Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring the Stance of Monetary Policy in a Closed Economy: A Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Approach

This paper develops and estimates a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of a closed economy which provides a quantitative description of the monetary transmission mechanism, yields a mutually consistent set of indicators of inflationary pressure together with confidence intervals, and facilitates the generation of relatively accurate forecasts. The model features short run nominal price and wage rigidities generated by monopolistic competition and staggered reoptimization in output and labour markets. The resultant inertia in inflation and persistence in output is enhanced with other features such as habit persistence in consumption and labour supply, adjustment costs in housing and capital investment, and variable capital utilization. Cyclical components are modeled by linearizing equilibrium conditions around a stationary deterministic steady state equilibrium which abstracts from long run balanced growth, while trend components are modeled as random walks while ensuring the existence of a well defined balanced growth path. Parameters and unobserved components are jointly estimated with a novel Bayesian full information maximum likelihood procedure, conditional on prior information concerning the values of parameters and trend components.
Factors that influence the consumption of food outside the home in Brazil

The food sector has taken on an unprecedented dynamism in recent years. The processing and distribution of food, although heavily influenced by tradition, have seen intensive innovations, leading to changes in the way individuals consume. One of these changes is the consistent growth of the habit of eating outside the home. Consuming food outside the home involves a number of practices such as eating at commercial establishments that specialize in food (restaurants, fast food restaurants and snack bars) and those that offer food as a part of their services (hotels, in-flight meals), and non-commercial alternatives such as the homes of family and friends. In order to describe the eating habits of consumers in the town of Lavras in Minas Gerais State, Brazil, especially when it comes to eating outside the home, a quantitative study was conducted, with 413 questionnaires being distributed by convenience sampling. Among the main results are: (a) a search for variety as a motivator for eating outside the home; (b) convenience as an important element on many occasions of consumption; (c) more intensive consumption and more favourable attitudes towards eating out on the part of younger people, people with higher incomes, no children and a higher degree of schooling; (d) importance of paying for food by the kilo. When compared with a study conducted in England, important similarities were identified in socio-demographic influences, although the cultural factors are notable when it comes to dishes and the types of eating establishment. The growing habit of eating out has therefore become a worldwide phenomenon, but with cultural and regional differences that have led to different rhythms in terms of change and the way food is supplied. The recovery of embedded cultural habits, with increased value being given to slow food, traditional dishes and tradition itself, appears to co-exist with a productivity model of food courts, pasteurization and accessible prices. The occasion for consumption, which may be understood as the dichotomies of ‘weekday versus weekend’ or ‘convenience versus leisure’, is an important element that influences consumer behaviours. The undertaking of a cross-cultural comparative study can be seen as an important step in this field of research.
Inter-Firm Relationships and the Creation of Social Capital

The article explores inter-firm joint actions, both short and long term, using a social capital framework. The study reviews the literature on social capital generally and its application to inter-firm (or B2B) relationships specifically, finding these applications quite limited at present. The paper then conceptualizes a typology of joint actions firms typically engage in, their outcomes, and how they could contribute to the building of jointly owned social capital across firms. A more formal conceptual model of the creation, accumulation and use of inter-firm social capital is then constructed to be used in future empirical testing and managerial application.
Toxin-Antitoxic Loci vapBC-1 and vapXD Contribute to Survival and Virulence in Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae

Background: Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a significant human pathogen responsible for respiratory tract infections and the most common cause of recurrent otitis media. Type II toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are genetic elements that code for a stable protein toxin and a labile antitoxin that are thought to be involved in metabolic regulation of bacteria by enabling a switch to a dormant state under stress conditions. The contribution to infection persistence of the NTHi TA loci vapBC-1 and vapXD was examined in this study. Results: Deletions in vapBC-1, vapXD and vapBC-1 vapXD significantly decreased the survival of NTHi co-cultured with primary human respiratory tissue at the air-liquid interface and in the chinchilla model of otitis media. The TA deletions did not affect the growth dynamics of the mutants in rich media, their ultra-structural morphology, or display appreciable synergy during NTHi infections. The toxin and antitoxin proteins of both pairs heterodimerized in vivo. Consistent with our previous findings regarding the VapC-1 toxin, the NTHi VapD toxin also displayed ribonuclease activity. Conclusions: We conclude that the vapBC-1 and vapXD TA loci enhance NTHi survival and virulence during infection in vitro and in vivo using a mechanism of mRNA cleavage, and that these conserved TA pairs represent new targets for the prophylaxis and therapy of otitis media and other NTHi-caused mucosal diseases.
Representation as delegation: a basis for EU democracy?

