Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time-series Properties of Earnings and Their Relationship with Stock Prices in Brazil

The aim of this paper is to analyze the firm-specific time-series properties of quarterly accounting earnings from 1995 to 2009. Based on the earning time-series process it is possible to develop robust forecasting models and to test the ability to approximate real capital market behaviour using accounting data. By analysing 71 listed Brazilian companies, we found evidence that the time series of quarterly accounting earnings in Brazil follow an autoregressive model (AR) and can be estimated (modelled) by using a seasonal component. Additionally, we found a significant relationship between earnings and stock prices, although the direction of the causality is not generally defined, which suggests that the earnings-return relationship must be analyzed at the firm-specific level.
Food demand, uncertainty and investments in human capital : three essays on rural Andhra Pradesh, India

This dissertation provides some explanations of the causes of poverty in rural India, by investigating poverty determinants that are too often neglected in the literature and in policy debates. It proceeds in three main chapters, each addressing a specific research question. The first chapter focuses on the process of agricultural transformation in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In the early stages of economic development, all countries undergo a process of transformation of their production and employment structure. As a result, agricultural output as a share of total GDP decreases, as does rural employment as a share of total employment. Over the last 50 years, the share of agriculture in total output has considerably declined in Andhra Pradesh. However, the agricultural sector continues to employ the great majority of the labour force. The theoretical section of this chapter shows how structural change is affected by the characteristics of food demand and by income inequality. The empirical analysis, using novel semiparametric methods, estimates food Engel curves and food elasticities, which are used to simulate the effects on changes in income distribution on the composition of demand. The second chapter analyses the stabilising effect of irrigation on household expenditure. The expansion of irrigation infrastructure, together with the introduction of hybrid seeds and chemical fertilisers, was the most important technological advancement in Indian agriculture of the last 50 years. The positive impact of irrigation on income of rural households has been extensively documented, but its stabilising effect has been largely neglected. The first part of the chapter builds a theoretical model that establishes the causal links between access to irrigation, income stability, and consumption smoothing over the seasonal cycle. The empirical analysis assesses the stabilising impact of irrigation on expenditure using modern impact evaluation techniques. The findings indicate that consumption patterns of households with access to irrigation are more stable over the seasonal cycle and over the years. The third chapter studies the effect of income uncertainty on educational choices made by the rural poor. It investigates the demand side of education in order to understand why a large number of rural children do not enrol or complete primary education. The theoretical part of the chapter presents an inter-temporal consumption model that shows how the expectation of income variability negatively affects household expenditure on education. The empirical analysis uses a duration model with time covariates in order to estimate the determinants of child progress in school, and provides evidence that income variability negatively affects investments in education.
Comparison between refraction measured by Spot Vision ScreeningTM and subjective clinical refractometry

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of Spot Vision ScreeningTM as an autorefractor by comparing refraction measurements to subjective clinical refractometry results in children and adult patients. METHODS: One-hundred and thirty-four eyes of 134 patients were submitted to refractometry by Spot and clinical refractometry under cycloplegia. Patients, students, physicians, staff and children of staff from the Hospital das Clínicas (School of Medicine, University of São Paulo) aged 7-50 years without signs of ocular disease were examined. Only right-eye refraction data were analyzed. The findings were converted in magnitude vectors for analysis. RESULTS: The difference between Spot Vision ScreeningTM and subjective clinical refractometry expressed in spherical equivalents was +0.66±0.56 diopters (D), +0.16±0.27 D for the vector projected on the 90 axis and +0.02±0.15 D for the oblique vector. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the statistical significance of the difference between the two methods, we consider the difference non-relevant in a clinical setting, supporting the use of Spot Vision ScreeningTM as an ancillary method for estimating refraction.
How determinant attributes of service quality influence customer-perceived value: an empirical investigation of the Australian coffee outlet industry.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate empirically how the determinant attributes of coffee quality, service, food and beverage, and extra benefits influenced customer‐perceived value in the coffee outlet industry.Design/methodology/approach – A self‐administrated questionnaire was distributed to 834 respondents from chain and independent coffee outlets for the study. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify which factors of determinant attributes of service quality influenced customer‐perceived value.Findings – The study found that factors of determinant attributes of service quality significantly influenced functional and symbolic dimensions of perceived value with the former being related with coffee quality, service, and food and beverage, whereas the latter is positively related with coffee quality, food and beverage, and extra benefits.Practical implications – The paper bears significant theoretical and practical results. Theoretically, determinant attributes of service quali.
Genomic epidemiology of the Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreaks in Europe, 2011

