Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information

According to basic economics, if demand exceeds supply, prices will rise, thus decreasing demand or increasing supply until demand and supply are in equilibrium; thus if prices do their job, rationing will not exist. However, credit rationing does exist. This paper demonstrates that even in equilibrium, credit rationing will exist in a loan market. Credit rationing is defined as occurring either (a) among loan applicants who appear identical, and some do and do not receive loans, even though the rejected applicants would pay higher interest rates; or (b) there are groups who, with a given credit supply, cannot obtain loans at any rate, even though with larger credit supply they would. A model is developed to provide the first theoretical justification for true credit rationing. The amount of the loan and the amount of collateral demanded affect the behavior and distribution of borrowers. Consequently, faced with increased credit demand, it may not be profitable to raise interest rates or collateral; instead banks deny loans to borrowers who are observationally indistinguishable from those receiving loans. It is not argued that credit rationing always occurs, but that it occurs under plausible assumptions about lender and borrower behavior. In the model, interest rates serve as screening devices for evaluating risk. Interest rates change the behavior (serve as incentive mechanism) for the borrower, increasing the relative attractiveness of riskier projects; banks ration credit, rather than increase rates when there is excess demand. Banks are shown not to increase collateral as a means of allocating credit; although collateral may have incentivizing effects, it may have adverse selection effects. Equity, nonlinear payment schedules, and contingency contracts may be introduced and yet there still may be rationing. The law of supply and demand is thus a result generated by specific assumptions and is model specific; credit rationing does exist. (TNM)
A review of the key issues associated with the commercialization of biobanks

A review of the key issues associated with the commercialization of biobanks Timothy Caulfield∗, Sarah Burningham, Yann Joly, ZubinMaster, Mahsa Shabani, Pascal Borry, Allan Becker, Michael Burgess, Kathryn Calder, Christine Critchley, Kelly Edwards, Stephanie M. Fullerton, Herbert Gottweis, Robyn Hyde-Lay, Judy Illes, Rosario Isasi, Kazuto Kato, Jane Kaye, Bartha Knoppers, John Lynch, AmyMcGuire, Eric Meslin, Dianne Nicol, Kieran O’Doherty, Ubaka Ogbogu, Margaret Otlowski, Daryl Pullman, Nola Ries, Chris Scott, Malcolm Sears, HelenWallace andMa’n H. Zawati†
Effects of large herbivores on grassland arthropod diversity

Both arthropods and large grazing herbivores are important components and drivers of biodiversity in grassland ecosystems, but a synthesis of how arthropod diversity is affected by large herbivores has been largely missing. To fill this gap, we conducted a literature search, which yielded 141 studies on this topic of which 24 simultaneously investigated plant and arthropod diversity. Using the data from these 24 studies, we compared the responses of plant and arthropod diversity to an increase in grazing intensity. This quantitative assessment showed no overall significant effect of increasing grazing intensity on plant diversity, while arthropod diversity was generally negatively affected. To understand these negative effects, we explored the mechanisms by which large herbivores affect arthropod communities: direct effects, changes in vegetation structure, changes in plant community composition, changes in soil conditions, and cascading effects within the arthropod interaction web. We identify three main factors determining the effects of large herbivores on arthropod diversity: (i) unintentional predation and increased disturbance, (ii) decreases in total resource abundance for arthropods (biomass) and (iii) changes in plant diversity, vegetation structure and abiotic conditions. In general, heterogeneity in vegetation structure and abiotic conditions increases at intermediate grazing intensity, but declines at both low and high grazing intensity. We conclude that large herbivores can only increase arthropod diversity if they cause an increase in (a)biotic heterogeneity, and then only if this increase is large enough to compensate for the loss of total resource abundance and the increased mortality rate. This is expected to occur only at low herbivore densities or with spatio‐temporal variation in herbivore densities. As we demonstrate that arthropod diversity is often more negatively affected by grazing than plant diversity, we strongly recommend considering the specific requirements of arthropods when applying grazing management and to include arthropods in monitoring schemes. Conservation strategies aiming at maximizing heterogeneity, including regulation of herbivore densities (through human interventions or top‐down control), maintenance of different types of management in close proximity and rotational grazing regimes, are the most promising options to conserve arthropod diversity.
A Demographic Dividend for Sub-Saharan Africa: Source, Magnitude, and Realization

