Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
General Fund Financing, Earmarking, Economic Stabilization, and Welfare

Discussion has been made concerning the pros and cons of financing public projects via either earmarking or a general fund. The article studies the desirability of earmarked and general fund financing based on economic stabilization in a two-sector growth model. Regardless of the nature of public goods, earmarked taxes contribute to aggregate stabilization, while general fund financing may be destabilizing and cause fluctuations. The underlying mechanism in favor of earmarked taxes against general fund financing is that general fund financing creates intersectoral externalities and strategic complementarities that are sufficiently large to exert endogenously persistent and recurring fluctuations in aggregate activities in the absence of shocks to fundamentals. Earmarked taxing generates only sector-specific externalities that are too small to exert local indeterminacy. In a calibrated version, we compute the level of long-run welfare, and the results reflect favorably on the use of earmarked taxing.
Rating- and Firm Value-Based Valuation of Credit Swaps

The author proposes a valuation framework for credit swaps that uses both rating transition information and firm value information. A mapping is used to convert the rating transition matrix to critical firm value boundaries, so that the valuation of a credit swap becomes valuation of a complex barrier option. The key advantage of this approach is its ability to differentiate reference assets belonging to the same rating category, which allows a more precise valuation. A numerical example shows that the degree of the swap premium or spread can vary widely for reference bonds in the same rating group if the issuing firms have different asset return volatilities.
Drosophila UNC-45 accumulates in embryonic blastoderm and in muscles, and is essential for muscle myosin stability

UNC-45 is a chaperone that facilitates folding of myosin motor domains. We have used Drosophila melanogaster to investigate the role of UNC-45 in muscle development and function. Drosophila UNC-45 (dUNC-45) is expressed at all developmental stages. It colocalizes with non-muscle myosin in embryonic blastoderm of 2-hour-old embryos. At 14 hours, it accumulates most strongly in embryonic striated muscles, similarly to muscle myosin. dUNC-45 localizes to the Z-discs of sarcomeres in third instar larval body-wall muscles. We produced a dunc-45 mutant in which zygotic expression is disrupted. This results in nearly undetectable dUNC-45 levels in maturing embryos as well as late embryonic lethality. Muscle myosin accumulation is robust in dunc-45 mutant embryos at 14 hours. However, myosin is dramatically decreased in the body-wall muscles of 22-hour-old mutant embryos. Furthermore, electron microscopy showed only a few thick filaments and irregular thick–thin filament lattice spacing. The lethality, defective protein accumulation, and ultrastructural abnormalities are rescued with a wild-type dunc-45 transgene, indicating that the mutant phenotypes arise from the dUNC-45 deficiency. Overall, our data indicate that dUNC-45 is important for myosin accumulation and muscle function. Furthermore, our results suggest that dUNC-45 acts post-translationally for proper myosin folding and maturation.
Water Security and Society: Risks, Metrics, and Pathways

Water security is a major challenge for science and society. We review the rapidly growing literature on water security from the perspective of risk science and management. Competing definitions and indicators of water security reflect unsettled conceptual and methodological issues. However, risk concepts have become prevalent in defining water security; measuring it quantitatively; tracking indicators of hazards, exposure, and vulnerability; and informing management options to reduce water-related risks. We examine water security indicators and indices to identify thresholds for water-related risks across multiple dimensions of water security and examine how these vary across different scales and socioeconomic contexts. Water security indicators reveal a disparity in hazards and vulnerability across geographic and political-economic conditions. Recognition of water security as a major societal challenge has been closely followed by a strong commitment to academic, government, development, and policy resp.
The Fiscal Contract: States, Taxes, and Public Services

Using data from approximately ninety countries, the author shows that the more a state taxes the rich as a percentage of GDP, the more it protects property rights; and the more it taxes the poor, the more it provides basic public services. There is no evidence that states gouge the rich to benefit the poor or vice versa, contrary to state-capture theories. Nor is there any evidence that taxes and spending are unrelated, contrary to state-autonomy models. Instead, states operate much like fiscal contracts, with groups getting what they pay for.
Segmenting Tourism in Rural Areas: The Case of North and Central Portugal

The primary purpose of this study was to segment and profile the needs of rural tourists so as to provide a better understanding of rural tourism in Portugal. A self-administered survey in four languages was obtained from 200 visitors in the study area. Four useful benefit segments were identified, and implications for market development are discussed.
Is Entrepreneurship a Route Out of Deprivation?

