Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiyear Temporal Changes in Chlorinated Solvent Concentrations at 23 Monitored Natural Attenuation Sites

Long-term e.g., 5-15 years groundwater concentration versus time records were compiled from 47 near-source zone moni- toring wells at 23 chlorinated solvent sites 52 total records. Chlorinated volatile organic compound CVOC concentrations decreased significantly in most of the 52 temporal records, with a median reduction in concentration of 74%. A statistical method based on a Mann-Kendall analysis also showed that most sites had statistically significant decreasing concentration trends over time. Median point decay rate constants kpoint values were calculated for nine sites containing tetrachloroethene PCE; 13 sites containing trichloroethene TCE; two sites containing cis-1,2-dichloroethene DCE; and six sites containing 1,1,1-trichloroethane TCA. The TCA sites had the highest kpoint values 0.34/year followed by PCE, DCE, and TCE 0.23/year, 0.16/year, and 0.11/year, respectivelyequal to decay half-lives of 2.0, 3.0, 4.3, and 6.1 years, respectively. If the median point decay rates from these sites are maintained over a 20 year period, the resulting reduction in concentration will be similar to the reported reduction in source zone concentrations achieved by active in situ source remediation technologies typical project length: 1-2 years.
IMM-Based Lane-Change Prediction in Highways With Low-Cost GPS/INS

The prediction of lane changes has been proven to be useful for collision avoidance support in road vehicles. This paper proposes an interactive multiple model (IMM)-based method for predicting lane changes in highways. The sensor unit consists of a set of low-cost Global Positioning System/inertial measurement unit (GPS/IMU) sensors and an odometry captor for collecting velocity measurements. Extended Kalman filters (EKFs) running in parallel and integrated by an IMM-based algorithm provide positioning and maneuver predictions to the user. The maneuver states Change Lane (CL) and Keep Lane (KL) are defined by two models that describe different dynamics. Different model sets have been studied to meet the needs of the IMM-based algorithm. Real trials in highway scenarios show the capability of the system to predict lane changes in straight and curved road stretches with very short latency times.
Quantification of Mechanical and Neural Components of Vagal Baroreflex in Humans

Abstract—Traditionally, arterial baroreflex control of vagal neural outflow is quantified by heart period responses to falling and/or rising arterial pressures (ms/mm Hg). However, it is arterial pressure-dependent stretch of barosensory vessels that determines afferent baroreceptor responses, which, in turn, generate appropriate efferent cardiac vagal outflow. Thus, mechanical transduction of pressure into barosensory vessel stretch and neural transduction of stretch into vagal outflow are key steps in baroreflex regulation that determine the conventional integrated input-output relation. We developed a novel technique for direct estimation of gain in both mechanical and neural components of integrated cardiac vagal baroreflex control. Concurrent, beat-by-beat measures of arterial pressures (Finapres), carotid diameters (B-mode ultrasonography), and R-R intervals (ECG lead II) were made during bolus vasoactive drug infusions (modified Oxford technique) in 16 healthy humans. The systolic carotid diameter/pressure relationship (r2=0.79±0.008, mean±SEM) provided a gain estimate of dynamic mechanical transduction of pressure into a baroreflex stimulus. The R-R interval/systolic diameter relationship (r2=0.77±0.009) provided a gain estimate of afferent-efferent neural transduction of baroreflex stimulus into a vagal response. Variance between repeated measures for both estimates was no different than that for standard gain (P >0.40). Moreover, in these subjects, the simple product of the 2 estimates almost equaled standard baroreflex gain (ms/mm Hg=0.98x+2.27;r2=0.93, P =0.001). This technique provides reliable information on key baroreflex components not distinguished by standard assessments and gives insight to dynamic mechanical and neural events during acute changes in arterial pressure.
Flexibility and Dividends

We develop a model of corporate dividend policy based on the idea that management values operating flexibility. By reducing dividends and conserving cash, management increases its flexibility. This improves its ability to invest in projects that it believes are good for the shareholders in the long run but which shareholders would not provide the capital for because they think the projects are value reducing. However, the cost of not paying dividends is a reduction in the current stock price. Management trades off these two aspects of dividends. Flexibility considerations help us understand various dimensions of dividend policy that existing theories do not explain. Our theory generates numerous testable predictions that we confront with the data. The evidence is supportive of the model.
Lock-in or lock-out ? How structural properties of knowledge networks affect regional resilience

