Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Auctions with Positive Synergies: Experimental Evidence

In a standard auction, bidders bid more aggressively when the number of bidders increases. However, Krishna and Rosenthal (1996, Games and Economic Behavior) show that when bidders have multiple-unit demand that generates positive synergies, bidders bid less aggressively as the number of bidders increases. The first objective of this paper is to offer experimental evidence on this seemingly counter-intuitive theoretical prediction. Following the model of Krishna and Rosenthal, we design a simultaneous second-price sealed-bid auction for two objects with two types of bidders: single-object and multiple-object demand bidders. Our results show that bidders bid less aggressively with increased competition. The second objective is to investigate the effect of offering global bidders the option of bidding for both objects as a package as well as submitting individual bids for each object. Controlling for bidders' valuations, we find that offering this option to global bidders increases allocative efficiency and sellers' revenue.
Challenging the Growth Machine: Neighborhood Politics in Chicago and Pittsburgh

Economic development and urban growth are the contested grounds of urban politics. Business elites and politicians tend to forge "pro-growth" coalitions centered around downtown development while progressive and neighborhood activists counter with a more balanced approach that features a strong neighborhood component. Urban politics is often shaped by this conflict, which has intellectual as well as practical dimensions. In some cities, neighborhood interests have triumphed; in others, the pro-growth agenda has prevailed. In this illuminating comparative study, Barbara Ferman demonstrates why neighborhood challenges to pro-growth politics were much more successful in Pittsburgh than they were in Chicago. Operating largely in the civic arena, Pittsburgh's neighborhood groups encountered a political culture and institutional structure conducive to empowering neighborhood progressivism in housing and economic development policymaking. In contrast, the pro-growth agenda in Chicago was challenged in the electoral arena, which was dominated by machine, ward-based politicians who regarded any independent neighborhood organizing as a threat. Consequently, neighborhood demands for policymaking input were usually thwarted. Besides revealing why the development policies of two important American cities diverged, Ferman's unique comparative approach to this issue significantly expands the scope of urban analysis. Among other things, it provides the first serious study to incorporate the civic sector neighborhood politics as an important component of urban regimes. Ferman also emphasizes institutional and cultural factors often ignored or relegated to residual roles in other studies and expounds on their influence in shaping local politics and policy. To add an analytical and normative dimension to urban analysis, she focuses on the "non-elite" actors, not just the economic and political elites who compose governing coalitions. Ultimately, Ferman takes a more holistic and balanced view of large cities than is typical for urban studies as she argues that neighborhoods are an important, integral part of what cities are and can be. For that reason especially, her work will have a profound impact upon our understanding of urban politics. "
Bactericidal Kinetics of Marine-Derived Napyradiomycins against Contemporary Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

There is an urgent need for new antibiotics to treat hospital- and community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. Previous work has indicated that both terrestrial and marine-derived members of the napyradiomycin class possess potential anti-staphylococcal activities. These compounds are unique meroterpenoids with unusual levels of halogenation. In this paper we report the evaluation of two previously described napyradiomycin derivatives, A80915A (1) and A80915B (2) produced by the marine-derived actinomycete, Streptomyces sp. strain CNQ-525, for their specific activities against contemporary and clinically relevant MRSA. Reported are studies of the in vitro kinetics of these chemical scaffolds in time-kill MRSA assays. Both napyradiomycin derivatives demonstrate potent and rapid bactericidal activity against contemporary MRSA strains. These data may help guide future development and design of analogs of the napyradiomycins that could potentially serve as useful anti-MRSA therapeutics.
A Cycle-Adjusted Fiscal Rule for Sustainable and More Equitable Growth in Argentina

This paper seeks to identify the most promising fiscal strategy to boost long-term economic growth in Argentina and quantify its effects. To this end, the authors updated a growth-diagnostics study for Argentina and corroborated that low appropriability of social returns and insufficient public infrastructure are key constraints to private investment. Further, low appropriability stands out among the key constraints to productivity-enhancing activities. Because low appropriability is largely rooted in macroeconomic volatility, the authors argue that a cycle-adjusted fiscal rule is one of the most promising fiscal reforms the country could implement to tackle this problem, and discuss the specific design features that such a rule could include. Then, the authors construct a model reflecting the stylized facts of the Argentine Republic's fiscal federalism structure to assess the effect that a cycle-adjusted fiscal rule, in different variants, would have on the volatility of key macro variables. The authors find that the rule would meaningfully reduce macroeconomic volatility, thereby contributing to improved appropriability and long-term growth.
Multiple "parallel" D-branes seen as leaves of foliations and Duminy's theorem

