Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Small New Keynesian Model of the New Zealand economy

This paper investigate whether a small open economy DSGE-based New Keynesian model can provide a reasonable description of key features of the New Zealand economy, in particular the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. The main objective is to design a simple, compact, and transparent tool for basic policy simulations. The structure of the model is largely motivated by recent developments in the area of DSGE modelling. Combining prior information and the historical data using Bayesian simulation techniques, we arrive at a set of parameters that largely reflect New Zealand's experience over the stable inflation-targeting period. The resultant model can be used to simulate monetary policy paths and help analyze the robustness of policy conclusions to model uncertainty.
Comparison of Temporal Transcriptomic Profiles from Immature Lungs of Two Rat Strains Reveals a Viral Response Signature Associated with Chronic Lung Dysfunction

Early life respiratory viral infections and atopic characteristics are significant risk factors for the development of childhood asthma. It is hypothesized that repeated respiratory viral infections might induce structural remodeling by interfering with the normal process of lung maturation; however, the specific molecular processes that underlie these pathological changes are not understood. To investigate the molecular basis for these changes, we used an established Sendai virus infection model in weanling rats to compare the post-infection transcriptomes of an atopic asthma susceptible strain, Brown Norway, and a non-atopic asthma resistant strain, Fischer 344. Specific to this weanling infection model and not described in adult infection models, Sendai virus in the susceptible, but not the resistant strain, results in morphological abnormalities in distal airways that persist into adulthood. Gene expression data from infected and control lungs across five time points indicated that specific features of the immune response following viral infection were heightened and prolonged in lungs from Brown Norway rats compared with Fischer 344 rats. These features included an increase in macrophage cell number and related gene expression, which then transitioned to an increase in mast cell number and related gene expression. In contrast, infected Fischer F344 lungs exhibited more efficient restoration of the airway epithelial morphology, with transient appearance of basal cell pods near distal airways. Together, these findings indicate that the pronounced macrophage and mast cell responses and abnormal re-epithelialization precede the structural defects that developed and persisted in Brown Norway, but not Fischer 344 lungs.
Implementation of whole slide imaging in surgical pathology: A value added approach

Background: Whole slide imaging (WSI) makes it possible to capture images of an entire histological slide. WSI has established roles in surgical pathology, including support of off-site frozen section interpretation, primary diagnosis, educational activities, and laboratory quality assurance (QA) activities. Analyses of the cost of WSI have traditionally been based solely on direct costs and diagnostic accuracy; however, these types of analyses largely ignore workflow and cost issues that arise as a result of redundancy, the need for additional staffing, and customized software development when WSI is integrated into routine diagnostic surgical pathology. The pre-scan, scan, and post-scan costs; quality control and QA costs; and IT process costs can be significant, and consequently, pathology groups can find it difficult to perform a realistic cost-benefit analysis of adding WSI to their practice. Materials and Methods: In this paper, we report a "value added" approach developed to guide our decisions regarding integration of WSI into surgical pathology practice. The approach focuses on specific operational measures (cost, time, and enhanced patient care) and practice settings (clinical, education, and research) to identify routine activities in which the addition of WSI can provide improvements. Results: When applied to our academic pathology group practice, the value added approach resulted in expanded and improved operations, as demonstrated by outcome based measures. Conclusion: A value added can be used to perform a realistic cost-benefit analysis of integrating WSI into routine surgical pathology practice.
Buffalo Breeding Management Practices Followed by Farmers of Western Haryana

The present investigation was conducted in Western Haryana. Two districts Bhiwani and Sirsa and two tehsils from each district and two villages from each tehsil were selected randomly. Twenty ive buffalo keepers from each village were selected thus making a sample of 200 farmers. The study revealed that more than half (54.50 %) respondents got conceived their buffalo by artiicial insemination and around 80.00 percent respondents got their animals inseminated at the later stage of heat. About 41 percent of respondents detect through bellowing. Most (84.00%) of the respondents used panchyat buffalo bull for service and about 62.50 percent buffalo keepers followed pregnancy diagnosis. Only 40.50 buffaloes were bred after 2 months of calving and 53.00 percent buffaloes calved at the age of 3.5 yr.
Dynamic Web Service Selection for Reliable Web Service Composition

