Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Testing the Results of a Three-Agent OLG Rational Beliefs Model against the Equity Premium Puzzle

One of the most fervently debated topics in the financial economics of the last decade is the equity premium puzzle. In its simplest form, the equity premium puzzle affirms that the theoretically predictable maximum spread between return on equity and bonds (for “reasonable” parameters of risk aversion) is much lower than the actual observed value. This puzzle is a classic and consistent finding under the rational expectation equilibrium (REE) theory. Although many explanations have been advanced relaxing various conditions of the REE theory, no REE-based approach has been declared entirely satisfactory. One of the newest and most successful theories in reproducing the observed financial indicators is the revolutionary theory of rational beliefs equilibrium (RBE) advanced by Mordecai Kurz. Without resorting to the unrealistic REE informational and computational conditions on agents, the RBE theory departs from the established models by allowing diversity of agent beliefs. In addition to the aforementioned equity premium puzzle, the RBE theory is also successful in explaining multiple other financial puzzles. However, these results are reproduced in the original papers only within the context of a small two-agent OLG economy. This paper is a preliminary study on the behavior of the RBE model’s OLG representation as the number of agents in the model is increased. This particular paper only addresses an increase in the number of agents from two to three and within limiting symmetry conditions on agents and similar disagreement states. However, these conditions are entirely prompted by a need of being consistent with the same parameters of the original 2-agent model and papers. Asymmetric models would not be 100% similar or would allow newer degrees of freedom compared to the additional model. The findings are that within the same parameterization and within the area of parameters tested, the model’s range of potential results decreases relative to the 2-agent model due to “averaging out” of correlated agent beliefs. The decrease in “endogenous uncertainty” in the economy reduces both the overall system volatility as well as the maximum obtainable equity premium through an increase in the riskfree rate and a lowering of the risky rate. By using only identical parameterizations of the extremecase, the 3-agent model has less predictive power of financial puzzles than the similar 2-agent model. Furthermore, even in the most extreme case, the newer model is still unable to accurately predict some of the real-world moments (especially the riskfree rate). However, neither of the other possible (yet asymmetrical) parameterization alternatives has been satisfyingly researched and documented and thus a definitive result on the overall behavior of the model can only come as a result of a future more detailed study.
THE REALIZATION PROBLEM FOR VON NEUMANN REGULAR RINGS

Abstract: The realization problem for von Neumann regular rings asks whether any countable conical refinement monoid is isomorphic to the monoid V (R) of isomorphism classes of finitely generated projective modules over some von Neumann regular ring R, see [? ] for a survey on this problem. We say that a conical refinement monoid M is tame in case it can be obtained as a direct limit of finitely generated conical refinement monoids. Otherwise, we say that M is a wild refinement monoid, see [? ]. I have conjectured that all finitely generated conical refinement monoids can be realized by a von Neumann regular K-algebra, for an arbitrary field K. We will describe some partial results in this direction. I will also state a recent monoid-theoretic result [? ] which gives a detailed description of the class of finitely generated conical refinement monoids in terms of certain partial orders of semigroups, which can be useful for the solution of the conjecture. In contrast, very little is know about the case of wild refinement monoids. In a recent paper with Ken Goodearl [? ], we have shown various remarkable differences with the case of tame monoids, for instance we have described a wild conical refinement monoid which can be realized by a von Neumann regular Kalgebra for any countable field K, but cannot be realized by any von Neumann regular ring which is an algebra over an uncountable field.
The Volatility of Aid

Issues related to the volatility of aid flows are now becoming crucial in view of their relevance to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The paper examines aid volatility using data for 66 aid recipients over the period 1973-2002. We improve upon earlier work in this important area by disaggregating total aid inflows into sector and programme aid. In this way they avoid focussing on a single aggregate, unlike most previous studies on aid volatility. They also adopt a different methodology to capture aid volatility. The institutional quality of the aid recipient affects the stability of sector aid but not that of programme assistance. Moreover, more open economies, which tend to be smaller and richer, ceteris paribus, are associated with more volatile sector aid flows. [Discussion Paper No. 2005/06]
A Wireless EEG Recording Method for Rat Use inside the Water Maze

