Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What Really Happened to Thai Wage Rates During the East Asian Financial Crisis

Comprising original and never-before-published papers by distinguished economists, this book offers insights about lessons that were or should have been learned from recent outbreaks of such crises in East Asia and elsewhere. Recent Financial Crises also presents a set of econometric studies of issues such as labor market behavior, investment and productivity, and exchange rate adjustments.
In Situ Quantification of Electronic Short Circuits in PEM Fuel Cell Stacks

There is a need for increasing the durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems. Membrane failure is usually generated by a chemical attack led by peroxide radical species. The chemical attack promotes pinhole formation that ultimately induces the shutdown of the fuel cell. An electronic short circuit between the anode and the cathode through the membrane has also been identified as a failure mode. However, the current resulting from H2 crossover is estimated to be an order of magnitude larger than the electronic current. As a consequence, the electronic short circuit is often disregarded. In the present work, we revealed numerous local hotspots in pristine membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) that are sensitive to short circuits. Catalyst layer heterogeneities were found responsible for these hotspots. In use, these flaws do not directly impact the global performance but may induce premature degradation. With the use of an electrical passive technique, one can identify the electronic short-circuit resistance of membranes simply by charging and discharging the double-layer capacitor of the MEA. The integration of this technique into fuel cell systems was possible, and measurements were performed at different ageing times. They revealed a gradual increase in the number of cells with short circuit annunciating the failure of the entire stack.
A Survey on Routing and Data Dissemination in Opportunistic Mobile Social Networks

Opportunistic mobile social networks (MSNs) are modern paradigms of delay tolerant networks that consist of mobile users with social characteristics. The users in MSNs communicate with each other to share data objects. In this setting, humans are the carriers of mobile devices, hence their social features such as movement patterns, similarities, and interests can be exploited to design efficient data forwarding algorithms. In this paper, an overview of routing and data dissemination issues in the context of opportunistic MSNs is presented, with focus on (1) MSN characteristics, (2) human mobility models, (3) dynamic community detection methods, and (4) routing and data dissemination protocols. Firstly, characteristics of MSNs which lead to the exposure of patterns of interaction among mobile users are examined. Secondly, properties of human mobility models are discussed and recently proposed mobility models are surveyed. Thirdly, community detection and evolution analysis algorithms are investigated. Then, a comparative review of state-of-the-art routing and data dissemination algorithms for MSNs is presented, with special attention paid to critical issues like context-awareness and user selfishness. Based on the literature review, some important open issues are finally discussed.
Ethnic and gender discrimination in the private rental housing market in Finland: A field experiment

Ethnic and gender discrimination in a variety of markets has been documented in several populations. We conducted an online field experiment to examine ethnic and gender discrimination in the private rental housing market in Finland. We sent 1459 inquiries regarding 800 apartments. We compared responses to standardized apartment inquiries including fictive Arabic-sounding, Finnish-sounding or Swedish-sounding female or male names. We found evidence of discrimination against Arabic-sounding names and male names. Inquiries including Arabic-sounding male names had the lowest probability of receiving a response, receiving a response to about 16% of the inquiries made, while Finnish-sounding female names received a response to 42% of the inquires. We did not find any evidence of the landlord’s gender being associated with the discrimination pattern. The findings suggest that both ethnic and gender discrimination occur in the private rental housing market in Finland.
Comparison of DWI and 18F-FDG PET/CT for assessing preoperative N-staging in gastric cancer: evidence from a meta-analysis

