Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is consumption growth only a sideshow in asset pricing? : asset pricing implications of demographic change and shocks to time preferences

I show that risk sources such as unexpected demographic changes or shocks to the agent's subjective time preferences may have stronger implications and be of greater importance for asset pricing than risk in the (aggregate) consumption growth process. In the first chapter, I discuss stochastic changes to time preferences. Shocks to the agent's subjective time discounting of future utility cause stochastic changes in asset prices and the agent's value function. Independent of the consumption growth process, shocks to time discounting imply a covariation between asset returns and the marginal utility process, and the equity premium is non-zero. My model can generate both a reasonably low level and volatility in the risk-free real interest rate and a high stock price volatility and equity premium. If time discounting follows a process with mean- reversion, then the interest rate process is mean-reverting and stock returns are (at long horizons) negatively auto-correlated. In the second chapter, I analyze the asset pricing implications of birth and death rate shocks in an overlapping generations model. The interest rate and the equity premium are time varying and under certain conditions the interest rate is lower and the equity premium is higher during periods characterized by a high birth rate and low mortality than in times of a low birth rate and high mortality. Demographic changes may explain substantial parts of the time variation in the real interest rate and the equity premium. Demographic uncertainty implies a large unconditional variation in asset returns and leads to stochastic changes in the conditional volatility of stock returns. In the last chapter, I illustrate how shocks to the death rate may affect expected asset returns in the cross-section. An agent demands more of an asset with higher (lower) payoff in states of the world when he expects to live longer (shorter) and marginal utility is high (low) than an asset with the opposite payoff schedule. In equilibrium, the first asset pays a lower expected return than the latter. Empirical evidence supports the model. Out-of-sample evidence suggests that a strategy, which loads on uncertainty in the death rate, pays a positive unexplained return according to traditional market models.
Inventories, sticky prices, and the persistence of output and inflation

Post-war business cycle fluctuations of output and inflation are remarkably persistent. Many recent sticky-price models, however, grossly underpredict this persistence. We assess whether adding inventories to a standard sticky-price model raises the persistence of output and inflation. For this addition, we consider a shopping-cost model. In the model, consumers find shopping activities costly, and the cost of shopping depends on the stock of goods available. In this context, producers manage inventories to smooth production and to affect the cost of shopping. We find that the shopping-cost model generates a persistence for output and inflation that matches the persistence observed in the post-1985 US data.
Cross Subsidization and Telecommunications Sector Wages

This study has examined wage determination in the presence of cross-subsidization of firms in the telecommunications industry. How variations in cross subsidies received, via the separations mechanism used in the industry, influence some firms to pay a greater level of wages is assessed. The firms studied have been almost the entire population of local exchange carriers in the US telecommunications industry between 1995 and 2000. The analysis has established that firms which are able to obtain greater cross-subsidies, on average, in fact pay higher wages and the elasticity of the relationship is quite high. The study is the first of its kind assessing the relationship between an important regulatory variable that measures a ubiquitous process, such as cross subsidization, and the impact on employee wages.
Visual motion imagery neurofeedback based on the hMT+/V5 complex: evidence for a feedback-specific neural circuit involving neocortical and cerebellar regions

Objective. Current approaches in neurofeedback/brain–computer interface research often focus on identifying, on a subject-by-subject basis, the neural regions that are best suited for self-driven modulation. It is known that the hMT+/V5 complex, an early visual cortical region, is recruited during explicit and implicit motion imagery, in addition to real motion perception. This study tests the feasibility of training healthy volunteers to regulate the level of activation in their hMT+/V5 complex using real-time fMRI neurofeedback and visual motion imagery strategies. Approach. We functionally localized the hMT+/V5 complex to further use as a target region for neurofeedback. An uniform strategy based on motion imagery was used to guide subjects to neuromodulate hMT+/V5. Main results. We found that 15/20 participants achieved successful neurofeedback. This modulation led to the recruitment of a specific network as further assessed by psychophysiological interaction analysis. This specific circuit, including hMT+/V5, putative V6 and medial cerebellum was activated for successful neurofeedback runs. The putamen and anterior insula were recruited for both successful and non-successful runs. Significance. Our findings indicate that hMT+/V5 is a region that can be modulated by focused imagery and that a specific cortico-cerebellar circuit is recruited during visual motion imagery leading to successful neurofeedback. These findings contribute to the debate on the relative potential of extrinsic (sensory) versus intrinsic (default-mode) brain regions in the clinical application of neurofeedback paradigms. This novel circuit might be a good target for future neurofeedback approaches that aim, for example, the training of focused attention in disorders such as ADHD.
Structural analyses in three‐dimensional atom probe: a Fourier transform approach

