Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Three Essays on Market Frictions and Wage Inequality

Acknowledgements While preparing this dissertation I have received support from many people. First and foremost, I want to thank my thesis advisor Professor Leo Kaas for his academic guidance during my doctoral studies. I am very grateful for his generous support at all stages of my research and his invaluable advice. I am also very thankful to my second advisor Professor Matthias Hertweck for providing me with many valuable comments. I would like to thank Professor Carlos Carrillo-Tudela from the University of Essex for hosting me as a visiting doctoral student in March 2013. Chapter 1 and chapter 2 of this dissertation have profited from various discussions with him for which I am very grateful. I also had the opportunity to go for a research visit at the University of Strasbourg in spring 2012. I would like to thank Professor Bertrand Koebel for his hospitality and his helpful feedback on chapter 1. I also want to thank Professor Pierre Cahuc (CREST), Professorlos III de Madrid) for valuable comments and suggestions on chapter 1. Chapter 3 received funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft which is gratefully acknowledged. I especially thank the participants of the seminars in Macroeconomics at the University of Kon-stanz for their helpful comments at the various stages of my research. Special thanks go to the members of the Chair of Economic Theory and my fellow doctoral students in Konstanz for generating such a great atmosphere. In particular, I thank my officemate Karsten Wasiluk for providing me with numerous comments on my research. Finally, I would like to thank my parents for their great support during the entire time of my studies.
Modelling poverty transitions in Luxembourg: true state dependence or heterogeneity?

We analyse the determinants of poverty transitions, defined as movements across a low income threshold, in Luxembourg using an endogenous switching first-order Markov. This model allows us to control for potential endogeneity to low income transitions due to both initial condition and non random attrition and to analyse the extent of true versus spurious state dependence. Results show that attrition and initial low income are endogenous processes with respect to low income transitions and genuine state dependence accounts for a substantial level of state dependence.
Networks, Propinquity, and Innovation in Knowledge-intensive Industries

Industrial districts and regional clusters depend on the networks that arise from reciprocal linkages among co-located organizations, while physical proximity among firms can alter the nature of information and resource flows through networks. We consider the joint effects of geographic propinquity and network position on organizational innovation using negative binomial count models of patenting activity for U.S.-based life science firms in industrial districts and regional clusters across a 12-year time period, 1988–1999. We find evidence that regional agglomeration and network centrality exert complementary, but contingent, influences on organizational innovation. Results show that in the high-velocity, research-intensive field of biotechnology, geographic and network positions have both independent and contingent effects on organizational innovation. The influence of centrality in local, physically co-located partner networks depends on the extent to which firms are also embedded in a global network comprising physically distant partners. Such global centrality, however, alters how proximity to two important classes of organization-other biotechnology firms and public sector research organizations, such as universities, research institutes, and teaching hospitals—influences innovation. Regional agglomeration shapes the character of information and resource flows through networks, while much of what makes industrial clusters region-like involves the structure of their internal networks. We conclude that network effects persist both independently and interdependently with geographic variables, and regional characteristics influence the degree to which centrality enhances innovation.
Playful Information Literacy: Play and information Literacy in Higher Education

It is often difficult to address higher level information literacy skills in Higher Education. This paper argues if we see information literacy as contextual rather than an absolute list of competencies, then play can give us a route to developing those higher level skills. It takes a social constructivist approach in defining information literacy, before going on to define play and games as belonging on a wide spectrum between completely free or open play and highly structured games. Using examples from the literature, the paper builds the argument that play is one answer towards meeting the need to develop high level information literacy in students, even though there is limited empirical research into adult play and information literacy development.
Potent Allosteric Dengue Virus NS5 Polymerase Inhibitors: Mechanism of Action and Resistance Profiling