This article develops an evolutionary framework of regional resilience with a primary focus on the structural properties of local knowledge networks. After presenting the network-based rationales of growth and structuring of clusters, we analyze under which structural conditions a regional cluster can achieve short-run competitiveness without compromising long-run resilience capabilities. We show that the properties of degree distribution (the level of hierarchy) and degree correlation (the level of structural homophily) of regional knowledge networks should be studied to understand how clusters succeed in combining technological lock-in with regional lock-out. We propose simple statistical measures of cluster structuring to highlight these properties and discuss the results in a policy-oriented analysis. We conclude showing that policies for regional resilience should focus on ex-ante regional diagnosis and targeted interventions on particular missing links, rather than ex-postmyopic applications of policies based on an unconditional increase of network relational density.
Employers' Search and the Efficiency of Matching

Unskilled workers in low productivity jobs typically experience higher labour turnover. This article shows how this finding is related to variation in the efficiency of the matching process across occupations. If employers find it less profitable to invest in search and screening activities when recruiting for low-productivity jobs, matches at the lower end of the occupation distribution will be more prone to separation. The analysis of a unique sample of British hirings, containing detailed information about employers' recruitment practices, shows that more intensive recruitment leads to matches of better quality that pay higher wages, last longer and make employers more satisfied with the person taken on.
Effect of bioactive compounds from Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) on the in vitro larval migration of Haemonchus contortus: role of tannins and flavonol glycosides

Anthelmintic bioactivity against gastrointestinal nematodes has been associated with leguminous forages supporting the hypothesis of a role of condensed tannins. However, the possibility that other compounds might also been involved has received less consideration. Using bio-guided fractionation, the current study aimed at characterizing the biochemical nature of the active compounds present in sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia), previously identified as an anthelmintic leguminous forage. The effects of sainfoin extracts were evaluated on 3rd-stage larvae (L3) of Haemonchus contortus by using a larval migration inhibition (LMI) assay. Comparison of extracts obtained with several solvent systems showed that the bioactivity was associated with the 70[ratio ]30 acetone/water extract. Further fractionation of the later allowed the separation of phenolic compounds. By use of a dialysis method, compounds were separated with a molecular weight cut-off of 2000 Da. The in vitro anthelmintic effect of the fraction with condensed tannins was confirmed. In the fraction containing molecules of MW <2000 Da, 3 flavonol glycosides were identified as rutin, nicotiflorin and narcissin. At 1200 μg/ml, each inhibited significantly the migration of larvae. Addition of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVPP) to both fractions before incubation restored larval migration. These results confirmed the role of both tannins and flavonol glycosides in the anthelmintic properties of sainfoin.
Variability of fMRI activation during a phonological and semantic language task in healthy subjects

Assessing inter‐individual variability of functional activations is of practical importance in the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a clinical context. In this fMRI study we addressed this issue in 30 right‐handed, healthy subjects using rhyme detection (phonologic) and semantic categorization tasks. Significant activations, found mainly in the left hemisphere, concerned the inferior frontal gyrus, the superior/middle temporal gyri, the prefrontal cortex, the inferior parietal lobe, the superior parietal lobule/superior occipital gyrus, the pre‐central gyrus, and the supplementary motor area. Intensity/spatial analysis comparing activations in both tasks revealed an increased involvement of frontal regions in the semantic task and of temporo‐parietal regions in the phonologic task. The frequency of activation analyzed in nine regional subdivisions revealed a high inter‐subject variability but showed that the most frequently activated regions were the inferior frontal gyrus and the prefrontal cortex. Laterality indices, strongly lateralizing in both tasks, were slightly higher in the semantic (0.76 ± 0.19) than the phonologic task (0.66 ± 0.27). Frontal dominance indices (a measure of frontal vs. posterior left hemisphere dominance) indicated more robust frontal activations in the semantic than the phonologic task. Our study allowed the characterization of the most frequently involved foci in two language tasks and showed that the combination of these tasks constitutes a suitable tool for determining language lateralization and for mapping major language areas. Hum. Brain Mapping 23:140–155, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
XRF 050406 late-time flattening: an inverse Compton component?

Aims. We investigate for possible evidence of inverse Compton (IC) emission in the X-ray afterglow of XRF 050406. Methods. In the framework of the standard fireball model, we show how the late-time flattening observed in the X-ray light curve between ∼10 4 s and ∼10 6 s can be explained in a synchrotron-plus-IC scenario when the IC peak frequency crosses the X-ray band. Results. We thus conclude that the appearance of an IC component above the synchrotron one at late times successfully accounts for these X-ray observations.
Economic Evaluation of the Training Opportunities Programme in New Zealand

