Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Saving Europe's Automatic Stabilisers

European policymakers have repeatedly suggested that fiscal-policy coordination and fiscal federalism will play key roles in Europe's monetary union. This paper warns that this hope is misplaced. Fiscal federalism will not be available to offset recessionary shocks for the foreseeable future. The effects of coordination designed to internalise the cross-border spillovers of fiscal policies are too weak. Freeing up fiscal policy to replace national governments' loss of monetary independence requires allowing European countries' automatic stabilisers to operate. That in turn requires a flexible application of the Excessive Deficit Procedure and the Stability Pact. The solution suggested here is that the Excessive Deficit Procedure and any fines and sanctions associated with the Stability Pact be applied to the constant-employment budget balance, not the actual deficit. Applying them to actual deficits when European countries enter EMU up against the 3 per cent limit will render fiscal policy strongly procyclical, aggravating the problem of macroeconomic fragility created by the loss of monetary autonomy. Still, countries like Germany haunted by the spectre of fiscal pro fligacy need to be reassured that member states will not abuse their fiscal discretion. Procedural and institutional reform to offset the deficit bias in national political systems is the obvious quid pro quo.
Efficacy of root surface biomodification in root coverage: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND Although many Authors have reported the use of root surface biomodification (RSB), the clinical outcomes in terms of root coverage are still unclear, as a number of biomodifier agents have been used in combination with various periodontal plastic surgical techniques. In this review we aim to evaluate the efficacy of RSB in root coverage and its impact on the outcomes. METHODS A search of MEDLINE and Cochrane databases was carried out along with 2 manual searches. A combination of specific terms was used to identify relevant studies that met well-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Clinical attachment level, probing depth and percentage root coverage after treatment were among the results expected to be reported in the included articles. RESULTS A total of 10 articles were identified and data were extracted. Only 6 met the inclusion criteria. Among these 6 studies, citric acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and laser therapy were used as RSB agents and free gingival graft, subepithelial connective tissue graft plus coronally advanced flap and semilunar coronally respositioned flap were the surgical approaches to root coverage treatment. Baseline and outcome data were analyzed and compared. CONCLUSION RSB provided no additional benefit in terms of the evaluated clinical parameters. Within the limitations of this review, we found no evidence to support the use of RSB prior to root coverage treatment.
Dispositional joint ventures as REIT financing strategy

A dispositional joint venture (DJV) represents an alternative disposal strategy used by USA real estate investment trusts (REITs), which has received limited attention in the real estate investment and finance literature. REITs form DJVs by selling a partial interest in a property to a financier, for example, a pension fund. We hypothesise that REITs pursue this financing strategy when in need of funds and faced with restricted capital market access. We investigate the motivation to form a DJV at the REIT and property level. Using multinomial logistic regression, we find that, compared to REITs with full or no disposals, DJV REITs are characterised by higher leverage, lower market-to-book values and a lower dividend payout ratio. These findings support our hypothesis that DJV forming REITs face restricted capital market access and use DJVs to obtain financing in the private equity market. Also DJV properties appear to be of a higher quality than completely sold properties, which may explain why REITs are interested in maintaining a partial interest and thus opt for a DJV instead of an outright sale.
Effects of polyphenolic grape extract on the oxidative status of muscle and endothelial cells

A grape pomace extract enhanced antioxidant mechanisms in muscle and endothelial cells both in the absence and in the presence of oxidative stress-induced agent tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP). In particular, muscle (C2C12) and endothelial (EA.hy926) cells were treated with the extract at noncytotoxic concentrations for 24 h, and the oxidative stress markers, total reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione (GSH), thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS), and protein carbonyl levels were assessed. The results showed that the grape extract treatment reduced significantly ROS, TBARS, and protein carbonyl levels and increased GSH in C2C12 cells, while it increased GSH and decreased protein carbonyl levels in EA.hy926 cells. In the presence of tBHP, the grape extract treatment in C2C12 cells reduced significantly ROS, TBARS, and protein carbonyls and increased GSH compared with tBHP alone treatment, while, in EA.hy926 cells, the extract decreased significantly TBARS and protein carbonyls but increased GSH. The antioxidant potency of the extract was different between muscle and endothelial cells suggesting that the antioxidant activity depends on cell type. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of the grape extract, in both cell lines, exerted, at least in part, through increase in GSH levels. The present work is the first to report the effects of grape extract shown for skeletal muscle cells.
Laboratory Evaluation of Live Recombinant HVT-IBD Vaccine