Managing rapid population growth and spurring economic growth are among the most pressing policy challenges for Sub-Saharan Africa. We discuss the links between them and investigate the potential of family planning programs to address these challenges. Specifically, we estimate the impact of family planning programs on income per capita that can arise via the demographic dividend (DD), a boost to per capita income that operates through a chain of causality related to declining fertility. We develop a model to determine the impact of "meeting unmet need" (MUN) for modern contraceptive methods on fertility and hence on the population age structure in the coming years. We also estimate empirically the DD that has been observed in other countries, using a cross-country regression with panel data covering 40 years. Using the age structure projected by MUN and the empirical estimates of the DD, we estimate the potential for additional economic growth in Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal. We find that in 2030, these countries can enjoy an increase in per capita income of 8-13% by meeting one-third of their unmet need for modern contraception and can enjoy a 31-65% higher income per capita by meeting all of the unmet need. By 2050, these ranges become 13-22% and 47-87% respectively. We discuss the policy implications of our findings.
Effects of Pioglitazone on Asymmetric Dimethylarginine and Components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Nondiabetic Patients (EPICAMP Study): A Double-Blind, Randomized Clinical Trial

The present trial aimed to investigate the effects of pioglitazone on the serum level of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), a marker of endothelial function, and some indices of inflammation and glucose and lipid metabolism in nondiabetic metabolic syndrome patients. 104 eligible participants (57% female; age between 20 and 70) were enrolled in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial and were randomized to receive either pioglitazone (uptitrated to 30 mg/day) or matching placebo for 24 weeks. Participants were clinically examined and a blood sample was obtained at baseline and at the end of the trial. Pioglitazone significantly improved C-reactive protein level irrespective of changes in insulin sensitivity. Compared with the placebo group, alanine and aspartate transaminases were decreased and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was increased after treatment with pioglitazone. A considerably greater weight gain was also recorded in the intervention group. We failed to observe any significant changes in serum ADMA in either group and between groups with and without adjustment for age, sex, and components of the metabolic syndrome. In a nutshell, pioglitazone seems to have positive effects on lipid profile, liver transaminases, and systemic inflammation. However, its previously demonstrated endothelial function-improving properties do not seem to be mediated by ADMA.
The Impact of Genetic Architecture on Genome-Wide Evaluation Methods

The rapid increase in high-throughput single-nucleotide polymorphism data has led to a great interest in applying genome-wide evaluation methods to identify an individual's genetic merit. Genome-wide evaluation combines statistical methods with genomic data to predict genetic values for complex traits. Considerable uncertainty currently exists in determining which genome-wide evaluation method is the most appropriate. We hypothesize that genome-wide methods deal differently with the genetic architecture of quantitative traits and genomes. A genomic linear method (GBLUP), and a genomic nonlinear Bayesian variable selection method (BayesB) are compared using stochastic simulation across three effective population sizes and a wide range of numbers of quantitative trait loci (NQTL). GBLUP had a constant accuracy, for a given heritability and sample size, regardless of NQTL. BayesB had a higher accuracy than GBLUP when NQTL was low, but this advantage diminished as NQTL increased and when NQTL became large, GBLUP slightly outperformed BayesB. In addition, deterministic equations are extended to predict the accuracy of both methods and to estimate the number of independent chromosome segments (Me) and NQTL. The predictions of accuracy and estimates of Me and NQTL were generally in good agreement with results from simulated data. We conclude that the relative accuracy of GBLUP and BayesB for a given number of records and heritability are highly dependent on Me, which is a property of the target genome, as well as the architecture of the trait (NQTL).
Implications of the permanent El Niño teleconnection "blueprint" for past global and North American hydroclimatology

Abstract. Substantial evidence exists for wetter-than-modern continental conditions in North America during the pre-Quaternary warm climate intervals. This is in apparent conflict with the robust global prediction for future climate change of a northward expansion of the subtropical dry zones that should drive aridification of many semiarid regions. Indeed, areas of expected future aridification include much of western North America, where extensive paleoenvironmental records are documented to have been much wetter before the onset of Quaternary ice ages. It has also been proposed that climates previous to the Quaternary may have been characterized as being in a state with warmer-than-modern eastern equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs). Because equatorial Pacific SSTs exert strong controls on midlatitude atmospheric circulation and the global hydrologic cycle, the teleconnected response from this permanent El Nino-like mean state has been proposed as a useful analogue model, or "blueprint", for understanding global climatological anomalies in the past. The present study quantitatively explores the implications of this blueprint for past climates with a specific focus on the Miocene and Pliocene, using a global climate model (CAM3.0) and a nested high-resolution climate model (RegCM3) to study the hydrologic impacts on global and North American climate of a change in mean SSTs resembling that which occurs during modern El Nino events. We find that the global circulation response to a permanent El Nino resembles a large, long El Nino event. This state also exhibits equatorial super-rotation, which would represent a fundamental change to the tropical circulations. We also find a southward shift in winter storm tracks in the Pacific and Atlantic, which affects precipitation and temperature over the mid-latitudes. In addition, summertime precipitation increases over the majority of the continental United States. These increases in precipitation are controlled by shifts in the subtropical jet and secondary atmospheric feedbacks. Based on these results and the data proxy comparison, we conclude that a permanent El Nino like state is one potential explanation of wetter-than-modern conditions observed in paleoclimate-proxy records, particularly over the western United States.
Hybridization in natural sympatric populations of Dermacentor ticks in northwestern North America

