Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Arterial stiffness as determinant of increased amino terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels in individuals with and without cardiovascular disease – the Rotterdam Study

Objective Large artery stiffening has adverse effects on cardiac structure and function and, therefore, may be associated with elevated circulating levels of amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). Methods In a large community-dwelling older population (n = 6211, mean age 69.2 years), serum NT-proBNP, brachial pulse pressure (PP) and carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) were measured. Results In individuals without cardiovascular disease (CVD), median NT-proBNP was 6.7 pmol/l in men (n = 2073) and 10.1 pmol/l in women (n = 3085) (P < 0.001). In these individuals, indices of arterial stiffness correlated with NT-proBNP with beta-coefficients for brachial PP and cfPWV of 0.315 and 0.255 in men and 0.233 and 0.232 in women (all P < 0.001). After multivariable adjustment (age, weight, height, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, smoking, diabetes, estimated glomerular filtration rate, total and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and use of lipid-lowering and antihypertensive medication), these associations remained significant for brachial PP and cfPWV in men and for brachial PP in women. In multivariable-adjusted models, brachial PP explained 20.3% and cfPWV 10.7% of the variation of NT-proBNP in men and, respectively, 10.8 and 9.4% in women. In patients with prevalent CVD, indices of arterial stiffness and NT-proBNP were unrelated in multivariable-adjusted models. Conclusion Our findings show that arterial stiffness is independently associated with elevated NT-proBNP levels in individuals without prevalent CVD. The association between vascular stiffness and NT-proBNP is stronger in men than in women and absent in individuals with prevalent CVD.
Determinants of the Development of Fixed Income Mutual Funds in Brazil [Condicionantes do Crescimento dos Fundos Mutuos de Renda Fixa no Brasil]

The aim of this research was to identify the determinants of the development of the fixed income mutual funds in Brazil through the study of net money flows, from February 1995 to September 2004. The data were analyzed by multiple regression analysis of monthly series. Looking for robustness of the results, the classic OLS estimators were compared with restricted M-estimators. The significant determinants were: the excess of return in relation to the savings account rate, the growth of the per capita GDP, the lower interest rates and the less volatility or risk. The introduction of valuation at market prices for fixed income assets, in circumstances of instability in the national and international markets motivated important withdraws in 2002. Furthermore, for investors of exclusive funds were identified indicators of larger sophistication. These results permit to define strategies for managing these institutions.
The bark is the bite: International organizations and blacklisting

ABSTRACT This article argues that public blacklisting by international organizations can be an effective means of bringing about compliance in otherwise recalcitrant states. This contention is examined in light of overlapping campaigns by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Financial Action Task Force to pressure targeted states to adopt costly financial reforms. In a constructivist vein, blacklisting is held to be a form of speech act that changed the world by damaging states' reputations among investors, and thus produced pressure to comply through actual or anticipated capital flight. To be removed from blacklists, thereby preventing future economic damage, those targeted have had to comply with stringent regulatory standards mandated by these international organizations. Evidence is taken from interviews, press accounts, official documents and quantitative data relating to seven affected tax havens as well as Austria and Switzerland.
The Influence of Industrial Relations Factors on U.S. Foreign Direct Investment Abroad

Although managers of multinational companies have identified labor practices and regulations, access to skilled labor, and similar factors as important considerations in foreign direct investment decision-making, few studies have empirically examined the influence of industrial relations factors on foreign direct investment. Applying a transaction costs framework to U.S. Department of Commerce data published in 1992, the author examines the influence of several key industrial relations variables on U.S. foreign direct investment across nine industries and nineteen OECD-member countries. Across the countries studied, U.S. foreign direct investment was negatively affected by the presence of high levels of union penetration, centralized collective bargaining structures, stiff government restrictions on layoffs, and pervasive contract extension policies; it was positively affected by high levels of education and policies requiring works councils.
Innovation and collaboration in the geographic information systems (GIS) industry: evidence from Canada and the United States

This paper examines the role of collaborative technical activity in the innovation performance of Canadian and US companies in the geographic information systems (GIS) industry. This young but rapidly growing sector produces specialised hardware and software for cartographic applications (computer mapping). Evidence from a sample of 384 companies suggests that innovation is strongly dependent upon in-house R&D. The results also suggest that a firms propensity to operate within a collaborative network varies directly with its R&D-intensity. A description of the main benefits and costs of collaboration is presented. Although there is no statistical association between innovation and the incidence of external collaboration, the evidence suggests that R&D partnerships contribute to the innovation process in a number of important ways. The key contribution lies in the speed of product commercialisation. A related finding is that collaborators tend to generate radical innovations more frequently than less successful and/or non-collaborators.
Correlation between whole tumor size and solid component size on high-resolution computed tomography in the prediction of the degree of pathologic malignancy and the prognostic outcome in primary lung adenocarcinoma

