Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intergenerational Support Systems: An Exploration of Multigenerational Support Exchange

Post-recession, middle-aged parents may provide various types of support to their grown children and parents. In the current study, parents age 40 to 60 (N =92) reported on a survey the support and affection they exchange with each child over age 18 (N =169) and each parent (N=185). The middle-aged generation (G2) differentiated among children (G3) and parents (G1) within families, and provided emotional, financial, and practical help on average to their children. The more dependent the child (G3), the more support was exchanged. Dependence was measured on normative status like education, employment, disability, and crisis as well as the emotional support and the overall affection. Parents (G1) received as a function of their dependence upon their children. Findings support contingency theory; downstream flow is more common in both physical and emotional support. Furthermore, the motivation the phenomenon is explained based on developmental stake theory and developmental schism to assure support later in life and progeny success. Finally, additional analysis of the upstream support found that a function of the existing relationship and individual factors based on caregiver burden, filial maturity, and appraisal impact the support exchange.
Analysis of Selected Seasonality Effects in the Following Metal Markets: Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium and Copper

The commodity market has been becoming one of the most popular segments of the financial markets among individual and institutional investors in recent years. Similarly to the eąuity market, the problem of anomalies in the commodities market is becoming an interesting phenomenon, especially in the segment of the precious metals. This paper tests the hypothesis of monthly, the day-of-the week and weekend effects of the precious metal markets ąuoted on the London Metal Exchange for gold, silver, platinum and copper in the period of 1.01. 1995-31.12. 2015 considering also palladium in the period 1.01. 1998-31.12. 2015. Calculations presented in this paper indicate the absence of the monthly effect on gold, silver, platinum, copper markets but proved occurrence of monthly anomaly in the month of September on palladium market. In the analyzed period day- of-the week effect for any of the studied metal markets was not observed but the weekend effect was registered on the gold and copper markets.
Climate and Identity in the Career Experiences of Women Employed in the Chemical Industry

Title of thesis: CLIMATE AND IDENTITY IN THE CAREER EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN EMPLOYED IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY Julie Renee Arseneau, Master of Arts, 2006 Thesis directed by: Professor Ruth E. Fassinger Department of Counseling and Personnel Services Despite recent gains in the literature on women’s career development, scant information is available about women in nontraditional careers, including the sciences and engineering. The purpose of the present study was to utilize a qualitative methodology to investigate the experiences of 22 diverse women employed in the U.S. chemical industry in order to examine the role of workplace climate and demographic identity in their careers. Results of semi-structured interviews presented here suggest that formal and informal company policies impacted upon interviewees’ perceptions of climate and that workplace support was a significant factor in managing general career challenges as well as those specific to demographic location. Differential influence of gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, geographic location, and functional area within the company were described by participants. Results also suggest that some participants may engage in identity management strategies as a way of negotiating unfavorable aspects of workplace climate. CLIMATE AND IDENTITY IN THE CAREER EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN EMPLOYED IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY by Julie Renee Arseneau Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 2006 Advisory Committee: Professor Ruth E. Fassinger, Chair Professor Charles Gelso Professor Mary Ann Hoffman
TRAVEL TIME - VARIABLE OR CONSTANT?

Empirically, travel time averaged across a population is invariant at close to one hour per person per day. Nevertheless, standard transport analysis treats travel time as a variable, scoring the value of time savings in cost-benefit analysis of proposed new infrastructure, and minimising generalised travel time in transport modelling. This paper argues that the invariance of travel time needs to be explained, and that such an explanation might involve a marginal approach to travel time, as well as the possibility of there being an intrinsic utility to travel. These concepts are consistent with economic principles but not with the current practice of transport economics. It is further argued that the benefits of transport system improvement are to be found in the additional access afforded, not in notional travel time savings; and that conventional transport models that pay no regard to the invariance of aggregate travel time may mislead. It is suggested that in transport analysis, aggregate travel time should be treated as a constant, not a variable. © 2004 LSE and the University of Bath
Genomic Comparative Study of Bovine Mastitis Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli, one of the main causative agents of bovine mastitis, is responsible for significant losses on dairy farms. In order to better understand the pathogenicity of E. coli mastitis, an accurate characterization of E. coli strains isolated from mastitis cases is required. By using phylogenetic analyses and whole genome comparison of 5 currently available mastitis E. coli genome sequences, we searched for genotypic traits specific for mastitis isolates. Our data confirm that there is a bias in the distribution of mastitis isolates in the different phylogenetic groups of the E. coli species, with the majority of strains belonging to phylogenetic groups A and B1. An interesting feature is that clustering of strains based on their accessory genome is very similar to that obtained using the core genome. This finding illustrates the fact that phenotypic properties of strains from different phylogroups are likely to be different. As a consequence, it is possible that different strategies could be used by mastitis isolates of different phylogroups to trigger mastitis. Our results indicate that mastitis E. coli isolates analyzed in this study carry very few of the virulence genes described in other pathogenic E. coli strains. A more detailed analysis of the presence/absence of genes involved in LPS synthesis, iron acquisition and type 6 secretion systems did not uncover specific properties of mastitis isolates. Altogether, these results indicate that mastitis E. coli isolates are rather characterized by a lack of bona fide currently described virulence genes.
What Makes a Commodity Currency

