Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inter-country trade dependence and inflation transmission mechanisms: The case of a small open African economy

Purpose - According to the Central Bank of Cape Verde, price stability is an important aspect when conducting its monetary policy. Given the fixed exchange rate regime towards the Portuguese Escudo/Euro and the high degree of trade inter-dependence, this paper aims to analyse the “inflation import” phenomenon from Portugal to Cape Verde's economy from 1992 to 2008. Design/methodology/approach - The paper takes a VECM and Granger causality approach. Findings - The paper finds evidence in favour of the existence of a propagation mechanism, i.e., inflation transmission from Portugal to Cape Verde. The reverse conclusion is not true though. Another interesting implication from the policy-making perspective is that Cape Verde's CPI is affected by non-expected shocks in the short run and it takes, on average, 12 months for an adjustment towards a higher level to take place. Practical implications - So, Portuguese inflation is an important variable to take into account when doing inflation forecasting exercises to Cape Verde's economy as well as when thinking about setting/defining exchange rate regimes. In this context, diversifying trading partners in Cape Verde is highly recommended as a way to reduce and dilute the Portuguese influence (as well as the role of external shocks) in the overall economy and price levels in Cape Verde. Originality/value - The paper applies a well-known economic phenomenon to the relationship between Portugal and one of its former colonies – Cape Verde. The analysis is of use to policy practioneers and to the country's Central Bank.
A Spatial Analysis of Sectoral Variations in Returns to External Scale

This paper reports results of spatially explicit analyses of external scale effects across a variety of sectors, including manufacturing. Using data from New England counties, earnings are found to exhibit increasing returns to urbanization in every sector. Returns to sectoral localization are mixed, however, with increasing returns in one sector, constant returns in five sectors, and decreasing returns in two sectors. External scale effects are fairly confined in their spatial extent, with only retailing and services particularly marked by spillover effects from neighboring counties.
Linking an anxiety-related personality trait to brain white matter microstructure: diffusion tensor imaging and harm avoidance.

CONTEXT Emotional, cognitive, and behavioral response patterns underlying temperament and personality are established early and remain stable from childhood. Anxiety-related traits are associated with psychiatric disease and represent predisposing factors for various affective disorders, including depression and anxiety. Emotional processing relies on the structural and functional integrity of distributed neuronal circuits. Therefore, anxiety-related personality traits and associated increased risk of psychiatric disease might be rooted in structural variability in large-scale neuronal networks. OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that individuals with high scores on the harm avoidance (HA) subscale of the Temperament and Character Inventory show reduced white matter (WM) structural integrity in distributed brain areas, including corticolimbic pathways involved in emotional processing and reappraisal. DESIGN Healthy participants completed the Temperament and Character Inventory and underwent diffusion tensor imaging. Tract-based spatial statistics were used to examine the associations between HA and WM integrity across the brain. SETTING Center for the Study of Human Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. PARTICIPANTS A total of 263 healthy adults aged 20 to 85 years recruited through newspaper advertisements. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Neuroimaging diffusivity indexes of brain WM microstructure, including fractional anisotropy, mean and radial diffusivity, and their associations with HA. RESULTS In line with our hypothesis, increased HA was associated with decreased fractional anisotropy and increased mean and radial diffusivity in major WM tracts, including pathways connecting critical hubs in a corticolimbic circuit. There was no evidence of modulating effects of sex, degree of subclinical depression, alcohol consumption, general intellectual abilities, or years of education. CONCLUSIONS Increased HA is associated with decreased WM microstructure, implying that structural connectivity modulates anxiety-related aspects of personality. Decreased WM integrity reflects increased susceptibility to psychiatric disease and represents a promising biomarker that might ultimately facilitate targeted pharmacological and psychological interventions and treatment of disease.
Market Power, Efficiency and Performance of Indonesian Banks

This study aims to examine the existence of the two common hypothesis in banking industry, i.e: the Structure Conduct Performance (SCP) Hypothesis and the Efficient Structure (EFS) Hypothesis by analyzing the impact of market power and efficiency on performance of public banks in Indonesia for the period of 2003-2009. The estimation of efficiency is obtained by using two difference approaches: a parametric Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) and non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Findings of the study support the Structure Conduct Performance hypothesis, where market power is the most significant factor that influences banking performance. Furthermore, the results also support a quiet life hypothesis where the banks enjoy the advantages of market power in terms of foregone revenues or cost savings.
Molecular Dissection of Lubeluzole Use–Dependent Block of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels Discloses New Therapeutic Potentials