Hybridization in ticks has been described in a handful of species and mostly as a result of laboratory experiments. We used 148 AFLP loci to describe putative hybridization events between D. andersoni and D. variabilis in sympatric populations from northwestern North America. Recently, D. variabilis has expanded its range westward into the natural range of D. andersoni. Using a sample of 235 D. andersoni and 62 D. variabilis, we identified 31 individuals as putative hybrids: four F2 individuals and 27 backcrosses to D. andersoni (as defined by NewHybrids). We found no evidence of hybrids backcrossing into D. variabilis. Furthermore, all hybrids presented 16S mtDNA signatures characteristic of D. andersoni, which indicates the directionality of the hybrid crosses: female D. andersoni × male D. variabilis. We also discovered 13 species-specific AFLP fragments for D. andersoni. These loci were found to have a decreased occurrence in the putative hybrids and were absent altogether in D. variabilis samples. AFLP profiles were also used to determine the levels of genetic population structure and gene flow among nine populations of D. andersoni and three of D. variabilis. Genetic structure exists in both species (D. andersoni, ΦST = 0.110; D. variabilis, ΦST = 0.304) as well as significant estimates of isolation by distance (D. andersoni, ρ = 0.066, P = 0.001; D. variabilis, ρ = 0.729, P = 0.001).
Theory of confocal fluorescence imaging in the programmable array microscope (PAM)

The programmable array microscope (PAM) uses a spatial light modulator (SLM) to generate an arbitrary pattern of conjugate illumination and detection elements. The SLM dissects the fluorescent light imaged by the objective into a focal conjugate image, Ic, formed by the ‘in‐focus’ light, and a nonconjugate image, Inc, formed by the ‘out‐of‐focus’ light. We discuss two different schemes for confocal imaging using the PAM. In the first, a grid of points is shifted to scan the complete image. The second, faster approach, uses a short tiled pseudorandom sequence of two‐dimensional patterns. In the first case, Ic is analogous to a confocal image and Inc to a conventional image minus Ic. In the second case Ic and Inc are the sum and the difference, respectively, of a conventional and a confocal image. The pseudorandom sequence approach requires post‐processing to retrieve the confocal part, but generates significantly higher signal levels for an equivalent integration time.
Measuring Inequality by Asset Indices: A General Approach with Application to South Africa

Asset indices have become widely used in a number of areas of social research, particularly in the analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys. Indeed the calculation of "wealth indexes" is now routine practice in the DHSs. Asset indices have been externally validated in a number of contexts. While these indices have been shown to work well as proxy measures of poverty, they are not suited to investigate inequality. In this paper we will show that, in fact, typical asset indices also fail an internal validity test: they frequently rank individuals in ways which violate the basic principle that individuals that have more (of anything) should be ranked higher than individuals that have less. We consider from first principle what sort of indexes might make sense, given the predominantly dummy variable nature of asset schedules. We show that there is, in fact, a way to construct an asset index which does not violate some basic principles and which also has the virtue that it can be used to construct "asset inequality" measures. However, there is a need to pay careful attention to the components of the index. We illustrate this by discussing the asset indices released publicly with South African DHS data and then a South African case study of changes over time. Both situations show the perils of mechanical approaches to calculating indexes. When calculating inequality using asset indices on South African data we find high inequality in the DHS data but that inequality has decreased markedly between 1993 and 2008. This contrasts with findings derived from income data which suggest that inequality has hardly changed at all.
What is the potential increase in the heart graft pool by cardiac donation after circulatory death?

Heart transplantation remains the only definite treatment option for end‐stage heart diseases. The use of hearts procured after donation after circulatory death (DCD) could help decrease the heart graft shortage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential increase in heart graft pool by developing DCD heart transplantation. We retrospectively reviewed our local donor database from 2006 to 2011, and screened the complete controlled DCD donor population for potential heart donors, using the same criteria as for donation after brain death (DBD) heart transplantation. Acceptable donation warm ischemic time (DWIT) was limited to 30 min. During this period 177 DBD and 70 DCD were performed. From the 177 DBD, a total of 70 (39.5%) hearts were procured and transplanted. Of the 70 DCD, eight (11%) donors fulfilled the criteria for heart procurement with a DWIT of under 30 min. Within the same period, 82 patients were newly listed for heart transplantation, of which 53 were transplanted, 20 died or were unlisted, and 9 were waiting. It could be estimated that 11% of the DCD might be heart donors, representing a 15% increase in heart transplant activity, as well as potential reduction in the deaths on the waiting list by 40%.
OWNERSHIP AND COMPETITIVE DYNAMICS