The "commodity currency" literature highlights the robust exchange rate response to fluctuations in world commodity prices that occurs for major commodity exporters. The magnitude of this response, however, varies widely among countries. Our panel data analysis using 63 countries for 1980-2010 finds that, in accordance with theory, the long-run cointegrating relationship between the real exchange rate and commodity export prices depends on the nationâ€™s export market structure, monetary policy choices and degree of trade and financial openness. We also show that the commodity price-exchange rate connection is much weaker in the short-run and for a group of oil-exporting countries. Given concerns for the Dutch disease or resource curse, our findings are of particular relevance for monetary policy-making and for globalization strategy in commodity-exporting developing economies.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging of human brain activity in a verbal fluency task

OBJECTIVES Functional MRI (fMRI) holds the promise of non-invasive mapping of human brain function in both health and disease. Yet its sensitivity and reliability for mapping higher cognitive function are still being determined. Using verbal fluency as a task, the objective was to ascertain the consistency of fMRI on a conventional scanner for determining the anatomic substrate of language between subjects and between sexes. Comparison was made with previous PET studies. METHODS Using a 1.5 Tesla magnet and an echoplanar pulse sequence, whole brain fMRI was obtained from 12 normal right handed subjects (6 males and 6 females) as they performed a verbal fluency task. RESULTS A broadly consistent pattern of response was seen across subjects. Areas showing activation changes included the left prefrontal cortex and right cerebellum, in agreement with previous PET 15O-H2O studies. In addition, significantly decreased responses were seen in the posterior cingulate and over an extensive area of mesial and dorsolateral parietal and superior temporal cortices. The male cohort showed a slight asymmetry of parietal deactivation, with more involvement on the right, whereas the female cohort showed a small region of activation in the right orbitofrontal cortex. There were individual task related regional changes in all 12 subjects with the area showing the most significant change being the left prefrontal cortex in all cases. CONCLUSIONS Magnetic resonance scanners of conventional field strength can provide functional brain mapping data with a sensitivity at least that of PET. Activation was seen in left prefrontal and right cerebellar regions, as with PET. However, decremental responses were seen over a much larger area of the posterior cortex than had been anticipated by prior studies. The ability to see a response in each subject individually suggests that fMRI may be useful in the preinterventional mapping of pathological states, and offers a non-invasive alternative to the Wada test for assessment of hemispheric dominance. There were no gross differences in the pattern of activation between male and female subjects.
Maternal Hyperglycemia Disrupts Histone 3 Lysine 36 Trimethylation of the IGF-1 Gene

In utero environmental adaptation may predispose to lifelong morbidity. Organisms fine-tune gene expression to achieve environmental adaptation by epigenetic alterations of histone markers of gene accessibility. One example of epigenetics is how uteroplacental insufficiency-induced intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), which predisposes to adult onset insulin resistance, decreases postnatal IGF-1 mRNA variants and the gene elongation mark histone 3 trimethylation of lysine 36 of the IGF-1 gene (H3Me3K36). Limitations in the study of epigenetics exist due to lack of a primary transgenic epigenetic model. Therefore we examined the epigenetic profile of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in a well-characterized rat model of maternal hyperglycemia to determine if the epigenetic profile of IGF-1 is conserved in disparate models of in utero adaptation. We hypothesized that maternal hyperglycemia would increase IGF-1 mRNA variants and H3Me3K36. However maternal hyperglycemia decreased hepatic IGF-1 mRNA variants and H3Me3K36. This finding is intriguing given that despite different prenatal insults and growth, both maternal hyperglycemia and IUGR predispose to adult onset insulin resistance. We speculate that H3Me3K36 of the IGF-1 gene is sensitive to the glucose level of the prenatal environment, with resultant alteration of IGF-1 mRNA expression and ultimately vulnerability to adult onset insulin resistance.
ASTRAL compendium enhancements