Lubeluzole, which acts on various targets in vitro, including voltage-gated sodium channels, was initially proposed as a neuroprotectant. The lubeluzole structure contains a benzothiazole moiety [N-methyl-1,3-benzothiazole-2-amine (R-like)] related to riluzole and a phenoxy-propranol-amine moiety [(RS)-1-(3,4-difluorophenoxy)-3-(piperidin-1-yl)propan-2-ol (A-core)] recalling propranolol. Both riluzole and propranolol are efficient sodium channel blockers. We studied in detail the effects of lubeluzole (racemic mixture and single isomers), the aforementioned lubeluzole moieties, and riluzole on sodium channels to increase our knowledge of drug-channel molecular interactions. Compounds were tested on hNav1.4 sodium channels, and on F1586C or Y1593C mutants functionally expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells, using the patch-clamp technique. Lubeluzole blocked sodium channels with a remarkable effectiveness. No stereoselectivity was found. Compared with mexiletine, the dissociation constant for inactivated channels was ∼600 times lower (∼11 nM), conferring to lubeluzole a huge use-dependence of great therapeutic value. The F1586C mutation only partially impaired the use-dependent block, suggesting that additional amino acids are critically involved in high-affinity binding. Lubeluzole moieties were modest sodium channel blockers. Riluzole blocked sodium channels efficiently but lacked use dependence, similar to R-like. F1586C fully abolished A-core use dependence, suggesting that A-core binds to the local anesthetic receptor. Thus, lubeluzole likely binds to the local anesthetic receptor through its phenoxy-propranol-amine moiety, with consequent use-dependent behavior. Nevertheless, compared with other known sodium channel blockers, lubeluzole adds a third pharmacophoric point through its benzothiazole moiety, which greatly enhances high-affinity binding and use-dependent block. If sufficient isoform specificity can be attained, the huge use-dependent block may help in the development of new sodium channel inhibitors to provide pharmacotherapy for membrane excitability disorders, such as myotonia, epilepsy, or chronic pain.
Self-rated health trajectories and mortality among older adults.

OBJECTIVES For this article, we evaluated whether measures of prior self-rated health (SRH) trajectories had associations with subsequent mortality that were independent of current SRH assessment and other covariates. METHODS We used multivariable logistic regression that incorporated four waves of interview data (1993, 1995, 1998, and 2000) from the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old Survey in order to predict mortality during 2000-2002. We defined prior SRH trajectories for each individual based on the slope estimated from a simple linear regression of their own SRH between 1993 and 1998 and the variance around that slope. In addition to SRH reported in 2000, other covariates included in the mortality models reflected health status, health-related behaviors, and individual resources. RESULTS Among the 3,129 respondents in the analytic sample, SRH in 2000 was significantly (p <.0001) associated with mortality, but the measures of prior SRH trajectories were not. Prior SRH trajectory was, however, a significant determinant of current SRH. We observed significant independent associations with mortality for age, sex, education, lung disease, and having ever smoked. DISCUSSION Although measures of prior SRH trajectories did not have significant direct associations with mortality, they did have important indirect effects via their influence on current SRH.
Arts education : are the problems the same across five countries? : preservice teachers' perceptions of the problems to teaching arts education in primary schools in five countries

Arts educators around the world know well the importance of a strong arts education in the lives of children. And this importance is often reflected in the arts policies of education departments, schools and universities. However the actual practice of arts education in primary schools falls far short of the policy. Problems identified as impacting on the teaching of music, dance, drama and visual arts include the teacher’s lack of knowledge about the syllabus requirements, the teacher’s lack of time to prepare effective arts lessons, the perceived lack of time in the teaching day, lack of priority for arts education, the teacher’s lack of personal arts experiences and the lack of adequate arts resources within the schools. This study examines preservice teachers’ perceptions of these problems to teaching arts education, across five countries. The results indicate that about two-thirds of the sampled students agreed or agreed strongly that these six problems impacted on arts teaching in primary schools. Responses were fairly similar across all five countries, except in relation to Visual Arts education, where students from Australia (NSW) did not indicate as strongly that these problems were important compared with those from Namibia, South Africa and Ireland. The paper concludes with recommendations to address these problems.
Biotransformation of 1,8-cineole in the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)

