Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential effects of age on neuromuscular transmission in partially denervated mouse muscle

The response of the neuromuscular junction to expansion of the motor unit after partial denervation (section of L5 root) was compared in soleus muscles from young (5–8 month) and old (25–30 month) mice. The object was to determine the relative capacity of young and old motor neurons to adapt to an enlarged functional field of innervation, and to delineate physiological parameters that are compromised under these conditions. Neuromuscular function was studied at 30, 60, and 120 d after partial denervation. The initial (18–23) and postoperative number (5–8) of motor units was the same in both age groups. Twitch strength declined in proportion to loss of motor units at 30 d but returned completely (young) or nearly completely (old) by 60 d. In old but not young muscle, the safety factor (assayed by twitch depression in low calcium) was decreased even before functional sprouting had occurred, indicating a reduced safety factor in nondenervated junctions. The proportion of fibers with “long” latencies (delay between stimulation and endplate potential) increased transiently (at 30 d) in young muscle but persisted without recovery at 120 d in regenerated junctions in old muscle. After partial denervation, decline in miniature endplate potential (mepp) amplitude, in mepp frequency, and in estimated quantal content of evoked release was relatively more pronounced in old than in young mice, and in the case of mepp amplitude and frequency, more persistent. Mepp amplitude was also decreased in presumed nondenervated junctions of old muscles. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The relationship between teacher collaboration and student achievement

Harpe, Davin, E. Ph.D., Purdue University, December 2014. The Relationship Between Teacher Collaboration and Student Achievement. Major Professor: Marilyn A. Hirth. The purpose of this concurrent embedded mixed-methods study was to develop an instrument to measure principals' perceptions of teacher collaboration in their schools. The study further examined the relationship between perceptions of teacher collaboration and student achievement as measured by the Indiana “A-F” Accountability Model. Four key components of teacher collaboration were identified through a review of the literature. Those key components of teacher collaboration included 1) JobEmbedded Collaboration Time; 2) Common Goals; 3) Results Orientation; and 4) Working Interdependently. Using a survey, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 359 Indiana elementary and middle school principals. Quantitative data on the principals’ perceptions of the presence and effectiveness of the four key components of teacher collaboration were analyzed. In order to support the quantitative data and find stronger understanding of the research, qualitative data were analyzed on how principals described teacher collaboration at their schools, including what factors impeded teacher collaboration, what factors facilitated teacher collaboration, and what relationships they perceived to exist between the quality and extent of collaboration and student achievement.
Greater Transparency in Monetary Policy: Impact on Financial Markets

Measures have been taken by the Bank of Canada to increase the transparency of Canadian monetary policy. This paper examines whether the greater transparency has improved financial markets’ understanding of the conduct of monetary policy. In theory, it should result in reduced conditional uncertainty because investor expectations would be formed with a superior information set. The market’s response to releases of the Bank of Canada’s Monetary Policy Report and to changes in the Bank’s operating band for the overnight interest rate is examined. The empirical results suggest that the Bank’s efforts at increasing transparency appear to have helped market participants anticipate pending monetary policy actions. Indeed, the amount of uncertainty that surrounds the Bank’s actions is now broadly consistent with that reported for other major countries. The issue of whether there should be limits on the amount of transparency in the conduct of monetary policy is also explored. The paper concludes that there is possibly some merit in the Bank’s providing more frequent information on its economic outlook and highlighting the uncertainty that surrounds the Bank’s views. However, the paper argues against publishing the detailed results of the Bank’s economic projections. It also notes that the element of surprise can be useful on occasion with respect to the Bank’s operations in financial markets.
An Estimation of the Consumption Function under the Permanent Income Hypothesis: The Case of D-8 Countries

This study examines the consumption function formed on the permanent income hypothesis. It covers eight countries that are member to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (D-8) based on the annual data from 1980 to 2010. The model employed in this study takes into consideration both the adaptive expectations model and a combination of the partial adjustment model and the adaptive expectations model. The techniques used in time series analysis have been utilized as econometric models. Empirical results include evidences supporting the consumption function formed in accordance with the permanent income hypothesis and the adaptive expectations model.
Factors influencing the utilization of focused antenatal care services in Malindi and Magarini sub-counties of Kilifi county, Kenya

