Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Taxes , Dividends and International Portfolio Choice

This paper investigates how taxes influence portfolio choices by exploring the response to the distinctive treatment of foreign dividends in the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (JGTRRA). JGTRRA lowered the dividend tax rate to 15% for American equities and extended this tax relief only to foreign corporations from a subset of countries. This paper uses a difference-in-difference analysis that compares US equity holdings in affected and unaffected countries. The international investment responses to JGTRRA were substantial and imply an elasticity of asset holdings with respect to taxes of -1.6. This effect cannot be explained by several potential alternative hypotheses, including differential changes to the preferences of American investors, differential changes in investment opportunities, differential time trends in investment or changed tax evasion behavior.
Influence of host cell type and V3 loop of the surface glycoprotein on susceptibility of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 to polyanion compounds

Dextran sulfate is a potent inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) binding and replication in lymphocytic cell lines. In this study, we demonstrate that the effect of dextran sulfate and heparin depends on the host cell type and on the V3 loop, the principal neutralizing determinant of HIV gp120. In particular, when dextran sulfate was tested on primary human macrophages infected with macrophage-tropic viruses, enhancement of infection was observed in 6 of 11 independent macrophage preparations and with 5 of 13 primary HIV isolates. Our in vitro observations might explain why enhanced HIV replication was observed in HIV-infected patients treated with dextran sulfate.
3-D simulation of simultaneous heat and mass transfer of apple

Drying is a complex process associated with the coupled mechanism of heat and mass transfer which plays an important role in almost all industrial sectors. For this reason, the intensive research on drying is carried on specially based on optimisation of energy and process control. The aim of this study is to present a numerical method for drying processes widely used in food industries to provide enhanced product quality and economically advantages at definite production conditions. The governing equations of drying process in a 3-D rectangular object (e.g. apple slices) are solved numerically to predict the temperature and moisture distributions inside the object. Then, statistical tests of agreement between results are performed by determining the coefficient of regression (R2), chi-square test (2) and standard error of estimate (SEE) values, and it is found that predicted results agree well with the results in literature. Finally, a parametric study is conducted to emphasize the role of parameters on food drying as an important contributor to energy consumption.
Accumulated trade costs and their impact on domestic and international value chains

According to trade analysts, trade costs — together with the relative size of the exporting and importing economies — are among the main determinants of bilateral trade patterns. More important from a trade and development perspective, trade costs influence the competitiveness of domestic firms on the international market and the success of policies to join and move up global value chains (GVCs). Although trade costs have declined over the past decades, their relevance has increased with the surge of fragmented supply chains and the greater competition in a “small world” in which everybody cooperates and competes with everybody. The reduction in transportation costs, the progressive decline in tariff duties and other customs barriers, and the progress in information and communication technology connectivity have “flattened the planet” by reducing transaction costs, which has in turn contributed to the rapid expansion of global trade since 1985. After reviewing the domestic value added embodied in the final expenditure of markets of ultimate destination over time, Johnson (2014) and Johnson and Noguera (2016) identified five stylized facts that explain the lessening of trade frictions.1 But as Anderson and van Wincoop (2004) noted, “The death of distance is exaggerated. Trade costs are large, even aside from trade policy barriers and even between apparently highly integrated economies. ” The decline in trade frictions stalled after the 2008–09 global financial crisis (Escaith and Miroudot 2015), and the new emphases are on reducing transaction costs and facilitating trade. In the geographically fragmented production networks that have emerged since the mid-1990s, trade in intermediate goods accounts for more than half the volume of international transactions. More than in traditional bilateral trade in final goods, transaction costs (border and behind-the-border costs of trade) are crucial elements of the competitiveness of firms and partly determine their ability to participate in global production networks. These trade frictions are mainly an exogenous cost factor for the operators of international supply chains, who may mitigate the negative impacts through leaner production management but cannot alter the underlying causes. Facilitating trade remains largely the domain of public action. Trade costs such as applied tariffs, transportation and insurance costs, and other border taxes and fees are amplified as they pass through the steps associated with modern supply chains. This so-called cascade effect arises because trade costs accumulate as intermediate goods are imported and then re-exported farther downstream, going through different processing nodes before reaching the final consumer. Thus, trade costs reduce the gains from trade that countries expect from participating in GVCs. From the exporting firm perspective the financial impact of trade costs is magnified in the “trade in tasks” rationale that 4
A non‐parametric procedure for evaluating treatment effect in the meta‐analysis of survival data

