Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The complementarity effect of research and development on firm productivity

Returns to investment in research and development (R&D) are a subject of considerable interest in the literature on economics of innovation. However, a drawback of this literature is that R&D is mostly treated as a homogeneous activity. This article analyses the differentiated effect of research and development on productivity and tests the existence of complementarity between these activities. We find evidence supporting the existence of a direct effect of both innovation activities. Most interestingly, our results suggest that there is complementarity between research and development in determining productivity.
Psychosocial Distress in Patients with Thyroid Cancer

Objective The purpose of this study is to evaluate levels of psychosocial distress in thyroid cancer patients. An analysis of factors contributing to levels of distress is included. Study Design Individual retrospective cohort study. Setting Head and neck cancer clinic at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Subjects and Methods A total of 118 newly diagnosed thyroid cancer patients were included in the study. Univariate and multivariate analyses evaluated levels of and factors contributing to distress. Results Almost half (43.3%) of patients had significant distress. Those with self-reported psychiatric history, use of antidepressant medication, and history of radiation treatment had higher levels of distress. On multivariate analysis, patient endorsement of emotional issues predicted a higher distress level. Conclusions Thyroid cancer patients have high distress levels. Identification of thyroid cancer patients with high distress levels is important to offer additional support during cancer therapy.
The Uniform Cortex Sign: A Diagnostic Sign of Diffuse Cortical Injury on MR Imaging of the Brain at 1.5 T

Abstract Background: To introduce the “uniform cortex sign” (UCS) and evaluate its performance as a diagnostic test for the presence of diffuse cortical injury (DCI). Methods: The study was approved by our institutional review board. Three experienced neuroradiologists were given a tutorial on the UCS. They were subsequently presented with 14 cases (7 control patients and 7 DCI patients with the UCS) in random order and asked to determine whether the UCS was present. Each case consisted of selected DWI, T2-weighted, and FLAIR images from unenhanced 1.5T MRI examinations. A consensus result for each case was determined by unanimity or majority rule. Results: All control patients were correctly identified as normal by all neuroradiologists (7/7). The UCS was correctly identified in 86% of DCI patients (6/7). UCS interrater agreement was high (multirater κ=0.81). Conclusions: This small study shows that the UCS can identify DCI, especially in patients with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The UCS can be subtle, hence the reader must be vigilant for this finding. The accuracy of the UCS may depend on the extent of cortical injury and time between injury and MRI. Also, a UCS may be reversible, as in our case of viral meningoencephalitis. RÉSUMÉ Contexte : Le but de l’étude était de présenter le « signe du cortex uniforme » (SCU) et d’évaluer son efficacité comme test diagnostic de la présence d’une atteinte corticale diffuse (ACD). Méthodologie : Cette étude a été approuvée par notre comité d’examen institutionnel. Trois neuroradiologues d’expérience ont reçu une formation sur le SCU. Quatorze cas (7 patients-témoins et 7 patients présentant une ACD avec SCU leur ont ensuite été présentés dans un ordre aléatoire. On leur a demandé de déterminer si un SCU était présent. Pour chaque cas, le neuroradiologue avait accès à des images IRM pondérées en diffusion, pondérées T2 et en séquence FLAIR d’examens par IRM à 1.5T non rehaussée. Le consensus était déterminé pour chaque cas par une décision unanime ou majoritaire. Résultats : Tous les patients-témoins ont été identifiés correctement comme étant normaux par tous les neuroradiologues (7/7). Le SCU a été identifié correctement chez 86% des patients présentant une ACD (6/7). L’accord inter-neuroradiologue était élevé (K=0,81). Conclusions : Cette petite étude démontre que le SCU peut identifier l’ACD, particulièrement chez les patients atteints d’encéphalopathie hypoxique-ischémique. Le SCU peut être subtil et le lecteur doit le rechercher systématiquement. La manifestation du SCU peut dépendre de l’étendue de l’atteinte corticale et du temps écoulé entre le traumatisme et l’IRM. De plus, le SCU peut être réversible, comme ce fut le cas chez notre cas de méningoencéphalite virale.
Profits of Doom: Spectres of Capitalist Crisis

