salted for 15 or 75 min, or dry-salted, vacuum-packed and stored at 4 °C for up to 1 month, and their headspaces were studied by Solid Phase Micro extraction-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS). RESULTS At the same storage time, unsalted wild fillets contained, in general, a higher number and abundance of volatile compounds coming from microbiological or endogenous enzymatic activity than unsalted farmed ones. The more intense the salting, the lower the number and abundance of microbiological spoilage metabolites, especially in wild samples. The appearance of oxidation metabolites only in dry-salted wild samples evidences that this kind of salting provokes a certain oxidation in these samples. CONCLUSIONS The better performance of farmed than wild fillets suggests that salted farmed fillets, vacuum-packed and stored under refrigeration conditions, could be a successful alternative to diversify the presence of sea bass in the market. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
Classical Planning in Deep Latent Space: Bridging the Subsymbolic-Symbolic Boundary

Current domain-independent, classical planners require symbolic models of the problem domain and instance as input, resulting in a knowledge acquisition bottleneck. Meanwhile, although deep learning has achieved significant success in many fields, the knowledge is encoded in a subsymbolic representation which is incompatible with symbolic systems such as planners. We propose LatPlan, an unsupervised architecture combining deep learning and classical planning. Given only an unlabeled set of image pairs showing a subset of transitions allowed in the environment (training inputs), and a pair of images representing the initial and the goal states (planning inputs), LatPlan finds a plan to the goal state in a symbolic latent space and returns a visualized plan execution. The contribution of this paper is twofold: (1) State Autoencoder, which finds a propositional state representation of the environment using a Variational Autoencoder. It generates a discrete latent vector from the images, based on which a PDDL model can be constructed and then solved by an off-the-shelf planner. (2) Action Autoencoder / Discriminator, a neural architecture which jointly finds the action symbols and the implicit action models (preconditions/effects), and provides a successor function for the implicit graph search. We evaluate LatPlan using image-based versions of 3 planning domains: 8-puzzle, Towers of Hanoi and LightsOut.
Modelling and calculation of reflection and transmission characteristics from water foam specimens in kind of layered structure

Model of water foam was presented as same layers with different dielectric and structural characteristics. Data of experimental research of dielectric properties ε and tg δ of the water foam specimens was used for calculations in wide microwave band of 8 - 12 GHz. The reflection and transmission characteristics of electromagnetic waves from foam structures with foaming ratio of layers in range from 6 till 350 were calculated. The results show an opportunity to use water foam structures in conditions of electromagnetic influences as absorbers which are able to protect working personnel from dangerous influence of electromagnetic waves.
Some Determinants of the Socially Responsible Investment Decision: A Cross Country Study

This paper develops a general model of investor choice to analyse Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). Drawing on data from a large survey of investors across five countries we show that SRI may be driven more by investor attitudes to the social aims of firms rather than by financial returns. We also show that investors who care about social issues as consumers appear to carry this behaviour over into their portfolio strategy. We find little evidence that demographic factors affect SRI but some indirect evidence that market context in terms of institutional ownership and the regulatory environment may play a role.
Leaving Parental Home: Census-Based Estimates for China, Japan, South Korea, United States, France and Sweden

Using the iterative intra-cohort interpolation procedure, this article tries to remedy the lack of data on home-leaving by providing an international comparison of estimated census-based single-year age-specific net rates of leaving home for males and females in China, Japan, South Korea, United States, France, and Sweden. It demonstrates that large differences in the age pattern of leaving the parental home between the East Asian and the Western countries. For example, the median ages at home-leaving of males and females in the three East Asian countries studied were higher than those in the three Western countries studied by a margin of 2–3 years. The role played by social and cultural traditions as well as by ethnic ideologies in the large differences in the home-leaving pattern between the East Asian and Western countries is also considered.
Empirical Generalizations from Reference Price Research

Considerable theoretical justification for consumers' use of psychological reference points exists from the research literature. From a managerial perspective, one of the most important applications of this concept is reference price, an internal standard against which observed prices are compared. In this paper, we propose three empirical generalizations that are well-supported in the marketing literature. First, there is ample evidence that consumers use reference prices in making brand choices. Second, the empirical results on reference pricing also support the generalization that consumers rely on past prices as part of the reference price formation process. Third, consistent with other research on loss aversion, consumers have been found to be more sensitive to “losses,” i.e. observed prices higher than reference prices, than “gains. ” We also propose topics for further research on reference prices.
Caregiver role strain of older workers.

