Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Collusive Equilibrium in the Great Salt Duopoly

This paper uses data presented in a report of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on the market for white salt to test the implications of some recent developments in oligopoly theory. The market in question is a homogeneous, price-setting duopoly where firms are subject to capacity constraints. We find that the conclusions of models based on one-shot non-cooperative games do not hold. Collusion in the market is readily explained by the types of threat strategies underlying Abreu's 'simple penal codes. ' Possible explanations of the collusive equilibrium in terms of joint profit maximization are not supported by the data. Indeed the explanation of the equilibrium remains an open question. Copyright 1993 by Royal Economic Society.
Equilibrium Search and Tax Credit Reform

An empirical equilibrium job search model with wage posting is developed to analyze the labor market impact of UK tax reforms. The model allows for a rich characterization of the labor market, with hours responses, accurate representations of the tax and transfer system, and both worker and firm heterogeneity. The model is estimated with pre-reform longitudinal survey data using a semi-parametric estimation technique, and the impact of actual tax reform policies is simulated. The model predicts that the British Working Families’ Tax Credit and contemporaneous reforms increased employment, with equilibrium effects found to play a relatively minor role.
OPTIMAL REACTIVE POWER DISPATCH USING PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM

Abstract: Reactive power dispatch plays a major role in order to present good facility secure and economic operation in the power system. In a power system optimal reactive power dispatch is supported to improve the voltage profile, to reduce losses, to improve voltage stability, to reduce cost etc. This paper presents a Particle Swarm optimization (PSO) based approach for solving optimal Reactive Power Dispatch (RPD) in power system. The proposed algorithm has been applied to the IEEE 30 -bus system to find the optimal reactive power control variables while keeping the system under safe found to be more effective for thi task.
Preparing Teachers for the 21 st Century Using PBL as an Integrating Strategy in Science and Technology Education

This paper explores the foundational principles of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as an integrative teaching strategy designed deliberately to cross discipline boundaries in order to make meaningful and lasting connections. The authors suggest that while PBL has in recent times has largely manifested towards a method of inquiry within a single discipline the founding principles and key characteristics that inform PBL may be applied to solving technological inquiry where an understanding and application of scientific principles is fundamental in informing and developing the preferred solution. This paper highlights that in order to be effective classroom educators, in an ever increasing and complex world, pre-service teachers' need to develop robust mental models and metacognitive skills that are transferable. In supporting this development the rationale and the application of PBL as an integrated teaching and learning strategy in pre-service science and technology education will be examined. This paper suggests that PBL is an effective strategy in supporting inquiry of an interdisciplinary nature as well as developing dispositions that embrace collaborative inquiry and reflective practice. Introduction As citizens of the world we live in a rapidly changing and advancing knowledge based society where we are called upon to constantly solve complex issues on a daily basis, issues that require the ability to think and act by accessing a broad spectrum of knowledge bases (2007). Based on the premise of connecting theory to practice one of the greatest challenges in pre-service teacher education is to foster students' abilities to integrate their learning over a period of time employing metacognitive strategies in order to meet those challenges in the 21st century classroom.
Author ' s personal copy Research Report fMRI evidence for both generalized and specialized components of attentional control

In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: A central question in the study of selective attention is whether top–down attentional control mechanisms are generalized or specialized for the type of information that is to be attended. The current study examined this question using a voluntary orienting task that cued observers to attend to either one of two locations or to one of two colors. Location (spatial) and color (nonspatial) conditions were presented either randomly intermixed within the same block of trials or in separate blocks. Functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that directing attention to a location or to a color activated a network of overlapping dorsal frontal and parietal areas, previously implicated in attentional control. The pattern of observed overlap was not affected by the intermixed versus blocked presentation of location and color conditions. Although portions of the frontal–parietal network were more active in response to location cues than to color cues, a secondary analysis also revealed that medial dorsal frontal and parietal cortex were specifically engaged in shifting visual attention regardless of the cued dimension (location or color). Together, the present results support the conclusion that attentional control is the combination of a generalized network that works in concert with subregions of the frontoparietal network that are highly specialized for directing attention based on the content of the to-be-attended information.
Fractional-order PI speed control for permanent magnet synchronous motor

Fractional order controller for a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) speed control system is proposed in this paper. The detailed systematic controller design procedures are discussed. Simulation and experimental results including transient responses, load disturbance responses, and tracking responses of sinusoidal-wave and triangular-wave commands are discussed and compared. The simulation and experimental results validate the theoretical analysis.
Sox2 Regulates Cholinergic Amacrine Cell Positioning and Dendritic Stratification in the Retina

