Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Syntactic Priming over Clusters of Noun Phrases

This thesis introduces the concept of syntactic cross-priming: priming between nonidentical syntactic rules, analogous to lexical association. I also present the hypothesis that cross-priming is related to similarity, to the effect that pairs more similar rules will have higher cross-priming strengths. I introduce a variant of adaptation, crossadaptation as a measure for cross-priming in a corpus of written text, and show that high cross-adaptation correlates with similarity metrics. In addition, I present two attempts at clustering rules into clusters of high similarity and cross-priming.
ORGANIZED CRIMES AGAINST NATURE: ELEPHANTS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

Poaching of elephants in Southern Africa is now dominated by international groups following a model of organized crime. This shift, from poaching conducted by small, local groups; with limited mobility, weapons, and technology, to individuals who organize, finance, equip, and transport well‐armed poaching units to previously scouted locations, has made the protection of elephants in Southern Africa much more difficult and dangerous. This paper develops a model of high‐tech criminal poaching. A poaching organization makes a decision on the number of “planned poaching expeditions. ” If a poaching unit is intercepted the entire organization is destroyed, but is replaced by a new organization in the next year. The operating life of a poaching organization is a stochastic process, which in turn induces a stochastic evolution in the elephant population. Under plausible conditions, the number of planned poaching expeditions is highly sensitive to the probability of interception by anti‐poaching patrols, but is nonresponsive to reductions in the black‐market ivory price. Thereby it might be better to focus conservation efforts on increasing the probability of intercepting poaching units rather than trying to control black market ivory prices. A benchmark value of poaching expeditions is identified—above which elephants may slowly decline to extinction.
Resource Management and Cell Planning in Millimeter-Wave Overlaid Ultra-Dense Cellular Networks

This paper proposes a cellular network exploiting millimeter-wave (mmWave) and ultra-densified base stations (BSs) to achieve the far-reaching 5G aim in downlink average rate. The mmWave overlaid network however incurs a pitfall that its ample data rate is only applicable for downlink transmissions due to the implementation difficulty at mobile users, leading to an immense difference between uplink and downlink rates. We therefore turn our attention not only to maximize downlink rate but also to ensure the minimum uplink rate. With this end, we firstly derive the mmWave overlaid ultra-dense cellular network spectral efficiencies for both uplink and downlink cases in closed forms by using stochastic geometry via a lower bound approximation. In a practical scenario, such tractable results of the proposed network reveal that incumbent micro-wave ($\mu$Wave) cellular resource should be mostly dedicated to uplink transmissions in order to correspond with the mmWave downlink rate improvement. Furthermore, increasing uplink rate via $\mu$Wave BS densification cannot solely cope with the mmWave downlink/uplink rate asymmetry, and thus requires additional $\mu$Wave spectrum in 5G cellular networks.
Inter-regional Poverty Comparisons: Case of West Bengal

This paper aims to explore into the causes of the differential levels of economic well being in the two parts of West Bengal, an eastern state of India in terms of incidences of poverty and various socio economic explanatory variables. Using a regression based technique, the incidences of poverty are found separately for these two parts, i.e., North Bengal and South Bengal. The disparity in poverty estimates (in particular, the Head Count Ratio (HCR) between rural North and South Bengal is studied. The difference between the poverty estimates is then decomposed into a characteristics effect, showing the effect of the regional characteristics and a coefficients effect, showing the effects of the differential impact of the characteristics over the regions using the familiar Oaxaca decomposition method and the results are interpreted in terms of policy prescriptions.
Systemic Proper Motions of Milky Way Satellites from Stellar Redshifts: The Carina, Fornax, Sculptor, and Sextans Dwarf Spheroidals

The transverse motions of nearby dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies contribute line-of-sight components that increase with angular distance from the dSph centers, inducing detectable gradients in stellar redshift. In the absence of an intrinsic velocity gradient (e.g., due to rotation or streaming), an observed gradient in the heliocentric rest frame (HRF) relates simply to a dSph’s systemic proper motion (PM). Kinematic samples for the Milky Way’s brightest dSph satellites are now sufficiently large that we can use stellar redshifts to constrain systemic PMs independently of astrometric data. Data from our Michigan/MIKE Fiber System (MMFS) Survey reveal significant HRF velocity gradients in Carina, Fornax, and Sculptor, and no significant gradient in Sextans. Assuming there are no intrinsic gradients, the data provide a relatively tight constraint on the PM of Fornax, (μαHRF, μδHRF) = (+48 ± 15, –25 ± 14) mas century−1, that agrees with published HST astrometric measurements. Smaller data sets yield weaker constraints in the remaining galaxies, but our Carina measurement, (μαHRF, μδHRF) = (+25 ± 36, +16 ± 43) mas century−1, agrees with the published astrometric value. The disagreement of our Sculptor measurement, (μHRFα, μδHRF) = (–40 ± 29, –69 ± 47) mas century−1, with astrometric measurements is expected if Sculptor has a rotational component as reported by Battaglia and coworkers. For Sextans, which at present lacks an astrometric measurement, we measure (μαHRF, μδHRF) = (–26 ± 41, +10 ± 44) mas century−1.
Foreign Exchange Intervention: A Shield Against Appreciation Winds?

