Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Face‐to‐face versus remote administration of the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale using videoconference and telephone

Although the use of telemedicine in psychiatry has a long history in providing clinical care to patients, its use in clinical trials research has not yet been commonly employed. Telemedicine allows for the remote assessment of study patients, which could be done by a centralized, highly calibrated, and impartial cohort of raters independent of the study site. This study examined the comparability of remote administration of the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) by videoconference and by telephone to traditional face‐to‐face administration. Two parallel studies were conducted: one compared face‐to‐face with videoconference administration (N=35), and the other compared face‐to‐face with telephone administration (N=35). In each study, depressed patients were interviewed independently twice: once in the traditional face‐to‐face manner, and the second time by either videoconference or teleconference. A counterbalanced order was used. The mean MADRS score for interviews conducted remotely by videoconference was not significantly different from the mean MADRS scores conducted by face‐to‐face administration (mean difference=0.51 points), P=. 388, intraclass correlation (ICC)=. 94, P<0001. Similarly, the mean MADRS score for interviews conducted by telephone was not significantly different from the mean MADRS score conducted by face‐to‐face administration (mean difference=0.74 points), P=. 270, ICC=. 93, P<0001. Results of the study support the comparability of remote administration of the MADRS, by both telephone and videoconference, to face‐to‐face administration. Comparability of the administration mode allows for remote assessment of patients in both research and clinical applications. Depression and Anxiety, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
U.S. Monetary and Fiscal Policy in the 1930s

The paper provides a survey of fiscal and monetary policies during the 1930s under the Hoover and Roosevelt Administrations and how they influenced the policies during the recent Great Recession. The discussion of the causal impacts of monetary policy focuses on papers written in the last decade and the findings of scholars using dynamic structural general equilibrium modeling. The discussion of fiscal policy shows why economists do not see the New Deal as a Keynesian stimulus, describes the significant shift toward excise taxation during the 1930s, and surveys estimates of the impact of federal spending on local economies. The paper concludes with discussion of the lessons for the present from 1930s monetary and fiscal policy.
Relationship of the Change in Implied Volatility with the Underlying Equity Index Return in Thailand

In this study, we examine the relationship between the change in implied volatility index and the underlying stock index return in the Thai stock market. The data used are daily data during November 2010 to December 2013. The regression analysis is performed on stationary series. The empirical results reveal that there is evidence of significantly negative and asymmetric relationship between the underlying stock index return and the change in implied volatility. In addition, the size effect of the underlying stock index return and the one-period lagged implied volatility change also affect the change in implied volatility. The finding in this study gives implication for risk management.
Merger and optimal number of firms: an integrated simulation approach

In a market where imperfect competition occurs as a result of mergers, this study proposes a framework consisting of both efficiency and risk analyses that allow the simulation of pro forma mergers and hence the determination of the optimal number of firms in the industry. This is valuable policy information for regulators concerned with possible intervention in the case of competition and anti-trust violations, and also for business managers seeking acquisition targets. The framework is applied to the banking industry in Taiwan. Results reveal the potential for industrial restructuring in a sector where the optimal number of Bank Holding Companies (BHCs) is between four and six, subject to whether partial control is assumed.
Evidence that the Genomic RNA of Hepatitis E Virus Is Capped

ABSTRACT Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an unclassified virus with a positive-sense RNA genome and an undefined replication strategy. In order to determine whether the HEV genome is capped or not, we developed a reverse transcription-PCR assay that is based on the ability of a monoclonal antibody to recognize 7-methylguanosine (m7G). Antibody to m7G bound RNA extracted from virions of two different HEV genotypes. The cap analog competitively inhibited the binding of virion RNAs, demonstrating that HEV has a capped RNA genome.
Segmentation des tissus et structures sur les IRM cérébrales : agents markoviens locaux coopératifs et formulation bayésienne. (MR brain scan tissus and structures segmentation: local cooperative Markovian agents and Bayesian formulation)

