Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CEO Compensation that Benefits Shareholders

This paper is developed around the set of design principles for executive compensation contracts as outlined in the study of Shan and Walter (2014). We propose guidance for determining an appropriate CEO starting compensation level based on past performance and the market for managerial talent. We also outline factors to be considered in determining annual changes to CEO compensation. This paper argues that stock options and restricted stock grants should become exercisable only upon meeting both time and performance criteria against an appropriate benchmark peer group. We agree with Shan and Walter’s (2014) recommendations regarding termination payments and make suggestions on how to apply these recommendations in practice.
Evaluating Central Banks&Apos; Tool Kit: Past, Present, and Future

We develop a structural DSGE model to systematically study the principal tools of unconventional monetary policy – quantitative easing (QE), forward guidance, and negative interest rate policy (NIRP) – as well as the interactions between them. To generate the same output response, the requisite NIRP and forward guidance interventions are twice as large as a conventional policy shock, which seems implausible in practice. In contrast, QE via an endogenous feedback rule can alleviate the constraints on conventional policy posed by the zero lower bound. Quantitatively, QE1-QE3 can account for two thirds of the observed decline in the “shadow” Federal Funds rate. In spite of its usefulness, QE does not come without cost. A large balance sheet has consequences for different normalization plans, the efficacy of NIRP, and the effective lower bound on the policy rate.
Place cells on a maze encode routes rather than destinations

Hippocampal place cells fire at different rates when a rodent runs through a given location on its way to different destinations. However, it is unclear whether such firing represents the animal’s intended destination or the execution of a specific trajectory. To distinguish between these possibilities, Lister Hooded rats (n = 8) were trained to navigate from a start box to three goal locations via four partially overlapping routes. Two of these led to the same goal location. Of the cells that fired on these two routes, 95.8% showed route-dependent firing (firing on only one route), whereas only two cells (4.2%) showed goal-dependent firing (firing similarly on both routes). In addition, route-dependent place cells over-represented the less discriminable routes, and place cells in general over-represented the start location. These results indicate that place cell firing on overlapping routes reflects the animal’s route, not its goals, and that this firing may aid spatial discrimination. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.15986. 001
Maximum Likelihood Phylogenetic Inference is Consistent on Multiple Sequence Alignments, with or without Gaps

We prove that maximum likelihood phylogenetic inference is consistent on gapped multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) as long as substitution rates across each edge are greater than zero, under mild assumptions on the structure of the alignment. Under these assumptions, maximum likelihood will asymptotically recover the tree with edge lengths corresponding to the mean number of substitutions per site on each edge. This refutes Warnow's recent suggestion (Warnow 2012) that maximum likelihood phylogenetic inference might be statistically inconsistent when gaps are treated as missing data, even if the MSA is correct. We also derive a simple new proof of maximum likelihood consistency of ungapped alignments.
Determinants of poverty in rural Ethiopia

This paper investigates the determinants of rural poverty in Ethiopia. Our study is based on information gathered from a three-round survey of 149 rural households in three districts of Ethiopia during the 1999/2000 cropping season. The FGT poverty index (index proposed by Foster, Greer and Thorbecke) is employed to examine the extent and severity of rural poverty. It reveals that nearly 40% of the sample households live below poverty line with an average poverty gap of 0.047. The binary logit estimates shed light on factors behind the persistence of poverty and indicates that rural poverty is strongly linked to entitlement failures understood as lack of household resource endowments to crucial assets such as land, human capital and oxen. Our findings suggest that improved targeting devices can be a useful instrument in reducing poverty, in particular to reach the poorest of the poor.
Network Connectivity under Probabilistic Communication Models in Wireless Sensor Networks

Several previous works have experimentally shown that communication ranges of sensors are not regular disks. Rather, they follow probabilistic models. Yet, many current connectivity maintenance protocols assume the disk communication model for convenience and ease of analysis. In addition, current protocols do not provide any assessment of the quality of communication between nodes. In this paper, we take a first step in designing connectivity maintenance protocols for more realistic communication models. We propose a distributed connectivity maintenance protocol that explicitly accounts for the probabilistic nature of communication links and achieves a given target communication quality between nodes. Our protocol is simple to implement, and we demonstrate its robustness against random node failures, inaccuracy of node locations, and imperfect time synchronization of nodes using extensive simulations. We compare our protocol against others in the literature and show that it activates fewer number of nodes, consumes much less energy, and significantly prolongs the network lifetime.
Principal G bundles over elliptic curves