This paper addresses the problem of combining information from independent clinical trials which compare survival distributions of two treatment groups. Current meta‐analytic methods which take censoring into account are often not feasible for meta‐analyses which synthesize summarized results in published (or unpublished) references, as these methods require information usually not reported. The paper presents methodology which uses the log(‐log) survival function difference, (i.e. log(‐logS2(t))‐log(‐logS1(t)), as the contrast index to represent the multiplicative treatment effect on survival in independent trials. This article shows by the second mean value theorem for integrals that this contrast index, denoted as θ, is interpretable as a weighted average on a natural logarithmic scale of hazard ratios within the interval [0,t] in a trial. When the within‐trial proportional hazards assumption is true, θ is the logarithm of the proportionality constant for the common hazard ratio for the interval considered within the trial. In this situation, an important advantage of using θ as a contrast index in the proposed methodology is that the estimation of θ is not affected by length of follow‐up time. Other commonly used indices such as the odds ratio, risk ratio and risk differences do not have this invariance property under the proportional hazard model, since their estimation may be affected by length of follow‐up time as a technical artefact. Thus, the proposed methodology obviates problems which often occur in survival meta‐analysis because trials do not report survival at the same length of follow‐up time. Even when the within‐trial proportional hazards assumption is not realistic, the proposed methodology has the capability of testing a global null hypothesis of no multiplicative treatment effect on the survival distributions of two groups for all studies. A discussion of weighting schemes for meta‐analysis is provided, in particular, a weighting scheme based on effective sample sizes is suggested for the meta‐analysis of time‐to‐event data which involves censoring. A medical example illustrating the methodology is given. A simulation investigation suggested that the methodology performs well in the presence of moderate censoring. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Potential of the bean α‐amylase inhibitor αAI‐1 to inhibit α‐amylase activity in true bugs (Hemiptera)

True bugs (Hemiptera) are an important pest complex not controlled by Bt‐transgenic crops. An alternative source of resistance includes inhibitors of digestive enzymes, such as protease or amylase inhibitors. αAI‐1, an α‐amylase inhibitor from the common bean, inhibits gut‐associated α‐amylases of bruchid pests of grain legumes. Here we quantify the in vitro activity of α‐amylases of 12 hemipteran species from different taxonomic and functional groups and the in vitro inhibition of those α‐amylases by αAI‐1. α‐Amylase activity was detected in all species tested. However, susceptibility to αAI‐1 varied among the different groups. α‐Amylases of species in the Lygaeidae, Miridae and Nabidae were highly susceptible, whereas those in the Auchenorrhyncha (Cicadellidae, Membracidae) had a moderate susceptibility, and those in the Pentatomidae seemed to be tolerant to αAI‐1. The species with αAI‐1 susceptible α‐amylases represented families which include both important pest species but also predatory species. These findings suggest that αAI‐1‐expressing crops have potential to control true bugs in vivo.
Protection against autoimmune nephritis in MyD88-deficient MRL/lpr mice.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether innate receptor signals play an important role in the development of autoimmune nephritis in MRL/lpr mice, an experimental model of lupus nephritis. METHODS MyD88 is a critical adaptor that is involved in signaling pathways through all of the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) except TLR-3. We therefore generated MyD88-knockout (MyD88-KO) MRL/lpr mice and examined them for histopathologic changes in the kidneys, cumulative survival rates, extent of lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly, serum chemistry, and immunologic parameters. In addition, to define the role of the MyD88-independent pathway in autoimmune nephritis, we injected MyD88-KO MRL/lpr mice intraperitoneally with either poly(I-C) (50 or 100 microg per mouse) or phosphate buffered saline and examined them for survival as well as for histopathologic, serologic, and immunologic parameters. RESULTS In comparison with wild-type mice, MyD88-KO MRL/lpr mice exhibited a prolonged lifespan, with no apparent development of autoimmune nephritis. Their kidneys showed no glomerular cell proliferation or crescent formation, along with a drastic decrease in the mesangial matrix. Lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly were less pronounced. Serum titers of anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) and production of cytokines, including interferon-alpha (IFNalpha), interleukin-12 (IL-12), IL-6, and IFNgamma, in splenocytes were significantly reduced in MyD88-KO MRL/lpr mice. Interestingly, MyD88-KO MRL/lpr mice that had been treated with the MyD88-independent TLR-3 ligand poly(I-C) showed an almost complete reversion to the features of wild-type mice, demonstrating crescentic glomerulonephritis, with significant elevation of serum anti-dsDNA titers and increased cytokine production in splenocytes. CONCLUSION The findings indicate that both MyD88-dependent and MyD88-independent innate signals play a crucial role in the development of autoimmune nephritis in MRL/lpr mice.
Numerical Modelling of a Surging Point Absorber Wave Energy Converter

