Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ultrasonographic assessment of hemodynamic changes in the portal vein during surgical attenuation of congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunts in dogs.

OBJECTIVE To determine portal hemodynamic changes associated with surgical shunt ligation and establish ultrasonographic criteria for determining the optimal degree of shunt narrowing and predicting outcome. DESIGN Case series. ANIMALS 17 dogs, each with a single congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunt. PROCEDURE Pre- and postligation flow velocities and flow directions were determined by Doppler ultrasonography intraoperatively in the shunt and in the portal vein cranial and caudal to the shunt origin. Outcome was evaluated 1 month after surgery by measuring blood ammonia concentration and performing abdominal ultrasonography. RESULTS Hepatofugal flow was detected in 9 of 17 dogs before shunt attenuation in the portal segment that was between the shunt origin and the entering point of the gastroduodenal vein. If hepatofugal flow became hepatopetal after shunt ligation, hyperammonemia resolved. Hepatofugal portal flow was caused by blood that flowed from the gastroduodenal vein toward the shunt. Shunt attenuation converted hepatofugal flow to hepatopetal in the shunt in 12 of 17 dogs. Chronic portal hypertension developed or perioperative death occurred when the portal congestion index caudal to the shunt origin increased by > 3.6 times. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE After hepatopetal flow in the cranial portal vein and the shunt is established, further shunt narrowing is contraindicated. Increase of the portal congestion index caudal to the shunt > 3.5 times should be avoided. Poor outcome because of severe hypoplasia of the portal branches can be expected if the flow direction remains hepatofugal after shunt occlusion cranial to the shunt origin.
A hierarchical optimization model for a network of electric vehicle charging stations

Charging station location decisions are a critical element in mainstream adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). The consumer confidence in EVs can be boosted with the deployment of carefully-planned charging infrastructure that can fuel a fair number of trips. The charging station (CS) location problem is complex and differs considerably from the classical facility location literature, as the decision parameters are additionally linked to a relatively longer charging period, battery parameters, and available grid resources. In this study, we propose a three-layered system model of fast charging stations (FCSs). In the first layer, we solve the flow capturing location problem to identify the locations of the charging stations. In the second layer, we use a queuing model and introduce a resource allocation framework to optimally provision the limited grid resources. In the third layer, we consider the battery charging dynamics and develop a station policy to maximize the profit by setting maximum charging levels. The model is evaluated on the Arizona state highway system and North Dakota state network with a gravity data model, and on the City of Raleigh, North Carolina, using real traffic data. The results show that the proposed hierarchical model improves the system performance, as well as the quality of service (QoS), provided to the customers. The proposed model can efficiently assist city planners for CS location selection and system design.
Improving the Social Security Statement

The Social Security Statement is sent annually to each individual over age 25. The Statement contains information regarding the Social Security program, the individual’s past covered earnings and contributions, and an estimate of the individual’s future retirement benefits. Given the complexity of the Social Security benefit formula, the Statement represents the best and perhaps only estimate of the benefits to which an individual may be entitled. Knowledge of benefits is important, as individuals must plan their own retirement saving around their Social Security benefits. However, little research has been conducted regarding how effectively the Statement has improved Americans’ knowledge of benefit levels. We here use data from the Health and Retirement Study to gauge near-retirees’ ability to predict their Social Security retirement benefits both before and after the Statement began universal distribution to all nearretirees in 1995. Results are ambiguous. The initial automatic distribution of the Statement did not appear to produce an immediate increase in knowledge of retirement benefit levels. However, continued receipt over a number of years prior to claiming may have reduced individual errors in predicting benefits. Financial literacy with regard to Social Security benefit levels may be improved through greater research into the contexts in which recipients understand and retain the benefit estimates contained in the Statement.
Co-evolution of Industry Structure, Technology and Supporting Institutions, and the Making of Comparative Advantage

In recent years,a considerable body of research has been established on the co-evolution of technology and industry structure, from the time that the technology is young to the time when it is mature· A somewhat smaller body of research has been established on how private and public institutions, and public programs and policies co-evolved with a technology and industry· It is proposed here that nations differ in their pace and pattern of institutional response to the birth and development of an industry, and that the locus of comparative advantage is largely determined by these different kinds of national response.
A novel PI gain scheduler for a vector controlled doubly-fed wind driven induction generator

