Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Search Cost Model of Obfuscation

This paper develops search-theoretic models in which it is individually rational for firms to engage in obfuscation. It considers oligopoly competition between firms selling a homogeneous good to a population of rational consumers who incur search costs to learn each firm's price. Search costs are endogenized: obfuscation is equated with unobservable actions that make it more time-consuming to inspect a product and learn its price. We note two mechanisms by which obfuscation can affect consumer beliefs about future search costs: a direct effect that applies when search costs are convex in time spent searching and a signal-jamming effect that applies when an informational link is present. As long as obfuscation is costless for firms, the presence of either of these mechanisms guarantees that obfuscation must occur in equilibrium, unless consumer search costs are already so high that consumers are willing to purchase at the highest equilibrium price in the absence of obfuscation. Changes in consumer search costs are at least partially offset by changes in the equilibrium level of obfuscation, raising doubts about whether reductions in consumer search costs must make markets more competitive. We also examine patterns of obfuscation and show that higher markups are usually associated with more obfuscation.
Leflunomide: a novel DMARD for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Leflunomide (Arava™, Hoescht Marion Roussel, now Aventis Pharma) is a new, oral disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) for the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is a novel isoxazole derivative, which has shown both anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. Leflunomide primarily acts by inhibiting the de novo synthesis of pyrimidine nucleotides (and consequently DNA and RNA) in immune response cells, particularly activated T-cells. It also inhibits tyrosine kinases, with a subsequent reduction in the pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF and IL-1. Leflunomide is significantly more effective than placebo and equivalent to sulfasalazine and methotrexate in short-term (26 - 52 week) studies, as measured by American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria. It has shown significant improvements in functional disability and health related quality of life and has consistently been shown to slow radiographic progression of RA. Leflunomide has a rapid onset of action (within 4 weeks) which is significantly faster than placebo and sulfasalazine. Leflunomide was well-tolerated in clinical trials with no serious adverse effects occurring. The most common side effects were gastrointestinal disturbances, reversible alopecia, rash, hypertension and abnormal liver function tests. Most of these were mild to moderate and resolved without any complications. In summary leflunomide is an effective and well-tolerated DMARD that is a welcome addition to the currently available DMARDs for the treatment of this disabling condition.
Investigations of Escherichia coli Promoter Sequences with Artificial Neural Networks: New Signals Discovered Upstream of the Transcriptional Startpoint

In this paper we present a novel method for using the learning ability of a neural network as a measure of information in local regions of input data. Using the method to analyze Escherichia coli promoters, we discover all previously described signals, and furthermore find new signals that are regularly spaced along the promoter region. The spacing of all signals correspond to the helical periodicity of DNA, meaning that the signals are all present on the same face of the DNA helix in the promoter region. This is consistent with a model where the RNA polymerase contacts the promoter on one side of the DNA, and suggests that the regions important for promoter recognition may include more positions on the DNA than usually assumed. We furthermore analyze the E. coli promoters by calculating the Kullback Leibler distance, and by constructing sequence logos.
A Generalized Moments Estimator for the Autoregressive Parameter in a Spatial Model

This paper is concerned with the estimation of the autoregressive parameter in a widely considered spatial autocorrelation model. The typical estimator for this parameter considered in the literature is the (quasi) maximum likelihood estimator corresponding to a normal density. However, as discussed in the paper, the (quasi) maximum likelihood estimator may not be computationally feasible in many cases involving moderate or large sized samples. In this paper we suggest a generalized moments estimator that is computationally simple irrespective of the sample size. We provide results concerning the large and small sample properties of this estimator.
Disability and poverty in Sri Lanka: a household level analysis

Sri Lanka has recorded a significant reduction in poverty in recent times. Yet, as in many other developing countries, little or nothing is known about poverty levels and reduction of poverty among the disabled or their households. The disabled and their families encounter different hardships than the typical deprivations of the poor. The recent literature questions the ability of the monetary approach in measuring poverty in general and especially among different groups like the disabled. Therefore, this study estimates both monetary and multidimensional poverty among the households with disabled persons, using the Household Income and Expenditure Survey data of 2006/07 and 2009/10. The study found that monetary and multidimensional poverty among households with disabled persons is higher than among other households. Even though multidimensional poverty is relatively low in Sri Lanka, the difference in multidimensional poverty levels between households with and without the disabled is high. Importantly, contributions from the three dimensions considered in this research to the incidence of poverty is almost equal, suggesting that further reduction of poverty in Sri Lanka requires improvements in all three dimensions - health, education and living standards- among poor households, with and without disabled persons.
Institutions and government efficiency: decentralized Irrigation management in China