With the continued miniaturisation of portable embedded systems, wireless EEG recording techniques are becoming increasingly prevalent in animal behavioural research. However, in spite of their versatility and portability, they have seldom been used inside water-maze tasks designed for rats. As such, a novel 3D printed implant and waterproof connector is presented, which can facilitate wireless water-maze EEG recordings in freely-moving rats, using a commercial wireless recording system (W32; Multichannel Systems). As well as waterproofing the wireless system, battery, and electrode connector, the implant serves to reduce movement-related artefacts by redistributing movement-related forces away from the electrode connector. This implant/connector was able to successfully record high-quality LFP in the hippocampo-striatal brain regions of rats as they undertook a procedural-learning variant of the double-H water-maze task. Notably, there were no significant performance deficits through its use when compared with a control group across a number of metrics including number of errors and speed of task completion. Taken together, this method can expand the range of measurements that are currently possible in this diverse area of behavioural neuroscience, whilst paving the way for integration with more complex behaviours.
Macrolide resistance mechanisms and in vitro susceptibility patterns of viridans group streptococci isolated from blood cultures.

OBJECTIVES Our aim was to study the macrolide resistance mechanisms and antimicrobial susceptibilities of viridans group streptococci (VGS) isolated from blood cultures. METHODS In vitro susceptibilities to nine antimicrobials were studied for 85 VGS isolated from blood cultures by agar dilution. Pheno- and genotyping of erythromycin-resistant isolates were studied by the double disc test and PCR. RESULTS Resistance to erythromycin was found in 27% (n = 23) of the isolates. Erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus oralis (n = 13) predominated among the other erythromycin-resistant species isolated. The phenotypes among 23 erythromycin-resistant isolates were as follows: 12 constitutive macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin (cMLS(B)) resistance phenotype and 11 macrolide (M) resistance phenotype. Of the cMLS(B) isolates 11 had erm(B) genes and 11 of the M phenotype isolates had mef(A) genes. Four of the cMLS(B) isolates had both erm(B) and mef(A) genes. None of the isolates had erm(TR) genes. Combined resistance to erythromycin with penicillin, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline and quinupristin/dalfopristin was found in 100, 61, 74, 100 and 100% of the isolates, respectively. No resistance was found for vancomycin, linezolid and levofloxacin. CONCLUSIONS The macrolide resistance mechanisms of our VGS isolates revealed that the cMLS(B) phenotype associated with erm(B) and the M phenotype associated with mef(A) genes are found with similar frequencies.
Neural Coupling Binds Visual Tokens to Moving Stimuli

Spatially separated visual objects that appear in alternating sequence can be perceived as a single moving object. This phenomenon of apparent motion enables us to perceive sequentially presented images as a motion picture. How does the visual system bind together single visual tokens to one moving object? Here we report a series of experiments investigating apparent motion with electroencephalographic recordings showing that gamma-band oscillatory coupling in the visual cortex is crucial for this phenomenon. We used an ambiguous stimulus that could be perceived as moving either vertically or horizontally. Because visual information from the right and left visual hemifields is routed to the contralateral early visual cortex, in the case of perceived horizontal movement, information from both hemispheres has to be integrated. In accord with this assumption, our data show stronger oscillatory coupling between right and left visual cortices during perception of horizontal motion compared with vertical motion.
The Bid-Ask Spread in the Danish Stock Market: Evidence from the 1990s

