Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal Liability Design Under Risk and Ambiguity

This paper develops an original mean-variance model able to capture the disposition of the parties towards both standard risk and ambiguity. Ambiguity arises when the causal link between conduct and harm is not univocal, as is frequently the case with toxic torts. Risk aversion and ambiguity aversion tend to have a similar impact on optimal liability rules if greater care reduces the ambiguity perceived by the parties, i.e. if safety and predictability go hand in hand. Strict liability dominates negligence when the injurer has lower degrees of risk and ambiguity aversion than the victim and can formulate less ambiguous estimates of the probability of harm. The reverse result only holds under stronger conditions.
Eat at Home or Away from Home? The Role of Grocery and Restaurant Food Sales Taxes

Sales taxes on both grocery food and restaurant food exist in almost every county in the United States. By combining county level sales tax data with USDA’s recent national household food acquisition and purchase survey, we examine how a food sales tax affects consumers’ expenditures on grocery and restaurant food. We find that a grocery tax reduces consumers’ grocery food expenditures and increases restaurant food expenditure, which has further public health implication because the latter is generally considered to be less healthy. A restaurant food sales tax increases consumers’ grocery food expenditures. Such result provide insight into the potential impact of “fat” taxes on fast food restaurants. In addition, we find no differential impacts from food sales taxes based on consumers’ income, participation status in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or sharing borders with lower taxed counties. Finally, our results provide evidence that many consumers are attentive to food sales taxes even though the taxes are added at the register and are not salient. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Reciprocal Associations between Parenting Challenges and Parents’ Personality Development in Young and Middle Adulthood

Having children affects many aspects of people's lives. However, it remains unclear to what degree the challenges that come along with having children are associated with parents’ personality development. We addressed this question in two studies by investigating the relationship between parenting challenges and personality development in mothers of newborns (Study 1, N = 556) and the reciprocal associations between (mastering) parenting challenges and personality development in parents of adolescents (Study 2, N = 548 mothers and 460 fathers). In Study 1, we found the stress of having a newborn baby to be associated with declines in maternal Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability. Parenting challenges were also related to personality development in parents of adolescent children in Study 2, with parent–child conflict being reciprocally associated with decreases in Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability. Mastering parenting challenges in the form of high parenting self–efficacy, on the other hand, was found to be associated with increases in Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability, and vice versa. In sum, our results suggest that mastering the challenges associated with the social role of parenthood is one of the mechanisms underlying personality development in young and middle adulthood. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Low-frequency harmonics in inlet flow rate play a crucial role in inducing flow instabilities in terminal cerebral aneurysms

Prediction of rupture status in cerebral aneurysms remains challenging for clinicians, and the important rupture indicator (wall shear stress, WSS) is controversially discussed. Recent studies report that flow instabilities appear to play an influential role in the evolution and rupture of aneurysms and it is strongly correlated with both geometries and inlet flow rate waveforms. However, how frequency harmonics in inlet flow rate waveforms influence the flow instabilities and hence WSS fluctuations in cerebral aneurysms are still unclear. In this study, we used a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model of anatomically realistic cerebral aneurysms combining with Fourier series and power spectral density (PSD) analysis to investigate the association between inflow waveform’s harmonic frequencies and flow fluctuations in terminal cerebral aneurysms. Our simulated results demonstrated that there exists a harmonic frequency dependency in inlet flow rate waveforms inherently associated with flow instabilities in cerebral aneurysms: low-frequency harmonics play a crucial role in causing significant WSS fluctuations. This is partly explained by that the low-frequency harmonics govern a primary local adverse pressure gradient at late systole during flow deceleration, which induces flow instabilities while giving it sufficient time to develop into flow instabilities whereas high-frequency harmonics do not but decay rapidly. This implies that flow fluctuations in cerebral aneurysms may be of some robustness, dependent mainly on the primary harmonic frequency initiated by heart contraction but against unpredictable high-frequency perturbations in the inflow waveforms.
Large-scale 3D inversion of marine magnetotelluric data: Case study from the Gemini prospect, Gulf of Mexico

Three-dimensional magnetotelluric MT inversion is an emerging technique for offshore hydrocarbon exploration. We have developed a new approach to the 3D inversion of MT data, based on the integral equation method. The Tikhonov regularization and physical constraint have been used to obtain a stable and reasonable solution of the inverse problem.Themethodisimplementedinafullyparallelcomputer code. We have applied the developed method and software for the inversion of marine MT data collected by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography SIO in the Gemini prospect, Gulf of Mexico. The inversion domain was discretized into 1.6 million cells. It took nine hours to complete 51 iterations on the 832-processor cluster with a final misfit between the observed and predicted data of 6.2%. The inversion results reveal a resistive salt structure, which is confirmed by a comparison with the seismic data. These inversion results demonstrate that resistive geoelectrical structures like salt domes can be mapped with reasonable accuracyusingthe3DinversionofmarineMTdata.
Individual-Level Evidence for the Causes and Consequences of Social Capital

