Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Euro adoption’s impact on extensive and intensive margins of trade: the Italian case

The recent theoretical literature has focused on the importance of extensive and intensive margins of trade in the case of the Euro adoption. But few works have investigated the effects of the euro introduction on the extensive and intensive margins of trade. All these studies have used disaggregated bilateral flows data (6 digit). However, not even the finest level of disaggregation in the publicly available trade data is enough to single out individual products. We try to fill this gap by using a unique dataset taken from ISAE surveys on Italian manufacturing firms. From this quarterly survey it is possible to obtain information about both the structural characteristics (geographical location, industrial sector of activity, number of employees) and exporting behaviour of firms. We concentrate our analysis on the period 1997-2001, covering the two years before and the three years after the euro introduction. , In line with large part of the empirical literature on bilateral trade, we estimate a gravity equation using a Hausman and Taylor estimator (HT). Our results show that the introduction of the euro has not had any effect on export turnover. This evidence seems to match other empirical findings on Italy, both at aggregate and sectoral level. However, interaction terms between the euro dummy and the group of “entering firms” (firms that started to export after the euro introduction) and that of “persistent firms” (firms that exported in the euro area before and after 1999) are positive and statistically significant, showing a positive effect of the common currency on extensive and intensive margins of trade. Indeed, the magnitude of the coefficient of the former is higher than the latter: in the Italian case, empirical findings for the Euro area as a whole seem to be confirmed. In our view, the euro introduction has had a positive effect on the extensive margin: a small group of firms benefited from it by starting to export in the Eurozone market. However, the total size of this group is very small; this finding may be due to the average small size of Italian manufacturing firms and to their scarce presence in the ICIR sectors (Imperfect Competition and Increasing Return sectors). Following theoretical indications, these latter are sectors that may have benefited more from the euro introduction: firms usually have lower marginal costs and they can easily cover the fixed costs of export activity if these costs are reduced, as they are when a common currency is introduced.
A systematic review of interventions to improve postpartum retention of women in PMTCT and ART care

The World Health Organization recommends lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV. Effective transitioning from maternal and child health to ART services, and long‐term retention in ART care postpartum is crucial to the successful implementation of lifelong ART for pregnant women. This systematic review aims to determine which interventions improve (1) retention within prevention of mother‐to‐child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programmes after birth, (2) transitioning from PMTCT to general ART programmes in the postpartum period, and (3) retention of postpartum women in general ART programmes.
Role of the FcϵRI β-chain ITAM as a signal regulator for mast cell activation with monomeric IgE

The b-chain of the high-affinity receptor for IgE (FceRI) plays a crucial role for amplification of the intracellular signaling in mast cells upon FceRI cross-linking by IgEantigen complexes (IgEAg). Some monomeric IgE as well as IgEAg stimulate FceRI-signaling pathways, leading to cell activation, whereas the biological functions of the b-chain in the monomeric IgE-mediated mast cell signaling and responses are largely unknown. In the present study, FceRI is reconstituted with either wild-type b-chain or mutated b-chain immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) employing retrovirus-mediated gene transfer into the FceRI b-chain� /� mast cells. We demonstrated that the transfectants with mutated b-chain ITAM stimulated with monomeric IgE sufficiently produce inflammatory cytokines, although degranulation, intracellular Ca 21 mobilization and leukotriene C4 synthesis are significantly reduced. Furthermore, analyses of molecular mechanisms of the signaling revealed that the expression of cytokine genes and activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and protein kinase C were significantly delayed in the b-chain ITAM mutant cells stimulated with monomeric IgE, suggesting that the b-chain ITAM regulates kinetics of gene transcriptions and signaling pathways for cytokine production. These findings for the first time revealed the unique functions of the b-chain ITAM in both chemical mediator release and cytokine production of mast cells upon monomeric IgE stimulation.
Valuation of Canadian- vs. U.S.-Listed Equity: Is There a Discount?

