Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neural correlates of self-reflection.

The capacity to reflect on one's sense of self is an important component of self-awareness. In this paper, we investigate some of the neurocognitive processes underlying reflection on the self using functional MRI. Eleven healthy volunteers were scanned with echoplanar imaging using the blood oxygen level-dependent contrast method. The task consisted of aurally delivered statements requiring a yes-no decision. In the experimental condition, participants responded to a variety of statements requiring knowledge of and reflection on their own abilities, traits and attitudes (e.g. 'I forget important things', 'I'm a good friend', 'I have a quick temper'). In the control condition, participants responded to statements requiring a basic level of semantic knowledge (e.g. 'Ten seconds is more than a minute', 'You need water to live'). The latter condition was intended to control for auditory comprehension, attentional demands, decision-making, the motoric response, and any common retrieval processes. Individual analyses revealed consistent anterior medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate activation for all participants. The overall activity for the group, using a random-effects model, occurred in anterior medial prefrontal cortex (t = 13.0, corrected P = 0.05; x, y, z, 0, 54, 8, respectively) and the posterior cingulate (t = 14.7, P = 0.02; x, y, z, -2, -62, 32, respectively; 967 voxel extent). These data are consistent with lesion studies of impaired awareness, and suggest that the medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortex are part of a neural system subserving self-reflective thought.
TCP Westwood: End-to-End Bandwidth Estimation for Enhanced Transport over Wireless Links

TCP Westwood (TCPW) is a sender-side modification of the TCP congestion window algorithm that improves upon the perfor- mance of TCP Reno in wired as well as wireless networks. The improvement is most significant in wireless networks with lossy links. In fact, TCPW performance is not very sensitive to random errors, while TCP Reno is equally sensitivity to random loss and congestion loss and cannot discriminate between them. Hence, the tendency of TCP Reno to overreact to errors. An important distinguishing feature of TCP Westwood with respect to previous wireless TCP "extensions" is that it does not require inspection and/or interception of TCP packets at intermediate (proxy) nodes. Rather, TCPW fully complies with the end-to-end TCP design principle. The key innovative idea is to continu- ously measure at the TCP sender side the bandwidth used by the connection via monitoring the rate of returning ACKs. The estimate is then used to compute congestion window and slow start threshold after a congestion episode, that is, after three duplicate acknowledgments or after a timeout. The rationale of this strategy is simple: in contrast with TCP Reno which "blindly" halves the congestion window after three duplicate ACKs, TCP Westwood attempts to select a slow start threshold and a congestion window which are consistent with the effective bandwidth used at the time congestion is experienced. We call this mechanism faster recovery. The proposed mechanism is particularly effective over wireless links where sporadic losses due to radio channel problems are often misinterpreted as a symptom of congestion by current TCP schemes and thus lead to an unnecessary window reduction. Experimental studies reveal improvements in throughput per- formance, as well as in fairness. In addition, friendliness with TCP Reno was observed in a set of experiments showing that TCP Reno connections are not starved by TCPW connections. Most importantly, TCPW is extremely effective in mixed wired and wireless networks where throughput improvements of up to 550% are observed. Finally, TCPW performs almost as well as localized link layer approaches such as the popular Snoop scheme, without incurring the overhead of a specialized link layer protocol.
Risk Aversion, Noise, and Optimal Investments

In contrast to the efficient market hypothesis (EMH), the noisy market hypothesis (NMH) asserts that prices are but noisy indications of fundamental values. The authors study losses in certainty equivalents of investing according to one hypothesis (NMH or EMH) when the other is true. Their findings suggest that, for reasonable parameter values, investing according to the EMH when the NMH is true yields lower losses than investing according to the NMH when the EMH is true. Further, investing according to the right hypothesis is much more important for risk-tolerant investors than for risk-averse investors.
The ciliary targeting of membrane proteins by a ternary complex comprising transportin1, Rab8 and the ciliary targeting signal

