Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A NOTE ON THE EXTENT OF U.S. REGIONAL INCOME CONVERGENCE

Long-run income convergence is investigated in the U.S. context. We employ a novel pairwise econometric procedure based on a probabilistic definition of convergence. The time-series properties of all the possible regional income pairs are examined by means of unit root and non-cointegration tests, where inference is based on the fraction of rejections. We distinguish between the cases of strong convergence, where the implied cointegrating vector is [1, −1], and weak convergence, where long-run homogeneity is relaxed. To address cross-sectional dependence, we employ a bootstrap methodology to derive the empirical distribution of the fraction of rejections. We find supporting evidence of U.S. states sharing a common stochastic trend consistent with a definition of convergence based on long-run forecasts of state incomes being proportional rather than equal. We find that the strength of convergence between states decreases with distance and initial income disparity. Using Metropolitan Statistical Area data, evidence for convergence is stronger.
Explaining the Demand for Dollars: International Rates of Return and the Expectations of Chartists and Fundamentalists

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY Department Berkeley, of Economics California Working Paper EXPLAINING THE DEMAND FOR DOLLARS: INTERNATIONAL RATES OF RETURN AND THE EXPECTATIONS OF CHARTISTS AND FUNDAMENTALISTS Jeffrey A. Frankel and Kenneth A. Froot June Key words: speculative bubble, expectations, dollar
Air Pollution Exposure During Pregnancy and Reproductive Outcomes

Air pollution is largely recognized as a risk factor for several outcomes including increased mortality, increased hospital admissions and emergency visits for both respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and impairment of respiratory function, including reduced lung function, exacerbation of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Brunekreef & Holgate, 2002). Some populations have shown to be more susceptible to these effects, and among them including those people in the tails of the age distribution, i.e. the elderly and infants (Laumbach, 2010). The study of fetal growth and birth outcomes has become an important emerging field of environmental epidemiology (Sram et al., 2005). Birth outcomes are important indicators of pregnancy and infant care as well as newborn and infant health. Besides that, reduction in fetal growth has been associated with health problems and developmental delays during childhood, from an increase in hospitalizations (Morris et al., 1998) to poor cognitive and neurological development (Richards et al., 2002) as well as with an increased risk of chronic diseases later in life (Barker, 2007). Fetuses, like infants, present a special vulnerability, compared to adults, regarding environmental toxicants due to differences in exposure, physiological immaturity, and longer life expectancy after exposure (Perera et al., 2002; Schwartz, 2004). Results from epidemiological and experimental studies show that fetuses and infants are especially susceptible to the toxic effects of pollutants such as suspended particles, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and tobacco smoke (Perera et al., 2003). In recent years, a growing body of epidemiological research has focused on the potential impact of prenatal exposure to air pollution on birth outcomes. In recent years a number of authors have reviewed the evidence on the relation between prenatal exposure to air pollutants and reproductive outcomes (Glinianaia et al., 2004; Maisonet et al., 2004; Lacasana et al., 2005; Sram et al., 2005; Wang & Pinkerton, 2007; Hackley et al., 2007; Wigle et al., 2008; Bosetti et al., 2010; Vrijheid et al., 2011; Shah & Balkhair, 2011). In these reviews several outcomes have been related to exposure to air pollution during pregnancy, including low birth weight, reduced birth size, fetal growth retardation, pre-term birth, stillbirth, congenital malformations, and infant mortality.
Getting Patents and Economic Data to Speak to Each Other: An 'Algorithmic Links with Probabilities' Approach for Joint Analyses of Patenting and Economic Activity

International technological diffusion is a key determinant of cross-country differences in economic performance. While patents can be a useful proxy for innovation and technological change and diffusion, fully exploiting patent data for such economic analyses requires patents to be tied to measures of economic activity. In this paper, we describe and explore a new algorithmic approach to constructing concordances between the International Patent Classification (IPC) system that organizes patents by technical features and industry classification systems that organize economic data, such as the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) and the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC). This ‘Algorithmic Links with Probabilities’ (ALP) approach mines patent data using keywords extracted from industry descriptions and processes the resulting matches using a probabilistic framework. We compare the results of this ALP concordance to existing technology concordances. Based on these comparisons, we discuss advantages of this approach relative to conventional approaches. ALP concordances provide a meso-level mapping to industries that complements existing macro- and firm-level mappings – and open new possibilities for empirical patent analysis.
Novel LRPPRC Mutation in a Boy With Mild Leigh Syndrome, French–Canadian Type Outside of Québec

