Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early development and adult cognitive function in schizophrenia and the general population—a longitudinal perspective

Many adults with schizophrenia have cognitive deficits, and many children who go on to develop schizophrenia as adults have subtle sub-clinical signs of early developmental deviance. However, the relationship between early markers of neurodevelopment and later neurocognition remains unclear. The present thesis principally investigates infant neurodevelopment, adolescent scholastic function and adult cognition in the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort (n = 12,058). Proxy markers of neurocognition – developmental milestones and school performance – were collected prospectively. Individuals who went on to develop schizophrenia were identified. School performance in pre-schizophrenic individuals was assessed by teacher ratings (n = 100). Cognition in subjects with schizophrenia was assessed at age 33–35 (n = 61). A representative sample of the general population at risk was studied as a comparison group (school assessments n = 9351; neurocognitive assessment n = 104). The schizophrenia group achieved neuromotor milestones later (p < 0.0001) and performed worse than the control group on all cognitive measures (p < 0.0025). In pooled analyses there were associations between infant motor development and adult cognition in executive function (p = 0.006), verbal learning (p = 0.007) and visuospatial working memory (p = 0.02), (earlier development was linked to better adult cognition) but not in visual object learning. The pattern of associations between development and adult cognition was broadly similar in schizophrenia and the general population, whereas associations between development and adolescent scholastic function were stronger in schizophrenia than in controls (p < 0.05). A complementary neuropsychological case study of spontaneous clinical and cognitive improvement in chronic schizophrenia is also presented, showing that cognitive deficits in schizophrenia do not always represent a static encephalopathy, but can be subject to marked improvement. The possibility of using knowledge about premorbid features to help predict and prevent schizophrenia is also critically reviewed, using the school setting as a practical example. It is concluded that many obstacles remain before knowledge about premorbid features can be translated to preventative interventions. Overall, the results of these investigations are consistent with the hypothesis that in schizophrenia, mild infant motor developmental delay, adolescent scholastic performance and cognitive deficits may be age dependent manifestations of the same underlying neural process. Thus, they may be better considered as part of a single longitudinal syndrome.
Exogenous Shocks and Exchange Rate Regimes

Using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model with nominal price rigidity and imperfect competition, we examine the impact of terms‐of‐trade and foreign interest rate shocks on some key macroeconomic variables for a small open economy under different exchange rate regimes. Numerical solutions from the model are found consistent with empirical panel VAR results of 33 Asian economies for the period of 1980–2009. From both the theoretical model and empirical evidence, we find that (i) output responses to terms‐of‐trade and foreign interest rate shocks are smoother in floats, (ii) price responses to terms‐of‐trade shocks are smoother in floats than in pegs, while its responses to foreign interest shocks are more volatile in floats than in pegs, and (iii) the effects of terms‐of‐trade and foreign interest shocks are more prolonged under floats.
A Study of Experimental Incentives as an Influence on Enlistment Intention: More is Not Better

Abstract : Incentives, such as enlistment bonuses, are frequently suggested as a means of enhancing recruiting effectiveness in the all-volunteer force setting. The basic assumption behind them is 'more is better. ' In two separate nationwide surveys (n800) of male American youth (age 16-22), single incentives and combinations of two and three different incentives were compared for potential influence on enlistment. Also, the following comparisons were made of incentives differing in absolute magnitude on the same dimension: (1) $1000 vs. $3000 bonus, (2) two years free college after four years of service vs. four years of free college after four years of service, and (3) bonus of 10% vs. 25% of base pay for exceptional performance.
2 Technology Socialness and Web Site Satisfaction Brief Running Title : Web Site

This paper extends the use of expectation confirmation theory through the development of a “socialness” construct, modeled as an antecedent of satisfaction. Personalization is introduced as an antecedent of socialness and satisfaction. The model is developed and tested using the corporate Web site of a large European utility and two rounds of surveys (n=3284 and n=2161 respectively). The results show that socialness has a strong association with satisfaction, and personalization with both socialness and satisfaction. We found a weaker albeit significant relationship between satisfaction and continuance intention than in Bhattacherjee’s original study. We argue that this variation in findings can be explained by the extent to which usage of the information system is optional and develop the idea of exclusive informational sites. In such situations satisfaction becomes a key outcome variable, making antecedents of satisfaction such as socialness particularly relevant and important to the Web site design process.
Clone identification and clonal structure of the European aspen (Populus tremula)

The European aspen (Populus tremula) is thought to reproduce mostly asexually. Thus aspen forms clones, in which several ramets belong to one genetically defined genet. We compared the clonal structure of aspen in old‐growth and managed forests in southern and northeastern Finland. Clones were identified using morphological characters and nine microsatellite loci originally developed for Populus tremuloides. There were more clones identified by microsatellites than morphotypes both in old‐growth and managed forest. The average size of the clones was only 2.3 ramets and most clones (70%) consisted of just one ramet. The size of the clones showed no difference between managed and old‐growth forests or between northeastern and southern Finland. The small size of the clones suggests that most of them are relatively young. Therefore, sexual reproduction may be more common than previously thought. There was an aggregated spatial genetic structure as measured by Moran's I (0–10 m) and by co‐ancestry (ρij, 0–20 m). Low level of co‐ancestry can be explained by relatively unrestricted gene flow, the important role of disturbance in reproduction, and/or local selection.
Contributions of working muscle to whole body lipid metabolism are altered by exercise intensity and training.

