Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thailand's openness and implications for economic and trade policy: an econometric study

Thailand is currently enhancing and promoting intensive trade and investment liberalisation, and has implemented a long-term growth policy in accordance with current regional economic integration, World Trade Organisation obligations and globalisation. Nevertheless, several recent internal and external factors such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and avian flu outbreaks, the Indian Ocean tsunami devastation, the Asian financial crisis and domestic economic policy reforms and political instability as well as military coups have affected the efficiency and success of this policy. While these issues have been important for Thailand and developing countries in Asia, only limited quantitative or evidence-based research has been undertaken to investigate them. Consequently, it has been very interesting to undertake modelling and policy-based research on this subject. Therefore, this study aims to develop an appropriate econometric model for Thailand to study the impact of openness on the country’s trade and growth to provide plausible policy implications and recommendations.
EVIDENCE FOR ACCRETION IN A NEARBY, YOUNG BROWN DWARF

We report on the discovery of the young, nearby, brown dwarf 2MASS J0041353−562112. The object has a spectral type of M7.5; it shows Li absorption and signatures of accretion, which implies that it still has a disk and suggests an age below 10 Myr. The space motion vector and position on the sky indicate that the brown dwarf is probably a member of the ∼20 Myr old Tuc-Hor association, or that it may be an ejected member of the ∼12 Myr old β Pic association; both would imply that 2MASS J0041353−562112 may in fact be older than 10 Myr. No accreting star or brown dwarf was previously known in these associations. Assuming an age of 10 Myr, the brown dwarf has a mass of about 30 MJup and is located at 35 pc distance. The newly discovered object is the closest accreting brown dwarf known. Its membership to an association older than 10 Myr implies that either disks in brown dwarfs can survive as long as in more massive stars, perhaps even longer, or that star formation in Tuc-Hor or β Pic occurred more recently than previously thought. The history and evolution of this object can provide new fundamental insight into the formation process of stars, brown dwarfs, and planets.
Genetic Variability Among Three Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) Varieties as Revealed by Morphological Traits and RAPD Markers

Basil is used as culinary herb and assigned as medicine and spice plant. In order to evaluate some morphological variability and RAPD analysis for herb growth and oil yield characters among three varieties (French, Purple and Lemon basils), an experiment was conducted in two seasons (2010-2011) over two cuts in complete randomized blocks design. The analysis of variance showed highly significant differences among varieties and cuts in studied characters. Ranges of herb dry yield were (68.40-86.30g), oil percent (2.30-2.90 ml.) and oil yield (1.22-2.24 ml.). The highest values of genotypic coefficients of variation (G.C.V %), genetic advance (GA) and broad sense heritability (h b) were obtained for stem dry weight, linear growth, herb dry 2 weight and leaf dry weight. The study reflected the importance of herb dry yield and essential oil percent as selection criteria for improvement oil yield in sweet basil. Varieties were analyzed through RAPD markers with five random primers to determine the extent of molecular characterization. The results showed 58 amplified fragments which ranged from 2010 to 80 bp. , 26 of them were polymorphic (44.83 %) and the other 32 amplified were monomorphic. Our observations suggested that morphological variability and RAPD analysis could help in identifying genetic variations among different varieties of basil, help in plant improvement and develop a well-organized way to conserve the genetic wealth of basil varieties.
Effects of Type 2 Diabetes on Insulin Secretion, Insulin Action, Glucose Effectiveness, and Postprandial Glucose Metabolism

