Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rental Adjustment and Housing Prices: Evidence from Hong Kong's Residential Property Market

This paper investigates the interaction between housing prices and housing rentals. Standard economic models treat housing prices as the present discounted value of future rentals with the latter treated as exogenous. Casual observation, however, suggests that changes in rental prices often follow housing price changes. Economic theory also supports the view that rental prices may not be exogenous. Extending the user-cost model of house price determination, we propose that expected returns on alternative investments contribute positively to the rental adjustment process. We estimate an empirical model for Hong Kong house prices and show that a 1% change in the gap between rental yields and equilibrium whole economy capital returns, the return gap, implies a 0.30% change in real rents. One policy implication is that price changes in the housing market can impact the rental adjustment process by changing the return gap. Consequently, variation in the price-to-rent ratio, which is often used to measure the divergence of housing prices from their equilibrium level can underestimate the size of any housing market 'bubble'.
Behavior and Emotion in Dementia

During the course of disease, the patient and caregiver face emotional and behavioral problems that may occur. Therefore, it is important to knowing how emotions and the perception of them are modified and thus to know the impact they have on mood and behavior of the patient and caregiver. Publicizing the type of pathology, both emotion‐ al and behavioral levels, in a patient with dementia can help in the development of nonpharmacological interventions that could slow the symptoms and improve the quality of life of patients.
Mechanisms to Characterize Context of Empirical Studies in Software Engineering

Background: It has become evident that empirical studies in software engineering (SE) have problems related to context characterization. This situation jeopardizes studies replication, result interpretation, knowledge transfer between academia and industry, and evidence integration of secondary studies. Goals: Our goals in this research are to identify and classify the mechanisms that support context characterization of empirical studies in SE. Method: A systematic mapping study with exhaustive coverage was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of evidence-based software engineering. Results: Out of 13,355 studies, 13 studies published between 1999 and 2012 were selected. Only one mechanism adopts the omnibus context approach, against 12 that follow the discrete approach. Ten studies present mechanisms to support context characterization of experiments. Only four out of the ten software engineering topics are covered by the found mechanisms. Conclusions: We found few mechanisms that support context characterization in SE. Besides, these mechanisms do not cover the specificities of many software engineering topics and empirical methods. Thus, we believe that more research to define mechanisms focused on these specificities is needed.
HISTOPATHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN KIDNEYS OF RABBIT EXPOSED TO HIGH NITRATE IN DRINKING WATER

Address for Correspondence: Dr. Manoj Kumar Sharma, Associate Professor Anatomy, III/5, Staff Quarters, Doctors Colony, Behind IMA Hall, Medical College Campus, Jhalawar Medical College, Jhalawar-326001, Rajasthan, India. Mobile No. 09667334455. E-Mail: mannusneha06@yahoo.co.in Access this Article online Quick Response code Web site: *1 Associate Professor, 2 Lecturer, 3 Professor. *1,2 Department of Anatomy, Jhalawar Medical College, Jhalawar, Rajasthan, India. 3 Department Of Anatomy, National Institute Of Medical Sciences, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Background: In India, especially in Rajasthan people drink water containing high level of nitrates and concentration up to 500 mg of nitrate ion per liter is not unusual. The ingested nitrate is converted to nitrite in the digestive system and absorb in blood causing methemoglobinemia. The peak of methaemoglobin is observed at 45-95 mg/liter of nitrate concentration in water. Aims and Objects: To find out the correlation between drinking water nitrate concentration and histopathological changes in kidneys of rabbits of different groups. Materials and Methods: An experimental study was conducted in 10 rabbits between three and half month to four month of age having weight ranging 1.310 kg to 10720 kg. Five groups A, B, C, D and E were formed having two rabbits in each group. The control group A was administered water orally having 06 mg/liter. Group B to E (experimental groups) were administered water orally having concentration of 100mg/liter, 200mg/liter, 400mg/ liter & 500mg/liter of nitrate respectively for 120 days. Then all rabbits were anaesthetized & sacrificed according to guidelines of ICMR and kidneys were removed & processed for paraffin sections. Hemotoxyllin and eosin staining was done for microscopic observations. Results: During experiment, animals were lethargic on 75th day . Intake in quantity of food and water was not altered in the rabbits. Rabbits of all group i.e. A to E showed continuous increase in heart rate (up to 218/ minute in group E) and respiration rate (up to 84/minute in group E) respectively. The microscopic study of kidney showed focal collection of lymphocytes in interstitial tissue, particularly in pericapsular area of kidney which appeared in rabbits of group B. The changes were more pronounced in group C &D in the form of focal collection of plasma cells. The hyaline and cellular casts were observed in proximal & distal tubules which started appearing in animals of group C. The congestion of blood vessels and damaged tubular epithelium were observed in tubules of group E rabbits. Discussion and Conclusion: The Results occurred possibly due to cytochrome b5 reductase activity and its adaptation with increasing water nitrate concentration to compensate methaemoglobinemia.
Effects of a live yeast dietary supplement on fecal coliform counts and on peripheral blood CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocyte subpopulations in nursery pigs