Quality control tests were applied to prove the efficacy of the Vaxxitek HVT+IBD vaccine by Identity, sterility, titration, immunosuppression, safety and potency tests. Vaxxitek HVT+IBD vaccine proved to be safe when inoculated in 1-day old chicks free from maternal derived antibodies, broiler chicks and Swiss mice with 10field dose of the vaccine. The Vaxxitek HVT+IBD vaccine did not interfere with MDA and could be inoculated in 1-day broiler chicks safely and resulted in protective antibody response. Vaxxitek HVT+IBD vaccine was inoculated in 18-day old specific-pathogen-free embryonating chicken eggs (SPFECE) (3-days before hatching) without adverse effect on hatchability% and achieved protective response when challenged with vvIBDV compared with CEVA transmune vaccine which gave similar results. Vaxxitek HVT+IBD vaccine was stable after 10 blind passages on CEF cells that showed the same DNA band using specific primer for VP2 gene. Due to intra cellular nature of the vector vaccine so it gave long life protection as the immunity lasts till 9 month in our experiment after inoculation of the vaccine by one field dose to 1-day old broiler chicks then serum sample collected for serological tests (ELISA-SNT) and challenged with vvIBDV. [Rania Aly; El-Sanousi, A.and Susan, S. El-Mahdy. Laboratory Evaluation of Live Recombinant HVT-IBD Vaccine. Report and Opinion 2012;4(4):1-11]. (ISSN: 1553-9873). http://www.sciencepub. net/report. 1
Appropriating Facebook: Enacting Information Literacies

The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse the repurposing of Facebook into a tool for learning in teacher training, and how information literacies are enacted in the process. The study is informed by a socio-cultural view on information literacy which implies that learning and literacies are situated, tool-based practices. An ethnographic study of a Facebook Group with two hundred Swedish teacher trainees and two educators is conducted. Five semi-structured interviews contextualize and validate the online material. 201 conversations from the Group during April and May 2012 are analysed using the theoretical concept appropriation and the empirical lens of information literacy. The Facebook Group can be appropriated as a problem-solving tool and a relation-building tool. Depending on the mode of appropriation, different information literacies including different conceptions of credibility are enacted in the Facebook Group. (Less)
The Early History of Portfolio Theory: 1600–1960

q) iversification of investments was a well-established practice long before I published my paper on portfolio selection in 1952. For example, A. Wiesenberger's annual reports in Investment Companies prior to 1952 (beginning 1941) showed that these firms held large numbers of securities. They were neither the first to provide diversification for their customers (they were modeled on the investment trusts of Scotland and England, which began in the middle of the 19th century), nor was diversification new then. In the Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare has the merchant Antonio say:
Neurosteroids Enhance Spontaneous Glutamate Release in Hippocampal Neurons