The diagnostic values of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) for N-staging of gastric cancer (GC) were identified and compared. After a systematic search to identify relevant articles, meta-analysis was used to summarize the sensitivities, specificities, and areas under curves (AUCs) for DWI and PET/CT. To better understand the diagnostic utility of DWI and PET/CT for N-staging, the performance of multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) was used as a reference. Fifteen studies were analyzed. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and AUC with 95% confidence intervals of DWI were 0.79 (0.73–0.85), 0.69 (0.61–0.77), and 0.81 (0.77–0.84), respectively. For PET/CT, the corresponding values were 0.52 (0.39–0.64), 0.88 (0.61–0.97), and 0.66 (0.62–0.70), respectively. Comparison of the two techniques revealed DWI had higher sensitivity and AUC, but no difference in specificity. DWI exhibited higher sensitivity but lower specificity than MDCT, and 18F-FDG PET/CT had lower sensitivity and equivalent specificity. Overall, DWI performed better than 18F-FDG PET/CT for preoperative N-staging in GC. When the efficacy of MDCT was taken as a reference, DWI represented a complementary imaging technique, while 18F-FDG PET/CT had limited utility for preoperative N-staging.
Trophic Responses of the Pancreas Differ in Aging Rats

We previously have shown that the response of pancreatic lipase and amylase to changes in diet composition is altered in senescent rats. The present study was designed to determine if the trophic response to a defined gastrointestinal peptide stimulus differed in 3-month (young) and 27-month (aging) Fischer rats. Caerulein-secretin, administered every 8 h for 7 days, induced pancreatic hypertrophy and hyperplasia as judged by increases in pancreatic weight, protein, and DNA content in both groups. A significant increase also occurred in the content of trypsinogen, amylase, lipase and the polyamines, putrescine, spermine, and spermidine. To quantify differences in the trophic response between young and aging rats, the ratios of data in the treated animals relative to that observed in controls were determined. Pancreatic weight, protein content, and protein DNA ratio increased significantly more in young than in aging treated animals. DNA also increased more but did not reach significance. Pancreatic trypsinogen and lipase content increased significantly more in younger animals, whereas amylase responses were not different between the two groups. Stimulation of pancreatic putrescine and spermidine was also greater in young than in aged animals. We conclude that trophic responses of the pancreas are altered in senescent rats.
Efficacy of Linezolid Alone or in Combination with Vancomycin for Treatment of Experimental Endocarditis Due to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

ABSTRACT The levels of effectiveness of linezolid, vancomycin, and the combination of linezolid and vancomycin were compared in the rabbit model of endocarditis caused by a clinical methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolate. Vancomycin alone was more effective than either linezolid alone or the combination of linezolid and vancomycin for the treatment of endocarditis due to MRSA.
Biochemical and Molecular Characterization of a Novel UDP-Glucose:Anthocyanin 3′-O-Glucosyltransferase, a Key Enzyme for Blue Anthocyanin Biosynthesis, from Gentian1

Gentian (Gentiana triflora) blue petals predominantly contain an unusually blue and stable anthocyanin, delphinidin 3-O-glucosyl-5-O-(6-O-caffeoyl-glucosyl)-3′-O-(6-O-caffeoyl-glucoside) (gentiodelphin). Glucosylation and the subsequent acylation of the 3′-hydroxy group of the B-ring of anthocyanins are important to the stabilization of and the imparting of bluer color to these anthocyanins. The enzymes and their genes involved in these modifications of the B-ring, however, have not been characterized, purified, or isolated to date. In this study, we purified a UDP-glucose (Glc):anthocyanin 3′-O-glucosyltransferase (3′GT) enzyme to homogeneity from gentian blue petals and isolated a cDNA encoding a 3′GT based on the internal amino acid sequences of the purified 3′GT. The deduced amino acid sequence indicates that 3′GT belongs to the same subfamily as a flavonoid 7-O-glucosyltransferase from Schutellaria baicalensis in the plant glucosyltransferase superfamily. Characterization of the enzymatic properties using the recombinant 3′GT protein revealed that, in contrast to most of flavonoid glucosyltransferases, it has strict substrate specificity: 3′GT specifically glucosylates the 3′-hydroxy group of delphinidin-type anthocyanins containing Glc groups at 3 and 5 positions. The enzyme specifically uses UDP-Glc as the sugar donor. The specificity was confirmed by expression of the 3′GT cDNA in transgenic petunia (Petunia hybrida). This is the first report of the gene isolation of a B-ring-specific glucosyltransferase of anthocyanins, which paves the way to modification of flower color by production of blue anthocyanins.
Phonophobia after stapedectomy.