To evaluate the contribution of working muscle to whole body lipid oxidation, we examined the effects of exercise intensity and endurance training (9 wk, 5 days/wk, 1 h, 75% Vo(2 peak)) on whole body and leg free fatty acid (FFA) kinetics in eight male subjects (26 +/- 1 yr, means +/- SE). Two pretraining trials [45 and 65% Vo(2 max) (45UT, 65UT)] and two posttraining trials [65% of pretraining Vo(2 peak) (ABT), and 65% of posttraining Vo(2 peak) (RLT)] were performed using [1-(13)C]palmitate infusion and femoral arteriovenous sampling. Training increased Vo(2 peak) by 15% (45.2 +/- 1.2 to 52.0 +/- 1.8 ml.kg(-1). min(-1), P < 0.05). Muscle FFA fractional extraction was lower during exercise (EX) compared with rest regardless of workload or training status ( approximately 20 vs. 48%, P < 0.05). Two-leg net FFA balance increased from net release at rest ( approximately -36 micromol/min) to net uptake during EX for 45UT (179 +/- 75), ABT (236 +/- 63), and RLT (136 +/- 110) (P < 0.05), but not 65UT (51 +/- 127). Leg FFA tracer measured uptake was higher during EX than rest for all trials and greater during posttraining in RLT (716 +/- 173 micromol/min) compared with pretraining (45UT 450 +/- 80, 65UT 461 +/- 72, P < 0.05). Leg muscle lipid oxidation increased with training in ABT (730 +/- 163 micromol/min) vs. 65UT (187 +/- 94, P < 0.05). Leg muscle lipid oxidation represented approximately 62 and 30% of whole body lipid oxidation at lower and higher relative intensities, respectively. In summary, training can increase working muscle tracer measured FFA uptake and lipid oxidation for a given power output, but both before and after training the association between whole body and leg lipid metabolism is reduced as exercise intensity increases.
Outside Employment Opportunities, Employee Productivity, and Debt Discipline

We analyze how changes in labor market conditions influence the relation between a firm’s debt level and employee productivity. We document that better (worse) outside employment opportunities create a more negative (positive) relation between employee productivity and debt at both the firm and industry levels. Moreover, NAFTA, a quasi-natural experiment that affected employment opportunities in certain industries, resulted in a more positive productivity-leverage relation for firms in these industries. Our findings suggesting that outside employment opportunities affect the disciplining role of debt illustrate how labor market conditions impact the efficacy of corporate financial policies.
The Anatomy of the Asian Take-off

This paper discusses the literature on sources and causes of growth among the Asian high growth performers since World War II (WWII). It is argued that the factor accumulation hypothesis cannot be used to explain the Asian growth miracle but that growth has been driven predominantly by R&D, the demographic transition and knowledge transfer from the developed countries. Furthermore, it is argued that due to scale effects in the ideas production function, the Asian high-growth economies are likely to grow at high rates in the future.
Scalar Multiple of Riemann Definite Integral

We adopt the following rules: r, x, y are real numbers, i, j are natural numbers, and p is a finite sequence of elements of R. The following proposition is true (1) For every closed-interval subset A of R and for every x holds x ∈ A iff inf A ¬ x and x ¬ supA. Let I1 be a finite sequence of elements of R. We say that I1 is non-decreasing if and only if the condition (Def. 1) is satisfied. (Def. 1) Let n be a natural number. Suppose n ∈ dom I1 and n+1 ∈ dom I1. Let r, s be real numbers. If r = I1(n) and s = I1(n + 1), then r ¬ s. One can verify that there exists a finite sequence of elements of R which is non-decreasing. The following three propositions are true:
Associations of Adenovirus Genotypes in Korean Acute Gastroenteritis Patients with Respiratory Symptoms and Intussusception

Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) cause a wide range of diseases, including respiratory infections and gastroenteritis, and have more than 65 genotypes. To investigate the current genotypes of circulating HAdV strains, we performed molecular genotyping of HAdVs in the stool from patients with acute gastroenteritis and tried to determine their associations with clinical symptoms. From June 2014 to May 2016, 3,901 fecal samples were tested for an AdV antigen, and 254 samples (6.5%) yielded positive results. Genotyping using PCR and sequencing of the capsid hexon gene was performed for 236 AdV antigen-positive fecal specimens. HAdV-41, of species F, was the most prevalent genotype (60.6%), followed by HAdV-2 of species C (13.8%). Other genotypes, including HAdV-3, HAdV-1, HAdV-5, HAdV-6, HAdV-31, HAdV-40, HAdV-12, and HAdV-55, were also detected. Overall, 119 patients (50.4%) showed concomitant respiratory symptoms, and 32 patients (13.6%) were diagnosed with intussusception. HAdV-1 and HAdV-31 were significantly associated with intussusception (P < 0.05). Our results demonstrate the recent changes in trends of circulating AdV genotypes associated with gastroenteritis in Korea, which should be of value for improving the diagnosis and developing new detection, treatment, and prevention strategies for broad application in clinical laboratories.
Uncertainty, Electoral Incentives and Political Myopia

In this paper, we study the determinants of political myopia in a rational model of electoral accountability where the key elements are informational frictions and uncertainty. We build a framework where political ability is ex-ante unknown and policy choices are not perfectly observable. On the one hand, elections improve accountability and allow to keep well-performing incumbents. On the other, politicians invest too little in costly policies with future returns in an attempt to signal high ability and increase their reelection probability. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, uncertainty reduces political myopia and may, under some conditions, increase social welfare. We use the model to study how political rewards can be set so as to maximise social welfare and the desirability of imposing a one-term limit to governments. The predictions of our theory are consistent with a number of stylised facts and with a new empirical observation documented in this paper: aggregate uncertainty, measured by economic volatility, is associated to better . scal discipline in a panel of 20 OECD countries.
Comparison of the Effects of Damage to the Perirhinal and Parahippocampal Cortex on Transverse Patterning and Location Memory in Rhesus Macaques

Monkeys with damage to the parahippocampal (TH/TF) or perirhinal (PRh) cortex were tested on two sets of the transverse patterning (TP) problem (A+/B-, B+/C-, C+/A- and D+/E-, E+/F-, F+/D-) and delayed nonmatching-to-location paradigm (DNML), with delays ranging from 10 to 600 s. Damage to either area impaired acquisition and performance of TP but not of linear discriminations (e.g., A>B>C>X). Damage to areas TH/TF impaired performance of the DNML at all delays but only affected memory for objects at the longest delay, as measured by a delayed nonmatching-to-sample task (DNMS) (Nemanic et al., 2004). Damage to the PRh impaired performance of the DNMS but not of the DNML. The results present a dissociation in object and place memory for these two cortical regions and suggest a role for each in the cortical circuitry supporting configural/relational memory.
This is what the leading indicators lead 1

We propose an optimal . lter to transform the Conference Board Composite Leading Index (CLI) into recession probabilities in the US economy. We also analyze the CLI’s accuracy at anticipating US output growth. We compare the predictive performance of linear, VAR extensions of smooth transition regression and switching regimes, probit, nonparametric models and conclude that a combination of the switching regimes and nonparametric forecasts is the best strategy at predicting both the NBER business cycle schedule and GDP growth. This con.rms the usefulness of CLI, even in a real-time analysis.
Saving and investment in a global economy

The emergence of large trade imbalances among the industrial countries during the 1980s - particularly the massive deficit of the United States and the surpluses of Germany and Japan - has led to growing disenchantment with the international economic system. But while many critics point to unfair trade practices as the cause of these imbalances, Barry Bosworth contends that this emphasis is misplaced. Instead, he argues, the trade disparities are not the result of external infractions, but rather a reflection of domestic failures. The United States, for example, with its large government budget deficit and low rate of private saving, must borrow abroad to finance its investment. Similarly, trade surpluses of countries such as Japan are indicative of a surplus of national saving over investment needs, rather than restrictive trade practices. Bosworth explains that the existence of large trade imbalances became possible in the 1980s because of the development of an international capital market that greatly reduced the barriers to borrowing and lending across national borders. The result is an international system in which national economies are closely linked through international capital markets as well as trade in goods and services. Bosworth uses data from the major industrial countries to highlight the process by which changes in domestic rates of saving and investment lead to changes in interest rates, exchange rates, and trade balances. He first examines the reasons for the decline in rates of national saving and investment that have been evident throughout the industrialized world. One conclusion is that large and sustained trade imbalances are likely to be a common feature of the international economy in the future. He then focuses on the role of exchange rates in the process of adjusting to trade imbalances, and considers whether the wide fluctuations in exchange rates that have occurred are a cause of concern or simply an integral part of the international adjustment ot the divergent patterns of national saving and investment.
Accretion of gas on to nearby spiral galaxies

