Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robustness of the Norwegian wage formation system and free EU labour movement. Evidence from wage data for natives

Norway experienced a high immigration flow after the EEA directive in 2004 stating workers right to free movement within the European Union and EEA-countries. There is no clear consensus in the literature on how immigration affects native wages, but some studies using Norwegian micro data have estimated a negative effect of higher immigration for some type of workers. In this paper, to capture that the wage setting is highly coordinated in Norway, we model a system of native wages for three sectors; manufacturing, private service industries and public sector. We estimate that labour immigration has had a negative effect on the attainable wage growth for natives in all three sectors, but that the largest and most direct impact on wages has been in the private service industries. Immigration is found to be exogenous with respect to the parameters of our model of wage formation.
The Diffusion of Mobile Data Services in the United States and Korea

This paper examines the adoption of mobile data services in the United States and Korea. We use the Global Acceptance of Technology model to analyze consumer behavior according to cultural and socio- demographic factors, mediated by the influence of technology-related factors. Using primary data collected from a recent survey of U.S. and Korean users, we find that higher rates of usage for a variety of mobile data services in Korea compared to usage in the United States can be partially explained by social and cultural differences between the two countries. Interestingly, despite identifiable differences in cultural and social norms we find many similarities in perceptions and preferences for mobile data services in the two markets. From this data we also analyze willingness to pay for mobile data services and again find marked similarities between U.S. and Korean consumers.
SDR Implementation of Spectrum Sensing for Wideband Cognitive Radio

This paper provides experimental results of the edge detection and spectrum sensing algorithms for wideband cognitive radio networks which are recently proposed in [1] using software defined radio (SDR) platform. The considered algorithms employ ratio based test statistics for detecting the edges of all sub-bands and generalized energy detection (GED) for examining the status of each sub-band. In particular, we validate the theoretical detection and false alarm probabilities of the edge detection and GED algorithms of [1] experimentally for a number of practically relevant parameters such as sensing time and bandwidth. We also compare the performances of these algorithms with and without calibrating the Cognitive Radio Device (CRD). Through extensive experiments, we have found that the theoretical performances claimed in [1] can be achieved reliably just by performing appropriate calibration at the CRD. Moreover, we also verify that the considered detection algorithms are robust against noise variance uncertainty, carrier frequency and timing offsets.
Design principles for addressing wicked problems through boundary crossing in higher professional education

ABSTRACT To an increasing extent, society requires professionals to cross boundaries in order to deal with wicked problems. However, little is known about how interventions in higher professional education (HPE) foster learning through boundary crossing in the context of addressing wicked problems. Drawing upon the three-dimension model of wickedness by Head and Akkerman and Bakker’s model of the dialogical learning mechanisms of boundary crossing, this study aims to generate conjectures for design principles for the design of educational practices that will foster students’ skills for addressing wicked problems through boundary crossing. This study applied a multiple case study design addressing six existing practices in HPE. The research questions were: (1) What characteristics of wicked problems are present in the selected educational practices? (2) How does the boundary crossing take place in the selected educational practices? (3) How is student learning during boundary crossing fostered in the context of dealing with the characteristics of wicked problems? Data were derived from document study, semi-structured interviews, and observations. The study conjectures that learning experiences at boundaries in the open-ended, joint effort of addressing wicked problems should be fostered and elicited by balancing and leveraging constructive tension and by making use of boundary objects and brokers.
Greener and Fairer: A Progressive Environmental Tax Reform for Spain

Environmental externalities call for the use of environmental taxes to get prices right and thereby reduce environmental pressures. To date, however, the Spanish government makes only limited use of environmental taxes. One major reason for the policy reluctance are concerns on the regressive impacts of environmental taxes. We argue that policy can hedge against these concerns by means of revenue recycling. More specifically, we assess the impacts of a green tax reform where additional revenues are redistributed lump-sum to Spanish households on an equal-per-capita basis. Based on quantitative evidence from coupled microsimulation and computable equilibrium analyses we find that such a green tax reform leads to a substantial reduction in harmful emissions while having a progressive impact.
The evaluation of change in pain intensity: a comparison of the P4 and single-item numeric pain rating scales.