This paper examines foreign exchange intervention practices and their effectiveness using a new qualitative and quantitative database for a panel of 15 economies covering 2004-10 with special focus on Latin America. Qualitatively, it examines institutional aspects such as declared motives, instruments employed, the use of rules versus discretion, and the degree of transparency. Quantitatively, it assesses the effectiveness of sterilized interventions in influencing the exchange rate using a two-stage IV-panel data approach to overcome endogeneity bias. Results suggest that interventions slow the pace of appreciation, but the effects decrease rapidly with the degree of capital account openness. At the same time, interventions are more effective in the context of already ‘overvalued’ exchange rates.
Analysis of a Multidimensional Parabolic Population Model with Strong Cross-Diffusion

The global existence of a nonnegative weak solution to a multidimensional parabolic strongly coupled model for two competing species is proved. The main feature of the model is that the diffusion matrix is nonsymmetric and generally not positive definite and that the nondiagonal matrix elements (the cross-diffusion terms) are allowed to be "large. " The ideas of the existence proof are a careful approximation of the cross-diffusion terms using finite differences and the use of an entropy inequality yielding a priori estimates.
The 677C>T (rs1801133) Polymorphism in the MTHFR Gene Contributes to Colorectal Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis Based on 71 Research Studies

Background The 677C>T polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene is considered to have a significant effect on colorectal cancer susceptibility, but the results are inconsistent. In order to investigate the association between the MTHFR 677C>T polymorphism and the risk of colorectal cancer, a meta-analysis was held based on 71 published studies. Methods Eligible studies were identified through searching the MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature database (CBM) and CNKI database. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the association. The statistical heterogeneity across studies was examined with x2-based Q-test. Begg's and Egger's test were also carried out to evaluate publication bias. Sensitive and subgroup analysis were also held in this meta-analysis. Results Overall, 71 publications including 31,572 cases and 44,066 controls were identified. The MTHFR 677 C>T variant genotypes are significantly associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer. In the stratified analysis by ethnicity, significantly increased risks were also found among Caucasians for CC vs TT (OR = 1.076; 95%CI = 1.008–1.150; I2 = 52.3%), CT vs TT (OR = 1.102; 95%CI = 1.032–1.177; I2 = 51.4%) and dominant model (OR = 1.086; 95%CI = 1.021–1.156; I2 = 53.6%). Asians for CC vs TT (OR = 1.226; 95%CI = 1.116–1.346; I2 = 55.3%), CT vs TT (OR = 1.180; 95%CI = 1.079–1.291; I2 = 36.2%), recessive (OR = 1.069; 95%CI = 1.003-1.140; I2 = 30.9%) and dominant model (OR = 1.198; 95%CI = 1.101-1.303; I2 = 52.4%), and Mixed populations for CT vs TT (OR = 1.142; 95%CI = 1.005-1.296; I2 = 0.0%). However, no associations were found in Africans for all genetic models. Conclusion This meta-analysis suggests that the MTHFR 677C>T polymorphism increases the risk for developing colorectal cancer, while there is no association among Africans found in subgroup analysis by ethnicity.
Public Policies and FDI Location: Differences Between Developing and Developed Countries

Host country government officials in developing and developed countries alike would like to know the impact of their public policies on foreign investment in their countries. Unfortunately, the literature does not provide a single view, and there are likely to be differences between developing and developed countries. This paper examines the impact of three host country government policies on the host’s FDI stock: taxation, good governance, and infrastructure. We focus on whether the impact of these factors on FDI differs depending on the level of development of the host country. The regression results indicate that FDI is sensitive to host country taxation in developed countries, but not in developing countries; FDI is sensitive to host country governance measures and corruption in developing countries but not developed; and FDI shows sensitivity to host country infrastructure quality in both developed and developing host countries.
Campaign Effects on Voter Choice in the German Election of 1990

Using national survey panel data collected in Germany during the 1990 Bundestag election campaign, we develop a model to assess the effect of the campaign on individual votes and the election outcome. We find that the dominant effects of the campaign on German voters, as in the Lazarsfeld et al. studies from the 1940s and in more recent US research, were the ‘reinforcement’ of earlier preferences and the ‘activation’ of latent vote dispositions based on fundamental individual attitudes such as party affiliation and left-right ideology. At the same time, the analysis shows that the number of campaign ‘converts’ (those who vote against their dispositions and prior preferences) was approximately 14 per cent of the electorate. The vote division among these individuals was overwhelmingly pro-government, suggesting that the 1990 German campaign altered a sufficient number of votes to turn what was an even contest, based on the electorate's initial political dispositions, into a solid government coalition victory.
Ethics and information systems