Introduction Globally, pregnancy related complications contribute to more than half of the deaths among women annually. Antenatal care (ANC) is important for the prevention of maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity. This study identifies the socio-demographic and economic characteristics; knowledge and attitude and; health service provision for focused antenatal care (FANC) services. Methods A cross-sectional comparative study conducted among 385 women of reproductive age who visited 5 public health facilities in Malindi and Magarini Sub Counties. Data collection was conducted between June 2013 and September 2013 through structured questionnaires, Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) and analyzed through descriptive summary statistics and test of associations of the various variables using chi square. Results About 35% of women sought 1st and 2nd ANC services at the health facilities. These women went ahead to complete the recommended 4 minimum visits as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). Compared to Catholics, Muslims were less likely to attend a rural health facility (Odds ratio (OR) = 0.25, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.10, 0.62, p=0.003). According to education levels, those with secondary (OR=0.07, 95% CI 0.03, 0.18, p<0.001) or tertiary (OR=0.09, 95% CI 0.03-0.17, p<0.001) levels of education were less likely to seek FANC at rural facility. Women seeking rural ANC services started at 2nd or 3rd trimester (OR=5.40 95% CI 2.97-10.06, p<0.001) while those in urban setup start at 1st trimester. Among the women who were aware of FANC, only 27% utilized its services. Long waiting hours, unavailability of services, and departmental disharmony were major causes of dissatisfaction to mothers visiting the facilities. Conclusion Utilization and awareness of FANC services in both rural and urban health facilities among women in Malindi and Magarini Sub Counties continues to be low which is associated by socio-demographic characteristics, and health facility inefficiencies. Thus there is need to standardize services across health facilities and increase awareness on FANC in both rural and urban.
Joint Estimates of Automatic and Discretionary Fiscal Policy: The OECD 1981-2003

Official calculations of automatic stabilizers are seriously flawed since they rest on the assumption that the only element of social spending that reacts automatically to the cycle is unemployment compensation. This puts into question many estimates of discretionary fiscal policy. In response, we propose a simultaneous estimate of automatic and discretionary fiscal policy. This leads us, quite naturally, to a tripartite decomposition of the budget balance between revenues, social spending and other spending as a bare minimum. Our headline results for a panel of 20 OECD countries in 1981-2003 are . 59 automatic stabilization in percentage-points of primary surplus balances. All of this stabilization remains following discretionary responses during contractions, but arguably only about 3/5 of it remains so in expansions while discretionary behavior cancels the rest. We pay a lot of attention to the impact of the Maastricht Treaty and the SGP on the EU members of our sample and to real time data.
Studies on stability of chilli genotypes at different fertility levels under terai zone of West Bengal

An experiment was carried out to study the stability of 15 chilli genotypes at five fertility levels (0%, 50%, 100%, 150% and 200% of recommended dose of fertilizer) during rabi season of 2006–07 and kharif season of 2007. Pooled analysis of variance showed the presence of significant genetic variability among the genotypes for all the characters studied. Among the different early flowering genotypes, ‘CA-29’ and ‘CA-30’ were specifically adapted to the unfavourable environment and ‘Diamond F1’ and ‘Pusa Sadabahar’ were adapted to the favourable environment. None of the genotypes showed absolute stability with respect to fruit length under different environments. With respect to number of fruits, ‘Pusa Sadabahar’ was stable under different environments. With respect to yield, 12 genotypes showed S2di value significantly greater than zero which indicated the unstability for this trait. Among the high yielding genotypes, ‘Ulka 686 F1’, ‘Jwalan’, ‘CA-29’, ‘CA-48’ and ‘CA-47’ and low yielder genotype had regression value of > 1 which indicated that they showed better response under favourable environment. However, deviation from regression value (S2di) was significant which indicated that their performance among the environment was unpredictable. ‘Chilli Philhal’ and ‘Pusa Jwala’ produced lower yield but these genotypes were adapted to unfavourable environment. The rabi crop showed its superiority over kharif crop with respect to yield and its attributing characters.
The Programmer's Apprentice: a research overview

The long-term goal of the Programmer's Apprentice project is to develop a theory of how expert programmers analyze, synthesize, modify, explain, specify, verify, and document programs. The authors present their vision of the Programmer's Apprentice, the principles and techniques underlying it, and their progress toward it. The primary vehicle for this exposition is three scenarios illustrating the use of the Apprentice in three phases of the programming task: implementation, design, and requirements. The first scenario is taken from a completed working prototype. The second and third scenarios are the targets for prototype systems currently under construction. <<ETX>>
Random metric spaces and the universal Urysohn space.2