The degree to which molecular epidemiology reveals information about the sources and transmission patterns of an outbreak depends on the resolution of the technology used and the samples studied. Isolates of Escherichia coli O104:H4 from the outbreak centered in Germany in May–July 2011, and the much smaller outbreak in southwest France in June 2011, were indistinguishable by standard tests. We report a molecular epidemiological analysis using multiplatform whole-genome sequencing and analysis of multiple isolates from the German and French outbreaks. Isolates from the German outbreak showed remarkably little diversity, with only two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) found in isolates from four individuals. Surprisingly, we found much greater diversity (19 SNPs) in isolates from seven individuals infected in the French outbreak. The German isolates form a clade within the more diverse French outbreak strains. Moreover, five isolates derived from a single infected individual from the French outbreak had extremely limited diversity. The striking difference in diversity between the German and French outbreak samples is consistent with several hypotheses, including a bottleneck that purged diversity in the German isolates, variation in mutation rates in the two E. coli outbreak populations, or uneven distribution of diversity in the seed populations that led to each outbreak.
Article in Press Pattern Recognition Multiple View Semi-supervised Dimensionality Reduction

Pattern Recognition ()-Multiple view data, together with some domain knowledge in the form of pairwise constraints, arise in various data mining applications. How to learn a hidden consensus pattern in the low dimensional space is a challenging problem. In this paper, we propose a new method for multiple view semi-supervised dimensionality reduction. The pairwise constraints are used to derive embedding in each view and simultaneously , the linear transformation is introduced to make different embeddings from different pattern spaces comparable. Hence, the consensus pattern can be learned from multiple embeddings of multiple representations. We derive an iterating algorithm to solve the above problem. Some theoretical analyses and out-of-sample extensions are also provided. Promising experiments on various data sets, together with some important discussions, are also presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Stock Price Volatility and Political Uncertainty: Evidence from the Interwar Period

The extreme levels of stock price volatility found during the Great Depression have often been attributed to political uncertainty. This paper performs an explicit test of the Merton/Schwert hypothesis that doubts about the survival of the capitalist system were partly responsible. It does so by using a panel data set on political unrest, demonstrations and other indicators of instability in a set of 10 developed countries during the interwar period. I show that political risks themselves changed dramatically over the period, and are sufficient to account for a large part of the increase in volatility during the Great Depression. This conclusion is robust to a number of alternative specifications. I derive rolling estimates of the risk of revolution, and demonstrate that the strong reaction to incidents of worker militancy such as strikes and riots can be rationalized as a sensible reaction to the risk of expropriation.
CDM potential of wind power projects in India

So far, the cumulative installed capacity of wind power projects in India is far below their gross potential (E 15%) despite very high level of policy support, tax benefits, long term financing schemes etc, for more than 10 years etc. One of the major barriers is the high costs of investments in these systems. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol provides industrialized countries with an incentive to invest in emission reduction projects in developing countries to achieve a reduction in CO2 emissions at lowest cost that also promotes sustainable development in the host country. Wind power projects could be of interest under the CDM because they directly displace greenhouse gas emissions while contributing to sustainable rural development, if developed correctly. Our estimates indicate that there is a vast theoretical potential of CO2 mitigation by the use of wind energy in India. The annual CER potential of wind power in India could theoretically reach 86 million tonnes. Under more realistic assumptions about diffusion of wind power projects based on past experiences with the government-run programmes, annual CER volumes by 2012 could reach 41 to 67 million and 78 to 83 million by 2020. The projections based on the past diffusion trend indicate that in India, even with highly favorable assumptions, the dissemination of wind power projects is not likely to reach its maximum estimated potential in another 15 years. CDM could help to achieve the maximum utilization potential more rapidly as compared to the current diffusion trend if supportive policies are introduced.
Affective temperament profile in ankylosing spondylitis patients using TEMPS-A