Wound-rotor induction generator has numerous advantages in wind power generation over other generators. One scheme for wound-rotor induction generator is realized when a converter cascade is used between the slip-ring terminals and the utility grid to control the rotor power. This configuration is called the doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG). A vector control scheme is developed to control the rotor side voltage-source converter. This scheme allows the independent control of the generated active and reactive power as well as the rotor speed to track the maximum wind power point. Conventionally, the controller type used in vector controllers is of the PI type with a fixed proportional and integral gain. In this paper, a simple yet efficient way by which the controller can change its behavior is proposed. In the proposed controller, different characteristics representing the variation in the proportional and the integral gains as a function of the absolute value of the discrepancy between the set speed (for max. power generation) and the actual rotor speed, i.e. the error, is used. These characteristics are expressed by linear, exponential, piece wise linear, second- and fourth-order functions. The transient speed responses using the aforementioned characteristics are compared with the ones determined by using the conventional PI controller with fixed gains. By using the proposed controller, it can be seen that more accurate control and quicker transient response is achieved for different operating conditions
Continuous Time Wishart Process for Stochastic Risk

Risks are usually represented and measured by volatility–covolatility matrices. Wishart processes are models for a dynamic analysis of multivariate risk and describe the evolution of stochastic volatility–covolatility matrices, constrained to be symmetric positive definite. The autoregressive Wishart process (WAR) is the multivariate extension of the Cox, Ingersoll, Ross (CIR) process introduced for scalar stochastic volatility. As a CIR process it allows for closed-form solutions for a number of financial problems, such as term structure of T-bonds and corporate bonds, derivative pricing in a multivariate stochastic volatility model, and the structural model for credit risk. Moreover, the Wishart dynamics are very flexible and are serious competitors for less structural multivariate ARCH models.
The effects of knowledge-based resources, market orientation and learning orientation on innovation performance: An empirical study of Turkish firms

This research explains the relationships among knowledge-based resources, market orientation, learning orientation and innovation performance. Data were collected from a survey of 135 firms operating in different industries in Turkey. The empirical study provides evidence on the existing relationship among these variables. Findings indicate that knowledge‐based resources, learning orientation and market orientation have an important affect on innovation performance. However, knowledge‐based resources mediated the relationship between learning orientation and innovation performance. The theoretical and managerial implications of these and other findings are discussed. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Retracting a Gift: How Does Employee Effort Respond to Wage Reductions?

Since the days of Henry Ford, employers have argued that higher pay induces employees to provide additional effort. While the converse is also thought to be true, there is little empirical evidence testing this hypothesis. Not only are significant company‐wide pay cuts rarely observed in practice but measures of employee effort are typically difficult to quantify. This article examines the effort responses of U.S. commercial airline pilots following a recent series of large, permanent pay cuts. Using airline on‐time performance as proxy for unobservable pilot effort, we find only limited support for the hypothesis that pay cuts lower employee effort.
Is aura around citicoline fading? A systemic review

Stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are the critical public health and socioeconomic problems throughout the world. At present, citicoline is used as a coadjuvant for the management of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and TBI in various countries. This systemic review analyzes the beneficial role of citicoline in AIS and TBI. This systemic review is based on “PubMed” and “Science Direct” search results for citicoline role in stroke and TBI. In this systemic review, we included 12 human trials. A meta-analysis was performed on the basis of neurological evaluation, functional evaluation and Glasgow outcome scale, domestic adaptation evaluation outcomes, and cognitive outcome individually. In neurological evaluation, domestic adaptation evaluation, and cognitive outcomes, there was no significant difference in both the citicoline and placebo groups (odds ratio [OR] = 1.04 [0.9–1.2, P = 0.583]; OR = 1.1 [0.94–1.27, P = 0.209]; OR = 0.953 [0.75–1.2, P = 0.691]). In evaluation of functional outcomes, there was significant difference in both groups and OR was 1.18 (1.04–1.34, P = 0.01). Functional outcomes were significantly improved by citicoline, but the positive role of this drug in neurological recovery, domestic adaptation, and cognitive outcomes is still a topic of discussion for future.
Performance-Chasing Behavior and Mutual Funds: New Evidence from Multi-Fund Managers

We study managers who manage multiple mutual funds. Consistent with the idea that investors infer ability from past returns, flows into a fund are predicted by the past performance in another fund the multi-fund manager manages. The explanatory power of the other fund is stronger when it performed particularly well, when the two funds have similar styles, and when the manager has started managing a fund recently. Nonetheless, past performance in one fund predicts subsequent performance in the other. It is likely due to some investors’ insufficient withdrawal of capital from a fund when the other fund performed poorly.
Social Cohesion: Converging and Diverging Trends

