Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Technical Efficiency of Industrial State-Owned Enterprises in Vietnam

Measured among themselves, industrial state-owned enterprises (SOE) in Vietnam have recorded a rather high level of technical efficiency, as well as a moderate improvement in technical efficiency between the 1997 and 1998. Of the possible factors, the share of skilled workers, location in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and engagement in export activities were considered the most important in determining the technical efficiency level. Between 1997 and 1998 there was no evidence of technological progress. For the ongoing SOE reform process in Vietnam, attention should be given to improving the skills of the work force and to encouraging the export-led development strategy. Creating a competitive envir-onment and a fully developed system of market-supporting institutions is also highly needed. In addition, it is necessary to invest in new technology for industrial SOE in Vietnam. Copyright 2003 East Asian Economic Association.
Pharmacoepidemiologic detection of calcium channel blocker‐induced change on digoxin clearance using multiple trough screen analysis

Nonlinear mixed effects modeling was used to estimate the effects of digoxin–calcium channel blockers (verapamil, diltiazem, nifedipine) in 336 serum levels gathered from 172 patients (104 male and 68 female) receiving oral digoxin as hospital in‐patients. The final model describing digoxin clearance (CL) was CL (l/day)=(87.9+2.71Ccr)0.872CCB0. 880CHF0.937SPI0. 854DFAC, where Ccr is the estimated creatinine clearance (ml/min); CCB=1 for concomitant administration of calcium channel blockers and CCB=zero otherwise; CHF=1 for the patients with congestive heart failure and CHF=zero otherwise; SPI=1 for concomitant administration of spironolactone and SPI=zero otherwise; DFAC=1 for administration of a half‐tablet of digoxin and DFAC=zero otherwise. Concomitant administration of calcium channel blockers resulted in a 13% decrease in digoxin relative clearance. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Hotel Guests’ Preferences for Green Guest Room Attributes*

A study of 571 business and leisure travelers examined the environmentally friendly attributes that guests seek in hotel rooms. Using conjoint analysis of bundles of seven hotel room attributes, the study found that the most influential single attribute on hotel room preference for this sample was green hotel certification (such as LEED). These respondents were also supportive of rooms with a refillable shampoo dispenser, energy-efficient light bulbs, and towel and linen reuse policies. Guests also appreciated the idea of a key card that would control all energy use in the room. Relatively few respondents agreed that they would pay more to stay in a “green” room. The study included only respondents who indicated a willingness to stay in green rooms and as such cannot be generalized. However, the study found few differences between the preferences of the 284 business travelers and the 287 leisure travelers. Three findings differed from other research outcomes in the weight ascribed to green certification, the preference for a shampoo dispenser, and lobby-based recycling. The idea of an energy-controlling key card is also uncommon, but would represent a considerable retrofitting expense for most hotels. While these findings are of interest, one limitation is that only seven attributes were studied, and the inclusion of additional attributes—or more levels of the seven attributes—might alter the results. Nevertheless, these findings give hoteliers information about preferences of a substantial number of guests who would consider staying in a “green” hotel room.
Public Opinion on Federalism in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 2003

This research reports on public opinion surveys on intergovernmental and federal issues conducted in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in March and April 2003. In all three countries, respondents most often see their federal government as being the least effective, least efficient, and least trustworthy. Respondents from Canada appear least supportive of their federal government and most supportive of their local governments; those from Mexico appear most supportive of their state governments; respondents from the United States appear more “balanced” in their support of the various orders of government. Also, far greater regional differences in opinion exist in Canada than in Mexico or the United States. Support for more decentralized federalism is found to be strong in all these federal countries. This research also updates long-term trend data for the United States. Compared with respondents from previous years, U.S. respondents in 2003 showed a measurable uplick in support for the federal government, compared with state and local governments. This support seems to be a carryover from the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.
A silicon-based, three-dimensional neural interface: manufacturing processes for an intracortical electrode array

A method is described for the manufacture of a three-dimensional electrode array geometry for chronic intracortical stimulation. This silicon based array consists of a 4.2*4.2*0.12 mm thick monocrystalline substrate, from which project 100 conductive, silicon needles sharpened to facilitate cortical penetration. Each needle is electrically isolated from the other needles, and is about 0.09 mm thick at its base and 1.5 mm long. The sharpened end of each needle is coated with platinum to facilitate charge transfer into neural tissue. The following manufacturing processes were used to create this array: thermomigration of 100 aluminum pads through an n-type silicon block, creating trails of highly conductive p/sup +/ silicon isolated from each other by opposing pn junctions; a combination of mechanical and chemical micromachining which creates individual penetrating needles of the p/sup +/ silicon trails; metal deposition to create active electrode areas and electrical contact pads; and array encapsulation with polyimide. <<ETX>>
Reputation, Honesty, and Efficiency with Insider Information: an Experiment