This study presents numerical modelling of a WEC (wave energy converter) along with some details of the experimental setup. Issues related to the numerical modelling of the single DOF (degree-of-freedom) motion of a surging point absorber WEC are outlined and a comparison with experimental data is presente d. A commercial CFD code Flow-3D is used for numerical modelling and the ability of the code to simulate free surface linear waves and wave structu e interaction is evaluated. The work is aimed at simulating a surging wave energy converter to achieve an optimized shape and to predict output power at a higher or full scale. The findings of this study may also serve as a referenc e point for the use of a commercial code such as Flow 3D for the simulation of such problems.
Automatic Identification of Speech Disorders for Arabic Children Speakers

Abstract—Automatic identification of speech disorders in children’s speech is very important for the diagnosis and monitoring of speech therapy. In this work, acoustic features (MFCC) have been used with the two most commonly used classification techniques in the speaker and language identification area, GMM-UBM and I-vector, for identifying three error types of speech production associated with phoneme [r] from Arabic children’s speech. The sound [r] has been selected as it is the most common pronunciation problem that Arabic speaking children suffer from. The impact of [r] location in a word on the speech disorders has been investigated by considering words with [r] in the beginning, middle and end. The best performance of our 4-class systems, is 75% accuracy with our I-vector system and 61% for our GMM-UBM system. Performance of these two systems are improved to 92.5% and 83.4%, respectively, when the three disorder classes are combined into one class versus normal class (2-class systems).
A rectangular defected ground structure (DGS) for reduction of mutual coupling between closely-spaced microstrip antennas

A sufficient and simple method to minimize the mutual coupling between closely-spaced microstrip antennas in a H-plane array format, operating at the same frequency is presented. More isolation can be provided through multiple rectangular defected ground structures (DGSs) between the antennas. Inter element mutual coupling before and after using the proposed DGSs is investigated. The length, width and number of the rectangular DGSs have been optimized for more mitigating the mutual coupling (S12). Position of the DGSs is also the other important factor to have a best performance. By using this technique, more than 31 dB isolation between two patch antennas with a side by side distance of only 1/4 free-space wavelength at resonance frequency of 9.2 GHz can be obtained.
DEFORMATION BEHAVIOUR OF LOW-ALLOY STEEL 42 CrMo 4 IN HOT STATE