The ASTRAL compendium provides several databases and tools to aid in the analysis of protein structures, particularly through the use of their sequences. It is partially derived from the SCOP database of protein domains, and it includes sequences for each domain as well as other resources useful for studying these sequences and domain structures. Several major improvements have been made to the ASTRAL compendium since its initial release 2 years ago. The number of protein domain sequences included has doubled from 15 190 to 30 867, and additional databases have been added. The Rapid Access Format (RAF) database contains manually curated mappings linking the biological amino acid sequences described in the SEQRES records of PDB entries to the amino acid sequences structurally observed (provided in the ATOM records) in a format designed for rapid access by automated tools. This information is used to derive sequences for protein domains in the SCOP database. In cases where a SCOP domain spans several protein chains, all of which can be traced back to a single genetic source, a 'genetic domain' sequence is created by concatenating the sequences of each chain in the order found in the original gene sequence. Both the original-style library of SCOP sequences and a new library including genetic domain sequences are available. Selected representative subsets of each of these libraries, based on multiple criteria and degrees of similarity, are also included. ASTRAL may be accessed at http://astral.stanford. edu/.
Characterizing the drivers of seedling leaf gas exchange responses to warming and altered precipitation: indirect and direct effects

Climate change is expected to bring warmer temperatures and more variable precipitation patterns worldwide, patterns that will depend on the ability of the world's flora to take up carbon under these new conditions. We subjected deciduous tree seedlings growing in an old-field ecosystem in Massachusetts, USA to warming and altered precipitation. We found that leaf carbon uptake was greatest under the coolest, wettest conditions, an effect driven by increased soil water availability in these plots. Our findings suggest that warming may reduce leaf carbon uptake by decreasing soil moisture, an effect that will be exacerbated during drought periods.
Valuing the Health Benefits of Food Safety: A Proceedings

Because each Federal agency uses a different valuation method to estimate the costs of illness, it is difficult to compare programs across agencies. As a first step toward generating a consensus on the current state of knowledge and deciding on a common approach, several agencies planned this conference, held September 14-15, 2000, at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. The outcome of the conference will serve as guidance for a consensus approach.
An efficient algorithm for compression-based compressed sensing

Modern image and video compression codes employ elaborate structures in an effort to encode them using a small number of bits. Compressed sensing (CS) recovery algorithms, on the other hand, use such structures to recover the signals from a few linear observations. Despite the steady progress in the field of CS, the structures that are often used for signal recovery are still much simpler than those employed by state-of-the-art compression codes. The main goal of this paper is to bridge this gap by answering the following question: can one employ a compression code to build an efficient (polynomial time) CS recovery algorithm? In response to this question, the compression-based gradient descent (C-GD) algorithm is proposed. C-GD, which is a low-complexity iterative algorithm, is able to employ a generic compression code for CS and therefore enlarges the set of structures used in CS to those used by compression codes. Three theoretical contributions are provided: a convergence analysis of C-GD, a characterization of the required number of samples as a function of the rate-distortion function of the compression code and a robustness analysis of C-GD to additive white Gaussian noise and other non-idealities in the measurement process. Finally, the presented simulation results show that, in image CS, using compression codes such as JPEG2000, C-GD outperforms state-of-the-art methods, on average, by about $2$–$3$ dB in peak signal-to-noise ratio.
Outdoor-to-indoor coverage in high frequency bands

With the continuous growth in connected devices and the need for larger bandwidth channels and greater data speeds, operating at high frequencies can be advantageous for future mobile communications in general, and for 5G-networks in particular. In this paper, the indoor coverage at different high frequencies, namely 10, 30 and 60 GHz has been analyzed in the context of a single building scenario with an outdoor deployed base station and low load conditions. These specific frequencies are only meant as examples to illustrate the general trends of how coverage varies across the frequency range. A main observation, also subject to the assumptions made on propagation, antenna pattern and bandwidth size, is that outdoor to indoor coverage with down link (DL) user throughput higher than 10 Mbps, and in certain cases higher than 100 Mbps, is possible at 10 GHz and above. The case with carrier frequencies up to 30 GHz is more challenging however still manageable, whereas providing outdoor to indoor coverage at 60 GHz may be quite difficult for some building types. It has also been seen that the use of high gain antennas is crucial at high frequencies and that the deployment density depends on the type of building, in other words, on the exterior wall material, interior layout, wall material and building size.
Teaching in the Knowledge Society: Education in the Age of Insecurity

Teaching for the knowledge society - educating for ingenuity teaching beyond the knowledge society - from value for money to values for good teaching despite the knowledge society I - the end of ingenuity teaching despite the knowledge society II - the loss of integrity the knowledge society school - an endangered entity beyond standardization - professional learning communities or performance training sects? the future of teaching in the knowledge society - rethinking improvement, removing impoverishment.
Did the Economic Stimulus Payments of 2008 Reduce Labor Supply? Evidence from Quantile Panel Data Estimation