The authors examine how the valuation multiples assigned to the equity of Canadian-listed firms compare with the equity of comparable firms listed in the United States. They find that Canadian-listed firms trade at a discount to U.S.-listed firms across a range of valuation measures. Differences in accounting do not explain this discount, based on a comparison of Canadian interlisted firms that report under both Canadian and U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. This discount exists despite Canadian-listed firms having a lower cost of equity and higher profitability than comparable U.S-listed firms. Consistent with theory, part of the differences in valuation are explained by company-specific factors, such as industry, firm size, cost of equity, or profitability. The authors also find that characteristics of the stock market where the share is listed affect valuation, such as secondary market liquidity and the relative performance of the overall equity market. They find that a country discount persists after controlling for these company-specific and market-specific factors, which suggests that Canadian and U.S. financial markets remain segmented.
An Increase in Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and VEGF Soluble Receptor-1 (sFlt-1) Are Associated with Early Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion

Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is a health problem that affects approximately 1% to 5% reproductive age woman. Yet, in around half of these patients, the mechanism for RSA is unexplained. Recent studies have indicated that placental ischemia/hypoxia and endothelial dysfunction are important factors in miscarriage. Other studies have indicated that the level and expression of soluble FMS-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt1) is increased under a hypoxic environment. However, decreased sFlt-1 in the maternal circulation during the first trimester has recently been proposed as a potential marker for identifying risk of pregnancy loss. In this prospective study clinical samples were obtained within a short time after the fetal death, protein expression and maternal serum levels of sFlt1 were assessed and compared to samples taken from those with normal pregnancies. Our results indicate that levels of VEGF and sFlt-1 are both increased in women during early pregnancy compared women that are not pregnant (p<0.05) indicating that VEGF and sFlt-1 are both associated with pregnancy. More importantly, we detected a significant (p<0.05) increase in sFlt1 and VEGF levels and expression in the RSA patients who suffered subsequent miscarriages compare to controls. These results demonstrate that there is likely a relationship between VEGF, sFlt-1 and RSA suggesting that the high levels and over expression of sFlt-1 and VEGF might be associated with the pathogenesis of RSA.
A fully differential charge pump with accurate current matching and rail-to-rail common-mode feedback circuit

A fully differential charge pump is proposed in this paper. It adopts the replica technique to eliminate the effect of channel-length modulation, and the charging and discharging currents can match well in a wide output range. A rail-to-rail common-mode feedback circuit is employed to ensure the large swing of the charge pump unrestricted. The charge pump is designed and fabricated in SMIC 0.18 mum CMOS process. The measured reference spur-level is about -73 dBc and the in-band phase noise is nearly -90 dBc/Hz@lKHz. The power dissipation of the charge pump is only 1 mW.
Quadrature compressive sampling of multiband radar signals at sub-Landau rate

Sampling multiband radar signals is an essential issue of multiband/multifunction radar. This paper proposes a multiband quadrature compressive sampling (MQCS) system to perform the sampling at sub-Landau rate. The MQCS system randomly projects the multiband signal into a compressive multiband one by modulating each subband signal with a low-pass signal and then samples the compressive multiband signal at Landau-rate with output of compressive measurements. The compressive inphase and quadrature (I/Q) components of each subband are extracted from the compressive measurements respectively and are exploited to recover the baseband I/Q components. As effective bandwidth of the compressive multiband signal is much less than that of the received multiband one, the sampling rate is much less than Landau rate of the received signal. Simulation results validate that the proposed MQCS system can effectively acquire and reconstruct the baseband I/Q components of the multiband signals.
Strong genetic clines and geographical variation in gene flow in the rocky intertidal barnacle Balanus glandula

A long‐standing issue in marine biology is identifying spatial scales at which populations of sessile adults are connected by planktonic offspring. We examined the genetic continuity of the acorn barnacle Balanus glandula, an abundant member of rocky intertidal communities of the northeastern Pacific Ocean, and compared these genetic patterns to the nearshore oceanography described by trajectories of surface drifters. Consistent with its broad dispersal potential, barnacle populations are genetically similar at both mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I) and nuclear (elongation factor 1‐alpha) loci across broad swaths of the species’ range. In central California, however, there is a striking genetic cline across 475 km of coastline between northern and southern populations. These patterns indicate that gene flow within central California is far more restricted spatially than among other populations. Possible reasons for the steep cline include the slow secondary introgression of historically separated populations, a balance between diversifying selection and dispersal, or some mix of both. Geographic trajectories of oceanic drifters closely parallel geographical patterns of gene flow. Drifters placed to the north (Oregon; ∼44°N) and south (Santa Barbara, California; ∼34° N) of the cline disperse hundreds of kilometres within 40 days, yet over the long‐term their trajectories never overlapped. The lack of communication between waters originating in Oregon and southern California probably helps to maintain strong genetic differentiation between these regions. More broadly, the geographical variation in gene flow implies that focusing on species‐level averages of gene flow can mask biologically important variance within species which reflects local environmental conditions and historical events.
This Work Is Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Amr.transgenic Plants Expressing Ω-actx-hv1a and Snowdrop Lectin (gna) Fusion Protein Show Enhanced Resistance to Aphids. Frontiers in Plant Transgenic Plants Expressing Ω-actx-hv1a and Snowdrop Lectin (gna) Fusion 