Materials and methods: Forty-eight nursery pigs were used in this experiment. At 35 days of age, pigs were randomly assigned to two treatments (control and yeast-supplemented groups) with 24 pigs per treatment. Blood and fecal samples were collected on study days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42. Proportions of subpopulation of T lymphocytes (CD4+, CD4+CD8+, and CD8+) were analyzed by flow cytometry, and fecal coliform counts were performed according to standard techniques.
The Career Engagement Scale

Careers today increasingly require engagement in proactive career behaviors; however, there is a lack of validated measures assessing the general degree to which somebody is engaged in such career behaviors. We describe the results of six studies with six independent samples of German university students (total N = 2,854), working professionals (total N = 561), and university graduates (N = 141) that report the development and validation of the Career Engagement scale—a measure of the degree to which somebody is proactively developing his or her career as expressed by diverse career behaviors. The studies provide support for measurement invariance across gender and time. In support of convergent and discriminant validity, we find that career engagement is more prevalent among working professionals than among university students and that this scale has incremental validity above several specific career behaviors regarding its relation to vocational identity clarity and career self-efficacy beliefs among students and to job and career satisfaction among employees. In support of incremental predictive validity, beyond the effects of several more specific career behaviors, career engagement while at university predicts higher job and career satisfaction several months later after beginning work.
DYNAMIC OF BACTERIAL COMMUNITY COLONIZATION IN HIGH-ALTITUDE MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENTS

5 Diversity and role of bacterial communities in soil formation and primary succession in alpine environments 7 Microdiversity in the earliest stages of ecosystem succession in a high elevation mountain moraine in Himalaya 22 A three scale analysis of bacterial communities involved in rocks colonization and soil formation in high mountain environments 38 Pioneer plants species select peculiar rhizosphere bacterial communities in a high mountain environment 48 Safe-site effects on rhizosphere bacterial communities in a high-altitude alpine environment 58 Dynamics of active and total rhizobacterial communities involved in nitrogen cycle in a deglaciated alpine environment 70 Publications 95
Impact of African Weaver Ant Nests [Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)] on Mango [Mangifera indica L. (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae)] Leaves

Oecophylla ants are appreciated for their control of pests in plantation crops. However, the ants´ nest building may have negative impacts on trees. In this study we tested the effect of ant densities and nest building on the leaf performance of mango trees. Trees were divided into three groups: trees without ants, trees with low and trees with high ant densities. Subsequently, the total number of leaves, the proportion of leaves used for nest construction, and tree growth was compared between these groups. The percentage of leaves used for nests was between 0.42-1.2 % (mean = 0.7%±0.02) and the total number of leaves and tree growth was not significantly different between trees with and without ants. Further, leaf performance was compared between shoots with and without ant nests and between leaves in or outside ant nests. The number of leaves and lost leaves per shoot, leaf size, leaf condition (withered), leaf longevity and hemipteran infection was compared between groups. In the dry season nest-shoots held more leaves than shoots without nests despite nest-shoots showed more lost leaves. Leaves in nests were smaller than other leaves, more likely to wither and more often infested with scales. However, smaller nest-leaf size was probably due to the ants´ preference for young leaves and the higher incidence of withering resulting as leaves in nests cannot fall to the ground. In conclusion, the costs associated to ant nests were low and did not affect the overall number of leaves per tree nor tree growth.
Alternative Estimates of the Presidential Premium

Since the early 1980s much research, including the most recent contribution of Santa-Clara and Valkanov (2003), has concluded that there is a stable, robust and significant relationship between Democratic presidential administrations and robust stock returns. Moreover, the difference in returns does not appear to be accompanied by any significant differences in risk across the presidential cycle. These conclusions are largely based on OLS estimates of the difference in returns across the presidential cycle. We re-examine this issue using more efficient estimators of the presidential premium. Specifically, we exploit the considerable and persistent heteroskedasticity in stock returns to construct more efficient weighted least squares (WLS) and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) estimators of the difference in expected excess stock returns across the presidential cycle. Our findings provide considerable contrast to the findings of previous research. Across the different WLS and GARCH estimates we find that the point estimates are considerably smaller than the OLS estimates and fluctuate considerably across different sub samples. We show that the large difference between the WLS, GARCH and OLS estimates is driven by differing stock market performance during very volatile market environments. During periods of elevated market volatility, excess stock returns have been markedly higher under Democratic than Republican administrations. Accordingly, the WLS and GARCH estimators are less sensitive to these episodes than the OLS estimator. Ultimately, these results are consistent with the conclusion that neither risk nor return varies significantly across the presidential cycle.
Association between Maternal Diet during Pregnancy and Childhood Asthma