In order to improve the efficiency of government spending, it is necessary for the decentralized irrigation management to gain support from local institutions. Efficient institutions take on several distinct configurations in different irrigation districts. In this research, we upgrade Tang’s (1992) framework focusing on incentives, to a framework that includes institutional incentives and coordination. Within the framework, we then classify 5 institutional variables: water pricing reform (P), government funding (F), coordination by administration (C), having formal monitors (M) and self-organized management (S). This article processes the data obtained through a field survey (2009–2011) in 20 of China’s southern counties, where they implement the “Small-scale Irrigation and Water Conservancy Key Counties Construction (Key Counties Construction)”, a national project supported by the central government. Next, it applies Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to measure the efficiency of government spending and uses Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to extract efficient institutional configurations. It concludes that there are generally three types of institutional configurations able to improve the efficiency of government spending, which are respectively: “government funding combined with coordination by administration”, “water pricing reform combined with self-organized management and coordination by administration or water pricing reform combined with self-organized management and government funding and formal monitors” and “self-organized management”. Among these, the second configuration is a mixed governance structure with multiple institutions coexisting, and this configuration occurs in the most efficient key counties. For that reason, it is viewed as the mainstream irrigation management approach, and we expect it to be the development trend in the future. Although Chinese irrigation policies are formalizing effective local institutions, they are still not sufficient. Future policies are needed to 1) promote institutions of government support for water laws in order to build stable expectations for both water user associations (WUAs) and farmers, 2) guide water pricing reform by ensuring farmers’ water rights and regulating water markets, and 3) provide opportunities for hiring professional monitors and crafting formal rules.
Relative importance of evaluation criteria for enterprise systems: a conjoint study

Abstract. While a large body of research exists on the development and implementation of software, organizations are increasingly acquiring enterprise software packages [e.g. enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems] instead of custom developing their own software applications. To be competitive in the marketplace, software package development firms must manage the three‐pronged trade‐off between cost, quality and functionality. Surprisingly, prior research has made little attempt to investigate the characteristics of packaged software that influence management information system (MIS) managers’ likelihood of recommending purchase. As a result, both the criteria by which MIS managers evaluate prospective packaged systems and the attributes that lead to commercially competitive ERP software products are poorly understood. This paper examines this understudied issue through a conjoint study. We focus on ERP systems, which are among the largest and most complex packaged systems that are purchased by organizations. In a conjoint study, 1008 evaluation decisions based on hypothetical ERP software package profiles were completed by managers in 126 organizations. The study represents the first empirical investigation of the relative importance that managers ascribe to various factors that are believed to be important in evaluating packaged software. The results provide important insights for both organizations that acquire such systems and those that develop them. The results show that functionality, reliability, cost, ease of use and ease of customization are judged to be important criteria, while ease of implementation and vendor reputation were not found to be significant. Functionality and reliability were found to be the most heavily weighted factors. We conclude the paper with a detailed discussion of the results and their implications for software acquisition and development practice.
Force, not sarcomere length, correlates with prolongation of isosarcometric contraction.

Recent studies have emphasized the importance of the late systolic phase for understanding ventricular ejection. To examine the myocardial factors controlling this phase, we studied the timing of twitch contraction in nine excised rat trabeculae contracting isosarcometrically. By varying both sarcomere length (SL) and extracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]) we determined which of these factors or the developed peak twitch force correlated better with the prolongation of contraction. We focused on the period from just before the peak of force to the time of half relaxation. SL was measured by laser diffraction and kept constant using adaptive control. Peak twitch force was the factor most tightly correlated with prolongation of contraction: as force rose from 10 to 100 mN/mm2, duration tripled from 100 to 300 ms. When the trend with force was removed, however, no separate influence of SL remained. Increase in [Ca2+]o abbreviated contraction equally at all force levels. Prolongation of late systolic contraction was also highly correlated with prolongation of the time constant for late relaxation, suggesting a common mechanism by which peak twitch force lengthens the entire subsequent time course of a twitch. We hypothesize that 1) increased force correlates with prolonged Ca2+ binding to troponin-C, and/or 2) attached cross bridges act cooperatively to oppose the inhibiting effects of tropomyosin as Ca2+ is lost from the thin filaments. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Tremor and longevity in relatives of patients with Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and control subjects

Article abstract-To study the relation between essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson's disease (PD), we compared the frequency of familial tremor in relatives of patients with PD (N = 391), ET (N = 140), and the combination of ET and PD (N = 125) with the frequency in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) (N = 99) and normal age-matched controls (N = 104). Tremor was present in 96 (5.1%) of 1,874 parents and siblings of patients with PD, 152 of 650 (23.4%) relatives of patients with ET, 91 (20.7%) of 439 relatives of patients with ET-PD, 12 of 462 (2.6%) relatives of patients with PSP, and 10 of 448 (2.2%) relatives of normal controls. The high frequency of familial tremor among relatives of patients with PD, and especially those with the ET-PD combination, compared with relatives of patients with PSP or of normal controls suggests that there is an association of PD and familial tremor. Since the most common form of familial tremor is ET, our study provides support for the notion that ET and PD are pathogenetically related. We also found that parents with tremor lived on the average 9.2 years longer than those without tremor. The association of familial tremor with significantly increased longevity suggests that familial tremor confers some anti-aging influence. Alternatively, tremor may be a simple byproduct of the aging process. NEUROLOGY 1995;45: 645-648
Jurnal Teknologi The Enhanced EWMA Control Chart with Autocorrelation