Background The presence of ground glass opacity (GGO) on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is well known to be pathologically closely associated with adenocarcinoma in situ. Purpose To determine whether it is more useful to evaluate the whole tumor size or only the solid component size to predict the pathologic high-grade malignancy and the prognostic outcome in lung adenocarcinoma. Material and Methods Using HRCT data of 232 patients with adenocarcinoma who underwent curative resection, we retrospectively measured the whole tumor and solid component sizes with lung window setting (WTLW and SCLW) and whole tumor sizes with a mediastinal window setting (WTMW). Results There was significant correlation between the WTLW and the measurements of pathological whole tumor (pWT) (r = 0.792, P < 0.0001). The SCLW and WTLW values significantly correlated with the area of pathological invasive component (pIVS) (r = 0.762, P < 0.0001 and r = 0.771, P < 0.0001, respectively). The receiver operating characteristics area under the curve for WTLW, SCLW, and WTMW used to identify lymph node metastasis or lymphatic or vascular invasion were 0.693, 0.817, and 0.824, respectively. Kaplan-Meier curves of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were better divided according to SCLW and WTMW, compared with WTLW. Multivariate analysis of DFS and OS revealed that WTMW was an independent prognostic factor (HR = 0.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.58–0.90, P = 0.004 and HR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.57–0.96, P = 0.022, respectively). Conclusion The predictive values of the solid tumor size visualized on HRCT especially in the mediastinal window for pathologic high-grade malignancy and prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma were greater than those of whole tumor size.
The Structural Determinants of External Vulnerability

The authors examine empirically how domestic structural characteristics related to openness and product- and factor-market flexibility influence the impact that terms-of-trade shocks can have on aggregate output. For this purpose, they apply an econometric methodology based on semi-structural vector auto-regressions to a panel of 90 countries with annual observations for the period 1974-2000. Using this methodology, the authors isolate and standardize the shocks, estimate their impact on GDP, and examine how this impact depends on the domestic conditions outlined above. They find that larger trade openness magnifies the output impact of external shocks, particularly the negative ones, while improvements in labor market flexibility and financial openness reduce their impact. Domestic financial depth has a more nuanced role in stabilizing the economy. It helps reduce the impact of external shocks particularly in environments of high exposure-that is, when trade and financial openness are high, firm entry is unrestricted, and labor markets are rigid.
Postoperative Delirium in the Elderly: Risk Factors and Outcomes

Objective:The purpose of this study was to describe the natural history, identify risk factors, and determine outcomes for the development of postoperative delirium in the elderly. Background:Postoperative delirium is a common and deleterious complication in geriatric patients. Methods:Subjects older than 50 years scheduled for an operation requiring a postoperative intensive care unit admission were recruited. After preoperative informed written consent, enrolled subjects had baseline cognitive and functional assessments. Postoperatively, subjects were assessed daily for delirium using the confusion assessment method-intensive care unit. Patients were also followed for outcomes. Results:During the study period, 144 patients were enrolled before major abdominal (40%), thoracic (53%), or vascular (7%) operations. The overall incidence of delirium was 44% (64/144). The average time to onset of delirium was 2.1 ± 0.9 days and the mean duration of delirium was 4.0 ± 5.1 days. Several preoperative variables were associated with an increased risk of delirium including older age (P < 0.001), hypoalbuminemia (P < 0.001), impaired functional status (P < 0.001), pre-existing dementia (P < 0.001), and pre-existing comorbidities (P < 0.001). In a multivariable logistic regression model, pre-existing dementia remains the strongest risk factor for the development of postoperative delirium. Worse outcomes, including increased length of stay (P < 0.001), postdischarge institutionalization (P < 0.001), and 6 month mortality (P = 0.001), occurred in subjects who developed delirium. Conclusions:In the current study, delirium occurred in 44% of elderly patients after a major operation. Pre-existing cognitive dysfunction was the strongest predictor of the development of postoperative delirium. Outcomes, including an increased rate of 6 month mortality, were worse in patients who developed postoperative delirium.
The Comovements of Stock Markets in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic

In this paper, we study the regional and global integration of stock markets in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. We estimate a vector autoregression with a multivariate GARCH component and perform a variety of diagnostic tests. Our main empirical result is the existence of limited interaction: in returns we identify both regional and global shocks, but innovations to volatility have a primarily regional character. We document low correlations to international markets and discuss the economic significance of the inter-market dynamics. Copyright @ 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Political Economy of Fiscal Policy After EMU