STUDY DESIGN Prospective observation study. OBJECTIVES To compare the test-retest reliability and longitudinal validity (sensitivity to change) of 2 single-item numeric pain rating scales (NPRSs) with a 4-item pain intensity measure (P4). BACKGROUND Pain is a frequent outcome measure for patients seen in physical therapy; however, the error associated with efficient pain measures, such as the single-item NPRS, is greater than for self-report measures of functional status. Initial evaluation of the P4 suggests that it is more reliable and sensitive to change than the NPRS. METHODS AND MEASURES Two single-item NPRSs and the P4 were administered on 3 occasions--initial visit (n = 220), within 72 hours of baseline (n = 213), and 12 days following baseline assessment (n = 183)--to patients with musculoskeletal problems receiving physical therapy. Reliability was assessed using a type 2,1 intraclass correlation coefficient. Longitudinal validity was assessed by correlating the measures' change scores with a retrospective rating of change that included patients' and clinicians' perspectives. RESULTS The test-retest reliability and longitudinal validity of the P4 were significantly greater (P1<.05) than both single-item NPRSs. Minimal detectable change of the P4 at the 90% confidence level was estimated to be a change of 22% of the scale range (9 points) compared to 27.3% (3 points) and 31.8% (3.5 points) for the 2-day NPRS and 24-hour NPRS, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study suggest the P4 is more adept at assessing change in pain intensity than popular versions of single-item NPRSs.
Codon Pair Utilization Biases Influence Translational Elongation Step Times (*)

Two independent assays capable of measuring the relative in vivo translational step times across a selected codon pair in a growing polypeptide in the bacterium Escherichia coli have been employed to demonstrate that codon pairs observed in protein coding sequences more frequently than predicted (over-represented codon pairs) are translated slower than pairs observed less frequently than expected (under-represented codon pairs). These results are consistent with the findings that translational step times are influenced by codon context and that these context effects are related to the compatabilities of adjacent tRNA isoacceptor molecules on the surface of a translating ribosome. These results also support our previous suggestion that the frequency of one codon next to another has co-evolved with the structure and abundance of tRNA isoacceptors in order to control the rates of translational step times without imposing additional constraints on amino acid sequences or protein structures.
TOMOGRAPHIC RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN RETINAL NEOVASCULARIZATION AND THE POSTERIOR VITREOUS IN PROLIFERATIVE DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

Purpose: To describe anatomical relationships of retinal neovascular complexes (NVCs) and the posterior vitreous in proliferative diabetic retinopathy using spectral domain optical coherence tomography. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Neovascular complexes were imaged using spectral domain optical coherence tomography in 51 eyes of 37 patients. The relationship of NVCs to the posterior vitreous cortex and posterior vitreous spaces, such as the premacular bursa, prevascular vitreous fissures, and perimacular cisterns, was analyzed. Results: In the 77 NVCs evaluated, 61 (79%) had grown along the outer surface of the posterior hyaloid face, and vitreoschisis was present in 37 (48%). The “wolf's jaw” configuration was present in 9% and resulted from NVC arising from the arcades and proliferating along the posterior hyaloid face. By contrast, NVCs that invaded the bursa originated from smaller venous tributaries more distant from the arcades. The premacular bursa and prevascular vitreous fissure/perimacular cistern were invaded infrequently, respectively, in 15% and 38% (P = 0.137). Conclusion: Tomographic analysis of diabetic NVCs showed that most NVCs arise and grow along the posterior hyaloid face and that vitreoschisis is more prevalent than what has been found in ultrasound studies. The wolf's jaw configuration does not seem to result from the invasion of the bursa, as previously suggested.
Activation of protein kinase C ε enhanced movement ability and paracrine function of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells partly at least independent of SDF-1/CXCR4 axis and PI3K/AKT pathway.