This contribution tackles the issue of EU democracy from the point of view of representation. Building on the discussion of ‘political’ and ‘democratic’ representation offered, respectively, by Pitkin (1967) and Urbinati (2006), it argues that at the heart of some of the most prominent analyses of EU democracy – those offered by Moravcsik, Majone and Scharpf – lies instead a particularly restrictive notion of ‘representation as delegation’. Starting from a principal–agent model of democracy, all three authors end up endorsing a notion of representation as delegation that both Pitkin and Urbinati would find insufficient and ultimately undemocratic. Moravcsik, Majone and Scharpf assume that governmental representatives in the EU act either as delegates or as trustees of their national constituencies and thus break that ongoing, dynamic relationship which is at the basis of a fuller notion of political or democratic representation. The contribution concludes by arguing that representation as delegation is insufficient to legitimate the EU and that the rescue of the full notion of political and democratic representation is necessary, particularly in the changed circumstances of the financially and economically bereaved European Union.
Is Financial Globalization Beneficial?

This lecture examines whether financial globalization is beneficial to developing countries by first examining the evidence on financial development and economic growth and concludes that financial development is indeed a key element in promoting economic growth. It then asks why if financial development is so beneficial, it often doesn't occur. It then goes on to examine whether globalization, particularly of the financial kind, can help encourage financial and economic development and argues that it can. However, financial globalization does not always work to encourage economic development because it often leads to devastating financial crises. The issue is thus not whether financial globalization is inherently good or bad, but whether it can be done right.
Financial Wealth, Consumption Smoothing and Income Shocks Arising from Job Loss

One of the reasons for setting up an unemployment insurance scheme is to allow job losers to smooth consumption. We test for the impact of unemployment benefits on changes in household food expenditure of individuals who have recently experienced a job loss. We also study the relationship between unemployment benefits and the financial wealth of the unemployed. From our empirical analysis we conclude that, for households without financial wealth at the time of job loss, unemployment benefits help to smooth food consumption. For households running debt before job loss, there is evidence that lower replacement rates lead to a postponement of debt repayment.
Adult‐onset spinocerebellar syndrome with idiopathic vitamin E deficiency

A 62‐year‐old man and his maternal uncle had a selective vitamin E deficiency without generalized fat malabsorption. A progressive neurological disorder comprising ataxia, areflexia, and loss of proprioception developed in their sixth and seventh decades. The vitamin E deficiency is thought to be due to abnormally accelerated utilization, excretion, or degradation of the vitamin. This adult‐onset spinocerebellar syndrome is due to vitamin E deficiency not caused by malabsorption.
Simulation of Subduction Zone Seismicity by Dehydration of Serpentine

We measured acoustic emission energy during antigorite dehydration in a multianvil press from 1.5 to 8.5 gigapascals and 300° to 900°C. There was a strong acoustic emission signal on dehydration, and analysis of recovered samples revealed brittle deformation features associated with high pore-fluid pressures. These results demonstrate that intermediate depth (50 to 200 kilometers) seismicity can be generated by dehydration reactions in the subducting slab.
Macroeconomic Influences On Japanese Hotel Stock Returns

This study investigates the influences of macroeconomic factors on hotel stock returns in Japan using a 30-year data period. In addition to the macroeconomic variables commonly used in previous studies (i.e., changes in discount rate [DSCHG], growth rates of money supply [ΔMS], changes in unemployment rate [UPCHG], growth rates of consumer price index [ΔCPI], and industrial production [ΔIP]), we also include the percentage change in yen–dollar exchange rate (ΔEXCH), the percentage change in oil price (ΔOILP), and growth rates of total trade (ΔTTR) as critical explanatory factors of Japanese hotel stock returns. This study uses the Granger causality procedure based on the vector autoregression model. Test results indicate that economic variables DSCHG, UPCHG, and ΔOILP could significantly cause Japanese hotel stock returns and serve as significant determinants of Japanese hotel stock returns.
A critical review of relationship between corporate governance and firm performance: GCC banking sector perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate existing studies on the relationship of corporate governance with firm performance in different regions and address the need for similar analysis for the Gulf Coperation Council (GCC) sector. The banking sector comprises the conventional and Islamic banks in the GCC sector and is important due to their ability to bring stability to this region. Existing studies that measure the relationship of GCC sector conventional banks and firm performance are limited. This study proposes a need for future research on corporate governance in the GCC region. Design/methodology/approach – This paper will review and analyze the different empirical and theoretical contributions in establishing the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance. Findings – This paper will create a focus for future research of measuring the impact of corporate governance mechanism on firm performance. The regulators will be encouraged to focus on more research studies for th.
A quantitative meta-analysis on cue-induced male sexual arousal.

