Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Finnish consumers' expectations on developments and changes in payment habits : survey in connection with the research project "Finnish payment habits 2010"

Suomen Pankin projekti "Suomalaiset maksutavat 2010" ennakoi suomalaisten maksutottumusten olevan suurten muutosten edessa. Muutosten syita ovat muun muassa eurooppalaisten maksujarjestelmien integroituminen ja standardoituminen, maksupalveluja koskevan lainsaadannon ja saantelyn EU-tasoinen kehittaminen, maksupalvelujen kustannustekijoiden ja hinnoittelukaytantojen muutokset seka tekniikan kehityksen tarjoamat uudet mahdollisuudet. Viime vuosina on kehitetty paljon uusia maksuvalineita ja -palveluita, joille on tunnusomaista tieto- ja viestintatekniikan kayttoon perustuvan automaation lisaantyminen.Harva uusi palvelu on menestynyt.Maksamisen muutoksia koskevan ymmarryksen lisaamiseksi tassa tutkimusraportissa selvitetaan kuluttajien tarpeiden, mieltymysten ja tottumusten vaikutusta uusien maksutapojen kayttoonottoon.Tutkimusaineisto kerattiin syyskuussa 2005 postikyselylla, jossa kaytiin lapi keskeiset maksutavat. Kysely lahetettiin 2000:lle satunnaisotannalla poimitulle suomalaiselle kuluttajalle.Tutkimuksen tulosten mukaan maksuvalineen turvallisuus ja luotettavuus koetaan tarkeimmiksi uuden maksutavan ominaisuuksiksi.Muita tarkeiksi koettuja maksuvalineen ominaisuuksia ovat tiedon saanti maksutapahtumasta, yhteensopivuus ostamis- ja maksutottumuksiin, laajakayttoisyys, helppokayttoisyys, ajan tai rahan saasto seka riippumattomuus ajasta ja paikasta.Uudet maksutavat - sahkoinen lasku ja ostosten maksaminen matkapuhelimella - eivat vuoteen 2010 mennessa syrjayta vakiintuneita maksutapoja arvioituna sen perusteella, mitka ovat kuluttajille tarkeimpia ominaisuuksia.Luotettavuus tai hinnoittelu ei erottele tarkeimpien uusien maksutapojen - sahkoinen lasku ja matkapuhelimella maksaminen - kayttoon myonteisesti ja kielteisesti suhtautuvia.Suppea joukko tekijoita erottelee maksutapojaan muuttavat maksutapojaan muut4 tamattomista.Maksutavan helppokayttoisyys vaikuttaa aikeisiin maksaa seka sahkoisella laskulla etta matkapuhelimella.Yhteensopivuus (laajakayttoisyys) ja helppokayttoisyys ovat matkapuhelimella maksamiseen vaikuttavia erottelevia tekijoita.Asiasanat: maksutavat, kuluttajille suunnatut maksupalvelut, kuluttajakayttaytyminen, innovaatioiden diffuusio, theory of planned behavior (TPB) JEL-luokittelu: A14, D14, L81,O33
The Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters(MESSY)and its Adaptation for Brazilian children and adolescents

The present study reports the psychometrics properties of the adaptation of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY) to a Brazilian sample. The MESSY and the Family Identification Test (FIT) were completed by 382 children (215 females, 167 males) from urban middle-class areas and favelas (slams) of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Age ranged from 7 to 15 years (M=10.30; SD=2.24). Results from factor analysis yielded a four-factor model with good internal consistency. One-Way Anova analyzes described boys as having higher scores on Factor 1 than girls ( Aggressiveness/Antisocial Behavior ). Children from urban middle-class areas performed better on factor 2 ( Social Skills/Assertiveness) than those from favelas. Socio-cultural implications of the results are discussed.
Cell Models and Their Application for Studying Adipogenic Differentiation in Relation to Obesity: A Review