OBJECTS to probe into the effects of PKCε on migration and paracrine functions of stem cells and potential molecular mechanisms. METHODS Bone Marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) were obtained from rat femur and passaged. mRNA and protein levels of capital proteins in PKCε signaling, SDF-1/CXCR4 axis and PI3K/AKT pathway in the MSCs in different conditions treating with PKC agonist, specific PKCε inhibitor, CXCR4 antagonist or PI3K inhibitor for 24 hours were analyzed by real-time PCR and western blot, and migration abilities were observed by migration assay in vitro and the changes of paracrine factors in different treatments were analyzed by protein clips assay. RESULTS the levels of p-JNK, p-P38MAPK, SDF-1, CXCR4, PI3K and p-AKT increased significantly after treating with PKC agonist (P < 0.05) and decreased obviously after treating with specific PKCε inhibitor. Migration ability and paracrine function of MSCs were enhanced in PMA group and attenuated in PKCε inhibitor group, and inhibiting activity of CXCR4 or PI3K attenuated the effects of PKCε, but not abolished completely. CONCLUSION There was cross-talking between PKCε signaling and SDF-1/CXCR4 axis and PI3K/AKT pathway in signal transduction of MSCs. Activating PKCε could improve migration ability and paracrine function of MSCs partly at least independent of SDF-1/CXCR4 axis and PI3K/AKT pathway.
Monocyte activation and differentiation augment human endogenous retrovirus expression: Implications for inflammatory brain diseases

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) have been implicated as causative agents in diseases characterized by inflammation and macrophage activation, such as multiple sclerosis. Because monocyte activation and differentiation influence retroviral transcription and replication, we investigated the contribution of these processes to the expression of four HERV families (HERV‐W, HERV‐K, HERV‐E, and HERV‐H) in human monocytes and autopsied brain tissue from patients with brain diseases associated with increased macrophage activity. Reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction analysis of primary macrophages and U937 monocytoid cells stimulated with phorbol‐12‐myristate‐13‐acetate or lipopolysaccharide revealed three‐ to ninefold increases in HERV‐W, HERV‐K, and HERV‐H RNA levels. In addition, elevated reverse transcriptase activity and HERV RNA were detectable in supernatants from PMA‐stimulated U937 cultures, properties that could be attenuated with the inhibitor of monocyte differentiation threonine‐lysine‐proline. In contrast, stimulation of monocytes decreased or had no effect on HERV‐E expression. Compared with controls, HERV‐W and HERV‐K expression was increased in brain tissue from patients with multiple sclerosis or human immunodeficiency virus infection or AIDS, with concomitant elevated tumor necrosis factor‐α levels. Similarly, elevated HERV‐W levels were detected in patients with Alzheimer's dementia only when tumor necrosis factor‐α expression was also evident (2 of 6 cases). The detection of several HERVs in inflammatory brain diseases and the capacity to augment HERV expression in monocytes with compounds that influence cellular activity suggest that increased expression of these viruses is a consequence of increased immune activity rather than causative of distinct diseases.
The Effect of Random Dopant Fluctuations on Logic Timing at Low Voltage

In order to achieve ultra-low power (ULP), ICs are being designed for VDD ≤ 0.5 V. At these low voltages, random dopant fluctuations (RDFs) result in a stochastic component of logic delay that can be comparable to the global corner delay. Moreover, the probability density function (PDF) of this stochastic delay can be highly non-Gaussian. In order to predict the statistical impact of RDF-induced local variations on logic timing, it is necessary to incorporate these effects into a timing closure methodology. This paper presents a computationally efficient methodology for stochastic characterization of standard cell li- braries at low voltage, where the cell delay is a nonlinear function of the transistor random variables (RVs), and the resulting cell delay has a non-Gaussian PDF. It also presents a computation- ally efficient methodology for computing any point on the PDF of a timing path (TP) delay, in the case where cell delays are non-Gaussian. The method is called nonlinear operating point analysis of local variation (NLOPALV). The general NLOPALV theory is developed. It is applied to cell library characterization, and the accuracy of the NLOPALV approach is validated by comparison to Monte Carlo simulation. NLOPALV is also applied to timing path analysis on a 28 nm DSP IC. The approach has been implemented using commercial CAD tools, and integrated into a commercial IC design flow. The NLOPALV approach gives timing results that are within 5% accuracy compared to Monte Carlo analysis at VDD = 0.5 V. This compares to errors on the order of 50% when the Gaussian approximation is used.
Size Versus Intensity of Majority and Minority Consensus to a Persuasive Message: From the Source of Influence to Its Recipients

