Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interest Rate Pass-Through: Empirical Study Towards Monetary Policy Transmission Effectiveness in Indonesia

This research aims to measure the effectiveness of monetary policy transmission, especially through the interest rate channel. The analysis was conducted on the first stage of its transmission, namely Interest Rate Pass-through (IRPT). IRPT refers to condition in which retail interest rate (both deposit and lending rate) responds to changes in policy rate of central bank. IRPT was measured using Error Correction Model (ECM) for time series data in the period of January 2010 - December 2015. The results of this study indicated that degree of long term and short term IRPT is incomplete for deposit and lending rate. In addition, IRPT for deposit rate is higher than lending rate, but the adjustment process of lending rate faster than deposit rate. Finally, model that include other variables (macroeconomic and internal banking indicator) generate long term IRPT which is smaller than the standard model. This results implies that the Central Bank, the FSA, and government needs to pay attention to the stability of the other variables that may interfere or reduce the effectiveness of monetary policy through the interest channel. JEL Classification: E42, E43, E52 Keywords: Deposit rate, ECM, IRPT, Lending Rate, Policy Rate
The Link between Leadership Style and Job Satisfaction in the DON Civilian Workforce

This study analyzed job satisfaction as it relates to employees within the Department of the Navy in an effort to better understand the role that supervisory leadership plays in improving or degrading employee job satisfaction. Multiple interviews were conducted with current and former employees in order to gainer deeper understanding of the experiences of these employees. The results indicate that styles such as servant leadership and transformational are seen as having a more positive impact on employee job satisfaction than other styles including trait and transaction. The researcher developed numerous themes based on data analysis including reference to these styles of leadership, resources, development, and consistency of leadership.
Pectoral muscle identification in mammograms for Computer Aided Diagnosis of breast cancer

In Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems of breast cancer, extraction of the breast region and delineation of the breast contour with the pectoral muscle being removed is an essential preprocessing step. Primarily it allows the search for abnormalities to be limited to the region of the breast without undue effect from the background of the mammogram. This paper presents a new method for the identification and removal of the pectoral muscle in medio-Iateral oblique (MLO) view of mammogram using iterative thresholding. Our algorithm also identifies the presence of abnormal axillary lymph nodes, which is a major sign of breast carcinoma, and detects the breast border.
A longitudinal study of symptom dimensions in schizophrenia. Prediction and patterns of change.

BACKGROUND Factor analytic studies have suggested that the symptoms of schizophrenia may be divided into three uncorrelated dimensions. This study examines the longitudinal course of the symptoms of schizophrenia using this three-dimensional perspective. METHODS The sample was composed primarily of neuroleptic-naive patients suffering from schizophrenia. Subjects were studied in a prospective longitudinal design, with comprehensive structured assessments at index, discharge, and 6-month intervals after discharge over a 2-year period. RESULTS Negative symptoms were already relatively prominent at the time of index evaluation; they tended to remain stable throughout the follow-up period. The two dimensions of positive symptoms, psychoticism and disorganization, although prominent at index evaluation, declined over the course of the follow-up period and tended to be less stable. A longitudinal factor analysis was conducted to determine whether the changes in symptoms followed any consistent pattern. We observed that all three groups of symptoms tended to change in unison and independently from one another. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that these three dimensions of psychopathology show different patterns of exacerbation and remission during the course of schizophrenia. This independent pattern of evolution suggests that these three dimensions should be studied further with respect to response to treatment, cognitive mechanisms, psychosocial correlates, and neural substrates.
The Effects of Quantitative Easing Announcements on the Mortgage Market: An Event Study Approach

This paper uses event study analysis to estimate the impact of the United States Federal Reserve Bank’s (Fed) quantitative easing (QE) announcements on the mortgage market during the zero lower bound (ZLB) period. A total of 35 QE announcements are identified and their effects are evaluated. The best-fitting integrated generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (IGARCH) model with skewed t distribution is used to measure the QE announcement effects on daily changes of the 30-year mortgage rate, the 30-year Treasury rate and the spread between them. Announcements suggesting the start of a new round of QE reduced the mortgage rate tremendously, while the effects of further news diminished. Announcements of an increase in mortgage-backed security purchases decreased the mortgage rate more than the Treasury rate and reduced the credit risk of holding mortgage securities over Treasury securities. The delayed effects of QE announcements on the mortgage rate were less than short-run effects but persistent. We also find that the previous literature overestimates QE effects on interest rates in general.
Investigational melatonin receptor agonists

