Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward an assessment of impacts from US technology and innovation policies

Five important policy initiatives were promulgated in response to the slowdown in U.S. productivity in the early-1970s, and then again in the late-1970s and early-1980s. These initiatives included the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, the Stevenson-Wydler Act of 1980, the R&E Tax Credit of 1981, the Small Business Innovation and Development Act of 1982, and the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984. Scholars and policy-makers have long debated the direction and magnitude of impacts from these policies but empirical evidence remains modest, especially evidence of their aggregate effects. Our assessment of these policies is based on quantifying their collective impact on industrial investments in R&D in the post-productivity slowdown period. Our findings support the conclusion that the relative levels of industrial investments in R&D from 1980 forward were significantly higher than before, ceteris paribus.
Distribution of the mRNA for a metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR1) in the central nervous system: An in situ hybridization study in adult and developing rat

Distribution of the mRNA for a metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR1), which is linked to phosphoinositide (PI) hydrolysis, was investigated in adult and developing rat central nervous system (CNS) by in situ hybridization. Transcripts of mGluR1 were specifically localized to neurons and widely distributed throughout the adult rat brain. Most intensely labeled neurons were Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, mitral and tufted cells of the olfactory bulb, and neurons in the hippocampus, lateral septum, thalamus, globus pallidus, entopeduncular nucleus, ventral pallidum, magnocellular preoptic nucleus, substantia nigra, and dorsal cochlear nucleus. Moderately labeled neurons were seen in high density in the dentate gyrus, striatum, islands of Calleja, superficial layers of the retrosplenial, cingulate and entorhinal cortices, mammillary nuclei, red nucleus, and superior colliculus. In the developing rat brain, the level of mGluR1 expression gradually increased during early postnatal days in accordance with the maturation of neuronal elements.
Is Bank Default Risk Systematic?

We evaluate the impact of commonly used indicators of bank distress on broad (sector and country) risks. Our results show that several measures of individual bank risk impact on banking (systemic) and overall (systematic) stock market risk. Our results provide strong evidence suggesting that banks’ default risk tends to be systematic (i.e. undiversifiable). This issue deserves special attention in the banking industry where the default of single bank may cause a cascading failure, which could potentially bankrupt the entire system.
Locate Your Nearest Exit: Mass Layoffs and Local Labor Market Response

Large shocks to local labor markets can cause long-lasting changes to employment, unemployment, and the local labor force. This study examines the relationship between mass layoffs and the long-run size of the local labor force. The authors consider four main channels through which the local labor force may adjust: in-migration, out-migration, retirement, and disability insurance enrollment. These channels, primarily out-migration, account for more than half of the labor force reduction over the past two decades. Findings show, however, that during and after the Great Recession, instead of out-migration, non-participation in the labor force grew to account for most of the local labor force exits following a mass layoff.
A Multicriteria Discrimination Method for the Prediction of Financial Distress: The Case of Greece

Financial distress prediction is an essential issue in finance. Especially in emerging economies, predicting the future financial situation of individual corporate entities is even more significant, bearing in mind the general economic turmoil that can be caused by business failures. The research on developing quantitative financial distress prediction models has been focused on building discriminant models distinguishing healthy firms from financially distressed ones. Following this discrimination approach, this paper explores the applicability of a new non–parametric multicriteria decision aid discrimination method, called M.H. DIS, to predict financial distress using data concerning the case of Greece. A comparison with discriminant and logit analysis is performed using both a basic and a holdout sample. The results show that M.H. DIS can be considered as a new alternative tool for financial distress prediction. Its performance is superior to discriminant analysis and comparable to logit analysis.
Molecular mechanisms of cell death in intervertebral disc degeneration (Review)

Intervertebral discs (IVDs) are complex structures that consist of three parts, namely, nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus and cartilage endplates. With aging, IVDs gradually degenerate as a consequence of many factors, such as microenvironment changes and cell death. Human clinical trial and animal model studies have documented that cell death, particularly apoptosis and autophagy, significantly contribute to IVD degeneration. The mechanisms underlying this phenomenon include the activation of apoptotic pathways and the regulation of autophagy in response to nutrient deprivation and multiple stresses. In this review, we briefly summarize recent progress in understanding the function and regulation of apoptosis and autophagy signaling pathways. In particular, we focus on studies that reveal the functional mechanisms of these pathways in IVD degeneration.
Trends in overweight and obesity among 18‐year‐old males in Sweden between 1971 and 1995