Pregnenolone sulfate (PREGS), one of the most abundantly produced neurosteroids in the mammalian brain, improves cognitive performance in rodents. The mechanism of this effect has been attributed to its allosteric modulatory actions on glutamate- and γ-aminobutyric acid-gated ion channels. Here we report a novel effect of PREGS that could also mediate some of its actions in the nervous system. We found that PREGS induces a robust potentiation of the frequency but not the amplitude of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) mediated by α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate receptors in cultured hippocampal neurons. PREGS also decreased paired pulse facilitation of autaptic EPSCs evoked by depolarization, indicating that it modulates glutamate release probability presynaptically. PREGS potentiation of mEPSCs was mimicked by dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and (+)-pentazocine but not by (−)-pentazocine, the synthetic (−)-enantiomer of PREGS or the inactive steroid isopregnanolone. The ς receptor antagonists, haloperidol and BD-1063, blocked the effect of PREGS on mEPSCs, as did pertussis toxin and the membrane-permeable Ca2+ chelator 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (acetoxymethyl) ester. These results suggest that PREGS increases spontaneous glutamate release via activation of a presynaptic Gi/o-coupled ς receptor and an elevation in intracellular Ca2+ levels. We postulate that presynaptic actions of neurosteroids have a role in the maturation and/or maintenance of synaptic networks and the processing of information in the central nervous system.
The Only Way is Up? Employment Protection and Job Mobility among Recent Entrants to European Labour Markets

The paper addresses the effects of employment protection legislation on job mobility and status attainment among young people entering the labour market. Given that strict employment protection legislation (EPL) has often been shown to reduce the dynamics of labour markets in general, resulting low vacancy levels might also reduce youth chances of both job and upward status mobility, and thus flatten observed status-experience profiles. Data from the European Labour Force Survey 2000 Ad-hoc-module on Transitions from School to Work for 11 European countries supports these assertions: empirically, both job and status mobility rates are negatively related to strict employment protection legislation. The total effect of employment protection on school-to-work transitions is more indeterminate, however, given that EPL also affects the structure of youth labour markets. The empirical analyses show a positive effect of employment protection legislation on occupational attainment of market entrants in both entrants' first jobs and by about five years since leaving the educational system. Empirically, these positive EPL effects on the structure of labour markets dominate negative EPL effects on upward mobility chances - i.e. job shopping typically does not compensate for a good start into working life. The respective EPL effects are shown to affect the low-skill labour market in particular
Legal Doctrine and Political Control

We model legal doctrine as an instrument of political control by higher courts over lower courts and the case outcomes they produce. We focus on the choice between determinate and indeterminate doctrines within a hierarchy of courts where political-ideological alignment between lower and higher courts varies. We show that the choice over doctrinal determinacy depends on the distribution of cases, the distribution of litigants, judicial types, and the level of policy alignment between higher and lower court judges. The model suggests the optimal doctrinal choice for a high court, given the political-ideological alignment between the high court and the lower court, the control characteristics of doctrines themselves, and the matching of doctrines to litigant pools. This has implications regarding preference divergence within the judicial hierarchy, the interaction of different doctrines, and interplay between doctrinal specificity and doctrinal reach.
Corruption, Centralization, and the Shadow Economy

In their pioneering work on corruption, Shleifer and Vishny (1993) find that a centralized bureaucracy results in lower bribes. Our paper extends the analysis to economies with formal and informal sectors. When corrupt officials operate in both sectors, bureaucratic centralization is beneficial when confined to the formal sector; however, we show that crosssector centralization can result in higher bribes and lower welfare. Furthermore, contrary to Choi and Thum (2005), we demonstrate that, depending on the organization of the bureaucracy and the productivity of the informal sector, the presence of the shadow economy may have adverse effects on corruption and welfare.
Do Short Selling Restrictions Destabilize Stock Markets? Lessons from Taiwan

Short sellers have been routinely blamed for triggering, or exacerbating, stock market declines. The experience of Taiwan provides an interesting case study of the impact of short selling bans on stock returns volatility in a time series framework due to the length of time the short selling ban was in place there. Estimating several variants of an asymmetric GARCH model and a Markov switching GARCH model we find robust evidence that short selling restrictions raise stock returns volatility. The only qualifier is that the impact of short sale bans is a feature of the expansionary phase of business cycles. During recessions this effect dissipates.
Genetic parameters by son-sire covariances for growth and carcass traits of Hereford bulls in a nonselected herd.