Flaviviruses comprise major emerging pathogens such as dengue virus (DENV) or Zika virus (ZIKV). The flavivirus RNA genome is replicated by the RNA-dependent-RNA polymerase (RdRp) domain of non-structural protein 5 (NS5). This essential enzymatic activity renders the RdRp attractive for antiviral therapy. NS5 synthesizes viral RNA via a “de novo” initiation mechanism. Crystal structures of the flavivirus RdRp revealed a “closed” conformation reminiscent of a pre-initiation state, with a well ordered priming loop that extrudes from the thumb subdomain into the dsRNA exit tunnel, close to the “GDD” active site. To-date, no allosteric pockets have been identified for the RdRp, and compound screening campaigns did not yield suitable drug candidates. Using fragment-based screening via X-ray crystallography, we found a fragment that bound to a pocket of the apo-DENV RdRp close to its active site (termed “N pocket”). Structure-guided improvements yielded DENV pan-serotype inhibitors of the RdRp de novo initiation activity with nano-molar potency that also impeded elongation activity at micro-molar concentrations. Inhibitors exhibited mixed inhibition kinetics with respect to competition with the RNA or GTP substrate. The best compounds have EC50 values of 1–2 μM against all four DENV serotypes in cell culture assays. Genome-sequencing of compound-resistant DENV replicons, identified amino acid changes that mapped to the N pocket. Since inhibitors bind at the thumb/palm interface of the RdRp, this class of compounds is proposed to hinder RdRp conformational changes during its transition from initiation to elongation. This is the first report of a class of pan-serotype and cell-active DENV RdRp inhibitors. Given the evolutionary conservation of residues lining the N pocket, these molecules offer insights to treat other serious conditions caused by flaviviruses.
Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training on Aerobic Capacity in Cardiac Patients: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Purpose. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of high-intensity interval training (INTERVAL) and moderate-intensity continuous training (CONTINUOUS) on aerobic capacity in cardiac patients. Methods. A meta-analysis identified by searching the PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases from inception through December 2016 compared the effects of INTERVAL and CONTINUOUS among cardiac patients. Results. Twenty-one studies involving 736 participants with cardiac diseases were included. Compared with CONTINUOUS, INTERVAL was associated with greater improvement in peak VO2 (mean difference 1.76 mL/kg/min, 95% confidence interval 1.06 to 2.46 mL/kg/min, p < 0.001) and VO2 at AT (mean difference 0.90 mL/kg/min, 95% confidence interval 0.0 to 1.72 mL/kg/min, p = 0.03). No significant difference between the INTERVAL and CONTINUOUS groups was observed in terms of peak heart rate, peak minute ventilation, VE/VCO2 slope and respiratory exchange ratio, body mass, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride or low- or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, flow-mediated dilation, or left ventricular ejection fraction. Conclusions. This study showed that INTERVAL improves aerobic capacity more effectively than does CONTINUOUS in cardiac patients. Further studies with larger samples are needed to confirm our observations.
Identifying Balance-Sheet Channels with Loan Applications

To identify credit availability we analyze loan applications made during the last seven years in Spain, a bank-dominated country experiencing exogenous economic and monetary changes. Matching the applications with complete firm and bank information, we find robust evidence that both adverse economic and tight monetary conditions reduce loan granting, especially to weak firms or from weak banks (i.e., with lower capitaland liquidity-to-total-assets ratios). Responding to the same borrower’s loan applications, weak banks less likely grant a loan. Analyzing all granted loans for the last seventeen years we ascertain that firms cannot offset the restrictions by turning to other banks.
A primary tumor promotes dormancy of solitary tumor cells before inhibiting angiogenesis.

