Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
External Debt and Pro-Poor Growth

To reveal effects and consequences of high indebtedness on income poverty, this paper explores empirically a linear and non-linear impact of external debt on pro-poor growth in developing and transitional countries. To examine this hypothesis, we test the distribution effect of external debt to GDP, external debt to exports, and debt services to exports on the poorest 20 and 20 to 40 percent in a cross-country approach. In addition, we estimate the total effect, i.e. the distribution and growth effect, to analyse potential trade-offs between the impact of unsustainable external debt levels on poverty through overall economic growth and via distribution. To test the poverty effects, we collect an irregular and unbalanced panel of time-series cross-country data on the first and second quintile of 58 developing and transitional countries for the period 1970 – 1999. We apply two econometric specifications, a growth equation and a system GMM estimation, to cover econometric issues, cross-country variation and dynamic aspects of within-country changes of the income of the poor. Empirical findings of the impact of the debt indicators on pro-poor growth have to be interpreted carefully due to inconsistent results of the sensitivity analyses. Thus results do not indicate an optimal external debt level with respect to pro–poor growth. On the contrary, higher external debt levels are associated with negative effects on the level of the income of the poorest 40 percent without exhibiting any significant effects on the growth rates. Thus concise policy recommendations with respect to debt sustainability levels and debt relief are difficult. A cautious conclusion would be that debt relief may affect the poor positively, but seems not to be a sufficient policy instrument for improved growth rates of the income of the poorest 40 percent. This policy proposal would be in line with calls for more poverty-targeted capital inflows, as even total debt relief would release only insufficient resources for poverty reducing activities. With this interpretation, however, we abstract from political economy and bad governance issues which may prevent poverty reducing debt relief initiatives.
Adaptation of Force Control Parameters in Robotic Assembly

Industrial robots are usually programmed to follow desired trajectories, and are very good at position-controlled tasks. New applications, however, often require physical contact between the robot and its environment, and then the position control accuracy is generally not sufficient. Force control is a suitable alternative. The environment is often stiff, and then it is crucial to design appropriate force controllers, which is non-trivial for a robot programmer. This paper presents an adaptive algorithm for choosing force control parameters, based on identification of a contact model. The algorithm is experimentally verified in an assembly task with an industrial robot.
The state, the market and the Euro : chartalism versus metallism in the theory of money

The two concepts of money - implications for the analysis of optimal currency areas Mr Goodhart and the EMU the creditary / monetarist debate in historical perspective some limitations of the chartalist perspective - a comment on "the two concepts of money" the neo-chartalist approach to money nominal money, real money and stabilization money as a social institution - a heterodox view of the euro neglected costs of monetary union - the loss of sovereignty in the sphere of public policy.
Twitter and Society

Since its launch in 2006, Twitter has evolved from a niche service to a mass phenomenon; it has become instrumental for everyday communication as well as for political debates, crisis communication, marketing, and cultural participation. But the basic idea behind it has stayed the same: users may post short messages (tweets) of up to 140 characters and follow the updates posted by other users. Drawing on the experience of leading international Twitter researchers from a variety of disciplines and contexts, this is the first book to document the various notions and concepts of Twitter communication, providing a detailed and comprehensive overview of current research into the uses of Twitter. It also presents methods for analyzing Twitter data and outlines their practical application in different research contexts.
Fermions on an interval: Quark and lepton masses without a Higgs

We consider fermions on an extra dimensional interval. We find the boundary conditions at the ends of the interval that are consistent with the variational principle, and explain which ones arise in various physical circumstances. We apply these results to Higgsless models of electroweak symmetry breaking, where electroweak symmetry is not broken by a scalar vacuum expectation value, but rather by the boundary conditions of the gauge fields. We show that it is possible to find a set of boundary conditions for bulk fermions that would give a realistic fermion mass spectrum without the presence of a Higgs scalar, and present some sample fermion mass spectra for the standard model quarks and leptons as well as their resonances.
Investor Heterogeneity, Investor-Management Agreement and Open Market Share Repurchase

This paper develops a new theoretical explanation for why a firm conducts open-market stock repurchases, tests the main predictions associated with this explanation and finds empirical evidence in support. Investors may disagree with the manager about the firm’s investment projects. A repurchase causes a change in the investor base as investors who are less prone to agree with the manager tender their shares. The model thus has the following predictions. First, a firm is more likely to buy back shares when the level of investor-management agreement is lower. Second, the post-repurchase agreement improves. Our empirical tests provide strong support for these predictions. The results are robust to controls for information asymmetry, diversity of opinion among investors, and other factors that may drive a firm’s share repurchase decision. Overall, the evidence is consistent with a repurchase being a strategic payout mode intended to improve alignment between management and shareholders. JEL Classification: G30, G35
Japanese Monetary Policy: A Case of Self-Induced Paralysis?