Over the past four decades, the prevalence of asthmahas markedly increased among the developed countries and specially for those countries transitioning to their lifestyle. It has been assumedthat these increases are a consequence of changing due to environmental and/or behavioral factors. The modificationof dietary habits (ie, decreased intake of fruits/vegetablesand increased intake of “Westernized” processed foods) and decreased intake of antioxidant vitamins due to a decrease in sun exposure and fatty acids and as well as decreased circulatinglevels of vitamin D, and might have been anticipated to explicate therise in asthma prevalence. The aim of this article was to explore whether there is an association between maternal diet during pregnancy and development of atopic disorders like asthma in childhood or not.
Physiology of embryo-endometrial cross talk

Implantation of the blastocyst stage embryo into the maternal endometrium is a critical determinant and a rate-limiting process for successful pregnancy. Embryo implantation requires synchronized changes in the endometrium before and after arrival of blastocyst into the uterine cavity. Extensive cross talks occur between the fetal and maternal compartments around the time of implantation which are reflected by morphologic, biochemical and molecular changes in the endometrial cells and the differentiating trophoblast cells. The embryo induced morphologic changes include occurrence of epithelial plaque reaction, stromal compaction and decidualization. Embryonic signals also alter the expression of a large number of transcription factors, growth factors and their receptors and integrins. Thus the embryo superimposes a unique signature on the receptive endometrium for successful implantation. Functionally, the embryo-endometrial cross talk is essential for endowing a “selector activity” to the receptive endometrium to ensure implantation of only a developmentally competent embryo. On selection, the decidua creates a conducive microenvironment for trophoblast invasion leading to placentation. Clinical evidences suggest that along with receptivity, a defective “selector” activity of the receptive uterus may be a cause of infertility and recurrent miscarriages. Defects in trophoblast invasion are associated with pregnancy complications like preeclampsia and intra-uterine growth retardation. It is envisaged that understanding of the embryo-endometrial dialogue leading to the “selector” activity, aids in development of appropriate therapeutic modalities for infertility related disorders and miscarriages. Conversely, it might also benefit the development of anti-implantation drugs for contraception.
Coherent field and specular reflection at grazing incidence on a rough surface

The coherent component of the field scattered at grazing angles from a slightly rough pressure release surface is found. This is valid for multiple scattering and is based upon the parabolic integral equation method. Also examined are the scattering of planes waves under the method and in particular, the effect of truncating the boundary integral. It is shown that the coherent field remains invariant when the source and receiver are displaced vertically by equal and opposite distances, as was found numerically in a previous paper. In general, this can be shown to hold because the coherent field due to any plane wave is specular; however, under the parabolic equation method reflection is not specular, and thus the result is of particular interest. Reflection coefficients are given in closed form for several surface statistics, valid asymptotically at large distances.
Taxation and Investment Decisions in Petroleum

When governments apply high tax rates targeted at natural resource rent, there must be generous deductions in order to avoid investment disincentives. How generous is disputed. Based on standard finance theory and recommendations from the OECD and the IMF, the value that firms attach to future deductions depends on the risks of these, and the companies’ after-tax weighted-average cost of capital cannot be applied directly. As an example, a simple model quantifies the difference between pre-tax and post-tax systematic risk when tax deductions are less risky than pre-tax cash flows. Osmundsen et al. (2015) suggest that the difference must be ignored by oil companies, since they cannot find the separate market values of tax deductions. But companies operating in different jurisdictions cannot then appreciate differences in tax systems, not even approximately, which will lead to suboptimal decisions. Tax designers may instead assume that companies have gradually adopted more sophisticated methods of investment decision making.
Closed Crack Detection in Concrete with Coda Wave Non-Linear Modulation

