Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monetary Policy, Expectations and Business Cycles in the U.S. Post-War Period

This paper examines the interactions between monetary policy and the formation of expectations to explain U.S. business cycle fluctuations in the post-war period. I estimate a conventional medium-scale New-Keynesian model, in which I relax the assumption that the central bank pursued an ‘active’ monetary policy — i.e. that stabilizes inflation and output growth — over this entire period. I find that between 1955 and 1979 monetary policy was ‘passive’, and structural shocks de-anchored inflation expectations from the central bank’s long-run target. Fundamental productivity and cost shocks were the primary cause of volatility and propagated via persistent self-fulfilling inflationary expectations. By contrast, non-fundamental ‘sunspot’ shocks, caused by unexpected changes in inflation expectations, were insignificant sources of uncertainty. JEL: C11, C52, C54, E31, E32, E52. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Reserve System. I am grateful to Roger E.A. Farmer, Francesco Bianchi, Aaron Tornell and Vincenzo Quadrini for invaluable support and advice. I also thank Andrea Ajello, Andy Atkeson, Martin Bodenstein, Matteo Crosignani, Pablo A. Cuba-Borda, Pablo Fajgelbaum, Francesco Ferrante, Etienne Gagnon, Ana Galvao, Francois Geerolf, Michela Giorcelli, Christopher J. Gust, Jinyong Hahn, Edward P. Herbst, Matteo Iacoviello, Cosmin Ilut, Benjamin K. Johannsen, Robert J. Kurtzman, Edward Nelson, Lee E. Ohanian, Anna Orlik, Matthias O. Paustian, Andrea Prestipino, Andrea Raffo, John Rogers, Robert J. Tetlow, Pierre-Olivier Weill, Fabian Winkler, seminar participants at UCLA, the Monetary Affairs Workshop of the Federal Reserve Board, and conference participants at the Applications of Behavioral Economics and Multiple Equilibrium Models to Macroeconomic Policy Conference, the 2017 Asian Meeting of the Econometric Society and the 2017 European Winter Meeting of the Econometric Society for valuable comments. Federal Reserve Board, giovanni.nicolo@frb.gov.
Incidentally Identified Common Bile Duct Dilatation: A Systematic Review of Evaluation, Causes, and Outcome

Background: With the widespread use of abdominal imaging, an incidentally found dilated common bile duct (CBD) is a common radiographic finding. The significance of a dilated CBD as a predictor of underlying disease and long-term outcome have not been well elucidated. Goals: A systematic review of studies on patients with dilated CBD was performed to identify etiologies and clinical factors that may predict which patients require further diagnostic testing and long-term outcomes. A PubMed search for relevant articles published between 2001 and 2014 was performed. Results: The search yielded a total of 882 articles, and after careful individual review for eligibility and relevancy, 9 peer-reviewed studies were included. A cause of the CBD dilation was found on average in 33% of cases and the most common causes were: CBD stone, chronic pancreatitis, and periampullary diverticulum. The overall CBD diameter was not associated with finding a causative lesion. Coexisting CBD and intrahepatic bile duct dilation, age, and jaundice were found to be indicators of pathologic lesions. Dilation of both the CBD and pancreatic duct was suggestive of pancreatic disease, especially pancreatic malignancy in the setting of obstructive jaundice. Follow-up was reported in 6 studies ranging from 6 to 85 months, and generally there was no change in the diagnosis. Conclusions: Incidentally found biliary tract dilatation can be a manifestation of significant biliary tract disease including malignancy. Long-term outcome is not well defined and further prospective studies examining the most cost-effective approach to evaluation are needed.
Large scale study on the variation of RF energy absorption in the head & brain regions of adults and children and evaluation of the SAM phantom conservativeness