This paper studies the dynamic web service selection problem in a failure-prone environment, which aims to determine a subset of Web services to be invoked at run-time so as to successfully orchestrate a composite web service. We observe that both the composite and constituent web services often constrain the sequences of invoking their operations and therefore propose to use finite state machine to model the permitted invocation sequences of Web service operations. We assign each state of execution an aggregated reliability to measure the probability that the given state will lead to successful execution in the context where each web service may fail with some probability. We show that the computation of aggregated reliabilities is equivalent to eigenvector computation and adopt the power method to efficiently derive aggregated reliabilities. In orchestrating a composite Web service, we propose two strategies to select Web services that are likely to successfully complete the execution of a given sequence of operations. A prototype that implements the proposed approach using BPEL for specifying the invocation order of a web service is developed and served as a testbed for comparing our proposed strategies and other baseline Web service selection strategies.
Arsenic Exposure and Motor Function among Children in Bangladesh

Background: Several reports indicate that drinking water arsenic (WAs) and manganese (WMn) are associated with children’s intellectual function. Very little is known, however, about possible associations with other neurologic outcomes such as motor function. Methods: We investigated the associations of WAs and WMn with motor function in 304 children in Bangladesh, 8–11 years of age. We measured As and Mn concentrations in drinking water, blood, urine, and toenails. We assessed motor function with the Bruininks-Oseretsky test, version 2, in four subscales—fine manual control (FMC), manual coordination (MC), body coordination (BC), and strength and agility—which can be summarized with a total motor composite score (TMC). Results: Log-transformed blood As was associated with decreases in TMC [β = –3.63; 95% confidence interval (CI): –6.72, –0.54; p < 0.01], FMC (β = –1.68; 95% CI: –3.19, –0.18; p < 0.05), and BC (β = –1.61; 95% CI: –2.72, –0.51; p < 0.01), with adjustment for sex, school attendance, head circumference, mother’s intelligence, plasma ferritin, and blood Mn, lead, and selenium. Other measures of As exposure (WAs, urinary As, and toenail As) also were inversely associated with motor function scores, particularly TMC and BC. Square-transformed blood selenium was positively associated with TMC (β = 3.54; 95% CI: 1.10, 6.0; p < 0.01), FMC (β = 1.55; 95% CI: 0.40, 2.70; p < 0.005), and MC (β = 1.57; 95% CI: 0.60, 2.75; p < 0.005) in the unadjusted models. Mn exposure was not significantly associated with motor function. Conclusion: Our research demonstrates an adverse association of As exposure and a protective association of Se on motor function in children.
Distributed Coverage Control and Data Collection With Mobile Sensor Networks

We study wireless sensor networks whose objective is to control the locations of mobile nodes so as to maximize the probability of detecting randomly occurring events in a mission space and to extract information from data sources, when detected, with maximal effectiveness. The control system for the mission is composed of three components executed in parallel on sensor nodes: coverage control, data source detection, and data collection. In order to maximize the joint detection probability of random events in a given mission space, we build upon a previously developed distributed gradient-based coverage control scheme to include three additional capabilities: allowing polygonal obstacles, including limited sensing field-of-view constraints, and preserving network connectivity through a provably correct algorithm using each node's routing information. In order to combine coverage and data collection, we formulate and solve a modified optimization problem with these two objectives. The interactions among the three components of the sensor network control system are discussed and simulation examples are presented to illustrate our results.
"Three Tales / Two Threats". Prosecutors in Italy, England and the United States narrate national and transnational organised crime

The past years have seen an increase in legislations and policies to regulate manifestations of organised crime at both the national and transnational level, as if these two levels correspond to two different threats. This work will present the narrative used by public prosecutors when defining, re-defining and adjusting their conceptualisations of organised crime. Because the job of prosecutors is ideally placed between the interpretation of the law and the consideration for public interest, their conceptualisation of organised crime can influence the way policies meet criminal justice needs. This work is therefore exploring to what extent the conceptualisations of (transnational) organised crime in policies inform the work of practitioners at the prosecution stage. As laws are not prescriptions and are the result of evolving concepts and political negotiations, they leave latitude for interpretations, which are determined by working environment and own views of law enforcement officers and courts. These interpretations are formed on the basis of “conceptualisations”, which are important for developments in the administration of (criminal) justice, whether juvenile crime or serious organised crime. As each country presents a different social and legal working environment, differences are to be expected. The underlying conceptual grounds remain usually implicit and to a certain extent individual. However, as conceptualisations of this sort influence to a certain extent the interpretation of the law, it is important to let them come to the surface. One of the ways to do this is to help practitioners bring these conceptualisations to the surface themselves by “narrating” their own practice with a “think-aloud” method. By relying on interviews with prosecutors conducted in England, Italy and the USA, this paper uses narrative criminological approaches – enriched by comparative research methods ̶ to follow how the ‘label’ of organised crime is received and how it changes to fit the needs of prosecution and pre-trial phases. It is crucial to remember that, beyond criminal law labels (the crime of organised crime or the
Humor Styles and Negative Affect as Predictors of Different Components of Physical Health