OBJECTIVE In this study, we sought to determine whether postprandial insulin secretion, insulin action, glucose effectiveness, and glucose turnover were abnormal in type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Fourteen subjects with type 2 diabetes and 11 nondiabetic subjects matched for age, weight, and BMI underwent a mixed-meal test using the triple-tracer technique. Indexes of insulin secretion, insulin action, and glucose effectiveness were assessed using the oral “minimal” and C-peptide models. RESULTS Fasting and postprandial glucose concentrations were higher in the diabetic than nondiabetic subjects. Although peak insulin secretion was delayed (P < 0.001) and lower (P < 0.05) in type 2 diabetes, the integrated total postprandial insulin response did not differ between groups. Insulin action, insulin secretion, disposition indexes, and glucose effectiveness all were lower (P < 0.05) in diabetic than in nondiabetic subjects. Whereas the rate of meal glucose appearance did not differ between groups, the percent suppression of endogenous glucose production (EGP) was slightly delayed and the increment in glucose disappearance was substantially lower (P < 0.01) in diabetic subjects during the first 3 h after meal ingestion. Together, these defects resulted in an excessive rise in postprandial glucose concentrations in the diabetic subjects. CONCLUSIONS When measured using methods that avoid non–steady-state error, the rate of appearance of ingested glucose was normal and suppression of EGP was only minimally impaired. However, when considered in light of the prevailing glucose concentration, both were abnormal. In contrast, rates of postprandial glucose disappearance were substantially decreased due to defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, and glucose effectiveness.
Psychological Predictors of Problematic Involvement in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games: Illustration in a Sample of Male Cybercafé Players

Background: Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) are video games in which a large number of players interact with one another in a persistent virtual world. MMORPGs can become problematic and result in negative outcomes in daily living (e.g. loss of control on gaming behaviors, compromised social and individual quality of life). The aim of the present study is to investigate psychological predictors of problematic involvement in MMORPGs. Sampling and Methods: Fifty-four males who played MMORPGs regularly were recruited in cybercafés and screened using the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale (which assesses 4 facets of impulsivity) and the Motivation to Play Online Questionnaire (which assesses personal motives to play online). Negative consequences due to excessive time spent on the Internet were assessed with the Internet Addiction Test. Results: Multiple regression analysis showed that problematic use of MMORPGs is significantly predicted by: (1) high urgency (b = 0.45), and (2) a motivation to play for immersion (b = 0.35). Conclusion: This study showed that, for certain individuals (who are characterized by a proneness to act rashly in emotional contexts and motivated to play to be immersed in a virtual world), involvement in MMORPGs can become problematic and engender tangible negative consequences in daily life.
SASI ACTIVITY IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL NEUTRINO-HYDRODYNAMICS SIMULATIONS OF SUPERNOVA CORES

The relevance of the standing accretion shock instability (SASI) compared to neutrino-driven convection in three-dimensional (3D) supernova-core environments is still highly controversial. Studying a 27 M☉ progenitor, we demonstrate, for the first time, that violent SASI activity can develop in 3D simulations with detailed neutrino transport despite the presence of convection. This result was obtained with the Prometheus-Vertex code with the same sophisticated neutrino treatment so far used only in one-dimensional and two-dimensional (2D) models. While buoyant plumes initially determine the nonradial mass motions in the postshock layer, bipolar shock sloshing with growing amplitude sets in during a phase of shock retraction and turns into a violent spiral mode whose growth is only quenched when the infall of the Si/SiO interface leads to strong shock expansion in response to a dramatic decrease of the mass accretion rate. In the phase of large-amplitude SASI sloshing and spiral motions, the postshock layer exhibits nonradial deformation dominated by the lowest-order spherical harmonics (ℓ = 1, m = 0, ±1) in distinct contrast to the higher multipole structures associated with neutrino-driven convection. We find that the SASI amplitudes, shock asymmetry, and nonradial kinetic energy in three dimensions can exceed those of the corresponding 2D case during extended periods of the evolution. We also perform parameterized 3D simulations of a 25 M☉ progenitor, using a simplified, gray neutrino transport scheme, an axis-free Yin-Yang grid, and different amplitudes of random seed perturbations. They confirm the importance of the SASI for another progenitor, its independence of the choice of spherical grid, and its preferred growth for fast accretion flows connected to small shock radii and compact proto-neutron stars as previously found in 2D setups.
The shape of hyperbolic Dehn surgery space