Phonophobia is defined as an abnormal discomfort for suprathreshold sound which does not annoy healthy individuals. This study has demonstrated that phonophobia is present in all cases after stapedectomy, and that the symptoms disappear within a year. The cause of phonophobia has been discussed, and lack of central nervous inhibition due to inactivity is found to be the most reasonable cause.
Molecular cloning of a serine proteinase inhibitor from Brugia malayi

The antigens produced by the infective-stage larvae of filarial parasites are potentially important targets for a protective immune response. A major impediment to studies on the biochemistry and molecular biology of antigens from infective larvae is a lack of parasite material. By employing a reverse transcription PCR-based strategy which exploited the presence of a conserved 22-nucleotide spliced leader sequence present at the 5' end of a proportion of nematode transcripts, spliced leader-containing cDNAs were amplified from the late-vector-stage larvae of the filarial nematode Brugia malayi. A major 1.4-kb PCR product was cloned into pBluescript. One of the PCR cDNA clones (BmY8) contained a 1,287-bp insert that encoded the first member of the serine proteinase inhibitor (serpin) superfamily to be described from nematodes. Reverse transcription PCR analysis of RNA isolated from different developmental stages of the parasite showed that transcription of the B. malayi serpin (Bmserpin) begins between days 8 and 9 of larval development within the insect vector and continues through to the adult and microfilarial stages. In immunoblot analyses of B. malayi somatic extracts, the native protein was estimated to have a molecular weight of 44,000. In immunoblots using excretory-secretory products from infective- and fourth-stage larvae, a single band with an estimated molecular weight of 75,000 was detected. A quantitative analysis of somatic extracts demonstrated that infective-stage larvae contained 10- to 16-fold-more Bmserpin than adults or microfilariae. Bmserpin was immunogenic in gerbils and was recognized strongly by sera from immunized animals. Bmserpin, which has the potential for modifying host defense responses, may play an important role in parasite survival during the early phase of vertebrate-stage development.
Selection for an optimum growth curve.

Growth and development can be regarded as a stochastic process in continuous time. Moreover, in some situations of primary production, certain growth patterns may be more economical, or otherwise more desirable, than others. In this paper an attempt is made to develop techniques which could be used to exert some selection pressure for optimal growth curves. A discrete solution to this problem is suggested which should be relatively easy to apply in practice. However, the complete discussion of the situation requires the introduction of certain integral equations to replace the usual matrix equations of the classical theory. The conventional phenotypic and additive genetic covariance matrices give way to continuous kernels and, as expected, it is found that the continuous and the discrete theories are similar. The usual case of unrestricted selection is also developed for the continuous time model and the selection of several characters towards respective optimal curves simultaneously is also treated. Two different numerical procedures for solving the integral equations are proposed.
Company Directors' Liability for Insolvent Trading

Edited by Ian Ramsay, this book is a collection of essays that examines the liability of directors for insolvent trading. In addition to legal analysis of insolvent trading provisons in several countries, theoretical perspectives on insolvent trading are also provided. The chapters of the book are: Part I - Introduction 1. An Overview of the Insolvent Trading Debate - Ian M Ramsay Part II - Theoretical Perspectives on Insolvent Trading 2. Corporate Directors' Personal Liability for "Insolvent Trading" in Australia, "Reckless Trading" in New Zealand and "Wrongful Trading" in England: A Recipe for Timid Directors, Hamstrung Controlling Shareholders and Skittish Lenders - Dale A Oesterle 3. The Economic and Strategic Structure of Insolvent Trading - Michael J Whincop Part III - Insolvent Trading in Australia 4. Insolvent Trading in Australia: The Legal Principles - Niall F Coburn 5. The Recovery of Employee Entitlements in Insolvency - David B Noakes 6. Why are There so Few Insolvent Trading Cases? - Abe Herzberg Part IV - International Perspectives on Insolvent Trading 7. Directors' Liability for Trading While Insolvent: A Critical Review of the New Zealand Regime - David Goddard 8. Civil Liability of Directors for Company Debts Under English Law - Jenny Payne and Dan Prentice
Streptococcal Pharyngitis: Impact of a High-Sensitivity Antigen Test on Physician Outcome