Over the last several years, the increasing prevalence of obesity has favored an intense study of adipose tissue biology and the precise mechanisms involved in adipocyte differentiation and adipogenesis. Adipocyte commitment and differentiation are complex processes, which can be investigated thanks to the development of diverse in vitro cell models and molecular biology techniques that allow for a better understanding of adipogenesis and adipocyte dysfunction associated with obesity. The aim of the present work was to update the different animal and human cell culture models available for studying the in vitro adipogenic differentiation process related to obesity and its co-morbidities. The main characteristics, new protocols, and applications of the cell models used to study the adipogenesis in the last five years have been extensively revised. Moreover, we depict co-cultures and three-dimensional cultures, given their utility to understand the connections between adipocytes and their surrounding cells in adipose tissue.
Gender-dependent resiliency to stressful and metabolic challenges following prenatal exposure to high-fat diet in the p66Shc−/− mouse

Metabolic stressful challenges during susceptible time windows, such as fetal life, can have important implications for health throughout life. Deletion of the p66Shc gene in mice leads to reduced oxidative stress (OS), resulting in a healthy and lean phenotype characterized by increased metabolic rate, resistance to high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and reduced emotionality at adulthood. Here we hypothesize that p66Shc−/− (KO) adult offspring might be protected from the detrimental effects induced by maternal HFD administered before and during pregnancy. To test such hypothesis, we fed p66Shc+/+ (WT) and KO females with HFD for 13 weeks starting on 5 weeks of age until delivery and tested adult male and female offspring for their metabolic, neuroendocrine, and emotional profile. Prenatal diet affected stress responses and metabolic features in a gender-dependent fashion. In particular, prenatal HFD increased plasma leptin levels and decreased anxiety-like behavior in females, while increasing body weight, particularly in KO subjects. KO mice were overall characterized by metabolic resiliency, showing a blunted change in glycemia levels in response to glucose or insulin challenges. However, in p66Shc−/− mice, prenatal HFD affected glucose tolerance response in an opposite manner in the two genders, overriding the resilience in males and exacerbating it in females. Finally, KO females were protected from the disrupting effect of prenatal HFD on neuroendocrine response. These findings indicate that prenatal HFD alters the emotional profile and metabolic functionality of the adult individual in a gender-dependent fashion and suggest that exposure to high-caloric food during fetal life is a stressful condition interfering with the developmental programming of the adult phenotype. Deletion of the p66Shc gene attenuates such effects, acting as a protective factor.
Determinant versus Permanent: salvation via generalization? The algebraic complexity of the Fermionant and the Immanant

The fermionant can be seen as a generalization of both the permanent (for $k=-1$) and the determinant. We demonstrate that it is VNP-complete for most cases. Furthermore it is #P-complete for the cases. The immanant is also a generalization of the permanent (for a Young diagram with a single line) and of the determinant (when the Young diagram is a column). We demonstrate that the immanant of any family of Young diagrams with bounded width and at least n boxes at the right of the first column is VNP-complete.
Introduction to industrial organization

Over the past twenty years, the study of industrial organization—the analysis of imperfectly competitive markets—has grown from a niche area of microeconomics to a key component of economics and of related disciplines such as finance, strategy, and marketing. This book provides an issue-driven introduction to industrial organization. It includes a vast array of examples, from both within and outside the United States. While formal in its approach, the book is written in a way that requires only basic mathematical training. Supplemental materials posted on the Web make more extensive use of algebra and calculus.
Is the response of analysts to information consistent with fundamental valuation

This paper examines the market reaction to a press release issued by Intel on Thursday, September 21, 2000. In response to that release, Intel’s stock price dropped 30%, erasing over $120 billion of shareholder wealth. By analyzing the press release in conjunction with analyst reports, and by using a discounted cash flow valuation model, I argue that the information conveyed by the announcement was not sufficient to explain the stock price drop. Surprisingly, analysts were more strongly recommending purchase of the stock in August 2000 at $75 than in September 2000 at $40. This suggests a positive feedback between stock price movements and analyst recommendations that may increase the volatility of prices.
CAPM and APT Validation Test Before, During, and After Financial Crisis in Emerging Market: Evidence from Indonesia

