Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficiency and Productivity in the Spanish Food Distribution Sector

This study investigated the efficiency and productivity change of a sample of food distribution units (MERCAs) in Spain over the 1.997-1.999 period, applying non-parametric frontier methodology in a sales efficiency framework. We specified a mean sales model composed of two blocks of variables, the production block, and the marketing management block. Then we applied output oriented DEA methodology to perform the efficiency analysis, also taking into account the overall efficiency decomposition into pure and scale efficiency. The Malmquist index was calculated in order to analyse the components of the productivity change. The mean pure sales efficiency index was high, around 0.8, the mean scale index being 0,9. As appears from the results, six food distribution units were efficient, but some of the wholesale markets need to adapt their sales technology in order that their input bundle reaches a Most Productive Scale Size unit. We found no evidence of technical change during the period considered, but concluded that a notable scale efficiency change took place during the studied period. To summarise, we conclude that improvement in sales efficiency could be reached in the studied sector in both the pure and the scale efficiency.
American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine Consensus Conference: Definitions for sepsis and organ failure and guidelines for the use of innovative therapies in sepsis

Objective:To define the terms “sepsis” and “organ failure” in a precise manner. Data Sources:Review of the medical literature and the use of expert testimony at a consensus conference. Setting:American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) headquarters in Northbrook, IL. Participants:Leadership members of ACCP/ Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM). Results:An ACCP/SCCM Consensus Conference was held in August of 1991 with the goal of agreeing on a set of definitions that could be applied to patients with sepsis and its sequelae. New definitions were offered for some terms, while others were discarded. Broad definitions of sepsis and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome were proposed, along with detailed physiologic variables by which a patient could be categorized. Definitions for severe sepsis, septic shock, hypotension, and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome were also offered. The use of severity scoring methods were recommended when dealing with septic patients as an adjunctive tool to assess mortality. Appropriate methods and applications for the use and testing of new therapies were recommended. Conclusion:The use of these terms and techniques should assist clinicians and researchers who deal with sepsis and its sequelae.
Determinants of International Research Collaboration: Evidence from International Co‐Inventions in Asia and Major OECD Countries

type="main"> International research collaboration has become important in recent years. This paper analyzes what gains drive the expansion of international research collaboration and what costs prevent it, with a special focus on the incidence of international co-inventions (ICIs) in Asia and major Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. The major findings are as follows. ICIs become more prevalent in those technology sectors where scientific literature becomes important as prior art, inventor team size increases, and the relative inventor resources of the own country in the world declines. Thus, ICIs allow a country to exploit more efficiently the world stock of new knowledge and to realize the gains from combining diverse sources of knowledge and skills. Moreover, the results of estimating a gravity model centered on the USA and Great Britain suggest that language differences measured by Test of English as a Foreign Language scores matter significantly. The results also suggest that exporting from these two countries are significantly and positively associated with ICIs.
Bank Equity Investments: Reducing Agency Costs or Buying Undervalued Firms? The Information Effects

This paper analyses the relevance of two different reasons for banks to acquire firms' stock: the increase of agency costs in the lending relationship (the agency costs hypothesis), and participation in the expected profits of undervalued firms (the information asymmetry hypothesis). Results indicate not only that banks make equity investments for both reasons but also that the market exploits their lending decisions to learn which of the two motivations was in play. Bank equity investments concurrent with reductions in bank debt are consistent with the agency costs hypothesis, whereas bank equity investments concurrent with increases in bank debt are consistent with the information asymmetry hypothesis. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2006.
Health department to fund interferon beta despite institute's ruling

The Department of Health in England and Wales is considering new ways to fund treatment with interferon beta and glatiramer for multiple sclerosis (MS), including a unique “risk sharing” scheme in which the drugs would be funded only if treatment trials in individual patients showed they were effective. The suggestion seems to undermine the recommendation that these drugs should not be funded by the NHS, which was made last week by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), the body that advises on the clinical and cost effectiveness of drugs. A statement released last week set out the unusual proposal: “The Department of Health can confirm that it is in discussions with four manufacturers of beta interferon and related products, as well as other stakeholders. Our discussions are looking at a range of options, including the possibility of a ‘risk-sharing’ scheme in which the drug would be funded for relapsing-remitting MS patients. “After a period of time an assessment would be made of whether the drug was working for patients. If it were, payments would continue. If not, payments to manufacturers would be reduced on a sliding scale. ” The department's statement argued that the suggestion was, in fact, in line with the institute's …
The Impact of Trade Openness on Regional Inequality: The Cases of India and Brazil

