Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ministers as strategic political leaders? : Strategic political steering after NPM reforms in Finland

This study explores strategic political steering after the New Public Management (NPM) reforms, with emphasis on the new role assigned to Government ministers in Finland. In the NPM model, politicians concentrate on broad, principal issues, while agencies have discretion within the limits set by politicians. In Finland, strategic steering was introduced with Management by Results (MBR), but the actual tools for strategic political steering have been the Government Programme, the Government Strategy Portfolio (GSP) and Frame Budgeting. This study addresses these tools as means of strategic steering conducted by the Cabinet and individual ministers within their respective ministries. The time frame of the study includes the two Lipponen Cabinets between 1995 and 2003. Interviews with fourteen ministers as well as with fourteen top offi cials were conducted. In addition, administrative reform documents and documents related to strategic steering tools were analysed. The empirical conclusions of the study can be summarised as follows: There were few signs of strategic political steering in the Lipponen Cabinets. Although the Government Programmes of both Cabinets introduced strategic thinking, the strategic guidelines set forth at the beginning of the Programme were not linked to the GSP or to Frame Budgeting. The GSP could be characterised as the collected strategic agendas of each ministry, while there was neither the will nor the courage among Cabinet members to prioritise the projects and to make selections. The Cabinet used Frame Budgeting mainly in the sense of spending limits, not in making strategic allocation decisions. As for the GSP at the departmental level, projects were suggested by top offi cials, and ministers only approved the suggested list. Frame Budgeting at the departmental level proved to be the most interesting strategic steering tool from ministers’ viewpoint: they actively participated in defi ning which issues would need extra fi nancing. Because the chances for extra fi nancing were minimal, ministers had an effect only on a marginal share of the budget. At the departmental level, the study shows that strategic plans were considered the domain of offi cials. As for strategies concerning specifi c substances, there was variation in the interest shown by the ministers. A few ministers emphasised the importance of strategic work and led strategy processes. In most cases, however, offi cials led the process while ministers offered comments on the drafts of strategy documents. The results of this study together with experiences reported in other countries and local politics show that political decision-makers have diffi culty operating at the strategic level. The conclusion is that politicians do not have suffi cient incentive to perform the strategic role implied by the NPM type of reforms. Overall, the empirical results of the study indicate the power of politics over management reforms.
Adaptive Learning and Monetary Policy Design

We review the recent work on interest rate setting, which emphasizes the desirability of designing policy to ensure stability under learning. Appropriately designed expectations-based rules can yield optimal rational expectations (REs) equilibria that are both determinate and stable under learning. Some simple instrument rules and approximate targeting rules also have these desirable properties. We discuss various complications in implementing optimal policy, including the observability of key variables and the required knowledge of structural parameters. An additional issue that we take up concerns the implications of expectation shocks not arising from transitional learning effects.
Global Optimization Procedures for the Capacitated Euclidean and lp Distance Multifacility Location-Allocation Problems

In this paper, we study the capacitated Euclidean andlpdistance location-allocation problems. There exists no global optimization algorithm that has been developed and tested for this class of problems, aside from a total enumeration approach. Beginning with the Euclidean distance problem, we design a branch-and-bound algorithm based on a partitioning of the allocation space that finitely converges to a global optimum for this nonconvex problem. For deriving lower bounds at node subproblems in this partial enumeration scheme, we employ two types of procedures. The first approach computes a lower bound via a projected location space subproblem. The second approach derives a significantly enhanced lower bound by using a Reformulation-Linearization Technique (RLT) to transform an equivalent representation of the original nonconvex problem into a higher dimensional linear programming relaxation. In addition, certain cut-set inequalities are generated in the allocation space, and objective function based cuts are derived in the location space to further tighten the lower bounding relaxation. The RLT procedure is then extended to the generallpdistance problem, forp > 1. Computational experience is provided on a set of test problems to investigate both the projected location space and the RLT-lower bounding schemes. The results indicate that the proposed global optimization approach using the RLT-based scheme offers a promising viable solution procedure. In fact, among the problems solved, for the only two test instances available in the literature for the Euclidean distance case, we report significantly improved solutions.
Where Is This Tweet From? Inferring Home Locations of Twitter Users

We present a new algorithm for inferring the home locations of Twitter users at different granularities, such as city, state, or time zone, using the content of their tweets and their tweeting behavior. Unlike existing approaches, our algorithm uses an ensemble of statistical and heuristic classifiers to predict locations. We find that a hierarchical classification approach can improve prediction accuracy. Experimental evidence suggests that our algorithm works well in practice and outperforms the best existing algorithms for predicting the location of Twitter users.
Functional Studies of Tyrosine Hydroxylase Missense Variants Reveal Distinct Patterns of Molecular Defects in Dopa-Responsive Dystonia

