Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Empirical Analysis II: Business Cycles and Inward FDI in China

It is well-known that the current speeding-up of globalization has been, on one hand, spreading macro economic effects around the world, while, on the other, fueling firms’ activities of crossing national borders. Then, are there any links between these two influences? As we have concluded in previous research that inward FDI and business cycle development do pro-cyclically relate on Granger base, this paper will further discuss "how do they react to each other? " Again, we chose China as subject and employed the 1983~2004 authorized annual statistic data. By constructing an Endogenous Growth model, we, after processing Correlation Analysis and testing the coefficient significance of each variable, found out the original momentum of Chinese economic growth and explored whether there exist some long-term relationship through Johansen Co-integration Test
Study of biomass of Reynoutria japonica as a novel biosorbent for removal of metals from aqueous solutions

V teto studii byly studovana sorpcni kapacita rostlinne biomasy, konkretně schopnost biomasy kořenů, stonků a listů invazivni rostliny křidlatky (Reynoutria japonica) vazat z vodneho roztoku ionty Zn2+. Výsledky teto biosorpcni studie ukazuji, že rychlost a rozsah tohoto vazani byly ovlivněny hodnotou pH, dobou trvani adsorpce a pocatecni koncentraci kovu. Sorpcni rovnovaha, vyjadřena pomoci Langmuirovy a Freundlichovy rovnice, naznacuje, že proces probihal v souladu s Langmuirovou izotermou. Maximalni vazani iontů kovu bylo zjistěno při pH 6.0. Pro Zn2+ bylo nejvyssi sorpcni kapacity qmax = 17 mg/g dosaženo při užiti biomasy listů. Odstraňovani Zn2+ pomoci biomasy listů v davce 1 g/l dosahlo při nizkých koncentracich zinku teměř 77% ucinnosti, při vyssich koncentracich byla ucinnost nižsi. Ve vyssich koncentracich biomasy byla ucinnost odstraňovani Zn2+ vysoka i při vyssich pocatecnich koncentracich iontů kovu.
Feasibility of a randomized trial of extended lymphadenectomy for pancreatic cancer.

HYPOTHESIS The required sample size of a prospective randomized trial comparing standard pancreaticoduodenectomy with pancreaticoduodenectomy plus extended lymphadenectomy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma is prohibitively large, making such a trial infeasible. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Comprehensive cancer center. PATIENTS We identified 158 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma with separate pathologic analysis of second-echelon lymph nodes, defined as lymph nodes along the proximal hepatic artery and/or the great vessels. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES To estimate the sample size required for a randomized trial, we devised a biostatistical model with the following assumptions: extended lymphadenectomy can benefit only patients who (1) actually have disease removed from second-echelon nodes, (2) have microscopically negative (R0) primary tumor resection margins, and (3) do not have visceral metastatic (M0) disease. RESULTS Seventy-six patients (48.1%) had negative first- and second-echelon lymph nodes, 65 (41.1%) had positive first-echelon and negative second-echelon lymph nodes, and 17 (10.8%) had positive first- and second-echelon lymph nodes. Patients with positive second-echelon lymph nodes had an R0 resection rate of 47.1%. At a median follow-up of 65.1 months, 4 patients with positive second-echelon lymph nodes were alive, but 3 had recurrent disease. This implies that only 1 patient (5.9%) with positive second-echelon lymph nodes may have had true M0 disease. Therefore, only 0.3% of patients (10.8% with positive second-echelon lymph nodes x 47.1% with R0 resection x 5.9% with M0 disease) may achieve a survival benefit from extended lymphadenectomy. A randomized trial of standard pancreaticoduodenectomy vs pancreaticoduodenectomy with extended lymphadenectomy would require 202 000 patients in each study arm to detect such a small difference. CONCLUSIONS Definitive evaluation of the potential benefits of extended lymphadenectomy would require a prohibitively large sample size. Adequately powered randomized trials to address the potential benefit of extended lymphadenectomy are infeasible.
Trends in prostate-specific antigen testing from 1995 through 2004.