Control charts are effective tool with regard to improving process quality and productivity, Shewhart control charts are efficiently good at detecting large shifts in a given process but very slow in detecting small and moderate shifts, such problem could be tackled through design of sensitizing rules. It has been observed that autocorrelation has an advert effect on the control charts developed under the independence assumption [1]. In this article a new EWMA control chart has been introduced with autocorrelation and some run rule schemes were introduced to enhanced the performance of the EWMA control chart when autocorrelated. The three-out-of three EWMA scheme and three-out-offour EWMA schemes were introduced and the generated data with induced autocorrelation were used to construct the EWMA chart to sensitize the shifts presence. Simulation of autocorrelated data were carried out for the proposed schemes which detects the shifts as soon as it occurs in the given process, the performance were evaluated using the ARL (average run length) and the results were compared with the published results of Steiner (1991) and the Saccucci (1990) which were designed for large, small and moderate shift. The results indicates that the proposed schemes are more sensitive to the shifts at ARL0=500, 300 and 200 with autocorrelation of 0.2, 0.5 and 0.9 considered in the study.
Implementation of biotechnology for production of hypericin as antibladder cancer photosensitizer compound from egyptian hypericum sinaicum

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been catagorized as a new therapeutic approach for cancer. PDT includes the combination of a photosensitizer compound, which is taken up and retained by tumor cells, and visible light of an appropriate wavelength matching the absorption spectrum of the compound. Hypericin is a plant-derived compound and is a powerful natural photosensitizer. The focus of our interest was to promote the production of hypericin from Egyptian Hypericum sinaicum culture in vitro by using biotechnological applications, employ hypericin-PDT for the treatment of bladder cancer in vivo and to suggest the possible mechanisms underlying this action. Eighty adult albino rats were assigned into eight groups. The 1st group served as negative control. The 2nd group received N-butylN(4 hydroxybutyle)nitrosamine (BBN); 0.1 g in 100 ml of drinking water for a period of 8 weeks for induction of bladder cancer and served as positive control. The 3rd, 4rd and 5th groups received intraperitonealy (i.p) 5, 7.5 and 10 mg/kg hypercin-PDT respectively. The 6th, 7th and 8th were bladder cancer bearing groups treated i.p with 5, 7.5 and 10 mg/kg hypercin-PDT respectively. Histopathological investigation of bladder specimens in all groups was carried out. Treatment with hypericin-PDT could restore the structural organization of bladder and maintain the architectural integrity of bladder cells. The outcomes of this investigation offer a convincing evidence for the importance of biotechnological approaches in improving the production of natural compounds. Also, this study provides spotlight on hypericin-PDT as an appropriate therapeutic modality for bladder cancer. The mechanisms behind this effect seem to depend on promoting apoptotic pathway, targeting tumor vasculature and activating immune response.
ÖĞRETMENLERDE PSİKOLOJİK DAYANIKLILIK VE ÖRGÜTSEL VATANDAŞLIK DAVRANIŞLARININ BAZI DEĞİŞKENLER AÇISINDAN İNCELENMESİ: ÖZEL OKUL ÖRNEĞİ

Bu arastirmanin amaci ozel okullarda calisan ogretmenlerin orgutsel vatandaslik davranislari ve psikolojik dayaniklilik duzeylerinin cinsiyet, medeni durum, kidem, calisilan kurum turu ve ogrenim durumu acisindan incelenmesidir. Betimsel tarama modelinin kullanildigi bu arastirmada calisma grubunu 2013-2014 egitim ogretim yilinda Kayseri il merkezinde bulunan ozel okullarda calisan % 49’u (120) si kadin, % 51’(121) i erkek olmak uzere toplam 241 kisi olusturmaktadir. Arastirma verilerinin toplanmasinda kisisel bilgi formu, “Orgutsel Vatandaslik Davranisi Olcegi” ve “Psikolojik Dayaniklilik Olcegi” kullanilmistir. Arastirma verilerinin analizinde t testi ve f testi analizlerinden faydalanilmistir. Arastirma sonuclari ogretmenlerde orgutsel vatandaslik davranislari ve psikolojik dayaniklilik duzeylerinin cesitli degiskenler acisindan anlamli duzeyde farklilastigini ortaya cikarmistir. Arastirmadan elde edilen bulgulara dayali olarak oneriler gelistirilmistir. Anahtar kelimeler: Psikolojik Dayaniklilik, Orgutsel Vatandaslik, Orgutsel Davranis, Ozel Okul
A pr 2 01 8 Relief-Based Feature Selection : Introduction and Review