[Purpose] This study aimed to compare the most common dominant affective temperaments in Ankylosing Spondylitis patients and investigate the relationship between the dominant affective temperaments and pain levels, disease activity, quality of life, current depression, and anxiety level in Ankylosing Spondylitis patients. [Subjects and Methods] Fifty-one patients diagnosed with axial spondiloartropathy and forty-two age- and gender-matched control subjects were included in this study. Disease duration, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum C-reactive protein, pain by the Visual Analog Scale, disease activity by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index, functional status by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index; psychological status by the Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory and overall health assessment by the Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life Scale were assessed in patients. The Turkish version of the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Auto Questionnaire was used to determine the dominant affective temperament. [Results] There was no statistical difference in the distribution of temperament subtypes between patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis and the controls. Depressive, anxious, and cyclothymic temperament scores were higher in patients with high values on the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index and Visual Analog Scale. There was a correlation between anxious subtypes of affective temperament scores and the value of Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life Scale. Correlation analysis also found depressive, cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious temperament and psychiatric symptoms to be significantly related. [Conclusion] Affective temperament may contribute to symptoms of depression and anxiety in patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis and may increase disease activity and may reduce their quality of life.
Measuring Synchronisation and Scheduling Overheads in OpenMP

| Overheads due to synchronisation and loop scheduling are an important factor in determining the performance of shared memory parallel programs. We present set of benchmarks to measure these classes of overhead for language constructs in OpenMP. Results are presented for three diierent hardware platforms, each with its own implementation of OpenMP. Signiicant diierences are observed, which suggest possible means of improving performance.
Computer-Aided Personalised System of Instruction for Teaching Mathematics in an Online Learning Environment

This paper presents a case study of a university discrete mathematics course with over 170 students who had access to an online learning environment (OLE) that included a variety of online tools, such as videos, self-tests, discussion boards, and lecture notes. The course is based on the ideas of the Personalised System of Instruction (PSI) modified to take advantage of an OLE. Students’ learning is initially examined over a period of two years, and compared with that in a more traditionally taught part of the course. To examine students’ behaviour, learning strategies, attitudes and performance, both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used as a mixed methodology approach, including in-depth interviews (N=9), controlled laboratory observations (N=8), surveys (N=243), diary studies (N=10), classroom observations, recording online usage behaviour, and learning assessments. In addition, students’ attitude and performance in two consecutive years where PSI was applied to the entire course provides further understanding that is again in favour of PSI in the context of OLE. The paper aims to increase understanding of whether PSI, supported by an OLE, could enhance student appreciation and achievement as findings suggest.
The MAC unreliability problem in IEEE 802.15.4 wireless sensor networks

In recent years, the number of sensor network deployments for real-life applications has rapidly increased and it is expected to expand even more in the near future. Actually, for a credible deployment in a real environment three properties need to be fulfilled, i.e., energy efficiency, scalability and reliability. In this paper we focus on IEEE 802.15. 4 sensor networks and show that they can suffer from a serious MAC unreliability problem, also in an ideal environment where transmission errors never occur. This problem arises whenever power management is enabled - for improving the energy efficiency - and results in a very low delivery ratio, even when the number of nodes in the network is very low (e.g., 5). We carried out an extensive analysis, based on simulations and real measurements, to investigate the ultimate reasons of this problem. We found that it is caused by the default MAC parameter setting suggested by the 802.15. 4 standard. We also found that, with a more appropriate parameter setting, it is possible to achieve the desired level of reliability (as well as a better energy efficiency). However, in some scenarios this is possible only by choosing parameter values formally not allowed by the standard.
Divide and Conquer: A Theory of Intraday and Day-of-the-Week Mean Effects

This article develops a model in which patterns in buy and sell volume, order imbalances, and expected price changes arise endogenously. The model covers cases in which the market maker is competitive and is a monopolist. Our results provide an explanation for the existence of patterns in mean returns within the trading day and across trading days. Article published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Financial Studies in its journal, The Review of Financial Studies.
Child-targeted tax-benefit reform in Spain in a European context: a microsimulation analysis using EUROMOD

Spain has one of the lowest expenditures on family social protection, the third highest child poverty and the second lowest fertility rate in the EU. The objective of this paper is to identify and assess tax-benefit reforms that could improve this situation. Using the European microsimulation model EUROMOD, this paper compares the child-targeted policies of four EU countries to those recently reformed in Spain. It also analyses the effect that the policies of these countries would have if applied in Spain. Results show that recent reforms have increased considerably the expenditure on child-targeted policies. However, in contrast to the other analysed countries the new Spanish system mainly benefits higher income families and has a low poverty reduction effect.
Factors affecting quits and layoffs in Spain