ABSTRACT The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the availability of results from a high-sensitivity, rapid test for group A streptococci (Strep A OIA; BioStar, Inc., Boulder, Colo.) improves physician outcome. The study population included 465 consecutive patients with symptoms of acute pharyngitis seen in two outpatient clinics in a large suburban medical center; one clinic, a walk-in clinic (WIC), primarily saw adult patients, and one clinic, a pediatric and adolescent medicine clinic (PED), primarily saw pediatric patients. We measured improvement in physician outcome by comparing physician intent for prescribing an antibiotic based on clinical impression with physician practice once the results of the Strep A OIA were known. Based upon intent, the physicians seeing WIC patients (WIC physicians) would have prescribed an appropriate antibiotic course for 42% of patients with cultures positive for group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (GABHS) and 61% of patients with cultures negative for GABHS. After receiving the results of the Strep A OIA, WIC physicians prescribed an appropriate antibiotic course for 81% of patients with positive cultures and 72% of patients with negative cultures. Based upon intent, the physicians seeing PED patients (PED physicians) would have prescribed an appropriate antibiotic course for 35% of patients with positive cultures and 77% of patients with negative cultures. After receiving the results of the Strep A OIA, PED physicians prescribed an appropriate antibiotic course for 90% of patients with positive cultures and 81% of patients with negative cultures. Based on a 14.5% prevalence of GABHS among WIC patients, Strep A OIA improved the overall WIC physician outcome from 58 to 74%. Based on a 31.5% prevalence of GABHS among PED patients, Strep A OIA improved the PED physician outcome from 64 to 84%. Had Strep A OIA alone guided therapeutic choice, physicians would have prescribed an appropriate antibiotic course for 95% of the patients at the time of the initial encounter. We conclude that the use of Strep A OIA improves physician outcome.
Pharmacotherapy prior to and in acute ischaemic stroke. The use of pharmacotherapy and drug-associated outcomes in real world practice - findings from the Polish Hospital Stroke Registry.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Stroke is a preventable disease and acute ischaemic stroke can be effectively treated. Specific pharmacotherapy is recommended in either prevention or acute ischemic stroke treatment. We aimed to evaluate the use and the early and late outcomes impact of drugs administered before and in acute ischaemic stroke in a real world practice. MATERIAL AND METHODS Ischaemic stroke patients hospitalized between 1st March 2007 and 29th February 2008 and reported in Polish Hospital Stroke Registry were analysed. Fully anonymous data were collected with standardized, web-based questionnaire with authorized access. Multivariate regression models were used to adjust for case-mix and evaluate the impact of drugs used prior to or in acute ischaemic stroke on outcomes. The early outcomes were defined as in-hospital mortality or poor outcome (death or dependency - modified Rankin Scale  3) at hospital discharge, while late outcomes covered one-year survival. RESULTS A total number of 26 153 ischaemic stroke patients (mean age: 71.8 years; females: 51.6%) was reported. The ana-lysis of pharmacotherapy showed that preventive use of hypo-tensive agents, anticoagulants in atrial fibrillation, antiplatelets and statins is inadequate. Regression models confirmed some expected drug benefits and additionally revealed that antihypertensive drugs or aspirin used prior to stroke and oral anticoagulants or statins used in hospital were associated with better stroke outcome. CONCLUSIONS The prevention of ischaemic stroke needs to be monitored and improved. Evidence-based treatment of acute ischaemic stroke requires further promotion. The benefits of acute ischaemic stroke treatment with statins require to be confirmed in randomized controlled settings.
On Selecting Unlevered Portfolios, and Financial Intermediation

