Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring the Incidence of Insider Trading in a Market for State-Contingent Claims

Even in competitive financial markets, the presence of insider traders leads to a divergence between the selling and buying price, as intermediaries attempt to recoup their losses to the insiders by extracting a margin from other traders. The extent of this divergence is an indication of the severity of the market distortion due to insider trading. Conversely, the incidence of insider trading may be inferred from observed spreads given an appropriate model of trading. In this paper, the market for bets in a horse race in which bookmakers set prices serves as the vehicle for such an investigation. By solving for the equilibrium prices in a game in which bookmakers compete in prices, the market spread is obtained as a function of the incidence of insider trading and other parameters. this incidence is then estimated from U.K. data. Copyright 1993 by Royal Economic Society.
Modified Elmore delay model for VLSI interconnect

This paper describes a simple method of calculating delay of an RC ladder which is often encountered in VLSI interconnect analysis. The method first deals with a specific case where R and C are identical and the transfer function in closed form, is derived for arbitrary number of stages. The roots of the transfer function is then found in closed form and from there exact delay calculation is made. For arbitrary RC values, the derived method is combined with Elmore delay and a modified simple delay metric is proposed. For a first order approximation, the proposed method is matched with Elmore model and results are found more accurate at same computational requirement.
[Investigations of radiation exposure of the medical personnel during F-18-FDG PET studies].

AIM The aim of the investigation was the identification of those working steps with the highest radiation exposure for the medical personnel during F-18-FDG-PET studies and to evaluate the effectiveness of radiation protection devices and instructions developed in our PET-center. METHODS The personal dose and hand dose were measured for each working procedure during F-18-FDG-PET studies using electronic personal dosimeters and thermoluminescent dosimeters respectively. Additionally, measurements of the radiation level near the patient were taken. RESULTS The mean personal dose resulting from syringe preparation was 1 microSv/syringe, from injection 3 microSv/patient, from blood sampling during quantitative studies 6 microSv/study, and from positioning and handling of the patient 6 microSv/study. The mean hand dose per syringe preparation was 710 microSv for each hand. The mean hand dose during injection was 13 microSv for the right hand and 27 microSv for the left hand. All above mentioned values were measured applying the routine radiation shielding in use in our PET center. CONCLUSION With the developed radiation shielding and means to reduce radiation exposure applied the allowed annual dose for medical personnel are not exceeded. One exception is the hand dose resulting from syringe preparation. An automatic or remote filling device should be used at this working step.
LIVING SUBURBS. LIVING POLICY

Ignoring the historical pre World War 2 planning documents relating to Melbourne, the first real attempt to influence the shape and growth of Melbourne dates from the 1954 Metro Plan direct from the engineers at the Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) stable. Essentially it mapped and zoned more or less what was actually happening on the ground at the time; if shops were there, the area was zoned commercial and coloured appropriately. And so on.
Remuneration Disclosure in Australia and the United States

This precis is from Research Paper #1/96, by Jennifer Hill, and published by the Australian Investment Managers’ Association, 1996. It supplements, as a matter of record, the conclusions of the UK report of a study group chaired by Sir Richard Greenbury, and published in Corporate Governance – an international review.
Compact Power Amplifier With Bandpass Response and High Efficiency

This letter presents a novel high efficiency power amplifier (PA) with good bandpass responses. By designing a bandpass filter (BPF) with different load impedances to meet the requirement of PA, good bandpass responses can be exhibited. Compared with the classical cascaded PA and filter, the total size of the proposed design is greatly reduced. Meanwhile, the bandwidth is extended. Two transmission zeros are generated at the passband edges, resulting in high selectivity. For demonstration, a filter-integrated PA prototype is implemented. Both theoretical analysis and measured results are presented for validation.
TB vaccines: the paradigms they are a-shifting