The installation of the advanced equipment, determined for coiling of hot rolled bars in the small section rolling mill at Třinecké železárny a.s. , requires the performance of numerous experimental tests to achieve the full-value utilization of this equipment. The low-alloy steel 42CrMo4, belonging to the range of products of the small section mill, was so far supplied to the customers in the form of straight bars. The steel bars can recently be coiled – thanks to Garret coilers – after finish rolling into coils. The steel 42CrMo4 is determined, above all, for heat treatment. For its higher hardenability it is suitable mainly for the production of the parts working under high stress that are used in the mechanical engineering and automotive industry. For reasons of the comprehensive study of deformation behaviour of this steel in the hot state, a whole set of torsion tests was carried out on the plastometer SETARAM. From the results of continuous tests to rupture the characteristics of dynamic recrystallization were evaluated; the start of the dynamic recrystallization is defined by coordinates of the peak stress. These values were then used for determination of the activation energy in hot forming by means of the specialized software ENERGY 4.0. Formability of the studied steel could be represented, on the basis of results of torsion tests, by the 3D graph in relation to temperature and strain rate. The performance of the anisothermal interrupted torsion tests was used for the evaluation of phase transformations in the steel and these phase transformations were afterwards confronted with the decomposition diagrams designed by the dilatometric tests and by means of software QTSteel. The diagrams were executed in two modes (CCT – Continuous Cooling Transformation) and DCCT (Deformation 35 % + Continuous Cooling Transformation).
Minimax Estimation of the Scale Parameter of the Selected Gamma Population with Arbitrary Known Shape Parameter

Abstract Let X1, X2 be independent random variables from gamma populations Π1,Π2 with common arbitrary known shape parameter α and unknown scale parameters θ1, θ2 respectively. Suppose X(1), X(2) be the order statistics of X1, X2 and the population corresponding to largest X(2) observation is selected. In this paper we consider the problem of minimax estimation of the scale parameter θM of the selected population under the scale-invariant square-error loss function. We show that the estimator X(2) α+1 which is the analogue of the best scale invariant estimator of θ2 under the scale-invariant square-error loss, is a minimax estimator of θM . Also, the result is extended to a subclass of the scale parameter exponential family and the family of transformed chisquare distributions.
Mobility : The Home of Expatriate Management Research Religious expatriates ’ cultural intelligence and adaptation : the role of intrinsic motivation for successful

Purpose – This study aims to provide new insights into religious expatriates’ cultural intelligence, adaptation and the role of motivation. Drawing mainly from the theory of intelligence (Sternberg, 1999) and theory of self-determination (Deci and Ryan, 2000; 1991), the study posits that cultural intelligence of a religious expatriate is positively and significantly related to his or her psychological and sociocultural adaptation. Moreover, the study hypothesizes that intrinsic motivation, as a type of motivation, plays a significant role in moderating the relationship between cultural intelligence and adaptation (both psychological and sociocultural). Design/methodology/approach – One hundred ten (n=110) religious expatriates from various religious communities were surveyed. They were asked to rate their cultural intelligence, intrinsic motivation and adaptation (i.e., psychological and sociocultural). Findings – The results demonstrate that cultural intelligence is positively and significantly related to both psychological and sociocultural adaptation. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation, as a type of motivation, moderates the relationship between cultural intelligence and adaptation (both psychological and sociocultural). Originality/value – The study contributes to the limited studies on non-corporate expatriation focusing mainly on religious expatriation. In addition, it adds value by generating new insights into the importance not only of cultural intelligence but also of intrinsic motivation in ensuring high levels of psychological and sociocultural adaptation. It further offers a number of practical insights that can be relevant for both corporate and noncorporate expatriates. D ow nl oa de d by T ex as S ta te U ni ve rs ity S an M ar co s A t 1 2: 03 2 9 M ay 2 01 7 (P T ) Religious expatriates’ CQ, adaptation and motivation
Effect of cadmium exposure on the globin protein expression in 4th instar larvae of Chironomus riparius Mg. (Diptera: Chironomidae): An ecotoxicoproteomics approach