Concrete is a widely used construction material by virtue of its cost and mechanical properties. Due to its low tensile strength however, concrete is very sensitive to crack formation. Cracks in concrete are responsible for significant inspection, maintenance and repair costs. In order to optimize structural health management, Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) has been extensively studied. Among all NDT techniques, ultrasonic methods are considered advantageous by providing information on mechanical properties in areas not directly accessible from the surface. Recent studies have led to developing nonlinear ultrasonic methods to increase the sensitivity to damage making possible the detection of large cracks/notches and the monitoring of crack evolution. However, the detection of small cracks in concrete remains a great challenge for NDT techniques. In this study, an ultrasonic method, based on nonlinear acoustic mixing of coda waves by lower-frequency swept pump waves, providing for an efficient global detection of small cracks in concrete is presented. By simultaneous comparison, for uncracked and cracked mortars, of ultrasonic velocity variations and decorrelation coefficient between the unperturbed and the perturbed signals for different pump amplitude, the method allows to accurately detect very small cracks with widths of around 20 mm correlated with velocity variations of approximately 0.01%. This method is reproducible and able to provide a simple means for differentiating damaged and sound concrete. Attention must be paid however to the material evolution during the time span of both a single experiment and the entire experimental campaign as a consequence of the presumed high sensitivity of the observables. Several applications of this technique could be developed in the field of civil engineering, although the power of the pump source would constitute a limitation. For example, the detection of small cracks causing leakage could be performed without any need for percolating fluid.
On the design of integral translational resource allocation controllers for synthetic cellular circuitry

Competition for gene expression resources within cellular systems limits the modularity of synthetic circuits, and can lead to the emergence of hidden regulatory interactions between different circuit genes. Experimental evidence suggests that the finite number of free ribosomes in the cell limits protein synthesis capacity and can create unforeseen coupling between co-expressed circuit genes that can result in performance degradation or even circuit failure. Recent work has shown that the cell's ribosome population can be subdivided into host-specific and circuit-specific functions by the production of quasi-orthogonal ribosomes. In this paper, we investigate the design of an integral feedback controller which acts to dynamically allocate ribosomes between host and circuit genes in order to reduce circuit-circuit coupling. We show that whilst the controller is able to successfully allocate resources and improve circuit performance, a non-zero steady state error remains. We show that interactions between the host cell's physiology and the synthetic circuitry act to prevents perfect integral action for the proposed controller architecture.
The Effect of Variety and Processing Methods on the Functional and Chemical Properties of Rice Flour

The effect of varieties, local (Abakalike) and foreign (Mama Gold) and two processing methods, semi-dry and wet grinding methods on the characteristics of rice flour were investigated. Functional and chemical properties of the rice flour were analyzed using standard methods. The functional parameters analyzed were dispersibility, relative bulk density, swelling power and water absorption capacity while chemical parameter were moisture content, protein, ash, sugar, starch, amylase and amylopectin. The parameters were influenced by variety and processing methods. Highest dispersibility, relative bulk density and swelling power values were associated with sample A which is the foreign variety, while solubility and water absorption capacity were associated with sample B, which is the local variety, all processed by the semi-dry grinding method. The semi-dry ground rice flour produced highest protein and ash as seen in sample B, while wet milled rice flour were associated with highest moisture and starch contents. The flour produced from the local rice (Abakalike) had highest protein, ash sugar and amylose over the foreign variety with all the parameters showing significant differences.
The Effects of Performance Measurement and Compensation on Motivation: An Empirical Study

SummaryThis paper analyzes empirically the relationship between pay and performance. Economic and psychological theories predict that the design and implementation of a performance measurement and compensation system affect the motivation of employees. Our survey results demonstrate a positive relationship between the perceived characteristics of the complete compensation system and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is not affected by the design of monetary compensation, but by promotion opportunities. The compensation system also significantly affects work satisfaction and turnover intent. Our results have both managerial as well as policy implications.
A Biomechanical Analysis of the Heavy Sprint-Style Sled Pull and Comparison with the Back Squat

This study compared the biomechanical characteristics of the heavy sprint-style sled pull and squat. Six experienced male strongman athletes performed sled pulls and squats at 70% of their 1RM squat. Significant kinematic and kinetic differences were observed between the sled pull start and squat at the start of the concentric phase and at maximum knee extension. The first stride of the heavy sled pull demonstrated significantly (p<0.05) lower stride lengths and average velocities and a higher mean ratio of force than the stride at 2 – 3 m. The force orientation and magnitude associated with the heavy sprint-style sled pull demonstrates that the heavy sled pull may be an effective conditioning stimulus to generate superior anterior-propulsive forces compared to vertically orientated exercises such as the squat with the same given load. Such adaptations may be beneficial in sports where higher levels of sprint momentum are needed to make and break tackles.