“a spectre is haunting europe,” wrote Marx and Engels in 1848, “the spectre of Communism. ” A century and a half later the spectre, according to much conservative ballyhoo, had been vanquished. In 1989, as the Berlin Wall fell and “actually existing socialism” imploded throughout the Soviet Bloc, Francis Fukuyama declared “the end of history. ” This premature triumphalism celebrated what seemed the ultimate victory of the American Empire over its Cold War superpower rival, the Soviet Union. Liberal capitalism had finally, after decades of nuclear arms stockpiling, Sputnik space races, and routinized skirmishing over battlegrounds such as Cuba, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and the Middle East, won its war with what passed in many circles for communism. History, as it had been known for much of the 20th century, had been transcended. The good life was now assured. Or so went the story, and many were sticking to it. The good was not to come without the bad. In less than two decades, and with no evil enemy of totalitarian communism to point the finger of blame at menacingly, capitalism ascendant was reduced to capitalism in crisis. From 1990 to 2007, the free market world was rocked by crisis after crisis. In 1994– 1995 the Peso Crisis in Mexico necessitated a $50 billion bailout involving the International Monetary Fund, the United States government, and the Bank of review essay / note critique
A Mobile Network Planning Tool Based on Data Analytics

Planning future mobile networks entails multiple challenges due to the high complexity of the network to be managed. Beyond 4G and 5G networks are expected to be characterized by a high densification of nodes and heterogeneity of layers, applications, and Radio Access Technologies (RAT). In this context, a network planning tool capable of dealing with this complexity is highly convenient. The objective is to exploit the information produced by and already available in the network to properly deploy, configure, and optimise network nodes. This work presents such a smart network planning tool that exploits Machine Learning (ML) techniques. The proposed approach is able to predict the Quality of Service (QoS) experienced by the users based on the measurement history of the network. We select Physical Resource Block (PRB) per Megabit (Mb) as our main QoS indicator to optimise, since minimizing this metric allows offering the same service to users by consuming less resources, so, being more cost-effective. Two cases of study are considered in order to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme, one to smartly plan the small cell deployment in a dense indoor scenario and a second one to timely face a detected fault in a macrocell network.
The development and differentiation of Gibberella zeae (anamorph: Fusarium graminearum) during colonization of wheat

Worldwide, one of the most devastating pathogens of small grains is the head blight fungus, Gibberella zeae. Ascospore-laden perithecia of this fungus develop on mature cereal crops and crop debris and provide the primary inoculum of the disease. We characterize the process of colonization of wheat tissue that leads to perithecium production. Stems were colonized systemically and extensively following inoculation of the wheat head. Haploid mycelia moved down the vascular system and pith and then colonized the stem tissue radially. Dikaryotic hyphae developed at two distinct stages: in the xylem, in support of radial hyphal growth and in the chloremchyma, in support of perithecium development. Perithecium formation was initiated in association with stomates and silica cells. Vascular occlusions prevented mycelia from colonizing the stem in 25% of inoculated plants. Implications of these findings are discussed for developing resistant cultivars and improving chemical control of the disease.
pH sensitive alginate-chitosan hydrogel beads for carvedilol delivery

Alginate-chitosan hydrogel beads for carvedilol delivery were prepared to be used as a controlled pH-sensitive drug delivery system. The beads were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The swelling ability and in vitro release of carvedilol in solutions of different pH value were investigated. They exhibited significant swelling rates when exposed to the slightly alkaline environment. The results suggest that the system has potential to be used as an effective pH-controlled delivery system for carvedilol. The release of carvedilol at various pH values was analyzed by a semi-empirical equation.
Control of Tick Infestations in Oryctolagus cuniculus (Lagomorpha: Leporidae) with Spinosad Under Laboratory and Field Conditions