The information systems (I/S) community is becoming concerned with questions of ethical behavior in many realms. But those who attempt to resolve the quandaries may find themselves confused by differing approaches and theoretical assumptions that are often proffered. This paper provides a meta-framework that identifies the areas of convergence and divergence in these approaches and assumptions. An illustrative example (America Online's plans to share subscriber information with telemarketers) is examined through several sets of lenses. Special attention is paid to the linkages between the theories, with fertile areas for future research identified.
Pathology of non-thermal irreversible electroporation (N-TIRE)-induced ablation of the canine brain

This study describes the neuropathologic features of normal canine brain ablated with non-thermal irreversible electroporation (N-TIRE). The parietal cerebral cortices of four dogs were treated with N-TIRE using a dose-escalation protocol with an additional dog receiving sham treatment. Animals were allowed to recover following N-TIRE ablation and the effects of treatment were monitored with clinical and magnetic resonance imaging examinations. Brains were subjected to histopathologic and ultrastructural assessment along with Bcl-2, caspase-3, and caspase-9 immunohistochemical staining following sacrifice 72 h post-treatment. Adverse clinical effects of N-TIRE were only observed in the dog treated at the upper energy tier. MRI and neuropathologic examinations indicated that N-TIRE ablation resulted in focal regions of severe cytoarchitectural and blood-brain-barrier disruption. Lesion size correlated to the intensity of the applied electrical field. N-TIRE-induced lesions were characterized by parenchymal necrosis and hemorrhage; however, large blood vessels were preserved. A transition zone containing parenchymal edema, perivascular inflammatory cuffs, and reactive gliosis was interspersed between the necrotic focus and normal neuropil. Apoptotic labeling indices were not different between the N-TIRE-treated and control brains. This study identified N-TIRE pulse parameters that can be used to safely create circumscribed foci of brain necrosis while selectively preserving major vascular structures.
Performance and the Design of Economic Incentives in New Product Development

This study investigates the use of variable compensation to motivate product development managers and its impact upon the performance of product development projects. Grounded on measurement theory, the paper presents a model to explore the question of how to combine subjective and objective measures of performance contingent upon the uncertainty of the project. Next, the model is used to guide the analysis of data from 56 product development projects and understand how technology-intensive firms use variable compensation. Using a hierarchical modeling approach, I find that higher uncertainty is associated with lower variable compensation. Moreover, organizational structure, through its effect upon the allocation of uncertainty among organizational participants, also affects the level of variable compensation. I also explore whether the level of variable compensation is related to better or, alternatively, worse project performance. While extrinsic rewards may motivate a manager to exert more effort, they can also reduce intrinsic motivation or focus the manager's attention away from relevant project dimensions. I find a positive relationship between economic incentives and Project performance; however, the slope of this relationship is not linear decreases as the percentage of variable compensation increases. Finally, the paper uncovers that European companies are more likely to give a flat salary than their U.S. counterparts.
Mercury methylation in periphyton of the Florida Everglades

Trophic accumulation of mercury (Hg) in aquatic ecosystems is of global concern due to health effects associated with eating fish with elevated Hg levels. The methylated form of Hg bioaccumulates so it is important to understand how inorganic Hg is transformed to methylmercury in the environment. Here, a new site for Hg methylation, the periphyton communities that are prevalent in the Florida Everglades, is described. It is hypothesized that periphyton communities that support an active microbial sulfur cycle support Hg methylation. This new methylation site has implications for trophic transfer of methylmercury since periphyton can be the base of the food web in aquatic ecosystems.
Company Stock in 401(K) Plans

Investors in 401(k) plans violate basic principles of diversification by holding a significant fraction of their savings in the form of their employers' equity. This paper characterizes investors' active changes to their company stock investment over time by analyzing new inflows and transfers. Investors seem to base active changes on salient information, paying attention to past returns, volatility, and business performance. Past returns, over a three-year horizon, predict higher inflow allocations and transfers, whereas volatility and business performance only have a weak effect. The sensitivity to past returns is asymmetric, with investors reacting more strongly to positive and above - S&P500 returns.
Analysis An integrated assessment model with endogenous growth ☆