The aims of the study are to analyse Swedish trends in overweight and obesity–as measured by body mass index (BMI)–between 1971 and 1995, and to examine socioeconomic and geographic differences between groups of individuals on the basis of information on 18‐y‐old military conscripts. The study population comprises all males born in 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, and between 1973 and 1977, reported to be living in Sweden at 17 y of age according to nationwide population registers (RTPs). Utilizing the unique personal ID number, sociodemographic data in the RTPs and in Population and Housing censuses were linked to data on BMI in the national Military Service Conscription Registry for the years 1971 to 1995. These data were obtained from compulsory medical examinations held at military induction at 18 y of age. BMI data were available for 448 732 (89%) of a total of 503 689 subjects. Mean BMI increased by 6.6% over the study period–from 21.1 kg/m2 in 1971 to 22.4 kg/m2 in 1995. Unadjusted trend analyses showed a 2.4 times increase in the prevalence of overweight among 18‐y‐old males over the period–from 6.9% in 1971 to 16.3% in 1995. Over the same years, the prevalence of obesity increased 3.5 times– from 0.9% to 3.2%. After adjustment for muscle power, demographic factors, and living area, the prevalence of overweight was found to have increased 1.4 times, and obesity 1.7 times between 1971 and 1993. The prevalence of overweight was considerably higher among 18‐y‐old males from low‐educated families than among those from high‐educated families in both 1971 and 1995. The prevalence of overweight was also found to be higher in both 1971 and 1995 among young men from rural and/or sparsely populated areas than among those living in Sweden's largest cities. Mean BMI, and the prevalence of overweight and obesity have increased among 18‐y‐old males in Sweden over the last 24 y. The increased risk of overweight among young men from low‐educated families and those from rural and/or sparsely populated areas detected in 1971 was still evident in 1995.
Trading places: The role of agents in international student recruitment from Africa

As state subsidies to higher education contract, the recruitment of international students is becoming a strategic priority for many UK universities. Academic roles are reconfigured as the commercialisation of higher education and the commodification of education services re-position the student as consumer, academic as entrepreneur, and university as ‘marketer’ (Slaughter and Rhoades 2009). Despite rapid growth in the number of students and universities using external third-party recruitment agents, little research has been undertaken on the work of agents and the relationships between agents, institutions and students. Drawing on a case study of one UK higher education institution conducted in May–June 2012, this paper considers the role and experiences of the principal actors in this economised relationship: educational consultants/recruitment agents operating in the sub-Saharan African market, university international officers (UK-based and offshore), faculty and international students. The paper considers the position and role of education brokers (within public and for-profit contexts) in the international higher education market. Whilst these actors pursue common activity in linking students with providers, they differ in terms of rationale and stance. Although internationalisation presents opportunities for enhanced revenue, questions of ‘value’ raise important educational and ethical issues for universities as they develop collaborative ventures in emerging markets.
The Balance Sheet Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission: Evidence from the United Kingdom

This paper examines the cash flow sensitivity of investment using a panel of UK manufacturing firms to investigate the existence of a balance sheet channel. In addition to examining the impact of cash flow in different subsamples based on company size or financial policy, we investigate the extent to which investment becomes more sensitive to cash flow in periods of monetary tightness by employing a narrative indicator constructed for the United Kingdom. The results indicate that cash flow sensitivity in financially constrained firms is higher during periods of tight monetary policy and that financial constraints weaken with financial market sophistication.
Provider perceptions of electronic medical records and e-prescribing and their integration into safety net clinics

This paper reports the findings of a formative study that examined knowledge, readiness, and perceptions of healthcare providers in safety-net clinics about electronic medical records (EMR) and e-prescribing. It was conducted in six safety net clinics in southeast Georgia that serve a disproportionately high number of uninsured and underinsured individuals. Qualitative data was collected during focus groups and intercept interviews. Healthcare providers understood what EMR technology is and had positive perceptions about the technology's utility in the clinic environment. Several key themes emerged such as the importance of increased efficiency and transportability; privacy, security, and access concerns; quality improvement potential; startup costs; and production loss. Implications for administrators who plan to implement EMR within safety net clinics are discussed.
Constructions of professional knowledge among student and practising primary teachers: paradigmatic and narrative orientations