INTRODUCTION Visually induced sexual arousal is a common occurrence in human behavior. The cerebral underpinnings of this response have been explored in recent neuroimaging studies. AIM We set out to test the strength of evidence for the presence of a core network of brain regions involved in male sexual arousal elicited by erotic stimuli. METHODS Eleven functional magnetic resonance imaging studies that presented erotic visual stimuli and compared the associated brain activity with the brain activity elicited by neutral visual stimuli were identified. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES Activation likelihood estimation was employed to perform quantitative meta-analyses on coordinates of brain activation in order to assess significant concordance across studies. RESULTS The meta-analysis included studies on heterosexual males and revealed consistent activation in the hypothalamus, thalamus, amygdala, anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC), insula, fusiform gyrus, precentral gyrus, parietal cortex, and occipital cortex across studies. Moreover, we explored brain responses associated with a physiological marker of sexual arousal (penile tumescence) and found concurrence in hypothalamus, thalamus, bilateral insula, ACC, postcentral gyrus, and occipital gyrus. CONCLUSIONS This is the first quantitative meta-analysis on sexual cue reactivity and identifies a neural network consisting of cognitive (parietal cortex, ACC, thalamus, insula), emotional (amygdala, insula), motivational (precentral gyrus, parietal cortex), and physiological (hypothalamus/thalamus, insula) components constituting a core circuit of male sexual arousal in humans.
Effect of Free Sugars on Diabetes, Obesity, and Dental Caries

We read with interest the recent JDR paper by Schwendicke et al. (2016) and agree with the authors’ assumptions that taxing sugar-sweetened beverages may reduce caries and in turn play a role in reducing inequalities in dental health. In the editorial by Lee and Giannobile (2016), the concept is widened, and a case is eloquently made for the growing evidence of the negative effect of added dietary sugar on the general health: a topic that we address in our recently published paper (Joury et al. 2016). In it, we present a systematic search of published data on the prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and dental caries in relation to free sugars consumption in Iraq, a country in which the availability of sugar has varied over the years due to imposed economic sanctions. Our results showed that dental caries in Iraq declined markedly during a period of United Nations sanctions (1991 to 2002) but increased after the sanctions were lifted (2003 to 2015), when annual sugar consumption per person increased from 16.3 to 24.1 kg. Similarly, type 2 diabetes and obesity patterns mirrored those of free sugars consumption and started increasing with higher free sugars consumption after the United Nations sanctions were lifted. While we acknowledge that the etiology of these conditions is multifactorial, we support the concluding remarks of Lee and Giannobile (2016) and advocate that oral health clinicians and researchers share a responsibility in informing public opinion and policy makers of the positive effect of limiting added sugars on oral and general health. Acknowledgments
Silhouette + attraction: A simple and effective method for text clustering†

Abstract This article presents silhouette–attraction (Sil–Att), a simple and effective method for text clustering, which is based on two main concepts: the silhouette coefficient and the idea of attraction. The combination of both principles allows us to obtain a general technique that can be used either as a boosting method, which improves results of other clustering algorithms, or as an independent clustering algorithm. The experimental work shows that Sil–Att is able to obtain high-quality results on text corpora with very different characteristics. Furthermore, its stable performance on all the considered corpora is indicative that it is a very robust method. This is a very interesting positive aspect of Sil–Att with respect to the other algorithms used in the experiments, whose performances heavily depend on specific characteristics of the corpora being considered.
Terrestrial and Marine Foraging Strategies of an Opportunistic Seabird Species Breeding in the Wadden Sea