Traditional roadblocks to effective TB control (e.g., lack of attention to the disease, lack of resources, antiquated diagnostic tests, lack of patient compliance with therapy and a huge reservoir of persistently infected individuals) have been compounded by the terrible synergy between TB and HIV, and the development of almost untreatable multiand extensively drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis [1]. Case-finding and chemotherapy employing the Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course strategy, and several promising new TB drugs currently in the pipeline, will undoubtedly continue to have a significant impact on TB incidence [2,3]. However, it is clear that an effective vaccine is essential if TB is to be controlled as rapidly as possible [4–6]. The urgency to license a new TB vaccine has driven a worldwide effort over the past 20 years involving basic scientists, public and private funding agencies, regulatory bodies, and disease control experts in highburden countries [7]. That effort has been shaped at various stages by several paradigms that reflected the current understanding of the type of vaccine that would be needed, the manner in which vaccines should be evaluated for efficacy in animal models, the process by which preclinical development of vaccines would occur, the design of clinical trials, and the public and private organizations that would participate in the process. Almost without exception, those paradigms have shifted as the understanding of vaccine-induced protection has improved, an appreciation for the biological relevance of certain animal models of TB has grown, new strategies for organizing and funding preclinical development and human trials have emerged, and the realities of testing and using TB vaccines in diverse high-burden populations have become apparent.
Victims of Care Drain and Transnational Partnering?

ABSTRACT The paper studies Slovak female elder care workers in Austria. It evaluates the relevance of the care drain metaphor using a representative survey of the carers. It asks two sets of questions: (1) How widespread is the care drain phenomenon? Does migration of elder care workers create care shortages in Slovakia? (2) How do care workers evaluate their employment setting? Is it influenced by experiencing care drain and/or transnational partnering? The higher average age of the care workers means that only a minority has small children in Slovakia. The potential for care drain is therefore limited. Moreover, very few have elderly family members in need of care. On the other hand, most live with partners in Slovakia, so transnational partnering problems could be expected. The average job evaluation of the care workers is highly positive and comparably more enthusiastic than job assessment of women employed in Slovakia. Care workers with small children or partners in Slovakia do not provide a less positive evaluation of the job or its impact on relationships within their families. However, higher earnings and relatively good health of the patient influence the evaluation positively. This focus on earnings and work conditions indicates that care work is probably more similar to other forms of labour migration than anticipated by the current approaches to female migration flows. Indices suggest that these findings could be valid beyond the studied case. A cautious application of the care drain metaphor in intra-EU migration where living standards between countries are not as divergent as between post industrial societies of the West and the Third world is advised.
Corporate Marginal Tax Rate, Tax Loss Carryforwards and Investment Functions - Empirical Analysis Using a Large German Panel Data Set

This study is the first empirical analysis to investigate the relationship between the investment behaviour of firms resident in Germany and the empirically determined marginal tax rates developed by John R. Graham. It is based on the Bundesbank's corporate balance sheet statistics for the period 1971-2002. In an autoregressive distributed lag model, the marginal tax rate is shown to be significant, with an elasticity of between 0.1 and 0.2. An error correction model does not produce any plausible results for the marginal tax rate. Graham's marginal tax rates are a complement to the methods typically used to determine the effective marginal tax rates and effective average tax rates.
Profile of retigabine‐induced neuronal apoptosis in the developing rat brain

Acute neonatal exposure to some, but not all, anticonvulsant drugs induces a profound increase in neuronal apoptosis in rats. Phenobarbital and phenytoin induce apoptosis at a therapeutically relevant dose range, lamotrigine and carbamazepine do so only at supratherapeutic doses or in polytherapy, and valproate does so even at subtherapeutic doses. Levetiracetam is devoid of pro‐apoptotic effects. Retigabine, a new‐generation drug, acts uniquely by enhancing the M‐type potassium current. Because its safety profile in developing animals is unstudied, we sought to determine if retigabine would induce apoptosis.
Economic analysis of marketing of major vegetables in varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh, India