We try to give a qualitative description of the Godbillon-Vey class and its relation on the one hand to the holonomy and on the other hand to the topological entropy of a foliation, using a remarkable theorem proved recently by G. Duminy (which still remains unpublished), relating these three notions in the case of codim-1 foliations. Moreover we shall investigate its possible consequences on string theory. In particular we shall present a conceptual argument according to which the curvature of the B-field (rank two antisymmetric tensor) of open strings might be related to the Godbillon-Vey class using a suitable generalisation of ``Non-Abelian Geometry'' which has just appeared in physics literature. Our starting point again is the Connes-Douglas-Schwarz article on compactifications of matrix models to noncommutative tori.
Increased hepatic Th2 and Treg subsets are associated with biliary fibrosis in different strains of mice caused by Clonorchis sinensis

Previous studies showed that CD4+T cells responses might be involved in the process of biliary fibrosis. However, the underlying mechanism resulting in biliary fibrosis caused by Clonorchis sinensis remains not yet fully elucidated. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the different profiles of hepatic CD4+T cell subsets (Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg cells) and their possible roles in the biliary fibrosis of different strains of mice (C57BL/6, BALB/c and FVB mice) induced by C. sinensis infection. C57BL/6, BALB/c and FVB mice were orally gavaged with 45 metacercariae. All mice were sacrificed on 28 days post infection in deep anesthesia conditions. The leukocytes in the liver were separated to examine CD4+T cell subsets by flow cytometry and the left lobe of liver was used to observe pathological changes, collagen depositions and the concentrations of hydroxyproline. The most serious cystic and fibrotic changes appeared in FVB infected mice indicated by gross observation, Masson’s trichrome staining and hydroxyproline content detection. In contrast to C57BL/6 infected mice, diffuse nodules and more intensive fibrosis were observed in the BALB/c infected mice. No differences of the hepatic Th1 subset and Th17 subset were found among the three strains, but the hepatic Th2 and Treg cells and their relative cytokines were dramatically increased in the BALB/c and FVB infected groups compared with the C57BL/6 infected group (P<0.01). Importantly, increased Th2 subset and Treg subset all positively correlated with hydroxyproline contents (P<0.01). This result for the first time implied that the increased hepatic Th2 and Treg cell subsets were likely to play potential roles in the formation of biliary fibrosis in C. sinensis-infected mice.
Presidents and the politics of agency design: political insulation in the United States government bureaucracy, 1946-1997

The administrative state is the nexus of American policy making in the postwar period. The vague and sometimes conflicting policy mandates of Congress, the president, and courts are translated into real public policy in the bureaucracy. As the role of the national government has expanded, the national legislature and executive have increasingly delegated authority to administrative agencies to make fundamental policy decisions. How this administrative state is designed, its coherence, its responsiveness, and its efficacy determine, in Robert Dahl's phrase, "who gets what, when, and how. " This study of agency design, thus, has implications for the study of politics in many areas. The structure of bureaucracies can determine the degree to which political actors can change the direction of agency policy. Politicians frequently attempt to lock their policy preferences into place through insulating structures that are mandated by statute or executive decree. This insulation of public bureaucracies such as the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Election Commission, and the National Nuclear Security Administration, is essential to understanding both administrative policy outputs and executive-legislative politics in the United States. This book explains why, when, and how political actors create administrative agencies in such a way as to insulate them from political control, particularly presidential control.
Making advanced entry work: The experience of social work education in Scotland

From April 2004 until March 2008 a project examining the ways in which the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework could be embedded in the social services sector was undertaken by and managed through the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), As part of this project, a pilot examiningcredit transfer to degree programmes in social work was commissioned. Universities are developing different arrangements for advanced entry to the degree in social work either through credit transfer from courses such as the HNC in Social Care, SVQ3 in Health and Social Care or though informal experiential learning. This pilot study explores how prepared students are for a social work honours degree course and what supports they might need when they are admitted from employment or from the HNC Social Care or SVQ3 with advanced standing (http://www.scqf.org.uk/ForEmployers/SCQF-Social-Services-Sector.aspx).
Indoor Positioning Techniques Based on Wireless LAN

As well as delivering high speed internet, Wireless LAN (WLAN) can be used as an effective indoor positioning system. It is competitive in terms of both accuracy and cost compared to similar systems. To date, several signal strength based techniques have been proposed. Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have developed several innovative implementations of WLAN positioning systems. This paper describes the techniques used and details the experimental results of the research.
Placental Chemokine Receptor D6 Is Functionally Impaired in Pre-Eclampsia