Feature selection plays a critical role in biomedical data mining, driven by increasing feature dimensionality in target problems and growing interest in advanced but computationally expensive methodologies able to model complex associations. Specifically, there is a need for feature selection methods that are computationally efficient, yet sensitive to complex patterns of association, e.g. interactions, so that informative features are not mistakenly eliminated prior to downstream modeling. This paper focuses on Relief-based algorithms (RBAs), a unique family of filter-style feature selection algorithms that have gained appeal by striking an effective balance between these objectives while flexibly adapting to various data characteristics, e.g. classification vs. regression. First, this work broadly examines types of feature selection and defines RBAs within that context. Next, we introduce the original Relief algorithm and associated concepts, emphasizing the intuition behind how it works, how feature weights generated by the algorithm can be interpreted, and why it is sensitive to feature interactions without evaluating combinations of features. Lastly, we include an expansive review of RBA methodological research beyond Relief and its popular descendant, ReliefF. In particular, we characterize branches of RBA research, and provide comparative summaries of RBA algorithms including contributions, strategies, functionality, time complexity, adaptation to key data characteristics, and software availability.
Tertiary Education in the Noughties: The Student Perspective.

The psychodynamics of learning and teaching at a time of changing funding arrangements and priorities are explored and discussed through students’ accounts of their experience of university. The contextual, organizational and socio‐political characteristics implicated in these psychodynamic processes are considered. Among the psychodynamic issues that emerged from students’ accounts were organizational distancing, expressed in the physical and symbolic distance between students and teachers as well as a perceived distance between lecturers and their teaching responsibilities, and transference evident in the students’ struggle between dependence and independence.
The impact of simulated mesoscale convective systems on global precipitation : A 1 multi-scale modeling study 2 3

28 29 The importance of precipitating mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) has been 30 quantified from TRMM precipitation radar and microwave imager retrievals. MCSs 31 generate more than 50% of the rainfall in most tropical regions. MCSs usually have 32 horizontal scales of a few hundred kilometers (km); therefore, a large domain with 33 several hundred km is required for realistic simulations of MCSs in cloud-resolving 34 models (CRMs). Almost all traditional global and climate models do not have adequate 35 parameterizations to represent MCSs. Typical multi-scale modeling frameworks 36 (MMFs) may also lack the resolution (4 km grid spacing) and domain size (128 km) to 37 realistically simulate MCSs. 38 39 In this study, the impact of MCSs on precipitation is examined by conducting model 40 simulations using the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model and Goddard MMF 41 (GMMF). The results indicate that both models can realistically simulate MCSs with 42 more grid points (i.e., 128 and 256) and higher resolutions (1 or 2 km) compared to 43 those simulations with fewer grid points (i.e., 32 and 64) and low resolution (4 km). 44 The modeling results also show the strengths of the Hadley circulations, mean zonal 45 and regional vertical velocities, surface evaporation, and amount of surface rainfall are 46 weaker or reduced in the GMMF when using more CRM grid points and higher CRM 47 resolution. In addition, the results indicate that large-scale surface evaporation and 48 wind feed back are key processes for determining the surface rainfall amount in the 49 GMMF. A sensitivity test with reduced sea surface temperatures shows both reduced 50 surface rainfall and evaporation. 51
Mobilizing Revenue in Sub-Saharan Africa: Empirical Norms and Key Determinants

Mobilizing more revenue is a priority for sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Countries have to finance their development agendas, and weak revenue mobilization is the root cause of fiscal imbalances in several countries. This paper reviews the experience of low-income SSA countries in mobilizing revenue in recent decades, with two broad aims: identify empirical norms of how much and how fast countries have been able to mobilize more revenue and empirical determinants (panel estimates) of revenue mobilization. The paper finds that (i) the frequency distribution of changes in revenue ratios for SSA low-income countries (LICs) peaks at a pace of about ½-2 percentage points of GDP in the short-to-medium term and at a pace of about 2-3½ percentage points of GDP over the longer term, and that (ii) almost all SSA-LICs managed to increase revenue ratios by more than 2 percentage points of GDP in the short-to-medium term, at least once in the last two decades. The sustainability of large increases in revenue ratios can be an issue, in particular for fragile countries. The panel estimates suggest that structural factors, such as per capita GDP, share of agriculture in GDP, inflation, degree of openness, and rents received from natural resources, are important determinants of tax revenue.