This paper investigates the cost components of bid-ask spreads around earnings announcements on the small Danish stock market in the 1990s. The results indicate that negative earnings surprises convey pricing information, suggesting the existence of significant information asymmetry between market makers and informed traders. Negative earnings surprises resulted in an increase in adverse-selection cost and trading volume while inventory-holding and order-processing costs decreased, leading to a combined decrease in the realized spread. The change in the realized spread is significant, while the change in the quoted bid-ask spread is negligible. Overall, the results suggest that informed traders’ ability to assess firms’ performance in the Danish stock market affects the bid-ask spread around announcements of earnings. The observed changes in cost components on the small Danish stock market are similar to those observed in larger and more active capital markets.
Self-Perceived Orthodontic Treatment Need Evaluated through 3 Scales in a University Population

Objective To evaluate the self-perceived orthodontic treatment need in a university population evaluated through 3 scales that used different approaches. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting University dental clinic, Lima, Peru, 2001. Materials and methods Questionnaires that gathered perceptions on dentofacial aesthetic perception and orthodontic treatment need were applied to a randomly selected sample (329) of first year university students (729). Subjects undergoing orthodontic treatment at the time of examination were excluded. Main outcome measures Aesthetic component (AC) of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN), Oral Aesthetics Subjective Index Scale (OASIS) and a visual analogue scale (VAS) were used. Statistical analysis Descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation test, Kruskall–Wallis test and Mann–Whitney U-test were used. Results For the AC, 87.5% were in the ‘without treatment need’ category, 10.6% in the ‘borderline need’ category and 1.8% in the ‘treatment need’ category. The mean AC score was 3.02 (±1.49). The mean OASIS score was 11.81 (±4.84), and the VAS score was 40.16 (±18.16). Correlations between the 3 self-assessment scales were moderate (AC-OASIS 0.416, AC-VAS 0.541 and OASIS-VAS 0.457). Gender or previous orthodontic treatment had no influence (p<0.05) on the scales. Conclusions Differences in the approaches used by each scale to evaluate the self-perception of the aesthetical arrangement of the front teeth may explain the moderate correlation values.
Regulation of stroke and glide in a foot-propelled avian diver

SUMMARY Bottom-feeding, breath-hold divers would be expected to minimize transit time between the surface and foraging depth, thus maximizing the opportunities for prey capture during the bottom phase of the dive. To achieve this they can potentially adjust a variety of dive parameters, including dive angle and swim speed. However, because of predictable changes in buoyancy with depth, individuals would also be expected to adjust dive behavior according to dive depth. To test these predictions we deployed miniature, dorsally attached data-loggers that recorded surge and heave accelerations at 64 Hz to obtain the first detailed measurements of a foot-propelled diving bird, the European shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis, in the wild. The results were used to investigate biomechanical changes during the descent, ascent and bottom phases for dives varying between 7 m and 43 m deep. Shags descended and ascended almost vertically (60–90° relative to the sea surface). During descent, swim speed varied between 1.2–1.8 m s–1 and the frequency of the foot stroke used for propulsion decreased significantly with depth, mainly due to a fivefold increase in the duration of the glide between strokes. Birds appeared to maintain the duration and the maximum strength of power stroke and thus optimize muscle contraction efficiency.
Zirconium Carbide Produced by Spark Plasma Sintering and Hot Pressing: Densification Kinetics, Grain Growth, and Thermal Properties

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) has been employed to consolidate a micron-sized zirconium carbide (ZrC) powder. ZrC pellets with a variety of relative densities are obtained under different processing parameters. The densification kinetics of ZrC powders subjected to conventional hot pressing and SPS are comparatively studied by applying similar heating and loading profiles. Due to the lack of electric current assistance, the conventional hot pressing appears to impose lower strain rate sensitivity and higher activation energy values than those which correspond to the SPS processing. A finite element simulation is used to analyze the temperature evolution within the volume of ZrC specimens subjected to SPS. The control mechanism for grain growth during the final SPS stage is studied via a recently modified model, in which the grain growth rate dependence on porosity is incorporated. The constant pressure specific heat and thermal conductivity of the SPS-processed ZrC are determined to be higher than those reported for the hot-pressed ZrC and the benefits of applying SPS are indicated accordingly.
The Luminosity Function of M3