ABSTRACT Because of great economic loss in the world's livestock industry, and the serious risks to human health, the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases is one of the most important health management issues today. Current methodology involves integrated tick control for preventing the development of resistance. Rabbits are hosts for immature stages of the three-host tick Hyalomma lusitanicum Koch; so, we focus on this host as a strategy to interrupt the tick life cycle. Spinosad is an insecticide-acaricide, produced by the fermentation of metabolites of the actinomycete bacterium Saccharopolyspora spinosa. We administered spinosad orally by force-feeding naturally and artificially infested rabbits, and under field conditions by administering treated food via a hopper during the period of peak infestation and reinfestation risk for rabbits. No living larvae were recovered from treated laboratory rabbits. In naturally infested rabbits, the number of live ticks collected from treated rabbits (mean = 0.62 ticks per ear) was significantly lower than those recovered from untreated rabbits (mean = 7.27; P < 0.001), whereas the number of dead ticks collected from untreated rabbits (mean = 6.53) was significantly lower than those recovered from treated rabbits (mean = 18.62; P < 0.001). In addition, free and continually reinfested rabbits freely ingested low doses of spinosad, reducing the tick burden from 48.00 (Day 0) to 26.09 ticks per ear in treated rabbits (Day 16), whereas controls maintained the infection (46.64). This strategy could be useful as an alternative or supplement to traditional acaricides in tick control programs.
Good attitudes and suspect intentions: profiling styles of student debtors using an extended TPB

The ubiquity and scale of student debt are well reported in the literature both in the UK and the international context. What is less investigated is the perception of student borrowing from a consumer behaviour perspective. This paper draws on theoretical frameworks from the field of consumer behaviour to explore student borrowing patterns in the UK. Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), a survey of 305 students was asked to complete a questionnaire to collect information about their borrowing intentions and attitudes as well as their knowledge of finance and other cognitive variables. It was found that many students saw debt as inevitable and something over which they had little control. It is hypothesised that this lack of control has an impact on attitudes towards borrowing in life after university. It was further found that the student sample could be effectively divided into decision-making styles, providing possible opportunities for educational interventions around debt management.
A High-Performance Complexity Reduced Behavioral Model and Digital Predistorter for MIMO Systems With Crosstalk

In this paper, an augmented crossover memory polynomial model (A-COMPM) is proposed and developed which can be used for characterizing and linearizing multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmitters in the presence of linear and nonlinear crosstalk. The proposed model significantly improves the performance of the crossover memory polynomial model (CO-MPM) by more accurately incorporating the effect of crosstalk. The proposed model performs comparably to the 2 x 2 parallel Hammerstein (2 x 2 PH) model, while requiring the same number of coefficients as CO-MPM and a lower number of coefficients than the 2 x 2 PH. The model was tested for forward modeling and digital predistortion (DPD) applications in the presence of both linear and nonlinear crosstalk. Experimental results show that the model outperforms the CO-MPM and 2 x 2 PH DPDs, at a lower number of coefficients compared to both models. Furthermore, the issue of numerical stability of the DPD
Pronóstico y estructuras de volatilidad multiperíodo de la tasa de cambio del peso colombiano

El modelo gaussiano GARCH(1,1) ha sido empleado, tradicionalmente, en el estudio de la tasa de cambio; sin embargo, un numero importante de estudios recientes (utilizando modelos FIGARCH e HYGARCH) ha encontrado evidencia de persistencia en su volatilidad. En este trabajo, usando una estrategia de modelos anidados, se encontro evidencia a favor del modelo IGARCH bajo una distribucion GED. Los pronosticos del modelo IGARCH son usados para calcular la estructura a plazos y la volatilidad multi-periodo, las cuales permiten conocer las expectativas del mercado sobre la volatilidad de los retornos, en diferentes horizontes de tiempo.
No Shortcuts to Progress: African development management in perspective by Goran Hyden Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1983. Pp. xv + 223. $9.50 paperback.

