Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Consumption Excess Sensitivity, Liquidity Constraints and the Collateral Role of Housing

Using a switching regression technique we provide unique evidence on three questions concerning the consumption behaviour of UK households. First, what percentage of households display excess sensitivity to income? Second, what affects the likelihood of being in that group? Third, is there a collateral channel from house prices to consumption? We find 20%-40% of households display excess sensitivity. These households may be liquidity constrained or saving for other precautionary reasons. This is found to be more likely for those without liquid assets, with negative home equity, the young, unmarried, non-white and the degree-educated. According to the 'collateral channel', house prices influence consumption by allowing households that would otherwise be liquidity constrained to borrow on more attractive terms. A key implication of that view is that capital gains on housing should influence the consumption of the liquidity constrained/precautionary saving households, but not other households. We test that implication for the first time and find direct evidence in support.
Can the modernisation of a public employment service be an effective labour market intervention? The Hungarian experience, 2004-2008

The Public Employment Service often delivers much of the employment policy including active labour market programmes in many member states in the EU, yet we know little about its effectiveness in general. This paper provides a quantitative assessment of the potential impact of the modernisation programme of the Hungarian Public Employment service between 2004 and 2008. Using data at the level of local offices, I calculate programme effects using a difference-in-difference estimator. Results show that the programme has increased re-employment rates significantly, by 6%. The modernisation was thus a moderately effective but relatively inexpensive intervention, similar in terms of cost-effectiveness to the better active labour market programmes in Hungary.
Methyltransferase and demethylase profiling studies during brown adipocyte differentiation

Although brown adipose tissue is important with regard to energy balance, the molecular mechanism of brown adipocyte differentiation has not been extensively studied. Specifically, regulation factors at the level of protein modification are largely unknown. In this study, we examine the changes in the expression level of enzymes which are involved in protein lysine methylation during brown adipocyte differentiation. Several enzymes, in this case SUV420H2, PRDM9, MLL3 and JHDM1D, were found to be up-regulated. On the other hand, Set7/9 was significantly down-regulated. In the case of SUV420H2, the expression level increased sharply during brown adipocyte differentiation, whereas the expression of SUV420H2 was marginally enhanced during the white adipocyte differentiation. The knock-down of SUV420H2 caused the suppression of brown adipocyte differentiation, as compared to a scrambled control. These results suggest that SUV420H2, a methyltransferase, is involved in brown adipocyte differentiation, and that the methylation of protein lysine is important in brown adipocyte differentiation. [BMB Reports 2016; 49(7): 388-393]
Improved confidence intervals for estimating the position of a mass extinction boundary

Abstract Marshall (1995) used the distribution of the endpoints of 50% range extensions added to the stratigraphic ranges of individual taxa to bracket the position of an extinction boundary. Here we describe two improvements to Marshall's method. First, we show that more precise estimates of the position of such a boundary may be obtained using range extensions with confidence levels of less than 50% (e.g., 20%). Second, we introduce a new method of calculating confidence intervals that explicitly takes into account the position of the highest fossil find. Incorporating these improvements leads to confidence intervals for simulated data sets that are approximately four times more precise than those obtained by using Marshall's (1995) original method and approximately twice as precise as those using other published methods. We provide a look-up table that shows for different numbers of taxa the confidence level that should be used to maximize the precision of the estimated position of the extinction boundary, while ensuring that the boundary still lies within the stratigraphic interval bounded by at least one range extension. Unlike some other methods, our method is nonparametric and does not make the restrictive assumption of uniform preservation and recovery potential. We apply the method to Macellari's (1986) ammonite data from the late Cretaceous of Seymour Island, Antarctica.
Economics of Arms Reduction and the Peace Process

A Survey of the Peace Economics Literature (W. Isard, C.H. Anderton). The Basic Economics of Arms Reduction (K.J. Arrow). Impact of Military Cuts on the Soviet and Eastern European Economies: Models and Simulations (L.R. Klein, M. Gronicki and H. Kosaka). Conflict and Trade: An Economics Approach to Political International Interactions (S.W. Polachek). On Modeling the Impact of Arms Reductions on World Trade (J.H. Bergstrand). The New Strategic Environment and Economic Factors in the Future of Nuclear Defense (M.C. McGuire). Competing Optima in the Gulf War (M. Wolfson, S. Gutierrez, J. Traynor and R. Smith). Determinants of Military Expenditures (C. Seiglie). Disarmament Negotiations as an Exercise in Mature Rivalry (R.E. Kuenne). Wars and Famines: On Divisions and Incentives (A. Sen). Regional Conflict and Military Spending in the Developing Countries (M. Chatterji). Do Arms Races Lead to Peace? (J.-C. Lambelet). Key Directions for Research (W. Isard, C.H. Anderton).
Modeling and Simulating Empathic Behavior in Social Assistive Robots

Several studies report successful results on how social assistive robots can be employed as interface in the assisted living domain. In our opinion, to plan their response and interact successfully with people, it is crucial to recognize human emotions. To this aim, features of the prosody of the speech together with facial expressions and gestures may be used to recognize the emotional state of the user. The information gained from these different sources may be fused in order to endow the robot with the capability to reason on the user's affective state. In this paper we describe how this capability has been implemented in the NAO robot and how this allows simulating empathic behaviors in the context of Ambient Assisted Living.
Is the degree of cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer's disease related to their capacity to appoint an enduring power of attorney?