Congenital tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency (THD) is found in autosomal‐recessive Dopa‐responsive dystonia and related neurological syndromes. The clinical manifestations of THD are variable, ranging from early‐onset lethal disease to mild Parkinson disease‐like symptoms appearing in adolescence. Until 2014, approximately 70 THD patients with a total of 40 different disease‐related missense mutations, five nonsense mutations, and three mutations in the promoter region of the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene have been reported. We collected clinical and biochemical data in the literature for all variants, and also generated mutant forms of TH variants previously not studied (N = 23). We compared the in vitro solubility, thermal stability, and kinetic properties of the TH variants to determine the cause(s) of their impaired enzyme activity, and found great heterogeneity in all these properties among the mutated forms. Some TH variants had specific kinetic anomalies and phenylalanine hydroxylase, and Dopa oxidase activities were measured for variants that showed signs of altered substrate binding. p.Arg233His, p.Gly247Ser, and p.Phe375Leu had shifted substrate specificity from tyrosine to phenylalanine and Dopa, whereas p.Cys359Phe had an impaired activity toward these substrates. The new data about pathogenic mechanisms presented are expected to contribute to develop individualized therapy for THD patients.
Improved Geoid Determination Based on the Shallow-Layer Method: A Case Study Using EGM08 and CRUST2.0 in the Xinjiang and Tibetan Regions

In this paper we present the concepts and realization of the shallow-layer Shen geoid determination method, which is quite different from the classical geoid modeling methods (Stokes' method, Molodenskii's method, etc.), for determining the global or regional geoids. This method takes full advantage of the precise Earth gravity field model EGM2008, digital topographic model DTM2006.0 and global crust model CRUST2.0 of a shallow layer, a layer from the Earth's surface to a depth. As a case study this method is applied to the determination of a 5' × 5' geoid over the Xinjiang and Tibetan regions, which ranges from latitude 25 to 50°N and longitude 70 to 100°E. The modeled 5' × 5' regional geoid is compared with the EGM2008 geoid model in the same study area and validated by 21 GPS/leveling benchmarks (GPSBMs) distributed sparsely in the Xinjiang area. The results show that the regional geoid reaches an accuracy of ~18 cm and agrees with the GPSBMs better than the EGM2008 geoid in the Xinjiang region.
Kinemetry: a generalization of photometry to the higher moments of the line-of-sight velocity distribution

We present a generalization of surface photometry to the higher-order moments of the line-of-sight velocity distribution of galaxies observed with integral-field spectrographs. The generalization follows the approach of surface photometry by determining the best-fitting ellipses along which the profiles of the moments can be extracted and analysed by means of harmonic expansion. The assumption for the odd moments (e.g. mean velocity) is that the profile along an ellipse satisfies a simple cosine law. The assumption for the even moments (e.g. velocity dispersion) is that the profile is constant, as it is used in surface photometry. We test the method on a number of model maps and discuss the meaning of the resulting harmonic terms. We apply the method to the kinematic moments of an axisymmetric model elliptical galaxy and probe the influence of noise on the harmonic terms. We also apply the method to SAURON observations of NGC 2549, NGC 2974, NGC 4459 and NGC 4473 where we detect multiple co- and counter-rotating (NGC 2549 and NGC 4473, respectively) components. We find that velocity profiles extracted along ellipses of early-type galaxies are well represented by the simple cosine law (with 2 per cent accuracy), while possible deviations are carried in the fifth harmonic term which is sensitive to the existence of multiple kinematic components, and has some analogy to the shape parameter of photometry. We compare the properties of the kinematic and photometric ellipses and find that they are often very similar, but a study on a larger sample is necessary. Finally, we offer a characterization of the main velocity structures based only on the kinemetric parameters which can be used to quantify the features in velocity maps.
School quality and student achievement in 21 European countries

The Heyneman-Loxley effect (1982, 1983) refers to an effect moderating the degree to which school quality affects student achievement. This moderating effect was found to relate to a country’s economic productivity. More specifically, the effect is one in which school quality has a greater impact on student achievement in countries that are less developed economically than in countries that are more highly developed. This article presents a reexamination of this effect using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses of data for 21 European countries that participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2003. Two models are analyzed. The first is a three-level model that includes each country’s economic status at the highest level, school resources at the middle level, and students’ respective family backgrounds at the lowest level. The second is a two-level model that includes school and student context variables only and examines these separately for each country. Results indicate little evidence to support the Heyneman-Loxley effect in the selected group of countries in 2003.
Adaptation of Reward Sensitivity in Orbitofrontal Neurons