Mechanisms that regulate the transition of micrometastases from clinically undetectable and dormant to progressively growing are critically important but poorly understood in cancer biology. Here we examined the effect of a primary tumor on the growth of solitary tumor cells in the mouse liver, as well as on the development of tumor angiogenesis in a dorsal skin-fold chamber. s.c. placement of a CT-26 (BALB/c-derived mouse colon carcinoma) primary tumor markedly inhibited development of liver metastasis in BALB/c mice after subsequent intraportal injection of tumor cells. Dorsal skin-fold chamber experiments showed that this growth inhibition paralleled a strong antiangiogenic effect by the primary tumor. Furthermore, intravital microscopy of the liver after intraportal injection of green fluorescent protein-expressing tumor cells showed that primary tumors promoted dormancy of single tumor cells for up to 7 days. Immunohistological staining for Ki-67 confirmed that these solitary cells were indeed dormant. In contrast, in the absence of a primary tumor, GFP-expressing tumor cells quickly developed into micrometastases. Thus, primary CT-26 tumor implants nearly abrogated tumor metastasis by inhibition of angiogenesis and by promoting a state of single-cell dormancy. Knowledge of the mechanism underlying this dormancy state could result in the development of new therapeutic tools to fight cancer.
Collaboration, Mentoring and Co-Teaching in Teacher Education

Collaboration, Mentoring and Co-Teaching in Teacher Education Collaboration at the university level is a fundamental element needed to enhance teaching (Cochran-Smith & Fries, 2005) and reflection is a critical component of teacher education (Dewey, 1933, 1938). A case study is presented of one senior university faculty member's experiences co-teaching with two doctoral students seeking to understand the impact of shared decision-making and authentic collaboration on individuals entering the academy. An analysis of the authors' shared experiences indicated that, through this mentoring, collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships were built. An analysis of the authors' experiences also indicated that these collaborative relationships were built upon several key factors, specifically (a) a strong sense of individual accountability and professionalism; (b) the mutual creation and demonstration of respect; (c) affirmation and overt participation in reciprocal growth and development; (d) attention to issues of power and abeyance. The findings of the study highlight the need for further exploration into the role of mentorship of junior faculty and the efficacy of co-teaching processes in the development of professional identities of junior faculty entering the academy.
Frontier search

The critical resource that limits the application of best-first search is memory. We present a new class of best-first search algorithms that reduce the space complexity. The key idea is to store only the Open list of generated nodes, but not the Closed list of expanded nodes. The solution path can be recovered by a divide-and-conquer technique, either as a bidirectional or unidirectional search. For many problems, frontier search dramatically reduces the memory required by best-first search. We apply frontier search to breadth-first search of sliding-tile puzzles and the 4-peg Towers of Hanoi problem, Dijkstra's algorithm on a grid with random edge costs, and the A* algorithm on the Fifteen Puzzle, the four-peg Towers of Hanoi Problem, and optimal sequence alignment in computational biology.
Market structure and the nature of price rigidity: evidence from the market for consumer deposits

Panel data on consumer bank deposit interest rates reveal asymmetric impacts of market concentration on the dynamic adjustment of prices to shocks. Banks in concentrated markets are slower to raise interest rates on deposits in response to rising market interest rates, but are faster to reduce them in response to declining market interest rates. Thus, banks with market power skim off surplus on movements in both directions. Since deposit interest rates are inversely related to the price charged by banks for deposits, the results suggest that downward price rigidity and upward price flexibility are a consequence of market concentration. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Mechatronic design of innovative fingers for anthropomorphic robot hands

In this paper, a novel design approach for the development of robot hands is presented. This approach, that can be considered alternative to the "classical" one, takes into consideration compliant structures instead of rigid ones. Compliance effects, which were considered in the past as a "defect" to be mechanically eliminated, can be viceversa regarded as desired features and can be properly controlled in order to achieve desired properties from the robotic device. In particular, this is true for robot hands, where the mechanical complexity of "classical" design solutions has always originated complicated structures, often with low reliability and high costs. In this paper, an alternative solution to the design of dexterous robot hand is illustrated, considering a "mechatronic approach" for the integration of the mechanical structure, the sensory and electronic system, the control and the actuation part. Moreover, the preliminary experimental activity on a first prototype is reported and discussed. The results obtained so far, considering also reliability, costs and development time, are very encouraging, and allows to foresee a wider diffusion of dexterous hands for robotic applications.
Partitioning Carbon Dioxide Emission and Assessing Dissolved Organic Carbon Leaching of a Drained Peatland Cultivated with Pineapple at Saratok, Malaysia