BACKGROUND Clinicians are often asked to retrospectively assess a patient's capacity to create an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA). This study will investigate if capacity to create an EPA is significantly related to the degree of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer patients, and whether Mini Mental State Examination score (MMSE) is a good predictor of a patient's capacity. It also considers if socio-demographic factors are related to a patient's capacity to create an EPA. METHODS Participants with a DSM-IV diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease were recruited from the Old Age Psychiatric service at the Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital, Birmingham, UK. A cognitive assessment of each patient was performed using the MMSE, followed by two independent assessments of their capacity to create an EPA made using a semi-structured interview. RESULTS There was a significant association between level of cognitive impairment and capacity to create an EPA: chi(2) = 35.15 (P<0.0001). MMSE score significantly predicted capacity status (OR=1.6, 95% CI 0.863-0.979). Optimal sensitivity (86.6%, CI 67.4-95.5%) and specificity (82.2% CI 67.4-91.5%) were obtained using a cutoff MMSE score of 18. Positive predictive value (PPV): 75.8% (95% CI 57-88%), negative predictive value (PNV): 90.2% (CI 76-97%). No socio-demographic factors were significantly associated with capacity to create an EPA. CONCLUSIONS The MMSE could be used as a screening tool to help inform a clinical capacity assessment in patients with Alzheimer's disease. It is important that patients always undergo individual clinical assessments where possible, but in situations where direct assessment is not possible MMSE score could be used to aid retrospective assessments of capacity to create an EPA.
Taxes on Labour, EÆciency Wages,and Union Bargaining

This paper studies the impact of labour taxation in a shirking model with wage bargaining. It is shown that if the ratio of unemployment compensation to the net-of-tax wage is kept xed a tax cut leads to higher unemployment. When the unemployment benets replacement ratio is allowed to change, whether by keeping benets xed in real terms or by imposing a budget constraint on the unemployment insurance scheme, the eect of a tax cut on unemployment is ambiguous. Adverse employment eects are ruled out if unions are powerless or the labor share is constant.
Living in a PIT-less World: A Case Against Stateful Forwarding in Content-Centric Networking

Information-Centric Networking (ICN) is a recent paradigm that claims to mitigate some limitations of the current IP-based Internet architecture. The centerpiece of ICN is named and addressable content, rather than hosts or interfaces. Content-Centric Networking (CCN) is a prominent ICN instance that shares the fundamental architectural design with its equally popular academic sibling Named-Data Networking (NDN). CCN eschews source addresses and creates one-time virtual circuits for every content request (called an interest). As an interest is forwarded it creates state in intervening routers and the requested content back is delivered over the reverse path using that state. Although a stateful forwarding plane might be beneficial in terms of efficiency, and resilience to certain types of attacks, this has not been decisively proven via realistic experiments. Since keeping per-interest state complicates router operations and makes the infrastructure susceptible to router state exhaustion attacks (e.g., there is currently no effective defense against interest flooding attacks), the value of the stateful forwarding plane in CCN should be re-examined. In this paper, we explore supposed benefits and various problems of the stateful forwarding plane. We then argue that its benefits are uncertain at best and it should not be a mandatory CCN feature. To this end, we propose a new stateless architecture for CCN that provides nearly all functionality of the stateful design without its headaches. We analyze performance and resource requirements of the proposed architecture, via experiments.
Basel Ii and Developing Countries: Sailing Through the Sea of Standards

Despite recently announced delays, Basel II - the new standard for bank capital - is due to be completed this year for implementation in the 13 Basel Committee member countries by the end of 2006. Should the other 170 plus member countries of the World Bank also adopt Basel II? Basel II was not written with developing countries in mind, but that does not necessarily mean that there is nothing in it for developing countries or that it can be ignored. Basels I and II represent a wide Sea of Standards. This paper suggests five alternative island-standards and five navigational tools to help countries choose their preferred island within the sea. It is suggested that for some developing countries the standardized approach will yield little in terms of linking regulatory capital to risk, but that countries may need many years of work to adopt the more advanced internal rating-based approach. The paper then proposes a centralized rating-based approach as a transition measure. The paper also makes proposals regarding a set of largely unresolved cross-border issues.
Effects of contralateral presentation and of interaural time differences in segregating a harmonic from a vowel