Animals depend on a large variety of rewards but their brains have a limited dynamic coding range. When rewards are uncertain, neuronal coding needs to cover a wide range of possible rewards. However, when reward is likely to occur within a specific range, focusing the sensitivity on the predicted range would optimize the discrimination of small reward differences. One way to overcome the trade-off between wide coverage and optimal discrimination is to adapt reward sensitivity dynamically to the available rewards. We investigated how changes in reward distribution influenced the coding of reward in the orbitofrontal cortex. Animals performed an oculomotor task in which a fixation cue predicted the SD of the probability distribution of juice volumes, while the expected mean volume was kept constant. A subsequent cue specified the exact juice volume obtained for a correct saccade response. Population responses of orbitofrontal neurons that reflected the predicted juice volume showed adaptation to the reward distribution. Statistical tests on individual responses revealed that a quarter of value-coding neurons shifted the reward sensitivity slope significantly between two reward distributions, whereas the remaining neurons showed insignificant change or lack of adaptation. Adaptations became more prominent when reward distributions changed less frequently, indicating time constraints for assessing reward distributions and adjusting neuronal sensitivity. The observed neuronal adaptation would optimize discrimination and contribute to the efficient coding of a large variety of potential rewards by neurons with limited dynamic range.
Spatio-Temporal Regularization for Longitudinal Registration to Subject-Specific 3d Template

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease present subtle anatomical brain changes before the appearance of clinical symptoms. Manual structure segmentation is long and tedious and although automatic methods exist, they are often performed in a cross-sectional manner where each time-point is analyzed independently. With such analysis methods, bias, error and longitudinal noise may be introduced. Noise due to MR scanners and other physiological effects may also introduce variability in the measurement. We propose to use 4D non-linear registration with spatio-temporal regularization to correct for potential longitudinal inconsistencies in the context of structure segmentation. The major contribution of this article is the use of individual template creation with spatio-temporal regularization of the deformation fields for each subject. We validate our method with different sets of real MRI data, compare it to available longitudinal methods such as FreeSurfer, SPM12, QUARC, TBM, and KNBSI, and demonstrate that spatially local temporal regularization yields more consistent rates of change of global structures resulting in better statistical power to detect significant changes over time and between populations.
Counting Results for Thin Butson Matrices

A partial Butson matrix is a matrix $H\in M_{M\times N}(\mathbb Z_q)$ having its rows pairwise orthogonal, where $\mathbb Z_q\subset\mathbb C^\times$ is the group of $q$-th roots of unity. We investigate here the counting problem for these matrices in the "thin" regime, where $M=2,3,\ldots$ is small, and where $N\to\infty$ (subject to the condition $N\in p\mathbb N$ when $q=p^k>2$). The proofs are inspired from the de Launey-Levin and Richmond-Shallit counting results.
Inclusive Finance India Report 2014

Inclusive Finance India Report 2014 presents in-depth research and analysis on financial inclusion with evidence on the decisive shift in the positioning of microfinance within the financial system of India. Following up on Microfinance State of the Sector Report 2013 by the authors, this year's report focuses on recent developments in inclusive financing and efforts by governments and banks in extending financial services to the unbanked and underbanked regions and populations. The report tracks the progress of financial inclusion initiatives across institutional structures and delivery models, including the main microfinance channels. It contributes to an understanding of the complexities of the financial inclusion process, reviews policy development on inclusive finance, and highlights key challenges and opportunities for diverse stakeholders. A comprehensive reference on annual trends and progress of financial inclusion and the microfinance sector, the report synthesizes data and inputs from the Reserve Bank of India, NABARD, Ministry of Finance, banks, apex financial institutions, technology services providers, sector experts, and resource agencies. It serves to provide a perspective on the practice of financial inclusion in India as well as informing the policy formulation process.
HABITS AND THE SAVINGS-GROWTH RELATIONSHIP Why US Personal Savings Rates Are At Historic Lows