1. The metabolic fate of 1,8-cineole was investigated in the brushtail possum. Six possums were fed an artificial diet to which 0.5% 1,8-cineole (wet weight) was added for 2 days. Urine and faeces were collected after the second day. A sample of each was extracted into ethyl acetate and analysed for metabolites. Both free and total levels of metabolites were identified by GC-MS and LC-MS and quantified by GC-MS. 2. The pattern of metabolite excretion was very complex in the brushtail possum. Nineteen metabolites were found in total. Metabolites were categorized into four groups according to the oxidation they had undergone: hydroxycineoles (n = 3), cineolic acids (n = 2), dihydroxycineoles (n = 3) and hydroxycineolic acids (n = 11). No hydroxycineolic acid metabolites have been previously reported as metabolites of 1,8-cineole. 3. Fractional recovery of the ingested dose (2.4±0.5 g; mean±SD) was 0.44±0.14 (mean±SD) in 24 h. Sixty percent of excreted metabolites were hydroxycineolic acids, the most extensively oxidized metabolites. Conjugation with glucuronic acid was inversely related to metabolite polarity, being greatest for hydroxycineoles (41-82%) and minimal for hydroxycineolic acids. 4. Traces of most metabolites were also found in the faeces.
A report on the use of action research to evaluate a manufacturing information systems development methodology in a company

Abstract. The paper reports on an action research study that evaluated the usefulness of a Manufacturing Information Systems (MIS) development methodology at a manufacturing technology company. The evaluation process is based upon a five‐stage action research method. The ISD methodology, in conjunction with the action research method, was used to solve five technical and organizational problems identified in the Engineering Release Function of the company. Results of the study include reduction in cycle time, work‐in‐process and rework.
Application of Technology: Approaching Equity in Consumer Health Information Delivery: Net Wellness

The growing public interest in health and wellness information stems from many sources, including social changes related to consumers' rights and women's health movements, and economic changes brought about by the managed health care revolution. Public, hospital, and medical center libraries have been ill-equipped to meet the increasing need for consumer-oriented materials, even though a few notable programs have been established. The "Information Superhighway" could be an effective tool for sharing health information if access to telecomputing equipment and training were available to those with an information need. The University of Cincinnati Medical Center, with its libraries in the leading role, is delivering NetWellness, an electronic consumer health library service, to residents of 29 counties in three midwestern states. Users connect directly through the Internet, through regional Free-Nets, and by visiting one of 43 public access sites where networked workstations have been installed. The continued success of the project depends on developing partnerships, providing quality content and maintaining fair access.
Mining term similarities from corpora

In this article, we present an approach to the automatic discovery of term similarities, which may serve as a basis for a number of term-oriented knowledge mining tasks. The method for term comparison combines internal (lexical similarity) and two types of external criteria (syntactic and contextual similarities). Lexical similarity is based on sharing lexical constituents (i.e. term heads and modifiers). Syntactic similarity relies on a set of specific lexico-syntactic co-occurrence patterns indicating the parallel usage of terms (e.g., within an enumeration or within a term coordination/conjunction structure), while contextual similarity is based on the usage of terms in similar contexts. Such contexts are automatically identified by a pattern mining approach, and a procedure is proposed to assess their domain-specific and terminological relevance. Although automatically collected, these patterns are domain dependent and identify contexts in which terms are used. Different types of similarities are combined into a hybrid similarity measure, which can be tuned for a specific domain by learning optimal weights for individual similarities. The suggested similarity measure has been tested in the domain of biomedicine, and some experiments are presented.
The optimal chemotherapy timing in patients with inoperable locally advanced non small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND Only 20% of patients with stage III NSCLC are cured by surgery. There is a disagreement among the oncologists in terms of whether which regimen (induction chemotherapy followed chemoradiotherapy, concurrent chemoradiation or concurrent chemoradiation followed consolidation chemotherapy) is best choice in inoperable LA NSCLC. OBJECTIVE To evaluate chemotherapy timing in inoperable LA NSCLC (before, only concomitant or after curative chemotherapy). MATERIALS AND METHODS Total of 74 consecutive patient with LA NSCLC which was inoperable due to medical condition or stage from Kayseri Research and Training Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into three groups according to treatment protocols: Induction chemotherapy followed chemoradiotherapy (Ind. CTàCRT), chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and chemoradiotherapy followed consolidation chemotherapy (CRTàCons. CT). RESULTS When evaluating progression free survival (PFS), PFS did not significantly differed among the groups (p=0,078). We found significant difference among groups (p = 0.047) in terms of overall survival. While CRTàCons. CT arm had highest mean and median survival times, Ind. CTàCRT arm had worst OS. CONCLUSIONS CRTàCons. CT treatment modality seems preferable regimen for treatment of inoperable LA NSCLC.
The Policy Sciences of Social Media