The way in which professional knowledge is presented in initial teacher education (ITE) in England and Wales is significant. Not only is it emblematic of the way teaching itself is conceived, but it is likely to influence the way that students engage with their development. The following analysis therefore describes and critiques the kinds of knowledge presented within the predominant model of primary ITE in England and Wales. Bruner’s concepts of paradigmatic and narrative modes of thought are used to frame this analysis. Firstly, the presentation of professional knowledge within different dimensions of primary ITE is examined: in the curriculum; in higher education institutions; and in school. Next, life history research from the last 20 years is used to explore what practising teachers have seen as significant in the formation of their professional knowledge in order to create a critical perspective on the kind of knowledge evident in ITE. Various tensions between paradigmatic and narrative orientations towards knowledge located within both ITE and within teachers’ lives are explored and ultimately seen as contributing in complex and ambiguous ways to what Clandinin and Connelly refer to as a ‘professional knowledge landscape’ (1998). Ultimately, it is argued that recognizing this notion of a ‘professional knowledge landscape’ is useful in framing the kind of teacher professional knowledge required in ITE. The implications of this for primary ITE programmes are also discussed.
[Behavior characterization of a model of Huntington's disease in rats, induced by quinolinic acid].

INTRODUCTION Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by severe degeneration of basal ganglia neurons. Behavioral symptoms of HD include abnormal, uncontrollable and constant choreiform movements, impaired cognitive function and emotional disturbance. OBJECTIVE In order to explore the changes of cognitive and motor functions induced by quinolinate lesion we realized this experiment. MATERIALS AND METHODS We studied the behavior of rats with unilateral quinolinate induced lesions of the medial striatum. Intact 3 months old male rats (n = 23) were trained in the Morris Water Maze during three consecutive days, eight trials/day (acquisition), and before surgery they were randomly assigned either to intact or lesion groups. Fifteen days after the lesion the rats were tested using retention test (one day/four trials, with the escape platform in the same position as in acquisition test), on the next three days the rats were tested in the transfer test (three days/eight trials-day, with the platform in the new position). The Paw reaching test and the asymmetrical rotational behavior test in respond to amphetamine were also tested in these rats. RESULTS Lesioned animals exhibited deficient retrieval of stored memories of visuospatial skills and impaired transfer of learning. In relation with motor activity the lesioned rats showed a profound impairment in the skill of the left forelimb for reaching food compared with its right forelimb as well as with the forelimb abilities of intact rats. The lesioned animals showed significant rotational behavior induced by amphetamine agonist, ipsilateral to the lesioned striatum. CONCLUSIONS These results are consistent with the notion that the striatal degeneration could sufficiently account for the cognitive abnormalities associated with HD, and with the key role played by basal ganglia in enabling voluntary and postural adjustment of the movements.
Eurozone Sovereign Yield Spreads and Diverging Economic Fundamentals

We construct daily real-time macroeconomic indices conditional on the rating of Eurozone countries. We uncover substantial explanatory power of our measures of economic fundamentals for yield dynamics beyond the traditional yield principal components. In particular, we find that the divergence in economic growth between AAA and non-AAA countries significantly explains the dynamics of sovereign yield spreads between the same groups of countries. The explanatory power of fundamentals is not subsumed by proxies of time-varying risk-aversion or by the perceived riskiness of the Eurozone banking sector. Finally, we cast this analysis of the Eurozone sovereign yields in an innovative term structure model, featuring our real-time macroeconomic factors conditional on country ratings.
Scanning and transmission electronmicroscopy of Schistosoma mansoni eggs, cercariae, and adults.

Abstract Cercariae and adult males and females of Schistosoma mansoni were studied by scanning electronmicroscopy, and the eggs of this species were studied by this technique as well as by transmission electronmicroscopy. The observations of the eggs by the transmission technique revealed shell pores, epicuticular microbarbs, and other structures noted in our previous study. The various observations with the scanning technique used to study the eggs, cercariae, and adult worms are noted and illustrated by selected micrographs.
Metropolitan Econometric Electric Utility Forecast Accuracy

El Paso Electric Company (EPEC) is the sole commercial electricity provider for two metropolitan economies in the southwestern desert region of the United States: El Paso, Texas and Las Cruces, New Mexico. A publicly traded corporation, EPEC employs a structural econometric system of equations model to forecast energy sales for various customer classes. Although the modeling system has provided reliable inputs to annual corporate planning efforts at EPEC, its historical track record has not previously been formally assessed for forecast accuracy. Both descriptive and inferential statistics are used to evaluate the EPEC model’s forecasting performance. Results indicate that accurate prediction of electricity usage in this service area is an elusive target. Those results are similar to what has been documented for other regional economic variables.
Convertible Debt and Shareholder Incentives

