Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Robotic Control Driven by a Versatile Spiking Cerebellar Network

The cerebellum is involved in a large number of different neural processes, especially in associative learning and in fine motor control. To develop a comprehensive theory of sensorimotor learning and control, it is crucial to determine the neural basis of coding and plasticity embedded into the cerebellar neural circuit and how they are translated into behavioral outcomes in learning paradigms. Learning has to be inferred from the interaction of an embodied system with its real environment, and the same cerebellar principles derived from cell physiology have to be able to drive a variety of tasks of different nature, calling for complex timing and movement patterns. We have coupled a realistic cerebellar spiking neural network (SNN) with a real robot and challenged it in multiple diverse sensorimotor tasks. Encoding and decoding strategies based on neuronal firing rates were applied. Adaptive motor control protocols with acquisition and extinction phases have been designed and tested, including an associative Pavlovian task (Eye blinking classical conditioning), a vestibulo-ocular task and a perturbed arm reaching task operating in closed-loop. The SNN processed in real-time mossy fiber inputs as arbitrary contextual signals, irrespective of whether they conveyed a tone, a vestibular stimulus or the position of a limb. A bidirectional long-term plasticity rule implemented at parallel fibers-Purkinje cell synapses modulated the output activity in the deep cerebellar nuclei. In all tasks, the neurorobot learned to adjust timing and gain of the motor responses by tuning its output discharge. It succeeded in reproducing how human biological systems acquire, extinguish and express knowledge of a noisy and changing world. By varying stimuli and perturbations patterns, real-time control robustness and generalizability were validated. The implicit spiking dynamics of the cerebellar model fulfill timing, prediction and learning functions.
Necrotising Soft Tissue Infections: The Effect of Hyperbaric Oxygen on Mortality

In a single-centre, retrospective, case-controlled study of patients attending the Alfred Hospital in Prahran, Victoria, we assessed the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in reducing mortality or morbidity in patients with necrotising fasciitis (NF) over a 13-year period from 2002 to 2014. A total of three hundred and forty-one patients with NF were included in the study, of whom 275 received HBOT and 66 did not. The most commonly involved sites were the perineum (33.7%), lower limb (29.9%) and trunk (18.2%). The commonest predisposing factor was diabetes mellitus (34.8%). Polymicrobial NF (type 1 NF) occurred in 50.7% and Group A streptococcal fasciitis (type 2 NF) occurred in 25.8% of patients. Mortality was 14.4% overall, 12% in those treated with, and 24.3% in those not treated with, HBOT. ICU support was required in 248 (72.7%) patients. Independent factors impacting on mortality included HBOT (odds ratio [OR] 0.42 [0.22 to 0.83], P=0.01), increased age (OR 1.06 [1.03 to 1.08], P=0.001) and immunosuppression (OR 2.6 [1.23 to 5.51], P=0.01). Mortality was linked to illness severity at presentation, however when adjusted for severity score and need for intensive care management, HBOT was associated with significant reduction in mortality.
ATP-induced photoreceptor death in a feline model of retinal degeneration.

PURPOSE To develop and characterize a feline model of retinal degeneration induced by intravitreal injection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). METHODS Nineteen normally sighted adult cats received 100 μL intravitreal injections of ATP with a final concentration of 11, 22, or 55 mM at the retina. Four animals were euthanized 30 hours after injection and retinal sections examined for apoptosis using a TUNEL cell death assay. In the remaining animals, structural and functional changes were characterized over a 3-month period using a combination of electroretinography (ERG) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). RESULTS Using a TUNEL cell death assay, we detected widespread photoreceptor death 30 hours after injection with 55 mM intravitreal ATP. All concentrations of ATP caused loss of retinal function and gross changes in retinal structure within 2 weeks of injection. Intravitreal injection of ATP led to a rapid loss of rod photoreceptor function and a gradual loss of cone photoreceptor function within 3 months. Outer nuclear layer thickness was globally reduced by 3 months, with the inner nuclear layer including the retinal nerve fiber layer remaining intact. Structural abnormalities were observed, including focal retinal detachment with evidence of both intravitreal and intraretinal inflammation in some eyes. CONCLUSIONS Development of an ATP-induced feline model of retinal degeneration provides a rapid and effective large-eyed animal model for research into vision restoration.
THE INCOME TAX AND CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS

Charitable contributions are an important source of basic finance for a wide variety of private nonprofit organizations that perform quasi-public functions. The tax treatment of charitable contributions substantially influences the volume and distribution of these gifts. The current study presents new estimates of the price and income elasticities of charitable giving. The parameter estimates are then used with the United States Treasury Tax File to simulate the effects of several possible alternatives to the current tax treatment of charitable giving. INDIVIDUAL CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS are an important source of basic finance for a wide variety of private nonprofit organizations. Higher education, research, health care, the visual and performing arts, welfare services, and community and religious activities rely heavily on the voluntary institution. In 1970, American families contributed more than $17 billion for their support. The volume and distribution of charitable gifts is influenced by the personal income tax treatment of charitable contributions. There are today a number of widely discussed proposals for changing these rules. The appropriate tax treatment of such gifts involves a complex series of economic issues. Critical to a resolution of these issues is an understanding of the likely quantitative effects of alternative tax rules: the effects on the total volume of charitable gifts and its distribution among the different types of donees; the effects on the distribution of tax burdens
The Influence of Somatic Symptoms on Beck Depression Inventory Scores in Hospitalized Postmyocardial Infarction Patients

Objective: The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) has been used more than any other self-report questionnaire in research on depression in cardiovascular disease. However, no studies have examined whether BDI scores may be influenced by somatic symptoms common after myocardial infarction (Ml) that may overlap with symptoms of depression. The objective of this study was to examine whether BDI scores of post-MI patients may be influenced by somatic symptoms that commonly occur after MI, but may not be related to depression. Method: Post-MI patients and psychiatric outpatients were matched on BDI cognitive-affective symptom scores, sex, and age, and their BDI somatic symptom scores were compared using independent samples t tests. Results: Somatic symptoms accounted for 57% of BDI total scores for 296 post-MI patients (mean total BDI = 8.8), compared with 50% for 296 matched psychiatric outpatients (mean total BDI = 7.6). Overall, BDI somatic scores of post-MI patients were 1.3 points higher than for psychiatric outpatients (95% CI 0.68 to 1.82; P < 0.001), equivalent to 14% of total scores of post-MI patients. Conclusions: The relative influence of somatic symptoms on BDI total scores was higher for post-MI patients than for psychiatric outpatients matched on cognitive-affective scores, sex, and age. This finding stands in contrast to that from a previous study that used similar methods and sample comparisons and found that post-MI and psychiatric outpatients did not differ in their endorsement of somatic symptoms on the BDI-II. The BDI-II may be preferable to the BDI in post-MI patients.
A Robust Estimation of the Relation between Stock Returns, Size, Dividend Yield and Payout Ratio

We examine the relationship between Returns and Dividends in the context of the UK Stock Market, using data from the LBS London Share Price Database (LSPD) and using robust estimation (GMM). We also introduce earnings-related data into our analysis, using Payout Ratio as a carrier of this additional information. We find that the introduction of the additional variable has a considerable effect upon the inferences which would otherwise have been drawn from a study of Dividend Yield in the absence of such earnings information. Our methodology allows for the establishment of a distinct category for Zero-Dividend stocks (as distinct from those stocks which are merely low-yielding). This allows us to examine in more detail the particular returns characteristics of this class of stocks, which has more in common (in terms of Returns performance) with the high-yielding, rather than the low-yielding subdivision of dividend-paying stocks. Because of the implicit relationship (in terms of a joint distribution) between the dividend payment characteristics of firms and their size, we use an improved measure of Market Capitalisation (relative to that posted explicitly in the LSPD) in order to convey size information into our regressions. This allows for improved resolution, both in terms of the magnitude of the firm size variable, and also of its sampling frequency. Our analysis also accounts for the more complex seasonal behaviour apparent in UK returns characteristics. Our study proceeds from an initial survey of 'raw' (non risk-adjusted) returns for our system of 30 portfolios (6 Dividend Yield subdivisions x 5 Size subdivisions), followed by the introduction of risk adjustment on both an individual (portfolio) and category (Dividend Yields; Market Capitalisations) basis. This leads to a more complete model specification which allows for both categorical and interaction variables in order to separate and identify the various influences at play in determining returns behaviour. We conclude that the inclusion of Payout Ratio is an important adjunct to Dividend Yield in explaining Returns; indeed, our subperiod analysis revealed that, in many instances, the former seems to dominate the latter. Because of this, we deduce that Payout Ratio may convey additional signalling information, over and above that of Dividend Yield alone, for investors.
Dominant Designs and Population Dynamics in Telecommunications Services: Founding and Failure of Facsimile Transmission Service Organizations, 1965-1992

Abstract In this study we examine how links between dominant designs and competitive processes influence patterns of founding and failure in telecommunications service industries characterized by positive network externalities. We study the effects of the dominant design established by the Consultative Committee on International Telephone and Telegraph (CCITT) for facsimile transmission technology on facsimile transmission service organizations (FTSOs) that provide a variety of facsimile transmission services over a shared telecommunications network. The findings provide clear evidence of links between dominant designs and ecological processes in an evolving organizational population. Our findings suggest the need to refine earlier theorizing regarding the relationship between dominant designs and population dynamics.
Bio-economic modelling of brown rot in the Dutch potato production chain