Growth rates and weights at weaning, 365 d, and at slaughter were obtained on 616 bulls in a nonselected Hereford herd over a 10-yr period beginning in 1978. Carcass data were obtained for 401 of these bulls at 16 mo of age and on 101 that were sires or alternates and slaughtered at 30 mo of age. Fifty-five bulls slaughtered at 30 mo of age sired 301 male offspring on which growth data were obtained and 30 sired 169 male offspring on which carcass data were obtained. Bulls gained an average of . 75 kg/d preweaning and 1.16 kg/d postweaning on a 168-d feed test. Rate of daily gain from the end of feed test to slaughter ranged from . 7 to 1.2 kg/d. Time from the end of the feed test to slaughter ranged from 48 to 140 d. Slaughter weight, marbling score (Small = 12, Traces = 6), longissimus muscle area, fat covering over the 12th rib, percentage of kidney, pelvic and heart fat (KPH), and dressing percentage for bulls slaughtered as yearlings were 470 kg, 7.6 score, 82.5 cm, 8.2 mm, 1.0%, and 58.8%, respectively. The 30-mo-old bulls were slaughtered directly from range pastures. Marbling was devoid or practically devoid and fat covering over the 12th rib and KPH fat were insufficient to measure or estimate accurately. Sufficient variation was not available for statistical analyses of these traits. Slaughter weight, longissimus muscle area, and dressing percentage of 30-mo-old bulls were 583 kg, 91.8 cm, and 54.0%, respectively. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Satisfaction levels of mainland Chinese travelers with Hong Kong hotel services

Among all the Asian markets, mainland China was least affected by the economic downturn. It provides a leading source of tourism revenue to Hong Kong. In order to fully capture this market, it is important to satisfy the needs of the mainland Chinese travelers. This study aims to measure the satisfaction levels of Chinese travelers in relation to the hotel services in Hong Kong. The satisfaction levels of the mainland Chinese travelers on 34 hotel service attributes were studied using the disconfirmation paradigm. A total of 203 mainland Chinese travelers were interviewed. The results indicated that mainland Chinese travelers were satisfied with “Availability of personal care amenities”, “Quietness of the room”, “Availability of food and beverage variety” and dissatisfied with “Recreation facilities” “Availability of frequent travelers’ program” and the “Baggage handling service”. Eight dimensions of hotel services were identified. “Service quality and value” and “Augmented product quality” dimensions were found to be more important than others in influencing their overall satisfaction levels and the likelihood of returning to the same hotels. Implications of the findings for hotel operators in Hong Kong were discussed.
Evaluation of atypical human immunodeficiency virus immunoblot reactivity in blood donors

Blood donors reactive by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay for antibody to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who showed atypical patterns of viral core protein reactivity on Western blot were monitored for several months. Characterization of their antibodies was performed by 1) use of recombinant HIV proteins; 2) determination of cross‐ reactivity to HTLV‐I, HTLV‐II, and HTLV‐IV: 3) assessment of immune status; and 4) identification of potentially interfering autoantibodies. Nineteen of 20 donors maintained the same HIV antibody reactivity throughout the follow‐up period; the other donor became fully antibody‐positive. Eighteen of 20 donors' sera showed clear reactivity with HIV recombinant core proteins. Ten of 19 donor samples demonstrated cross‐reactivity to HTLV‐IV; 3 of these 10 also cross‐ reacted with HTLV‐I. The immune status of all donors was normal, although the medical histories and HLA antibody screens suggested possible autoimmune reactivity in 9 of 18 donors. During follow‐up interviews, three donors reported possible risk factors for HIV infection that had not been acknowledged at the time of blood donation. We conclude that exclusion of donors with these atypical serologic test results is warranted while further studies to determine significance are being conducted.
Phenolic acid concentrations in the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid of Parkinsonian patients treated with l-dopa