Lesser black-backed gulls Larus fuscus are considered to be mainly pelagic. We assessed the importance of different landscape elements (open sea, tidal flats and inland) by comparing marine and terrestrial foraging behaviours in lesser black-backed gulls breeding along the coast of the southern North Sea. We attached GPS data loggers to eight incubating birds and collected information on diet and habitat use. The loggers recorded data for 10–19 days to allow flight-path reconstruction. Lesser black-backed gulls foraged in both offshore and inland areas, but rarely on tidal flats. Targets and directions were similar among all eight individuals. Foraging trips (n = 108) lasted 0.5–26.4 h (mean 8.7 h), and ranges varied from 3.0–79.9 km (mean 30.9 km). The total distance travelled per foraging trip ranged from 7.5–333.6 km (mean 97.9 km). Trips out to sea were significantly more variable in all parameters than inland trips. Presence in inland areas was closely associated with daylight, whereas trips to sea occurred at day and night, but mostly at night. The most common items in pellets were grass (48%), insects (38%), fish (28%), litter (26%) and earthworms (20%). There was a significant relationship between the carbon and nitrogen isotope signals in blood and the proportional time each individual spent foraging at sea/land. On land, gulls preferentially foraged on bare ground, with significantly higher use of potato fields and significantly less use of grassland. The flight patterns of lesser black-backed gulls at sea overlapped with fishing-vessel distribution, including small beam trawlers fishing for shrimps in coastal waters close to the colony and large beam-trawlers fishing for flatfish at greater distances. Our data show that individuals made intensive use of the anthropogenic landscape and seascape, indicating that lesser black-backed gulls are not a predominantly marine species during the incubation period.
Tracheal involvement in laryngeal papillomatosis

A review of 39 laryngeal papilloma patients at The Johns Hopkins Hospital revealed an incidence of subglottic and tracheal extension much higher than previously reported. Subglottic disease was present in 69% of patients and tracheal involvement in 26%. Factors associated with distal spread were the presence of subglottic papillomas, history of tracheostomy, total number of endoscopic resections, and the duration of disease. The relationship to the presence of viral antigen was cited. Detection and elimination of all papillomas is felt to be the key for the prevention of distal spread. The strategy of management is described.
Controlling Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF)-stimulated Ras Activation in Intact Cells by a Cell-permeable Peptide Mimicking Phosphorylated EGF Receptor*

Epidermal growth factor (EGF)-stimulated Ras activation involves specific interactions between the EGF receptor (EGFR), the adaptor proteins Grb2 and Shc, and the nucleotide exchange factor Sos-1. Study and control of these protein-protein interactions in vivo can be greatly promoted by introducing intracellular reagents that mimic EGFR functions. Here, we showed that a synthetic phosphopeptide encompassing the autophosphorylation site 1068 of EGFR formed a complex with endogenous Grb2 after this peptide was delivered into intact cells by a cell-permeable peptide import technique. Consequently, this intracellular peptide inhibited EGF-induced EGFR/Grb2 associations but not EGFR/Shc or Shc/Grb2 associations. Peptide-mediated disruption of the EGF/Grb2/Sos-1 cascade led to reduced Ras activation and mitogen-activated protein kinase activation. These results indicate that the binding of Grb2 to the phosphorylated Tyr-1068 of EGFR is crucial to the EGF-induced Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. The application of cell-permeable peptides to this study demonstrates a useful biochemical tool to probe and control various intracellular processes involved in signal transduction and gene transcription.
Policy Tools and Institutional Change: Comparing education policies in Norway, Sweden and England

The main question raised in this article is how educational reforms reflect convergence or divergence between the English, the Norwegian and the Swedish educational systems. We claim that the answer depends on how convergence is conceptualised. At the level of decisions on tools, the countries seem more similar than two decades ago. However, to explain policy changes our analytical perspective must be broadened. We demonstrate how values based on different welfare state models, political economies and different types of institutional evolution can explain processes of change in education over the last decades. In paying attention to broader processes of change, a certain degree of variation occurs. The countries seem to develop according to nationally specific trajectories: England has strengthened the liberal and elitist values of education while social democratic values of comprehensiveness and equality have impact on the aims and effects of policy tools in Norway and Sweden.
Asset Pricing at the Millennium

This paper surveys the field of asset pricing. The emphasis is on the interplay between theory and empirical work, and on the tradeoff between risk and return. Modern research seeks to understand the behavior of the stochastic discount factor (SDF) that prices all assets in the economy. The behavior of the term structure of real interest rates restricts the conditional mean of the SDF, while patterns of risk premia restrict its conditional volatility and factor structure. Stylized facts about interest rates, aggregate stock prices, and cross-sectional patterns in stock returns have stimulated new research on optimal portfolio choice, intertemporal equilibrium models, and behavioral finance.