In order to identify Chironomus hemoglobin (Hb) as a biomarker of ecotoxicity monitoring; herein, the effects of cadmium chloride (Cd) on Hb parameters were investigated in the 4th instar larvae of Chironomus riparius. The expressions of globin mRNA and hemolymph protein, using ecotoxicoproteomic approach, were investigated. Conventional ecotoxicity tests were also conducted to validate the ecotoxicological relevance of the response of Chironomus Hb as a biomarker. The proteomic analysis indicated that exposure to Cd lead alteration in the expression of hemolymph protein, with the total expressions of 12 hemolymph protein spots decreasing in response to treatment, with that of two increasing in response to Cd exposure. In addition, all of the spots differentially expressed in response to Cd treatment were identified as globin proteins. The decreased total Hb content observed in the hemolymph of larvae exposed to Cd suggested that the decreased expression of selected globin proteins in response to Cd exposure impacted on Hb synthesis. The overall results suggested that Hb could be a target molecule for exposure to Cd in C. riparius, with a proteomic approach appearing to be an ideal tool for the discovery of biomarkers in ecotoxicological research.
Influence of folate pathway polymorphisms on high-dose methotrexate-related toxicity and survival in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract The prediction of high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) toxicity is a key issue in the individualization of treatment in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Our aim was to evaluate the influence of MTX pathway polymorphisms on HD-MTX treat- ment outcome in children with ALL. In total, 167 children with ALL were genotyped for methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (MTHFD1) 1958G > A, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C > T and 1298A > C and thymidylate synthase (TYMS) 2R > 3R polymorphisms. The MTHFD1 1958A allele significantly reduced the odds of hepatotoxicity (adjusted p = 0.009), while the TYMS 3R allele significantly reduced the odds of leukocytopenia and thrombocytopenia (adjusted p = 0.005 and adjusted p = 0.002, respectively). MTHFR polymorphisms did not influence HD-MTX-related toxicity, but a significant effect of MTHFR 677C > T–TYMS 2R > 3R and MTHFD1 1958G > A–MTHFR 677C > T interactions on HD-MTX-related toxicity was observed. None of the investigated polymorphisms influenced survival. Our study suggests an important role of polymorphisms and gene–gene interactions within the folate pathway in HD-MTX-related toxicity in childhood ALL.
Reproduction of lesions of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome by infection of conventional pigs with porcine circovirus type 2 alone or in combination with porcine parvovirus.

Post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) has recently emerged as an important disease of pigs in North America, Europe and Asia. Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and porcine parvovirus (PPV) have been isolated from affected pigs. To investigate the pathogenicity of these isolates, groups of colostrum-deprived conventional pigs were inoculated with PCV2 alone (n=4), PPV alone (n=3) or dually with PCV2 and PPV (n=7) and examined post mortem between 21 and 26 days post-infection (dpi). Two control pigs were inoculated with an uninfected cell culture lysate. All pigs that received both viruses became dull at approximately 10-12 dpi and six of these animals subsequently developed jaundice. Hepatomegaly and enlarged kidneys were prominent post-mortem findings in these animals. Histopathological examination revealed severe macrophage infiltration, syncytia formation and numerous cytoplasmic and nuclear amphophilic inclusion bodies in lymphoid tissues. Granulomatous lesions were apparent in liver, lung, kidney, pancreas, myocardium, intestines, testis, brain and salivary, thyroid and adrenal glands. Abundant PCV2 antigen was detected in affected tissues. Only one of the four pigs inoculated with PCV2 alone developed clinical signs, but they all had histopathological lesions which, although less severe, were similar to those in the dually infected animals. The control pigs and those infected with PPV alone remained clinically normal and did not have gross lesions. The only histopathological lesion seen in these animals was mild interstitial nephritis in the pigs infected with PPV alone. These results indicate that lesions of PMWS can be induced by inoculating pigs with PCV2 alone, thereby fulfilling Koch's postulates. Concurrent infection with PPV increased the severity of the lesions, suggesting that co-factors are important in the pathogenesis of PMWS.