We introduce a model of the set of all Polish (=separable complete metric) spaces which is the cone R of distance matrices, and consider the geometrical and probabilistic problems connected with this object. We prove that the generic Polish space in the sense of this model is the so called universal Urysohn space which was defined by P.S. Urysohn in the 1920-th. Then we consider the metric spaces with measures (metric triples) and define a complete invariant of its-matrix distribution. We give an intrinsic characterization of matrix distribution and using the ergodic theorem give a new proof of Gromov's reconstruction theorem. A natural construction of a wide class of measures on the cone R is given and for these we show that with probability one the random Polish space is again the Urysohn space. There is a tight link of these questions with metric classification of measurable functions of several arguments and classification of the actions of infinite symmetric group ([4, 8]) Applications to the statistical theory of metric space will follow.
Faktor-faktor yang Mempengaruhi Kelengkapan Pengungkapan Laporan Keuangan pada Perusahaan Manufaktur yang Terdaftar di Bursa Efek Jakarta

The aim of this research is to find the factors that influence financial statement disclosure comprehensiveness. This research used 34 manufacturing companies listed at Jakarta Stock Exchange in the period of 2002. The tools analysis used in this research are multiple-linier regression analysis and t-test. The independent variables i.e. leverage, liquidity, profitability, the portion of stock owned by public investors and company age are predicted to influence financial statement disclosure comprehensiveness. The results of this research show that leverage variable which proxied by debt to equity ratio, profitability, the portion of stock owned by public investors are significantly and positively associated with financial statement disclosure comprehensiveness. Hopely, in the next research, other variables should be tested. This is important because there are a lot of other variables influencing financial statement disclosure comprehensiveness, such as firm size,securities issuance in the subsequent year and firm status.
Towards a framework for controls as determinants of export performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize empirical literature concerning the role of control mechanisms in export relationships, and to develop a model for controls as determinants of export performance.Design/methodology/approach – To identify relevant papers, a variety of keywords is used in a computerized, bibliographic search, accompanied by manual checking of references in previous research. A combination of content analysis and integrative assessment is adopted to synthesize the findings and develop the framework.Findings – To a great extent, the results provide support to the argument that the influence of control mechanisms on export performance is contingent upon firm strategy and characteristics, the governance structure and relationship atmosphere established in the exchange relationships, and foreign market characteristics.Research limitations/implications – The analysis points to a lack of consensus concerning how to define controls. Subsequently, the review and analysi.
Research Online Research Use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools by Use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools by rural famers in Ratnagiri District of Maharashtra, India rural famers in Ratnagiri District of Maharashtra, India

This study made an attitude assessment of farmers from the rural villages of Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra in the dissemination of agricultural information using Information and Communication technologies. A structured questionnaire and interviews were used to gather information on a number of aspects related to the use of ICT from randomly selected farmers from one Tehsil and key stakeholders (government officials and agricultural industry workers). Two different questionnaires were provided to farmers and key stakeholders. The questionnaire completed by the farmer participants sought general demographic data, education level and information concerning household income and their agricultural activities. Information related to the use of ICT tools in the agricultural sector such as kind of ICT tools, preference of ICT tools, source of getting information, belief on the sources of information, preferences for types of information and the frequency and timings of its delivery. The credibility and applicability of the information that farmers received, the kind of support that was available and their overall expectations from the use of ICT tools was recorded. Key stakeholders were also asked same questions related to demographic data, level of education and the use of ICT tools in the agricultural sector. Additional information concerning their job position, their work experience and what knowledge they required to improve their performance were also recorded. Additionally, stakeholders commented on the challenges that they face when accessing agricultural information and their opinion on improving information delivery. This paper will report on an examination of relationships between the usage of ICT tools and determining factors such as gender, land ownership and technology preference. Findings from this study will be used to develop a framework and system which may more effectively deliver agricultural information and assist farmers to make better decisions about their agricultural activities.
Pairing Market Risk and Credit Risk

This paper uses an exclusive proprietary data set of European Credit Derivatives and VIX markets, covering a sample of 5 to 7 years, to study the nature of the link between credit risk and market risk, widely acknowledged in the academic literature. This allows us to establish cointegration in the VIX and iTraxx/CDS markets in a framework where arbitrageurs exploit temporary equilibrium mispricing following pairs strategies. Expected profits, defined in terms of VECM parameters, are positive for all VIX futures-iTraxx pairs strategies considered. Markets are integrated in that price discovery on both sides of the Atlantic reflect the same underlying information with predominant price leadership of the VIX market over the European CDS market.
The transformation of Ireland, 1900-2000

A ground-breaking history of the twentieth century in Ireland, written on the most ambitious scale by a brilliant young historian. It is significant that it begins in 1900 and ends in 2000 - most accounts have begun in 1912 or 1922 and largely ignored the end of the century. Politics and political parties are examined in detail but high politics does not dominate the book, which rather sets out to answer the question: 'What was it like to grow up and live in 20th-century Ireland'? It deals with the North in a comprehensive way, focusing on the social and cultural aspects, not just the obvious political and religious divisions.
Exports and Growth Nexus in India: An Econometric Analysis