It is well accepted that a highly educated and well trained labour force is a precondition for sustained economic growth and development, and that the labour market outcomes for individuals are enhanced with higher levels of education and training. Recognition of these facts has influenced the types of active labour market programmes that are provided for the unemployed by governments throughout the OECD, with particular emphasis on training. In New Zealand, the Training Opportunities scheme, introduced in the early 1990’s, remains today the major active labour market programme for the unemployed. This paper contributes to the literature in two ways. Firstly, the impact on male participants of being involved in Training Opportunities in the mid 1990’s is evaluated. Secondly, short and medium term impacts for men are estimated using Difference-in-Differences matching, with careful attention to methodological concerns. The key findings are that while there is a short term beneficial effect for the programme as a whole, this is not consistent across all sub-groups. Further, the beneficial effect dissipates by the second year after receiving the intervention
Overweight, obesity and other risk factors for IHD in Brazilian schoolchildren

Abstract Objective To estimate the prevalence of overweight, obesity and nutritional habits in schoolchildren aged 10–18 years. Methods Contemporary, cross-sectional, population-based study, with a stratified probabilistic sample of secondary schools in Porto Alegre comprising a total of 511 schoolchildren. Data on family risk factors, anthropometrics and eating habits were collected. Results The prevalence of excess weight was 27·6 % among the schoolchildren, with 17·8 % being overweight (BMI ≥ 85th and <95th percentile) and 9·8 % obese (BMI ≥ 95th percentile). Overweight was more prevalent in females (19·9 %) and obesity in males (11·8 %). Children who ate fewer meals per day tend to be more obese (mean: 3·51 (sd 1·14) v. 4·22 (sd 1·01) meals/d for students with normal weight). The mean weekly intake of unhealthy foods was 3·25 times for soft drinks, 2·91 for fried foods and 4·01 for sweets. The intake of skimmed milk (38·9 %) and diet soft drinks (20·9 %) was greater among obese children. Conclusion Overweight and obesity are increasing even in developing countries such as Brazil. Although many families are already taking measures towards healthier health habits, preventive actions must be considered a priority, with an emphasis on education, in order to avoid the need to treat obesity and its significant burden in the near future.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMPETITION FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

This paper examines the factors driving community tax incentives for industry recruitment. The empirical results show that spatial competition among Georgia counties is an important factor determining their propensity to use fiscal incentives. The proximity effect is robust and diminishes with distance. In addition, we find that county governments use fiscal incentives to compensate for higher taxes and that higher income jurisdictions do not tend to forestall nonresidential development (and its attendant externalities). Interestingly, neither economic diversification nor government form affects development policies. It also appears that fiscally troubled local governments cannot sustain the short term costs of aggressively recruiting industry in order to garner the long term benefits.
Reflections on the Relationship Between Psychiatric Genetics and Psychiatric Nosology

Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D. Research advances in psychiatric genetics have raised expectations that genetic findings might lead to major breakthroughs in psychiatric nosology. The author reviews the plausibility of these claims. Four areas are addressed. First, it is argued that familial aggregation of a single putative psychiatric syndrome provides at best limited evidence for the validity of that syndrome. Second, both traditional and molecular genetic strategies can supply important insights into major diagnostic conundrums. However, evidence that one or a few individual genes impact on risk for two disorders is not likely to resolve definitively the nosologic relationship between the two syndromes. Third, while gene-based essentialist models for psychiatric disorders are conceptually appealing, they are not well supported empirically. Gene discovery in psychiatry is, on its own, unlikely to allow us to “carve nature at its joints,” thereby validating categorical psychiatric diagnoses. Fourth, the project to ground “messy” psychiatric categories on the firm foundation of genes—as an archetypal natural kind—may be fundamentally flawed because the very concept of “the gene” as a discrete entity is itself increasingly in doubt. Whereas psychiatric genetics has and will continue to provide important insights into the etiology of psychiatric and substance use disorders, it is not likely alone to provide deep answers to the complex and multifaceted problems facing psychiatric nosology.
Neural Correlates of Auditory–Visual Stimulus Onset Asynchrony Detection

Intersensory temporal synchrony is an ubiquitous sensory attribute that has proven to be critical for binding multisensory inputs, sometimes erroneously leading to dramatic perceptual illusions. However, little is known about how the brain detects temporal synchrony between multimodal sensory inputs. We used positron emission tomography to demonstrate that detecting auditory–visual stimulus onset asynchrony activates a large-scale neural network of insular, posterior parietal, prefrontal, and cerebellar areas with the highest and task-specific activity localized to the right insula. Interregional covariance analysis further showed significant task-related functional interactions between the insula, the posterior thalamus, and superior colliculus. Based on these results and the available electrophysiological and anatomical connectivity data in animals, we propose that the insula, via its known short-latency connections with the tectal system, mediates temporally defined auditory–visual interaction at an early stage of cortical processing permitting phenomena such as the ventriloquist and the McGurk illusions.
An optimal on-line algorithm for metrical task system