Due to dynamic challenge in stock market risk and return measurement, financial practitioners and academics are quite concerned with the development of asset pricing studies. Moreover, validity of the existing theories in the recent Asian financial difficult years stimulates another challenge to the discipline. This paper attempts to investigate the ability of CAPM and APT in explaining excess returns of portfolio of stocks traded in Jakarta Stock Exchange (JKSE). The study assesses validation of the theories using data from 3 different periods of the associated economic circumstances, i.e. pre-crisis period (1992-1997), crisis period (1997-2001), and post-crisis period (2001-2007). Our finding shows that Beta is not the single factor that can explain the portfolio excess returns. At the same time, APT is proven to be able to vindicate the portfolio excess returns in the observation periods, in which the excess return averages are found to be consistently negative. We also find that spread is constantly significant variable, while risk-premiums vary over the observation periods.
IN VITRO MATURATION MEDIA, CYSTEAMINE CONCENTRATION AND GLUTATHIONE LEVEL AFFECT BLSTOCYSTS DEVELOPMENT IN MOUSE

Background: Preparation of oocytes is one of the critical factors that determine the developmental competence of embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF). Objective: In this study, the effect of cysteamine, type of media and glutathione (GSH) level on blastocysts development after in vitro maturation of mouse oocytes were investigated. Materials and Methods: Premature female mice were primed with pregnant mare stimulating gonadotrophin (PMSG), and germinal vesicle (GV) stage oocytes were obtained 45 hr later. GV oocytes were cultured in presence of 0, 50, 100, 200 and 500 µm cysteamine in TCM199 and MEME media. After IVM, MII oocytes were in vitro fertilized (IVF) and in vitro cultured (IVC) in order to observe embryo development. A group of In Vivo Ovulated (IVO) oocytes after priming with PMSG and HCG also were included in this study. 5,5-Dithio-bis (2nitrobenzoic acid) DTNB-recycling protocol was used for GSH assay. Results: Rate of IVM and IVF were improved in all oocytes treated with cysteamine in the two medium except 500 µm (81% MII rate in TCM and 64% MII in MEME). Rate of blastocyst in 100 µm cysteamine in TCM1199 and 200 µm in MEME was higher compared to control groups (In TCM 45% and in MEME 35%). In vivo MII and GV oocytes represented the highest and lowest GSH level respectively. Conclusion: Our results revealed that the media and concentration of cysteamine can affects on IVM, IVF and rate of blastocysts development on dose dependant manner.
From fish to amphibians to mammals: in search of novel strategies to optimize cardiac regeneration

Different vertebrate species have different cardiac regeneration rates: high in teleost fish, moderate in urodele amphibians, and almost negligible in mammals. Regeneration may occur through stem and progenitor cell differentiation or via dedifferentiation with residual cardiomyocytes reentering the cell cycle. In this review, we will examine the ability of zebrafish and newts to respond to cardiac damage with de novo cardiogenesis, whereas rodents and humans respond with a marked fibrogenic response and virtually no cardiomyocyte regeneration. Concerted strategies are needed to overcome this evolutionarily imposed barrier and optimize cardiac regeneration in mammals.
Household Debt and the European Crisis

The fall in economic output all over Europe since 2008 has had important consequences for household liabilities. Major growth in demand and supply for household credit products has generated an increase in household debt, which contributed to growth rates during the pre-crisis period but – in some countries – became household-debt overhangs and helped inflate asset bubbles. In the run-up to the crisis, long-term economic lessons and theories were often overlooked and signs that the economic situation could worsen were ignored. Although not at the core of the crisis, household debt had important consequences for macroeconomic stability, robustness of growth and the depth of recessions. The last ten years in Europe have demonstrated the typical final stage of a household debt cycle: rapid increase and abrupt retrenchment. Widely varying outcomes across Europe enable us to consider the causes of the rapid growth in household debt and draw theoretical lessons that can help policy-makers and academics devise a coherent regulatory response to avoid extremes of the debt cycle in future.
OF SIGNAL THROUGH APERTURE PERFORATED IN A LOADED SHIELDING ENCLOSURE USING HYBRID MoM / FEM