This paper considers the implications for fiscal policy of European Monetary Unification. Following an introduction, Section II describes and critiques the fiscal provisions of the Maastricht Treaty on Economic and Monetary Union. Section III considers the case for formal fiscal restraints and presents evidence on their effectiveness. Section IV presents a parallel analysis of the debate over fiscal federalism.
Unproductive Investment and Rent Extraction

This paper proposes a simple case of moral hazard in the credit market. A potential firm–entrepreneur needs outside financing to start up one potentially productive project. This agent has some initial illiquid endowment and is assumed to choose the amount of collateral to secure the financial debt. The model shows that, in the case of a monopolistic moneylender, only the minimum part of the endowment is offered as collateral and so invested in the productive sector. This occurs despite the fact that the loan received and, as a consequence, the final product will be the lowest possible. With perfectly competitive banks, instead, it is shown that it is possible to reach the first‐best outcome.
What Makes Firm-Based Vocational Training Schemes Successful? The Role of Commitment

This paper studies a possible market failure in the firm-based vocational training market: training may be too complex to be specified in a contract so that it is legally enforceable, resulting in the inability of firms to commit to training provision. We present a model of firm provided training and show that training is substantially lower in the no commitment than in the commitment case. Thus, firm-based vocational training schemes are more successful in countries where commitment to training provision is more widespread. (JEL J24, L25, M12, M53)
Food and nutritional safety of hospitalized patients under treatment with enteral nutrition therapy in the Jequitinhonha Valley, Brazil.

UNLABELLED The Enteral Nutrition Therapy (ENT) has been widely used in hospital and home care assistance. However, research works are needed to make this technique more efficient and cheaper. OBJECTIVE Evaluate the nutritional quality of handmade enteral diets used in a charity hospital in the Jequitinhonha Valley, Brazil, and propose qualitative and quantitative adjustments, when necessary, and compare the data available in tables of chemical composition of foods with the data achieved by laboratory analyses. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was carried out in partnership with a charity organization of the region and the Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, where the collection of the handmade enteral diets was performed. The analyses of the physical-chemical and centesimal composition of 36 samples of diets were carried out in the laboratories of the university. RESULTS It was observed that the daily energy offer of the diets was below the recommended standards and presented a percentage distribution different from that estimated for patients receiving ENT. Besides, it can be seen that the nutrient values of the data achieved in laboratory do not agree with those available in tables of food chemical composition. CONCLUSIONS Significant losses of nutrients were verified during the processing and preparation of handmade enteral diets. It challenges nutritionists to standardize these diets and corroborates the relevance of new studies to determine the nutritional content of handmade enteral diets, since these diets have been widely used in poor regions of Brazil and in other countries.
Electromagnetic–Mechanical Design of Synchronous Reluctance Rotors With Fine Features

This paper explores the tradeoff between the electromagnetic and mechanical performances with regard to the design of a synchronous reluctance machine rotor with fine features in the lamination profile—the analyzed machine consists of four rotor poles and its stator is equipped with single tooth coils. The change in the electromagnetic characteristics of the ${d}$ - and ${q}$ -axis reactances is explored for variation in radial and tangential rib widths and the impact of increased rib width on the saliency ratio of the machine. It is shown that the increased radial and tangential rib widths impair electromagnetic performance, with the tangential rib having the most pronounced effect on performance in this rotor design. The mechanical performance of the design is also explored in a similar manner, where it is shown that the high stress concentration in the rotor radial and tangential ribs limits the maximum speed of the machine in the field weakening region. The radial rib is found to have the dominant impact on supporting the flux guides. It is shown that the prototyped machine can achieve good electromagnetic performance while maintaining mechanical integrity up to a 25% overspeed of 10 000 r/min with features as small as 0.3 mm. Additionally, the challenges associated with manufacturing, selecting a higher rotor pole number, and the possibility of mechanical failure are also discussed in the context of electromagnetic–mechanical design of such rotors, with important avenues of further research suggested.
Request efficient channel estimation method for MIMO passive RFID systems

In this paper, we propose a new channel estimation method for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) passive radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. The basic idea consists in applying, at the reader side, a regularized least squares algorithm on the preamble of the tag response in which the information data is superimposed to pilot symbols. We derive a solution for the regularized optimization problem and a closed-form expression of the mean square error (MSE) for the proposed method. The performance of our approach is compared with the conventional framed slotted aloha (FSA) and an existing pilot estimation approach for different numbers of tags and receive antennas. The results show that the proposed method exhibits reduced total number of requests needed for successful identification in a dense tag population scenario and provides robustness against pilot contamination effect as well as good channel estimation performance.
Promotion tournaments and white collar careers: evidence from Williams Deacon's Bank, 1890–1941