Changes in ownership titles are essential to understanding competitive dynamics and, more broadly, the market process. There is ample evidence that a crucial source of productivity growth, and hence wellbeing, is due to the reallocation of inputs and outputs from less to the more productive firms. Furthermore, ownership is essential in stimulating and shaping this reallocation process. We argue that a primary role of ownership in an economy is to supply fuel and precision to this reallocation process, as argued by Austrian economists, most notably Ludwig von Mises. Part of the economic function of ownership is that it eases entrepreneurial experimentation and provides an incentive to engage in such activities. These activities can be carried out with varying degrees of competence; in other words, “ownership competence” is unevenly distributed across entrepreneurs. As Mises recognized, the unhampered market process is required to sort among the entrepreneurial embodiments of such ownership competence.
STRING THEORY EXTENSIONS OF EINSTEIN–MAXWELL FIELDS: THE STATIC CASE

We present a new approach for generating solutions in both the four–dimensional heterotic string theory with one vector field and the five–dimensional bosonic string theory, starting from static Einstein–Maxwell fields. Our approach allows one to construct classes of solutions which are invariant with respect to the total subgroup of three-dimensional charging symmetries of these string theories. The new solution-generating procedure leads to the extremal Israel–Wilson–Perjes subclass of string theory solutions in a special case and provides its natural continuous extension to the realm of nonextremal solutions. We explicitly calculate all string theory solutions related to three-dimensional gravity coupled to an effective dilaton field which arises after an appropriate charging symmetry invariant reduction of the static Einstein–Maxwell system.
An overview of online charging in 3GPP networks: new ways of utilizing user, network, and service‐related information

Modern charging systems routinely apply the user, network, and service‐related information while performing online charging. Compared, however, to all the information available to and used in managing the network as a whole, the charging systems only use a limited subset. This work is motivated by the challenge to identify which information is used, and how it is used in online charging‐related processes, and also to explore whether it could be utilized ‘better’ or ‘smarter’ to improve future online charging systems functionality. We do not attempt to predict which information will be utilized in such systems and for what purpose, but instead summarize the open issues in view of the emerging trend of exploiting the user, network and service‐related information in service provisioning. We focus on the most recent 3GPP standards and relevant research papers, and propose three key aspects of online charging, with respect to information utilization: (a) signaling aspect, (b) inter‐domain aspect, and (c) service‐ and component‐based aspect. We present a state‐of‐the‐art review by grouping the works found in the literature based on the aspects they are associated with, and compare them based on the proposed comparison criteria. The discussion presented at the end of the paper indicates three common open issues, namely: (1) lack of common charging information specification and structure; (2) lack of mechanisms for information sharing among stakeholders in the service delivery process; and (3) lack of a common framework for sharing information while protecting user privacy. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A NEW ABUNDANCE SCALE FOR THE GLOBULAR CLUSTER 47 Tuc

We present chemical abundances for O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, and Fe in eight red giants and one turnoff star in the metal-rich globular cluster 47 Tuc, based on spectroscopy with the Magellan Inamori Kyocera Echelle high-resolution spectrograph on the Magellan 6.5 m Clay telescope. A robust line by a line differential abundance analysis technique, relative to the K-giant Arcturus, was used to reduce systematic errors from atmospheric and atomic parameters. Our derived mean LTE [Fe/H] of −0.76 ± 0.01 ± 0.04 dex (random and systematic error, respectively) is more metal poor by about 0.1 dex than recent literature results. The chemical element ratios in this nearby globular cluster most closely resemble those of the Galactic bulge, although there is a non-negligible overlap with the composition of thick-disk stars. We find that the [Al/Fe] and [Na/Fe] ratios coincide with the upper boundary of the trends seen in the bulge and thick disk. There is only a small intrinsic scatter in the majority of the abundance ratios, indicating that 47 Tuc is mostly a rather chemically homogeneous system.
How Do Firms Implement Impairment Tests of Goodwill

This study seeks first to examine how firms implement impairment tests as required by IAS 36, and second, to explore factors which may explain why some firms are not entirely in compliance with IAS 36. It is based on a survey which includes 58 completed questionnaires representing 73% of the firms on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange that recognize goodwill on the balance sheet. The findings imply a variety in the application of IAS 36. Based on our analysis, it is difficult to determine whether this simply indicates that firms adopt an approach suited to their organizational and economic structures, or if it reveals that firms are uncertain as how to apply the standard. Our analysis further indicates inconsistencies in the implementation of IAS 36. This includes both how firms define a CGU and how they estimate the recoverable amount. Further, multivariate analysis reveals that the inconsistencies detected here are less likely in firms that systematize the procedures for impairment testing and use persons with considerable valuation experience. The findings should be of interest to a number of parties including firms, financial advisers, auditors, standard setters and users of financial statements.