The extent to which the 500‐Hz component of a steady‐state vowel contributed to its phonemic category was measured by estimating the position of the /I/–/e/ phoneme boundary along a first formant (F1) continuum. Shifts in the phoneme boundary were calibrated against shifts produced by physical changes in the level of the 500‐Hz component. When the 500‐Hz component was presented contralateral to the rest of the vowel, the phoneme boundary changed by an amount equivalent to a physical reduction in the level of the component of about 5 dB (experiment 1). However, giving the 500‐Hz component an interaural time difference (ITD) of −666 μs and the remainder of the vowel an ITD of +666 μs did not reduce the component’s contribution to vowel quality (experiment 2). Placing the 500‐Hz component of the vowel in a sequence of 500‐Hz tones substantially reduced the contribution of the 500‐Hz component; the contribution was further reduced by giving both the tone sequence and the component an ITD of −666 μs and the re.
Commuting and citizen participation in Sweden and the US

Commuting has become an increasingly important feature of modern life. Conventional wisdom suggests that long journeys between home and work undermine citizens’ political engagement. Theories of public participation, such as the Civic Voluntarism Model, claim that commuting is likely to reduce the time available for political activism. This is supported by empirical evidence provided by Robert Putnam, in Bowling Alone. European studies on these matters are rare. This paper compares the American experience with an analysis of Swedish city-regions: is the negative relationship between commuting and citizen participation also valid in a Swedish context? The analysis is based on survey data from a total of 7200 citizens in seven Swedish cityregions of three different sizes. The relationship between commuting and several measures of public participation were investigated, controlling for the variables suggested by the Civic Voluntarism Model. The analysis indicates that there are no signs of negative relationship, but on the contrary, some aspects of participation are actually enhanced by commuting. The paper ends with a discussion about how these differences between Sweden and the US can be accounted for and what the more general consequences for democracy may be.
Absence of impact of aerial malathion treatment on Aedes aegypti during a dengue outbreak in Kingston, Jamaica.

During an outbreak of dengue fever in Jamaica from October to December 1995, a study was carried out to determine the impact of aerial ultra-low volume malathion treatment on adult Aedes aegypti. This was done by monitoring oviposition rates of the vector in three urban communities in Kingston and by exposing caged mosquitoes both directly and indirectly to the aerial malathion treatment. The insecticide was delivered at a rate of 219 mL/ha between 7:10 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. The results of the study clearly showed that the insecticide application was ineffective in interfering with Aedes aegypti oviposition, and adult mosquitoes held in cages inside dwellings were largely unaffected. Consequently, this type of intervention seemed to have little significant impact in arresting or abating dengue transmission.
Imatinib as a treatment option for systemic non-Langerhans cell histiocytoses.

BACKGROUND Systemic non-Langerhans cell histiocytoses are disorders characterized by the accumulation of histiocytes that do not meet the criteria for Langerhans cells in various organs. So far, no causative treatment is known. OBSERVATIONS Herein, we report the case of a 41-year-old man with Rosai-Dorfman disease, a form of systemic non-Langerhans cell histiocytoses, with histiocytic infiltrations in the skin, bone marrow, liver, and spleen. Histiocytes were positive for the imatinib target proteins platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta and KIT. The disease completely responded to treatment with 400 to 600 mg daily of imatinib for more than 7 months. CONCLUSION This case shows that imatinib is a powerful treatment option for patients with non-Langerhans cell histiocytoses.
Life-Cycle, Money, Space, and the Allocation of Time

The allocation of time to various activities is known to be a function of various demographic, socio-economic, seasonal, and scheduling factors. This paper examines those variables through exploration of the 1990 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, which has been inverted to track activity durations. The data are examined in single and multi-variate contexts. Two key issues are considered. First, to what extent does activity duration influence travel duration after controlling for activity frequency. This is tested with a set of models explaining travel duration which show activity duration does have positive and significant effects on travel duration, supporting recent arguments in favor of activity based models. Second, which is a more important effect in explaining the large changes in travel and activity patterns over the past thirty years accompanied by the increase in female labor force participation, the loss of discretionary time due to work, the change in metropolitan location, or the rise in per capita income. To examine this second question more rigorously, a choice model is constructed which examines both the decision to undertake an activity and the share of time within a 24 hour budget allocated to several primary activities: home, work, shop, and other activities. The utility functions for the activities are comprised of demographic, socio-economic, temporal, and spatial factors. The data also suggest that income and location have modest effects on time allocation compared with the loss of discretionary time due to working.
A security network in PSI photoprotection: regulation of photosynthetic control, NPQ and O2 photoreduction by cyclic electron flow