Keywords: quarantine disease, brown rot, Ralstonia solanacearum , control policy, bio-economic model, individual-based model, spatially explicit, export losses, impact analysis, Design of Experiments, metamodel, The Netherlands. Brown rot, a quarantine disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum race 3, biovar 2, comprises a major threat to the Dutch potato production chain. To avoid export losses, the Dutch government has implemented a costly control policy. However, it is unknown whether this policy is optimal from a cost-effective point of view. This thesis describes the development of a bio-economic model that can be used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of brown rot control policies in the Netherlands . Two conceptual epidemiological models, a state-variable model and an individual-based model (IBM), were developed and compared for their suitability to model brown rot epidemics within the potato production chain. The IBM was selected for further development into a spatially explicit epidemiological model. Applications of this model illustrated how it can enhance insight into brown rot dynamics within the Dutch potato production chain. The epidemiological model was integrated with an economic model into a bio-economic model, which quantifies the costs and benefits of a control strategy on the basis of its effect on brown rot incidence in the chain. Model applications showed amongst others that export losses are of decisive importance in determining the cost-effectiveness of a control policy, and that conclusions on the cost-effectiveness are affected by the period over which the effect of a policy on brown rot dynamics is observed. Results of an impact analysis of model parameters on the incidence and economic consequences of brown rot revealed that policy and sector factors in particular have a large impact on the cost-effectiveness of control, while exogenous and economic factors are of lesser importance. Scenario studies based on the results of the impact analysis indicated that highly cost-effective control requires cooperation of the government and sector. The research described in this thesis shows that bio-economic modelling can facilitate the design and implementation of optimal brown rot control policies, by (1) enhancing insight into the incidence and economic consequences of brown rot in the potato production chain, (2) enabling ex ante evaluation of control strategies for their cost-effectiveness, and (3) enabling objective communication on brown rot control towards the sector. The modelling approach and the general insights obtained in this research are applicable to other quarantine diseases as well.
Impediments to innovation: evidence from Malaysian manufacturing firms

This work investigates the impediments to innovation faced by Malaysian manufacturing firms and whether they differ between firms that eventually engage in innovation activities and firms that do not. The shortcomings and obstacles encountered are assessed. Complementarities between the obstacles are also evaluated. The data are taken from the National Survey of Innovation 2000–2001 carried out in 2003 and the results show that firms which are engaged in innovation activities are more likely to face impediments. The level of importance of obstacles and the way the obstacles combine to impede innovation activities are also different for the two groups. Policies to encourage innovation should consider the different needs of firms that are engaged in innovation activities and firms that are not.
The Monetary Transmission Mechanism: Evidence from the G-7 Countries

In this paper we compare the effects of monetary policy on output and prices in the G-7 countries using a parsimonious macroeconometric model comprising, output, prices and a short-term interest rate. We identify monetary policy shocks by assuming that they do not affect real output instantaneously (within the quarter) or in the long run and implement these restrictions using a sequential instrumental variables technique. We show that the so-called pricepuzzle which has been noticed in the large VAR-literature in which only shortrun restrictions are used, disappears. This suggests that the puzzle is due to the fact that the use of only short-run identifying restrictions does not properly discriminate between contractionary aggregate supply shocks and monetary policy shocks. We conclude that the effects of a standardised monetary policy action are very similar across countries.
Analytical representation of a black hole puncture solution

The 'moving-puncture' technique has led to dramatic advancements in the numerical simulations of binary black holes. Hannam et al. have recently demonstrated that, for suitable gauge conditions commonly employed in moving-puncture simulations, the evolution of a single black hole leads to a well-known, time-independent, maximal slicing of Schwarzschild spacetime. They construct the corresponding solution in isotropic coordinates numerically and demonstrate its usefulness, for example, for testing and calibrating numerical codes that employ moving-puncture techniques. In this brief report we point out that this solution can also be constructed analytically, making it even more useful as a test case for numerical codes.
Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Factor Price Equalization

Although models with factor price equalization are used frequently in both theoretical and applied research in international economics, only sufficient conditions for factor price equalization have been presented in the literature. In this paper, we present necessary and sufficient conditions for FPE under quite general assumptions about the technologies of different countries. The necessary and sufficient conditions we derive are consistent with joint production, decreasing returns to scale, and substantive differences in the technologies and endowments of different countries. Our results enable us to reconcile the classical approach and the integrated equilibrium approach to factor price equalization.
Characteristics of pricing errors in stocks implied by autocovariance and ‘drag’