India is second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in world. India produces about 14% of world's vegetables from 15% world's area. The vegetable productivity in India is less than the world average productivity. Nearly 30–40% vegetables were wastage during the supply chain i.e. reaching from producer to consumer. Most of the marketing of vegetables in India is done in unorganised sector and very little quantity is marketed through organised sector. Present study was an attempt to study the marketing channels and to examine the marketing efficiency of organized retail chain. The Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh was selected purposively for the present study. Spencer retail Bhelupur was selected purposively. A total of 45 farmers, 4 intermediaries, one retailer and 60 consumers were selected. Vegetables viz tomato, cabbage, pea, okra and brinjal were selected for the study. Among the organized supply chain i.e. channel II, the cost incurred per kg of vegetables was much lower than the cost incurred in the traditional supply chain i.e. channel I. In channel – I, the net return and marketing efficiency was higher for channel II than channel I for all the vegetables under study. At the same time organized supply chain was found to be smallest price spread. Hence organized supply chain (channel – I) was found more efficient as compared to unorganized supply chain (Channel – II). Hence it is advisable to the farmers to sell their produce through modern supply chain i.e. channel II as it is more efficient because the commodity was purchased directly from the producer. However due to APMC Act Spencer retail was not permitted to procure commodities directly from the farmers. Therefore it was suggested that policy reform should be done to facilitate direct marketing.
Endocrine and Behavioural Responses to Noise Stress:Comparison of Virgin and Lactating Female Ratsduring Non‐Disrupted Maternal Activity

The behavioural and endocrine responses to a 10 min white noise stress have been characterized in female virgin and undisturbed lactating Sprague‐Dawley rats. Animals were continuously video‐taped and frequent blood samples were collected using an automated sampling system. Noise stress caused hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) activation, as indicated by a rapid increase in plasma corticosterone and ACTH in the virgins: corticosterone concentrations peaked 20 min after initiation of the stress before declining rapidly back to basal concentrations. In contrast, noise stress had no significant effect on either plasma corticosterone or ACTH concentrations in the lactating animals. However, 72 h after weaning the corticosterone response of the ex‐lactating rats was of comparable magnitude, but longer duration to that seen in the virgins. Plasma prolactin concentrations were significantly higher in the lactating animals and declined in response to the noise whereas, a transient but reproducible increase was seen in the virgin group. In situ hybridization revealed a significantly lower basal expression of CRF mRNA in the paraventricular nucleus of lactating rats as compared to the virgins, but noise stress had no further effect. Virgin animals showed behavioural responses to the stress, including an increase in the total activity, exploratory behaviours (rearing) and displacement behaviours (grooming). Lactating animals also showed behavioural responses to the noise, but their activities were principally directed towards the pups. These data show that although lactating rats showed normal behavioural reactivity to a psychological stress they showed no statisitically significant activation of the HPA axis, suggesting a dissociation of behavioural and neuroendocrine responses to this mild stress.
Sympathetic neural overactivity in healthy humans after prolonged exposure to hypobaric hypoxia

Acute exposure to hypoxia causes chemoreflex activation of the sympathetic nervous system. During acclimatization to high altitude hypoxia, arterial oxygen content recovers, but it is unknown to what degree sympathetic activation is maintained or normalized during prolonged exposure to hypoxia. We therefore measured sympathetic nerve activity directly by peroneal microneurography in eight healthy volunteers (24 ± 2 years of age) after 4 weeks at an altitude of 5260 m (Chacaltaya, Bolivian Andes) and at sea level (Copenhagen). The subjects acclimatized well to altitude, but in every subject sympathetic nerve activity was highly elevated at altitude vs. sea level (48 ± 5 vs. 16 ± 3 bursts min−1, respectively, P < 0.05), coinciding with increased mean arterial blood pressure (87 ± 3 vs. 77 ± 2 mmHg, respectively, P < 0.05). To examine the underlying mechanisms, we administered oxygen (to eliminate chemoreflex activation) and saline (to reduce cardiopulmonary baroreflex deactivation). These interventions had minor effects on sympathetic activity (48 ± 5 vs. 38 ± 4 bursts min−1, control vs. oxygen + saline, respectively, P < 0.05). Moreover, sympathetic activity was still markedly elevated (37 ± 5 bursts min−1) when subjects were re‐studied under normobaric, normoxic and hypervolaemic conditions 3 days after return to sea level. In conclusion, acclimatization to high altitude hypoxia is accompanied by a striking and long‐lasting sympathetic overactivity. Surprisingly, chemoreflex activation by hypoxia and baroreflex deactivation by dehydration together could account for only a small part of this response, leaving the major underlying mechanisms unexplained.
Tensions of European governance: politicized bureaucracy and multiple accountability in the European Commission