In this paper we show that the solution to the standard consumer maximisation problem which is augmented by habit-persistence can imply a positive and linear relationship between changes in the level of savings and changes in present income. We show that these savings-income dynamics contrast with the orthodox view that the level of the savings rate is related to the present growth rate of income. The model also implies that if expectations of future changes in income are positive and present income itself is stationary, then the level of consumption tends to converge on income over time and savings fall. In these circumstances the standard model predicts that the level of savings and consumption remain constant. Using personal savings and disposable income time series data, we show that a simple bivariate version of the habits-augmented model which assumes constant expectations of future changes in income and strong habit persistence performs extremely well in terms of explaining the dynamics of post-war United States personal savings rates; in particular their recent decline to historic lows.
Pharmacological inactivation of CHK1 and WEE1 induces mitotic catastrophe in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a rare but highly invasive cancer. As radiotherapy is the primary treatment for NPC, this offers a rationale to investigate if uncoupling the DNA damage responses can sensitize this cancer type. The G2 DNA damage checkpoint is controlled by a cascade of protein kinases: ATM/ATR, which phosphorylates CHK1/CHK2, which in turn phosphorylates WEE1. A number of small molecule inhibitors have been developed against these kinases as potential therapeutic agents. Here we demonstrated that compare to that in immortalized nasopharyngeal epithelial cells, ATR, CHK1, and WEE1 were overexpressed in NPC cell lines. Inhibitors of these kinases were unable to promote extensive mitotic catastrophe in ionizing radiation-treated NPC cells, indicating that they are not very effective radiosensitizer for this cancer. In the absence of prior irradiation, however, mitotic catastrophe could be induced with inhibitors against CHK1 (AZD7762) or WEE1 (MK-1775). NPC cells were more sensitive to WEE1 inactivation than nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. Targeting CHK1 and WEE1 together induced more extensive mitotic catastrophe than the individual components alone. Taken together, our results show that NPC cells depend on CHK1 and WEE1 activity for growth and that inhibitors of these kinases may serve as potential therapeutics for NPC.
Simplex Algorithm for Countable-State Discounted Markov Decision Processes

We consider discounted Markov decision processes (MDPs) with countably-infinite state spaces, finite action spaces, and unbounded rewards. Typical examples of such MDPs are inventory management and queueing control problems in which there is no specific limit on the size of inventory or queue. Existing solution methods obtain a sequence of policies that converges to optimality in value but may not improve monotonically, ie. , a policy in the sequence may be worse than preceding policies. Our proposed approach considers countably-infinite linear programming (CILP) formulations of the MDPs (a CILP is defined as a linear program (LP) with countably-infinite numbers of variables and constraints). Under standard assumptions for analyzing MDPs with countably-infinite state spaces and unbounded rewards, we extend the major theoretical extreme point and duality results to the resulting CILPs. Under additional mild assumptions, which are satisfied by several applications of interest, we present a simplex-type algor.
H1N1pdm Influenza Infection in Hospitalized Cancer Patients: Clinical Evolution and Viral Analysis

Background The novel influenza A pandemic virus (H1N1pdm) caused considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide in 2009. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical course, duration of viral shedding, H1N1pdm evolution and emergence of antiviral resistance in hospitalized cancer patients with severe H1N1pdm infections during the winter of 2009 in Brazil. Methods We performed a prospective single-center cohort study in a cancer center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hospitalized patients with cancer and a confirmed diagnosis of influenza A H1N1pdm were evaluated. The main outcome measures in this study were in-hospital mortality, duration of viral shedding, viral persistence and both functional and molecular analyses of H1N1pdm susceptibility to oseltamivir. Results A total of 44 hospitalized patients with suspected influenza-like illness were screened. A total of 24 had diagnosed H1N1pdm infections. The overall hospital mortality in our cohort was 21%. Thirteen (54%) patients required intensive care. The median age of the studied cohort was 14.5 years (3–69 years). Eighteen (75%) patients had received chemotherapy in the previous month, and 14 were neutropenic at the onset of influenza. A total of 10 patients were evaluated for their duration of viral shedding, and 5 (50%) displayed prolonged viral shedding (median 23, range = 11–63 days); however, this was not associated with the emergence of a resistant H1N1pdm virus. Viral evolution was observed in sequentially collected samples. Conclusions Prolonged influenza A H1N1pdm shedding was observed in cancer patients. However, oseltamivir resistance was not detected. Taken together, our data suggest that severely ill cancer patients may constitute a pandemic virus reservoir with major implications for viral propagation.
Performance Analysis of TCP Congestion Control Algorithms

The demand for fast transfer of large volumes of data, and the deployment of the network infrastructures is ever increasing. However, the dominant transport protocol of today, TCP, does not meet this demand because it favors reliability over timeliness and fails to fully utilize the network capacity due to limitations of its conservative congestion control algorithm. The slow response of TCP in fast long distance networks leaves sizeable unused bandwidth in such networks. A large variety of TCP variants have been proposed to improve the connection's throughput by adopting more aggressive congestion control algorithms. Some of the flavors of TCP congestion control are loss-based, high-speed TCP congestion control algorithms that uses packet losses as an indication of congestion; delay-based TCP congestion control that emphasizes packet delay rather than packet loss as a signal to determine the rate at which to send packets. Some efforts combine the features of loss-based and delay-based algorithms to achieve fair bandwidth allocation and fairness among flows. A comparative analysis between different flavors of TCP congestion control namely Standard TCP congestion control (TCP Reno), loss-based TCP congestion control (HighSpeed TCP, Scalable TCP, CUBIC TCP), delay-based TCP congestion control (TCP Vegas) and mixed loss-delay based TCP congestion control (Compound TCP) is presented here in terns of congestion window verses elapsed time after the connection is established.