Theory: Social capital is the web of cooperative relationships between citizens that facilitates resolution of collection action problems (Coleman 1990; Putnam 1993). Although normally conceived as a property of communities, the reciprocal relationship between community involvement and trust in others is a demonstration of social capital in individual behavior and attitudes. Hypotheses: Variation in social capital can be explained by citizens' psychological involvement with their communities, cognitive abilities, economic resources, and general life satisfaction. This variation affects citizens' confidence in national institutions, beyond specific controls for measures of actual performance. Methods: We analyze the pooled General Social Surveys from 1972 to 1994 in a latent variables framework incorporating aggregate contextual data. Results: Civic engagement and interpersonal trust are in a tight reciprocal relationship, where the connection is stronger from participation to interpersonal trust, rather than the reverse.
Wine consumption in the city of Recife (Brazil): a study of the relevance of the attributes of the drink at the time of purchase

This study is a theoretical-empirical research on the identification and analysis of wine attributes’ relevance in the purchase decision process to consumers in Recife. The theoretical framework was developed based on the identification of the most-frequently evaluated wine attributes in consumer behaviour studies in several countries. Subsequently, based on the work of Goodman et al. (2007), the relevance degree of each attribute was classified through the Best-Worst Scaling (BWS). The methodological approach was quantitative in nature, the data collection method was a questionnaire adapted from Forbes (2008) and Groot (2011) and completed by 100 consumers. The results show that price, brand, awards, alcohol by volume and attractive front label were considered important attributes by the consumers. However, the decisive attributes for the purchase decision were others: grape variety, country of origin of the wine, matching with the food and the information on the back label.
Myocardial revascularization in octogenarian patients : retrospective and comparative study between patients operated on pump and off pump Revascularização miocárdica em pacientes octogenários : estudo retrospectivo e comparativo

Objective: The purpose of the present study is to compare and analyze the benefits of this operation with and without cardiopulmonary bypass in octogenarian patients. Method: Retrospective data of patients aged eighty years or more from December 1995 to December 2003 were analyzed. During this period 73 patients were submitted to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), 26 (35.6%) on-pump and 47 (64.4%) off-pump. A comparison was made of the demographic data, preoperative risks, concurrent morbid conditions, types of angina, postoperative complications and surgical outcomes between the on-pump and off-pump groups. The Student t-test was used to compare the groups and the level of significance was set at p-value < 0.05. Results: Both groups showed a high preoperative risk, although the off-pump group presented less surgical mortality (11.5% vs. 2.1%, p < 0.05). No strokes were observed in the patients operated on off-pump (11.5% vs. 0.0%, p < 0.005). Atrial fibrillation (AF) in the immediate postoperative period was present less often in the off-pump group (30.8% vs. 12.8%, p < 0.005). The postoperative mechanical ventilation time and the presence of respiratory failure were less in the offpump group (p < 0.005). The presence of acute renal insufficiency (ARI) was 19.2% in the on-pump group and 0% in the off-pump group (p < 0.05). There was less need for transfusion of blood or blood derivatives in the off-pump group (69.2% vs. 31.9%, p < 0.005). The mean sojourn in the intensive care unit (ICU) was shorter in the off-pump group (p < 0.05). The percentage of patients with no postoperative complications was higher in the off-pump group than in the on-pump group (89.4% vs. 61.5%, p <0.001). Conclusions: The present study suggests that patients aged eighty years and over benefit when submitted to off-pump CABG and that this procedure is associated with low rates of postoperative complications such as strokes, AF, ARI and respiratory insufficiency, and with less time in the ICU, a shorter hospital sojourn, less use of blood derivatives and lower mortality. In octogenarian patients off-pump CABG is a safe and effective technique, and may be the operation of choice when correctly indicated. Descriptors: Myocardial revascularization, aged. Extracorporeal circulation. Revascularização miocárdica em pacientes octogenários: estudo retrospectivo e comparativo entre pacientes operados com e sem circulação extracorpórea Myocardial revascularization in octogenarian patients: retrospective and comparative study between patients operated on pump and off pump
Discourse context effects: Metaphorical and literal interpretations

Some sentences can have both a literal and a metaphorical meaning, but typically only one is appropriate. What contextual constraints lead readers to the appropriate interpretation? This article focuses on a particular kind of discourse‐driven constraint: A meaning may be selected not only because context strongly suggests it, but because the alternative meaning is eliminated by context. It is commonly believed that a metaphorical interpretation may be selected because a literal interpretation would have been inappropriate. This article argues the same for a literal interpretation: A literal interpretation may be selected because a metaphorical interpretation would have been inappropriate. Three experiments demonstrated this claim: In Experiment 1 readers completed sentences and rated them as literal or metaphorical, in Experiment 2 they judged comprehension difficulty, and Experiment 3 measured comprehension latency. The experiments yielded similar patterns for metaphorical and literal interpretations, s.
The Implications of Fractal Fluency for Biophilic Architecture