In practice, almost all dynamic systems require decisions to be made on-line, without full knowledge of their future impact on the system. A general model for the processing of sequences of tasks is introduced, and a general on-line decision algorithm is developed. It is shown that, for an important class of special cases, this algorithm is optimal among all on-line algorithms. Specifically, a task system (<italic>S,d</italic>) for processing sequences of tasks consists of a set <italic>S</italic> of states and a cost matrix <italic>d</italic> where <italic>d</italic>(<italic>i, j</italic> is the cost of changing from state <italic>i</italic> to state <italic>j</italic> (we assume that <italic>d</italic> satisfies the triangle inequality and all diagonal entries are 0). The cost of processing a given task depends on the state of the system. A schedule for a sequence <italic>T<supscrpt>1</supscrpt></italic>, <italic>T<supscrpt>2</supscrpt></italic>,…, <italic>T<supscrpt>k</supscrpt></italic> of tasks is a sequence <italic>s</italic><subscrpt>1</subscrpt>, <italic>s</italic><subscrpt>2</subscrpt>,…,<italic>s<subscrpt>k</subscrpt></italic> of states where <italic>s<subscrpt>i</subscrpt></italic> is the state in which <italic>T<supscrpt>i</supscrpt></italic> is processed; the cost of a schedule is the sum of all task processing costs and the state transition costs incurred. An on-line scheduling algorithm is one that chooses <italic>s<subscrpt>i</subscrpt></italic> only knowing <italic>T</italic><supscrpt>1</supscrpt><italic>T</italic><supscrpt>2</supscrpt>…<italic>T<supscrpt>i</supscrpt></italic>. Such an algorithm is <italic>w</italic>-competitive if, on any input task sequence, its cost is within an additive constant of <italic>w</italic> times the optimal offline schedule cost. The competitive ratio <italic>w</italic>(<italic>S</italic>, <italic>d</italic>) is the infimum <italic>w</italic> for which there is a <italic>w</italic>-competitive on-line scheduling algorithm for (<italic>S</italic>,<italic>d</italic>). It is shown that <italic>w</italic>(<italic>S</italic>, <italic>d</italic>) = 2|S|–1 <italic>for every task system</italic> in which <italic>d</italic> is symmetric, and <italic>w</italic>(<italic>S, d</italic>) = <italic>O</italic>(|<italic>S</italic>|<supscrpt>2</supscrpt>) for every task system. Finally, randomized on-line scheduling algorithms are introduced. It is shown that for the uniform task system (in which <italic>d</italic>(<italic>i,j</italic>) = 1 for all <italic>i,j</italic>), the expected competitive ratio <italic>w¯</italic>(<italic>S,d</italic>) = <italic>O</italic>(log|S|).
How Successful is the Dual Income Tax? Evidence from the Finnish Tax Reform of 1993

Dual income tax systems have become increasingly popular; yet, relatively little is known about the consequences of implementing such tax systems. This paper uses a representative panel of taxpayers from the 1993 Finnish tax reform to measure how overall taxable income and the relative shares of capital income and labour income reacted to the reform. The Finnish tax reform appears to be particularly suitable for analysing the effect of separating labour and capital income tax bases. The reform radically reduced the marginal tax rates on capital income to some, but not all, taxpayers, while the taxation of labour income was not reformed at the same time. We find that the reform led to a small positive impact on overall taxable income, but part of the positive response was probably offset by income shifting among the self-employed.
Risks for young users on social network sites and the legal framework: match or mismatch?

The availability and use of social networking sites creates both opportunities and risks for their young users. This paper evaluates the applicability of the current legal framework to (cyber)bullying and sexting, two types of behaviour that are increasingly occurring between peers in the social networking environment. The analysis includes a mapping of applicable provisions at the European and national level, an analysis of the Terms of Service of two social networking providers and an overview and assessment of self-regulatory initiatives that have been taken by the industry in this area. The ultimate goal is to identify a number of elements for a comprehensive strategy to ensure that risks of cyberbullying and sexting are dealt with in a manner that empowers young users.
Taxation, Human Capital, and Uncertainty

This paper analyzes the effect of wage and interest taxation on investment in human capital. It is shown that results derived under the assumption that human.capital is a riskless asset fail to obtain when the return on human capi- tal is uncertain. The interaction of the human capital investment decision with savings, consumption and labor-leisure choices are taken into account. An implication of the analysis is that, when the rate of return on human capi- tal is stochastic, efficient taxation requires positive taxation of wage income even when lump-sum taxation is feasible.
Stock-Market Psychology: How People Value and Trade Stocks

Efficient markets and rational models of portfolio choice behavioural considerations on financial markets expectation formation decision making, uncertainty and risk attitudes cognitive bias, (simple) heuristics and mental accounts emotionality, motivation, self-control and investment social influence some behavioural data on investors investor groups and market segments implications and some further thoughts on private investing.