The sensory functions of cilia are dependent on the enrichment of ciliary resident proteins. While it is known that ciliary targeting signals (CTSs) specifically target ciliary proteins to cilia, it is still unclear how CTSs facilitate the entry and retention of ciliary residents at the molecular level. We found that non-ciliary membrane reporters can passively diffuse to cilia via the lateral transport pathway and the translocation of membrane reporters through the ciliary diffusion barrier is facilitated by importin binding motifs/domains. Screening known CTSs of ciliary membrane residents uncovered that fibrocystin, photoreceptor retinol dehydrogenase, rhodopsin and retinitis pigmentosa 2 interact with transportin1 (TNPO1) via previously identified CTSs. We further discovered that a novel ternary complex, comprising TNPO1, Rab8 and CTS, can assemble or disassemble under the guanine nucleotide exchange of Rab8. Our study suggests a novel mechanism in which TNPO1/Rab8/CTS complex mediates selective entry and retention of cargos within cilia.
Short Run Effects on Wage Earnings of the Adult Education Initiative in Sweden

This paper evaluates the Adult Education Initiative (AEI) in Sweden which\ offers full-time comprehensive education at compulsory or upper secondary level to unemployed aged between 25 and 55 year old. Using register data, the AEI\ is compared with Labor Market Training\ (LMT) which mainly involves vocational training. The change in yearly wage earnings between 1996 and 1999 is used as outcome variable. Bias caused by the selection process into programs is dealt with using two separate methods. First, a method of matching on the propensity score and wage earnings levels in 1996 is used, and second, a classical selection model. The results indicate that the AEI\ has a positive effect compared with LMT for the subsamples of foreign citizens, females and individuals with a prior two year upper secondary school education.
Genetic Liability to Disability Pension in Women and Men: A Prospective Population-Based Twin Study

Background Previous studies of risk factors for disability pension (DP) have mainly focused on psychosocial, or environmental, factors, while the relative importance of genetic effects has been less studied. Sex differences in biological mechanisms have not been investigated at all. Methods The study sample included 46,454 Swedish twins, consisting of 23,227 complete twin pairs, born 1928–1958, who were followed during 1993–2008. Data on DP, including diagnoses, were obtained from the National Social Insurance Agency. Within-pair similarity in liability to DP was assessed by calculating intraclass correlations. Genetic and environmental influences on liability to DP were estimated by applying discrete-time frailty modeling. Results During follow-up, 7,669 individuals were granted DP (18.8% women and 14.1% men). Intraclass correlations were generally higher in MZ pairs than DZ pairs, while DZ same-sexed pairs were more similar than opposite-sexed pairs. The best-fitting model indicated that genetic factors contributed 49% (95% CI: 39–59) to the variance in DP due to mental diagnoses, 35% (95% CI: 29–41) due to musculoskeletal diagnoses, and 27% (95% CI: 20–33) due to all other diagnoses. In both sexes, genetic effects common to all ages explained one-third, whereas age-specific factors almost two-thirds, of the total variance in liability to DP irrespective of diagnosis. Sex differences in liability to DP were indicated, in that partly different sets of genes were found to operate in women and men, even though the magnitude of genetic variance explained was equal for both sexes. Conclusions The findings of the study suggest that genetic effects are important for liability to DP due to different diagnoses. Moreover, genetic contributions to liability to DP tend to differ between women and men, even though the overall relative contribution of genetic influences does not differ by sex. Hence, the pathways leading to DP might differ between women and men.
Three Essays in Asset Pricing