In this paper, the individual investor selects an unlevered portfolio of financial assets by balan cing his opportunity to lend at riskless interest rate P against the expected return of risky alternative Q, apart from the determination of Q itself.1 P, being the "riskless rate," may be the current yield on Treasury bills, in the minds of some in vestors. For those contemplating financial in termediation, P can be the highest available rate on a particular maturity and denomination of savings instruments at an insured commercial bank, mutual savings bank, savings and loan association, or credit union. Here, the term "riskless" is somewhat arbitrary itself, since Treasury bills and insured savings deposits are es sentially riskless in terms of dollar returns yet not riskless with respect to changes in the purchasing power of the dollar. Consider the investor allocating proportion a, 0 < a < 1, of his portfolio to P, and the remainder, (1? a), to Q.2 This paper models the precise deter mination of proportions a and (1 ? a), the relative proportions of an investor's unlevered portfolio allocated to riskless and risky financial assets,
Lack of pancreatic body and tail in HNF1B mutation carriers

Aims Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1B (HNF1B) gene mutation carriers have a systemic disease characterized by congenital malformations in the urogenital tract, diabetes mellitus of maturity‐onset diabetes of the young type and dysfunction of the liver and exocrine pancreas. We aimed to investigate pancreatic structure and exocrine function in carriers of HNF1B mutations.
HEAD: ALCOHOL-RELATED FACEBOOK POSTINGS

Objective : The study investigated whether self-reports of alcohol-related postings on Facebook by oneself or one's Facebook friends were related to common motives for drinking and were uniquely predictive of self-reported alcohol outcomes (alcohol consumption, problems, and cravings). Method : Pacific Northwest undergraduates completed a survey of alcohol outcomes, drinking motives, and alcohol-related Facebook postings. Participants completed the survey online as part of a larger study on alcohol use and cognitive associations. Participants were randomly selected through the university registrar’s office and consisted of 1106 undergraduates (449 men, 654 women, 2 transgender, 1 declined to answer) between the ages of 18 and 25 ( M = 20.40, SD = 1.60) at a large university in the Pacific Northwest. Seven participants were excluded from analyses due to missing or suspect data. Results : Alcohol-related postings on Facebook were significantly correlated with social, enhancement, conformity, and coping motives for drinking (all p ’s < .001). After controlling for drinking motives, self-alcohol-related postings independently and positively predicted drinks per week, alcohol-related problems, risk of alcohol use disorders, and alcohol cravings (all p ’s < .001). In contrast, friends’ alcohol-related postings only predicted risk of alcohol use disorders ( p < .05) and marginally predicted alcohol-related problems ( p =.07). Conclusions : Posting alcohol-related content on social media platforms such as Facebook is associated with common motivations for drinking and is, in itself, a strong predictive indicator of drinking outcomes independent of drinking motives. Moreover, self-related posting activity appears to be more predictive than Facebook friends’ activity. These findings suggest that social media platforms may be a useful target for future preventative and intervention efforts.
An Approach to Improve Permissiveness of Supervisors for GMECs in Time Petri Net Systems

This paper deals with the enforcement of generalized mutual exclusion constraints (GMECs) on time Petri nets (TPNs) with uncontrollable transitions by restricting the firing intervals of controllable transitions. Existing approaches do not exploit the timing information and consequently the system permissiveness is limited. The key idea behind the proposed approach is the online computation of a graph representing a reduced portion of the state space of a TPN system, and precisely the states that can be reached from the current one by firing only uncontrollable transitions. Such a graph is called partial modified state class graph (PMSCG) and is derived from another graph recently presented in the literature. Based on the PMSCG, a procedure to compute a supervisory control law enforcing a GMEC on a TPN system in a maximally permissive way is presented.