Cyclic electron flow (CEF) around PSI regulates acceptor-side limitations and has multiple functions in the green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Here we draw on recent and historic literature and concentrate on its role in Photosystem I (PSI) photoprotection, outlining causes and consequences of damage to PSI and CEF’s role as an avoidance mechanism. We outline two functions of CEF in PSI photoprotection that are both linked to luminal acidification: firstly, its action on Photosystem II with non-photochemical quenching and photosynthetic control and secondly, its action in poising the stroma to overcome acceptor-side limitation by rebalancing NADPH and ATP ratios for carbon fixation.
Analysis of DNA Extracted From the Trigeminal Ganglion Cells After Neonatal Capsaicin Treatment by Agarose Gel Electrophoresis

The aim of this study was to examine whether the neonatal injection of capsaicin induces DNA ladder formation, as an indicator of apoptosis, in the rat trigeminal ganglion (TG). The DNA extracted from the TGs after treatment with capsaicin (50 mg/kg) at 2 days of age exhibited diffuse DNA fragmentation instead of “ladder formation”, as determined by agarose gel electrophoresis. In contrast, clear DNA ladder formation was induced in human osteosarcoma cells treated with okadaic acid (OA) at concentrations of 10 and 20 nM. These results suggest that capsaicin cannot induce apoptosis of TG neurons sufficient for detectable DNA ladder formation. Thus, it is conceivable that capsaicin mainly causes necrosis rather than apoptosis in rodent primary sensory neurons.
Delta-neutral volatility trading with intra-day prices: an application to options on the DAX

This paper evaluates the profitability of applying four different volatility forecasting models to the trading of straddles on the German stock market index DAX. Special care has been taken to use simultaneous intra-day prices and realistic transaction costs. Furthermore, straddle positions were evaluated on a daily basis to preserve delta neutrality. The four models applied in this paper are: historical volatility, two ARCH models, and an autoregressive model for the volatility index. VDAX. The ARCH models perform best in generating profits for market makers. Forecasts based on historical volatility also produce statistically and economically significant profits over the two-year simulation period of 1993 and 1994. In general, a filter1rule with a small filter of0.5 per cent produces the best results for both the ARCH models and historical volatility. However, the VDAX-AR model generates much lower and usually insignificant profits, and for some filter rules this model even has cumulative losses for market makers. For non-market-makers and non-members of exchange, however, larger transaction\costs imply that no significant profits can be gained with any model of volatility forecasts.
Error Effects in Anterior Cingulate Cortex Reverse when Error Likelihood Is High

Strong error-related activity in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been shown repeatedly with neuroimaging and event-related potential studies for the last several decades. Multiple theories have been proposed to account for error effects, including comparator models and conflict detection models, but the neural mechanisms that generate error signals remain in dispute. Typical studies use relatively low error rates, confounding the expectedness and the desirability of an error. Here we show with a gambling task and functional magnetic resonance imaging that when losses are more frequent than wins, the mPFC error effect disappears, and moreover, exhibits the opposite pattern by responding more strongly to unexpected wins than losses. These findings provide perspective on recent ERP studies and suggest that mPFC error effects result from a comparison between actual and expected outcomes.
Regional Mucosa-Associated Microbiota Determine Physiological Expression of TLR2 and TLR4 in Murine Colon

Many colonic mucosal genes that are highly regulated by microbial signals are differentially expressed along the rostral-caudal axis. This would suggest that differences in regional microbiota exist, particularly mucosa-associated microbes that are less likely to be transient. We therefore explored this possibility by examining the bacterial populations associated with the normal proximal and distal colonic mucosa in context of host Toll-like receptors (TLR) expression in C57BL/6J mice housed in specific pathogen-free (SPF) and germ-free (GF) environments. 16S rRNA gene-based terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and clone library analysis revealed significant differences in the community structure and diversity of the mucosa-associated microbiota located in the distal colon compared to proximal colon and stool, the latter two clustering closely. Differential expression of colonic TLR2 and TLR4 along the proximal-distal axis was also found in SPF mice, but not in GF mice, suggesting that enteric microbes are essential in maintaining the regional expression of these TLRs. TLR2 is more highly expressed in proximal colon and decreases in a gradient to distal while TLR4 expression is highest in distal colon and a gradient of decreased expression to proximal colon is observed. After transfaunation in GF mice, both regional colonization of mucosa-associated microbes and expression of TLRs in the mouse colon were reestablished. In addition, exposure of the distal colon to cecal (proximal) microbiota induced TLR2 expression. These results demonstrate that regional colonic mucosa-associated microbiota determine the region-specific expression of TLR2 and TLR4. Conversely, region-specific host assembly rules are essential in determining the structure and function of mucosa-associated microbial populations. We believe this type of host-microbial mutualism is pivotal to the maintenance of intestinal and immune homeostasis.