The article proposes a neo-institutionalist perspective on the European Commission based on two lines of internal conflict: the Commission's need to be accountable simultaneously to the member states and to 'the citizens' ('multiple accountability') and its dual function of providing executive government and public administration ('politicized bureaucracy') for the European polity. These dimensions of conflict have created a multi-organization which combines features of four organizational ideal-types. Within the Commission the search for answers to the inherent tension between these conflicting organizational modes is different from one policy area to the next, and the overall balance is shifting over time. It is suggested that the study of the politicization of such institutionalized contradictions, the mechanisms developed for their resolution and the resultant organizational dynamics are a useful guide towards an improved understanding of the European Commission and the integration process at large.
Lasting or Latent Scars? Swedish Evidence on the Long‐Term Effects of Job Displacement

Recently improved Swedish register data have made it possible to remedy many weaknesses of previous research on displaced workers. Using linked employer‐employee data, we identify all workers displaced in 1987, due to an establishment closure, and follow them over both a predisplacement period of 4 years and a postdisplacement period stretching until 1999. We find that the displaced workers suffer both earnings losses and worsened labor‐market position not only during a transitory period of adjustment but also in the longer run. These longer‐run effects seem to be driven by an increased sensitivity to subsequent macroeconomic shocks.
Money, output, and income velocity

This paper attempts to assess empirically the contribution of three structural shocks – monetary, institutional (financial and fiscal), and technological – to output and velocity fluctuations in the national bank era and the post-1973 period. To identify these shocks we impose only long–run restrictions, derived from a monetary growth model. We find that higher money growth increases (decreases) velocity in the first (second) period, depending crucially on the resulting changes in the transactions frequency. Credit–enhancing financial or expansionary fiscal shocks have a permanent positive effect on velocity and a himp–shaped effect on output, whereas technological shocks cause velocity to decrease in the short run and output to move to a permanently higher level.
Lithium dilution cardiac output measurement: A clinical assessment of central venous and peripheral venous indicator injection*

