Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monetary Policy and Bank Lending

This paper surveys recent work that relates to the "lending" view of monetary policy transmission. It has three main goals: 1) to explain why it is important to distinguish between the lending and "money" views of policy transmission; 2) to outline the microeconomic conditions that are needed to generate a lending channel; and 3) to review the empirical evidence that bears on the lending view.
Disenchanted or Discerning: Voter Turnout in Post-Communist Countries

Voter turnout in post-communist countries has exhibited wildly fluctuating patterns against a backdrop of economic and political volatility. In this article, we consider three explanations for this variation: a “depressing disenchantment” hypothesis that predicts voters are less likely to vote in elections when political and economic conditions are worse; a “motivating disenchantment” hypothesis that predicts voters are more likely to vote in elections when conditions are worse; and a “stakes” based hypothesis that predicts voters are more likely to vote in more important elections. Using an original aggregate-level cross-national time-series data set of 137 presidential and parliamentary elections in 19 post-communist countries, we find much stronger empirical support for the stakes-based approach to explaining variation in voter turnout than we do for either of the disenchantment-based approaches. Our findings offer a theoretically integrated picture of voter participation in the post-communist world, and, more broadly, contribute new insights to the general literature on turnout.
Online Reputation and Litigation as Mechanisms for Quality Assurance: Strategic Implications for Profits and Eciency

An information collecting system comprises an access terminal connectable to a data base through a network and a host computer, an IC memory card adapted for removable insertion into the access terminal, and a portable personal terminal. Requests for an item of information, from a customer, are inputted and recorded in the IC memory card using the personal terminal and the IC memory card is inserted into the access terminal. The request for information is transmitted through the access terminal to the data base and the requested information, transmitted from the data base, is stored in the IC memory card. Thereafter, the IC memory card, storing the information, is inserted into the personal terminal whereby the requested information is displayed on a display formed in the personal terminal.
Effects of a Sensory Stimulation by Nurses and Families on Level of Cognitive Function, and Basic Cognitive Sensory Recovery of Comatose Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized Control Trial

Background Several lines of evidence suggest that early sensory stimulation and regular family visiting programs are potential nursing interventions to improve the outcomes of head injured comatose patients. However, little is known about the impacts of family involvement in providing sensory stimulation. Objectives To determine the effects of a sensory stimulation program conducted by nurses and families on the consciousness, level of cognitive function, and basic cognitive sensory recovery of head injury comatose patients. Patients and Methods This was a randomized clinical trial performed at the Shiraz level I trauma center including 60 head injured comatose patients with an initial Glasgow coma score (GCS) of less than 8. Patients were randomly assigned to receive sensory stimulation by a qualified nurse (nurse group; n = 20), by the family (family group; n = 20), or usual care (control group; n = 20). The sensory stimulation program involving the nurses and patients’ families was conducted, twice daily, in the morning and evening for 7 days. The level of consciousness, level of cognitive function, and basic cognitive sensory recovery of the patients were evaluated and monitored using the GCS, Rancho Los Amigos (RLA), and Western Neuro-Sensory stimulation profile (WNSSP). Data were analyzed by chi square, Kruskal-Wallis, and repeated-measures tests using SPSS. Results All the patients were comparable regarding their baseline characteristics, level of consciousness, level of cognitive function, and basic cognitive sensory recovery determined by GCS, RLA, and WNSSP. Although the two intervention groups of the study improved, those who received the sensory stimulation program from their families had significantly higher GCS (P = 0.001), RLA (P = 0.001), and WNSSP (P = 0.001) scores after 7 days when compared to the two other groups. Conclusions The application of sensory stimulation by families led to significant increases in the consciousness, level of cognitive function, and basic cognitive sensory recovery of comatose patients with severe injuries.
Fuzzy relational thesauri in information retrieval: automatic knowledge base expansion by means of classifled textual data

In our ongoing project we develop a tool which provides domain engineers with a facility to create fuzzy relational thesauri (FRT) describing subject domains. The created fuzzy relational thesauri can be used as knowledge base for an intelligent information agent when answering user queries relevant to the described domains, or for textual searching on the web. However, the manual creation of (fuzzy) thesauri is quite tedious process if the source of data from which the domain engineer may select concepts and instances for the thesaurus is not well organized or structured. That is the typical case of textual data bases. In order to ease FRT creation process we make use of a small starting FRT and our text categorization technique that temporarily expands FRT while doing the supervised learning part of text categorization. This by-product of categorization is then used for enlarging automatically or semi-automatically the final FRT.
Determinants of FDI in Latin America

In this paper we study the determinants of inflows of foreign capital in Latin American countries. We consider the usual factors included in other studies in the literature: market size, infrastructure development, and wages. To obtain a improved measure of market size we adjust GDP by a poverty factor. In addition, we consider indicators of openness of the economy, macroeconomic stability, human capital and the importance of natural resources. We also studied the effects of privatizations. The results obtained provide important guidelines on how a country can attract more foreign direct investment.
The role of caveolae and caveolin 1 in calcium handling in pacing and contraction of mouse intestine