Frankish J. S. , Roberts R. G. , Coad A. and Storey D. J. Is entrepreneurship a route out of deprivation? , Regional Studies. This paper investigates whether entrepreneurship constitutes a route out of deprivation for those living in deprived areas. The measure of income/wealth used is based on an analysis of improvements in an individual's residential address. The data consist of information on over 800 000 individuals, and come from the customer records of a major UK bank. Comparing business owners with non-owners, the results suggest that the benefits of business ownership are found across the wealth distribution. Hence, entrepreneurship can be a route out of deprivation.
Natural History of Macular Subretinal Hemorrhage in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Purpose: To define the natural course of extensive submacular hemorrhage in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Patients and Methods: The clinical charts of 54 patients (60 eyes) older than 55 years with subretinal hemorrhage larger than 1 disk diameter and extending beneath the fovea were retrospectively reviewed. The age of the patient, the use of antihypertensive or anticoagulant medication, visual acuity, biomicroscopic and fluorescein and indocyanine green (in 33 cases) angiographic data were recorded at presentation and during follow-up. Results: At the initial examination, average visual acuity was 20/240 (range from 20/70 to light perception). During follow-up (mean 24 months) visual acuity worsened in 80% of the eyes with a mean final visual acuity of 20/1,250 (range from 20/100 to light perception). The initial size and thickness of hemorrhage were correlated with initial and final visual acuity. Recurrence of hemorrhage resulted in an important impact on final visual acuity. Anatomic outcome showed fibrous tissue proliferation in 23 eyes (38.3%), atrophic scar in 15 eyes (25%) and occurrence of a retinal pigment epithelium tear in 13 eyes (21.6%). Conclusion: The visual outcome in eyes with submacular hemorrhages due to AMD is very poor. Size and thickness of the hemorrhage influenced negatively the natural prognosis. A surgical approach can be considered although it has not yet a widespread use.
Estimating Dynamic Asymmetries in Demand at the Munich Oktoberfest

This study is the first to analyse economic time series of one of the world's most pre-eminent traditional events, the most popular beer festival and the largest regular fair in the world: Munich Oktoberfest. People from around the world have attended this cultural festival since the early decades of the 20th century, and so it represents a unique opportunity to analyse elasticities of consumption in the short and medium runs (that is, at business cycle frequencies) and in the long run. Against the backdrop of two secularly increasing demand factors – a rise in real disposable incomes and an increased amount of leisure time – the authors use a novel data set to study elasticities of the consumption of beer and food and the revenues of breweries. To account for asymmetries they apply partial sum decompositions in an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to estimate elasticities for state, national, European and world GDP.
The Puzzle of China's Township–Village Enterprises The Paradox of Local Corporatism in a Dual-Track Economic Transition

This paper seeks to reconcile and synthesize the diverse views about the township–village enterprises (TVEs) and local corporatism in the context of ongoing institutional changes in China as a transition economy. Specifically, I attempt to integrate the economic, political, cultural, and social explanations for TVEs, especially the two competing views of market competition and political corruption. I focus on the puzzle of TVE efficiency as well as the paradox of local corporatism as a government–business partnership with both a positive function of public alliance for wealth creation and a negative function of private collusion for wealth transfer. I argue that the key to both the puzzle of TVEs and the paradox of local corporatism lies in China's dual-track reform paradigm (i.e. a market-for-mass track and a state-for-élite track). Lastly, I discuss the critical implications for theory building and policymaking regarding economic transition in general.
Small Enterprise Employment Growth in Rural Africa

become increasingly recognized. Earlier empirical studies have indicated that they provide 20% to 45% of full-time employment and 30% to 50% of rural household income (Chuta and Liedholm; Haggblade, Hazell, and Brown). This is also reflected in the agricultural growth linkage literature (e.g., Haggblade and Hazell), where rural enterprise growth is typically a demand-driven spinoff of agricultural growth, as well as in the rural household studies that have
Auditor Resignations and Firm Ownership Structure

SYNOPSIS: This paper investigates whether the likelihood of auditor resignations and the associated stock market reaction in family firms is significantly different from that in non-family firms. It also examines whether the aforementioned associations vary with the identity of the CEO managing family firms (founder, descendant, or non-family CEO). Relying on a sample of auditor resignations in the U.S. over five calendar years, 2004–2008, and using two control samples (matched and random) as benchmarks, we document the following. First, the likelihood of auditor resignations in family firms is significantly lower than that in non-family firms. Second, auditor resignations in family firms managed by a founder or non-family CEO (descendant) are also less (more) frequent compared to non-family firms. Finally, abnormal returns following auditor resignations in family firms and in family firms managed by a non-family CEO are higher (less negative) than those in non-family firms. These results are robust to t.
What motivates seasoned equity offerings? Evidence from the use of issue proceeds