Twitter, Facebook, and other social media are increasingly touted as platforms not merely for networks of friends and for private diversion, but as vehicles that allow ordinary people to enter and influence the many arenas of public life. On the surface, the disparate and shapeless population of “i-reporters,” policy “tweeters,” and anonymous news web site “commentators” would appear to challenge the comparatively well-defined cast of professional diplomats, journalists, and propagandists that Harold D. Lasswell identified as policy-oriented communicators. However, to illuminate the roles and impacts of social media in politics and policymaking, insights from Lasswell’s “science of communication” must be embedded in Lasswell’s broader lessons on value assets and outcomes. A closer look at the so-called democratizing functions of social media in politics reveals the influence of powerful intermediaries who filter and shape electronic communications. Lasswell’s insights on the likelihood of increased collaboration among political elites and skilled, “modernizing intellectuals” anticipates contemporary instances of state actors who recruit skilled creators and users of social media — collaborations that may or may not advance experiments in democracy. Lasswell’s decision process concept is deployed to discover social media’s strengths and weaknesses for the practicing policy scientist.
Effects of intellectual capital on innovative performance: The role of knowledge-based dynamic capability

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between intellectual capital and innovative performance, and to specify the boundary conditions and mechanisms of the relationship from a knowledge-based dynamic capability perspective. Design/methodology/approach – This study empirically analyzes the impact of intellectual capital on innovative performance and the role knowledge-based dynamic capability plays with a sample of 217 firms in China. To test the research hypotheses, regression analysis is applied. Findings – The results show that intellectual capital positively affects innovative performance, and knowledge-based dynamic capability is a mediator rather than a moderator which partly mediates the relationship between intellectual capital and innovative performance. Practical implications – The findings suggest that realizing superior innovative performance is dependent on a firm’s intellectual capital and its ability to sense opportunities and threats, to make timely and corr.
National Monitoring and Evaluation of Health IT: Protocol for a Scoping Review

BACKGROUND Monitoring the pace of Health Information Technology (HIT) adoption across states is critical for providing data to formulate future national and regional HIT policies. However, repeated monitoring of the progress on implementation of the strategies is often scarce. The lack of systematic monitoring of progress in availability and use of HIT has led to a need for an overview of the key concepts and methodologies used in the scattered scientific literature. The scoping study aims at achieving both in-depth and broad results, identifying all relevant material, regardless of the design. This paper presents and discuss a protocol for a scoping review. OBJECTIVE We aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing body of knowledge and to assess the extent, range and nature of monitoring and evaluation of availability and use of HIT at a national or regional level. This scoping review includes peer reviewed and grey literature. METHODS The search strategy is iterative and developed in cooperation with information specialists and key researchers in the field. Inclusion, data extraction, and quality assessment will be done by two independent reviewers. Data will be collated, summarized and analyzed thematically. CURRENT STATUS 1760 references were included for screening. After screening for eligibility based on title and abstract 84 publications were included for full text review, which is currently being done. Final results are expected in March 2017. CONCLUSION This scoping review will map the existing body of literature and describe the current approaches to monitoring and evaluating HIT on a national or regional level. The review will provide evidence-based information in order advance national strategies for monitoring and evaluating availability and use of HIT.
First-price common-value auctions: Bidder behavior and the "winner's curse"

Experimental auction markets are characterized by a strong winner's curse in early auction periods as high bidders consistently lose money, failing to account for the adverse selection problem inherent in winning the auction. With experience and bankruptcy on the part of the worst offenders, subjects earn positive average profits, but these are far below Nash equilibrium predictions as a sizable minority of bids exceed the expected value of the item conditional on having the highest estimate of value. Individual bidding behavior is explored to identify the mechanism whereby market outcomes no longer display the worst effects of the winner's curse. Coauthors are Dan Levin, Raymond C. Battalio, and Donald J. Meyer. Copyright 1989 by Oxford University Press.
Childhood obesity as a predictor of morbidity in adulthood: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Obese children are at higher risk of being obese as adults, and adult obesity is associated with an increased risk of morbidity. This systematic review and meta‐analysis investigates the ability of childhood body mass index (BMI) to predict obesity‐related morbidities in adulthood. Thirty‐seven studies were included. High childhood BMI was associated with an increased incidence of adult diabetes (OR 1.70; 95% CI 1.30–2.22), coronary heart disease (CHD) (OR 1.20; 95% CI 1.10–1.31) and a range of cancers, but not stroke or breast cancer. The accuracy of childhood BMI when predicting any adult morbidity was low. Only 31% of future diabetes and 22% of future hypertension and CHD occurred in children aged 12 or over classified as being overweight or obese. Only 20% of all adult cancers occurred in children classified as being overweight or obese. Childhood obesity is associated with moderately increased risks of adult obesity‐related morbidity, but the increase in risk is not large enough for childhood BMI to be a good predictor of the incidence of adult morbidities. This is because the majority of adult obesity‐related morbidity occurs in adults who were of healthy weight in childhood. Therefore, targeting obesity reduction solely at obese or overweight children may not substantially reduce the overall burden of obesity‐related disease in adulthood.