The extent to which humor and negative affect each predict different components of physical health was examined by having 105 participants complete measures of four distinct humor styles, negative affect, and three indices of physical health. An increased number of physical symptoms and more negative attitudes about illness were associated with higher levels of negative affect, but were unrelated to the humor styles. Conversely, three of the humor styles significantly predicted coping strategies for physical ailments and complaints, whereas negative affect did not. Adaptive self-enhancing humor was associated with facilitative coping strategies such as changing perspective, planning, and the effective use of humor. Maladaptive aggressive humor was linked to a more dysfunctional coping pattern that included greater denial and a reduction in the ability to change perspective. These findings reinforce the need to consider more complex models of humor that explicitly address the effects of both adaptive and maladaptive humor styles across a broad range of physical health measures while also considering effects that may be attributable to other highly-relevant attributes, such as negative affect.
Principle cell spiking , post-synaptic excitation and oxygen consumption in the rat 1 cerebellar cortex 2 by 3

24 One contention within the field of neuroimaging concerns the character of the depicted 25 activity does it represent neuronal action potential generation, i.e., spiking, or post26 synaptic excitation? This question is related to the metabolic costs of different aspects of 27 neurosignaling. The cerebellar cortex is well-suited for addressing this problem, as 28 synaptic input to and spiking of the principle cell, the Purkinje cell (PC), are spatially 29 segregated. Also, PCs are pacemakers, able to generate spikes endogenously. We 30 examined the contributions to cerebellar cortical oxygen consumption (CMRO2) of post31 synaptic excitation and PC spiking during evoked and on-going neuronal activity in the 32 rat. By inhibiting excitatory synaptic input using ionotropic glutamate receptor blockers, 33 we found that the increase in CMRO2 evoked by parallel fiber (PF) stimulation depended 34 entirely upon post-synaptic excitation. In contrast, PC spiking was largely responsible for 35 the increase in CMRO2 when on-going neuronal activity was increased by GABAA 36 receptor blockade. In this case, CMRO2 increased equally during PC spiking with 37 excitatory synaptic activity as during PC pacemaker spiking without excitatory synaptic 38 input. Subsequent inhibition of action potential propagation and neurotransmission by 39 blocking voltage-gated Na-channels eliminated the increases in CMRO2 due to PF 40 stimulation and increased PC spiking, but left a large fraction of CMRO2, i.e., basal 41 CMRO2, intact. In conclusion, while basal CMRO2 in anesthetized animals did not seem 42 to be related to neurosignaling, increases in CMRO2 could be induced by all aspects of 43 neurosignaling. Our findings imply that CMRO2 responses cannot a priori be assigned to 44 specific neuronal activities. 45
The interaction of institutional quality and human capital in shaping the dynamics of capital structure in Vietnam

The aim of this paper is to find which of two theories of capital structureâ€”trade-off theory or pecking order theoryâ€”best explains the capital structure decision of non-state firms during the post-transition process in Viet Nam. We also investigate the effect of human capital, institutional quality, and their interaction on the capital structure decision. For empirical evidence, we use a unique database provided by the CIEM-DANIDA project covering around 2,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in Viet Nam for each year from 2003 to 2014. We estimate our empirical models by employing the System Generalized Method of Moments estimator.Our findings suggest that the capital structure of Vietnamese firms is a balance between the trade-off theory and the pecking order theory. On one hand, accessing formal debts is extremely tough for young and non-state firms; they bootstrap themselves out of financial constraints by stretching and making the most of their internal resources and assets. On the other hand, those with access to formal sources take advantage of leverage tools from using formal loans to exploit the tax benefits against the costs of financial distress.Other noteworthy findings include: (i) profitability and debt tax shields are no longer significantly important when entrepreneurs adopt informal debt financing; (ii) high-quality institutions with transparent and fair credit rationing rules will enable firms to reduce their reliance on debt financing; and (iii) while human capital encourages entrepreneurs to obtain more loans, its interaction with institutional quality deters debt financing and favours other financial sources.
Design and Analysis of 24-GHz Active Isolator and Quasi-Circulator

In this paper, a new topology using the common-source amplifier, which is a unilateral component and the directional coupler, is proposed to realize an isolator without ferrite. The theory and the design procedures are presented. The performance of this isolator is comparable to those of the ferrite isolators, except for the bandwidth. The 1-dB compression point of output power (OP1dB) of the insertion loss is high due to the passive nature of the directional coupler, but the reverse isolation deteriorates with the increasing input power. The proposed 24-GHz monolithic microwave integrated circuit isolator is developed in TSMC 180-nm CMOS. Based on the proposed isolators, a quasi-circulator is designed and fabricated. Both the isolator and quasi-circulator have better OP1dB of the insertion loss than reported active isolators and quasi-circulators.
Exercise and Reactive Oxygen Species in Elderly-Exercise as Prevention of Oxidative Stress -