This paper presents the results of two computational large scale studies using highly realistic exposure scenarios, MRI based human head and hand models, and two mobile phone models. The objectives are (i) to study the relevance of age when people are exposed to RF by comparing adult and child heads and (ii) to analyze and discuss the conservativeness of the SAM phantom for all age groups. Representative use conditions were simulated using detailed CAD models of two mobile phones operating between 900 MHz and 1950 MHz including configurations with the hand holding the phone, which were not considered in most previous studies. The peak spatial-average specific absorption rate (psSAR) in the head and the pinna tissues is assessed using anatomically accurate head and hand models. The first of the two mentioned studies involved nine head-, four hand- and two phone-models, the second study included six head-, four hand- and three simplified phone-models (over 400 configurations in total). In addition, both studies also evaluated the exposure using the SAM phantom. Results show no systematic differences between psSAR induced in the adult and child heads. The exposure level and its variation for different age groups may be different for particular phones, but no correlation between psSAR and model age was found. The psSAR from all exposure conditions was compared to the corresponding configurations using SAM, which was found to be conservative in the large majority of cases.
Ophthalmic Findings among Jordanian Patients with Chronic Renal Failure on Haemodialysis at Prince Ali Military Hospital in the South of Jordan

Objective: To characterize the ocular and peri-ocular findings in patients with chronic renal failure undergoing haemodialysis at Prince Ali Bin Al- Hussein Military Hospital. Methods: This is a descriptive study. Data were collected from patients with chronic renal failure undergoing haemodialysis from June 2012 till January 2013. The medical files were reviewed to report medical, surgical and ophthalmic history of all candidate patients. All patients underwent full ophthalmic examination on day one of recruitment. Results: Forty-four patients (87 eyes) were reported. Mean age was 56.9 years (56.9 ±12.5). Male to female ratio was 2:1. Aetiologies of chronic renal failure were: Hypertension (n=17, 39%), glomerulonephritis (n=13, 30%), and diabetes mellitus (n=10, 23%). Some other aetiologies were also found like: Small kidney (n=4, 9%), renal stones (n=2, 5%), polycystic kidney (n=2, 5%), familial (n=2, 5%) and analgesic nephropathy (n=1, 2%). Ocular findings were seen in 75 eyes (86%), including lid edema (n=66, 76%)), conjunctival congestion (n=54, 62%), cataract (n=47, 54%), and dry eye (n=44, 51%). Conclusion: Ocular and peri-ocular findings were frequent in chronic renal failure patients who were undergoing hemodialysis, which urges regular ophthalmic examination to detect and treat sight threatening complications early.
Association of mitochondrial function and sperm progressivity in slow‐ and fast‐growing roosters

&NA; The objectives of the current study were to investigate the activity of the electron transport chain (ETC) complexes, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the sperm mitochondria of 2 Iranian slow‐ and fast‐growing chickens, namely native and Aryan strains. In this study, semen of 133 roosters was analyzed by computer‐assisted sperm analysis (CASA). The roosters were categorized by sperm progressivity, as a low or high sperm motility phenotype. Mitochondrial complex I (NADH ubiquinone oxidoreductase), II (succinate dehydrogenase), III (ubiquinol cytochrome C reductase), IV (cytochrome C oxidase) activity, ATP, and ROS production in sperm were assayed. As a result, Aryan roosters with high progressive motility levels (HPL) had the greatest progressivity. Progressive motility was significant in in both strains (Aryan and native; P = 0.020) and motility levels (high and low; P = 0.007). The highest activity of complexes I was observed in Aryan with HPL roosters (P = 0.004). Native roosters with HPLs demonstrated higher complex activities I compared with Aryan and native roosters with low progressive motility levels (LPL) (P = 0.004). Significant differences were observed not only in the mitochondrial amounts of ATP of the strains (P = 0.000) but also between HPL and LPL (P = 0.003). The highest mitochondrial amounts of ATP was found in Aryan roosters with HPL (P = 0.021). Native roosters with LPL had the highest concentration of mitochondrial ROS (P = 0.033). The Aryan roosters with HPL, on the other hand, indicated less concentration of the mitochondrial ROS compared with Aryan having LPL and native roosters with HPL and LPL (P = 0.033). A significant difference was observed in the mitochondrial ROS between the strains (P = 0.004) and between HPL and LPL (P = 0.000). There was positive relationship between progressivity and each of mitochondrial complexes and ATP (r = 0.71, 0.62, 0.90 and 0.65 respectively). Based on our results, the sperm progressivity largely depends on the whole energy production originating in the mitochondrial compartment. Therefore, the deficiency in the function of mitochondria in the sperm and energy production could be responsible for low progressive motility.
Independent modulation of galactose‐specific receptor expression in rat liver cells