BACKGROUND The utility of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to screen for prostate cancer has been widely debated for several years. Whether PSA testing rates have changed during this period of controversy is not well known. METHODS We examined the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (1995-2004) of visits to primary care providers by healthy men aged 35 years or older. We examined visits by calendar year and compared the years 2000 through 2004 with the years 1995 through 1999. We also examined visits by men in the overall population and in particular subgroups. RESULTS Primary care physicians ordered PSA tests in 4.7% of all visits in 1995 and in 7.0% of all visits in 2004 (P = .03). In multivariate analysis, the odds of a primary care physician ordering a PSA test during any clinic visit increased 8% (odds ratio [OR], 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-1.12; P < .001) per year from 1995 through 2004. The increase was more pronounced among men making visits for general medical examinations (11.2% in 1995 vs 32.3% in 2004; P = .003). Comparing the period 2000-2004 with the period 1995-1999, the odds of PSA testing increased in nearly all subgroups but most dramatically in black men (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.4-3.8; P = .002) and in men 35 through 49 years of age (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.3-2.6; P = .001). CONCLUSION In a nationally representative sample, we found that despite the lack of clear evidence of benefit, PSA testing for prostate cancer screening has increased dramatically, especially among black men and younger men.
Contribution of Monoblock and Bipolar Radial Head Prostheses to Valgus Stability of the Elbow

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stabilizing effect of radial head replacement in cadaver elbows with a deficient medial collateral ligament. Methods: Passive elbow flexion with the forearm in neutral rotation and in 80° of pronation and supination was performed under valgus and varus loads (1) in intact elbows, (2) after a surgical approach (lateral epicondylar osteotomy of the distal part of the humerus), (3) after release of the anterior bundle of the medial collateral ligament, (4) after release of the anterior bundle of the medial collateral ligament and resection of the radial head, and (5) after subsequent replacement of the radial head with each of three different types of radial head prostheses (a Wright monoblock titanium implant, a KPS bipolar Vitallium [cobalt-chromium]-polyethylene implant, and a Judet bipolar Vitallium-polyethylene-Vitallium implant) in the same cadaver elbow. Total valgus elbow laxity was quantified with use of an electromagnetic tracking device. Results: The mean valgus laxity changed significantly (p < 0.001) as a factor of constraint alteration. The greatest laxity was observed after release of the medial collateral ligament together with resection of the radial head (11.1° ± 5.6°). Less laxity was seen following release of the medial collateral ligament alone (6.8° ± 3.4°), and the least laxity was seen in the intact state (3.4° ± 1.6°). Forearm rotation had a significant effect (p = 0.003) on valgus laxity throughout the range of flexion. The laxity was always greater in pronation than it was in neutral rotation or in supination. The mean valgus laxity values for the elbows with a deficient medial collateral ligament and an implant were significantly greater than those for the medial collateral ligament-deficient elbows before radial head resection (p < 0.05). The implants all performed similarly except in neutral forearm rotation, in which the elbow laxity associated with the Judet implant was significantly greater than that associated with the other two implants. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: This study showed that a bipolar radial head prosthesis can be as effective as a solid monoblock prosthesis in restoring valgus stability in a medial collateral ligament-deficient elbow. However, none of the prostheses functioned as well as the native radial head, suggesting that open reduction and internal fixation to restore radial head anatomy is preferable to replacement when possible.
Refinements and confinements in a two-stage model of memory consolidation

Matthew Walker's model overcomes the unrefined classical concept of consolidation as a unitary process. Presently still confined in its scope to selective data mainly referring to procedural motor learning, the model nonetheless provides a valuable starting point for further refinements, which would be required for a more comprehensive account of different types and aspects of human memory consolidation.
Arsenic speciation in the presence of anoxic mixed valent iron systems

ii To my parents for nurturing my creative and academic pursuits iii Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Jay Thompson and David Peate for their generosity with the ICP-MS. Jay played a crucial role in developing the arsenic analytical method, and always provided me with a tuned and sensitive instrument for sample analysis. I would also like to thank Ed O'Loughlin, Max Boyanov, and Argonne National Laboratory for their willingness to provide XAS data for my project. My advisor, Michelle Scherer, has taught me a great deal about aquatic geochemistry and the scientific method through the opportunity she provided me to research in the laboratory. She has also provided invaluable guidance in solving problems, maintaining focus, and making sense of data. If anyone is capable of gleaning information out of this thesis, it is due to her ability to present information in an approachable manner. The research assistants in Michelle's group helped me through countless struggles. I doubt I would even know how to pipette correctly without their guidance. I would like to thank Rob Handler, especially, for providing me with the basic knowledge and tools to pursue scientific inquiries. He was always willing to help, even in the midst of writing his own dissertation. Lastly, I thank my friends and family for helping me keep things in perspective and providing love and support. The journey hasn't always been easy, but it has been very rewarding. v ABSTRACT Iron is ubiquitous in the environment, ranking fourth in abundance in the earth's crust. Iron is responsible for many environmental mechanisms including the distribution of plant nutrients and pollutants. Iron can exist in several minerals, including iron oxides. Arsenic is a naturally occurring metalloid which has been confirmed by the EPA as a carcinogen. Recently, an arsenic epidemic has developed in Bangladesh, poisoning an estimated 70 million people. Arsenic contamination does not exist only in the third world, but also in the United States, including Iowa. Due to the widespread distribution of arsenic and the potential for it to be leached into groundwater supplies, there has been a growing interest in establishing removal mechanisms. Atomic absorption (AA) spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) have been the traditional methods to measure arsenic. There has been a shift in arsenic analysis methods with the advent of more …
Price Transmission, Threshold Behavior, and Asymmetric Adjustment in the U.S. Pork Sector