Accurate magnetic resonance brain scan segmentation is critical in a number of clinical and neuroscience applications. This task is challenging due to artifacts, low contrast between tissues and inter-individual variability that inhibit the introduction of a priori knowledge. In this thesis, we propose a new MR brain scan segmentation approach. Unique features of this approach include (1) the coupling of tissue segmentation, structure segmentation and prior knowledge construction, and (2) the consideration of local image properties. Locality is modeled through a multi-agent framework : agents are distributed into the volume and perform a local Markovian segmentation. As an initial approach (LOCUS, Local Cooperative Unified Segmentation), intuitive cooperation and coupling mechanisms are proposed to ensure the consistency of local models. Structures are segmented via the introduction of spatial localization constraints based on fuzzy spatial relations between structures. In a second approach, (LOCUS, LOCUS in a Bayesian framework) we consider the introduction of a statistical atlas to describe structures. The problem is reformulated in a Bayesian framework, allowing a statistical formalization of coupling and cooperation. Tissue segmentation, local model regularization, structure segmentation and local affine atlas registration are then coupled in an EM framework and mutually improve. The evaluation on simulated and real images shows good results, and in particular, a robustness to nonuniformity and noise with low computational cost. Local distributed and cooperative MRF models then appear as a powerful and promising approach for medical image segmentation.
Conditional CAPM using Expected Returns of Brazilian Market from 1992 to 2013: A New Approach

In the last decades, CAPM model has been of great interest in the scientific scene. Despite all the criticism, the improvement of the static CAPM, which has generated new dynamic models, provided investors with stronger guarantee through financial transactions. The CAPM and its static version were and are still very important in the financial scene. Nowadays, more sophisticated adaptations of the CAPM are found, which allow us to explain some matters in finance that had remained unqualified for a couple of time. Considering such discussion about the CAPM validity, this study aims to create a basis for reflection upon the conditional model, comparing it with the static one. In order to verify such facts, tests of conditional models are examined (with beta varying throughout the exercise), something uncommonly studied in the literature. Such tests are suitable to incorporate variances and covariance that change at long run. Methodological wise, the study tested the conditional CAPM model borrowing a leaf from Jagannathan and Wang (1996) using macroeconomics and financial variables from the Brazilian New Market. Based on our findings, there is evidence that the conditional CAPM of Jagannathan and Wang (1996) for the North American market is perfectly applicable to the Brazilian New Market.
Gastroschisis is a defect of the umbilical ring: evidence from morphological evaluation of stillborn fetuses.

BACKGROUND Gastroschisis (GS) is usually described as an abdominal wall defect, to the right of a normally inserted umbilical cord, without membraneous covering of the extruded organs. However, precise anatomical descriptions are lacking in the literature. Our aims were to provide evidence that allows reconsideration of its current definition, as well as an explanation for prenatal death, based on detailed observation of stillborn fetuses with GS and a review of the literature. METHODS Prenatal studies, clinical examinations, and histological findings of five stillborn fetuses with isolated GS are described and photographic evidence is provided. RESULTS In all five cases, the umbilical cord was only attached to the left side of the umbilical ring, while the right side remained uncovered, allowing evisceration of abdominal organs. Histological evidence of mucoid-like tissue at the free border of the ring suggests that at that site the cord was initially inserted and later detached. Characteristics of the umbilical ring, bowel dilatation, and autopsy findings of acute asphyxia strongly support compression of umbilical vessels as the cause of fetal death. CONCLUSIONS Based on these findings, on the lack of evidence in the literature demonstrating full-thickness abdominal wall separating the defect from the umbilical cord, and on a critical review of the proposed mechanisms favoring the hypothesis of a defect separate from the umbilical ring, we propose that GS represents a failure in the normal attachment between umbilical cord and umbilical ring. The consistent clinical course of fetuses with prenatal demise suggests careful targeted monitoring during late gestation.
Research Paper Series Theory and Methods Antidumping Regulation and the Byrd Amendment: Does Revenue Redistribution Reduce Dumping? the Centre Acknowledges Financial Support from the Leverhulme Trust under Programme Grant F114/bf Antidumping Regulation and the Byrd Amendment: Does Revenue Redistribu