We conduct an experimental study of sales of insider information about an asset's future value, where the insiders cannot purchase the underlying asset. We examine whether such information is purchased, the quality of the information provided, and the subsequent accuracy of purchase decisions in the underlying asset market. Our design explores whether reputation, in a repeated game of finite (but uncertain) duration, is an effective constraint on deliberate strategic misinformation. The insiders have an immediate incentive to state that the asset value is high when its true value is low. We suggest an application to insider trading in financial information markets. With fixed matching, cooperative outcomes featuring truthful revelation are frequently achieved and sustained, even though this suggests subjects have sophisticated beliefs about the beliefs and behavior of others. As a comparison, we also conduct a control treatment with random rematching. Here, information purchase is less frequent, the rate of truthful revelation decreases, and efficiency is diminished. Our results suggest that most people anticipate that others realize the potential value of a good reputation. Copyright (c) 2000 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Patent Policy and Costly Imitation

This article extends the theory of optimal patents to allow for costly imitation of patented innovations. With costly imitation, a rival's decision to imitate depends on the length of patent protection awarded to the patentee: the longer the patent life, the more likely it is that rivals will "invent around" the patented product. Extending patent life, therefore, may not provide the innovator with increased incentives to research or to patent the innovation. In this case, I find that optimal patent lives are sufficiently short to discourage imitation. With both patent length and breadth as instruments, the optimal policy consists of broad patents (no imitation allowed) with patent lives adjusted to achieve the desired reward. These results are in sharp contrast to recent results on the optimality of narrow, infinitely long patents.
Dual Nationality Among Latinos: What Are the Implications for Political Connectedness?

This study assesses the influence of dual nationality on connectedness to the American polity. Specifically, it examines whether first-generation dual national Latinos are less politically connected than their sole U.S. national counterparts. We define political connectedness as the skills, attitudes, and behaviors that attach someone to the political system. According to the traditional view on immigration and assimilation, dual nationality should be associated with negative consequences for political integration. Conversely, according to the transnational perspective, multiple nationalities do not preclude, and in fact may facilitate, political assimilation and incorporation. Relying on data from The Washington Post/Henry J. Kaiser Foundation/Harvard University National Survey on Latinos in America (1999) and the Pew Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation 2002 National Survey of Latinos, we investigate the influence of dual nationality on first-generation Latinos' English language proficiency, attitudinal political connectedness (specifically, their self-identification as Americans, consideration of the United States as their real homeland, and civic duty) and electoral participation. Although our results support the traditional view, we cannot rule out that generational replacement will resolve dual nationality's negative influence on political connectedness.
MT – BCS-Based Microwave Imaging Approach Through Minimum-Norm Current Expansion

An innovative three-step technique based on the multi-task Bayesian compressive sensing (MT - BCS) strategy is introduced to image 2D-sparse dielectric profiles. The proposed approach reformulates the contrast source mathematical description of the inversion problem into two fictitious real-valued ones jointly solved through a fast Relevance Vector Machine by taking into account the inter-relationships between the real and the imaginary parts of the unknown equivalent currents. Selected results from a numerical validation are presented and discussed to comparatively assess the accuracy, the robustness, and the computational efficiency of the proposed implementation.
The strategic orientations of rapidly internationalizing software companies

Purpose – This paper addresses the strategic orientations (entrepreneurial orientation, learning orientation, and market orientation) of rapidly internationalizing small software companies.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis is based on an intensive investigation of ten small Finnish software companies that have exhibited rapid and proactive internationalization behavior.Findings – It is argued that the manifestations of the orientations evolve as the small company develops, and these concepts are thus strongly related to the internationalization process. Further, an entrepreneurial orientation, especially a strong desire to seek growth in international markets, must be embedded in the mindset of the rapidly internationalizing small company. However, It is argued that it does not have an effect on the success of the international venture if it is not combined with strong learning and market orientations.Research limitations/implications – This paper brings an evolutionary viewpoint to the.
Evidence for distinct roles of the SEPALLATA gene LEAFY HULL STERILE1 in Eleusine indica and Megathyrsus maximus (Poaceae)

