Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Report for the Commission of Inquiry Respecting the Muskrat Falls Project

This report was commissioned by the Commission of Inquiry Respecting the Muskrat Falls Project to provide the national and international context in which the Muskrat Falls Project took place. The Commission asked for the report to cover three specific topics of questions: (1) What is the national and international context of the Muskrat Falls Project with regards to cost overrun and schedule overrun? (What are the typical cost and schedule overruns of hydro-electric dam projects? How do hydro-electric dams compare to other capital investment projects? How do Canadian projects compare to other countries? ), (2) What are the causes and root causes of cost and schedule overruns? (3) What are recommendations, based on international experience and research into capital investment projects, to prevent cost and schedule overruns in hydro-electric dam projects and other capital investment projects? Keywords: Hydroelectric Dams, Megaprojects, Cost Overrun, Schedule Overrun, Optimism Bias, Strategic Misrepresentation, Infrastructure, Capital Investment Projects, Canada, Muskrat Falls
Performance of the Producer Accumulator in Corn and Soybean Commodity Markets

PERFORMANCE OF THE PRODUCER ACCUMULATOR IN CORN AND SOYBEAN COMMODITY MARKETS CHAD TE SLAA 2017 This research quantifies risk reduction and performance of the producer accumulator contract in corn and soybean markets. To quantify performance, we use three alternative theoretical pricing models to estimate historical producer accumulator contract specifications in corn and soybean markets. We then compare the performance of the producer accumulator to eight alternative agricultural marketing strategy portfolios that are also used in new generation grain contracts. The performance measures we compare are: average bushel price that would be received by the producer, daily portfolio risk, and the Sharpe ratio. The period we examine performance was between 2008 and 2017. We investigate performance of the producer accumulator executed during each year, month, whether the contract was executed during the growing season or non-growing season, and beginning and following an uptrend, neutral trend, and downtrend ranging in length from 25 to 100-days. Specific to the producer accumulator, we also quantify bushels accumulated during the contract period. We find the average price the producer would expect to receive adopting an accumulator to slightly underperform the average price they would receive with a long futures portfolio in corn and slightly outperform long futures in soybeans. Nevertheless, the accumulator significantly reduces daily risk compared to the long futures portfolio. Indeed, producer accumulator portfolios produced average daily Sharpe ratios exceeding
Do Investment Banks Create Value for Their Clients? Empirical Evidence from European Acquisitions

Europe provides an interesting setting to explore the role that investment banks play in acquisitions because it is composed of countries with different legal regimes – the shareholder-oriented common law regime in the UK/Ireland and the stakeholder-oriented civil law regime in Continental Europe. Since investment banks are hired to act in the interests of shareholders, and due to differences in disclosure requirements, market transparency, accounting standards, and ownership between the UK and Continental Europe, I argue that investment banks are relatively more important in UK-only acquisitions. My findings support this conjecture.
Do international union alliances contribute to the effectiveness of international framework agreements? A comparative study of Telefonica and Portugal Telecom

This study explores how international union alliances (IUAs) contribute to the effectiveness of international framework agreements (IFAs) in emerging or developing economies. Drawing on a distinction between procedural and normative effectiveness, it conducts a longitudinal analysis based on detailed multi-level case studies of two telecom multinational companies – Telefonica and Portugal Telecom – which have signed IFAs. It explores the impact of four dimensions of IUAs (governance structures, material resources, deliberative processes and access to institutional resources) on the effectiveness of IFAs. Key conclusions highlight the importance of procedural effectiveness for normative effectiveness and the role of IUAs’ organizational and institutional resources in ensuring respect for workers’ rights through IFAs.
Volatility Spillovers between Crude Oil Prices and New Energy Stock Price in China

Using data from the crude oil market and the stock market in China, this paper employed VAR model and multivariate GARCH models (including BEKK, DCC, and CCC) to analyze the mean and volatility spillover effects between crude oil future prices and new energy stock prices in China. The BEKK model is found to fit the data the best, with the comparison of three types of GARCH models. The result shows that there is unilateral mean and volatility spillover effects from crude oil future prices to new energy stock prices in China. Then, the time-varying conditional correlations are constructed to offer a deeper insight for the relationship of crude oil futures market and Chinese new energy stock market. In addition, a dollar long position of new energy stock could be a hedge with twelve cents short position of crude oil. These empirical findings can be useful to both investors and policy-makers for the current and especially future economic and financial environments.
Standard care versus protocol based therapy for new onset Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis

The Early Pseudomonal Infection Control (EPIC) randomized trial rigorously evaluated the efficacy of different antibiotic regimens for eradication of newly identified Pseudomonas (Pa) in children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Protocol based therapy in the trial was provided based on culture positivity independent of symptoms. It is unclear whether outcomes observed in the clinical trial were different than those that would have been observed with historical standard of care driven more heavily by respiratory symptoms than culture positivity alone. We hypothesized that the incidence of Pa recurrence and hospitalizations would be significantly reduced among trial participants as compared to historical controls whose standard of care preceded the widespread adoption of tobramycin inhalation solution (TIS) as initial eradication therapy at the time of new isolation of Pa.
P16 Methylation Is an Early Event in Cervical Carcinogenesis

Background Aberrant gene promoter methylation is a critical event in tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to explore the promoter hypermethylation of p16 and DAPK1 during the progression of cervical precancerous lesions. Methods A series of 98 cervical neoplasms (72 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and 26 cervical carcinomas) were evaluated. The promoter methylation status of p16 and DAPK1 was assessed from cervical scrapings by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. Results For p16, the frequency of promoter hypermethylation showed an increasing trend from normal to dysplastic to invasive squamous cancer specimens, and this increase reached statistical significance (P < 0.0001). However, there was no significant difference in the promoter methylation state of DAPK1 with regard to the various grades of cervical lesions (P = 0.077). Specifically, methylation of p16 was a frequent event in the cervical carcinoma samples, and these figures were statistically significant compared with the normal and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia I cases (P = 0.015 and P = 0.021, respectively). Conclusions These results imply that promoter hypermethylation of p16 occurs at an early stage of cervical neoplastic progression. This early event may play an initiating role in the malignant transformation of low-grade dysplasia into high-grade dysplasia and invasive carcinoma. We suggest that aberrant promoter methylation of p16 may serve as a useful biomarker during the follow-up of low-grade dysplasia.
Autism in Phenylketonuria Patients

Autism has been reported in untreated patients with phenylketonuria. The authors aimed to explore autism in 15 Tunisian and 4 Algerian phenylketonuria patients, and report their clinical, biochemical and molecular peculiarities. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale and the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised were used for the diagnosis of autism. Five exons of phenylalanine hydroxylase gene (7, 6, 10, 11, and 5) were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and directly sequenced. Among these patients, 15 were suffering from autism at the time of evaluation. Six mutations were identified: p.E280K, p.G352Vfs, IVS10nt11, p.I224T, p.R261Q, and p.R252W. There was no correlation between autism and mutations affecting the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene, but the age of diet onset was the determining factor in autistic symptoms’ evolution.
Accuracy of apparent diffusion coefficient value measurement on PACS workstation: A comparative analysis.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to evaluate the accuracy of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements made with a PACS workstation compared with measurements made with a dedicated workstation, which is currently considered the reference standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective review was performed in liver lesions from 79 patients using three MRI platforms. The final diagnosis was established by liver biopsy in 31 patients and by dynamic MRI and follow-up, both clinical and radiologic as indicated, in 48 patients. Each lesion that was clearly demonstrable on the ADC map was measured with a commercial dedicated postprocessing workstation and again with a PACS system. A two-sample t test was used to determine the statistically significant differences between the two ADC measurements. RESULTS A total of 79 patients with 120 liver lesions were included. ADC values measured on the workstation were 0.4-4.38 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s. The ADC values measured on the PACS were 0.42-4.35 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s. The T value was -1.113, with 119 degrees of freedom, and the significance level was 0.268, which implies no significant difference between the two different measuring systems for all pathologic abnormalities and MRI scanners used. CONCLUSION ADC values measured on a routine PACS workstation are as accurate as the values obtained on a dedicated specialized workstation. ADC value measurement on the routine PACS will save time and lead to increased utilization, which, in turn, will lead to an improved understanding of the different disease processes and their clinical management.
First- and Second-Order Differentiators Based on Coupled-Line Directional Couplers