While the brief experiment with redistributing antidumping duty revenue to import competing firms (via the Byrd Amendment) will soon be over, interest remains in how such a mechanism affects the strategic incentives of the firms involved. In this paper we use a simple two-period duopoly model where two countries differ only in market size to evaluate these incentives. An antidumping law provides an incentive for both firms to adjust sales so as to shift the dumping margin in their favor, and revenue redistribution strengthens this incentive for the filing firm. The outcome is that dumping is more prevalent and that the dumping margin is larger, except in some cases where the duty would otherwise be prohibitive. The profits of the filing firm are generally, but not always, higher, and the profits of the dumper are generally, but not always, lower. Consumers gain in one country and lose in the other, with the gainers and losers depending on the market size difference.
Stock Return Characteristics In A Thin Incipient Stock Market

This paper examines the distributional properties of stock returns in the Nigerian stock market. Because emerging stock markets present several institutional, political and economic barriers, we hypothesize that the structural adjustment program begun in 1986 resulted in a sustained increase in the variability of stock returns. Conventional variance homogeneity tests could not reject the hypothesis of changing volatility in the security returns process. However, the Lagrange multiplier test reveals the presence of autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARCH) effect in the stock returns.
Industry Characteristics Linked to Establishment Concentrations in Nonmetropolitan Areas

In this paper we investigate industry characteristics associated with the clustering of establishments in three-digit SIC manufacturing industries in nonmetropolitan areas. The dispersion parameter "k" of the negative binomial distribution is selected as the measure of industry spatial concentration. Associations between industry characteristics and spatial concentration are investigated using OLS regression analysis. Our findings indicate that the spatial clustering of establishments is positively related to industry average establishment size, reliance on natural resource inputs, labor intensity, cost shares of professional and technical employees, and cost shares of low-skilled workers. Agglomeration is negatively related to multiplant structure, employment in precision production, and reliance on local product and input markets. Copyright 2000 Blackwell Publishers
Proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine responses in preterm infants with systemic infections

Objective: A prospective study to investigate the pattern of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine responses in preterm infants with systemic infection. Methods: Very low birthweight infants in whom infection was suspected when they were > 72 hours of age were eligible. A full sepsis screen was performed in each episode. Key cytokines of both proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways, including interleukin (IL) 2, IL4, IL5, IL6, IL10, interferon (IFN) γ, and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) α, were measured at 0 (at the time of sepsis evaluation), 24, and 48 hours by flow cytometric analysis or immunoassay. Results: Thirty seven of the 127 episodes of suspected clinical sepsis were proven infection or necrotising enterocolitis. Both proinflammatory (IL2, IL6, IFNγ, TNFα) and anti-inflammatory (IL4, IL10) cytokines were significantly increased in infected infants compared with non-infected infants. Significant correlations were observed between IL6 and TNFα or IL10 as well as IL10 and IFNγ in infected infants. In the subgroup analysis, plasma IL6, IL10, and TNFα concentrations, and IL10/TNFα and IL6/IL10 ratios were significantly elevated in patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation compared with infected infants without. The IL10/TNFα ratios had decreased significantly 48 hours after the onset, whereas the IL6/IL10 ratio showed only a non-significant decreasing trend. Further, the IL6/IL10 ratio in the deceased infant was disproportionally increased at presentation and continued to increase despite treatment. Conclusion: The results indicate that the counter-regulatory mechanism between the proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine pathways is probably operational in preterm infants of early gestation. High plasma IL6, IL10, and TNFα concentrations, and IL10/TNFα and IL6/IL10 ratios signify severe infection, but transiently elevated plasma IL10 concentration or IL10/TNFα ratio does not necessarily indicate a poor prognosis.
Non-compliance in the EU: Member states' capacities and the goodness of fit