His telling analysis reveals that the pattern of oral disease is shaped more by poverty than anything else. Cancrum oris, gangrene of the face and jaws, and oral tuberculosis are two such diseases that Hobdell discusses, and his comments on the training of dental auxiliaries and the development of oral services make instructive reading. So do the other essays about democracy, the rural sector, nursing, drug policy, and the evolution of health programmes. Like Chris Searle's book on education, entitled We're Building the New School! Diary of a Teacher in Mozambique (London, Zed Press, 1981), this volume captures some of the internationalism of the Mozambican struggle that gained so much from Frelimo's strong anti-racist stance. If only that lesson had been learnt in the First World.
Loss of function mutations of the human melanocortin 1 receptor are common and are associated with red hair.

The melanocortin 1 receptor is a G-protein-coupled receptor that acts as a control point for control of the eumelanin/phaeomelanin ratio in mouse hair. MC1 receptor loss of function mutations lead to an increase in the ratio of phaeomelanin/eumelanin in many mammals resulting in yellow or red coat colours. We have previously shown that several common point mutations in the human MC1 receptor are overrepresented in North European redheads and in individuals with pale skin. In order to determine the functional significance of these changes we have carried out transfection and binding studies. Expression of the Val60Leu, Arg142His, Arg151Cys, Arg160Trp, and Asp294His receptors in COS 1 cells revealed that these receptors were unable to stimulate cAMP production as strongly as the wild type receptor in response to alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone stimulation. None of the mutant receptors displayed complete loss of alphaMSH binding, with only the Arg142His and Asp294His displaying a slight reduction in binding affinity.
Market power analysis in the Italian electricity market using a supply function equilibrium model

Market power is one of the main concerns in the Italian electricity market. Transmission constraints and highly concentrated ownership structure in the market have been allowing firms to exercise market power and raise electricity prices above marginal cost. This paper presents a supply function equilibrium (SFE) model for analyzing the exercise of potential market power in the Italian electricity market. A coevolutionary genetic algorithm is used to calculate the oligopolistic price equilibria of the SFE model, while considering the transmission constraints in the network using a 3 area approximation of the Italian grid. Demand is assumed to be perfectly inelastic.
Outsourcing HR as a Competitive Strategy? A literature review and an assessment of implications

HR outsourcing as an organizational strategy has increased substantially over the last decade. However, this trend has attracted little academic attention regarding how outsourcing decisions are made, the manner in which these decisions are implemented, how outsourcing effectiveness is measured, and its impact on organizational performance. In this article, we provide a critical review of the reasons for, the processes involved in, and the perceived effectiveness of HR outsourcing.We investigate the implications of HR outsourcing for the role of the HR function and for the various groups of people affected by this strategy. We argue that organizations should apply both the resource-based view and institutional theory when making outsourcing decisions. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Query Recommendation based on Query Relevance Graph

With the explosive and diverse growth of web contents, query recommendation is a critical aspect of the search engine. Different kind of re c mmendation like query, image, movie, music and book etc. are used every day . Different kinds of data are used for the recommendations. If we model the data into various kinds of graphs then we can build a general method for any recommend atio . This paper presents a general method to recommend queries by combining tw o graphs: 1) query click graph which uses the knowledge of link between user input query and clicked URLs and 2) query text similarity graph which finds the similarity between two queries using Jaccard similarity. The proposed method prov i es literally as well as semantically relevant queries for users’ need. Exper iment results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms heat diffusion method by providing more number of relevant queries. It is also useful to other recomm endations like image, query and product recommendation.
Solidarity in transboundary flood risk management: A view from the Dutch North Rhine–Westphalian catchment area