This paper uses a unique historical dataset constructed from the payroll records of Williams Deacon’s Bank to examine career structures in a white collar firm. We examine promotions from the level of clerk to branch manager in the context of the Bank’s strong internal labour market. There is evidence the Bank used promotion tournaments with returns to promotion that were inversely related to the probability of promotion. In expectation these returns were relatively constant over an individual’s career. There is also evidence that the Bank compensated individuals with pay rises for frequent lateral moves and even demotions. Such moves were designed to discourage dishonest behaviour.
Suicide among Psychiatric In-Patients with Schizophrenia in an Australian Mental Hospital

Psychiatric in-patient suicides are associated with schizophrenia. In this paper, 62 suicides in patients with schizophrenia, over a 21-year period in a large psychiatric hospital in Melbourne, Australia, were examined. The characteristics, including demographic and clinical data, for the suicides were compared with a comparison group of 22 ‘alive’ inpatients with schizophrenia. Suicide among in-patients with schizophrenia was associated with previous deliberate self-harm, a greater number of episodes of previous deliberate self-harm, pre-admission and intra-admission suicidal thoughts, intra-admission suicidal attempts, fluctuating suicidal ideation, longer length of stay, a greater number of ward transfers, and prescription of a greater number of neuroleptics and antidepressants. Over 40% of suicides occurred after absconding from hospital and a similar number during periods of approved leave. Violent methods (including jumping in front of trains, trams and road traffic, jumping off buildings, hanging and drowning) were most frequently used. It is concluded that psychiatric units should be developed away from readily available methods of suicide. In-patients at high risk should be observed carefully to avoid absconding and suicide. Suicide risk should be examined carefully in patients prior to approving leave, particularly if they have fluctuating suicidal ideation.
Auditors as Regulatory Actors: The Role of Auditors in Banking Regulation in Switzerland

This paper investigates the long-standing Swiss dualistic approach to banking supervision, whereby banks' external auditors report not only to shareholders under company legislation but also report to, and undertake work for, the banking regulator under banking legislation. The dual role raises the issue of whether auditors are sufficiently independent of management to act fairly with respect to both shareholders and supervisors. In contrast, recent literature and policy-making on regulation advocates the need to close the distance between regulators and those regulated, and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has advocated a closer relationship between banking supervisors and banks' external auditors. The paper investigates the dual role by providing empirical evidence from interviews undertaken with Swiss audit partners, and analysis of documentary material from the Swiss banking regulator and IMF. The paper concludes inter alia that the Swiss dualistic system ‘works’ because it is supported by a layered regulatory approach at audit firm, national and international levels to ensure and safeguard auditor independence and competence. Whether such a system would work elsewhere depends on national factors such as conceptions of the nature of corporate governance and of the state, and prevailing views on private actors undertaking public roles.
New efficient RNS-to-weighted decoders for conjugate-pair-moduli residue number systems

New efficient residue-to-weighted converters for multi-moduli residue number systems (RNS) based on sets {2/sup n1/-1, 2/sup n1/+1, 2/sup n2/-1, 2/sup n2/+1, . , 2/sup nL/-1, 2/sup nL/+1} are presented. The moduli 2/sup n/-1 and 2/sup n/+1 are called conjugates of each other. The benefits offered by multi-moduli RNS processors relying on sets with pairs of conjugate moduli are: (1) large dynamic ranges, (2) fast and balanced RNS arithmetic, (3) simple and efficient RNS processing hardware, and (4) efficient weighted-to-RNS and RNS-to-weighted converters. The new converters presented in this paper are hardware-efficient since all the modulo adders required by them are adders mod(2/sup n/-1) which can easily be implemented as 1's complement adders. Furthermore, the largest such modulo adder is an adder modulo the square root of the system's dynamic range instead of modulo the entire dynamic range.
A Kinesin-like Motor Inhibits Microtubule Dynamic Instability

The motility of molecular motors and the dynamic instability of microtubules are key dynamic processes for mitotic spindle assembly and function. We report here that one of the mitotic kinesins that localizes to chromosomes, Xklp1 from Xenopus laevis, could inhibit microtubule growth and shrinkage. This effect appeared to be mediated by a structural change in the microtubule lattice. We also found that Xklp1 could act as a fast, nonprocessive, plus end–directed molecular motor. The integration of the two properties, motility and inhibition of microtubule dynamics, in one molecule emphasizes the versatile properties of kinesin family members.