Despite extensive research on non-compliance of directives in the EU it is still poorly understood. Debates between scholars on how non-compliance is explained or defined are still going on. In contrast to other articles that focus on delays in transposition, in this article I argue what factors are most important in the process of compliance. Second I do an analysis on the influence of two factors on compliance of provisions of the Equality Framework Directive. The article gives a clear view on how the factors, ‘goodness of fit’ and ‘capacities’ influence compliance with directives. It is argued that compliance is most likely if the misfit between national policy and the one adopted by EU is small and when a member states’ capacities are better.
An 8-Bit 250MSPS Modified Two-Step ADC

Based on conventional two-step ADC principle, an 8-bit 250MSPS modified two-step ADC is proposed to reduce power dissipation. It is realized by applying triple-stage comparison for the number reduction of comparators, substituting new reference region selecting logic (RRSL) blocks for sub-DACs and adding sample/hold (S/H) circuit to replace residue amplifier. Simulated with SMIC O.35 mum/3.3 V AMS Si-CMOS process models, the results are shown that on the condition of realizing 250MSPS, the ADC achieves DNL<plusmn0.4LSB, INL<plusmn.5LSB, SFDR 59.2 dB at Nyquist frequency, only 85 mW power dissipation and 1.2times0. 8 mm2 layout area. The ADC system architecture is to be employed in the field of high-speed low-power mixed-signal processing
Welfare Reform and the Labour Supply of Lone Parents in Australia: A Natural Experiment Approach

Large shifts in the labour supply of lone parents in Australia were observed between 1986 and 1990. Changes in the observed characteristics of lone parents explain only a small portion of these shifts. Propensity score matching and difference-in-differences are used to estimate the effects of the substantial policy shifts implemented in 1987. Control groups are constructed from the sample of married mothers. Results suggest that the policy reforms caused a substantial increase in the employment of lone parents while causing a reduction in the hours of work among the workers.
A non-Markov model for volatility jumps

Volatility has a significant role to play in the determination of risk and in the valuation of options and other financial derivatives. The well-known Black-Scholes model for the financial derivatives deals with constant volatility. This paper presents a new model based on shot noise behaviour, in which the volatility jump occurs in random instant of times. The closed form solution is derived for the proposed model. Further, numerical results are illustrated to validate the above observations.
Extending Depth of Field for Iris Recognition

Iris recognition has become popular in recent years due to its rich textures and high accuracy. However, a major constraint in current iris recognition systems is the very shallow depth-of-field (DOF) that limits system usability and increases system complexity. In this paper, we used a spatial light modulator in place of the traditional cubic phase mask to dynamically optimize the wavefront coding in real time with different depth ranges. Proposed scheme will certainly has a promising impact on the development of computational imaging for iris recognition due to its rapidity and versatility.
Submucosal implantation of soft tissue expanders does not affect microcirculation.

AIM To investigate the effect of submucosal implantation of self-filling osmotic tissue expanders on mucosal microcirculation. MATERIAL AND METHODS In ten beagle dogs, all premolars were extracted on both sides of the mandible. Tooth-supporting bone and excess soft tissue were removed to mimic a severely resorbed edentulous ridge. Six weeks later, tissue expanders with 0.7 ml final volume were implanted into a submucosal pouch at randomly selected test sites, while contralateral sites served as untreated controls. Microcirculation was assessed in perfusion units (PU) before surgery, after local anaesthesia, directly after surgery, and after 1 and 3 days, using Laser Doppler flowmetry. RESULTS Local anaesthesia caused a significant decrease of blood flow from baseline (zero) to -6.4 PU (median; Q1 -10.5; Q3 -0.9; P = 0.006); however, no additional significant decrease was recorded after completion of surgery. Blood flow showed significant increases to -3.6 PU (median; Q1 -11.3, Q3 2.1; P = 0.02) and -4.0 PU (median; Q1 -9.2, Q3 1.1; P = 0.013) after 1 and 3 days, respectively, when compared to the measurements obtained after application of local anaesthesia and completion of surgery. Blood flow had returned to unimpaired baseline levels 1 day after surgery (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Submucosal implantation of self-filling osmotic tissue expanders results in only momentary disturbance of microcirculation. The minor impairment of perfusion may explain the consistently good outcomes of submucosal implantation of these tissue expanders.
Low-grade gliomas in adults