The three‐dimensional atom probe (3DAP) technique gives the elemental identities and the position of atoms within the small volume analysed (on the order of 10 × 10 × 100 nm3). The large number of atoms collected (up to two million) and the excellent spatial resolution of this instrument allows the observation of some crystallographic features of phases chemically identified. This paper shows that the application of a discrete Fourier transform algorithm to a 3DAP dataset provides information that is not easily accessible in real space. The derivation of the mean size of particles from Fourier intensities is an example. Using 3D ‘dark‐field’ imaging, single ordered grains were isolated from the disordered matrix of a ternary alloy. Moreover, the intrinsic spatial resolution of the instrument was evaluated by this method for pure metal; the resolution reaches 0.2 nm laterally and 0.06 nm in depth. This excellent resolution is shown to be sufficient to give access to the crystalline lattice. The use of image filtering in the reciprocal space enables for atomic columns to be imaged the first time from 3DAP data.
Gender Perception toward Computing: Cross Culture Comparison - the US, China, and India

Computing has been long considered a male domain in the US. With this perception, females may experience negative outcomes in the occupation or activities. Does this perception exist in other countries? This paper reports a study that investigated the gender perception of computing in three different countries: US, China, and India. The study involved 638 undergrad students. The study compared gender perception of computing between males and females within each country and between countries. It is found that American respondents perceived technical and managerial aspects of computing as neither a male nor a female domain, while American female respondents perceived clerical and office uses of computing as a female domain. Chinese males perceived technical and managerial aspects of computing as a male domain. Indian respondents perceived no gender perception toward computing.
Macro-Governance Aspects of Monetary Policy Accommodation Under Varying Regimes: An Assessment Using Greek Data

This paper has a two-fold orientation: firstly, it examines the linkages and the time-series properties of a set of nominal and real macroeconomic variables in Greece, under different exchnage-rate systems and varying fiscal regimes. Secondly, it makes an effort to evaluate some macro-monetary policy had been used to accommodate foreign disturbances and fiscal policy chnages. Concerning the former, prices have played a central role between nominal and real variables while verifying evidence in inflation persistence. Regarding the latter, the central bank is primarly monetary-transmission mechanism. In principle, the monetary authorities appear to have engaged in accommodative,and to a lesser extent extent sterilisation, schemes of policy action, notwithstanding the clear tendency towards stsyematic control, thereby suggesting consistency with the conventional priors of policy-competence hypothesis.
Detection of Bladder Cancer Recurrence with Real-Time Three-Dimensional Ultrasonography-Based Virtual Cystoscopy

This prospective study evaluated the accuracy of grey-scale two-dimensional (2D) ultrasonography and real-time three-dimensional (3D) ultrasonography-based virtual cystoscopy for detecting early recurrence of bladder cancer in previously treated patients (n = 40). Real-time 3D ultrasonography-based virtual cystoscopy images were compared with both 2D ultrasonography and interval conventional cystoscopy pathology results. Ultrasound examinations were performed before routine follow-up with conventional cystoscopy. Overall sensitivity for real-time 3D ultrasonography-based virtual cystoscopy was lower than for 2D ultrasonography, indicating it did not provide additional information. The results of combined (2D and 3D) ultrasonography and conventional cystoscopy differed significantly. Where lesions were detected with combined ultrasonography, the number of previous cystoscopies was lower and the tumour stage was significantly higher at initial diagnosis, compared with cases where no lesions were detected. The results suggest that ultrasonography before cystoscopy can be performed more frequently - or, if no lesions are detected by ultrasonography, the interval between cystoscopies can be prolonged - in patients at high risk of bladder cancer recurrence.
The effect of surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion on sleep architecture: an exploratory risk study in healthy young adults.