Social theorists frequently argue that social cohesion is under threat in developed societies from the multiple pressures of globalisation. This article seeks to test this hypothesis through examining the trends across countries and regions in key indicators of social cohesion, including social and political trust, tolerance and perceptions of conflict. It finds ample evidence of long-term declines in cohesion in many countries, not least as exemplified by the erosion of social and political trust, which is particularly dramatic in the UK. The trends are not entirely convergent, since on most indicators Nordic countries have become more cohesive, yet each country faces challenges. In the final section the authors argue that different ‘regimes of social cohesion’ can be identified in specific clusters of countries which are based on different cultural and institutional foundations. In the ‘liberal model’, which applies in the UK and the US, the greatest threat to cohesion comes not from increasing cultural diversity, but from increasing barriers to mobility and the subsequent atrophy of faith in individual opportunity and meritocratic rewards — precisely those beliefs which have traditionally held liberal societies together.
Re-scaling of resource governance as institutional change: the case of water governance in Portugal

The paper complements work on the re-scaling of resource governance by developing a theoretical understanding based on the distributional theory of institutional change, and by examining the case of water governance in Portugal. Different from the reactions of other European Member States to the Water Framework Directive, the central water authority and multi-sectoral deconcentrated administrations lost competencies in favour of new water administrations. The level of water governance shifted from administrative districts to hydrographic regions. Significant players in this process were the central state and the Minister of the Environment. Our explanation considers time preferences, mental models, credibility and transaction and transition costs of governance, which affected the timing and content of the reform, and the paper compares the situation to the rest of Europe.
Asthma at 8 years of age in children born by caesarean section

Background: Caesarean section might be a risk factor for asthma because of delayed microbial colonisation, but the association remains controversial. A study was undertaken to investigate prospectively whether children born by caesarean section are more at risk of having asthma in childhood and sensitisation at the age of 8 years, taking into account the allergic status of the parents. Methods: 2917 children who participated in a birth cohort study were followed for 8 years. The definition of asthma included wheeze, dyspnoea and prescription of inhaled steroids. In a subgroup (n = 1454), serum IgE antibodies for inhalant and food allergens were measured at 8 years. Results: In the total study population, 12.4% (n = 362) of the children had asthma at the age of 8 years. Caesarean section, with a total prevalence of 8.5%, was associated with an increased risk of asthma (OR 1.79; 95% CI 1.27 to 2.51). This association was stronger among predisposed children (with two allergic parents: OR 2.91; 95% CI 1.20 to 7.05; with only one: OR 1.86; 95% CI 1.12 to 3.09) than in children with non-allergic parents (OR 1.36; 95% CI 0.77 to 2.42). The association between caesarean section and sensitisation at the age of 8 years was significant only in children of non-allergic parents (OR 2.14; 95% CI 1.16 to 3.98). Conclusions: Children born by caesarean section have a higher risk of asthma than those born by vaginal delivery, particularly children of allergic parents. Caesarean section increases the risk for sensitisation to common allergens in children with non-allergic parents only.
Inflation, Tariffs and Tax Enforcement Costs

This paper derives the dependency of optimal tariff and inflation tax on tax collection and enforcement costs. The analysis is done for a small, open economy. The existence of such costs can justify tariff and inflation tax policies as optimal revenue-raising devices. This paper suggests that greater government demand for revenue will increase the use of inflation and tariffs as revenue devices. The analysis derives elasticity rules that tie optimal tariff and inflation rates to the costs of tax collection.
Measuring Social Capital and its Effectiveness. The Case of Small Entrepreneurs in Italy

The article discusses the results of an empirical research on social capital (SC) carried out in six areas of small business, concentrated in two sectors (‘new’ and ‘old economy’). A distinction is made between the functioning of SC at micro-, meso- and macro-levels. These levels imply different mechanisms and the specific production of private, club, and public goods. Ego-centred networks of small entrepreneurs in Italy in recent years are analysed and combined with specific indicators of SC at meso- and macro-levels. Methodological results show that network analysis techniques give a more direct and sound way to measure SC at micro-level than aggregated indicators a la Putnam that often measure a cluster of related concepts like civicness, systemic trust, and social cohesion. Substantive results show that some structural features of personal networks and their changes over time predict the business success of entrepreneurs (average status of alter and stability of ties over time), while others are not statistically relevant (density and size). The relation between the three levels is also empirically confronted and discussed in a more exploratory way.
Causality between Energy Consumption and Economic Growth in Pakistan