In this paper we develop a new theory of infinitesimal harmonic deformations for compact hyperbolic 3-manifolds with ``tubular boundary''. In particular, this applies to complements of tubes of radius at least $R_0 = \arctanh(1/\sqrt{3}) \approx 0.65848$ around the singular set of hyperbolic cone manifolds, removing the previous restrictions on cone angles. We then apply this to obtain a new quantitative version of Thurston's hyperbolic Dehn surgery theorem, showing that all generalized Dehn surgery coefficients outside a disc of ``uniform'' size yield hyperbolic structures. Here the size of a surgery coefficient is measured using the Euclidean metric on a horospherical cross section to a cusp in the complete hyperbolic metric, rescaled to have area 1. We also obtain good estimates on the change in geometry (e.g. volumes and core geodesic lengths) during hyperbolic Dehn filling. This new harmonic deformation theory has also been used by Bromberg and his coworkers in their proofs of the Bers Density Conjecture for Kleinian groups.
The study on China's carbon tax policy to mitigate climate change.

Carbon tax was an effective policy tool to cope with the climate change and promote energy saving and emission reduction. A Computable General Equilibrium Model was set up to simulate the influence of levy carbon tax on China's macro-economy, energy saving and CO2 emission reduction. Low rate carbon tax was a feasible option in China's near future. Lower carbon tax rate have smaller influence on the economic development of China, but can lead to obvious CO2 emission reduction. In order to build China’s carbon tax system, implement the targets of energy-saving and emission reduction, a carbon tax implementation scheme was designed.
Neighborhood Choice and Neighborhood Change1

This article examines the relationships between the residential choices of individuals and aggregate segregation patterns. Analyses based on computational models show that high levels of segregation occur only when individuals’ preferences follow a threshold function. If individuals make finer‐grained distinctions among neighborhoods that vary in racial composition, preferences alone do not lead to segregation. Vignette data indicate that individuals respond in a continuous way to variations in the racial makeup of neighborhoods rather than to a threshold. Race preferences alone may be insufficient to account for the high levels of segregation observed in American cities.
Children's rights in residential care homes in Taiwan

There are approximately 2000 children living in residential care homes in Taiwan, the result of child abuse, neglect and youth offending. Available literature on residential care in Taiwan focuses on the role of professional workers, and little is known about the experiences of Taiwanese children in residential care. Despite falling outside the family of the United Nations, the notion of children’s rights is articulated in Taiwanese legislation and public policy on child welfare. This offers a strong rationale to explore experiences of children’s rights in Taiwanese children’s homes. An ethnographic approach involving i) participant observation, ii) participatory group activities and iii) semi structured interviews with 50 children was adopted in one public and one private children’s home. Drawing on theoretical and conceptual frameworks of children’s rights, happiness and resilience, the use of mixed methods facilitated a rich understanding of children’s experiences of life in residential care and their understandings and experiences of children’s rights. The findings reveal that while children’s basic survival rights are met, a reality of strict routine and punitive discipline led the children to express their need for supportive companionship (expressed by some children as ‘love’), privacy and freedom to pursue individual interests. The tension between children’s expressed needs and the institutional regimes within which they experienced daily life reflected the cultural values of Confucian familism with expectations of unquestioning obedience to adults. The research also revealed that the children were not only capable of, but also showed enthusiasm for articulating their understanding and experiences of children’s rights and in doing so demonstrated their potential to contribute to the development of social policy and social work practice in Taiwan. This research contributes to the field of social work relating to the nature and development of resilience in children living in residential care homes, and to ongoing debates on the value and reality of children’s rights to be heard and participate in all matters that affect their lives.
Rotation-invariant appearance based maps for robot navigation using an artificial immune network algorithm