Regional inequalities are large in India and Brazil and represent a development challenge. This article aims to determine whether regional inequalities are linked to a country's trade openness. An annual indicator of regional inequalities is constructed for India for the period 1980–2004 and for Brazil from 1985–2004. Results from time series regressions show that Brazil's trade openness contributes to a reduction in regional inequalities. The opposite result is found for India. India's trade openness is an important factor aggravating income inequality among Indian states. In both countries, inflows of foreign direct investment are found to increase regional inequalities.
Tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation mechanisms in proximal tubule cells

Purpose of reviewEmerging evidence suggests that tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation is an important event in renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis. This review describes the recent findings in the context of the tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation process and discusses the possible mechanisms involved. Recent findingsTubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation is a complex process involving disruption of polarized tubular epithelial cell morphology into cells with spindle-shaped mesenchymal morphology, formation of actin stress fibers, loss of cell-cell adhesions through downregulation of E-cadherin, destruction of basement membrane, and increased cell migration and invasion. This phenotypic transition has also been recently reported in human glomerulonephritis with progressive tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Transforming growth factor-β is a key fibrogenic growth factor that regulates tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation, which is counter-regulated by hepatocyte growth factor. In addition, basic fibroblast growth factor, advanced glycation end products, and angiotensin II have also been reported to induce the process. Importantly, the recent discovery of transforming growth factor-β/Smad signaling has allowed the delineation of the intracellular mechanisms of tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation. Indeed, Smad signaling is a key pathway whereby transforming growth factor-β and angiotensin II induce tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation in vitro. This involves the activation of transforming growth factor-β receptor-associated Smad2 and is inhibited by an inhibitory Smad protein, Smad7. Thus, Smad signaling plays a critical role in tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation. SummaryRenal myofibroblasts may be derived from tubular epithelial cells by a process of tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation. Transforming growth factor-β signals through Smads to positively or negatively regulate this process. Blockade of this process by either hepatocyte growth factor or targeting the Smad signaling pathway may provide novel therapeutic strategies to combat renal fibrosis.
A study on the factors influencing private enterprises' diversified mode selection

Recently, the development of the private enterprises attracts more and more concerns from all over the society, many private enterprises use diversification strategy to make enterprises bigger and stronger. This paper based on the Resources Based View and Transaction Cost Theory, from the aspects of micro, medium and macroscopic, analyze the diversified behavior of shenzhen and shanghai exchanges listed companies' data from 2004 to 2009. The results show that the more inner finance resource they have, the higher probability of merger they may choose; the more external finance resource companies have, the higher probability they will choose newly built mode; political relevance significantly influence the options of enterprise's merger pattern. This result provides important reference to private enterprise diversification of China.
Information processing and strategic decision-making in small and medium-sized enterprises: The role of human and social capital in attaining decision effectiveness

The decision-making literature emphasizes that in high-stake decisions the characteristics of individual decision-makers, their interpretation of decision situations, and their social ties play an important role in decision outcomes. Despite these results, research on small- and medium-sized enterprises has only partially covered these influences. In a sample of 565 small-business owners, this study identifies the extent to which these characteristics and social ties affect decision effectiveness and the extent to which their impact is mediated by evaluative judgements of the decision situation. Our results suggest that the interplay between human capital and social capital affects decision outcomes via evaluative judgments and this effect is moderated by decision content, in such a way that depending on decision content (internal versus external focus) entrepreneurial experience and the breadth of social capital are either assets or liabilities for decision effectiveness.
A CMOS Receiver Front-End for 3.1-10.6 GHz Ultra-Wideband Radio

The design of a CMOS ultra-wideband (UWB) receiver front-end for high data rate, short-range wireless communications is presented. Targeted for the MB-OFDM UWB standard proposal, the receiver front-end uses a direct-conversion architecture and integrates a wideband low-noise amplifier (LNA) and two double-balanced mixers for quadrature downconversion. Designed in a 0.13-mum CMOS technology and housed in a low-cost LPCC package, the prototype chip delivers 22.9-26.4 dB of power gain and 4.8-7.7 dB of double-sideband noise figure over the entire 3.1-10.6 GHz UWB band. An input third-order intercept point (IIP3) of -11.5 dBm ensures a linear receiver. Operating from a 1.5-V supply, the UWB receiver frontend draws 32 mA dc current
Study of phase noise in VCXO with inversion-mode varactors