Climate change is putting pressure on water systems, and its effects transcend man-made boundaries, making cooperation across territorial borders essential. The governance of transboundary flood risk management calls for solidarity among riparians, as climate change will make river basins more prone to flooding. ‘Solidarity’ means that individuals act to support members of a particular community to which they belong. Recently, the solidarity principle has become institutionalized due to its formalization in the EU Floods Directive. However, it is not clear what solidarity means in the upstream–downstream practices of transboundary flood risk management. Understanding the meaning of solidarity is important for the development of cross-border climate adaptation governance. This article discusses the conceptualization of the solidarity principle and explores its meaning for international cooperation in the Dutch North Rhine–Westphalian border region. Our critical case study reveals that although all actors understand the importance of solidarity, they interpret it differently, often based on self-interest related to their position in the catchment. The formal inclusion of the solidarity principle in the Floods Directive can best be seen as a step in the continuous development of transboundary flood risk governance, as no striking changes in practice have been identified after its formalization. Policy relevance As climate change increasingly puts pressure on river basins and other shared resources, cross-border cooperation and solidarity are seen as increasingly important. This article discusses the meaning of solidarity in practice and reveals how this normative principle may contribute to transboundary climate adaptation governance. Understanding its meaning is important for future cross-border climate adaptation governance.
Comparison of Body Composition Measurements Using a New Caliper, Two Established Calipers, Hydrostatic Weighing, and BodPod

Purposes (1) To compare the Lafayette Instruments (LI) skinfold caliper to the Lange (L) and Harpenden (H) calipers using a diverse subject population. (2) To determine the validity of the LI caliper in a subset of subjects by comparing body compositions from skinfold thicknesses to those measured by hydrostatic weighing (HW) and air displacement plethysmography (ADP). (3) To compare measurements obtained by experienced (EX) and inexperienced (IX) technicians using all three calipers. Methods Skinfold measurements were performed by both EX and IX technicians using three different calipers on 21 younger (21.2 ± 1.5 yrs) and 20 older (59.2 ± 4 yrs) subjects. Body compositions were calculated using the Jackson-Pollock seven-site and three-site formulas. HW and ADP tests were performed on a subset of subjects (10 younger, 10 older). Results No significant differences existed between LI and L or H when measurements were made by EX. Further, the LI-EX measurements were highly correlated to both H-EX and L-EX. No significant differences existed in the subgroup between LI-EX and HW or ADP. Skinfold determinations made by EX and IX were similar. Conclusions Similar body compositions determined using LI, H, and L suggest that LI determines body composition as effectively as H and L. High correlations between the three calipers support this notion. Similar results between LI and HW/ADP subgroup suggest that the LI caliper may be a valid method of measuring body composition. Overall, performance by IX was similar to EX and suggests similar ease of use for all three calipers.
English Language Ability and the Labor Market Opportunities of Hispanic and East Asian Immigrant Men

Immigrant workers will be evaluated by their ability to speak English as well as by their other skills. The empirical work in this article addresses the hypothesis that there is an economic cost to English language deficiency both in occupation-specific earnings and in (cross-sectional) occupational mobility. This analysis suggests that it is costly to be deficient in English, but the cost is ethnically and occupationally specific. Hispanics have a higher cost for English language deficiency than Asians at every skill level.
Seasonal and diel variation of shrimp (Crustacea, Decapoda) on sandbanks of a tropical floodplain river

We studied seasonal and diel changes of shrimp abundance in sandbanks of the Cinaruco River, a tropical floodplain tributary of the Orinoco River. Paired diurnal and nocturnal samples were collected from seven river-channel sandbanks during different periods of an annual hydrological cycle. We collected 3730 shrimp representing two families: Sergestidae (Acetes paraguayensis) and Palaemonidae (six species). Patterns of temporal and spatial variation of shrimp abundance on sandbanks of the Cinaruco indicated responsiveness to both diurnal cycles and the annual hydrological regime. The presence of submerged vegetation and the absence of ridge-and-trough topography on sandbanks were the factors most strongly associated with high shrimp abundance. We conclude that the river’s seasonal flow regime and geomorphology create the heterogeneity of hydraulic habitats that is essential for diel movements of shrimp between areas used for nocturnal foraging and diurnal refuge.