The treatment of image data for robotic applications such as navigation, path planning and localization has always been problematic when working in image space (using the appearance of the environment) rather than in Cartesian space (using the geometry of the environment). This is due to both computational overhead introduced by the large amount of data that needs to be manipulated and the high-dimensionality of the image space. We present results from an approach using an artificial immune network construction algorithm which dramatically reduces the dimensionality of the image space and generates network structures useful for navigation and localization. The technique uses the artificial immune network mechanism to link images with similar properties, thus corresponding to similar poses of the robot, into a network which can be displayed in two dimensions. This generates an intuitive representation of the environment which the robot has experienced in a way which can also be traversed in order to perform path-planning in the space of visual experiences. A network generated as a mobile robot moves around in its environment is presented, and related topologically to the movements made by the robot. Properties of the networks produced are discussed with relation to the visual complexity of the environment experienced by the robot. In general, regions of the environment which appear homogeneous produce fewer nodes and edges in the network, and regions of a more heterogeneous appearance produce denser, more highly connected network structures.
NF-κB and AP-1 Connection: Mechanism of NF-κB-Dependent Regulation of AP-1 Activity

ABSTRACT Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and activator protein 1 (AP-1) transcription factors regulate many important biological and pathological processes. Activation of NF-κB is regulated by the inducible phosphorylation of NF-κB inhibitor IκB by IκB kinase. In contrast, Fos, a key component of AP-1, is primarily transcriptionally regulated by serum responsive factors (SRFs) and ternary complex factors (TCFs). Despite these different regulatory mechanisms, there is an intriguing possibility that NF-κB and AP-1 may modulate each other, thus expanding the scope of these two rapidly inducible transcription factors. To determine whether NF-κB activity is involved in the regulation of fos expression in response to various stimuli, we analyzed activity of AP-1 and expression of fos, fosB, fra-1, fra-2, jun, junB, and junD, as well as AP-1 downstream target gene VEGF, using MDAPanc-28 and MDAPanc-28/IκBαM pancreatic tumor cells and wild-type, IKK1−/−, and IKK2−/− murine embryonic fibroblast cells. Our results show that elk-1, a member of TCFs, is one of the NF-κB downstream target genes. Inhibition of NF-κB activity greatly decreased expression of elk-1. Consequently, the reduced level of activated Elk-1 protein by extracellular signal-regulated kinase impeded constitutive, serum-, and superoxide-inducible c-fos expression. Thus, our study revealed a distinct and essential role of NF-κB in participating in the regulation of elk-1, c-fos, and VEGF expression.
Survival of women with ovarian carcinomas and borderline tumors is not affected by estrogen and progesterone receptor status

Objective To examine the patterns of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) expression in borderline ovarian tumors (BOTs) and ovarian carcinomas. We also assessed the disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in women with ovarian carcinoma, in relation to ER and/or PR expression. Methods We examined ER/PR expression in 38 BOTs and 172 ovarian carcinomas removed from patients treated at the State University of Campinas-UNICAMP (Brazil), from 1993 to 2008 and followed for up to 60 months using tissue microarray-based immunohistochemistry. Results Twenty-eight (73.7%) mucinous and 10 (26.3%) serous BOTs were included. Ovarian carcinomas consisted mainly of 79 (46.0%) serous, 44 (25.5%) mucinous, 17 (9.8%) endometrioid, 10 (5.8%) clear-cell types. There was no significant difference of the ER/PR expression between BOT and ovarian carcinoma (p=0.55 for ER alone, 0.90 for PR alone, and 0.12 for combined expression). The level of ER/PR expression in BOTs was significantly higher in serous than in mucinous tumors (p<0.01). In carcinomas, ER/PR was higher in serous tumors than in mucinous (p<0.01) and clear cell tumors (p=0.02), and higher in endometrioid tumors than in mucinous tumors (p<0.01). DFS was affected neither by the clinical characteristics nor by combined steroid receptor status. OS was found to be significantly worse (p<0.01) only in women with stages II-IV tumors and those with residual disease after surgery (p<0.01). Conclusion Overall, serous and endometrioid tumors were predominantly ER/PR positive, whereas mucinous and clear-cell tumors were preponderantly ER/PR negative. DFS and OS were not affected by ER/PR expression.
Trafficking of Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger to the Site of Persistent Inflammation in Nociceptive Afferents