We present evidence for cosmological gas accretion onto spiral galaxies in the local universe. The accretion is seen through its effects on the dynamics of the extra-planar neutral gas. The accretion rates that we estimate for two nearby spiral galaxies are of the order of their star formation rates. Our model shows that most of the extra-planar gas is produced by supernova feedback (galactic fountain) and only 10 20% comes from accretion. The accreting material must have low specific angular momentum about the disc’s spin axis, although the magnitude of the specific angular-momentum vector can be higher. We also explore the effects of a hot corona on the dynamics of the extra-planar gas and find that it is unlikely to be responsible for the observed kinematical pattern and the source of accreted gas. However, the interaction with the fountain flow should profoundly affect the hydrodynamics of the corona.
Child Labor: The Role of Income Variability and Access to Credit Across Countries

This paper examines the relationship between child labor and access to credit at a cross-country level. Even though this link is theoretically central to child labor, so far there has been little work done to assess its importance empirically. We measure child labor as a country aggregate, and credit constraints are proxied by the extent of financial development. These two variables display a strong negative relationship, which we show is robust to selection on observables (by controlling for a wide range of variables such as GDP per capita, urbanization, initial child labor, schooling, fertility, legal institutions, inequality, and openness, and by allowing for a nonparametric functional form), and to selection on unobservables (by allowing for fixed effects). We find that the magnitude of the association between our proxy of access to credit and child labor is large in the sub-sample of poor countries. Moreover, in the absence of developed financial markets, households appear to resort substantially to child labor in order to cope with income variability. This evidence suggests that policies aimed at widening households' access to credit could be effective in reducing the extent of child labor.
CONSTRUE/TIS: A System for Content-Based Indexing of a Database of News Stories

The Construe news story categorization system assigns indexing terms to news stories according to their content using knowledge-based techniques. An initial deployment of Construe in Reuters Ltd. topic identification system (TIS) has replaced human indexing for Reuters Country Reports, an online information service based on news stories indexed by country and type of news. TIS indexing is comparable to human indexing in overall accuracy but costs much less, is more consistent, and is available much more rapidly. TIS can be justified in terms of cost savings alone, but Reuters also expects the speed and consistency of TIS to provide significant competitive advantage and, hence, an increased market share for Country Reports and other products from Reuters Historical Information Products Division.
A model based on linguistic 2-tuples for dealing with multigranular hierarchical linguistic contexts in multi-expert decision-making

In those problems that deal with multiple sources of linguistic information we can find problems defined in contexts where the linguistic assessments are assessed in linguistic term sets with different granularity of uncertainty and/or semantics (multigranular linguistic contexts). Different approaches have been developed to manage this type of contexts, that unify the multigranular linguistic information in an unique linguistic term set for an easy management of the information. This normalization process can produce a loss of information and hence a lack of precision in the final results. In this paper, we shall present a type of multigranular linguistic contexts we shall call linguistic hierarchies term sets, such that, when we deal with multigranular linguistic information assessed in these structures we can unify the information assessed in them without loss of information. To do so, we shall use the 2-tuple linguistic representation model. Afterwards we shall develop a linguistic decision model dealing with multigranular linguistic contexts and apply it to a multi-expert decision-making problem.
XMM-Newton observation of the ULIRG NGC 6240. The physical nature of the complex Fe K line emission

Received - ; accepted - Abstract. We report on an XMM-Newton observation of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240. The 0.3-10 keV spectrum can be successfully modelled with: (i) three collisionally ionized plasma components with temperatures of about 0.7, 1.4, and 5.5 keV; (ii) a highly absorbed direct power-law component; and (iii) a neutral Fe Kand Kline. We detect a significant neutral column density gradient which is correl ated with the temperature of the three plasma components. Combining the XMM-Newtonspectral model with the high spatial resolution Chandra image we find that the temperatures and the column densities increase towards the center. With high significance, the Fe K line complex is resolved into three distinct narrow lines: (i) the neutral Fe Kline at 6.4 keV; (ii) an ionized line at about 6.7 keV; and (iii) a higher ioniz ed line at 7.0 keV (a blend of the Fe XXVI and the Fe Kline). While the neutral Fe K line is most probably due to reflection f rom optically thick material, the Fe XXV and Fe XXVI emission arises from the highest temperature ionized plasma component. We have compared the plasma parameters of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240 with those found in the local starburst galaxy NGC 253. We find a striking similarity in the plasma tem peratures and column density gradients, suggesting a similar underlying physical process at work in both galaxies.
The Wage Curve

This paper, which follows in an LSE tradition begun by Phillips and Sargan, examines the role of unemployment in shaping pay. In contrast to most of the literature, it 1) uses microeconometric data on individuals and workplaces 2) examines a variety of data sets as a check on the robustness of results, and 3) studies the effects of unemployment on the real wage level (not on the rate of change of pay or prices) . The paper finds evidence - on British and US data - of a wage curve. The curve has a negative gradient at low levels of unemployment, but becomes horizontal at relatively high levels of unemployment.