Purpose of review This paper aims to summarize the current thinking about the management of adult supratentorial low-grade gliomas. These are well differentiated primary brain tumours that typically develop in young adults. Their biological behaviour is poorly understood but the majority of these tumours grow slowly, infiltrate surrounding normal brain, and show an intrinsic tendency to undergo malignant transformation to high-grade gliomas. Surgery and radiotherapy are the main treatment options, but their precise role and timing are controversial. Recent findings Resective surgery is at best regarded as a practice option because there is a paucity of good quality evidence to show that extent of resection correlates with survival. Radiotherapy prolongs progression-free survival but not overall survival and may lead to long-term cognitive deficits, although not as widespread as had previously been thought. A minority of tumours with oligodendroglial differentiation are chemosensitive and this correlates with allelic loss of chromosomes 1p and 19q. New imaging and molecular techniques, in particular gene microarray studies, are providing more information about these tumours, although they have yet to have a significant impact on clinical management. SummaryThe best management of low-grade gliomas is still unknown but advances in molecular genetics and imaging are improving our ability to prognosticate and follow the natural history of these tumours.
A Theory of Procyclical Bank Herding 1

We provide an explanation for the procyclical variation in the concentration of aggregate bank lending. When bank loan returns have a systematic factor, the failure of one bank conveys adverse information about this systematic factor and increases the cost of borrowing for the surviving banks. Such information contagion is thus costly to bank owners. Given their limited liability, profit-maximizing banks herd ex-ante and undertake correlated investments to increase the likelihood of joint survival. If the depositors of a failed bank can migrate to the surviving bank, then herding incentives are mitigated by such competitive effects. When expected returns on loans are low (economic booms), the herding incentives dominate, whereas when expected returns are high (economic downturns), the competitive effects dominate. This gives rise to a pro-cyclical pattern in the correlation of bank loan returns. The localized nature of contagion and herding, and the efficiency properties of bank lending decisions, are also characterized. J.E. L. Classification: G21, G28, G38, E58, D62.
Ebola Outbreak Killed 5000 Gorillas

Over the past decade, the Zaire strain of Ebola virus (ZEBOV) has repeatedly emerged in Gabon and Congo. Each human outbreak has been accompanied by reports of gorilla and chimpanzee carcasses in neighboring forests, but both the extent of ape mortality and the causal role of ZEBOV have been hotly debated. Here, we present data suggesting that in 2002 and 2003 ZEBOV killed about 5000 gorillas in our study area. The lag between neighboring gorilla groups in mortality onset was close to the ZEBOV disease cycle length, evidence that group-to-group transmission has amplified gorilla die-offs.
WTO Agricultural Negotiations and Developing Countries: an overview

The aim of this paper is to give a broad overview of the main issues faced by developing countries in a context of trade liberalization as part of the multilateral agricultural trade negotiations in the WTO Doha Round. The bargaining positions of developing countries in the Doha Round are described. A comparison of empirical results on possible outcomes of a Doha Round agreement follows with a focus on impacts in terms of poverty reduction. Results are then analyzed using the main theoretical findings on trade-poverty links and the specific role of preference erosion in order to shed some light on potential failures of a trade reform in the absence of complementary policy actions.