Abstract The US pork sector has experienced many significant structural changes in recent years. Such changes may have influenced price dynamics and transmission of shocks through marketing channels. We investigate linkages among farm, wholesale, and retail markets using weekly price data for the period covering 1987 through 1998. Our analysis uses a threshold cointegration model that permits asymmetric adjustment to positive and negative price shocks. Our results reveal important asymmetries. Our results are consistent with existing literature which has determined that price adjustment patterns are unidirectional and that information tends to flow from farm, to wholesale, to retail markets.
Business Process Change and Organizational Performance: Exploring an Antecedent Model

Many organizations have undertaken major business process change (BPC) initiatives over the past ten years. Earlier thinking on this topic indicated a significant role for information technology in these initiatives, while more recently the importance of change management has been emphasized. This paper examines a model that proposes various antecedents to successful BPC. Three case studies with varying degrees of BPC project success are described in the context of this model, with the specific goal of determining facilitators and inhibitors to the success of these change efforts. The results indicate that the successful project tended to have facilitators in all dimensions of the framework, including the change environment, process management, and change management. The least successful project exhibited inhibitors primarily in the area of cultural readiness and change management.
A Tactical Unit Mobility Model Framework Based on Cloud Model

Mobility Model has drawn more and more attentions since its important role in Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) protocol performance assessment. While MANET technology is widely used in Tactical Networks, research on Mobility Models oriented to Tactical Networks is still comparatively confined to the combination of traditional MANET ones. In this paper, a novel Tactical Unit Mobility Model Framework is proposed in order to generate different mobility models in a tactical environment. We considered Tactical intention, the uncertainties of both upper-level intention and lower-level node movement and obstacles which would significantly influent node movement. Cloud Model from Artificial Intelligence with Uncertainty is imported as a key algorithm to deal with the uncertainties afore-mentioned. In order to tell the effectiveness of our framework, different simulation scenarios are proposed. The result illustrates that numerous brand new mobility models according with tactical reality can be generated by our framework.
Glass scales on the wing of the swordtail butterfly Graphium sarpedon act as thin film polarizing reflectors

SUMMARY The wings of the swordtail butterfly Graphium sarpedon (the Common Bluebottle) have blue/green-colored patches that are covered on the underside by two types of scales: white and glass scales. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the white scales are classically structured: the upper lamina, with prominent ridges and large open windows, is well separated by trabeculae from a flat, continuous lower lamina. In the glass scales, the upper lamina, with inconspicuous ridges and windows, is almost flat and closely apposed to the equally flat lower lamina. The glass scales thus approximate ideal thin films, in agreement with the observation that they reflect light directionally and are iridescent. Reflectance and transmittance spectra measured from the glass scales with a microspectrophotometer agree with spectra calculated for an ideal non-absorbing thin film. Imaging scatterometry of single, isolated glass scales demonstrated that the reflected light can be strongly polarized, indicating that they function as polarizing reflectors.
A Note on Polynomials with Non-negative Integral

To identify polynomials one usually requires the value of the polynomial at d + 1 points where d is the degree of the polynomial. In this note we show that every polynomial with non-negative integral coeecients can be identiied by knowing its value at two cleverly chosen points irrespective of the degree and the number of terms in the polynomial.
Information Aggregation and the Information Content of Order Statistics

We show how auction theory can be used in the analysis of order statistics. In particular, we use a thought experiment in which we allocate signals to bidders who compete in a k+ 1-price auction. We use recent results about information aggregation in auction with many bidders to show that the amount of information in the k-th order statistics is increasing in k in the limit when the number of signals increases and k is fixed. Still, even the first-order statistic contains non-trivial information. 1We would like to thank George Shanthikumar, Matt Jackson and Peter DeMarzo for helpful comments. Contact information: Graduate School of Business, Stanford, CA 94305-5015 E-mail: ikremer@stanford.edu, andy@gsb.stanford.edu.
In Defense of Oral History: Evidence from the Mercosur Case