In mouse intestine, caveolae and caveolin‐1 (Cav‐1) are present in smooth muscle (responsible for executing contractions) and in interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC; responsible for pacing contractions). We found that a number of calcium handling/dependent molecules are associated with caveolae, including L‐type Ca2+ channels, Na+‐Ca2+ exchanger type 1 (NCX1), plasma membrane Ca2+ pumps and neural nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), and that caveolae are close to the peripheral endo‐sarcoplasmic reticulum (ER‐SR). Also we found that this assemblage may account for recycling of calcium from caveolar domains to SR through L‐type Ca + channels to sustain pacing and contractions. Here we test this hypothesis further comparing pacing and contractions under various conditions in longitudinal muscle of Cav‐1 knockout mice (lacking caveolae) and in their genetic controls. We used a procedure in which pacing frequencies (indicative of functioning of ICC) and contraction amplitudes (indicative of functioning of smooth muscle) were studied in calcium‐free media with 100 mM ethylene glycol tetra‐acetic acid (EGTA). The absence of caveolae in ICC inhibited the ability of ICC to maintain frequencies of contraction in the calcium‐free medium by reducing recycling of calcium from caveolar plasma membrane to SR when the calcium stores were initially full. This recycling to ICC involved primarily L‐type Ca2+ channels; i.e. pacing frequencies were enhanced by opening and inhibited by closing these channels. However, when these stores were depleted by block of the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase (SERCA) pump or calcium release was activated by carbachol, the absence of Cav‐1 or caveolae had little or no effect. The absence of caveolae had little impact on contraction amplitudes, indicative of recycling of calcium to SR in smooth muscle. However, the absence of caveolae slowed the rate of loss of calcium from SR under some conditions in both ICC and smooth muscle, which may reflect the loss of proximity to store operated Ca channels. We found evidence that these channels were associated with Cav‐1. These changes were all consistent with the hypothesis that a reduction of the extracellular calcium associated with caveolae in ICC of the myenteric plexus, the state of L‐type Ca2+ channels or an increase in the distance between caveolae and SR affected calcium handling.
Endothelial cell-derived non-canonical Wnt ligands control vascular pruning in angiogenesis

Multiple cell types involved in the regulation of angiogenesis express Wnt ligands. Although β-catenin dependent and independent Wnt signaling pathways have been shown to control angiogenesis, the contribution of individual cell types to activate these downstream pathways in endothelial cells (ECs) during blood vessel formation is still elusive. To investigate the role of ECs in contributing Wnt ligands for regulation of blood vessel formation, we conditionally deleted the Wnt secretion factor Evi in mouse ECs (Evi-ECKO). Evi-ECKO mice showed decreased microvessel density during physiological and pathological angiogenesis in the postnatal retina and in tumors, respectively. The reduced microvessel density resulted from increased vessel regression accompanied by decreased EC survival and proliferation. Concomitantly, survival-related genes were downregulated and cell cycle arrest- and apoptosis-inducing genes were upregulated. EVI silencing in cultured HUVECs showed similar target gene regulation, supporting a mechanism of EC-derived Wnt ligands in controlling EC function. ECs preferentially expressed non-canonical Wnt ligands and canonical target gene expression was unaffected in Evi-ECKO mice. Furthermore, the reduced vascularization of Matrigel plugs in Evi-ECKO mice could be rescued by introduction of non-canonical Wnt5a. Treatment of mouse pups with the non-canonical Wnt inhibitor TNP470 resulted in increased vessel regression accompanied by decreased EC proliferation, thus mimicking the proliferation-dependent Evi-ECKO remodeling phenotype. Taken together, this study identified EC-derived non-canonical Wnt ligands as regulators of EC survival, proliferation and subsequent vascular pruning during developmental and pathological angiogenesis.
Regional Labour Market Adjustment and the Movements of People: A Review

This review paper examines the link between internal migration and regional labour market adjustment. It outlines the motivation and scope of our enquiry, discusses the three key questions that we plan to pursue, reviews relevant international and New Zealand literature, and outlines proposals for future research. The first key question examines whether migration helps regional labour market adjustment. The second question investigates how important migration is as a regional labour market adjustment mechanism. The final question looks at who is moving and whether it matters for regional labour market adjustment.
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF BROILER PRODUCTION IN ABEOKUTA METROPOLIS OF OGUN STATE