Pineapples (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. ) cultivation on drained peats could affect the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere and also the leaching of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Carbon dioxide emission needs to be partitioned before deciding on whether cultivated peat is net sink or net source of carbon. Partitioning of CO2 emission into root respiration, microbial respiration, and oxidative peat decomposition was achieved using a lysimeter experiment with three treatments: peat soil cultivated with pineapple, bare peat soil, and bare peat soil fumigated with chloroform. Drainage water leached from cultivated peat and bare peat soil was also analyzed for DOC. On a yearly basis, CO2 emissions were higher under bare peat (218.8 t CO2 ha/yr) than under bare peat treated with chloroform (205 t CO2 ha/yr), and they were the lowest (179.6 t CO2 ha/yr) under cultivated peat. Decreasing CO2 emissions under pineapple were attributed to the positive effects of photosynthesis and soil autotrophic activities. An average 235.7 mg/L loss of DOC under bare peat suggests rapid decline of peat organic carbon through heterotrophic respiration and peat decomposition. Soil CO2 emission depended on moderate temperature fluctuations, but it was not affected by soil moisture.
Ontogeny of B cells in the chicken. I. Sequential development of clonal diversity in the bursa

The initial development and distribution of lymphocytes expressing surface IgM (sIgM) and of specific antigen-binding cells (ABC) were studied in the chicken in an attempt to gain information on the process by which B-cell diversity is generated. The antigens used were sheep erythrocytes (SE), keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), and poly-L(Tyr, Glu)poly-D,L-Ala-poly-L-Lys (TGAL). The results indicate that generation of the total sIgM-positive population begins in the bursa and that specific clones of ABC develop in a fixed sequential pattern which is not influenced by either deprivation of or deliberate exposure to exogenous antigens. Cells bearing sIgM by immunofluorescence (IgM- positive cells) were detected first in the bursa on the 12th day of incubation, KLH-ABC and TGAL-ABC by the 16th day, and SE-ABC on the 18th day. The doubling time of the sIgM-positive population of bursal cells was determined to be approximately 10 h before significant antigen-independent seeding to the spleen began a few days before hatching. Clonal expansion of SE-ABC in the bursa also appeared to be antigen independent as was the initial development of SE-ABC in the blood and spleen which ceased abruptly after bursectomy at hatching. Specific ABC were observed to develop in multiple bursal follicles as small foci of ABC among the much larger total population of sIgM- positive cells within an individual follicle. Intravenously infused SE- ABC homed to the embryonic spleen but not to the bursa. The results are interpreted as favoring a hypothetical model in which individual stem cells give rise to multiple clones of B cells by a predetermined pattern of sequential expression of variable region genes.
Insider Forces, Asymmetries, and Outsider Ineffectiveness: Empirical Evidence for Norwegian Industries 1966-87

Using panel data for 117 Norwegian industries from 1966 to 1987, the author shows that industry wages are significantly affected by industry performance. Insider effects are more important in expanding industries as compared to declining ones and most responsive to insider variables in good times. Industry wages are significantly affected by unemployment and the estimated unemployment coefficient is close to estimates obtained using time-series data. There is no long-run wage resistance and the main long-run determinants of industry wages are the outside wage and own profitability. Copyright 1996 by Royal Economic Society.
The Probiotic Bifidobacterium breve B632 Inhibited the Growth of Enterobacteriaceae within Colicky Infant Microbiota Cultures