The retina contains two populations of cholinergic amacrine cells, one positioned in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) and the other in the inner nuclear layer (INL), that together comprise ∼1/2 of a percent of all retinal neurons. The present study examined the genetic control of cholinergic amacrine cell number and distribution between these two layers. The total number of cholinergic amacrine cells was quantified in the C57BL/6J and A/J inbred mouse strains, and in 25 recombinant inbred strains derived from them, and variations in their number and ratio (GCL/INL) across these strains were mapped to genomic loci. The total cholinergic amacrine cell number was found to vary across the strains, from 27,000 to 40,000 cells, despite little variation within individual strains. The number of cells was always lower within the GCL relative to the INL, and the sizes of the two populations were strongly correlated, yet there was variation in their ratio between the strains. Approximately 1/3 of that variation in cell ratio was mapped to a locus on chromosome 3, where Sex determining region Y box 2 (Sox2) was identified as a candidate gene due to the presence of a 6-nucleotide insertion in the protein-coding sequence in C57BL/6J and because of robust and selective expression in cholinergic amacrine cells. Conditionally deleting Sox2 from the population of nascent cholinergic amacrine cells perturbed the normal ratio of cells situated in the GCL versus the INL and induced a bistratifying morphology, with dendrites distributed to both ON and OFF strata within the inner plexiform layer.
Optimal actuator/sensor placement for nonlinear control of the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation

In this work, we use the methodology that was recently proposed by Antoniades et al. (2001) to compute the optimal actuator/sensor locations for the stabilization, via nonlinear static output feedback control of the zero solution of the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation (KSE) for values of the instability parameter for which this solution is unstable. The theoretical results are illustrated through computer simulations of the closed-loop system using a high-order discretization of the KSE.
Avoidance Costs Associated with Imperfect Information: The Case of Kepone

In a recent article, Shulstad and Stoevener (1978) offered an analysis of a component of environmental degradation costs, the costs of avoiding contamination. Their analysis of mercury-laden Oregon pheasant provided an extension of previous environmental literature by recognizing that individuals change their behavior to avoid pollution and that there are costs associated with the avoidance. This note contains a further delineation of those avoidance costs by considering avoidance costs that arise from imperfect information. Shulstad and Stoevener treat pheasant hunters as having perfect information related to the effects of consumption of contaminated products, and therefore, the observed consumer avoidance is rational and welfare losses are unavoidable. In many instances, however, the consumer must make decisions with imperfect information and some of the avoidance costs may be incurred because of this. With better information, the welfare losses would not occur and, therefore, can be considered needless. The absence of consistently high water quality in the U.S. has created consumer uncertainty about the quality of purchased fish and shellfish. Allegations of illness (e.g., hepatitis) occurring after seafood consumption have raised consumer skepticism about the safety of these products, especially for those consumed in an uncooked form. ' Highly publicized contamination of water areas results in precipitous declines in seafood demand. The news of closures, combined with the imperfect information about which seafood purchases are affected, may cause demand to fall for seafood products not harvested from the affected water area.2 The consumer behavior arising from imperfect information raises a policy issue not associated with usual avoidance costs: Should the government provide detailed information to consumers about the likelihood of consuming contaminated products in different locations or market forms? Such a program could be
Direct Density Ratio Estimation with Convolutional Neural Networks with Application in Outlier Detection

Recently, the ratio of probability density functions was demonstrated to be useful in solving various machine learning tasks such as outlier detection, non-stationarity adaptation, feature selection, and clustering. The key idea of this density ratio approach is that the ratio is directly estimated so that difficult density estimation is avoided. So far, parametric and non-parametric direct density ratio estimators with various loss functions have been developed, and the kernel least-squares method was demonstrated to be highly useful both in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency. On the other hand, recent study in pattern recognition exhibited that deep architectures such as a convolutional neural network can significantly outperform kernel methods. In this paper, we propose to use the convolutional neural network in density ratio estimation, and experimentally show that the proposed method tends to outperform the kernel-based method in outlying image detection.
Fig4 Expression in the Rodent Nervous System and Its Potential Role in Preventing Abnormal Lysosomal Accumulation