This is project is on Economics Analysis of Broiler Production in Aboekuta, Ogun State. The study entailed distribution of copies of questionnaires to fifty (50) Broiler producers within the study area. The data collected from these farmers were subjected to cost and returns analysis, the multiple regression analysis. The profit level and the rate of the return to investment of broiler enterprise were determined and the extent to which cost variables affects the level of revenue was determined. The study shows that commercial broiler farmers have higher income on the enterprise than the small scale farmers. It also shows that total variable cost affects the level of broiler revenue than the fixed costs. Also, the findings revealed that the pressing problems encountered by the broiler producers are, high cost feed, lack of capital, cost of medication, transportation problem and in some cases pilfering of birds and disloyalty by poultry attendants. As a result of the information gathered in the course of this project it is therefore recommended that potential poultry farmers should be informed of the cost implications of the variable and fixed inputs in relation to their capital outlay before embarking on the investments. Subsidizing the materials in feed mill to reduce the cost of feed is of utmost important. Also, proper marketing channel for the sale of output and procurement of input should be known.
China's Growth: Can Goldilocks Outgrow Bears?

The paper analyzes the recent growth dynamics in China, evaluating both cyclical positions and long-term growth prospects. The analysis shows that financial cycles play a more important role than traditional inflation-based cycles in shaping the dynamics of growth. Currently, the ‘finance-neutral’ gap — our measure of the financial cycle — is large and positive, reflecting imbalances accumulated in the economy since the Global Financial Crisis. A period of slower growth is therefore both likely and needed in the near term to restore the economy to equilibrium. In the medium term, growth will slow as China moves closer to the technology frontier, but a steadfast implementation of reforms can ensure that China follows the path of the “Asia Tigers” and achieves successful convergence to high-income status.
How Does Intensity of Social Network Sites Use Moderate Cybervictimization? Understanding the Factors and Conditions Using an R-Based Tool for Probing Moderation Effects

Studies on cyberbullying are replete with questions about whether certain risk or protective factors are likely to predict cyberbullying outcomes such as cybervictimization. Such questions can often be reframed in terms of moderation effects, or hypotheses about how the effect of a predictor variable on an outcome variable depends on the value of a moderator variable. Demonstrating how questions about moderation effects are conventionally tested using the dataset from the Teens and Parents survey conducted by the Pew Research Centre’s Internet and American Life Project, the current study found two sets of significant moderation effects that could be interpreted to mean that the predictive relationship between traditional victimization and cybervictimization depend on the teenager’s intensity of SNS use and gender. A secondary purpose of this paper is to extend the conventional analytic approach in the form of an R package that provide researchers with methods – based on the pick-a-point technique and the Johnson-Neyman technique – which they can use to probe moderation effects they find significant in their research projects. Empirical illustrations with the cyberbullying dataset are provided throughout to demonstrate the use of this R package.
Biomechanical Stability of Dental Implants in Augmented Maxillary Sites: Results of a Randomized Clinical Study with Four Different Biomaterials and PRF and a Biological View on Guided Bone Regeneration

Introduction. Bone regenerates mainly by periosteal and endosteal humoral and cellular activity, which is given only little concern in surgical techniques and choice of bone grafts for guided bone regeneration. This study investigates on a clinical level the biomechanical stability of augmented sites in maxillary bone when a new class of moldable, self-hardening calcium-phosphate biomaterials (SHB) is used with and without the addition of Platelet Rich Fibrin (aPRF) in the Piezotome-enhanced subperiosteal tunnel-technique (PeSPTT). Material and Methods. 82 patients with horizontal atrophy of anterior maxillary crest were treated with PeSPTT and randomly assigned biphasic (60% HA/40% bTCP) or monophasic (100% bTCP) SHB without or with addition of aPRF. 109 implants were inserted into the augmented sites after 8.3 months and the insertion-torque-value (ITV) measured as clinical expression of the (bio)mechanical stability of the augmented bone and compared to ITVs of a prior study in sinus lifting. Results. Significant better results of (bio)mechanical stability almost by two-fold, expressed by higher ITVs compared to native bone, were achieved with the used biomaterials and more constant results with the addition of aPRF. Conclusion. The use of SHB alone or combined with aPRF seems to be favourable to achieve a superior (bio)mechanical stable restored alveolar bone.
Modelling of Urban Near-Road Atmospheric PM Concentrations Using an Artificial Neural Network Approach with Acoustic Data Input