During the last decade, unemployment rates in the European Union have been higher than in other regions, e.g., the United States, and these are even higher in Spain. It has been argued that the different degrees of labour mobility between the European and the American labour markets can account for the differences in the pattern observed. This paper follows the McLaughlin's model (1991) and provides empirical evidence regarding the factors determining quits and layoffs due to contract termination and non-renewal in Spain, following the efficient-turnover theory and wage flexibility. The data was obtained from the Spanish Household Panel Survey (PHOGUE) conducted by the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE 1995). Our evidence, on the one hand, indicates that workers' characteristics influence on the probability of changing job. On the other hand, the influency of the factors affecting labour mobility is different depending on whether job separation was triggered by quits or layoffs.
Wave-based Simulation of Wind Instrument Resonators

This article focuses on modular, wave-based, discrete-time modeling of the resonator oscillations. The main advantage of using a wave-based approach is that it explicitly simulates the way in which waves build up in a real instrument and therefore inherently yields a spatial representation. The wave-based approach also happens to be computationally efficient, mainly due to the fact that lossless traveling of waves in 1-D waveguides can be implemented with very few arithmetic operations
Econometric modelling for agricultural policy analysis and forecasting: between theory and reality

The inherent characteristics of the agricultural sector, like price instability, time lag between decisions and the resultant outputs, and risk and certainty, necessitate the development of econometric models for policy analysis and forecasting. The need for accurate forecasts and an empirical tool for policy evaluation are reinforced as the sector undergoes structural changes and becomes complex due to trade liberalization, globalisation, technological advances, and consumers’ changing tastes and preferences. Econometric models have long been viewed as a valuable aid to deal with this apparent complexity. The contribution of econometric models to the analysis of the agricultural sector, in Malaysia and in other countries, has been significant. The models generate quantitative forecasts and enhance the ability of those involved in planning and policy-making in evaluating the effects of policy changes. The models, however, have limitations since models represent an abstraction of a rather complex real world. This lecture therefore attempts to discuss the theory and the reality of the econometric modelling of agricultural commodity for policy analysis and forecasting. Agricultural commodity markets are complex, often with many actors and sectors involved in production, consumption, inventory holding, capacity formation, and trade, and also the competitive nature of the overall market structure. Although the theoretical framework of econometric modelling is easy, the reality can be challenging since the empirical content of the model must not only reflect the essential structure of the model, but also the behaviour of government in imposing policy interventions. Given the enormity of the task, model applications should be improved in the direction of employing newer approaches to market and policy simulation, and forecasting works should embody new probabilistic approaches for evaluating risk impacts. Continued work is also needed on the means of incorporating the effects of changing input prices, such as energy and technological developments on the supply side, and new products and changing tastes on the demand side.
Mathematical Model Approach to Describe Tumour Response in Mice After Vaccine Administration and its Applicability to Immune-Stimulatory Cytokine-Based Strategies

Immunotherapy is a growing therapeutic strategy in oncology based on the stimulation of innate and adaptive immune systems to induce the death of tumour cells. In this paper, we have developed a population semi-mechanistic model able to characterize the mechanisms implied in tumour growth dynamic after the administration of CyaA-E7, a vaccine able to target antigen to dendritic cells, thus triggering a potent immune response. The mathematical model developed presented the following main components: (1) tumour progression in the animals without treatment was described with a linear model, (2) vaccine effects were modelled assuming that vaccine triggers a non-instantaneous immune response inducing cell death. Delayed response was described with a series of two transit compartments, (3) a resistance effect decreasing vaccine efficiency was also incorporated through a regulator compartment dependent upon tumour size, and (4) a mixture model at the level of the elimination of the induced signal vaccine (k2) to model tumour relapse after treatment, observed in a small percentage of animals (15.6%). The proposed model structure was successfully applied to describe antitumor effect of IL-12, suggesting its applicability to different immune-stimulatory therapies. In addition, a simulation exercise to evaluate in silico the impact on tumour size of possible combination therapies has been shown. This type of mathematical approaches may be helpful to maximize the information obtained from experiments in mice, reducing the number of animals and the cost of developing new antitumor immunotherapies.