The Japanese economy continues in a deep recession. The shortrange IMF forecast is that, as of the last quarter of 1999, Japanese real GDP will be 4.6% below its potential. This number is itself a mild improvement over a year earlier, when the IMF estimated Japanese GDP at 5.6% below potential. A case can be made, however, that these figures significantly underestimate the output losses created by the protracted slump. From the beginning of the 1980s through 1991Q4, a period during which Japanese real economic growth had already declined markedly from the heady days of the 1960s and 1970s, real GDP in Japan grew by nearly 3.8% per year. In contrast, from 1991Q4 through 1999Q4 the rate of growth of real GDP was less than 0.9% per year. If growth during the 1991-1999 period had been even 2.5% per year, Japanese real GDP in 1999 would have been 13.6% higher than the value actually attained.1 Some perspective is in order. Although, as we will see, there are some analogies between the policy mistakes made by Japanese officials in recent years and the mistakes made by policymakers around the world during the 1930s, Japan’s current economic situation is not
Male age mediates reproductive investment and response to paternity assurance

Theory predicts that male response to reduced paternity will depend on male state and interactions between the sexes. If there is little chance of reproducing again, then males should invest heavily in current offspring, regardless of their share in paternity. We tested this by manipulating male age and paternity assurance in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. We found older males invested more in both mating effort and parental effort than younger males. Furthermore, male age, a component of male state, mediated male response to perceived paternity. Older males provided more prenatal care, whereas younger males provided less prenatal care, when perceived paternity was low. Adjustments in male care, however, did not influence selection acting indirectly on parents, through offspring performance. This is because females adjusted their care in response to the age of their partner, providing less care when paired with older males than younger males. As a result offspring, performance did not differ between treatments. Our study shows, for the first time, that a male state variable is an important modifier of paternity–parental care trade-offs and highlights the importance of social interactions between males and females during care in determining male response to perceived paternity.
The clinical significance of vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration in Staphylococcus aureus infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Emerging data suggest that vancomycin may be less effective against serious methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values at the higher end of the susceptibility range. The purpose of this review is to examine the strength of these associations. METHODS All relevant studies pertaining to treatment outcomes or mortality associated with vancomycin MIC were retrieved from the medical literature from January 1996 through August 2011 and analyzed according to Cochrane guidelines. RESULTS Of the 270 studies identified, 48 studies were reviewed, with 22 studies included in the final meta-analysis. Vancomycin MIC was significantly associated with mortality for MRSA infection irrespective of the source of infection or MIC methodology (odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-2.37; P < .01). This mortality association was predominantly driven by bloodstream infections (BSIs; OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.06-2.37; P = .03) and isolates with a vancomycin MIC of 2 μg/mL by Etest (OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.34-2.21; P < .01). Vancomycin MIC was significantly associated with treatment failure irrespective of source of infection or MIC methodology (OR, 2.69; 95% CI, 1.60-4.51; P < .01). CONCLUSION High vancomycin MIC was associated with a higher mortality rate in MRSA BSI. Thus, institutions should consider conducting Etest MICs on all MRSA BSI isolates. Although these data highlight concerns about vancomycin, currently, there are no data to support better survival rates with alternative antibiotics. Data are sorely needed to determine whether other agents can remedy these outcomes observed with vancomycin for MRSA infections with elevated vancomycin MIC values.
Chromatic-Index-Critical Graphs of Orders 11 and 12

Abstract A chromatic-index-critical graphGonnvertices is non-trivial if it has at most Δ ⌊ n 2 ⌋ edges. We prove that there is no chromatic-index-critical graph of order 12, and that there are precisely two non-trivial chromatic-index-critical graphs on 11 vertices. Together with known results this implies that there are precisely three non-trivial chromatic-index-critical graphs of order ≤12.
The City in American Political Development