The objective of this study is to examine the causality between energy consumption and economic growth in Pakistan over the period of 1991 to 2006. Pakistan has been facing severe energy crises in the current period and the condition is deteriorating day by day. By applying technique of Granger causality and unit root test, the results infer that electric power consumption is granger causing GDP growth. The implications of the study are that energy conservation policy regarding consumption of energy would not lead to any side-effects on economic growth in Pakistan. The country needs a quantum jump in electricity generation in medium-term scenario to revert the possibilities of load shedding in future due to shrinking gap between demand and supply of electricity. Keywords : Granger test, GDP, energy consumption.
Independent Fiscal Agencies

There has been a considerable literature regarding the incentives of policymakers as a prime reason for persistent fiscal deficits and a variety of fiscal rules have been proposed as a remedy. However, the often inadequate flexibility of rules and the success of policy delegation in the monetary realm have motivated a small but growing number of studies that suggest delegating some aspects of fiscal policy to what will here be called 'independent fiscal agencies'. This paper surveys the related literature with a focus on three aspects: the motivation for the establishment of such agencies; their potential design; and the experience with these types of institutions. Copyright © 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
The receptor site of the spider toxin PcTx1 on the proton‐gated cation channel ASIC1a

Acid‐sensing ion channels (ASICs) are excitatory neuronal cation channels, involved in physiopathological processes related to extracellular pH fluctuation such as nociception, ischaemia, perception of sour taste and synaptic transmission. The spider peptide toxin psalmotoxin 1 (PcTx1) has previously been shown to inhibit specifically the proton‐gated cation channel ASIC1a. To identify the binding site of PcTx1, we produced an iodinated form of the toxin (125I‐PcTx1YN) and developed a set of binding and electrophysiological experiments on several chimeras of ASIC1a and the PcTx1‐insensitive channels ASIC1b and ASIC2a. We show that 125I‐PcTx1YN binds specifically to ASIC1a at a single site, with an IC50 of 128 pm, distinct from the amiloride blocking site. Results obtained from chimeras indicate that PcTx1 does not bind to ASIC1a transmembrane domains (M1 and M2), involved in formation of the ion pore, but binds principally on both cysteine‐rich domains I and II (CRDI and CRDII) of the extracellular loop. The post‐M1 and pre‐M2 regions, although not involved in the binding site, are crucial for the ability of PcTx1 to inhibit ASIC1a current. The linker domain between CRDI and CRDII is important for their correct spatial positioning to form the PcTx1 binding site. These results will be useful for the future identification or design of new molecules acting on ASICs.
Indirect effect of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on pneumococcal colonization among unvaccinated household members.

BACKGROUND Since the introduction of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) in the United States, rates of invasive pneumococcal disease have decreased in both vaccinated and unvaccinated age groups. Reduction of invasive pneumococcal disease in unvaccinated groups has been attributed to reduced transmission of vaccine-type pneumococci in the community. Understanding the impact of PCV7 on carriage among vaccinated and unvaccinated community members is critical to interpreting, predicting, and understanding the impact of PCV7 on disease. METHODS A group-randomized, phase III efficacy trial of PCV7 was conducted among southwestern American Indian communities. Meningococcal conjugate vaccine against serogroup C was used as the control. After the trial was unblinded, we conducted a carriage study of participating communities to evaluate the impact of PCV7 on colonization among trial participants and their unvaccinated household members. RESULTS Adults and unvaccinated children aged <5 years living in households with a PCV7 vaccinee were less likely to be colonized with vaccine-type pneumococci (odds ratio [OR] for adults, 0.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.33-0.99; OR for children, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.26-0.98) than were those living in a household with a control vaccinee. There was no difference for children aged 5-17 years. Decreases in vaccine-type carriage were offset by increases in carriage of nonvaccine types. Among adults living with a trial participant colonized with vaccine-type pneumococcus, those in the households randomized to receive PCV7 were less likely to be colonized with the same serotype than were those in the households randomized to receive the control vaccine (OR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.11-0.99). CONCLUSIONS Vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage was lower among adults and unvaccinated children living with a PCV7 vaccinee. This is attributable to reduced exposure and reduced transmission when exposure occurs.
Disclosure Standards, Auditing Infrastructure, and Bribery Mitigation

Using a sample of 15,174 firms from 24 countries included in the 2009 World Bank Enterprise Survey, we investigate the impact of disclosure standards and auditing infrastructure on the bribery of public officials to secure government contracts. We find that firms are less likely to grant gift to secure a government contract in countries having more extensive financial reporting requirements and countries where audit firms face a higher litigation and sanction risk. Findings also show that firms are less likely to bribe bureaucrats in case financial statements are reviewed by an external audit firm. Our results are economically significant and are robust to several sensitivity analyses. These findings support certain policies that are currently being implemented or discussed to mitigate bribery within the public sector across the globe.