Let $G$ be a simple and simply connected complex Lie group. We discuss the moduli space of holomorphic semistable principal $G$ bundles over an elliptic curve $E$. In particular we give a new proof of a theorem of Looijenga and Bernshtein-Shvartsman, that the moduli space is a weighted projective space. The method of proof is to study the deformations of certain unstable bundles coming from special maximal parabolic subgroups of $G$. We also discuss the associated automorphism sheaves and universal bundles, as well as the relation between various universal bundles and spectral covers.
Allicin Alleviates Dextran Sodium Sulfate- (DSS-) Induced Ulcerative Colitis in BALB/c Mice

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of allicin (10 mg/kg body weight, orally) in an experimental murine model of UC by administering 2.5% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in drinking water to BALB/c mice. DSS-induced mice presented reduced body weight, which was improved by allicin administration. We noted increases in CD68 expression, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities, and Malonaldehyde (MDA) and mRNA levels of proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) α, interleukin- (IL-) 1β, IL-6, and IL-17, and decrease in the activities of enzymic antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione reductase (GR), and Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in DSS-induced mice. However, allicin treatment significantly decreased CD68, MPO, MDA, and proinflammatory cytokines and increased the enzymic antioxidants significantly (P < 0.05). In addition, allicin was capable of reducing the activation and nuclear accumulation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), thereby preventing degradation of the inhibitory protein IκB and inducing inhibition of the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB-p65 in the colonic mucosa. These findings suggest that allicin exerts clinically useful anti-inflammatory effects mediated through the suppression of the NF-κB and IL-6/p-STAT3Y705 pathways.
Intrinsic psychosocial stressors and construction worker productivity: impact of employee age and industry experience

Abstract This paper aims to study the impact of employee age and industrial experience on intrinsic psychosocial stressors of construction workers. Using an integrated theoretical approach, this study examines the intrinsic (top management, career development, social support, motivation and work stress) psychosocial stressors that influence the productivity of Pakistani construction contracting firms workers having varied ages and industry experiences. Data were collected through a postal questionnaire survey. A comparative analysis of these data was undertaken for employees of varied ages and industrial experiences. Findings show that employees of varied ages did not concur over several top management, career development, social support, motivation and work stress related psychosocial stressors, whereas employees of varied industrial experience were in disagreement over some work stress related psychosocial stressors. Due to the need to overcome intrinsic psychological stresses, firm support is direly needed, especially for the less-experienced employees that are more susceptible to demotivation, mental stress and health and safety risks at the sites. The study provides valuable insights into worker productivity by showing how employee varied age and diverse industry experience are associated with the intrinsic psychosocial stressors that influence worker productivity. This study will help regulatory bodies to deal with the critical psychosocial stressors and devise such policies that improve the worker productivity of their construction contracting firms.
A Computational Model of Implicit Memory Captures Dyslexics' Perceptual Deficits

Dyslexics are diagnosed for their poor reading skills, yet they characteristically also suffer from poor verbal memory and often from poor auditory skills. To date, this combined profile has been accounted for in broad cognitive terms. Here we hypothesize that the perceptual deficits associated with dyslexia can be understood computationally as a deficit in integrating prior information with noisy observations. To test this hypothesis we analyzed the performance of human participants in an auditory discrimination task using a two-parameter computational model. One parameter captures the internal noise in representing the current event, and the other captures the impact of recently acquired prior information. Our findings show that dyslexics' perceptual deficit can be accounted for by inadequate adjustment of these components; namely, low weighting of their implicit memory of past trials relative to their internal noise. Underweighting the stimulus statistics decreased dyslexics' ability to compensate for noisy observations. ERP measurements (P2 component) while participants watched a silent movie indicated that dyslexics' perceptual deficiency may stem from poor automatic integration of stimulus statistics. This study provides the first description of a specific computational deficit associated with dyslexia. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This study presents the first attempt to specify the mechanisms underlying dyslexics' perceptual difficulties computationally by applying a specific model, inspired by the Bayesian framework. This model dissociates between the contribution of sensory noise and that of the prior statistics in an auditory perceptual decision task. We show that dyslexics cannot compensate for their perceptual noise by incorporating prior information. By contrast, adequately reading controls' usage of previous information is often close to optimal. We used ERP measurements to assess the neuronal stage of this deficit. We found that unlike their peers, dyslexics' ERP responses are not sensitive to the relations between the current observation and the prior observation, indicating that they cannot establish a reliable prior.
Sleepless in Chennai: The Consequences of Increasing Sleep Among the Urban Poor