UNLABELLED The purpose of this study was to measure role strain in older adult workers who were also caregivers of frail elders according to Komarovsky's role strain theory, and to determine whether different patterns of role strain exist for male worker-caregivers than females. METHOD Researchers developed the Job-Caregiver Role Strain Scale Survey, which was adapted from a survey that measured role strain in working parents and spouses. Surveys were distributed to 11 male and 34 female older workers who were also caregivers. RESULTS A factor analysis was completed, which isolated four factors of role strain. Researchers named the factors time management and arrangements, health and competing role demands, low rewards, and reactions to perceptions. Role strain in older adult worker-caregivers is complex and involves multiple variables. A discriminant function analysis predicted differences in the way older male and female worker-caregivers perceived role strain. Use of role strain theory can assist employers and occupational therapists in developing and maintaining work environments that support not only the older employee's work performance, but participation in the role of elder caregiver as well.
The Determinants of Ownership Structure: Evidence from Brazilian Agricultural Cooperatives

The separation of ownership and control observed in large corporations is common to other organizations such as large professional partnerships, financial mutuals, nonprofits, and cooperatives. This separation gives rise to control and influence cost problems in cooperatives. However, it is not observed in all Brazilian agricultural cooperatives, where certain members have both residual claim and formal control rights. In this article, we examine the allocation of decision management and control rights and the determinants of ownership structure in a sample of Brazilian agricultural cooperatives. Using survey data, we employ multivariate regression techniques to empirically investigate the factors determining the allocation of ownership rights and the separation of ownership and control. Our findings do not lend strong support to agency theory, but they help inform research seeking to shed light on the determinants of decision rights allocation in agricultural cooperatives. [EconLit classification: Q130].
Re-Engineering Agriculture for Enhanced Performance Through Financing

Insufficient institutional credit is a major contributor to the persistent poor performance of the Nigerian agricultural sector. To encourage financial institutions to increase lending to the sector, a partial credit guarantee scheme was instituted. The scheme commenced operations in 1978 with an authorized capital of N 100.00 million, subscribed to 60% and 40% by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria, respectively. This paper presents an appraisal of the scheme. The results revealed that there has been continuous growth in paid-up share capital, total fund resources, maximum amount of loan obtainable by farmers, number and value of loans guaranteed, volume and value of loans fully repaid and volume and value of default claims settled. There was a long-run convergence between the number and volume of guaranteed loans and the agricultural GDP. This finding indicates the need to expand the quantum of funds available for guaranteeing agricultural loans to increase performance of the agricultural sector in the long run. This step is justified by the strategic role of agriculture in the Nigerian economy in terms of food and fiber production, job creation, income generation, poverty reduction and economic stability.
How Useful Are Estimated DSGE Model Forecasts for Central Bankers?

Dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models are a prominent tool for forecasting at central banks, and the competitive forecasting performance of these models relative to alternatives, including official forecasts, has been documented. When evaluating DSGE models on an absolute basis, however, we find that the benchmark estimated medium-scale DSGE model forecasts inflation and GDP growth very poorly, although statistical and judgmental forecasts do equally poorly. Our finding is the DSGE model analogue of the literature documenting the recent poor performance of macroeconomic forecasts relative to simple naive forecasts since the onset of the Great Moderation. Although this finding is broadly consistent with the DSGE model we employ—the model itself implies that especially under strong monetary policy, inflation deviations should be unpredictable—a "wrong" model may also have the same implication. We therefore argue that forecasting ability during the Great Moderation is not a good metric by which to judge models.