Voltage controlled crystal oscillators (VCXO) using CMOS varactors are investigated. The varactor is operated in the so-called inversion mode (I-Mode) with source and drain bounded together. Its capacitance is evaluated by the HSPICS-Fourier methodology. The performances of capacitance under small-signal and large-signal operations are classified. Then the frequency tuning and the related phase noise are explored. It is found that the larger the tuning coefficient has, the worse the phase noise has in I-mode varactor. The chip is fabricated by the TSMC 0.35um CMOS process. The total area including pad is 1.358 × 1.350 mm and the current consumption in the core circuit is 300uA.
OPTIMAL ‘MISMATCH’ AND PROMOTIONS

Seeming 'mismatches,' in which workers are either under- or overqualified, are shown to be optimal. From the firm's point of view, although turnover will be positively related to overqualification, training costs will be inversely related to overqualification. Further, overqualified workers constitute a pool from which promotions are made. Workers enter seeming mismatches due to search and mobility costs and because of opportunities for promotion. Estimates using a unique data set indicate that workers who are overqualified at hire receive less training and more promotions and that workers overqualified for their current job are more likely to quit. Copyright 1995 by Oxford University Press.
Physiological Signal Processing Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering Education

The proposed Physiological Signal Processing Laboratory incorporates important new concepts to further its utility as a vehicle for biomedical engineering educational use. The Laboratory incorporates the physical construction, testing and analysis of eight signal processing circuit modules, introduced as lessons. Each module can be characterized through measurement with a BIOPAC MP35 data acquisition system and a student-built square wave generator. The modules are combined sequentially to create a sophisticated and functional electrocardiogram (ECG) amplification and processing system. By the final lesson, the completed ECG signal processor will provide meaningful outputs from signals sourced from the student's own body. Through the application of a single, easy-to-use data acquisition system and associated software to a breadboard circuitry laboratory, students can build, test and analyze signal processing modules, verify their performance against mathematical simulation using graphical comparisons, combine modules, collect physiological signals sourced from their own bodies, and evaluate the results. By developing the complete ECG signal processor, module by module (as eight lessons), students develop an understanding of system design and development methodologies. In addition, when collecting data directly from their own bodies, students' curiosity is stimulated to create an environment more amenable to inquiry-based learning
A Non‐Parametric Measure of Poverty Elasticity

We estimate the growth elasticity of poverty (GEP) using recently developed non‐parametric panel methods and the most up‐to‐date and extensive poverty data from the World Bank, which exceeds 500 observations in size and represents more than 96 percent of the developing world's population. Unlike previous studies which rely on parametric models, we employ a non‐parametric approach which captures the non‐linearity in the relationship between growth, inequality, and poverty. We find that the growth elasticity of poverty is higher for countries with fairly equal income distributions, and declines in nations with greater income disparities. Moreover, when controlling for differences in estimation technique, we find that the reported values of the GEP in the literature (based on the World Bank's now‐defunct 1993‐PPP based poverty data) are systematically larger in magnitude than estimates based on the latest 2005‐PPP based data.
Detection of Y chromosome by in situ hybridization in combination with membrane antigens by two-color immunofluorescence.

Discrimination between donor and recipient peripheral blood cells through detection of the Y chromosome can be useful to document chimerism and engraftment after sex-mismatched bone marrow transplantation. Currently applied methods are hampered by the selection of cells (e.g., karyotyping of cells in metaphase) or by the fact that the detection of Y chromosome by in situ hybridization with specific probes does not allow further characterization of the cells. Although quinacrine staining of Y chromosomes can be performed on cells previously marked for membrane antigens, this staining is not fully discriminative between male and female cells. To circumvent this, a technique has been developed, in which mononuclear cells in suspension were stained for membrane antigens by the consecutive use of monoclonal antibodies and tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate conjugates. After the cells were spun down on slides and fixed with methanol/acetic acid and formaldehyde, in situ hybridization with a biotinylated Y-chromosome-specific DNA probe was performed. The probe was detected with avidin-fluorescein isothiocyanate and the signal was amplified by consecutive incubation with biotinylated anti-avidin and avidin-fluorescein isothiocyanate. The membrane staining for various antigens remained undisturbed during the hybridization procedure and the Y probe discriminated almost completely between male and female cells. Therefore, this approach allowed us to determine the chimerism within different subpopulations of unseparated mononuclear cells after sex-mismatched bone marrow transplantation with a sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 100%.
Mapping it differently: A solution to the linking challenges