Persistent inflammation results in an increase in the amplitude and duration of depolarization-evoked Ca2+ transients in putative nociceptive afferents. Previous data indicated that these changes were the result of neither increased neuronal excitability nor an increase in the amplitude of depolarization. Subsequent data also ruled out an increase in voltage-gated Ca2+ currents and recruitment of Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release. Parametric studies indicated that the inflammation-induced increase in the duration of the evoked Ca2+ transient required a relatively large and long-lasting increase in the concentration of intracellular Ca2+ implicating the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX), a major Ca2+ extrusion mechanism activated with high intracellular Ca2+ loads. The contribution of NCX to the inflammation-induced increase in the evoked Ca2+ transient in rat sensory neurons was tested using fura-2 AM imaging and electrophysiological recordings. Changes in NCX expression and protein were assessed with real-time PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. An inflammation-induced decrease in NCX activity was observed in a subpopulation of putative nociceptive neurons innervating the site of inflammation. The time course of the decrease in NCX activity paralleled that of the inflammation-induced changes in nociceptive behavior. The change in NCX3 in the cell body was associated with a decrease in NCX3 protein in the ganglia, an increase in the peripheral nerve (sciatic) yet no change in the central root. This single response to inflammation is associated with changes in at least three different segments of the primary afferent, all of which are likely to contribute to the dynamic response to persistent inflammation.
A 60 dB Bulk-Driven Rail-to-Rail Input/Output OTA

In this paper, an ultra low voltage ultra low powerbulk-driven operational-transconductance-amplifier (OTA) isproposed. The proposed OTA operates at power supply of 0.35 Vwith bias current of 25nA and power dissipation in the circuit isbelow 40nW. Simulation results for the OTA shows that circuitachieves gain of 60 dB and 83.2° phase margin (PM) with unitygain bandwidth (UGB) of 31.6 KHz. Proposed OTA is capable ofdriving loads up to 22 pF and has rail-to-rail output swing andICMR. The proposed circuit is also tested for voltage followerand integrator application.
Enhancing Learner Self-Esteem for Learning Improvements

In this paper, we propose to integrate the self esteem component within learning process. The goal was to introduce a new strategy to enhance learner self esteem while interacting with a tutoring system. This approach is based on a subliminal, non consciously perceived, self esteem conditioning priming method. We conducted an experimental study to measure the effect of this strategy on participant self esteem and analyze its impact on learning performance. We have also monitored participants’ physiological activity to analyze the effects of our approach on learner affective state.
Bias in Quarterly Estimates of Annual Effective Tax Rates and Earnings Management Incentives

ABSTRACT: We investigate whether quarterly annual effective tax rate (ETR) estimates are systematically biased in comparison to year-end actual ETRs. We find that estimated annual ETRs in the first, second, and third quarters are systematically higher than year-end ETRs. We then investigate whether firms' overstatement of quarterly ETRs creates slack that is used for earnings management. We find that quarterly ETR increases are more likely to be reversed in subsequent quarters when firms would have missed their analysts' earnings forecast absent the reversal. Finally, we show that in the years subsequent to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), changes in the ETR continue to be associated with earnings management. These results, documenting patterns of annual ETR estimates and revisions, contribute to research about how earnings management is accomplished. JEL Classifications: H25; M41.
Audio Analysis using the Discrete Wavelet Transform

The Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is a transformation that can be used to analyze the temporal and spectral properties of non-stationary signals like audio. In this paper we describe some applications of the DWT to the problem of extracting information from non-speech audio. More specifically automatic classification of various types of audio using the DWT is described and compared with other traditional feature extractors proposed in the literature. In addition, a technique for detecting the beat attributes of music is presented. Both synthetic and real world stimuli were used to evaluate the performance of the beat detection algorithm. Key-Words: audio analysis, wavelets, classification, beat extraction