SUMMARY. LEAFY HULL STERILE1 (LHS1) is an MIKC‐type MADS‐box gene in the SEPALLATA class. Expression patterns of LHS1 homologs vary among species of grasses, and may be involved in determining palea and lemma morphology, specifying the terminal floret of the spikelet, and sex determination. Here we present LHS1 expression data from Eleusine indica (subfamily Chloridoideae) and Megathyrsus maximus (subfamily Panicoideae) to provide further insights into the hypothesized roles of the gene. E. indica has spikelets with three to eight florets that mature acropetally; E. indica LHS1 (EiLHS1) is expressed in the palea and lemma of all florets. In contrast, M. maximus has spikelets with two florets that mature basipetally; M. maximus LHS1 (MmLHS1) is expressed in the palea and lemma of the distal floret only. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that LHS1 plays a role in determining palea and lemma morphology and specifies the terminal floret of basipetally maturing grass spikelets. However, LHS1 expression does not correlate with floret sex expression; MmLHS1 is restricted to the bisexual distal floret, whereas EiLHS1 is expressed in both sterile and bisexual floret meristems. Phylogenetic analyses reconstruct a complex pattern of LHS1 expression evolution in grasses. LHS1 expression within the gynoecium has apparently been lost twice, once before diversification of a major clade within tribe Paniceae, and once in subfamily Chloridoideae. These data suggest that LHS1 has multiple roles during spikelet development and may have played a role in the diversification of spikelet morphology.
A new business model? The capital market and the new economy

This paper uses the concepts of business model and financial ecosystem to analyse the relation between the US capital market and corporate business. Under a capital market double standard, from 1995 to 2000, new companies with digital prospects could recover their costs from the capital market; but, after the tech stock crash in 2000, all companies were required to generate profits from the product market. This encourages a blurring of old and new firm identities, because sectoral power is increasingly necessary to secure cost recovery. But this does not imply any return to business as usual when the financial ecosystem for new technology survives the crash and large-scale venture capital investment continues. From this point of view,the new economy illustrated, concretely, the determining role of finance in the broader processes of financialization.
GEOLOGY, POTENTIALITY, SPECULATION: On the Indeterminacy of First Oil

This article uses what the petroleum industry calls “first oil” to examine the uneven process of resource making on the margins of global zones of extraction. It explores how the double obscurity of hydrocarbon prospects—both geologically obscured and their worth not yet revealed by the market—generates particular material constraints, pauses, and setbacks characteristic of petroleum production. The article draws on ethnographic and archival material from Sao Tome and Principe (STP) where repeated attempts to explore offshore oil have yet to transform geological potential into an economic asset. It highlights the incongruous effects of certain epistemic practices and devices (contract, zone, and well) aimed at facilitating first oil by managing uncertainty. As a result, they work as gestures of an indeterminate matter whose existence has continued to be doubted.
Sliding mode control of three-level NPC inverter based grid-connected photovoltaic system

This paper presents a sliding mode control method of a three-phase three-level neutral point clamped (NPC) inverter based grid connected photovoltaic system. The three-level NPC inverter is forced to deliver just active power to the grid and regulates its self-sustaining DC bus voltages using three sliding mode controllers. The three-level space vector modulation is used in order to turn-on and turn-off the inverter switches and to ensure also the balance of the DC capacitor voltages. The three-level NPC inverter is connected to the photovoltaic panel through a DC/DC converter. For the optimum use of the PV module, a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller is used which enables the maximum power extraction under varying irradiation and temperature conditions. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control system is demonstrated with Matlab/Simulink simulations.
Drug resistance gene identification algorithm for next-generation sequencing data

In the 21st century, antibiotic resistance has become a crucial and growing phenomenon in contemporary medicine. Multidrug resistant leads that antibiotics cannot be used to treat infections. In this paper, we propose a novel and efficient method to identify drug resistance genes from raw reads produced by next generation sequencing technology for metagenomes. The experimental results show that the proposed method is able to identify the resistance genes of Acinetobacter baumannii, TYTH-1.
Cushing's Syndrome: important issues in diagnosis and management.