Importance of the field: Melatonin is a major chronobiological regulator involved in circadian phasing, sleep, and numerous other functions including cyto-/neuroprotection, immune modulation, and energy metabolism. The suitability of melatonin as a drug is limited because of its short half-life. Therefore, various indolic and non-indolic melatonergic agonists have been developed. Frequent health problems such as sleep disturbances, neuropsychiatric disorders related to circadian dysphasing, and metabolic diseases associated with insulin resistance are targeted by melatonergic agonists. Areas covered in this review: Various synthetic melatonergic drugs are compared with regard to receptor affinities, selectivity, effects on sleep, endogenous melatonin, circadian phase and insulin-related metabolism. What the reader will gain: The chemical design of melatonin receptor agonists is discussed in relation to consequences for receptor affinity, selectivity, metabolism, and spectrum of effects. Take home message: Melatonergic agonists are suitable for phase-shifting circadian rhythms, and may be used for treating disorders related to circadian dysfunction including sleep difficulties. Facilitation of sleep onset is a general property, whereas promotion of sleep maintenance is demonstrable but not always fully sufficient. Details are especially available for tasimelteon. Support of insulin sensitivity may become a new area of application for compounds such as NEU-P11. Some drugs acting additionally as serotonergic antagonists display antidepressant properties.
Coxsackie B virus infections in women with miscarriage

To study the possible role of Coxsackie B virus serotypes 1-5 (CBV 1-5) as an etiological factor in miscarriage, 97 women with miscarriage were tested for the presence of CBV-IgM by radioimmunoassays (RIAs) and compared with 113 control women undergoing voluntary interruption of pregnancy in the same gestational week. Of the 80 women with miscarriage before the 13th week of gestation, 34 (42%) had CBV-IgM, whereas 18 of 100 (18%) corresponding control women had these antibodies, a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in CBV-IgM frequency between the women with miscarriage from the 13th through the 27th week and their controls. IgM against CBV 2 predominated, followed by IgM against CBV 5, CBV 4, CBV 3, and CBV 1. Two strains of CBV 5 were used in the RIAs, one (M147) isolated from a woman with miscarriage included in the study and one (V136) isolated in 1971 from a patient with meningitis. When the former strain was used, 13 women with miscarriage and seven control women had IgM, but with use of V136 only two women in each group were IgM positive. CBV 5 was isolated from the placental tissue from more women with miscarriage (6 of 28; 21%), than control women (2 of 21; 10%), but the difference was not statistically significant. No other viruses, except cytomegalovirus from a woman with miscarriage, were isolated.
Peptides derived from the whole sequence of BCR‐ABL bind to several class I molecules allowing specific induction of human cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is characterized cytogenetically by a t(9;22) translocation which generates a hybrid bcr‐abl gene, encoding a p210bcr‐abl fusion protein. The induction in vitro of leukemia‐specific T cells reactive with p210bcr‐abl is a strategy developed for an immunological therapeutic approach in CML. Peptides from the junction region of this chimeric protein have been considered as potential targets for a cytotoxic response against leukemic cells. However, only a few peptides encompassing the two p210bcr‐abl breakpoints have been shown to bind to the most common HLA class I molecules, which limits the number of patients who could benefit from this approach. We assume that the presence of chimeric BCR‐ABL protein in leukemic cells may affect processing and delivery of peptides, possibly giving rise to new epitopes at the cell surface. We selected 162 peptides from the whole sequence of this protein, including 14 peptides of the b2a2 and b3a2 junctions, which had an anchor motif for a common HLA class I molecule. We tested their ability to bind to eight HLA class I molecules (HLA‐A1, ‐A2, ‐A3, ‐A11, ‐B7, ‐B8, ‐B27, ‐B44). We identified 48 peptides from outside the junction region, with intermediate or strong binding capacities to these HLA class I molecules contrasting with only six junction peptides with a moderate binding capacity to HLA‐A3/A11, ‐B8, or ‐B44 molecules. Moreover, cytotoxic T lymphocyte lines specific for various peptides outside the junction were generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of HLA‐A2 or ‐B7 healthy donors and from one CML patient. These results contribute to evaluation of immunity to the BCR‐ABL chimeric protein. Further studies are required to investigate whether such epitopes are correctly processed and presented by leukemic cells.
Long‐Term suppression of hepatitis B e antigen‐negative chronic hepatitis B by 24‐month interferon therapy