Maxillary transverse deficiencies (MTD) cause malocclusions. Rapid maxillary expansion treatment is commonly used treatment for correcting such deficiencies and has been found to be effective in improving respiration and sleep architecture in children with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). However, thus far, the effect of surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion (SARME) treatment on sleep architecture and breathing of normal subjects has not been assessed. We hypothesised that sleep quality will improve after maxillary expansion treatment. The objective of this study is to access the effect of maxillary expansion treatment on sleep structure and respiratory functions in healthy young adults with severe MTD. This is a prospective and exploratory clinical study. Twenty-eight consecutive young adult patients (15 males and 13 females, mean age 20·6 ± 5·8 years) presenting with severe MTD at the orthodontic examination were recruited into the study. All the participants underwent a standardised SARME procedure (mean expansion 6·5 ± 1·8 and 8·2 ± 1·8 mm, intercanine and intermolar distance, respectively) to correct malocclusion caused by MTD. An overnight in-laboratory polysomnography, before and after the treatment, was performed. The mean follow-up time was 9 months. The main outcome parameters were the changes in sleep architecture, including sleep stages, arousals, slow-wave activity (SWA) and respiratory variables. Before surgery, young adult patients with MTD presented no evidence of sleep breathing problems. At baseline sleep recording, 7 of 28 (25%) had apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) ≥ 5 events per hour. No negative effect of the SARME was observed in questionnaires or sleep laboratory parameters. In the patients with a higher baseline AHI (AHI ≥ 5 h of sleep), we observed a reduction in AHI after surgical treatment (P = 0·028). SARME did not have a negative effect on any sleep or respiration parameters in healthy young individuals with MTD. It normalised the breathing index in the patients with a mild AHI index.
Socially Responsible Investing And Portfolio Diversification

I use a sample of socially responsible stock mutual funds matched to randomly selected conventional funds of similar net assets to investigate differences in characteristics of assets held, portfolio diversification, and variable effects of diversification on investment performance. I find that socially responsible funds do not differ significantly from conventional funds in terms of any of these attributes. Moreover, the effect of diversification on investment performance is not different between the two groups. Both groups underperform the Domini 400 Social Index and S&P 500 during the study period.
Interactions between Language and Attention Systems: Early Automatic Lexical Processing?

An ongoing debate is whether and to what extent access to cortical representations is automatic or dependent on attentional processes. To address this, we modulated the level of attention on auditory input and recorded ERPs elicited by syllables completing acoustically matched words and pseudowords. Under nonattend conditions, the word-elicited response (peaking at ∼120 msec) was larger than that to pseudowords, confirming early activation of lexical memory traces. However, when attention was directed toward the auditory input, such word–pseudoword difference disappeared. Whereas responses to words seemed unchanged by attentional variation, early pseudoword responses were modulated significantly by attention. Later on, attention modulated a positive deflection at ∼230 msec and a second negativity at ∼370 msec for all stimuli. The data indicate that the earliest stages of word processing are not affected by attentional demands and may thus possess certain automaticity, with attention effects on lexical processing accumulating after 150–200 msec. We explain this by robustness of preexisting memory networks for words whose strong internal connections guarantee rapid full-scale activation irrespective of the attentional resources available. Conversely, the processing of pseudowords, which do not have such stimulus-specific cortical representations, appears to be strongly modulated by the availability of attentional resources, even at its earliest stages. Topography analysis and source reconstruction indicated that left peri-sylvian cortices mediate attention effects on memory trace activation.
Erratum: Moral Hazard versus Liquidity and Optimal Unemployment Insurance

This paper presents new evidence on why unemployment insurance (UI) benefits affect search behavior and develops a simple method of calculating the welfare gains from UI using this evidence. I show that 60 percent of the increase in unemployment durations caused by UI benefits is due to a "liquidity effect" rather than distortions on marginal incentives to search ("moral hazard") by combining two empirical strategies. First, I find that increases in benefits have much larger effects on durations for liquidity-constrained households. Second, lump-sum severance payments increase durations substantially among constrained households. I derive a formula for the optimal benefit level that depends only on the reduced-form liquidity and moral hazard elasticities. The formula implies that the optimal UI benefit level exceeds 50 percent of the wage. The "exact identification" approach to welfare analysis proposed here yields robust optimal policy results because it does not require structural estimation of primitives. (c) 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Signaling networks in cutaneous melanoma metastasis identified by complementary DNA microarrays.