Background: Leigh syndrome, French–Canadian type is unique to patients from a genetic isolate in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Québec. It has also been recently described in 10 patients with LRPPRC mutation outside of Québec. It is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder with fatal metabolic crisis and severe neurological morbidity in infancy caused by LRPPRC mutation. Methods and Results: The authors report a boy with a novel LRPPRC compound heterozygous missense mutations c.3130C>T, c.3430C>T, and c.4078G>A found on whole-exome sequencing which correlated with isolated cytochrome c-oxidase deficiency found in skeletal muscle. Conclusion: LRPPRC mutation is a rare cause of cytochrome c-oxidase–deficient form of Leigh syndrome outside of Québec. Our patient broadens the spectrum of phenotypes of Leigh syndrome, French–Canadian type. LRPPRC mutation should be considered in children with early childhood neurodegenerative disorder, even in the absence of metabolic crisis. Early evaluation with whole-exome sequencing is useful for early diagnosis and for genetic counseling.
Factors influencing education achievement

This study sets out to examine the factors that influence human capital formation in predominately rural communities. The results indicated that parents’ educational attainment greatly influences the quality of education for their children. Thus, consolidating smaller poor schools in which the parents have limited education above primary and secondary schools, will not likely lead to much if any improvement in students' test scores.
Segmenting Resident Perceptions Towards Tourism - A Cluster Analysis with a Multinomial Logit Model of a Mountain Community

This study investigates aspects of host perception to be used for the formulation of possible strategic tourism policies. A community segmentation framework with cluster analysis and multinomial logit model was applied to data of Folgaria - a small mountain community in Trentino South-Tyrol, northern Italy - to reveal the heterogeneity of resident’s perception towards tourism impacts. The results of this study reflect the overall opinions of the sample population, and further identifies relatively homogeneous opinion groups. Positive and negative perceptions about tourism in the region generate a division of residents in environmental supporters, development supporters, protectionist, and ambivalent; all groups are influenced by the employment in the tourism sector. This study further identifies the effect of demographic variation on the analyzed cluster and on the residents’ attitudes towards tourism, contributing to the debate on local tourism development.
A preliminary investigation into the correlation between teaching and research in the Florida State university system

Investigates the controversy surrounding the issue of empirical research productivity and quality teaching and whether or not they enhance each other or represent a trade‐off. Focuses on recent developments in Florida, where monetary incentives were provided to reward excellent teaching – the Teaching Incentive Programme (TIP). Reviews literature in the field of teaching effectiveness and research productivity. Sets out to test the results from previous studies (which found very little correlation between research productivity and teaching effectiveness) by identifying the recipients of Florida’s TIP awards, matching them with non‐recipients at the same university, gathering information on the publication record of each individual, and using sign tests to compare the recipients and non‐recipients of the TIP award. Finds that there was little significant difference in the publication records of recipients and non‐recipients. Concludes, therefore, that quality teaching and research are not mutually exclusive.
Genome-wide association study identifies a new locus for coronary artery disease on chromosome 10p11.23.

AIMS Recent genome-wide association (GWA) studies identified 10 chromosomal loci for coronary artery disease (CAD) or myocardial infarction (MI). However, these loci explain only a small proportion of the genetic variability of these pertinent diseases. We sought to identify additional CAD/MI loci by applying a three-stage approach. METHODS AND RESULTS We genotyped n = 1157 MI cases and n = 1748 controls from a population-based study population [German MI Family Study (GerMIFS) III (KORA)] with genome-wide SNP arrays. At this first stage, n = 462 SNPs showed association with MI at P<1 × 10(-3) in two-sided logistic regression. In a second stage, 415 of these SNPs were evaluated in silico in two independent GWA samples, the GerMIFS I (875 cases/1644 controls) and GerMIFS II (1222 cases/1298 controls). Nine SNPs, representing three regions, displayed consistent replication in this in silico analysis (P<0.05 for each GWA sample): five SNPs at 9p21.3, a well-known CAD/MI locus, two SNPs at 10p11.21, and two SNPs at 2p24.3. Wet-lab replication, i.e. the third stage, of SNP rs3739998 (representing the novel locus at 10p11.21, p.S1002T in the KIAA1462 gene) in additional 5790 cases and 5302 controls confirmed the association (P=9.54 × 10(-4)), but not for the 2p24.3 locus. The combined P-value across all stages for SNP rs3739998 is P=1.27 × 10(-11) [odds ratio (OR) = 1.15 (1.11-1.20)]. CONCLUSION Analysis of a GWA study followed by in silico and wet-lab replication steps identified the KIAA1462 gene, encoding a yet uncharacterized protein, on chromosome 10p11.23 with genome-wide significant association for CAD/MI. Further studies are needed to characterize the functional role of this locus in the aetiology of these diseases.
Sources of Unemployment Fluctuations in the USA and in the Euro Area in the Last Decade