Abstract This dissertation consists of three essays. My first paper re-examines the link between idiosyncratic risk and expected returns for a large sample of firms in both developed and emerging markets. Recent studies using Fama-French three factor models have shown a negative relationship between idiosyncratic volatility and expected returns for developed markets. This relationship has not been studied to date for emerging markets. This study relates the current-month’s idiosyncratic volatility to the subsequent month’s returns for a sample of both developed and emerging markets expanding benchmark factors by including both a momentum and a systematic liquidity risk component. My second essay contributes to the important literature on the topic of the small capitalization stocks historical outperformance over large capitalization stocks by investigating the hypothesis that the small firm premium is related to macroeconomic and financial variables and that relationship is driven by the economic cycle in the United States and Canada. More specifically, this study employs recent advances in nonlinear time series models to explore the relationship between the small firm premium, and financial and macroeconomic variables in the Canadian and U.S. economies. My third paper re-examines the findings of a recent research paper that suggested that market wide liquidity may act as a leading indicator to the economic cycle. Using several liquidity measures and various macroeconomic variables to proxy for the economic conditions, the paper presents evidence that stock market liquidity could forecast business cycles: A major decrease in the overall level of market liquidity could indicate weak economic growth in the subsequent months. However, the drawback in the analysis is that the relationship is investigated in a linear approach even though it has been proven that most macroeconomic variables follow non-linear dynamics. Employing similar liquidity measures and macroeconomic proxies, and two popular econometrics models that account for non-linear behavior, this study hence re-investigates the relationship between stock market liquidity and business cycles.
Analysing the collective model in developing countries : evidence from Uganda and Tanzania

This Thesis applies one of the most popular household models to the allocation of resources within poor rural households. Based on Browning and Goertz (2007) seminal Collective Household Model, the first Chapter conducts a literature review and derives conditions for identifying and testing the model.The next Chapter amends this model to evaluate efficiency of the intra-household allocation of male and female labour inputs in the domestic production of multiple crops. Using survey data from Uganda it is found that the division of labour between food and cash crops is made according to comparative advantage, but that Pareto improvements could be achieved by reallocating labour between male- and female-controlled plots.The final Chapter analyses the distribution of private consumption and leisure within rural couples in Tanzania. The findings provide limited support for the Collective Model, but are consistent with non-unitary household behaviour.
Linking Individual Learning Styles to Approach-Avoidance Motivational Traits and Computational Aspects of Reinforcement Learning

Learning how to gain rewards (approach learning) and avoid punishments (avoidance learning) is fundamental for everyday life. While individual differences in approach and avoidance learning styles have been related to genetics and aging, the contribution of personality factors, such as traits, remains undetermined. Moreover, little is known about the computational mechanisms mediating differences in learning styles. Here, we used a probabilistic selection task with positive and negative feedbacks, in combination with computational modelling, to show that individuals displaying better approach (vs. avoidance) learning scored higher on measures of approach (vs. avoidance) trait motivation, but, paradoxically, also displayed reduced learning speed following positive (vs. negative) outcomes. These data suggest that learning different types of information depend on associated reward values and internal motivational drives, possibly determined by personality traits.
Fasting increases the phosphorylation of AMPK and expression of sirtuin1 in muscle of adult male northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris)

Fasting typically suppresses thyroid hormone (TH)‐mediated cellular events and increases sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) activity. THs may regulate metabolism through nongenomic pathways and directly through activation of adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase (AMPK). Adult male elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) are active, hypermetabolic, and normothermic during their annual breeding fast, which is characterized by stable TH levels. However, the contribution of TH to maintenance of their fasting metabolism is unknown. To investigate the fasting effects on cellular TH‐mediated events and its potential association with SIRT1 and AMPK, we quantified plasma TH levels, mRNA expressions of muscle SIRT1 and TH‐associated genes as well as the phosphorylation of AMPK in adult, male northern elephant seals (n = 10/fasting period) over 8 weeks of fasting (early vs. late). Deiodinase type I (DI1) expression increased twofold with fasting duration suggesting that the potential for TH‐mediated cellular signaling is increased. AMPK phosphorylation increased 61 ± 21% with fasting suggesting that cellular metabolism is increased. The mRNA expression of the TH transporter, monocarboxylate transporter 10 (MCT10), increased 2.4‐fold and the TH receptor (THrβ‐1) decreased 30‐fold suggesting that cellular uptake of T4 is increased, but its subsequent cellular effects such as activation of AMPK are likely nongenomic. The up‐regulation of SIRT1 mRNA expression (2.6‐fold) likely contributes to the nongenomic activation of AMPK by TH, which may be necessary to maintain the expression of PGC‐1α. These coordinated changes likely contribute to the up‐regulation of mitochondrial metabolism to support the energetic demands associated with prolonged fasting in adult seals.
STUDENTS’ PROFILE IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN ITALY