Abstract The phosphatase FIG4 regulates the concentration of phosphatidylinositol 3,5-diphosphate (PI3,5P2), a molecule critical for endosomal/lysosomal membrane trafficking and neuron function. We investigated Fig4 expression in the developing CNS of mice and rats using Western blot, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and morphological techniques in situ and in vitro and after spinal cord injury. Fig4 was expressed at a high levels throughout development in myelinating cells, particularly Schwann cells, and dorsal root ganglia sensory neurons. Fig4 protein and mRNA in CNS neurons were markedly diminished inadult versus embryonal animals. Spinal cord hemisection induced upregulation of Fig4 in adult spinal cord tissues that was associated with accumulation of lysosomes in neurons and glia. This accumulation appeared similar to the abnormal lysosomal storage observed indorsal root ganglia of young fig4-null mice. The results suggest thatFig4 is involved in normal neural development and the maintenance of peripheral nervous system myelin. We speculate that adequatelevels of Fig4 may be required to prevent neurons and glia from excessive lysosomal accumulation after injury and in neurodegeneration.
Comparison Between Posterior Short-segment Instrumentation Combined With Lateral-approach Interbody Fusion and Traditional Wide-open Anterior-Posterior Surgery for the Treatment of Thoracolumbar Fractures

AbstractThe aim of the study was to compare the radiographic and clinical outcomes between posterior short-segment pedicle instrumentation combined with lateral-approach interbody fusion and traditional anterior-posterior (AP) surgery for the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures.Lateral-approach interbody fusion has achieved satisfactory results for thoracic and lumbar degenerative disease. However, few studies have focused on the use of this technique for the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures.Inclusion and exclusion criteria were established. All patients who meet the above criteria were prospectively treated by posterior short-segment instrumentation and secondary-staged minimally invasive lateral-approach interbody fusion, and classified as group A. A historical group of patients who were treated by traditional wide-open AP approach was used as a control group and classified as group B. The radiological and clinical outcomes were compared between the 2 groups.There were 12 patients in group A and 18 patients in group B. The mean operative time and intraoperative blood loss of anterior reconstruction were significantly higher in group B than those in group A (127.1 ± 21.7 vs 197.5 ± 47.7 min, P < 0.01; 185.8 ± 62.3 vs 495 ± 347.4 mL, P < 0.01). Two of the 12 (16.7%) patients in group A experienced 2 surgical complications: 1 (8.3%) major and 1 (8.3%) minor. Six of the 18 (33%) patients in group B experienced 9 surgical complications: 3 (16.7%) major and 6 (33.3%) minor. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups regarding loss of correction (4.3 ± 2.1 vs 4.2 ± 2.4, P = 0.89) and neurological function at final follow-up (P = 0.77). In both groups, no case of instrumentation failure, pseudarthrosis, or nonunion was noted.Compared with the wide-open AP surgery, posterior short-segment pedicle instrumentation, combined with minimally invasive lateral-approach interbody fusion, can achieve similar clinical results with significant less operative time, blood loss, and surgical complication. This procedure seems to be a reasonable treatment option for selective patients with thoracolumbar fractures.
Structural and Mechanical Hysteresis at the Order-Order Transition of Block Copolymer Micellar Crystals

Concentrated solutions of a water-soluble block copolymer (PEO)20-(PPO)70-(PEO)20 show a thermoreversible transition from a liquid to a gel. Over a range of concentration there also exists an order-order transition (OOT) between cubically-packed spherical micelles and hexagonally-packed cylindrical micelles. This OOT displays a hysteresis between the heating and cooling transitions that is observed at both the macroscale through rheology and nanoscale through small angle neutron scattering (SANS). The hysteresis is caused by the persistence of the cubically-packed spherical micelle phase into the hexagonally-packed cylindrical micelle phase likely due to the hindered realignment of the spherical micelles into cylindrical micelles and then packing of the cylindrical micelles into a hexagonally-packed cylindrical micelle phase. This type of hysteresis must be fully characterized, and possibly avoided, for these block copolymer systems to be used as templates in nanocomposites.
INCREASING RETURNS AND ENDOGENOUS GROWTH: MARKET SIZE AND TASTE FOR VARIETY

: This paper studies some implications of the existence of Increasing Returns to Scale in the generation of persistent growth in the economy. In a standard neoclassical one-sector model, the optimal growth rate will be proportional to the rate of population growth. If economies of scale are internal to particular markets and we assume that firms perceive their production functions as CRS, a symmetric equilibrium applied to the model illustrates an example of market failure in promoting its own integration. Steady-state growth may be indeterminate and less than optimal. If one considers that consumers have taste for variety and a multiproduct economy where there are economies of scale internal to each market, one concludes that the equilibrium growth rate maybe higher or lower than optimal. The efficient outcome will lead to higher growth rates for countries with less intense taste for variety and vice-versa.
Fundamental Relations between Market and Accounting Values