a r t i c l e i n f o JEL classification: O11 O30 O44 O47 Q32 Keywords: Endogenous growth Directed technical change Technology transfer Integrated assessment Carbon budget China We introduce endogenous directed technical change into numerical integrated climate and development policy assessment. We distinguish expenditures on innovation (R&D) and imitation (international technology spillovers) and consider the role of capital investment in creating and implementing new technologies. Our main contribution is to calibrate and numerically solve the model and to examine the model's sensitivity. As an application, we assess a carbon budget-based climate policy and vary the beginning of energy-saving technology transfer. Accordingly, China is a main beneficiary of early technology transfer. Herein, our results highlight the importance of timely international technology transfer for efficiently meeting global emission targets. Most of the consumption gains from endogenous growth are captured in the baseline. Moreover, mit-igation costs turn out to be insensitive to changes in most of the parameters of endogenous growth. A higher effectivity of energy-specific relative to labor-specific expenditures on innovation and imitation reduces mit-igation costs, though. Innovation as well as imitation and international diffusion of technologies can be a key for successfully coping with poverty and climate change. Herein, (climate) policy interventions have an impact on the strength and direction of innovation, imitation and technology diffusion. Therefore, a (climate) policy analysis that takes these aspects into account requires a rigorous model of endogenous directed technical progress. Setting up such a model and calibrating it to real world data is the first and main contribution of this paper. Due to the uncertainties in the parameter values in a model of endogenous growth, we conduct a careful sensitivity analysis. This is the second contribution of this paper. It is widely agreed that the OECD countries bear the main responsibility for climate change while the developing countries will bear most of its impacts. Private investment on a national or international scale is expected to bring about the relevant capacities and technologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. China as a prominent example has successfully improved its energy productivity and has become a leading producer and exporter of clean energy equipment. But in general , many developing and emerging economies lack in financial resources , knowledge, technological capabilities and the ability to adopt foreign technologies. International trade policy and patent regulation (WTO and TRIPS 1) can on the one hand spur …
The Price of Truth: How Money Affects the Norms of Science

Modern science is big business. Governments, universities, and corporations have invested billions of dollars in scientific and technological research in the hope of obtaining power and profit. For the most part, this investment has benefited science and society, leading to new discoveries, inventions, disciplines, specialties, jobs, and career opportunities. However, there is a dark side to the influx of money into science. Unbridled pursuit of financial gain in science can undermine scientific norms, such as objectivity, honesty, openness, respect for research participants, and social responsibility. In The Price of Truth, David B. Resnik examines some of the important and difficult questions resulting from the financial and economic aspects of modern science. How does money affect scientific research? Have scientists become entrepreneurs bent on making money instead of investigators searching for the truth? How does the commercialization of research affect the public's perception of science? Can scientists prevent money from corrupting the research enterprise? What types of rules, polices, and guidelines should scientists adopt to prevent financial interests from adversely affecting research and the public's opinion of science?
Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibition Restored Endothelium-Mediated Relaxation in Old Obese Zucker Rat Mesenteric Arteries

Metabolic syndrome is associated with reduced endothelial vasodilator function. It is also associated with the induction of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2), which produces vasoactive prostanoids. The frequency of metabolic syndrome increases with age and aging per se is a risk factor associated with reduced endothelium-mediated relaxation. Nevertheless, the combined effect of aging and metabolic syndrome on the endothelium is less known. We hypothesized that COX2 derived prostanoids may affect endothelium function in metabolic syndrome associated with aging. We used obese Zucker rats, a model of metabolic syndrome. First order mesenteric arteries were isolated from 4- and 12-month-old rats and acetylcholine (endothelium)-dependent relaxation determined using wire-myography. Endothelium-mediated relaxation, impaired in young Zucker rats (89 versus 77% maximal relaxation; lean versus Zucker), was further reduced in old Zucker rats (72 versus 51%, lean versus Zucker). The effect of the nitric oxide-synthesis inhibitor L-NAME on the relaxation was reduced in both young and old Zucker rats without change in eNOS expression level. COX inhibition (indomethacin) improved acetylcholine-mediated relaxation in old obese rats only, suggesting involvement of vasoconstrictor prostanoids. In addition, COX2 inhibition (NS398) and TxA2/PGH2 receptor blockade (SQ29548) both improved relaxation in old Zucker rat arteries. Old Zucker rats had the highest TxB2 (TxA2 metabolite) blood level associated with increased COX2 immunostaining. Chronic COX2 blockade (Celecoxib, 3 weeks) restored endothelium-dependent relaxation in old Zucker rats to the level observed in old lean rats. Thus the combination of aging and metabolic syndrome further impairs endothelium-dependent relaxation by inducing an excessive production of COX2-derived vasoconstrictor(s); possibly TxA2.
The effectiveness of using non redundant test cases with program spectra for bug localization

In this paper, we present our approach of using non redundant test cases with program spectra (one of the automated bug localization techniques) to locate software bugs in a program. We evaluate several spectra metrics (functions mapped from program spectra) using the non redundant test cases. Extensive evaluation on Siemens Test Suite and subset of Unix datasets shows the effectiveness of locating bug using non redundant test cases with program spectra. In this paper, we also show that by adding duplicates of non redundant test cases, the stability and performance of spectra metrics are affected.