BACKGROUND Melanoma is a complex multigenic disease, susceptibility to which is determined by several parallel and stepwise progressive pathways affecting growth control, differentiation, cell adhesion, and survival. Melanoma and human cancers in general undergo a continuous development from benign to malignant states, as most thoroughly documented in the multistep mole-to-melanoma transition. OBJECTIVE To examine how high-throughput microarrays are being used in expression profiling to identify regulated genes, patterns, and pathways that may lead to functional characterization and tumor subclassification. DESIGN Ten melanoma metastases were analyzed by DNA array technology for important regulated candidate genes, with subsequent confirmation by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS Hepatocyte growth factor receptor c-met, growth factor receptor-bound protein 10, B-raf proto-oncogene, and several mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase genes were significantly up-regulated in melanoma metastases and several melanoma cell lines relative to normal human melanocytes (P = .03). Among the up-regulated genes, phosphorylated growth factor receptor-bound protein 10 is known to serve a molecular switch turning on the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in response to hepatocyte growth factor receptor binding. CONCLUSIONS As suggested by the DNA arrays, we found the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular-regulated kinase pathway to be activated in most of the cutaneous melanoma metastasis specimens. These findings are in the context of the current microarray technology in melanoma research. Additional steps are needed to gain insights into the pluralistic signaling milieu of this malignancy as we enter the postgenomic era.
Oil prices and UK industry-level stock returns

In this article, we study whether the behaviour of oil prices can be used as a reliable predictor for the disaggregated industry-level stock market indices. We find strong evidence for the relevance of changes in oil price as a predictor for the returns of UK industry portfolios, while this relevance is heterogeneous across industries. In an out-of-sample framework, we find that both the contemporaneous and lagged oil price changes do predict UK industry stock market returns. The predictive power is more transient for the latter case, and mostly appearing after allowing for time variation in the relative performance. In addition, we find some evidence of asymmetry in the oil–stock price relationships.
Estimating the expectation of life at older ages

Summary A mathematical formula expressing the expectation of life e(a) at age a as a function of the death rate, the average age and the rate of growth of the population in the age interval a and above has been derived on the assumption of a stable population model. The formula is particularly helpful in estimating life expectancies at old ages, where the age and death statistics are of questionable accuracy in many countries. It is comforting to note that for age 65 the estimator is remarkably insensitive to violations from the assumption of stability. This has been amply demonstrated by the estimates obtained for a number of countries.
Spin fluctuations and pairing symmetry in AxFe2−ySe2: dual effect of the itinerant and the localized nature of electrons

We investigate the spin fluctuations and the pairing symmetry in AxFe2−ySe2 by the fluctuation exchange approximation. Besides the on-site interactions, the next-nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic coupling J2 is also included. We find that both the itinerant and the localized natures of electrons are important to describe recent experimental results on the spin fluctuations and the pairing symmetry. In particular, a small J2 coupling can change the pairing gap from the d-wave symmetry to the extended s-wave symmetry. We have also studied the real-space structures of the gap functions for different orbits in order to gain more insight into the nature of the pairing mechanism.
Comparison of UV / H 2 O 2 and UV / S 2 O 82-processes for the decoloration of azo dyes Congo Red in various kinds of water

The wastewater from textile industries containing non-biodegradable and toxic dye compounds is an important source of environmental contamination. This study aims at investigating the decoloration of Congo Red (C.I name.Direct Red 28, C.I. DR28) dye in aqueous solution by the UV/H2O2 and UV/S2O8 processes. Congo Red dye was dissolved in various kinds of water such as distilled water, drinking water and river water. Aqueous Congo Red dye solutions were irradiated with low-pressure mercury vapour lamp emitting at 254 nm in a batch photoreactor. The efficiency of the decoloration was monitored by measuring the absorbance change as a function of irradiation time using UV-visible spectroscopic analysis.
Money Burning and Stealing in the Laboratory: How Conflicting Ideologies Emerge

Three experiments on utility interdependence are discussed. Subjects receive money by betting and possibly by arbitrary assignments. They can then pay to reduce and, possibly, redistribute the steal money; in one case, only the decisions of a randomly determined dictator are implemented. The behavior of 80% of burners and redistributors was rank egalitarian. However, arbitrarily advantaged and disadvantaged subjects developed conflicting views of desert: arbitrarily disadvantaged subjects targeted arbitrarily assigned money; arbitrarily advantaged subjects did not care about how money was gained, and, if stealing was allowed, were twice as aggressive against earned money than against money assigned arbitrarily.
The long‐term investment performance of Singapore real estate and property stocks

Examines the investment performance of Singapore real estate and property stocks over the past 25 years. Evaluations using coefficient of variation (CV), Sharpe index (SI) and time‐varying Jensen abnormal return index (JI) suggest that real estate outperformed property stocks on a risk‐adjusted basis. Results also indicate that risk‐adjusted investment performance for residential properties remained superior to performance for other real estate types and property stocks. Further analysis using time‐varying JI reveals that the excess return performance of property stocks could differ significantly from that of direct properties, and performance of property stock led real estate market performance. Finally, the performance implications arising from the study are evaluated.