Given equity's convex payoff function, shareholders can transfer wealth from bondholders by increasing firm risk. We test the existing hypothesis that convertible debt reduces this classical agency problem of risk-shifting. First, we derive a measure of shareholders' risk incentives induced by convertible debt using a contingent claims framework. We then document that when risk-shifting incentives are high, the propensity to issue convertible (rather than straight) debt increases and the negative stock market reaction following convertible debt issue announcements is amplified. We further highlight that convertible debt is the only type of security that affects business risk durably downwards. Our conclusions support the agency theoretic rationale for convertible debt financing especially for financially distressed firms.
Time Poverty, Work Status and Gender: The Case of Pakistan

The present study measures time poverty and its incidence across gender, occupational groups, industries, regions, and income levels using Time Use Survey (TUS) 2007, the first nationwide time use survey for Pakistan. In the entire TUS sample, the incidence of time poverty is 14 percent. Women are found to be more time poor than men whether employed or not. This is because of certain women-specific activities that they have to perform irrespective of their employment status. Working women are far more time poor than those not working. Women accepting a job have to make a major trade-off between time poverty and monetary poverty. People working in professions and industries that generally require extended work hours and offer low wage rates are more time poor. This entails a situation of double jeopardy for workers who tend to be money and time poor at the same time. The close association of time poverty with low income found in this study corroborates this conclusion. Government can help reduce time poverty by enforcing minimum wage laws and mandatory ceiling on work hours in industries with high concentration of time poverty. Eradication of monetary poverty can also eliminate the need to work long hours at low wages just to survive. A fair distribution of responsibilities between men and women.is also needed.
Failed mitochondrial import and impaired proteostasis trigger SUMOylation of mitochondrial proteins

Modification by the ubiquitin-like protein SUMO affects hundreds of cellular substrate proteins and regulates a wide variety of physiological processes. While the SUMO system appears to predominantly target nuclear proteins and, to a lesser extent, cytosolic proteins, hardly anything is known about the SUMOylation of proteins targeted to membrane-enclosed organelles. Here, we identify a large set of structurally and functionally unrelated mitochondrial proteins as substrates of the SUMO pathway in yeast. We show that SUMO modification of mitochondrial proteins does not rely on mitochondrial targeting and, in fact, is strongly enhanced upon import failure, consistent with the modification occurring in the cytosol. Moreover, SUMOylated forms of mitochondrial proteins particularly accumulate in HSP70- and proteasome-deficient cells, suggesting that SUMOylation participates in cellular protein quality control. We therefore propose that SUMO serves as a mark for nonfunctional mitochondrial proteins, which only sporadically arise in unstressed cells but strongly accumulate upon defective mitochondrial import and impaired proteostasis. Overall, our findings provide support for a role of SUMO in the cytosolic response to aberrant proteins.
Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam: Ending Africa's Oldest Geopolitical Rivalry?

Ethiopia surprised northeastern Africa in 2011 by announcing its plan to construct the first hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile. With an annual production capacity of 6,000 megawatts, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is set to become the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa. Expected to be completed by 2015, the dam will not only break Egypt’s millennia-long monopoly over the Nile waters, but will also, according to Cairo, threaten its water supply. The Nile is Egypt’s only major source of freshwater and has served as the lifeline of the nation since the dawn of its civilization. Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan organized a group of experts to review and assess the potential effects of the dam. The International Panel of Experts—made up of ten members, two from each of the three states and four international— submitted their impact assessment to all three governments in June 2013. The report has not yet been made public, but Ethiopia claims it concluded that the dam will not cause “significant harm” to any downstream state. What is certain however is that the reservoir of the GERD will have the capacity to store up to 74 billion cubic meters of water (equivalent to 40 percent more than Egypt’s entire annual Nile water supply)—providing Ethiopia with the capacity to potentially disturb the water flows of the world’s longest river in a significant manner.
PENGARUH MODAL INTELEKTUAL TERHADAP KINERJA KEUANGAN DAN NILAI PASAR

Abstrak Tujuan dari penelitian ini untuk mengetahui pengaruh modal intelektual terhadap kinerja keuangan perusahaan dan nilai pasar. Sampel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah perusahaan manufaktur yang secara konsisten listing selama tahun 2009-2010, dan diambil dengan metode purposive sampling . Metode analisis data menggunakan analisis deskriptif dan analisis inferensial dengan Partial Least Sequare (PLS). Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa modal intelektual berpengaruh terhadap kinerja keuangan dan nilai pasar. Abstract The purpose of this research is to find out the influence of intellectual capital to financial performance and market value. Sample for this research is manufacturing enterprises which are consistently registered during period of 2009-2010, and collected using method of purposive sampling. The methods of data analysis was using descriptive analysis and inferensial analysis using Partial Least Square (PLS). The results shown that intellectual capital is influenciny financial performance and market value.