This study examines the implied underlying relation between market and accounting values in a long-run time-series approach based on error correction principles. Recent studies have suggested problems with the current approaches to linear valuation modelling (Ohlson and Kim, 2015). The results this study show that firm market values show slight mean-reversionary characteristics, i.e. returning to a long term level. Economy-wide equity values, through the index, show a significant short-run relationship with individual firm market values but none of the Ohlson-type model accounting variables of book value, earnings and dividends show the same level of short-run explanatory ability for firm market values. Of these four explanatory variables, only dividends show a clear ability to predict firm market value one period ahead. Reported earnings exhibit quite strong mean reversion, suggesting the possibility of earnings management. The implications for testing the Ohlson-Penman theory of market value are also discussed.
The economic impact of allowing partial decoupling under the 2003 Common Agricultural Policy reforms

The agreement to decouple European Union (EU) direct farm payments from production and to introduce the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) was formally made by the Council of Agricultural Ministers in June 2003. Due to concerns raised, the SPS provided member states the scope to retain some coupled support and this option was taken up by some member states but not others. This chapter, using conceptual and empirical analyses, assesses whether and to what extent partial decoupling is affecting the single market, and the effect it has on those countries and sectors that have embraced full decoupling. The results of a modelling exercise (using the CAPRI model) highlight that production in coupled countries is higher than would be the case if they had decoupled, and this has subsequent impacts on other EU member states through price and trade effects. This is particularly the case in the beef sector. Though the aggregate EU production and price impacts are generally small, the production impacts on certain member states and regions are more marked. Overall welfare levels in the European Union would have been higher if full decoupling had been implemented, and these gains would have been highest in the countries that remained coupled, particularly France and Spain.
Influence Peddling and the Municipal Market: An Investigation of Political Contributions and Accounting Disclosures.

The municipal bond market is widely perceived to be amenable to influence peddling between parties to bond transactions. One of the primary concerns of both regulators and investors is the relationship between political contributions by bond market participants and the volume and profitability of bond market business engaged in by those participants. This study uses publicly available data from the state of Louisiana to provide evidence concerning the relationship between contributions made by bond market participants and bond business awarded or influenced by recipients of those contributions. Contributions by bond market players to officials likely to possess influence over bond transactions are determined to be larger than those made by other contributors, and candidates for three of the offices examined are identified as receiving significant contributions from bond market players. A relationship is similarly found between contribution levels and method of bond issue placement. The study also investigates financial information disclosure by bond issuing entities and the effects of that disclosure upon bond prices. Timely disclosure, as
Contrasting state-of-the-art automated scoring of essays: analysis

This study compared the results from nine automated essay scoring engines on eight essay scoring prompts drawn from six states that annually administer high-stakes writing assessments. Student essays from each state were randomly divided into three sets: a training set (used for modeling the essay prompt responses and consisting of text and ratings from two human raters along with a final or resolved score), a second test set used for a blind test of the vendor-developed model (consisting of text responses only), and a validation set that was not employed in this study. The essays encompassed writing assessment items from three grade levels (7, 8, 10) and were evenly divided between source-based prompts (i.e., essay prompts developed on the basis of provided source material) or those drawn from traditional writing genre (i.e., narrative, descriptive, persuasive). The total sample size was N = 22,029. Six of the eight essays were transcribed from their original handwritten responses using two transcription vendors. Transcription accuracy rates were computed at 98.70% for 17,502 essays. The remaining essays were typed in by students during the actual assessment and provided in ASCII form. Seven of the eight essays were holistically scored and one employed score assignments for two traits. Scale ranges, rubrics, and scoring adjudications for the essay sets were quite variable. Results were presented on distributional properties of the data (mean and standard deviation) along with traditional measures used in automated essay scoring: exact agreement, exact+adjacent agreement, kappa, quadratic-weighted kappa, and the Pearson r. The results demonstrated that overall, automated essay scoring was capable of producing scores similar to human scores for extended-response writing items with equal performance for both source-based and traditional writing genre.
A macroscopic scale model of bacterial flagellar bundling

Escherichia coli and other bacteria use rotating helical filaments to swim. Each cell typically has about four filaments, which bundle or disperse depending on the sense of motor rotation. To study the bundling process, we built a macroscopic scale model consisting of stepper motor-driven polymer helices in a tank filled with a high-viscosity silicone oil. The Reynolds number, the ratio of viscous to elastic stresses, and the helix geometry of our experimental model approximately match the corresponding quantities of the full-scale E. coli cells. We analyze digital video images of the rotating helices to show that the initial rate of bundling is proportional to the motor frequency and is independent of the characteristic relaxation time of the filament. We also determine which combinations of helix handedness and sense of motor rotation lead to bundling.