In this paper, we present an approach to determine the effect of the aperture size of a loaded enclosu re with PCB(s) inside. A hybrid formulation in frequency domain co mbining Method of Moments (MoM) and edge-based vector finit e element method (FEM) for electromagnetic field distribution i side a loaded enclosure with aperture is introduced. While MoM solves the surface integrals related with the aperture fie ld components using equivalent surface currents, FEM calculates e l ctromagnetic fields inside the enclosure. Numerical results have be n presented to illustrate the capability and the accuracy of th e hybrid method. Stored electrical energy and dissipated power on th e load are examined by changing aperture size in the loaded sh ielding enclosure for EMC optimization.
Vasculogenic Conditioning of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Promotes Endothelial Progenitor Cell Expansion and Phenotype Transition of Anti‐Inflammatory Macrophage and T Lymphocyte to Cells With Regenerative Potential

Background Cell‐based therapies involving mononuclear cells (MNCs) have been developed for vascular regeneration to treat ischemic diseases; however, quality control of therapeutic MNCs has not been evaluated. We investigated the therapeutic potential of peripheral blood (PB) MNCs, operated by recently developed quality and quantity (QQ) culture of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Methods and Results PBs were collected from healthy volunteers; peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) isolated from these PBs were subjected to QQ culture for 7 days with medium containing stem cell factor, thrombopoietin, Flt‐3 ligand, vascular endothelial growth factor, and interleukin‐6. The resulting cells (QQMNCs) in EPC colony‐forming assay generated significantly more definitive EPC colonies than PBMNCs. In flow cytometry, macrophages and helper T lymphocytes of QQMNCs became phenotypically polarized into angiogenic, anti‐inflammatory, and regenerative subsets: classical M1 to alternative M2; T helper (Th)1 to Th2; angiogenic or regulatory T‐cell expansion. Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) assay revealed the predominant proangiogenic gene expressions in QQMNCs versus PBMNCs. Using murine ischemic hindlimb models, the efficacy of QQMNC intramuscular transplantation (Tx) was compared to that of PBMNCTx, cultured “early EPC” Tx (eEPCTx), and granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor mobilized CD34+ cell Tx (GmCD34Tx). Laser Doppler imaging revealed the blood perfusion recovery in ischemic hindlimbs after QQMNCTx superior to after PBMNCTx and eEPCTx, but also earlier than after GmCD34Tx. Histological evaluations and qRT‐PCR assays in ischemic hindlimbs demonstrated that QQMNCTx, similarly to GmCD34Tx, enhanced angiovasculogenesis and myogenesis, whereas it preponderantly inhibited inflammation and fibrosis versus PBMNCTx and eEPCTx. Conclusions QQ culture potentiates the ability of PBMNCs to promote regeneration of injured tissue; considering the feasible cell preparation, QQ culture‐treated PBMNCs may provide a promising therapeutic option for ischemic diseases. Clinical Trial Registration URL: irb.med.u-tokai.ac. jp/d/2/monthly/2010.html; IRB No.: 10R‐020. URL: irb.med.u-tokai.ac. jp/d/2/monthly/201312.html; IRB No.: 13R228.
Improved Memory-based Collaborative Filtering Using Entropy-based Similarity Measures

Accuracy of predicting the user preference score is the most important element of collaborative filtering. This paper proposes novel similarity measures using difference score entropy of common rating items between two users. The proposed similarity measures can apply various weights according to the score difference, to evaluate the similarity. We implemented a recommender system using the proposed similarity measures and, experimented on performance with memory-based collaborative filtering. Based on the experimental results, the proposed similarity measures significantly improve the prediction accuracy with respect to existing similarity measures, and we confirmed that the proposed measure is robust to sparse data sets. Index Terms—similarity, collaborative filtering, entropy
Self-consistent random-phase approximation for interacting electrons in quantum wells and intersubband absorption

For electrons with Coulomb interaction confined in a quantum well, we have developed an approach based on the Kadanoff-Baym-Keldysh technique to calculate equilibrium Green's functions. This approach is based on iterativenumerical computation of the retarded self-energy in the self-consistent random-phase approximation. For two subbands, at zero temperature, we have computed spectral functions, electron distributions, quasiparticle spectra, and the current-current correlation function that determines the intersubband absorption coefficient. Our computations of the optical absorption take into account the depolarization shift and vertex corrections. Apart from direct applications of this theory to the physics of semiconductor quantum well devices, the Green's functions obtained may also serve as self-consistent initial conditions for quantum kinetics problems in quantum wells.
Robust Estimation of the Joint Consumption / Asset Demand Decision