To assess whether extended treatment with interferon improves the outcome of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐negative chronic hepatitis B, 101 consecutive patients were treated with 6 MU of interferon alfa 2b 3 times weekly for 24 months. During the 68‐month study, 30 patients (30%) had a sustained response (i.e., normal serum transaminase levels and undetectable hepatitis B virus DNA by non‐polymerase chain reaction [PCR] assays), and 15 cleared serum surface antigen. Twenty‐five nonresponders, 16 relapsers, and 30 who discontinued treatment were considered treatment failures. Multivariate analysis predicted a sustained response for young age (odds ratio, 0.94; 95% confidence interval, 0.89‐0.99; P = .041) and high pretreatment serum levels of immunoglobulin M (IgM) anti‐hepatitis B core antigen (HBc) (odds ratio, 4.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.63‐12.5; P = .004). Liver disease progressed in none of the sustained responders but in 16 with treatment failure (0% vs. 22%, P = .002); hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) developed with similar frequency in both groups (7%). Overall, estimated 8‐year complication‐free survival was longer for the 30 sustained responders than the 71 patients with treatment failure (90% vs. 60%, P < .001), but 8‐year patient survival was similar in the 2 groups (100% and 90%). Short complication‐free survival was predicted by failure to respond to interferon (hazard ratio, 7.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.8‐34.0; P = .006) and high scores for liver fibrosis (hazard ratio, 1.71; 95% confidence interval, 1.17‐2.50; P = .005). In conclusion, 24 months of treatment with interferon alfa 2b led to sustained disease suppression in a significant proportion of patients with HBeAg‐negative chronic hepatitis B. (Hepatology 2003;37:756‐763.)
Evidence for Skeletal Progenitor Cells in the Degenerate Human Intervertebral Disc

Study Design. To identify and characterize endogenous progenitor cell population from intervertebral disc. Objective. To determine if progenitor cells exist in degenerate human discs. Summary of Background Data. Back pain, a significant source of morbidity in our society, is directly linked to the pathology of the intervertebral disc. Because disc disease is accompanied by a loss of cellularity, there is considerable interest in regeneration of cells of both the anulus fibrosus (AF) and nucleus pulposus (NP). Methods. To determine if skeletal progenitor cells are present in the disc, samples were obtained from the degenerate AF and NP of 5 patients (Thompson grade 2 and 3, mean age 34 ± 7.6 years) undergoing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion procedures as well as adult rat lumbar spine. Results. Cells isolated from degenerate human tissues expressed CD105, CD166, CD63, CD49a, CD90, CD73, p75 low affinity nerve growth factor receptor, and CD133/1, proteins that are characteristic of marrow mesenchymal stem cells. In osteogenic media, there was an induction of alkaline phosphatase activity and expression of alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and Runx-2 mRNA. When maintained in adipogenic media, a small percentage of cells displayed evidence of adipogenic differentiation: accumulation of cytosolic lipid droplets and increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-&ggr;2 and lipoporotein lipase mRNA. AF- and NP-derived cells also evidenced chondrogenic differentiation. CD133 (+) cells in the AF were able to commit to either the chondrogenic or adipogenic lineages. The results of the human disc studies were confirmed using cell derived from the NP and AF tissue of the mature rat disc. Conclusion. The analytical data indicated that the pathologically degenerate human disc contained populations of skeletal progenitor cells. These findings suggest that these endogenous progenitors may be used to orchestrate the repair of the intervertebral disc.
Platelet Survival in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Summary Platelet survival in diabetes mellitus may be decreased or normal, and it is not clear whether altered platelet survival is due to a platelet or to a non-platelet defect. Therefore, platelet survival studies were performed at intervals up to 28 days in streptozotocin-induced diabetic and normal rats, using washed platelets from diabetic or normal animals. When compared to platelets from control rats, there was a significant decrease in platelet survival when platelets from 7 and 14 day diabetic rats were injected into normal controls or into diabetic rats. After 28 days of diabetes, platelet survival in diabetic rats was significantly lengthened, whether the platelets came from control or diabetic rats. Conclusions. (1) Shortened platelet survival in the diabetic rat is caused initially by a platelet defect. Later, non-platelet factors become dominant. (2) These findings may help explain reported discrepancies in results of platelet survival in diabetes mellitus.
Induction of protective genes by cobalt ameliorates tubulointerstitial injury in the progressive Thy1 nephritis.