Introduction: The City in American Political Development Richardson Dilworth Part 1: American Exceptionalism and the City 1. The City and the State in American Political Development: A Comparative Perspective on Urbanization Robert Lieberman 2. Non-Durable Authority: Intercurrence and Urban Power in Britain and the United States Jerome Hodos 3. Town and Country in the Redefinition of State-Federal Power: Canada and the United States, 1630-2005 Jason Kaufman Part 2: Urban Politics, HIstoricized and Institutionalized 4. Challenging the Machine-Reform Dichotomy: Two Threats to Urban Democracy Jessica Luce Trounstine 5. Power, Pluralism, and Urban Political Development: Modernization Reconsidered Clarence Stone and Robert Whelan Part 3: City, Space, and Nation 6. Spatial Institutionalism: The Case of Cities in American Political Development Philip Ethington and David Levitus 7. Urbanization and the Geographies of Statehood: Methodological and Substantive Reflections on the US Case Neil Brenner Part 4: The National Significance of Urban Ethnic and Racial Politics 8. Riots as Critical Junctures in Urban Policy Michael Jones-Correa 9. Learning to Lobby and Litigate: Baltimore's Contributions to the Civil Rights Movement Matthew Crenson 10. Immigration and Institutional Change: The Urban Origins of US Postal Savings Banks Alethia Jones 11. Conclusion Ira Katznelson
Social impact bonds: lessons learned so far

Although Pay for Success (PFS) contracts have received widespread attention in the United States and abroad, there is nothing fundamentally new about governments paying for outcomes. Performance clauses in construction contracts are common, and the Department of Defense has procured services using performance-based contracting for years. Many state and local governments now use performance clauses in their procurement of human services, for example by providing bonuses to contractors administering job training programs based upon the number of clients who obtain and/ or retain jobs. What makes recent PFS initiatives distinctive is that they are focused not simply on creating additional financial incentives for contractors to produce better outcomes, but more broadly on overcoming the wide set of barriers that are hindering the pace of social innovation. For sure, these barriers include a lack of performance focus and outcome measurement, but they also include political constraints that prevent government from investing in prevention, the inability of nonprofits to access the capital needed to expand operations, and insufficient capacity to develop rapid and rigorous evidence about what works. In some of these new models, the amount of performance risk shifted from taxpayers to those on the hook for producing the outcomes is much greater than under traditional performance contracts, requiring the participation of socially-minded investors to make the projects feasible.
Effect of mechanical tactile noise on the amplitude 1 of visual evoked potentials : Multisensory 2 stochastic resonance

40 The present investigation documents the electrophysiological occurrence of 41 multisensory stochastic resonance in the human visual pathway elicited by tactile 42 noise. We define multisensory stochastic resonance of brain evoked potentials as 43 the phenomenon in which an intermediate level of input noise of one sensory 44 modality enhances the brain evoked response of another sensory modality. Here 45 we examined this phenomenon in visual evoked potentials (VEP) modulated by the 46 addition of tactile noise. Specifically, we examined whether a particular level of 47 mechanical Gaussian noise applied to the index finger can improve the amplitude 48 of the VEP. We compared the amplitude of the positive P100 VEP component 49 between zero noise (ZN), optimal noise (ON) and high mechanical noise (HN). The 50 data disclosed an inverted U-like graph for all the subjects, thus demonstrating the 51 occurrence of a multisensory stochastic resonance in the P100 VEP. 52
Employee dissent in federal government organizations: Lessons for managing reputation and fostering employee loyalty