The expression of galactose‐specific receptors on liver cells from rats at the end of pregnancy and from estrogen‐treated animals was studied. The number and distribution of binding sites were estimated on hepatocytes and Kupffer and endothelial cells in vitro as well as in situ by means of protein‐gold complexes. Hepatocytes and endothelial cells from pregnant rats showed an increased binding activity of at least three times for hepatocytes and one and a half times for endothelial cells with respect to normal rat livers. The increase in the hepatocyte receptor expression was paralleled by an increase in the level of its specific messenger RNA (mRNA). On Kupffer cells, a decreased number of binding sites, at least three times less than control values, was measured. The correlation between the altered hormonal level during pregnancy and the expression of galactose binding sites was examined in hepatocytes and Kupffer cells isolated from virgin rats treated with the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbesterol. In estrogen‐treated rats both the binding sites and the specific mRNA of hepatocytes increased as compared with vehicle‐treated or untreated animals. In contrast, in Kupffer cells both the estrogen treatment as well as vehicle‐only injection led to a significant reduction in the expression of binding sites as compared with virgin untreated animals. To establish whether the decrease of galactose binding sites in Kupffer cells was related to the activation of macrophages or to the removal of plasma membrane caused by enhanced nonspecific phagocytosis, in situ binding experiments were performed after lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐stimulation or latex‐bead phagocytosis. Nonspecific phagocytosis does not affect the binding activity, which instead appears strongly reduced after LPS injection. These findings suggest an independent response of galactose‐specific receptor expression systems in the different types of liver cells to modulating agents. (Hepatology 1995; 22:1819‐1828).
Keratoconus progression is not inhibited by reducing eyelid muscular force with botulinum toxin A treatment: a randomized trial.

Purpose: To evaluate whether reducing eyelid muscular force through the administration of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) to the orbicularis oculi muscles of patients with keratoconus affected corneal parameters indicative of disease progression. Methods: In this prospective parallel randomized clinical trial, 40 eyes of 40 patients with keratoconus were randomized into equally sized control and BTX-A groups. Patients in the BTX-A group received subcutaneous BTX-A injections into the orbicularis muscle. The control group received no intervention. Palpebral fissure height, best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), and corneal topographic parameters were evaluated at baseline and at 3-, 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-ups. Results: The mean ± standard deviation vertical palpebral fissure heights were 9.74 ± 1.87 mm and 9.45 ± 1.47 mm at baseline in the control and BTX-A groups, respectively, and 10.0 ± 1.49 mm and 9.62 ± 1.73 mm at 18 months, with no significant difference between the groups (p=0.337). BSCVA values were 0.63 ± 0.56 and 0.60 ± 0.27 at baseline in the control and BTX-A groups (p=0.643), and 0.52 ± 0.59 and 0.45 ± 0.26 at 18 months, again with no significant difference between the groups (p=0.452). In addition, there were no statistical differences between the groups at 18 months for the three keratometry topographic parameters: flattest (K1), steepest (K2), and mean (Km) keratometry (p=0.562). Conclusion: BTX-A inhibition of eyelid force generation did not result in detectable changes in corneal parameters in keratoconic patients during 18 months of follow-up.
Uncertainty in the assessment of trends in childhood blood pressure.