The aim of this paper is to investigate the role played by macroeconomic shocks in shaping unemployment ∞uctuations, both in the USA and in the Euro area, in the recent, European Monetary Union, period. The task is accomplished by estimating a VAR model which jointly considers US and European variables. We identify the structural disturbances through sign restrictions on the dynamic response of variables. Our results show that there are real efiects of monetary policy shocks and of non-monetary policy, flnancial shocks in both economic areas. Moreover, a signiflcant role is also exerted by business cycle, adverse aggregate demand shocks. We provide an estimation of the relative importance of the iden- tifled structural shocks in explaining the variability of in∞ation and unemployment. Not surprisingly, in the last decade an important role has been played by flnancial shocks.
Fee-For-Service and Cost Justification Activities of Pharmacist-Manned Drug Information Centers in the United States

In the current era of economic constraints, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain sufficient funds for drug information services. Many drug information centers (DICs) are becoming less financially secure and so alternative funding sources are becoming essential for maintaining quality services. Additionally, it is becoming more important for centers to provide cost justification data to support their existence There is a paucity of published data concerning cost effectiveness and fund-generating activities of DICs. The purpose of this article is to present an overview of and recommendations for fee-for-service and cost-justification activities of DICs in the United States DICs offer valuable services that can be enhanced through additional revenue gained from fee-for-services activities. To sell drug information services, centers must provide cost-justification data to current and prospective subscribers. In the cost containment world of the 1990s, DICs must be able to prove that they save money by lowering medical costs. Results indicate the need for cost-justification studies and demonstrate the hazards of less than rigorous study. Cost-effectiveness evidence is likely to emerge as the driving force behind DIC funding in the future
Constraints facing tourism entrepreneurs in South Africa: a study in the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa

The current study is an investigation into tourism entrepreneurship of small, medium and micro enterprises in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. Through Principal Factor Analysis, the paper identifies a three-factor instrument that could be used as a diagnostic tool to investigate how government policies and support, the tourism industry's products and services, and perceptions about South Africa could advance or constrain the development of small, medium and micro tourism in South Africa. Such a tool can be used to identify problematic areas in order to take remedial action to manage sustainable tourism in South Africa and prevent the leakage of profits.
A Theoretical and Practical Perspective on the Equity Risk Premium*

In historical perspective, equity returns have been higher than interest rates but have also varied a good deal more. However, the average excess return has been larger than what could be expected based on classical equilibrium theory: the equity risk premium (ERP) puzzle. This paper has two objectives. First, the paper presents a comprehensive overview of the vast literature developed aimed at adjusting theory and testing the robustness of the puzzle. Here we will show that the failure of theory to link asset prices to economics is mostly quantitative by nature and not qualitative (anymore). Second, beyond providing a survey of theory, we aim for a relevant practical angle as well. Our main contribution is that we spend time on why returns have been higher than investors reasonably could have expected. We present evidence that forecasts of equity returns can be enhanced by valuation models: low valuation levels (low price-to-earnings ratios) portend high subsequent returns. While conventional wisdom (several years ago) was to use historical returns to forecast future returns, a growing consensus now recognizes that the predictive power of valuation ratios is preferred. Finally we provide some practical implications based on this predictability. While the ERP is essentially a long-term issue, the likelihood of a lower risk premium increases risk for many and means that short-term volatility might not be neglected.
Introducing global civil society

The words ‘global’ and ‘civil society’ have become commonplace during the last decade. Yet what they mean and how they come together are subject to widely differing interpretations. For some, global civil society refers to the protestors in Seattle and Prague or Greenpeace’s actions against transnational corporations: in other words, a counterweight to global capitalism. For others, the words have something to do with the infrastructure that is needed for the spread of democracy and development: the growth of professional associations,
Antibiotic-Induced Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) Release from Salmonella typhi: Delay between Killing by Ceftazidime and Imipenem and Release of LPS

ABSTRACT It has been suggested that the antibiotic-induced release of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an important cause of the development of septic shock in patients treated for severe infections caused by gram-negative bacteria. β-Lactam antibiotics change the integrity of the bacterial cell envelope by binding to penicillin-binding proteins (PBP) in the membrane and thus may affect the amount of LPS that is released and the kinetics of that release. In this respect, ceftazidime at intermediate concentrations binds with a high affinity to PBP 3 and PBP 1a and thus can induce filament formation in addition to killing, whereas imipenem preferentially binds to PBP 2 and PBP 1b, leading to spheroplast formation and rapid cell lysis. We investigated the effects of these antibiotics on the killing and the release of the radioactively labelled LPS of Salmonella typhi Ty 21A. A mathematical model was developed to calculate the delay between bacterial killing and LPS release, designated the lag time. At antibiotic concentrations inducing equal killing, the amount of LPS released was the same for both antibiotics. Only after 6 h of incubation at antibiotic concentrations above 0.5 μg/ml, the amount of 3H-LPS released was slightly higher (∼1.2-fold) in incubations with ceftazidime than in those with imipenem, and the maximum releases of the total label were 33.2% ± 0.89% and 27.1% ± 0.45%, respectively. Despite the clear concentration-dependent effect on the bacterial killing and subsequent LPS release, the lag time was independent of the antibiotic concentration. For ceftazidime as well as imipenem the lag time amounted to approximately 60 min. In conclusion, our findings imply that the mechanism of antibiotic-induced LPS release is independent of the PBP affinities for these β-lactam antibiotics. Furthermore, once the organism is killed by either imipenem or ceftazidime, the rate of LPS release from S. typhi does not differ according to the antibiotic with which the organism is killed, and there is little difference in the relative amount of LPS released.
On the biosynthesis and structure of double-stranded RNA in vaccinia virus-infected cells.