While the literature has found evidence that tax rebates and economic stimulus payments increase short-term consumer spending, the literature has ignored the possibility that household labor supply may also respond. This paper exploits the randomized timing of receipt of the 2008 economic stimulus payments and examine changes in household labor earnings by month in the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Because it is unlikely that the effect is uniform throughout the earnings distribution, it estimates quantile treatment effects. The empirical strategy requires conditioning on household fixed effects so it introduces a new instrumental variables quantile regression technique for panel data (QRPD) which maintains the nonseparable disturbance term commonly associated with quantile estimation. This property is crucial to estimating the parameters of interest and distinguishes itself from many of the quantile panel data estimators in the literature which rely on additive fixed effects. It finds that tax rebate receipt has significant impacts on labor supply.
Joint source and relay optimization for parallel MIMO relays using MMSE-DFE receiver

In this paper, we study the optimal structure of the source precoding matrix and the relay amplifying matrices for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relay communication systems with parallel relay nodes. In particular, a nonlinear decision feedback equalizer (DFE) is used at the destination node, and the minimal mean-squared error (MMSE) criterion is used to detect the transmitted signal at each stream. We show that the optimal source precoding matrix and the optimal relay amplifying matrices have a beamforming structure. Using such optimal source and relay matrices and the MMSE-DFE receiver, a joint source and relay power loading algorithm is developed to minimize the MSE of the signal waveform estimation. Compared with existing algorithms for parallel MIMO relay networks, the proposed source and relay design together with the MMSE-DFE receiver has a significant improvement in the system bit-error-rate performance.
Percutaneous cholecystostomy for the treatment of acute cholecystitis in the critically ill and elderly.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical efficacy and outcomes of percutaneous cholecystostomy as an alternative treatment option for elderly and critically ill patients who have acute cholecystitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS The medical records of patients who underwent emergency percutaneous cholecystostomy at the North District Hospital, Hong Kong from September 1999 to July 2002 were reviewed. Indications for the procedure, patient demographics, and other clinical details were recorded. RESULTS A total of 25 patients (10 male, 15 female) with a median age of 81 years (range, 39-97 years) presented with acute cholecystitis and underwent percutaneous cholecystostomy with ultrasound guidance. Two patients required emergency cholecystectomy on day 1 after the procedures because of deteriorating conditions. The rest of the patients clinically improved after drainage. There was no major periprocedural complication, and four patients had their catheter accidentally dislodged but did not require re-insertion. There were five in-patient mortalities, although the majority of these deaths were from unrelated illness. Subsequently, only six patients underwent elective cholecystectomy, one open and five laparoscopic. Two patients were offered percutaneous endoscopic cholecystolithotripsy, one defaulted and the other could not tolerate the procedure. Eleven patients declined further intervention due to the high surgical risks, three of these patients developed biliary symptoms, one had acute cholecystitis, and the other two had cholangitis. The rest of patients had no symptoms related to the gallstones. The median follow-up period was 81 weeks (range, 27-162 weeks). CONCLUSION Percutaneous cholecystostomy is a viable treatment option for elderly and critically ill patients presenting with acute cholecystitis. It has a high success rate with minimal procedure-related complications. Elective cholecystostomy is the treatment of choice for low-risk patients after the initial acute cholecystitis.
Galois extensions and subspaces of bilinear forms with special rank properties

Let K be a field admitting a cyclic Galois extension of degree n. The main result of this paper is a decomposition theorem for the space of alternating bilinear forms defined on a vector space of odd dimension n over K. We show that this space of forms is the direct sum of (n-1)/2 subspaces, each of dimension n, and the non-zero elements in each subspace have constant rank defined in terms of the orders of the Galois automorphisms. Furthermore, if ordered correctly, for each integer k lying between 1 and (n-1)/2, the rank of any non-zero element in the sum of the first k subspaces is at most n-2k+1. Slightly less sharp similar results hold for cyclic extensions of even degree.
Investigating the Risk Argument for the Value Premium: A Stochastic Dominance Approach

The value premium remains a puzzle despite considerable research effort in accounting for the higher returns earned by value stocks relative to growth stocks. A rational explanation is that value stocks are more risky than growth stocks. We seek to validate the risk argument in a nonparametric framework with the method of stochastic dominance. This approach avoids the model misspecification problem inherent in traditional CAPM or multifactor risk pricing models. We explore the dominance relationship in good and bad states of the economy and equity market to check if the superior performance of value investing persists in regimes where investors have different risk aversion. We find that value stocks stochastically dominate growth stocks very robustly, implying the implausibility of any risk-based explanation for the value premium puzzle.