Background Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is defined by new onset of hypertension and proteinuria after the 20th week of gestation and characterized by systemic exaggerated inflammatory response. D6 is a chemokines scavenger receptor that binds with high affinity CC chemokines, internalizes and targets the ligands for degradation. It is expressed in trophoblast-derived tissues and prevents excessive placenta leukocyte infiltration.The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and function of D6 in human placentae from pre-eclamptic and healthy pregnant women. Methods and Results Plasma levels of D6-binding CC chemokines (CCL-2, CCL-3, CCL-4, CCL-7, CCL-11) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, CRP) were analyzed in 37 healthy pregnant women and 38 patients with PE by multiplex bead assay. Higher circulating levels of CCL7, CCL11, IL-6, (p<0.0001) and CRP (p<0.05) were observed in PE women compared to controls. Levels of circulating CCL4 were decreased in PE (p<0.001), while no significant differences of CCL2, CCL3 or TNF-α levels were detected. Immunofluorescent staining of placental sections showed higher expression of D6 receptor in the PE syncytiotrophoblast. Confocal and Western blot (WB) analyses revealed a prevalent distribution of D6 in trophoblast cells membranes in PE. Increased activation of D6 intracellular pathway was observed by Western blot analyses of p-LIMK and p-cofilin in trophoblast cell lysates. D6 functional assays showed reduced scavenging of CCL2 in PE cells compared to controls. Since actin filaments spatial assembling is essential for D6 intracellular trafficking and scavenging activity, we investigated by confocal microscopy trophoblast cytoskeleton organization and we observed a dramatic disarrangement in PE compared to controls. Conclusions our results suggest membrane distribution of D6 receptor on trophoblast cell membranes in PE, together with reduced functionality, probably due to cytoskeleton impairment.
Economics of Agglomeration: Cities, Industrial Location, and Globalization

1. Agglomeration and economic theory Part I. Fundamentals of Spatial Economics: 2. The breakdown of the price system in a spatial economy 3. The von Thunen model and land rent formation 4. Increasing returns vs. transportation costs: the fundamental trade-off of spatial economics 5. Cities and the public sector Part II. The Structure of Metropolitan Areas: 6. The spatial structure of cities under communication externalities 7. The formation of urban centers under imperfect competition Part III. Factor Mobility and Industrial Location: 8. Industrial agglomeration under monopolistic competition 9. Market size and industrial clusters Part IV. Urban Systems, Regional Growth, and the Multinationalization of Firms: 10. Back to von Thunen: the formation of cities in a spatial economy 11. Globalization, growth, and the geography of the supply chain.
Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) academics' perceptions about research in a transitional culture

Research capacity building has become a prominent theme in higher education institutions in China and across the world. However, Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics' research output has been quite limited. In order to build their research capacity, it is necessary to understand their perceptions about research. This case study presents the perceptions about research of six Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics in a context of growing institutional demands for research. One-on-one interviews of 35–60 minutes' duration were conducted with these academics from an institution in north China. Thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews indicated that the Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics held positive perceptions about the teaching-research nexus. However, the value of research to them seemed to be limited to teaching and career advancement. They also expressed varied concerns about the institutional research requirements. The findings suggested several implications for the institution's administrators to further enhance academics' research capacity building.
The Chandra Deep Field-South: The 1 Million Second Exposure

We present the main results from our 940 ks observation of the Chandra Deep Field-South using the source catalog described in an accompanying paper by Giacconi et al. We extend the measurement of source number counts to 5.5 × 10-17 ergs cm-2 s-1 in the soft 0.5-2 keV band and 4.5 × 10-16 ergs cm-2 s-1 in the hard 2-10 keV band. The hard-band log N-log S shows a significant flattening (slope ≃0.6) below ≈10-14 ergs cm-2 s-1, leaving at most 10%-15% of the X-ray background to be resolved, the main uncertainty lying in the measurement of the total flux of the X-ray background (XRB). On the other hand, the analysis in the very hard 5-10 keV band reveals a relatively steep log N-log S (slope ≃1.3) down to 10-15 ergs cm-2 s-1. Together with the evidence of a progressive flattening of the average X-ray spectrum near the flux limit, this indicates that there is still a nonnegligible population of faint hard sources to be discovered at energies not well probed by Chandra, which possibly contributes to the 30 keV bump in the spectrum of the XRB. We use optical redshifts and identifications, obtained with the Very Large Telescope, for one-quarter of the sample to characterize the combined optical and X-ray properties of the Chandra Deep Field-South sample. Different source types are well separated in a parameter space that includes X-ray luminosity, hardness ratio, and R-K color. Type II objects, while redder on average than the field population, have colors that are consistent with being hosted by a range of galaxy types. Type II active galactic nuclei are mostly found at z ≲ 1, in contrast with predictions based on active galactic nucleus population synthesis models, thus suggesting a revision of their evolutionary parameters.
Spin-dependent twist-4 matrix elements from the instanton vacuum: Flavor-singlet and nonsinglet