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribu tion or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Recombinant fusion proteins containing arthropod toxins have been developed as a new class of biopesticides. The recombinant fusion protein Hv1a/GNA, containing the spider venom toxin ω-ACTX-Hv1a linked to snowdrop lectin (GNA) was shown to reduce survival of the peach-potato aphid Myzus persicae when delivered in artificial diet, with survival <10% after 8 days exposure to fusion protein at 1 mg/ml. Although the fusion protein was rapidly degraded by proteases in the insect, Hv1a/GNA oral toxicity to M. persicae was significantly greater than GNA alone. A construct encoding the fusion protein, including the GNA leader sequence, under control of the constitutive CaMV 35S promoter was transformed into Arabidopsis; the resulting plants contained intact fusion protein in leaf tissues at an estimated level of 25.6 ± 4.1 ng/mg FW. Transgenic Arabidopsis expressing Hv1a/GNA induced up to 40% mortality of M. persicae after 7 days exposure in detached leaf bioassays, demonstrating that transgenic plants can deliver fusion proteins to aphids. Grain aphids (Sitobion avenae) were more susceptible than M. persicae to the Hv1a/GNA fusion protein in artificial diet bioassays (LC 50 = 0.73 mg/ml after 2 days against LC 50 = 1.81 mg/ml for M. persicae), as they were not able to hydrolyze the fusion protein as readily as M. persicae. Expression of this fusion protein in suitable host plants for the grain aphid is likely to confer higher levels of resistance than that shown with the M. persicae/Arabidopsis model system.
On the Existence of a Middle‐Income Trap

The term "middle income trap" has been widely used in the literature, without having been clearly de ned or formally tested. We propose a statistical de nition of a middle income trap and derive a simple time-series test. We nd that the concept survives a rigorous scrutiny of the data, with the growth patterns of 19 countries being consistent with our de nition of a middle income trap.
Impact of Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) on Pakistan (The Case of KSE 100 Index)

In this paper the estimated return on stock model i.e. Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is employed in order to get information whether it better estimates the return on stock in Pakistani capital market. For this purpose time series monthly data from secondary sources for a period of 2003 to 2007 has been taken. CAPM were tested for the five sizes and book to market portfolios from Karachi Stock Exchange. Pakistan T-bill rate is taken as risk free rate. However basic problem with (CAPM) was predictive power and Robustness of results. For this purpose capital asset pricing model was applied. Dependent variable portfolio represented by . The excessive return shows the return above that of the risk free rate that is required by the investor for taking additional risk. While independent variables were market risk premium. Research Findings show that CAPM better estimates the return in Pakistani capital market. In case of CAPM, it was able to show the existence of risk premium as the only factor affecting the stock return. Key Words: CAPM, Market portfolio, KSE, Risk Premium ii .
Legislative Politics in Latin America: UNDERSTANDING PARTY DISCIPLINE IN THE MEXICAN CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES: THE CENTRALIZED PARTY MODEL

Throughout the long period of single-party dominance over the Mexican political system, the study of the legislature was exhausted by the study of the congressional delegations of the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party). Founded in 1929, the PRI maintained a long-lasting control of access to the vast majority of elected offices, which allowed it to monopolize the constitutional powers formally residing in the two houses of the Congress – the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The congressional opposition played a marginal role in the decision-making process, questioning presidential initiatives in floor debates but without any significant impact on policy outcomes. Political analysts have identified two institutional aspects of the PRI congressional delegations that have had an enormous significance in terms of the operation of the Mexican political system as a whole. First, the real source of party leadership has not resided within the Congress itself but in the Presidency of the Republic. Second, PRI congressional delegations have regularly shown a high degree of party unity. According to Weldon (1997), as long as the PRI has had the majority in the Congress, presidential leadership and party discipline have provided sufficient conditions for executive dominance over the policy-making process. Casar (1999) argues that one of the distinguishing features of Mexican presiden cialismo was that the enormous authority of the chief executive did not spring from his constitutional prerogatives but from his ability to mobilize at will the disciplined support of PRI congressional majorities. Unlike other Latin American chief executives, Mexican presidents are not allowed by the Constitution to introduce changes in legislation without active congressional approval.
Effects of mutual coupling on capacity of MIMO vehicle-to-vehicle systems