Air quality assessment is an important task for local authorities due to several adverse health effects that are associated with exposure to e.g., urban particle concentrations throughout the world. Based on the consumption of costs and time related to the experimental works required for standardized measurements of particle concentration in the atmosphere, other methods such as modelling arise as integrative options, on condition that model performance reaches certain quality standards. This study presents an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) approach to predict atmospheric concentrations of particle mass considering particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 0.25–1 μm (PM(0.25–1)), 0.25–2.5 μm (PM(0.25–2.5)), 0.25–10 μm (PM(0.25–10)) as well as particle number concentrations of particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 0.25–2.5 μm (PNC(0.25–2.5)). ANN model input variables were defined using data of local sound measurements, concentrations of background particle transport and standard meteorological data. A methodology including input variable selection, data splitting and an evaluation of their performance is proposed. The ANN models were developed and tested by the use of a data set that was collected in a street canyon. The ANN models were applied furthermore to a research site featuring an inner-city park to test the ability of the approach to gather spatial information of aerosol concentrations. It was observed that ANN model predictions of PM(0.25–10) and PNC(0.25–2.5) within the street canyon case as well as predictions of PM(0.25–2.5), PM(0.25–10) and PNC(0.25–2.5) within the case study of the park area show good agreement to observations and meet quality standards proposed by the European Commission regarding mean value prediction. Results indicate that the ANN models proposed can be a fairly accurate tool for assessment in predicting particle concentrations not only in time but also in space.
Discrete time output feedback sliding mode control for uncertain systems

Abstract This paper describes a method for designing discrete time static output feedback sliding mode controllers. Previous work has shown that by identifying a minimal set of current and past outputs, an augmented system can be obtained which permits the design of a sliding surface based upon output information only, if the invariant zeros of this augmented system are stable. In this work, a procedure for realizing discrete time controllers via a particular set of extended outputs is presented for systems with uncertainties. This method is applicable when unstable invariant zeros are present in the original system. The conditions for existence of a sliding manifold guaranteeing a stable sliding motion are given. A procedure to synthesize a control law that minimizes the effect of the disturbance on the sliding surface and the augmented outputs is given. The proposed control law is then applied to a motivational example.
The phonology of epenthetic stops: implications for the phonetics-phonology interface in optimality theory

This paper presents an OT analysis of stop epenthesis, which as well as reflecting the basic pattern of stop insertion can also model the available quantitative data on variability of stop epenthesis and the phonetic difference between epenthetic and underlying stops. However, accounting for these factors requires the introduction of two very powerful mechanisms within OT, absolute ranking with noise added to rankings at evaluation time (Boersma 1998), and allowing the phonetic realization access to the underlying representation. Such a powerful theory may not be desirable, but this need for very powerful mechanisms to model quantitative data is probably not restricted to OT. Using this example, this article examines the relationship between phonetics and phonology in OT.
The Benefits of Storage and Non‐Renewable Resource Price Dynamics (Les Avantages De L’Entreprosage Et La Dynamique Des Prix Des Ressources Non‐Renouvelables)

Both the Theory of Storage and the Hotelling model play a prominent role in the study of non-renewable resource prices. This paper combines these approaches by modifying the Hotelling model to allow firms to hold inventory in addition to in-ground reserves, contributing three new results. First, inventory is more likely to be held if future demand and/or the marginal cost of extraction are uncertain. Second, the market price of the commodity is based on the Theory of Storage when inventory is held. Third, the optimal extraction of the resource is based on the Hotelling model.
Morphological constraints for phrase pivot statistical machine translation

The lack of parallel data for many language pairs is an important challenge to statistical machine translation (SMT). One common solution is to pivot through a third language for which there exist parallel corpora with the source and target languages. Although pivoting is a robust technique, it introduces some low quality translations especially when a poor morphology language is used as the pivot between rich morphology languages. In this paper, we examine the use of synchronous morphology constraint features to improve the quality of phrase pivot SMT. We compare hand-crafted constraints to those learned from limited parallel data between source and target languages. The learned morphology constraints are based on projected align- ments between the source and target phrases in the pivot phrase table. We show positive results on Hebrew-Arabic SMT (pivoting on English). We get 1.5 BLEU points over a phrase pivot baseline and 0.8 BLEU points over a system combination baseline with a direct model built from parallel data.
Molecular and epidemiological updates on cystic echinococcosis infecting water buffaloes from Egypt

Aim: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) represents a serious parasitic disease at both animal and public health levels. The majority of reports negated the CE infection in buffaloes from Egypt; however, one study illustrated their infection with G6 genotype (camel strain). The present work contributed to update the epidemiological and molecular knowledge about CE infecting this economically important animal for better understanding of its role in maintaining the Echinococcus life cycle. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 slaughtered water buffaloes at Mansoura abattoir, Dakahlia province, Egypt, were inspected for the existence of hydatid cysts. Cysts location and fertility were examined. Five out of 27 revealed cysts were tested molecularly using both cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrogen subunit 1 (nadh1) genes. Results: Low prevalence (4.2%) as well as considerably low fertility rate (14.8%) of buffaloes CE was noted. G1 genotype (common sheep strain) was revealed from the five examined cysts. At the level of nadh1 partial sequences, a globally singleton G1 haplotype was reported. Conclusion: This the first report about the G1 infection in buffaloes from Egypt. This study proposed the minimized role of this animal in echinococcosis transmission. These findings could provide preliminary data for the local control of this disease.