The paper proposes an instrumental variables version of the Huber estimator as an alternative to the IV-Krasker Welsch estimator. The IV-Huber estimator is analytically and computationally much simpler than IV-Krasker Welsch. In the context of an empirical study of the importance of borrowing constraints on consumption, the paper reports the results for the following estimators: 1) conventional (non-robust) IV, 2) conventional IV after the subjective rejection of outliers, 3) conventional IV after trimming, 4) IV-Huber, and 5) IV-Krasker-Welsch. In the presence of a heavy-tailed error distribution, both the IV-Krasker Welsch and the IV-Huber estimators provide substantial improvements in efficiency over conventional IV. Further, the informal robust procedure of using conventional IV after trimming does not match the efficiency gains of the formal robust methods. The empirical results indicate that households exhibit incomplete smoothing of consumption, with about 20-50% of predictable movements in income being buffered by asset stocks. When saving is disaggregated by type of asset, the results provide some evidence of borrowing constraints: households which are not subject to a liquidity constraint use financial assets as their primary means of buffering income fluctuations, while constrained households use purchases of durable goods almost exclusively as the vehicle for consumption smoothing.
Self-organizing transmission scheduling mechanisms using a pulse-coupled oscillator model for wireless sensor networks

We propose self-organizing transmission scheduling mechanisms for periodically gathering sensor data at a base station in wireless sensor networks. In our proposed mechanisms, sensor nodes self-organize message transmission and sleep timings. To propagate sensor data from the edge of the network to the base station in order of hop counts from the base station, we use a conventional self-organizing communication mechanism based on phase-locking in a pulse-coupled oscillator model. We propose two mechanisms to avoid collisions among sensor nodes with the same hop count, a randomization-based mechanism and a desynchronization-based mechanism based on anti-phase synchronization in the pulse-coupled oscillator model. Simulation experiments confirm that our mechanism significantly improves the data gathering ratio in comparison with the conventional mechanism.
Association of Renal Biomarkers with 3-Month and 1-Year Outcomes among Critically Ill Acute Stroke Patients

Background The comparative relationships of widely recognized biomarkers of renal injury with short-term and long-term outcomes among critically ill acute stroke patients are unknown. We evaluated the impact of baseline albuminuria [urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR)≥30 mg/g] or low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR<60 ml/min per 1.73 m2) on stroke patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods We reviewed data on consecutive stroke patients admitted to a hospital ICU in Taiwan from September 2007 to August 2010 and followed-up for 1 year. Baseline UACR was categorized into <30 mg/g (normal), 30–299 mg/g (microalbuminuria), and ≥300 mg/g (macroalbuminuria), while eGFR was divided into ≥60, 45–59, and <45 ml/min per 1.73 m2. The outcome measure was death or disability at 3-month and 1-year after stroke onset, assessed by dichotomizing the modified Rankin Scale at 3–6 versus 0–2. Results Of 184 consecutive patients, 153 (83%) met study entry criteria. Mean age was 67.9 years and median admission NIHSS score was 16. Among the renal biomarkers, only macroalbuminuria was associated with poorer 3-month outcome (OR 8.44, 95% CI 1.38 to 51.74, P = 0.021) and 1-year outcome (OR 18.06, 95% CI 2.59 to 125.94, P = 0.003) after adjustment of relevant covariates. When ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke were analyzed separately, macroalbuminuria was associated with poorer 1-year outcome among ischemic (OR 17.10, 95% CI 1.04 to 280.07, P = 0.047) and hemorrhagic stroke patients (OR 1951.57, 95% CI 1.07 to 3561662.85, P = 0.048), respectively, after adjustment of relevant covariates and hematoma volume. Conclusions Presence of macroalbuminuria indicates poor 3-month and 1-year outcomes among critically ill acute stroke patients.