BACKGROUND We previously demonstrated that chronic hypoxia has pivotal roles in the progression of tubulointerstitial injury from the early stage of the uninephrectomized Thy1 nephritis model. We have also shown that pretreatment of cobalt confers renoprotection in the ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, in association with the up-regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-regulated genes. Here, we tested the hypothesis that cobalt administration not only attenuates acute ischemic insult, but also ameliorates tubulointerstitial injury secondary to chronic hypoxia. METHODS We applied sustained cobalt treatment to the uninephrectomized Thy1 nephritis model at 3 to 5 weeks, when tubular hypoxia appeared. Histologic evaluation, including glomerular and peritubular capillary networks, was made at 8 weeks. HIF activation was confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses for HIF-regulated genes, such as erythropoietin (EPO), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1). Up-regulation of HIF-1alpha and HIF-regulated genes was also verified by Western blotting analysis. To elucidate responsible mechanisms of cobalt in the amelioration of tubuloniterstitial injury, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate (dUTP) nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining was conducted at 5 weeks. A combination therapy with angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), olmesartan, was also challenged. RESULTS Although the intervention did not change glomerular structural damage or urinary protein excretion rate, tubulointerstitial injury was improved in cobalt-treated animals when compared with the vehicle-treated group. The amelioration was associated with the parallel up-regulation of renoprotective, HIF-regulated gene expression. TUNEL staining revealed that the number of apoptotic cells was reduced in the cortex by cobalt administration, suggesting that renoprotection was achieved partly through its antiapoptotic properties. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that cobalt treatment exerts additional renoprotective effects with the ARB treatment in this model. CONCLUSION Maneuvers to activate HIF in the ischemic tubulointerstitium will be a new direction to future therapeutic strategies.
The coverage assignments of financial analysts

Previous studies document that forecast accuracy impacts analyst career outcomes. This paper investigates the influence of forecast accuracy on coverage assignments. I show that brokerage houses reward accurate analysts by assigning them to high-profile firms and penalise analysts exhibiting poor accuracy by assigning them to smaller firms. The coverage of high-profile firms increases the potential for future compensation linked to investment banking and trading commissions. In addition, covering such firms increases analysts' recognition from buy-side investors, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of obtaining broker votes and votes for the Institutional Investor star ranking. Overall, my results indicate that high forecast accuracy leads to increased future compensation.
The Pursuit of External Knowledge in Eco-Innovation: Analysis of the Agri-Food Sector in Spain

The research about the search for opportunities through open cooperation strategies points to an exchange of knowledge among a certain number of sources, aimed at sustaining competitive advantage. From this new vision emerges the paradigm of open innovation, which has prompted a change in the organization of resources, information filtering, and rapid absorptive capacity. Awareness of climate problems and external societal pressures can motivate companies to create new technologies and new forms of cooperation to avoid environmental problems. Based on a survey of Spanish agri-food firms, we find that the depth of external sources of innovation increases environmental improvement in a U-shaped relationship.
An All-Textile SIW Cavity-Backed Circular Ring-Slot Antenna for WBAN Applications

An all-textile substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity-backed circular ring-slot antenna for wireless body area network applications is proposed. The antenna consists of an SIW cavity-feed structure and a circular ring slot. The excited electromagnetic energy is radiated by the circular ring slot. All components of the antenna are made from textile materials. A two-thirds muscle-equivalent phantom was used to analyze human body effects. The performance of the antenna was not significantly affected by antenna deformation or the human body due to the SIW cavity-backed feed structure. The antenna had overall dimensions of 75 × 42 × 1 mm3. The measured 10-dB return loss bandwidth of the antenna on the phantom fully covers the 5.8-GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical Band.
Terminal response of a twisted-wire pair excited by a plane-wave electromagnetic field: the role of twist period non-uniformities

This paper presents a method for introducing random twisting non-uniformities into the field-coupling model. Based on a comparison between predicted and measured data, it has been concluded that introducing twisting non-uniformities produces a more representative physical model that can be used in the statistical analysis of TWPs. Note that such analysis could include, among other things, the introduction of interference sources with random properties.
Alternative Splicing of STY, a Nuclear Dual Specificity Kinase (*)

The LAMMER subfamily of kinases has been conserved throughout evolution, and its members are thought to play important roles in the regulation of cellular growth and differentiation programs. STY is a murine LAMMER kinase which has been implicated in the control of PC12 cell differentiation. Multiple transcripts are derived from the Sty gene, and their relative abundance is developmentally regulated. Alternative splicing of the primary Sty transcript generates mRNAs encoding full-length catalytically active (STY) and truncated, kinase-deficient polypeptides. Both STY and its truncated isoform, STY, are localized in the nucleus and are capable of heterodimerizing. We also demonstrate that STY functions as a dual specificity kinase in mammalian cells.
Historical Incidences of Credit Rationing among Micro and Small Enterprises in Kenya

In the mid-2000s, the Government of Kenya recognised the existence of institutional barriers preventing micro and small enterprises (MSEs) from directly accessing credit from financial institutions. This development informed the change of lending policy from direct lending to group lending in government supported programmes. However, this change was effected without a comprehensive theoretical and empirical examination of the underlying reasons why MSEs failed to access credit. This study fills this gap by investigating the the underlying reasons MSEs were credit rationed in Kenya. The general consensus from this study is that there was a high incidence of credit rationing in Kenya in 1990s and 2000s which stemmed from information asymmetry. The study concludes that the Government’s current policy of promoting group lending is indeed workable if the mode can assist in mitigating information asymmetry in credit markets.