First- and second-order differentiators based on coupled-line directional couplers are presented. The time-derivative effect of coupled-line directional couplers is shown theoretically by applying Kirchhoff's laws to infinitesimal electromagnetically coupled transmission line sections. The time-derivation is accurate under the condition DeltaTf 0 Gt 1/4, where DeltaT is the pulse width and f 0 is the coupler center frequency; the required coupler operation frequency is thus inversely proportional to the pulse duration. The first-order differentiator, which is a simple coupled-line coupler, and the second-order differentiator, which requires in addition an interconnecting delay line, are demonstrated experimentally, and compared to ideal (mathematical) derivators.
Game Analysis on Upstream and Downstream Enterprises in the Global Value Chain

the global value chain dominated by multinational corporations has become an important form of economic globalization. In global value chain, the relation between upstream enterprises and downstream enterprises is a key for us to understand economic globalization. In this paper a game model analyzing the relation of upstream and downstream enterprises is constructed. From the proportions accounted for by upstream enterprises and downstream enterprises, we have the conclusion that the downstream enterprises are low-locked. There are three obstacles of breaking through the low-locked condition. And we propose suggestions from four angles of cultivating domestic market, developing financial market, changing mental model of enterprises, and reconstructing corporation culture.
Transcription factor CP2 is crucial in hemoglobin synthesis during erythroid terminal differentiation in vitro.

The transcription factor CP2 was initially identified to bind to the promoter region of the murine alpha-globin gene and known to stimulate the expression of alpha-globin by increasing CP2 transcripts 3- to 5-fold during induced differentiation of mouse erythroleukemic (MEL) cells in vitro. Here, we report that this increment of CP2 expression is crucial in erythroid-specific globin gene expression and hemoglobin synthesis. When antisense CP2 was overexpressed in MEL cells, production of endogenous CP2 protein was reduced 70-80%, and significant loss of its promoter binding activity was observed. During HMBA-induced terminal differentiation of antisense CP2 expressing MEL cells, the transcription of endogenous alpha-globin gene was suppressed as expected. Moreover, both beta-globin gene expression and hemoglobin synthesis were also severely impaired, without affecting the expression of key heme enzyme genes or HMBA-induced proliferation and viability.
The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Equity and the Moderating Role of Ethical Consumerism: The Case of Starbucks

This study investigates the effects of customers’ perceptions of multidimensional corporate social responsibility (philanthropic, ethical, legal, and economic) on brand equity in the restaurant industry, specifically by examining the case of Starbucks in Korea. Furthermore, this study examines whether consumers with a high degree of ethical consumerism form more positive brand equity perceptions of restaurants than other consumers do. The results showed that ethical, legal, and economic aspects of corporate social responsibility had a significant influence on consumers’ perceptions of brand equity, while philanthropic corporate social responsibility did not. The analysis of moderating effects showed that consumers with high levels of ethical consumerism exhibit stronger relationships between economic corporate social responsibility and restaurants’ positive brand equity. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Image super-resolution by structural sparse coding

Sparsity-based super-resolution has attracted lots of attention. Due to the high dimensionality of image data, sparsity-based methods are often in a patch-wise manner and simply impose the smoothness constraints on the overlapped regions between reconstructed patches. However, the imposed smoothness constraint is commonly weak to regularize super-resolution problem when the observed low-resolution image loses structure information. In this paper, we propose to improve the performance of the sparsity-based method by incorporating the structural correlations between neighboring patches. Concretely, the structural information is contained by the dictionary atoms which are used to sparsely represent the image patches. Incorporating the correlations of dictionary atoms into the basic sparse coding, a structural sparse coding algorithm is proposed. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the sparsity-based baseline in both objective and subjective quality.
The Effects of an Energy Use Paradigm Shift on Carbon Emissions: A Simulation Study

Carbon dioxide emissions in developing countries are closely tied to their economy and play a crucial role in the world’s future emissions. In this paper, we put forward an alternative energy use paradigm shift of low-carbon emissions from operational, governance, institutional, and cultural viewpoints (OGIC). An urbanization factor is introduced into the Kaya identity, and three simulations are conducted to forecast the carbon footprint and to explore the effects of the energy use paradigm shift policy. The simulation results show that, in the context of the energy use paradigm shift, the years 2015 and 2024 are the two inflection points that separate the carbon footprint into three periods of extensive consumption (2000–2015), early energy transition (2016–2023), and late energy transition (2024–2030). Overall, the peak carbon emission value is forecasted to appear during the third stage. The findings are expected to demonstrate the effects of the energy use paradigm shift on carbon emissions and assist policy makers formulate a scientific policy framework for low carbon development.
Temperature and time dependent finite-element model of a thermoelectric couple

The cooling performance of a thermoelectric (TE) couple is modeled from mathematical differential equations via finite-elements with the use of a digital computer. The finite-element model, which incorporates material property dependence on time and temperature, is presented. TE couple transient performance is investigated by applying an on-off current waveform to the model. Results from the model output are compared with experiment.
Mapping analysis of CS2013 by supervised LDA and isomap

The ACM Education Board and the IEEE Computer Society's Education released Computing Science Curricula CS2013 in December 2013. In this paper, we applied our curriculum analysis method to analyze the Computing Science Curricula CS2013. By comparing the maps and the topic words of previous curricula CS2008 and CS2013, we found some significantly changed Knowledge Units (KUs) and Knowledge Areas (KAs). We also found other significant changes of CS2013 by using the actual courses of the three universities. Moreover, we discovered that the Body of Knowledge (BOK) of CS2013 had higher explainability that those of other previous computing curricula.
Respite care for people with dementia and their carers.