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discover how firms use issue proceeds from seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). Design/methodology/approach - Utilizing a large sample of industrial corporations, the authors perform a series of regressions in which the dependent variable is one of six use categories and the independent variables are issue proceeds, other sources, and control variables. The impact of macroeconomic conditions on the use of issue proceeds is explicitly considered and the primary use is found to be investment in R&D. Findings - Some evidence is found that issue proceeds are funnelled into cash, capital expenditures, and acquisitions but these do not seem to be the primary use. While the results suggest a motive for issue that does not rely on behavioural theories, they also suggest that investment theories must reconcile the weak post-issue performance of SEO firms with the fact that, in general, R&D investment is associated with positive abnormal returns and operating performance. To that end the evidence is consistent with equity issues being made in reaction to exogenous reductions in required returns and during periods when growth opportunities are more plentiful. Originality/value - This is the first paper to explicitly consider the role of macroeconomic conditions in the use of proceeds from seasoned equity issues and to document that the primary use is investment in R&D. The results will help scholars better understand the motivation for SEOs and assist in evaluating explanations of the poor performance of issuers. The results also provide practitioners with valuable benchmarks of the use of issue proceeds, which they can use to evaluate equity as a source of external funding for their company.
Belgian Intragroup Relations and the Determinants of Corporate Liquid Reserves

The determinants of liquid reserves are investigated for a sample of 1038 large Belgian non‐financial firms in the 1992–94 period. The results confirm the hypothesis that the terms of payment of intragroup claims can be adjusted to the firm’s liquidity needs, thereby reducing the need for liquid reserves. Furthermore, the results confirm the transaction motive for holding liquid reserves, but only partially confirm the precautionary motive. Finally, the results indicate that liquid reserves play a significant role in the financing of new investments, as predicted by the pecking order model of Myers and Majluf (1984).
Estimating Olympic-related investment and expenditure

The analysis of the impact of mega events has included frameworks that evaluate different impacts under different criteria, for example, separating impacts according to whether they occur before, during or after the event itself. Analysis of the economic impacts of such events has shown that the distributional effects between the host city and the rest of an economy can be important, and can have opposite signs. This paper introduces frameworks to show the origin of the economic scale, that is, Olympic-related investment and expenditure, and shows how the frameworks can be used with reference to the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Endoscopic Mucosal Resection with Circumferential Mucosal Incision for Colorectal Neoplasms: Comparison with Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection and between Two Endoscopists with Different Experiences

Background/Aims Endoscopic mucosal resection with circumferential mucosal incision (CMI-EMR) may offer benefits comparable to those of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), while requiring less technical proficiency than ESD. Methods We retrospectively compared the outcomes of CMI-EMR (n=34) and size-matched ESD (n=102), which were performed by a Korean endoscopist for colorectal epithelial lesions of 20–35 mm. Procedural parameters of CMI-EMRs performed by an American ESD novice (n=30) were compared with those performed by the Korean endoscopist. Results The lesion size was 22.3±3.9 mm and 22.9±2.4 mm in the CMI-EMR and size-matched ESD groups, respectively (p=0.730). The resection time was 12.7±7.0 minutes in the CMI-EMR group and 45.6±30.1 minutes in the ESD group (p<0.001). The en bloc resection rate was 94.1% in the CMI-EMR group and 100% in the ESD group (p=0.061). There were no differences in the en bloc resection and complication rates of CMI-EMRs between a Korean and an American endoscopist. Conclusions For the treatment of moderate-size colorectal lesions, CMI-EMR showed a trend toward lower en bloc resection rate, but required shorter procedure time than ESD. CMI-EMR outcomes were similar when performed by a Korean ESD expert and an American ESD novice.
Testing for long-run convergence across regional house prices in the UK: a pairwise approach

This article tests for stochastic convergence in UK regional house prices using the recently developed pairwise approach. This approach allows for unit root tests to be conducted on all N(N − 1)/2 possible pairs of house price differentials across N regions in the UK, thus avoiding the need to choose a base region or alternative national figure as the benchmark. Using mix adjusted house price data from 1973:Q4 to 2008:Q4, the main finding is that there is no evidence of long run convergence among regional house prices or of an equilibrium relationship towards which UK regional house prices have a tendency to gravitate.
LAND COVER MAPPING USING SENTINEL-1 SAR DATA

Abstract. In this paper, the potential of using free-of-charge Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery for land cover mapping in urban areas is investigated. To this aim, we use dual-pol (VV+VH) Interferometric Wide swath mode (IW) data collected on September 16th 2015 along descending orbit over Istanbul megacity, Turkey. Data have been calibrated, terrain corrected, and filtered by a 5x5 kernel using gamma map approach. During terrain correction by using a 25m resolution SRTM DEM, SAR data has been resampled resulting into a pixel spacing of 20m. Support Vector Machines (SVM) method has been implemented as a supervised pixel based image classification to classify the dataset. During the classification, different scenarios have been applied to find out the performance of Sentinel-1 data. The training and test data have been collected from high resolution image of Google Earth. Different combinations of VV and VH polarizations have been analysed and the resulting classified images have been assessed using overall classification accuracy and Kappa coefficient. Results demonstrate that, combining opportunely dual polarization data, the overall accuracy increases up to 93.28% against 73.85% and 70.74% of using individual polarization VV and VH, respectively. Our preliminary analysis points out that dual polarimetric Sentinel-1SAR data can be effectively exploited for producing accurate land cover maps, with relevant advantages for urban planning and management of large cities.
Parents as Participants