This study examines the effects of the evaluation of the majority or minority consensus attributed to a message on the influence the latter can exert, in a between subjects factorial design 2 (consensus status: majority vs minority) × 3 (orientation of the consensus evaluation: non-evaluation, size evaluation, intensity evaluation). Its innovative aspect consists in its explicit focus on participants’ evaluation of the intensity and size of the support allegedly attributed to the message of the source. The main results show that with regard to direct influence: a) in a non-evaluation condition, the majority consensus tends to be more influential than the minority consensus, whereas in the intensity evaluation condition, the minority consensus is the most influential; b) the impact of minority consensus increases when its intensity is evaluated compared to the non-evaluation condition. Regarding the indirect influence: a) the non-evaluation of the majority consensus favors its impact compared to that obtained by the minority consensus, but b) the evaluation conditions make this difference fade away, by decreasing the influence of majority consensus while increasing that of minority consensus. We discuss the significance and the limitations of these results, which seem to put aside the barriers usually encountered by the sources of influence (diminished direct influence for the minority and restricted indirect influence for the majority).
Multinodular Goiter in Children

OBJECTIVE As multinodular goiter (MNG) is an uncommon pediatric disorder, we decided to evaluate the children with this diagnosis at our center to try to delineate better its etiology, the risk of malignancy and appropriate management strategies. METHODS AND RESULTS Eighteen patients (12 girls and 6 boys) were the subject of this retrospective review spanning a period of 20 years. All were previously well, except one, and none had had head or neck irradiation. Average age at diagnosis was 12.8 years. Four children belonged to two previously identified kindreds diagnosed with familial MNG. These families had members affected with multiple cases of non-medullary thyroid carcinoma (NMTC). All were euthyroid and had no symptoms. In eight of 18 patients, the clinical examination missed the presence of multiple nodules which were subsequently detected by ultrasound. Twelve patients had tissue diagnosis by fine needle aspirate cytology (FNAC) or surgery. Five of eight patients undergoing surgery had nodular hyperplasia, one had a follicular adenoma and one had a normal thyroid gland on histology. There was one patient with papillary carcinoma combined with nodular hyperplasia. Seven of the patients had evidence of antithyroid autoimmunity. CONCLUSION The etiology of pediatric MNG appears multifactorial including autoimmune and familial factors. We believe that previously healthy children can usually be managed conservatively. Ultrasound at the time of diagnosis and in follow up seems beneficial. Familial forms appear to warrant close follow up, given the apparent increased risk of malignancy. The risk of malignancy while low remains real.
Decreasing Clostridium difficile Infections by an Antimicrobial Stewardship Program That Reduces Moxifloxacin Use

ABSTRACT Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) in hospitalized patients are known to be closely related to antibiotic exposure. Although several substances can cause CDI, the risk differs between individual agents. In Vienna and other eastern parts of Austria, CDI ribotype 027 is currently highly prevalent. This ribotype has the characteristic of intrinsic moxifloxacin resistance. Therefore, we hypothesized that moxifloxacin restriction can decrease the number of CDI cases in hospitalized patients. Our antibiotic stewardship (ABS) group applied an information campaign on CDI and formal restriction of moxifloxacin in Wilhelminenspital (Vienna, Austria), a 1,000- bed tertiary care hospital. The preintervention period (period 1) was January through May 2013, and the intervention period (period 2) was June through December 2013. We recorded the defined daily doses (DDD) of moxifloxacin and the number of CDI patients/month. Moxifloxacin use was reduced from a mean (± standard error of the mean [SEM]) of 1,038 ± 109 DDD per month (period 1) to 42 ± 10 DDD per month (period 2) (P = 0.0045). Total antibiotic use was not affected. The mean (±SEM) numbers of CDI cases in period 1 were 59 ± 3 per month and in period 2 were 32 ± 3 per month (46% reduction; P = 0.0044). Reducing moxifloxacin use in combination with providing structured information on CDI was associated with an immediate decrease in CDI rates in this large community teaching hospital.
Loss of Body Fat and Associated Decrease in Leptin in Early Lactation Are Related to Shorter Duration of Postpartum Anovulation in Healthy US Women