H igh blood pressure (BP) is a clearly established, but modifiable, risk factor for early disability and death [1]. Although most of the adverse outcomes occur in adulthood it has become clear that hypertension (HTN) is a life course problem that can become evident in childhood and can be progressive throughout childhood into adolescence and adulthood. Although few would dispute the importance of taking effective steps to identify and manage this condition in middle-aged and elderly people, relatively little attention has been paid to the problem of high BP in children and adolescents. The incorporation of BP measurement into routine pediatric healthcare and the publication of norms for BP in children [2,3] has not only enabled detection of significant asymptomatic hypertension secondary to a previously undetected disorder, but it has also confirmed that mild elevations in BP during childhood are more common than previously recognized, particularly in adolescents. It has also become clear that children with elevated BP have an increased risk of left ventricular hypertrophy and increased carotid intima–media thickness as well as an increased risk of hypertension in adulthood [2,3]. These findings support the potential for primordial prevention, that is, the prevention of elevated BP during childhood and adolescence. Prevention and management of hypertension, obesity, and other cardiovascular risk factors, such as dyslipidemia and insulin resistance, are critical for ensuring the health of young people today and the adults of tomorrow. Epidemiological approaches to studying risk factors for cardiovascular disease have proven to be quite helpful in better understanding disease processes and in generating important hypotheses for future studies. Examining secular
Ernst Working Paper On the economics and biology of trust

On the Economics and Biology of Trust In recent years, many social scientists have claimed that trust plays an important role in economic and social transactions. Despite its proposed importance, the measurement and the definition of trust seem to be not fully settled, and the identification of the exact role of trust in economic interactions has proven to be elusive. It is still not clear whether trust is just an epiphenomenon of good institutions or whether it plays an independent causal role capable of shaping important aggregate economic outcomes. In this paper, I rely on a behavioral definition of trust that enables us to relate it to economic primitives such as preferences and beliefs. I review strong biological and behavioral evidence indicating that trusting is not just a special case of risk-taking, but based on important forms of social preferences such as betrayal aversion. Behaviorally defined trust also opens the door for understanding national and ethnic trust differences in terms of differences in preferences and beliefs, and it suggests ways to examine and interpret a causal role of trust. JEL Classification: C7, D00, D2, D7, D8
A Complex Stellar Line-of-Sight Velocity Distribution in the Lenticular Galaxy NGC 524

Abstract We present a detailed study of the stellar and gaseous kinematics in the luminous early-type galaxy NGC 524, derived from the long-slit spectroscopic observations obtained with the Russian 6 m telescope and the IFU data from the SAURON survey. The stellar line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD) of NGC 524 exhibits strong asymmetry. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the LOSVD using two complementary approaches by the nbursts full spectral fitting technique: (a) a non-parametric LOSVD recovery and (b) a parametric recovery of two Gaussian kinematical components having different stellar populations. We discuss the origin of the complex stellar LOSVD of NGC 524.
[The relevance of the 6 minutes walking test and of dyspnea measured with mMRC scale in evaluating COPD severity].

UNLABELLED The 6 minutes walking test (6MW) and the measurement of dyspnoea using Medical Research Council modified scale (mMRC) for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) allow an integrated diagnostic of severity, deficiencies and disability of active age, stable COPD patient, assisting the physician to create an adequate rehabilitation programme. The descriptive and prospective study that covered the period January 2008 - October 2010 aimed to determine the existing relationship between the dyspnoea degree, the 6 minutes walking test and the degree of severity of COPD patients, evaluated against GOLD stages. METHOD AND SUBJECTS In a sample of 105 eligible COPD patients, aged 44 to 65, we measured the degree of severity of COPD using GOLD staging, mMRC dyspnea scale and 6MWT. RESULTS The GOLD stages have a very strong correlation to dyspnoea degree measured by mMRC scale. The GOLD stages are moderately correlated with the distance covered in 6MWT. The dyspnoea degrees are strongly correlated with the distance covered in the 6MWT. CONCLUSIONS The dyspnoea degree measured by the mMRC scale allows the evaluation of the severity and also the disability of the COPD patient. The 6MWT allows the measurement of the disease severity and prognosis by the distance covered and also the effort endurance revealing the disability degree.
Securing fingerprint templates using fused structures

This study presents a protection method for fingerprint templates by using fused structures at the feature level. The authors compute two transformed features from minutiae points: namely, local structure and distant structure. These structures are represented as bit-strings. A fusion on bit-strings is done at the feature level to produce a cancelable template. An equal error rate (EER) of 2.19, 1.6 and 6.14% on Fingerprint Verification Competition (FVC) 2002 Database (DB)1 through DB3 databases and an EER of 11.89, 12.71, 17.6% on FVC 2004 DB1 through DB3 proves the tenability of the proposed method.
Treatment of Refractory Acute Leukemia with Timed Sequential Chemotherapy Using Topotecan Followed by Etoposide+Mitoxantrone (T-EM) and Correlation with Topoisomerase II Levels