We present a high-precision, large-sample luminosity function (LF) for the Galactic globular cluster M3. With a combination of ground-based and Hubble Space Telescope data we cover the entire radial extent of the cluster. The observed LF is well fitted by canonical standard stellar models from the red giant branch (RGB) tip to below the main-sequence turnoff point. Specifically, neither the RGB LF bump nor subgiant branch LF indicate any breakdown in the standard models. On the main sequence we find evidence for a flat initial mass function and for mass segregation due to the dynamical evolution of the cluster.
A Hidden Role of Inactivated FANCD 2 : Upregulating ΔNp 63

A compromised Fanconi Anemia (FA) signaling pathway, often resulting from an inactivated FANCD2, was recently recognized to contribute to the development of nonFA human tumors. However, it is largely unknown as to how an impaired FA pathway or an inactivated FANCD2 promotes tumorigenesis. Here we unexpectedly found that ΔNp63 mRNA was expressed at high levels in human cancer cells carrying an impaired FA pathway compared to the corresponding control cells carrying an intact FA pathway. This observation was recapitulated upon conditionally managing the status of FANCD2 monoubiquitination /activation in 293T cells. Importantly, ΔNp63 elevation upon FANCD2 inactivation was confirmed in human fibroblasts derived from FA patients. Moreover, we have identified a 189 bp DNA fragment downstream of the ΔNp63 promoter (P2) that can mediate the upregulation of ΔNp63 by an inactivated FANCD2, and determined that elevated ΔNp63 is high enough to promote cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. In vivo, the elevation of FAVL, a tumor promotion factor that inhibits FANCD2 activation, was found to be positively associated with ΔNp63 expression in human cancer tissues. Collectively, these results document a novel role of an inactivated FANCD2 in upregulating ΔNp63, advancing our understanding of how an impaired FA pathway contributes to the pathogenesis of human cancer.
An Abstract Channel Specification and an Algorithm Implementing It Using Java Sockets

Abstract models and specifications can be used in the design of distributed applications to formally reason about their safety properties. However, the benefits of using formal methods are often negated by the ad hoc process of mapping the semantics of an abstract specification to algorithms designed to be executed on target distributed platforms. The challenge of formally specifying communication channels and correctly implementing them as algorithms that use realistic distributed system services is the focus of this paper. This work provides an original formal specification of an abstract asynchronous communication channel with support for dynamic creation and tear down of links between participating network nodes, and its implementation as an algorithm using Java sockets. The specification and the algorithm are expressed using the Input/Output Automata formalism, and it is proved that the algorithm correctly implements the specification, viz. that any externally observable behavior (trace) of the algorithm has a corresponding behavior of the specification. The approach presented here can be used to implement algorithms for dynamic systems, where communicating nodes may join, leave, and experience delays. The result is also of direct benefit to automated code generation, such as that implemented within the Input/Output Automata Toolkit at MIT.
Genetic and environmental influences on the size and number of cells in the blood

The heritabilities of human blood cell characteristics were estimated in a study of 206 pairs of young adult twins, male and female. White cell numbers, indices related to circulating red cell mass (haemoglobin, red cell count, and haematocrit), and platelet numbers and size all appeared to be accounted for by genetic and nonshared environmental influences only. Mean cell volume (of the erythrocytes) appeared to be influenced by environmental factors shared by siblings as well as the other two sources of variation.
Deliberation and Monetary Policy: Quantifying the Words of American Central Bankers, 1979-1999