In this article, we estimate the lower bounds on the volatility and autocorrelation of pricing errors in stocks and infer the market-wide component in the pricing errors, by combining information from the autocovariance and ‘drag’ in stock returns. For the smaller US stocks, we estimate lower bounds of 8−10% for the volatility and 0.3−0.5 for the autocorrelation of the pricing errors, at monthly horizon. We infer that approximately 50% of the pricing errors of the smaller stocks originate from the market-wide component, whereas for larger stocks, virtually all of the pricing errors are market-wide. In practice, this evidence means that market-wide bubbles and busts are far more important than idiosyncratic sources of pricing errors, like thin trading, low liquidity or little analyst following.
Coalitions, convergence and corporate governance reform in Indonesia

This paper argues that Indonesia's corporate governance system is unlikely to converge on the outsider model of corporate governance, at least in so far as this means an exact replication of this model. While the Indonesian government has introduced a range of corporate governance reforms aimed at bringing in key elements of the outsider model since the mid-1980s, and especially since the onset of the Asian crisis, there have been serious problems with the implementation and enforcement of these reforms. Underlying this outcome, it is argued, has been the structure of power and interest within Indonesia: the balance of power between the main coalitions of interest has been such that the political preconditions for the proper operation of the outsider model have not yet been established.
A synergistic effect of oxytocin and vasopressin on sodium excretion in the neurohypophysectomized rat.

1. Renal function and the effect of oxytocin and vasopressin replacement have been examined in anaesthetized male neurohypophysectomized rats. 2. Rates of urine flow were higher but sodium excretion markedly lower in neurohypophysectomized rats than in intact animals receiving hypotonic saline infusion (33.8 +/‐ 2.3 vs. 27.0 +/‐ 0.7 ml and 472 +/‐ 84 vs. 1946 +/‐ 124 mumol respectively for the third to sixth hour of study). 3. In intact animals, mean arterial blood pressure stabilized at 106 mmHg. Haematocrit (46%) remained stable but glomerular filtration rates declined slightly over the 8 h of study to 2.5 +/‐ 0.2 ml/h. These values in neurohypophysectomized rats did not differ significantly from those in intact rats. 4. Although plasma corticosterone levels (54 +/‐ 13 ng/ml) did not differ significantly from those in intact rats, neurohypophysectomy was associated with greatly reduced aldosterone concentration (0.12 +/‐ 0.03 vs. 0.76 +/‐ 0.04 ng/ml). Trace levels of vasopressin (0.17 +/‐ 0.03 microunit/ml) were found in neurohypophysectomized rat plasma. 5. Oxytocin administration at 15 microunits/min, which produced plasma hormone levels of 1.62 +/‐ 0.19 microunit/ml, had no detectable effect on sodium excretion but increased urine flow. Arginine vasopressin administration (12 microunits/min) inducing plasma levels of 1.24 +/‐ 0.08 microunit/ml, reduced urine flow by 80% and produced a small increase in sodium excretion. 6. Concurrent administration of oxytocin (15 microunits/min) potentiated the natriuretic response to vasopressin (12 microunits/min). Total sodium excretion during the 3 h combined hormone infusion (1256 +/‐ 149 mumol) greatly exceeded that in animals receiving vasopressin alone (549 +/‐ 132 mumol) and approached that observed in intact animals (1946 +/‐ 124 mumol). Combined hormone administration at the lower rate of 5 microunits/min oxytocin and 4 microunits/min vasopressin produced a similar large increment in sodium excretion. 7. It is concluded that replacement of both neurohypophysial hormones, at plasma levels within the physiological range, largely reverses the renal sodium retention of neurohypophysectomized rats, oxytocin considerably potentiating the natriuretic action of vasopressin. This synergism between the two neurohypophysial peptides to promote salt excretion may be an important component of the non‐steroidal management of sodium.
The Disruption Costs of Post–9–11 Security Measures and Cities’ Bids for Presidential Nominating Conventions

ABSTRACT: Over the past several decades, cities have increasingly built facilities and amenities to attract tourism, conventions, and mega-events. Mega-events bring cities tourism revenues and free media attention to brand themselves. We theorize regarding why cities seek to host presidential nominating conventions and why the increased disruption costs of the post–9–11 security environment have changed the way cities evaluate the branding opportunities of mega-events. Consistent with our predictions, larger and more tourism-dependent cities are less likely to need the branding opportunities of political conventions than their competitors and therefore are less willing to incur the disruption costs of political conventions after 9–11.