CONTEXT The diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and treatment of Cushing's syndrome are challenging problems in clinical endocrinology. We focus on critical questions addressing screening for Cushing's syndrome, differentiation of Cushing's subtypes, and treatment options. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION Ovid's MEDLINE (1996 through April 2006) was used to search the general literature. We also relied on previously published reviews and a recent monograph and cite a mix of primary articles and recent reviews. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS Although this article represents our opinion, it draws heavily on a recent consensus statement from experts in the field and a recent monograph on Cushing's syndrome. CONCLUSIONS We concluded that: 1) measurement of late-night or bedtime salivary cortisol is a useful approach to screen for Cushing's syndrome; 2) measurement of suppressed plasma ACTH by immunometric assay is useful to differentiate ACTH-dependent and -independent Cushing's syndrome; 3) inferior petrosal sinus sampling for ACTH should be performed in patients with ACTH-dependent hypercortisolism in whom a pituitary magnetic resonance imaging is normal or equivocal (in the absence of a pituitary ACTH gradient, prolactin levels should be measured to confirm the integrity of venous sampling); 4) computed tomography of the chest and abdomen and somatostatin receptor scintigraphy should be performed in patients with the occult ectopic ACTH syndrome; and 5) patients with Cushing's disease should be referred to a neurosurgeon with extensive experience operating on corticotroph microadenomas. Bilateral laparoscopic adrenalectomy should be considered in patients with Cushing's disease who fail therapies directed at the pituitary.
The Tortoise and the Hare: Portfolio Dynamics for Active Managers

Active portfolio management is dynamic: with turnover controlled, the impact of today’s trading persists into the future, where it influences future trading, commingles past and future information, and alters long-term performance. The best strategy for one portfolio rebalance is not the best strategy over many rebalances. The goal of this work is to expand our single-period analysis of active management to match the practical, multi-period world. How much turnover should active managers do? How should different signals be weighted to reflect their differing volatilities and predictive information horizons? What performance can we expect over many trading sessions? This article gives a simple solution for the time dimension of active management, helping active managers improve the long-run performance delivered to investors. The solution includes expressions for active risk, turnover, and active return before and after trading costs. An example solves the problem of “the tortoise and the hare:” how best to select turnover and combine one signal that has short-range predictive power with another that has long-range power.
Long‐run price behaviour of equity REITs: become more like common stocks after the early 1990s?

Purpose – The US real estate investment trust (REIT) market experienced a structural change in the early 1990s. This paper aims to examine the following two issues: is the equity REIT market movement positively linked with the stock market movement in the long‐run? If so, how does the long‐run relation between the two markets change after the early 1990s? Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines the long‐run relation between REIT prices and common stock prices within a four‐price system, i.e., REIT prices, common stock prices, bond prices, and private real estate prices, for two sub‐periods: 1978‐1993 and 1994‐2008. This study uses the more advanced Johansen procedure, which is more robust than the Engle‐Granger procedure, to test the co‐integrated relation.Findings – The results show that REITs behave like common stocks during the earlier 1978‐1993 sub‐period. In contrast, REITs become less like common stock and more like private real estate after the early 1990s structural change. These results .
Segmented Local Labor Markets in Postreform China: Gender Earnings Inequality in the Case of Two Towns in Zhejiang Province

In this paper we aim to explore the segmentation structure of Chinese labor markets, especially gender-related segmentation, at a local level. Through a case-study approach, the discussion is centered on the multiple dualities of the local labor market determined by gender, place, migration, and the rural–urban divide. Although the empirical findings on gender differentiation in Chinese labor markets validate the conclusions of labor-market segmentation theory in general, they also point to the uniqueness of the segmentation processes of the Chinese labor market during the course of its economic transition since the reform. In this study we find that both place and space play an important role in configuring labor market segments, and the spatial construction of local labor markets is shaped greatly by the rural–urban social structure as defined by the household-registration system.
Musculoskeletal Injuries

Tens of thousands of U.S. children, adolescents, and young adults are using weights either recreationally, to train for sports, or to compete in weight lifting, power lifting, or body building contests. Weight use may cause significant musculoskeletal injury. This review summarizes for the clinician the best available information on injury risks and prevention.
Effects of Multichannel Coordination and E-Commerce Outsourcing on Online Retail Performance

This article assesses the role of multichannel coordination strategy in impacting online performance, and the need for E-commerce functions outsourcing at the initial stages of multichannel integration. Our findings indicate that a higher degree of interchannel coordination increases retailers' online sales. The article also concludes that integrated retailers that outsource more E-commerce functions, such as Web site hosting, site design, content development, order processing, E-mail marketing, Web performance monitoring, and E-logistics, do not show higher online sales performance than those who develop them in-house. Managerial implications of these findings are proposed, and directions for future research are outlined. Based on prior conceptual research, the article develops and empirically tests the construct of multichannel coordination.