This article makes a case in defense of oral history in the study of political science and international relations. The existing literature has scrutinized the technical aspects and appropriate use of oral material. This article focuses on the circumstances under which oral history may be an indispensable method of scholarly investigation: first, when written primary sources are not readily available; second, when an investigation targets complex and secret high-level negotiations; and third, when the main research concern is the human agent's perspective and ideational factors. The article first addresses the issue of the reliability and rigor of oral history as compared to written sources and then concentrates on the creation of Mercosur as an example of the validity of oral history under the three circumstances identified. The conclusion proposes a revival of a more historical approach to political studies.
An Examination of the Criminal Justice Response

Stalking is documented, but insufficient attention has been given to case disposition and how prior criminal and protective order histories influence the processing of stalking cases by the court. This study used secondary case analyses to examine the incarceration and prior offense histories of 346 men charged with stalking, the temporal relationship between prior offenses and the stalking offense, and the interplay between criminal/protective order histories and the final disposition of stalking cases. Study results show significant incarceration and criminal histories among stalkers and a frequent use of protective orders in these cases. High dismissal rates of stalking offenses were found, but for charges not dismissed, a relatively high conviction rate was found. Finally, repeat criminal activity within a short time of the index stalking charge was common. Implications and areas for future research are discussed.
Multiple Texture Boltzmann Machines

We assess the generative power of the mPoTmodel of [10] with tiled-convolutional weight sharing as a model for visual textures by specifically training on this task, evaluating model performance on texture synthesis and inpainting tasks using quantitative metrics. We also analyze the relative importance of the mean and covariance parts of the mPoT model by comparing its performance to those of its subcomponents, tiled-convolutional versions of the PoT/FoE and Gaussian-Bernoulli restricted Boltzmann machine (GB-RBM). Our results suggest that while state-of-the-art or better performance can be achieved using the mPoT, similar performance can be achieved with the mean-only model. We then develop a model for multiple textures based on the GB-RBM, using a shared set of weights but texturespecific hidden unit biases. We show comparable performance of the multiple texture model to individually trained texture models.
Mixed Systems : Combining Physical and Digital Worlds

The growing interest of designers for mixed interactive systems is due to the dual need of users to both benefit from computers and stay in contact with the physical world. Based on two intrinsic characteristics of mixed interactive systems, target of the task and nature of augmentation, we identify four classes of systems. We then refine this taxonomy by studying the fluidity and the links between the physical and digital worlds.
' SuperTypes ' and Logical Segmentation of Instances

By the sixth version in the series (MUC-6), in 1995, the task of recognition of named entities and coreference was added. That initial slate of named entities included the basic building blocks of person (PER), location (LOC), and organization (ORG); to these were added the numeric building blocks of time, percentage or quantity. The very terminology of named entity was coined for this seminal meeting, as was the idea of inline markup [1].
Development and Evaluation of Chipasat, an Attention Test for Children: II. Test-Retest Reliability and Practice Effect for a Normal Sample

The CHIPASAT (Children's Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task), developed to assess auditory-verbal attention, was administered to a sample of 70 normal school children on two occasions separated by an interval of approximately 4 weeks. A significant practice effect was found, independent of age and sex, with performance improved by approximately 20% on retest. The test-retest reliability of . 90 was significant, indicating task stability. The practice effect was consistent with that reported in the literature for the adult PASAT, and reasons for this effect are discussed. Initial test raw scores on WISC—R Arithmetic and Digit Span subtests yielded low but significant correlations of . 38 and . 35 with CHIPASAT scores.
Compact Hardware Architecture for Hummingbird Cryptographic Algorithm

Hummingbird is an ultra-lightweight cryptographic algorithm aiming at resource-constrained devices. In this paper, we present an enhanced hardware implementation of the Hummingbird cryptographic algorithm that is based on the memory blocks embedded within Spartan-3 FPGAs. The enhancement is not only from the introduction of the coprocessor approach but also from the employment of serialized data processing principles. Due to the compactness of the proposed architecture, remaining reconfigurable area in FPGAs can be used for other purposes. Comparisons to the other reported FPGA implementation of the Hummingbird cryptographic algorithm indicate that the proposed architecture outperforms the previous work in terms of both efficiency and area. We remark that our architecture can also be used as stand-alone although it is built via coprocessor approach.
Estimating the spectrum of a density operator

Given N quantum systems prepared according to the same density operator \rho, we propose a measurement on the N-fold system which approximately yields the spectrum of \rho. The projections of the proposed observable decompose the Hilbert space according to the irreducible representations of the permutations on N points, and are labeled by Young frames, whose relative row lengths estimate the eigenvalues of \rho in decreasing order. We show convergence of these estimates in the limit N\to\infty, and that the probability for errors decreases exponentially with a rate we compute explicitly.