The aim of the present paper is to show the results of the analysis of the graduates’ evaluation questionnaires about the social profile of the students in higher education in Italy. A factor analysis has been carried on a national basis from 75,000 questionnaires administered to students representing 10 degrees. The factor analysis indicates the close proximity of responses between Statistics and Economy in the learning processes. These preliminary results are useful to improve the intended learning outcomes of the different courses, according with the Dublin Descriptors.
On the Optimal Timing of Foreign Aid

We offer a dynamic formulation of the aid process, in which questions of timing are central. It is shown that in most cases it is optimal to give the aid partly in a lump, at the outset, and partly as a flow, over time. However, if the donor and recipient cooperate, stock and flow aid may be of opposite sign. It is shown also that when marginal utility is of constant elasticity, the rate of flow of aid increases (decreases) if and only if the initial world stock of capital is less than (greater than) its steady-state value.
Coisotropic Intersections

In this paper we make the first steps towards developing a theory of intersections of coisotropic submanifolds, similar to that for Lagrangian submanifolds. For coisotropic submanifolds satisfying a certain stability requirement we establish persistence of coisotropic intersections under Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms, akin to the Lagrangian intersection property. To be more specific, we prove that the displacement energy of a stable coisotropic submanifold is positive, provided that the ambient symplectic manifold meets some natural conditions. We also show that a displaceable, stable, coisotropic submanifold has non-zero Liouville class. This result further underlines the analogy between displacement properties of Lagrangian and coisotropic submanifolds.
Price Level Targeting: What Is the Right Price?

Various papers have suggested that Price-Level targeting is a welfare improving policy relative to Inflation targeting. From a practical standpoint, this raises an important yet unanswered question: What is the optimal price index to target? This paper derives the optimal price level targeting index defined over the eight main components of the Consumer Price Index. It finds that such an index places a heavier weight, relative to the expenditure weight, on sectors with slow price adjustments. However, using the expenditure weights instead of the optimal ones results in very small welfare cost.
Quantum Merlin-Arthur with Clifford Arthur

We show that the class QMA does not change even if we restrict Arthur's computing ability to only Clifford gate operations (plus classical XOR gate). The idea is to use the fact that the preparation of certain single-qubit states, so called magic states, plus any Clifford gate operations are universal for quantum computing. If Merlin is honest, he sends the witness plus magic states to Arthur. If Merlin is malicious, he might send other states to Arthur, but Arthur can verify the correctness of magic states by himself. We also generalize the result to QIP(3): we show that the class QIP(3) does not change even if the computational power of the verifier is restricted to only Clifford gate operations (plus classical XOR gate).
Import Competition and theComposition of Firm Investments

We study how foreign competition affects the composition of investments inside firms. A parsimonious model predicts that firms have an incentive to shift their investments towards more short-term assets when exposed to tougher competition. Using data on expenditures of listed US companies into various asset classes with different lifespans, we document empirical evidence that is consistent with this prediction. Over a fifteen year period between 1995 and 2009, the rise in import competition is associated with a reduction of the firm-specific asset lifespan by about 4.5% on average. We additionally exploit the Chinese WTO accession as an exogenous shock in firm expectations about future exposure to competition.
Maternal and Paternal Genomes Differentially Affect Myofibre Characteristics and Muscle Weights of Bovine Fetuses at Midgestation