I present the results of an original survey experiment designed to understand the complex relationship between policy information, attitudes, and evaluation. Parents of children attending schools identified for improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) are exposed to basic, context-specific, policy information on a randomized basis and then asked to complete an attitudinal survey. Treatment parents are significantly more likely than control group peers to report familiarity with NCLB and correctly identify the policy status of their child’s school. An increased depth of policy understanding enables these parents to bring evaluations of their child’s educational experience, policy, and government into alignment. Findings demonstrate the potential for careful policy framing and delivery to encourage enlightened opinion formation and political participation.
Small heat shock proteins in cellular adhesion and migration

Cellular locomotion and adhesion critically depend on regulated turnover of filamentous actin. Biochemical data from diverse model systems support a role for the family of small heat shock proteins (HSPBs) in microfilament regulation. The small chaperones could either act directly, through competition with the motor myosin, or indirectly, through modulation of actin depolymerizing factor/cofilin activity. However, a direct link between HSPBs and actin-based cellular motility remained to be established. In a recent experimental genetics study, we provided evidence for regulation of Plasmodium motility by HSPB6/Hsp20. The infectious forms of malaria parasites, termed sporozoites, display fast and continuous substrate-dependent motility, which is largely driven by turnover of actin microfilaments. Sporozoite gliding locomotion is essential to avoid destruction by host defense mechanisms and to ultimately reach a hepatocyte, the target cell, where to transform and replicate. Genetic ablation of Plasmodium HSP20 dramatically changed sporozoite speed and substrate adhesion, resulting in impaired natural malaria transmission. In this article, we discuss the function of Hsp20 in this fast-moving unicellular protozoan and implications for the roles of HSPBs in adhesion and migration of eukaryotic cells.
An interpretation of fertility and population policy in Kenya.

After almost two decades of government-sponsored efforts to reduce population growth, Kenya's fertility level and rate of natural increase are both at peaks rarely attained in the recorded experience of national populations. Total fertility is close to eight births per woman; natural increase is about 4 percent per year. While the achievement of a sufficient pace of economic growth to permit improvement in per capita income despite this demographic expansion is noteworthy-many countries in the region did less well-the outcome from the standpoint of population policy has been a highly conspicuous failure. This article addresses three questions: Why is Kenya's fertility so high? What went wrong in the design or execution of the government's past efforts to lower fertility levels that rendered their effect thus far negligible? And what policy directions, starting from the present population and development situation, might be more effective? While these questions are simple, their answers are not. A response to the first question entails an appreciation of the economics of children and childraising in the Kenyan setting, of the social arrangements within which fertility-related decisions are made, and of the cultural configurations that can sustain patterns of fertility behavior in the face of what might appear strong objective reasons for change. The second question is not answered by a straightforward account of policy development and of difficulties encountered in implementation, although that is a necessary input. Rather, it calls also for assessment of the "roads not taken," and judgment as to what opportunities there in fact were to modify fertility under realistic assumptions of administrative capacity and political feasibility. If indeed Kenyan realities would have defeated any plausible efforts to slow population growth over the last 20 years, no specific blame should accrue to the policies and programs actually adopted. And conversely.
Traditional Consumption of the Fruit Pulp of Chrysophyllum albidum (Sapotaceae) in Pregnancy may be Serving as an Intermittent Preventive Therapy against Malaria Infection

Background: The bark of Chrysophyllum albidum is reported to possess antimalarial property. The fruit pulp of C. albidum consumed by pregnant women of south eastern Nigeria may also possess antimalarial activity. The present preliminary study investigated the antimalarial potential of the pulp juice and seed of C. albidum. Methods: Schizonticidal activity was evaluated using the Peter's 4-day suppressive test. The prophylactic and curative antimalarial activities of the extracts were evaluated in Albino mice inoculated with Plasmodium berghei. Results: The oral acute toxic dose of the pulp extract is beyond 5000 mg/kg. The seed and pulp possess both suppressive and curative properties. The seed extract suppressed early infection by 72.97% and 97.30%, at 500 and 1000 mg/kg, respectively. The pulp juice recorded 72.97% and 81.08%, at 500 and 1000 mg/kg, respectively. At 500 mg/kg dose, the level of parasite control on Day 7 was the same (96.10%) for both seed and pulp. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the presence of antimalarial constituents in the chemically uncharacterized samples (fruit pulp and seed) of C. albidum. Its ethnomedicinal use may be valuable in pregnancy where it may possibly serve as an intermittent preventive therapy against malaria.