We estimate the twist-4 spin-1 nucleon matrix element f_2 in an instanton-based description of the QCD vacuum. In addition to the flavor-nonsinglet we compute also the flavor-singlet matrix element, which appears in next-to-leading order of the (1/N_c)-expansion. The corresponding twist-3 spin-2 matrix elements d_2 are suppressed in the packing fraction of the instanton medium, (\bar \rho)/(\bar R) << 1. We use our results to estimate the leading (1/Q^2) power corrections to the first moment of the proton and neutron spin structure functions G_1, as well as the intrinsic charm contribution to the nucleon spin.
Environmental Enrichment Extends Photoreceptor Survival and Visual Function in a Mouse Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa

Slow, progressive rod degeneration followed by cone death leading to blindness is the pathological signature of all forms of human retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Therapeutic schemes based on intraocular delivery of neuroprotective agents prolong the lifetime of photoreceptors and have reached the stage of clinical trial. The success of these approaches depends upon optimization of chronic supply and appropriate combination of factors. Environmental enrichment (EE), a novel neuroprotective strategy based on enhanced motor, sensory and social stimulation, has already been shown to exert beneficial effects in animal models of various disorders of the CNS, including Alzheimer and Huntington disease. Here we report the results of prolonged exposure of rd10 mice, a mutant strain undergoing progressive photoreceptor degeneration mimicking human RP, to such an enriched environment from birth. By means of microscopy of retinal tissue, electrophysiological recordings, visual behaviour assessment and molecular analysis, we show that EE considerably preserves retinal morphology and physiology as well as visual perception over time in rd10 mutant mice. We find that protective effects of EE are accompanied by increased expression of retinal mRNAs for CNTF and mTOR, both factors known as instrumental to photoreceptor survival. Compared to other rescue approaches used in similar animal models, EE is highly effective, minimally invasive and results into a long-lasting retinal protection. These results open novel perspectives of research pointing to environmental strategies as useful tools to extend photoreceptor survival.
Non-local Image Dehazing

Haze limits visibility and reduces image contrast in outdoor images. The degradation is different for every pixel and depends on the distance of the scene point from the camera. This dependency is expressed in the transmission coefficients, that control the scene attenuation and amount of haze in every pixel. Previous methods solve the single image dehazing problem using various patch-based priors. We, on the other hand, propose an algorithm based on a new, non-local prior. The algorithm relies on the assumption that colors of a haze-free image are well approximated by a few hundred distinct colors, that form tight clusters in RGB space. Our key observation is that pixels in a given cluster are often non-local, i.e., they are spread over the entire image plane and are located at different distances from the camera. In the presence of haze these varying distances translate to different transmission coefficients. Therefore, each color cluster in the clear image becomes a line in RGB space, that we term a haze-line. Using these haze-lines, our algorithm recovers both the distance map and the haze-free image. The algorithm is linear in the size of the image, deterministic and requires no training. It performs well on a wide variety of images and is competitive with other stateof-the-art methods.
DEMAND FOR WHEAT CLASSES BY PACIFIC RIM COUNTRIES

The transcendental logarithmic function is used to derive demand functions which are estimated for wheat classes imported by Pacific Rim countries. Results indicate substantial differences exist in underlying demand parameters for wheat of different classes as well as across countries. In addition, the expenditure level has important impacts on the distribution of imported wheat classes, and preferences have shifted significantly through time, generally toward higher protein wheats.
GPU-Assisted Raycasting for Cosmological Adaptive Mesh Refinement Simulations

In the recent years the advent of powerful graphics hardware with ﬂexible, programmable fragment shaders enabled interactive raycasting implementations which perform the ray-integration on a per-pixel basis. Unlike slice-based volume rendering these approaches do not suffer from rendering artifacts caused by varying sample distances along different ray-directions or limited frame-buffer precision. They further allow a direct realization of sophisticated optical models. In this paper we investigate the applicability of GPU-assisted raycasting to block-structured, locally reﬁned grids. We present an interactive algorithm for artifact-free, high-quality rendering of data deﬁned on this type of grid structure and apply it to render data of time-dependent, three-dimensional galaxy and star formation simulations. We use a physically motivated emission-absorption model to map the computed temperature and density ﬁelds to color and opacity.
Electronic Media Use, Reading, and Academic Distractibility in College Youth

Activities that require focused attention, such as reading, are declining among American youth, while activities that depend on multitasking, such as instant messaging (IMing), are increasing. We hypothesized that more time spent IMing would relate to greater difficulty in concentrating on less externally stimulating tasks (e.g., academic reading). As hypothesized, the amount of time that young people spent IMing was significantly related to higher ratings of distractibility for academic tasks, while amount of time spent reading books was negatively related to distractibility. The distracting nature and the context of IMing in this population are described.