The story of what happened to change the course of monetary policy in the US from one of “anguish” to the successful establishment of persistent low inflation by Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan since 1979 has been extensively studied, but in our view still has gaps in terms of understanding why and how policy changed. We examine the twenty year history of US monetary policy between 1979 and 1999 in order better to understand the preferences of policy makers as they deliberate in committee on the monetary policy decision. We employ text analysis software to explore the verbatim transcripts of FOMC meetings for three key periods (nine years) between 1979 and 1999 (1979-1981; 1991-1993 and 1997-1999). Rather than imputing preferences from votes, we use the actual words, arguments and rationales espoused by policy makers as they deliberated on the monetary policy decision. Our primary methodological goal is to obtain a systematic and quantifiable account of the decision making process in the FOMC meetings as the US moved from a period of high inflation to sustained low inflation. Among our key findings is that we observe (1) a clear decline in the role of deliberation in FOMC meetings in the late 1990s and an increasing weight on studying the state of the economy; (2) a change in the emphasis on the strategy of monetary policy that appears to be consistent with the greater credibility of low inflation over time; and (3) changes in the relative roles for reserve bank presidents and board governors from the late 1970s to the late 1990s.
Interrelated Barriers and Risks Affecting ERP Post-Implementation in China

The research reported in this paper aimed to identify and explore potential barriers and risks that can affect successful exploitation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in Chinese companies. A barrier and risk ontology was established from a critical literature review process. In order to examine this theoretical model, the study employed a deductive research design based on a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. The survey received 84 responses from 42 Chinese firms. The findings identified that organizational barriers are often the main triggers of other ERP barriers and risks, including the system ones. The study thus concluded and suggested that Chinese companies need to pay substantial attention to the organizational barriers identified, since properly managing this type of obstacle may potentially help them to mitigate and remove other ERP challenges and risks and thus ensuring long-term success in ERP post-adoption.
ErbB receptor regulation by dexamethasone in mouse type II epithelial cells

Glucocorticoids stimulate foetal surfactant synthesis. Therefore, they are used in impending pre-term birth. One mechanism of action on surfactant synthesis is through the induction of neuregulin (NRG) secretion by foetal lung fibroblasts. The direct effects on signalling pathways, and specifically on erbB receptors in foetal type II cell surfactant synthesis, are less well understood. The present authors studied the effect of known promoters of foetal surfactant synthesis (namely dexamethasone and mature (i.e. NRG-containing) fibroblast-conditioned medium (FCM)) on erbB receptor activation, protein content and dimerisation patterns in foetal mouse lung type II cells. Dexamethasone inhibited surfactant synthesis in immature type II cells at day (d)16 of gestation, while the mature FCM had stimulatory effects. Both treatments directly stimulated surfactant synthesis in more mature (d17) cells. At this gestational day, dexamethasone had only a small effect on phosphorylation, but it stimulated the protein levels of all four erbB receptors. Dexamethasone effects were distinct from those of mature FCM, which stimulated both protein content and phosphorylation of all erbB receptors and of the signalling intermediate phospholipase Cγ. Dexamethasone modulated erbB receptor dimerisation patterns, such that erbB2 became the main dimerisation partner for erbB4. In conclusion, dexamethasone signalling involves erbB receptors in foetal type II cells, in a manner similar to, but distinct from, neuregulin-containing fibroblast-conditioned medium signalling.
Generation of Large Photon-Number Cat States using Linear Optics and Quantum Memory

A recursive method for producing path-entangled states of light is presented. These states may find applications in quantum lithography and high-precision interferometric measurements. The required resources are single-photon sources, linear optics components, and photodetectors. Adding a quantum memory greatly enhances the yield in comparison with the previously known schemes. Entangled states play a fundamental role in quantum information processing as they are basic ingredients in various tasks such as quantum teleportation, quantum key distribution, or quantum computing 1 . Entanglement has also been shown to be a useful resource for high-precision frequency measurements or quantum lithography 2,3 . In this paper, we will focus on the entangled states needed in the latter applications, that is, photon-number path-entangled states or cat states. These states are of the form |N+i a,b = 1 (2)