ObjectiveThe lithium indicator dilution technique has been shown to measure cardiac output (CO) accurately by using central venous injection of lithium chloride (Li-CCO). This study aimed to compare the measurement of CO by using peripheral venous administration of lithium chloride (Li-PCO) with Li-CCO. DesignProspective, observational human study. SettingSurgical intensive care unit. PatientsThirty-one patients were studied after major surgery. All patients had arterial, central, and peripheral venous catheters. A total of 24 patients had pulmonary artery catheters. MeasurementsSerial measurements of Li-CCO and Li-PCO were made during hemodynamically stable conditions. CO was also measured using thermodilution (TDCO) when a pulmonary artery catheter was present. Data were analyzed by linear regression, the generalized estimating equation, and the comparison method described by Bland and Altman. Main ResultsThere were 93 Li-CCOs, 93 Li-PCOs, and 216 TDCOs recorded. The ranges of COs were similar: Li-CCO, 2.36–11.52 L/min (mean, 5.22 L/min; n = 31); Li-PCO, 1.63–9.99 L/min (mean, 5.22 L/min; n = 31), and TDCO, 3.28–10.4 L/min (mean, 5.75 L/min; n = 24). There was good linear correlation between Li-CCO and Li-PCO (R2 = .845). The mean difference for Li-CCO–Li-PCO was very small and insignificant (p = .97), and the limits of agreement were acceptable (mean difference ± sd, 0.0005 ± 0.64 L/min). The mean difference for Li-CCO–Li-PCO was smaller if the peripheral injection site was proximal rather than distal to the wrist (p = .053). Li-PCO and Li-CCO values were lower than simultaneously obtained TDCO measurements (Li-PCO–TDCO, −0.538 ± 0.95 L/min, p = .003; Li-CCO–TDCO, −0.526 ± 0.67 L/min, p = .0001). ConclusionsLi-PCO gives a measurement that agrees well with Li-CCO. Accuracy of Li-PCO is probably improved if a proximal arm vein is used. Li-PCO provides accurate measurements of CO without the risks of pulmonary artery or central venous catheterization.
The role of microparticles in the pathogenesis of SLE: a new look at an old paradigm

Winberg et al 1 present important new information on a story that began with the discovery of the lupus erythematosus (LE) cell phenomenon. As described in a truly landmark paper, Hargraves and colleagues established the existence of the LE cell phenomenon using bone marrow specimens from patients with SLE. The LE cell reflects the unique immune environment in SLE and is basically a cell nucleus that has been opsonised by an ANA and complement and is then engulfed by a neutrophil.2 The key players for this phenomenon (nucleus, ANA, complement, phagocyte) remain at the centre of lupus research today, a rare example of a paradigm that has barely shifted or wobbled during the course of many decades. In the study of the LE cell, the nucleus has received much less attention than the other players which, after all, are usual blood components. In ordinary circumstances, the nucleus resides within the safe confines of the cell; with the exception of physiological enucleation during red blood cell maturation, nuclei do not transit into the extracellular milieu. In contrast, nuclear material including chromatin and its DNA and histone components can readily leave cells during the pounding and crushing of cells as they die.3 In the current model of lupus pathogenesis, excessive cell death or insufficient dead cell clearance leads to a large flux of nuclear material into the blood to form immune complexes (ICs) or drive autoreactivity.4 Despite much peering into microscopes, investigators have produced little decisive evidence for the extracellular translocation of nuclei during cell death. Studies indicate that nuclear material rather than exiting the cell as an intact nucleus, undergoes relocation, rearrangement and repackaging to form apoptotic bodies and microparticles. An apoptotic body is the collapsed remnant of an apoptotic cell or a large fragment that has broken off as apoptotic …
What changes energy consumption? Prices and public pressures

Policymakers often seek to limit energy prices following market shocks, and instead issue public appeals to reduce demand. This article presents new evidence on how price changes and conservation appeals affect energy consumption, using household‐level data from California's energy crisis during 2000 and 2001. The evidence indicates that when policymakers cap energy prices following market shocks, they preclude substantial—and quite rapid—reductions in energy use. The data also reveal that conservation appeals and informational programs can produce sustained reductions in energy demand.
Circadian rhythmicity mediated by temporal regulation of the activity of p38 MAPK

Circadian clocks are composed of central oscillators, input pathways that transduce external information to the oscillators, and output pathways that allow the oscillators to temporally regulate cellular processes. Little is known about the output pathways. In this study, we show that the Neurospora crassa osmosensing MAPK pathway, essential for osmotic stress responses, is a circadian output pathway that regulates daily rhythms in the expression of downstream genes. Rhythmic activation of the highly conserved stress-activated p38-type MAPK [Osmotically Sensitive-2 (OS-2)] by the N. crassa circadian clock allows anticipation and preparation for hyperosmotic stress and desiccation that begin at sunrise. These results suggest a conserved role for MAPK pathways in circadian rhythmicity.