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how government employees perceive and react to limits on their right to express public dissent about their employer. Within the context of Canada's federal workplaces, this two‐part project sought first to analyse and clarify the nature of complex government rules on dissent, and then to explore federal employees' understanding of those rules, and the balance between the duty of loyalty owed to their employer, and their protected rights as citizens to criticize their government. The goal was to contribute to further research and improve professional practice within the federal public service in addressing employee dissent. , – This research is qualitative and exploratory. Documentary and literature analysis was conducted to review Canada's laws, policies and guidelines. These were critically analysed for consistency with each other, and with their stated objectives. Employee views and perceptions were collected through a focus group of communications employees, and three in‐depth interviews. Interviews and focus group results were analysed by inference to explore employee perceptions of their duties and rights, and the authority on which their perceptions are based. , – Results indicate that respondents base decisions about employee dissent on unconsciously internalized organizational values. Formal policy, training, or legal consequences had less influence on dissent than organizational culture, employee experience, and perceived career and relationship risks. Respondents valued their right to dissent, but were willing to yield it to honour a voluntary moral contract to support a higher cause (public service). The implications are that traditional theories that view employee dissent as largely self‐interested may be less relevant when employees perceive the organization's goals to be value‐driven, and that employee dissent can be minimized by promoting a value‐based organizational culture. , – This paper's findings suggest that organizations might better manage reputation and minimize external employee dissent by focussing on communications that foster a value‐driven organizational culture, rather than by implementing formal limits or policies to control dissent. , – This paper offers policy analysis that fulfills an identified gap in knowledge in terms of general day‐to‐day practise when it comes to advising Canada's federal employees regarding their rights and responsibilities, and offers some challenges to traditional theories that suggest employee choices regarding dissent are primarily based on individual self‐interest or self‐actualization.
Brain natriuretic peptide a predictive marker in cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND BNP which stands for B-type natriuretic peptide is a cardiac neurohormone and is secreted in response to myocardial stress and causes natriuresis and vasodilatation. Studies have reported close correlation between a high concentration of BNP in blood and worse short-term and long-term prognosis following myocardial infarction and heart failure. In this study, we have tested its usefulness and predictive value in the outcome post cardiac surgery. METHODS Between March 2006 and June 2007, 141 patients, undergoing cardiac surgery, were enrolled in this study. Their BNP concentration was measured prior to the operation and their comorbidities were examined against their BNP levels. Postoperatively their outcome was closely monitored. Main clinical endpoints were atrial fibrillation (AF), inotrope use, renal impairment, early deaths and hospital stay. RESULTS Some preoperative comorbidities, such as renal impairment, peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and low ejection fraction (EF) were associated with higher BNP level. Statistically, EuroSCORE and Parsonnet score showed significant correlation with preoperative BNP concentration (P<0.0001). Postoperatively, high-BNP concentration predicted inotropic use, higher than baseline creatinine level, longer ventilation time, longer hospital stay and early mortality (P<0.05) but our study did not reveal any predictive value for BNP in identifying those developing AF or infection postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS BNP is a valuable biochemical marker, which is easy to measure and can be beneficial in predicting the operative outcome.
IS THE CORPORATE DIVERSIFICATION DECISION A FINANCIAL MATTER ?

A related stream of inquiry to the traditionally relation between product diversification and value, concerns the understanding of why firms diversify. It is controversial the reason why firms diversify considering that, often, diversified firms are priced at a discount. To explore the diversification drivers can support the understanding of the value’s effect of diversification. Previous empirical studies have not yet answered the basic knowledge problem about why firms diversify and what affects this choice. Although several determinants of diversification have been examined in prior research, the role of financial factors, and the way they affect diversification decision, are not fully scrutinized. A prolific literature reveals space for further research. In particular, the role of financial variables can be scrutinized through two competing arguments based on the agency perspective and on the role of the internal capital market. In the agency perspective the diversification decision, determined by managerial discretionary and opportunistic behaviours, generates inefficiency and a reduction in the firm’s value. Vice versa, in the internal capital market perspective, managers promote, through the diversification, efficient process and value-enhancing
Functional Neurorehabilitation in Dogs with Cervical Neurologic Lesion

Neurologic lesions in dogs may have countless causes and can occur, for example, in cervical region. Two different motor systems can be affected and, either one, can seriously compromise the animal’s autonomy. In both cases, functional neurorehabilitation has been included in these cases treatment plan. In the present master dissertation, we aimed to evaluate how the success in the rehabilitation of these animals can be influenced by the dog’s characteristics, the disease, the type of treatment and the time elapsed between the initial lesion and the start of the functional neurorehabilitation. A clinical study was performed, with 22 dogs with diagnosed cervical neurologic lesion. Conservative or surgical treatment was performed and the dogs were subjected to a functional neurorehabilitation protocol, elaborated at the Centro de Reabilitacao Animal da Arrabida, where the type of lesion, patient characteristics, deficits presented at the entrance and exit from the Center and time elapsed between the lesion and the entrance and the exit of the Center, were evaluated. There were no significant differences between the affected motor systems and the deficits presented or recovery time. Still, the type of treatment was related with etiology, where, generally, congenital and traumatic cases have been submitted to conservative treatment, while surgical treatment was mostly performed in degenerative and multifactorial cases. In concerning to deficits at the entrance of the Center and the type of treatment, surgical management was mostly applied in non-ambulatory tetraparesic patients, while conservative management was mostly performed in tetraplegic dogs or with other neurologic deficits. We conclude that functional neurorehabilitation had a primary role in this patient’s recovery, allowing 72.8% returning to functionality and regain autonomy, avoiding a more radical outcome.