This paper proposes a three-dimensional (3-D) model for narrowband multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) vehicle-to-vehicle (V-to-V) multipath fading channels that accounts for mutual coupling among both, transmit and receive antenna elements. This model is used to evaluate the effect of mutual coupling on the antenna element patterns and capacity of MIMO V-to-V systems in a variety of urban environments.
Gastric peroxisome proliferator activator receptor-γ expression and cytoprotective actions of its ligands against ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

The beneficial effects by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) on gastric injury induced by ischemia-reperfusion have been confirmed, however, the precise mechanism of its cytoprotection is not elucidated thoroughly. The aim of the present study was to determine the gastric localization of PPAR-γ expression in the rat gastric mucosa, and to clarify the mechanism of its cytoprotective properties. The gastric expression of PPAR-γ was confirmed by RT-PCR and western blot, and localized on gastric epithelial cells. The protective effect of PPAR-γ ligands, pioglitazone or 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2, on gastric ischemia-reperfusion injury was reversed by the co-administration with PPAR-γ antagonist. The gastric expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1 increased significantly in rats treated ischemia-reperfusion, and these increases were significantly inhibited by treatment with pioglitazone. Among the 1,032 probes, 18 probes were up-regulated at least 1.5-fold, 17 were down-regulated at least 1.5-fold by pioglitazone. The network including calnexin, endoplasmic reticulum stress protein, heat shock proteins, and proteasome genes was induced by pioglitazone treatment. In conclusion, activation of gastric epithelial PPAR-γ receptor by its ligands may represent a novel therapeutic approach for gastric inflammation via up-regulation of heat shock proteins and endoplasmic reticulum-related proteins.
A Study on CPFR Implementation Critical Factors for the Automotive Spare Part Industry

Collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) is a cooperative management approach that helps to improve the abilities of supply chain members to increase their revenue and profit. Despite promising results reported by companies that have adopted CPFR, the implementation of CPFR appears to have encountered some obstacles. It is proposed here that a lack of appropriate detailed information concerning the critical success factors (CSFs) in CPFR implementation is an important reason for this. Although, the CSFs for CPFR implementation vary due to differences in industries and characteristics of supply chain, it is vital that managers of firms are aware of these factors prior to the adoption of CPFR with trading partners. This paper goes some way toward, narrowing of this gap by identifying CSFs in the automotive spare part industry. In order to complete this task, a comprehensive review of related CSF literature was conducted with factors recorded and classified. Following this, experts' views and perceptions were applied to identify relevant CSFs. Fuzzy Extent Analytical Hierarchy Process (FEAHP) approach was then applied to weight selected elements and sub elements. Finally, the top ten critical factors for CPFR implementation were identified. The results of this study are expected to provide specific decision making principals for automotive spare part manufacturers to adoption of CPFR. To our knowledge, this is the first study that analyses CPFR success factors in automotive industry.
Challenges and Recommendations for the Design and Conduct of Global Software Engineering Courses: A Systematic Review

Context: Global Software Engineering (GSE) has become the predominant form of software development for global companies and has given rise to a demand for students trained in GSE. In response, universities are developing courses and curricula around GSE and researchers have begun to disseminate studies of these new approaches. Problem: GSE differs from most other computer science fields, however, in that practice is inseparable from theory. As a result, educators looking to create GSE courses face a daunting task: integrating global practice into the local classroom. Aim: This study aims to ameliorate the very difficult task of teaching GSE by delineating the challenges and providing some recommendations for overcoming them. Method: To meet our aims we pose two research questions ("When teaching GSE to students in Higher Education, what are the (a) challenges, and (b) recommendations for addressing them") and then conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) to determine the answers to these questions. Our SLR follows a carefully designed and validated protocol. Results: We found 82 papers that addressed our research questions. Our findings indicate that in addition to the challenges posed by GSE in general, particular problems arise in educational situations. The majority of these challenges fall into the "global distance" category, though teamwork challenges and people issues (such as trust) also commonly arise. Organizational differences between institutions, differing skill sets between students in different locations, and varying cultural work norms, for example, all operate within educational settings in quite different ways than in professional development teams. Integrating cultural training, conducting teamwork exercises to build trust, and instructor monitoring of team communication are all examples of techniques that have been used successfully by educators according to our review Conclusion: Despite the severity of the challenges in GSE education, many institutions have successfully developed courses and curricula targeting GSE. Indeed, for each of the challenges we have identified in the literature there are numerous recommendations for overcoming them. Instructors can use the recommendations given in this study as a starting point to running successful GSE courses.