Infant colic is a common gastrointestinal disorder of newborns, mostly related to imbalances in the composition of gut microbiota and particularly to the presence of gas-producing coliforms and to lower levels of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli. Probiotics could help to contain this disturbance, with formulations consisting of Lactobacillus strains being the most utilized. In this work, the probiotic strain Bifidobacterium breve B632 that was specifically selected for its ability to inhibit gas-producing coliforms, was challenged against the Enterobacteriaceae within continuous cultures of microbiota from a 2-month-old colicky infant. As confirmed by RAPD-PCR fingerprinting, B. breve B632 persisted in probiotic-supplemented microbiota cultures, accounting for the 64% of Bifidobacteria at the steady state. The probiotic succeeded in inhibiting coliforms, since FISH and qPCR revealed that the amount of Enterobacteriaceae after 18 h of cultivation was 0.42 and 0.44 magnitude orders lower (P < 0.05) in probiotic-supplemented microbiota cultures than in the control ones. These results support the possibility to move to another level of study, that is, the administration of B. breve B632 to a cohort of colicky newborns, in order to observe the behavior of this strain in vivo and to validate its effect in colic treatment.
Knowledge Artificial Neural Networks to Enhanced Parametric Option Pricing

In this paper we explore ways that alleviate problems of nonparametric (artificial neural networks) and parametric option pricing models by combining the two. The resulting knowledge enhanced network model is compared to standard artificial neural networks and to parametric models with several historical and implied parameters. Empirical results using S&P 500 index call options strongly support our approach.
Mapping Ocean Observations in a Dynamical Framework: A 2004–06 Ocean Atlas

Abstract This paper exploits a new observational atlas for the near-global ocean for the best-observed 3-yr period from December 2003 through November 2006. The atlas consists of mapped observations and derived quantities. Together they form a full representation of the ocean state and its seasonal cycle. The mapped observations are primarily altimeter data, satellite SST, and Argo profiles. GCM interpolation is used to synthesize these datasets, and the resulting atlas is a fairly close fit to each one of them. For observed quantities especially, the atlas is a practical means to evaluate free-running GCM simulations and to put field experiments into a broader context. The atlas-derived quantities include the middepth dynamic topography, as well as ocean fluxes of heat and salt–freshwater. The atlas is publicly available online (www.ecco-group.org). This paper provides insight into two oceanographic problems that are the subject of vigorous ongoing research. First, regarding ocean circulation estimates, .
Payments for ecosystem services and the neoliberalization of Costa Rican nature

“Payments for ecosystem services” (PES) represents a new form of environmental governance rooted in the logics of capitalist economics. As such, PES frequently produces new conceptions and material forms of nature that embody the principles of neoliberal ideology. This thesis explores the processes by which these policies have been deployed and taken root in Costa Rica, one of the foremost sites of financialized conservation worldwide. It provides a historical account of policy formation and the neoliberalization of Costa Rican nature. I situate this analysis in a critique of capitalist logic, explaining the particular type of neoliberalization that emerges as a consequence of capital's own internal contradictions. I place particular emphasis on ideological inconsistencies in the deployment of neoliberal ideals while highlighting the justice implications that inevitably still emerge. I do so by adopting a critical political-ecology perspective that sees questions of environmental management as fundamental questions of social and environmental justice – how are conservation mechanisms designed, by whom, for what purposes, and to whose ultimate benefit? Specifically, I consider three aspects of neoliberalization in Costa Rica's national Pagos por Servicios Ambientales (PSA) program: the design of a new market-like financing mechanism; the promotion of individualized contracting and participation; and the expansion of exclusionary land management practices. I show that these actions produce the conditions for uneven development, facilitate the consolidation of control over resources, and enable the accumulation of benefits among larger, wealthier landowners. I further explore conceptual understandings of neoliberalism (as ideology or process) and address the growing concern in the critical literature with ways that policy deviates from doctrine. I explain that such an emphasis on ideologically divergent practice distracts from the material and justice effects of encroaching neoliberalization, which invariably operates in partial and unfinished ways. Finally, I revisit the role of the internal contradictions of capital in producing the patterns of governance that constitute this era of neoliberal environmentalism.