The virus-specific, RNase-resistant RNA appearing in vaccinia virus-infected cells was directly shown to be an RNA duplex. After its melting and subsequent banding on Cs(2)SO(4) or incubation with DNase, the RNA could be reannealed and then hybridized with vaccinia virus DNA.The double-stranded virus-specific RNA appears to exist in the cell in the form of heterogeneous partially double-stranded RNA's sedimenting between 9 and 22S. The kinetics of the appearance of the double-stranded RNA in the cell show a dependence on the multiplicity of infection and suggest that the double-stranded RNA is a "late" product of viral intracellular biosynthesis. The synthesis of the double-stranded RNA is inhibited by actinomycin D.
Destination loyalty: Effects of wine tourists’ experiences, memories, and satisfaction on intentions

The present study analyzed survey data from 970 tourists to evaluate their Lake Erie wine region experience. Using structural equation modeling, an adapted scale of the experience economy’s 4Es (i.e. educational, esthetic, entertainment, and escapist experiences) proved reliable and valid for measuring rural wine tourism. This study contributes new information to research examining the 4Es applied to tourism venues by showing the 4Es’ impact on tourist response to loyalty for an entire destination. Structural modeling demonstrated the dominance of the esthetic experience in predicting positive memories and destination loyalty in the wine tourism context. Education played a significant but lesser role in creating memories and satisfaction but not in destination loyalty. Although the esthetic experience’s preeminence was consistent with other findings, these results contradict Pine and Gilmore’s assertion that simultaneous incorporation of the 4Es is necessary.
The ‘Global’ in the City Economy: Multicultural Economic Development in Birmingham

This paper draws on critiques of ‘global cities’ to conceptualise Birmingham, the UK’s second largest metropole, as a ‘global’ city by highlighting forms of economic globalisation that draw on the city’s residents, their histories and their social and cultural networks. The paper illustrates some of the diversity and significance of minority ethnic economic activity within Birmingham and the potential this holds for its future economic development, focusing on examples from three transnational networks (Chinese business networks, ethnic food manufacturing and the Bhangra music industry). The paper signals a rather different understanding of ‘global’ as it relates to economic advantage, transnationalism and ethnic diversity within cities in general, and Birmingham in particular. We suggest that this different understanding of the global has important policy implications, not simply in terms of economic representations of the city, but also in terms of developing the possibilities of such transnational networks and engaging with the constraints facing them. We argue that encouraging a more relational way of thinking about cities like Birmingham has the potential for advancing social wellbeing by influencing socio-economic policy and practice. We use the example of Birmingham, therefore, to engage broader debates about alternative paths of ‘global’ economic, social and cultural investment for UK (and other) cities.
Reward Policies That Support Entrepreneurship

The successful entrepreneurship depends on highly motivated employees who think and behave as risk takers and innovators. In such firms reward policies must motivate employees to think and behave as entrepreneurs. Reward policies that pay employees for behaviors that are effective in bureaucratic organizations may actually hamper appropriate performance in an entrepreneurship. For example, a seniority-based pay structure may be effective in a unionized manufacturing plant, but such a pay structure would send the wrong message to employees in an entrepreneurship. In this article we plan to identify reward policies that systematically encourage the traits vital to the success of the entrepreneurship.
Storage Scheduling with Stochastic Uncertainties: Feasibility and Cost of Imbalances

Dispatchability of renewable energy sources and inflexible loads can be achieved using a volatility-compensating energy storage. However, as the future power outputs of the inflexible devices are uncertain, the computation of a dispatch schedule for such aggregated systems is non-trivial. In the present paper, we propose a novel scheduling method that enforces the feasibility of the dispatch schedule with a pre-determined probability based on a description of the operation of the system as a two-stage decision process. Thereby, a crucial point is the use of probabilistic forecasts, in terms of cumulative density function, of the inflexible energy consumption/production profile. Then, for the sake of comparison, we introduce a second scheduling method based on state-of-the-art scenario optimization, where, unlike the proposed method, the focus is on the minimization of the expected final cost. We draw upon simulations based on real consumption and production data to compare the methods and illustrate our findings.