Little is known about the levels and consequences of sleep deprivation in the developing world. We employed 452 adults in urban India for a month each, measured their sleep objectively, and randomized treatments to increase sleep. We present five sets of results. First, despite spending 8 hours in bed, workers slept 5.6 hours per night on average, implying strikingly low sleep efficiency. Second, providing devices and incentives to sleep more increased night sleep by over 30 minutes. Offering short naps in the afternoon also increased daily sleep. Third, contrary to the prediction of most experts, increased night sleep did not increase earnings: while productivity did increase, especially due to naps, countervailing reductions in labor supply implied overall neutral or slightly negative effects on earnings. Fourth, increased night sleep improved health but had no impacts on cognition, well-being, or decision-making. In contrast, naps had no detectable effects on physical health but caused sizable increases in cognition and well-being. Fifth, naps increased individuals’ attention to non-salient incentives and increased savings by up to 16 percent, suggesting that increased attention due to naps altered decision-making. Taken together, we find strikingly low levels of sleep in an urban population in India, but little evidence of increased night sleep impacting short-run economic outcomes. The results provide a possible explanation for the persistence of widespread sleep deprivation. ∗We gratefully acknowledge generous funding and support by the Government of Tamil Nadu, the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, IFMR LEAD, the William F. Milton Fund, the Harvard Global Health Institute, the Program on the Global Development of Aging, the SHASS Research Fund, the Mind, Brain, and Behavior Interfaculty Initiative, the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT), the Weiss Family Program Fund for Research in Development Economics, and the Pershing Square Venture Fund for Research on the Foundations of Human Behavior. We thank Alosias A, Srinivas Balasubramanian, Phoebe Cai, Stephanie Chan, Fiona Chen, Thomas Escande, Gunjita Gupta, Erik Hausen, Yihong Huang, Dexin Li, Andrew Locke, Maddie McKelway, Adrien Pawlik, João Pugliese, Jane von Rabeau, Cory Rand, Maya Roy, Krishna Prasad Srinivasan, Nikkil Sudharsanan, and Ziqing Yan for excellent research assistance. Finally, we thank all those who took the time to participate in our expert survey. All remaining errors are our own. We received IRB approval from Harvard University, protocol number 14-2294. †Bessone: MIT (tepedino@mit.edu); Rao: Harvard and NBER (grao@fas.harvard.edu); Schilbach: MIT and NBER (fschilb@mit.edu); Schofied: UPenn (hschof@wharton.upenn.edu); Toma: Harvard (mattietoma@g.harvard.edu)
Adaptive Motivation and Emotion in Education

Students frequently experience various types of motivation and emotion that contribute to their engagement and learning. However, translating research on motivation and emotion into educational practice and policy has so far been limited. To facilitate greater synergy among research, practice, and policy, this overview addresses educationally relevant motivation and emotion. This summary discusses different forms of motivation or emotion, their relevant theoretical basis, evidence on how they relate to academic engagement and learning, and potential classroom supports for adaptive motivation and emotion. The article concludes with five instructional design principles that can guide educators and policymakers in promoting adaptive student motivation and emotion: (a) support students’ feelings of competence, (b) enhance autonomy, (c) use personally relevant and active tasks, (d) emphasize learning and de-emphasize social comparison, and (e) encourage feelings of belonging.
Optimal Divisionalization for Selling Networks of Cable Television Services

In this article, a condition for the optimal division’s number is calculated, for a market with two cable operators who offer a network service. The rationale for justifying the partial covering of the national market from the cable operators is presented. Furthermore, a problem of moral hazard is revealed, which is able to appear through the implementation of franchising schemes with independent divisions. This is particularly interesting because it can be applied to several industries such as Cable Television and Entertainment, and other activities including Internet and Computer Games Centres, which offer Internet broadband access and network games.
A bound on the deviation probability for sums of non-negative random variables.

A simple bound is presented for the probability that the sum of nonnegative independent random variables is exceeded by its expectation by more than a positive number t. If the variables have the same expectation the bound is slightly weaker than the Bennett and Bernstein inequalities, otherwise it can be significantly stronger. The inequality extends to one-sidedly bounded martingale difference sequences.
Triangular Heaps

In this paper we introduce the triangular heap, a heap with the special property that for every father node its right child (if present) is smaller than its left child. We show how triangular heaps can be applied to the traditional problem of sorting an array in situ in ways quite similar to well-known methods using ordinary heaps. An average case analysis is presented for the construction and for the sorting process of both ordinary and triangular heaps.
Multi-Objective Optimization for Urban Drainage or Sewer Networks Rehabilitation through Pipes Substitution and Storage Tanks Installation