The study focuses on the ‘export openness’ of Indian economy which is expected to have a positive impact on economic growth. The temporal coverage of the empirical analysis carried out spans the period 1970-71 to 2008-09. The research question addressed in the study is whether exports are related to growth and if so, then in what direction? Empirical verification of export-led growth hypothesis by applying various time series techniques in this study confirms both short-run and long-run relationship between exports and economic growth. Bivariate Granger causality test suggests that the direction of causality runs from export growth to GDP growth. This implies that one can use export performance also to predict the growth of Indian economy rather than depending only on the time-series models. JEL Codes: F1, F43, O53.
Tracking Genocide: Persecution of the Karen in Burma

For sixty years a civil war has raged in the jungles of Burma. One of the lingering questions asked by human rights advocates and the international community is to what extent war crimes have been committed and whether the actions by the Burma Army amount to genocide. Based on significant data collected in the field over the past decade, this article argues that forced displacement of the Karen ethnic group does arise to the international standard of genocide. Tracking Genocide explores the theory and application of genocidal intent through the inference of a systematic plan to destroy an ethnic group or nationality.
A cut-free sequent system for Grzegorczyk logic, with an application to the Gödel-McKinsey-Tarski embedding

It is well-known that intuitionistic propositional logic Int may be faithfully embedded not just into the modal logic S4 but also into the provability logics GL and Grz of Godel-Lob and Grzegorczyk, and also that there is a similar embedding of Grz into GL. Known proofs of these faithfulness results are short but model-theoretic and thus non-constructive. Here a labelled sequent system Grz for Grzegorczyk logic is presented and shown to be complete and therefore closed with respect to Cut. The completeness proof, being constructive, yields a constructive decision procedure, i.e. both a proof procedure for derivable sequents and a countermodel construction for underivable sequents. As an application, a constructive proof of the faithfulness of the embedding of Int into Grz and hence a constructive decision procedure for Int are obtained.
Monopoly, Quality, and Network Externalities

We describe the behaviour of a monopolist supplying a vertically di¤erentiated good with network externalities. Assuming a fixed cost of quality improvements we show that the presence of network externalities enhances the incentive to expand output associated with scale economies. Although the quality distortion operated by the monopolist increases with network externalities, the outputexpansion effect is dominant, so that the welfare loss due to monopoly power shrinks as the role of network externalities in determining consumers’ satisfaction becomes more relevant.
The Arabidopsis RCC1 Family Protein TCF1 Regulates Freezing Tolerance and Cold Acclimation through Modulating Lignin Biosynthesis

Abstract Cell water permeability and cell wall properties are critical to survival of plant cells during freezing, however the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we report that a specifically cold-induced nuclear protein, Tolerant to Chilling and Freezing 1 (TCF1), interacts with histones H3 and H4 and associates with chromatin containing a target gene, BLUE-COPPER-BINDING PROTEIN (BCB), encoding a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein that regulates lignin biosynthesis. Loss of TCF1 function leads to reduced BCB transcription through affecting H3K4me2 and H3K27me3 levels within the BCB gene, resulting in reduced lignin content and enhanced freezing tolerance. Furthermore, plants with knocked-down BCB expression (amiRNA-BCB) under cold acclimation had reduced lignin accumulation and increased freezing tolerance. The pal1pal2 double mutant (lignin content reduced by 30% compared with WT) also showed the freezing tolerant phenotype, and TCF1 and BCB act upstream of PALs to regulate lignin content. In addition, TCF1 acts independently of the CBF (C-repeat binding factor) pathway. Our findings delineate a novel molecular pathway linking the TCF1-mediated cold-specific transcriptional program to lignin biosynthesis, thus achieving cell wall remodeling with increased freezing tolerance.
, reveals extraordinary innate complexity and diversity Genomic analysis of the immune gene repertoire of amphioxus

object identifier (DOIs) and date of initial publication. by PubMed from initial publication. Citations to Advance online articles must include the digital publication). Advance online articles are citable and establish publication priority; they are indexed appeared in the paper journal (edited, typeset versions may be posted when available prior to final Advance online articles have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication but have not yet
A theory of asset prices and the term structure of interest rates in a partially observable economy

This paper investigates the term structure of interest rates in a multiperiod production and exchange economy with incomplete information. Unable to observe their stochastic investment opportunities, investors engage in dynamic Bayesian inference. This results in the endogenous identification of a more complex production function which generates a richer term structure, resembling the one that actual market prices imply. In addition, this paper introduces a characteristic function of the term structure and demonstrates that, in contrast with a fully observable economy, the widely investigated expectations hypothesis holds true only if interest rates are nonstochastic.