Postnatal myofibre characteristics and muscle mass are largely determined during fetal development and may be significantly affected by epigenetic parent-of-origin effects. However, data on such effects in prenatal muscle development that could help understand unexplained variation in postnatal muscle traits are lacking. In a bovine model we studied effects of distinct maternal and paternal genomes, fetal sex, and non-genetic maternal effects on fetal myofibre characteristics and muscle mass. Data from 73 fetuses (Day153, 54% term) of four genetic groups with purebred and reciprocal cross Angus and Brahman genetics were analyzed using general linear models. Parental genomes explained the greatest proportion of variation in myofibre size of Musculus semitendinosus (80–96%) and in absolute and relative weights of M. supraspinatus, M. longissimus dorsi, M. quadriceps femoris and M. semimembranosus (82–89% and 56–93%, respectively). Paternal genome in interaction with maternal genome (P<0.05) explained most genetic variation in cross sectional area (CSA) of fast myotubes (68%), while maternal genome alone explained most genetic variation in CSA of fast myofibres (93%, P<0.01). Furthermore, maternal genome independently (M. semimembranosus, 88%, P<0.0001) or in combination (M. supraspinatus, 82%; M. longissimus dorsi, 93%; M. quadriceps femoris, 86%) with nested maternal weight effect (5–6%, P<0.05), was the predominant source of variation for absolute muscle weights. Effects of paternal genome on muscle mass decreased from thoracic to pelvic limb and accounted for all (M. supraspinatus, 97%, P<0.0001) or most (M. longissimus dorsi, 69%, P<0.0001; M. quadriceps femoris, 54%, P<0.001) genetic variation in relative weights. An interaction between maternal and paternal genomes (P<0.01) and effects of maternal weight (P<0.05) on expression of H19, a master regulator of an imprinted gene network, and negative correlations between H19 expression and fetal muscle mass (P<0.001), suggested imprinted genes and miRNA interference as mechanisms for differential effects of maternal and paternal genomes on fetal muscle.
Detection of zona pellucida proteins during human folliculogenesis.

BACKGROUND The stage of folliculogenesis at which the human zona pellucida (ZP) is initiated and the cells responsible for the origin of the ZP continue to be controversial. This study characterizes the development of the ZP during human folliculogenesis using ovarian samples donated from patients requesting ovarian storage. METHODS Follicles (from n = 18 patients, 14-40 years old) within fresh tissue and following development in a xenograft system were stained, using immunohistochemical techniques, for the presence of the three human ZP proteins, ZP1, ZP2 and ZP3. Over 500 primordial follicles and >20 follicles at each developmental stage were examined. RESULTS All three ZP proteins were detected within the oocyte of the primordial follicle. Presence of ZP1 and ZP3 was observed in the majority of primordial oocytes (93% and 95%, respectively), whereas ZP2 was detected in only 32% of these follicles. The three ZP proteins were detected in the cytoplasm of cuboidal granulosa cells and their distribution correlates with developmental stages throughout folliculogenesis. CONCLUSIONS ZP proteins were detected in both the oocyte and the granulosa cells as early as the primordial follicle stage in the human. The detection of ZP proteins in the quiescent primordial follicle suggests that these proteins have been present since oogenesis.
Poverty and Fertility - An Instrumental Variables Analysis on Indian Micro Data

The gender of the first two children is used as a natural experiment to estimate the causal effect of fertility on poverty of rural nucleus households in India. In India, male children are viewed as a better source of insurance and support to the family in old age. Thus, having two girls can proxy an exogenous increase in fertility. Using household micro data from the 1993-94 Indian Quinquennial Survey (5th wave), estimation results indicate that fertility significantly positively affects poverty, but that the effect is halved when endogeneity is allowed for. Also, declining fertility accounts for almost a third of the poverty reduction in rural India between 1987/88 and 1993/1994.