Drainage networks are civil constructions which do not generally attract the attention of decision-makers. However, they are of crucial importance for cities; this can be seen when a city faces floods resulting in extensive and expensive damage. The increase of rain intensity due to climate change may cause deficiencies in drainage networks built for certain defined flows which are incapable of coping with sudden increases, leading to floods. This problem can be solved using different strategies; one is the adaptation of the network through rehabilitation. A way to adapt the traditional network approach consists of substituting some pipes for others with greater diameters. More recently, the installation of storm tanks makes it possible to temporarily store excess water. Either of these solutions can be expensive, and an economic analysis must be done. Recent studies have related flooding with damage costs. In this work, a novel solution combining both approaches (pipes and tanks) is studied. A multi-objective optimization algorithm based on the NSGA-II is proposed for the rehabilitation of urban drainage networks through the substitution of pipes and the installation of storage tanks. Installation costs will be offset by damage costs associated with flooding. As a result, a set of optimal solutions that can be implemented based on the objectives to be achieved by municipalities or decisions makers. The methodology is finally applied to a real network located in the city of Bogotá, Colombia.
Impact of Treated Wastewater Irrigation on Soil Chemical Properties and Crop Productivity

The present study was carried out to investigate the impact of treated wastewater on the soil properties, soil fertility and crop productivity. Crops were irrigated with groundwater and secondary treated wastewater. The use of the secondary treated wastewater has shown improvement in the physicochemical properties of the soil, crop yield along with the nutrient status as compared to the application of groundwater. The results showed better crop growth with increased fertility status of the soil. The findings give applicable advice to commercial farmers for proper management and use of domestic wastewater for agricultural purpose. In addition, proper irrigation management and periodic monitoring of soil quality parameters are required to minimize adverse effect on the soil.
Cereal Import Demand in Developing Countries

The major determinants of cereal import demand in 7 4 less-developed countries (LDCs) were analysed using an econometric cross-sectional model. Key explanatory factors included the level of income and degree of urbanization, financial capacity proxies, and domestic grain supply variables. A major innovation involved the analysis of the impact of income distribution on LDC cereal import demand in 1986 and 1987 for a more restricted sample of 23 nations. These~ developing countries exhibit a greater than proportional increase in cereal imports due to an increase in the income share of the poorest 40 percent of their populations. The inclusion of regional slope and intercept dummies in the cereal import demand model also provides improved results. High levels of government debt appear to have inhibited cereal imports in nations in South America but not in Asia and Africa. In all three continental regions, particularly Africa, there is a positive relationship between food aid and cereal imports. The model predicts cereal imports more satisfactorily for nations in Asia and South America than for those in Africa. Finally, the results support the view that improvements in income distribution in developing nations would considerably stimulate cereal imports.
Effects of Dietary Supplementation with Ferulic Acid or Vitamin E Individually or in Combination on Meat Quality and Antioxidant Capacity of Finishing Pigs

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of vitamin E (VE), ferulic acid (FA) and their combination supplementation on meat quality and antioxidant capacities of finishing pigs. Sixty barrows were randomly allocated to four experimental diets using a 2×2 factorial arrangement with 2 VE supplemental levels (0 or 400 mg/kg) and 2 FA supplemental levels (0 or 100 mg/kg) in basal diets. After 28 days, six pigs per treatment were slaughtered. The results showed that VE supplementation increased loin eye area of pigs (p<0.05) and FA supplementation increased pH45min value (p<0.05). The interaction of FA×VE was observed in shear force of longissimus dorsi muscle (p<0.05). Moreover, supplementation with VE decreased hepatic and sarcous malondialdehyde (MDA) content, increased hepatic glutathione (GSH) content and sarcous glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity (p<0.05). Additionally, supplementation with FA increased hepatic GSH-Px activity and decreased sarcous MDA content (p<0.05). However, dietary treatment did not affect the expression of genes related to nuclear factor, erythroid 2-like 2 (NFE2L2) pathway. These results suggest that dietary FA and VE could partially improve meat quality and antioxidant capacity of finishing pigs, but not by activating NFE2L2 pathway under the normal conditions of farming.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Working Paper Series Capital Account Liberalization: Theory, Evidence, and Speculation Nber Working Paper Series Capital Account Liberalization: Theory, Evidence, and Speculation

Writings on the macroeconomic impact of capital account liberalization find few, if any, robust effects of liberalization on real variables. In contrast to the prevailing wisdom, I argue that the textbook theory of liberalization holds up quite well to a critical reading of this literature. The lion's share of papers that find no effect of liberalization on real variables tell us nothing about the empirical validity of the theory, because they do not really test it. This paper explains why it is that most studies do not really address the theory they set out to test. It also discusses what is necessary to test the theory and examines papers that have done so. Studies that actually test the theory show that liberalization has significant effects on the cost of capital, investment, and economic growth.