Background: The mechanisms regulating postpartum anovulation (PPA) are not well understood, although poor nutritional status and “intense” breastfeeding behaviors are associated with longer durations. Objectives: This study was designed primarily to investigate the hypothesis that higher body fat and leptin concentrations are related to shorter PPA in healthy, lactating US women. Nutrient intake, breastfeeding behaviors, prolactin, and insulin levels were also evaluated. Methods: Fasting serum was collected during the third trimester of pregnancy, at 2 and 4 weeks postpartum, and every 4 weeks until the occurrence of the first postpartum menses. Body composition and breastfeeding behaviors were assessed at the same times postpartum. Women (n = 13) were categorized based on initial percentage body fat and timing of first postpartum menses. Results: There were no consistent relationships between body composition, leptin, or breastfeeding behaviors and duration of PPA. However, there was an interaction (P = .005) between ovulation group and time on adiposity; earlier ovulating women had less percentage body fat in early lactation than did later ovulating women. There was also an interaction (P = .1) between ovulation group and time postpartum on leptin, such that leptin concentrations tended to be greater in later than earlier ovulating groups beginning at 12 weeks postpartum. Conclusion: In summary, although baseline percentage body fat and leptin were not related to duration of PPA, fertility returned earlier in women who lost greater percentage body fat during the early postpartum period.
Glial fibrillary acidic protein as an early marker of hepatic stellate cell activation in chronic and posttransplant recurrent hepatitis C

Activated alpha‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA)–positive hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are pericytes responsible for fibrosis in chronic liver injury. The glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), commonly expressed by astrocytes in the central nervous system, is expressed in vivo in the liver in a subpopulation of quiescent stellate cells. In the rat, increased GFAP expression in the acute response to injury and down‐regulation in the chronic response have been observed, whereas reports concerning GFAP expression in human liver are still conflicting. We investigated the utility of GFAP compared to α‐SMA as an immunohistochemical marker of early activated HSCs in chronic and posttransplant recurrent hepatitis C and correlated GFAP expression with vascular remodeling and fibrosis progression. With immunohistochemistry and a semiquantitative scoring system, the expression of GFAP and α‐SMA in HSCs and the microvessel density were analyzed in biopsies from normal livers obtained from cadaveric donors [donor liver (DL); n = 21] and from livers from posttransplant hepatitis C virus recurrent hepatitis (HCV‐PTR) patients (n = 19), hepatitis C virus chronic hepatitis (HCV‐CH) patients, (n = 12), and hepatitis C virus cirrhosis (HCV‐C) patients (n = 16). The percentage of α‐SMA–positive HSCs was significantly higher in the HCV‐PTR, HCV‐CH, and HCV‐C groups compared to the DL group (P < 0.01). The percentage of GFAP‐positive HSCs was significantly higher in the HCV‐PTR group compared to the DL, HCV‐C (P < 0.01), and HCV‐CH (P < 0.05) groups and in the HCV‐CH group compared to the DL group (P < 0.01), inversely correlating with the extent of fibrosis and microvessel density (P < 0.01). In the HCV‐PTR group, the percentage of GFAP‐positive HSCs correlated with fibrosis progression (P < 0.01). In conclusion, GFAP could represent a useful marker of early activation of HSCs in HCV‐CH and seems to predict fibrosis progression in HCV‐PTR. Liver Transpl 14:806–814, 2008. © 2008 AASLD.