This paper reports the work of creating bilingual mappings in English for certain synsets of Hindi wordnet, the need for doing this, the methods adopted and the tools created for the task. Hindi wordnet, which forms the foundation for other Indian language wordnets, has been linked to the English WordNet. To maximize linkages, an important strategy of using direct and hypernymy linkages has been followed. However, the hypernymy linkages were found to be inadequate in certain cases and posed a challenge due to sense granularity of language. Thus, the idea of creating bilingual mappings was adopted as a solution. A bilingual mapping means a linkage between a concept in two different languages, with the help of translation and/or transliteration. Such mappings retain meaningful representations, while capturing semantic similarity at the same time. This has also proven to be a great enhancement of Hindi wordnet and can be a crucial resource for multilingual applications in natural language processing, including machine translation and cross language information retrieval.
Mouse Cytomegalovirus Infection in BALB/c Mice Resembles Virus-Associated Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis and Shows a Pathogenesis Distinct from Primary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a life-threatening immunological disorder that is characterized by systemic inflammation, widespread organ damage, and hypercytokinemia. Primary HLH is caused by mutations in granule-mediated cytotoxicity, whereas secondary HLH occurs, without a known genetic background, in a context of infections, malignancies, or autoimmune and autoinflammatory disorders. Clinical manifestations of both HLH subtypes are often precipitated by a viral infection, predominantly with Herpesviridae. Exploiting this knowledge, we established an animal model of virus-associated secondary HLH by infecting immunocompetent wild-type mice with the β-herpesvirus murine CMV. C57BL/6 mice developed a mild inflammatory phenotype, whereas BALB/c mice displayed the clinicopathologic features of HLH, as set forth in the Histiocyte Society diagnostic guidelines: fever, cytopenia, hemophagocytosis, hyperferritinemia, and elevated serum levels of soluble CD25. BALB/c mice also developed lymphadenopathy, liver dysfunction, and decreased NK cell numbers. Lymphoid and myeloid cells were in a hyperactivated state. Nonetheless, depletion of CD8+ T cells could not inhibit or cure the HLH-like syndrome, highlighting a first dissimilarity from mouse models of primary HLH. Immune cell hyperactivation in BALB/c mice was accompanied by a cytokine storm. Notably, plasma levels of IFN-γ, a key pathogenic cytokine in models of primary HLH, were the highest. Nevertheless, murine CMV–infected IFN-γ–deficient mice still developed the aforementioned HLH-like symptoms. In fact, IFN-γ–deficient mice displayed a more complete spectrum of HLH, including splenomegaly, coagulopathy, and decreased NK cell cytotoxicity, indicating a regulatory role for IFN-γ in the pathogenesis of virus-associated secondary HLH as opposed to its central pathogenic role in primary HLH.
Does Female Income Share Influence Household Expenditures? Evidence from Cote d'Ivoire

This paper uses a noncooperative bargaining model to motivate an empirical analysis of the determinants of household expenditures. Drawing on a national household survey from the Cote d'Ivoire, the authors find that raising women's share of cash income increases the budget share of food and reduces the budget shares of alcohol and cigarettes. These effects are robust to changes in functional form, are reflected in reduced-form estimates, and concur with results obtained by examining single-sex households. Copyright 1995 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Integrative Transformation System for the Metabolic Engineering of the Sphingoid Base-Producing Yeast Pichia ciferrii

ABSTRACT We have developed an integrative transformation system for metabolic engineering of the tetraacetyl phytosphingosine (TAPS)-secreting yeast Pichia ciferrii. The system uses (i) a mutagenized ribosomal protein L41 gene of P. ciferrii as a dominant selection marker that confer resistance to the antibiotic cycloheximide and (ii) a ribosomal DNA (rDNA) fragment of P. ciferrii as a target for multicopy gene integration into the chromosome. A locus within the nontranscribed region located between 5S and 26S rDNAs was selected as the integration site. A maximum frequency of integrative transformation of approximately 1,350 transformants/μg of DNA was observed. To improve the de novo synthesis of sphingolipid, the LCB2 gene, encoding a subunit of serine palmitoyltransferase, which catalyzes the first committed step of sphingolipid synthesis, was cloned from P. ciferrii and overexpressed under the control of the P. ciferrii glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase promoter. After transformation of an LCB2 gene expression cassette, several transformants that contained approximately five to seven copies of transforming DNA in the chromosome and exhibited about 50-fold increase in LCB2 mRNA relative to the wild type were identified. These transformants were observed to produce approximately two times more TAPS than the wild type.
Market-Wide Attention, Trading, and Stock Returns

Market-wide attention-grabbing events — record levels for the Dow and front-page articles about the stock market — predict the trading behavior of investors and, in turn, market returns. Both aggregate and household-level data reveal that high market-wide attention events lead investors to sell their stock holdings dramatically when the level of the stock market is high. Such aggressive selling has a negative impact on market prices, reducing market returns by 19 basis points on days following attention-grabbing events.