BACKGROUND Caring for someone with dementia can be emotionally and physically demanding. Respite care is any intervention designed to give rest or relief to caregivers. It is not clear what positive and negative effects the provision of respite care may have on people with dementia and their caregivers. OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of respite care for people with dementia and their caregivers, in particular the effect of respite care on rates of institutionalization. SEARCH STRATEGY The trials were identified from a last updated search of the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group's Specialized Register on 2 July 2003 using the terms respite* and "day care". This Register contains up to date records from all major health care databases and many ongoing trial databases. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomized controlled trials comparing respite care with a control intervention for people with dementia. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Both reviewers carried out study selection independently and reached a consensus through discussion. Data was extracted by a single reviewer. The reviewers contacted all investigators for methodological details not reported in the text and for additional data. MAIN RESULTS Three trials were included in the review. They were different in many ways including intervention, duration and outcomes so pooling of data was not possible. Re-analysis of outcomes using data from the published studies found no significant effects of respite care on any variable. REVIEWERS' CONCLUSIONS Current evidence does not demonstrate any benefits or adverse effects from the use of respite care for people with dementia or their caregivers. These results should be treated with caution, however, as they may reflect the lack of high quality research in this area rather than an actual lack of benefit. Given the frequency with which respite care is advocated and provided, well-designed trials in this area are needed.
Understanding museum visitor satisfaction and revisit intentions through mobile guide system: moderating role of age in museum mobile guide adoption

ABSTRACT Drawing from the extended technology acceptance model, we develop and test a model that links the perceived characteristics of mobile guide system to visitor satisfaction toward mobile guide system and its effect on overall museum experience. Data were collected from 408 museum visitors who have used mobile guide system in National Museum of Korea. The results found that perceived usefulness (PU), perceived enjoyment, and perceived interactivity had direct positive effects on visitor satisfaction toward mobile guide system. In addition, we found the moderating role of age between PU and satisfaction toward the mobile guide system. Furthermore, this study revealed that the experience of using museum mobile guide system was significantly associated with the overall experience of visiting the museum.
Intraprocedural myocardial contrast echocardiography as a routine procedure in percutaneous transluminal septal myocardial ablation: Detection of threatening myocardial necrosis distant from the septal target area

Percutaneous transluminal septal myocardial ablation (PTSMA) has been introduced as an alternative to surgery for symptomatic hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). Visualization of the ablation area prior to induction of the chemical necrosis is possible by intraprocedural myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE). We report on two patients in whom MCE showed opacification of the medial papillary muscle or the left ventricular posterolateral free wall. In both patients the correct ablation area could be identified by MCE after a change of the target vessel, thus avoiding potentially fatal complications due to induction of a necrosis of myocardium distant from the septal target area. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Intervent. 47:462–466, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Single-Error-Correction and Double-Adjacent-Error-Correction Code for Simultaneous Testing of Data Bit and Check Bit Arrays in Memories

In this paper, a new single-error-correction and double-adjacent-error-correction (SEC-DAEC) code is proposed for simultaneous testing of the most general memory fault models in both data bit and check bit arrays of memories. Simultaneous testing of data bit and check bit arrays eliminates the test time and hardware overheads required for separate check bit array tests. In order to test data bit and check bit arrays simultaneously, the proposed SEC-DAEC code generates the identical data background patterns for data bit and check bit arrays. The testable faults using the proposed SEC-DAEC code are the most general memory fault models such as single-cell faults and interword and intraword coupling faults. Simultaneous testing of data bit and check bit arrays using the proposed SEC-DAEC codes brings significant decreases of about 27.3%, 17.9%, and 11.1% in the time required for memory array tests for 16, 32, and 64 data bits per word, respectively. In addition, the number of ones in the H-matrix of the proposed SEC-DAEC code is brought close to the theoretical minimum number, thereby reducing the complexity of the check bit generator.