A phase I/II clinical study evaluated 17 patients with refractory/recurrent acute leukemia treated with 1.5 mg/m 2 /day topotecan on days 1-3 followed by etoposide (100 mg/m 2 /day)+mitoxantrone (10 mg/m 2 /day) on days 4, 5 and 9, 10. Timed sequential chemotherapy using the topoisomerase I-inhibitor topotecan before the topoisomerase II-inhibitors, etoposide+mitoxantrone (T-EM) treatment is proposed to induce topoisomerase II protein levels and potentiate the cytotoxic activity of the topoisomerase II-directed drugs. Fourteen patients had refractory and three had recurrent acute leukemia. The majority of patients were heavily pre-treated with greater than three re-induction chemotherapy regimens. Ten patients responded to T-EM treatment (59%). Four of seventeen (24%) had a complete remission and one had a partial remission. Four additional patients (24%) who scored complete leukemia clearance had no evidence of disease with complete white and red blood cell recovery but with platelet counts less than 100,000. The lack of platelet recovery in one patient having a partial response was scored as a partial leukemia clearance. The toxicity profile included major non-hematological toxicity including grade 3 mucositis (29%) and neutropenic fever (65%). Paired measurements of intracellular levels of topoisomerase II isoforms α and β in leukemia blast cells (bone marrow) collected before (day 0) and after topotecan treatment (day 4) showed that a relative increase of topoisomerase II α (Topo II α ) ≥ 40% strongly correlated with response after T-EM treatment. Increased Topo II α levels also corresponded to increased DNA fragmentation. Two patients who had an increase of Topo II α of 20-25% had either a PR or PLC while patients with a <10% increase showed no response to T-EM treatment. We conclude that timed sequential chemotherapy using topotecan followed by etoposide+mitoxantrone is an effective regimen for patients with refractory acute leukemia, and demonstrate Topo II α protein level increases after topotecan treatment.
Prevalence of Undiagnosed Glaucoma in Type 2 Diabetics Attending Outpatient Department at Regional Institute of Ophthalmology , Amritsar-A Hospital Based Study

Diabetes and glaucoma share common pathophysiology and diabetes increase the risk of developing glaucoma. However the significance and impact of thorough eye examination for glaucoma in all diabetics is not clear in literature. The study was thus planned to evaluate the prevalence of undetected glaucoma and its extent in type 2 diabetics attending OPD at Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Amritsar, atertiary care center. 100 confirmed cases (history and fasting glucose measurement) of type 2 diabetics were enrolled from OPD. Known cases of glaucoma were excluded. Glaucoma was detected by thorough eye examination including visual acuity, intra ocular pressure (IOP), optic disc changes, visual field changes and gonioscopy. The prevalence with type and extent of glaucoma was observed. The age of patients ranged from 30 -75 years, with 51% males. Total prevalence of undetected glaucoma was 9%. Seven patients were suffering from chronic simple glaucoma out of which 4 were males and 3 were females. Only 1 male patient was suffering from neovascular glaucoma and 1 female patient was suffering from narrow angle glaucoma. Type 2 diabetics have a high prevalence of undetected glaucoma (9%). Thorough examination for glaucoma in all type 2 diabetics can produce an acceptable yield of glaucoma cases helping prevent later ocular morbidity.
Radiation Effects in Pinned Photodiode CMOS Image Sensors: Variation of Epitaxial Layer Thickness

This paper focuses on radiation effects on process optimized CMOS image sensors. Several technological parameters are varying, especially the epitaxial layer thickness, to reach the best electro-optical performances of the image sensors. The goal of the study is to show how radiation damages the gain brought by these parameters. Proton irradiations were used to study cumulative dose effects. As previously observed, the dark current is the main electrical parameter affected by these ionizing and displacement damage doses. The damage sources are investigated and mitigation techniques are provided to optimize CMOS image sensors dedicated to observation satellites.