The acid metabolites of dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine were estimated in the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Parkinsonian patients both before and during treatment with l-dopa, the amino acid precursor of dopamine. An attempt was made to relate clinical improvement to the biochemical results. The dopamine metabolites, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid, showed increases related to the dose of l-dopa, the increase in homovanillic acid concentration being proportionately greater than that of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid. The concentration of the 5-hydroxytryptamine metabolite, 5-hydroxyindol-3ylacetic acid, was unaltered by the drug. Clinical improvement, which in the early stages was evident particularly in the bradykinesia, was found to occur at doses of l-dopa greater than 1·5 g/day. Effective doses of l-dopa gave rise to concentrations of dopamine metabolites in the CSF which were greater than normal. Possible implications of these findings are discussed.
Majority coset decoding

A majority coset decoding (MCD) procedure that can be applied to an arbitrary geometric code is discussed. In general, the basic algorithm for decoding of algebraic-geometric codes does not correct up to the designed minimum distance. In MCD, a reduction step is added to the basic algorithm. In case the basic algorithm fails, a majority scheme is used to obtain an additional syndrome for the error vector. Thus a strictly smaller cost containing the error vector is obtained. In this way, the basic algorithm is applied to a decreasing chain of cosets and after finitely many steps the coset will be small enough for successful application of the basic algorithm. >
The impact of population level deworming on the haemoglobin levels of schoolchildren in Tanga, Tanzania

Summary The impact of albendazole (400 mg) and praziquantel (40 mg/kg body weight) treatment of schoolchildren was compared with placebo according to the presence of anaemia (haemoglobin concentration < 11.0 g/dl) and heavy (> 5000 epg) or light (< 5000 epg) hookworm egg load. The study was conducted in rural Tanga. Medication was administered in September 1994 and children were followed‐up in January 1995. Overall, anthelminthic treatment reduced the fall in haemoglobin concentration compared with that observed in the placebo group (− 0.11 g/dl vs. − 0.35 g/dl; P = 0.02). Anthelminthic treatment was of greatest benefit to the 9% of children with both anaemia and heavy hookworm egg load (+ 0.67 g/dl vs. − 0.67 g/dl) and was also of significant benefit to the 38% of children with anaemia and light hookworm egg load (+ 0.07 g/dl vs. − 0.21 g/dl). It was of no significant benefit to children who were not anaemic. This study suggests that single‐dose anthelminthic treatment distributed in schools in this area achieves haematological benefits in nearly half of children infected with S. haematobium and geohelminths (37% of total population).
A Rotor-Current-Based Slip Angle Estimator for Grid-Connected Doubly Fed Induction Generator Requiring the Stator Inductance Only

This paper proposes, for variable-speed, grid-connected doubly fed induction generator (DFIG), a slip angle estimator, which is based on rotor current estimation in the synchronous reference frame. This estimator eliminates the need for a speed sensor or a rotor position encoder. The proposed estimator eliminates the need for an integrator to estimate the stator flux and, compared with other model-based estimators, requires the stator inductance only. The stator inductance is the inductance seen from the stator side, and it can be measured which allows using real machine parameter. In addition, this paper investigates the effect of inaccuracy in the stator inductance value on the accuracy of the proposed estimator. Several experiments, such as variable-speed operation, are carried out using a 1.1 kW DFIG to investigate the performance of the proposed estimator.
CRitical Periods During Childhood And Adolescence

We identify the ages that constitute sensitive (or critical) periods in children's development towards their adult health status, skills, and human capital. For this, we use data on families migrating into Sweden from countries that are poorer, with less healthy conditions. Late-life health is proxied by adult height and other adult outcomes. The relation between siblings’ ages at migration and their adult outcomes allows us to estimate the causal effect of conditions at specific childhood ages. We effectively exploit that, for siblings, the migration occurs simultaneously in calendar time but at different developmental stages (ages). We find evidence that the period just before the puberty growth spurt constitutes a critical period for adult height and we find related critical periods for adult cognition, mental health, and education.