Less exercise in our daily life with the benefi ts of automatization may be one of factors in the recent promotion of regular exercise to maintain and promote health. Also, the Japanese social background such as declining birthrate and increase in aging population, would make people to become more concerned about health and to try to incorporate exercise into our daily life. This public trend is based on a premise that "Exercise is good for health. " In fact, proper exercise is believed to prevent various diseases such as life-style related diseases and to improve the activity level and quality of life. Nevertheless, excessive exercise sometimes deteriorates health and may causes disorders. There is a warning that exercise is harmful to health. One of causes is reactive oxygen species (ROS). Because ROS has much higher reaction than stable oxygen existing in the air, it causes oxidative damage (oxidative stress) to tissues if it becomes excessive in vivo. The ROS has turned out to be generated in cells and tissues as long as they consume oxygen, and Exercise and Reactive Oxygen Species in Elderly Exercise as Prevention of Oxidative Stress -
Aggressive and non-aggressive personalities differ in oxidative status in selected lines of mice (Mus musculus)

Mice selected for aggression and coping (long attack latency (LAL), reactive coping strategy; short attack latency (SAL), pro-active coping strategy) are a useful model for studying the physiological background of animal personalities. These mice also show a differential stress responsiveness, especially in terms of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis reactivity, to various challenges. Since the stress response can increase the production of reactive oxygen species, we predicted that the basic oxidative status of the lines could differ. We found that LAL showed higher serum antioxidant capacity (OXY) than SAL, while no differences emerged for reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs) or the balance between ROMs and OXY, reflecting oxidative stress. Moreover, the lines showed inverse relationships between ROMs or OXY and body mass corrected for age. The results indicate that variation in oxidative status is heritable and linked to personality. This suggests that different animal personalities may be accompanied by differences in oxidative status, which may predict differences in longevity.
Placental Cadherin and the Basal Epithelial Phenotype of BRCA1-Related Breast Cancer

Purpose:BRCA1-related breast cancer frequently has a basal epithelial phenotype, and P-cadherin is a basal marker. We undertook a detailed evaluation of the relationship among P-cadherin, prognostic markers in breast cancer, and outcome. Experimental Design: This study was restricted to 292 cases of first primary invasive breast cancer diagnosed in Ashkenazi Jewish women between 1980 and 1995. All available blocks were stained for P-cadherin, and 261 were included in the final statistical analyses, including 27 germ line BRCA1 mutation carriers and 8 BRCA2 mutation carriers. Descriptive analyses were done followed by survival analyses and a Poisson regression analysis. Results: P-cadherin was present in 80 of the 261 breast cancers (31%) and was more frequently present in tumors that have a basal epithelial phenotype [i.e., high-grade, estrogen receptor– and KIP1 (p27Kip1)–negative tumors, with expression of cytokeratin 5/6, cyclin E, TP53, and presence of BRCA1 mutations and vascular nests (all P < 0.001)]. In a univariate survival model, expression of P-cadherin was associated with a relative risk (RR) of death from breast cancer at a 10-year follow-up of 2.9 (95% confidence interval, 1.8-4.7; P < 0.0001) and was a predictor of poor univariate survival in both lymph node–negative and –positive breast cancers. In a multivariate analysis, the effect of P-cadherin levels was not independent of other basal-related markers. Multivariable interaction modeling showed that P-cadherin positivity was highly predictive of a poor prognosis in small, node-negative breast cancers (RR, 7.1; P = 0.006). Conclusions: P-cadherin is a marker for basal-like breast cancers and is strongly associated with the presence of a BRCA1 mutation. It is an adverse prognostic factor, particularly in small, node-negative breast cancers.
An Empirical Study of NetEm Network Emulation Functionalities

In this paper we have evaluated the main functionalities of NetEm, a popular Linux based network emulator, which we have used to stress test the performance of the Games@Large distributed gaming system. We have performed a number of tests on different NetEm functionalities in order to evaluate their practical performance conformity and validity versus the NetEm description and theoretical expectations. We have found that the NetEm behaviour conforms to expectations for the emulation of delay and packet loss without correlation. However, in the case of jitter emulation, the actual realized jitter is lower than the given input value. It is an important fact to be aware of when using NetEm for different application testing. This paper also provides a baseline methodology for network emulation tool validation.