Fractals are prevalent throughout natural scenery. Examples include trees, clouds and coastlines. Their repetition of patterns at different size scales generates a rich visual complexity. Fractals with mid-range complexity are prevalent. Consequently, the “fractal fluency” model of the human visual system states that it has adapted to these mid-range fractals through exposure and can process their visual characteristics with relative ease. We first review examples of fractal art and architecture. Then we review fractal fluency and its optimization of observers’ capabilities, focusing on our recent experiments which have important practical consequences for architectural design. We describe how people can navigate easily through environments featuring mid-range fractals. Viewing these patterns also generates an aesthetic experience accompanied by a reduction in the observer’s physiological stress-levels. These two favorable responses to fractals can be exploited by incorporating these natural patterns into buildings, representing a highly practical example of biophilic design.
Wheat Leaf Rust Detection at an Early Stage with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)

In this study, we demonstrated the early stage wheat rust diagnosis using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Wheat rust is a common disease, caused by parasitic fungus and reduces crop yield up to 30 to 40 percent by effecting leaf and stem of plant. The wheat seed having fungus are the carrier of rust infection for the plant. The infected seed and rust fungus not only reduce food quantity but effect its quality. In our experimental research, the wheat leaf sample of day 10, 27, 35 and 45 were analyzed. The rust appears after day 24 on leaf, and rusted leaf has higher surface roughness than the normal one. We analyzed shape, surface structure of normal and rusted wheat leaf surface with AFM. The leaf protein and structure with high-resolution AFM imaging under controlled environmental conditions. The results revealed the morphological details of normal and viral infected proteins of wheat leaf with high-resolution in vivo study. The findings provide the basis for AFM as a useful tool for investigating microbial-surface structures and properties at an early stage of rust. We can visualize the starch granule surface at different stages of maturity reveals information regarding the development of granule architecture. The changes in infected leaf compared to normal can be seen at starch granule interior throughout the growth. Leaf surface shows depressions on the granule surface and changes in protein for the infected, and we can manage the disease at an early stage of rust development. These results will be used for an early stage detection of wheat rust and can be extended to other crops diseases detection using AFM and laser-scanning microscopy.
The Mars 2020 Candidate Landing Sites: A Magnetic Field Perspective

We present an analysis of the remaining three candidate landing sites for Mars 2020, Columbia Hills (CH), Northeast Syrtis (NES) and Jezero (JE) from the perspective of understanding Mars' crustal magnetic field. We identify how the different sites can address each of six community‐defined paleomagnetic science objectives for Mars return samples. These objectives include understanding the early dynamo field and its variability, identification of magnetic minerals that carry magnetization in the samples, and characterization of any thermal and chemical alteration of samples. Satellite data have provided global and regional constraints on crustal magnetization, indicating strong magnetizations at CH and weak to no magnetization at JE and NES. However, the primary paleomagnetic interest—understanding the early dynamo—requires ground truth from a landing site at which pre‐Noachian and Early Noachian deposits are accessible. This requirement is most likely met by the site NES, which contains meggabreccia deposits, and it is therefore the highest priority landing site for magnetic field investigations. Importantly, a sample return mission has never been done, and so any of the three landing sites will provide critical, new data that will contribute to understanding the history of Mars' magnetic field and crustal mineralogy and, in turn, yield constraints on the planet's evolution.
Tantalum Oxynitride Thin Films: Assessment of the Photocatalytic Efficiency and Antimicrobial Capacity

Tantalum oxynitride thin films have been deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering, using a fixed proportion reactive gas mixture (85% N2 + 15% O2). To produce the films, the partial pressure of the mixture in the working atmosphere was varied. The characteristics of the produced films were analyzed from three main perspectives and correspondent correlations: the study of the bonding states in the films, the efficiency of photo-degradation, and the antibacterial/antibiofilm capacity of the coatings against Salmonella. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy results suggest that nitride and oxynitride features agree with a constant behavior relative to the tantalum chemistry. The coatings deposited with a higher reactive gas mixture partial pressure exhibit a significantly better antibiofilm capacity. Favorable antibacterial resistance was correlated with the presence of dominant oxynitride contributions. The photocatalytic ability of the deposited films was assessed by measuring the level of degradation of an aqueous solution containing methyl orange, with or without the addition of H2O2, under UV or VIS irradiation. Degradation efficiencies as high as 82% have been obtained, suggesting that tantalum oxynitride films, obtained in certain configurations, are promising materials for the photodegradation of organic pollutants (dyes).
Impact of Financial Crises on Dynamics of Capital Structure: Evidence from Korean Listed Companies

This study examines the impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 Global economic crisis on the capital structures of Korean non-financial listed companies. Using a panel data covering 1,159 Korean listed non-financial firms from 10 industrial sectors over a 31-year period (1985–2015), this study investigates the patterns of firms’ capital structures before and after the crises and identifies their speeds of adjustment toward the optimal leverage. This study finds different effects of the two crises on both capital structures and adjustment speeds. The average debt ratio fell significantly after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The distance between the optimal and the observed debt ratios shrank after the Asian crisis, while the speed of adjustment increased two-fold. Unlike the Asian financial crisis, the global economic crisis of 2008 had a positive effect on companies’ debt ratios and the speeds of adjustments toward the optimal leverage. Our empirical analysis shows that, on average, the Korean non-financial listed companies decreased their debt ratios over the entire period of observation, with the leverage being the highest before the Asian financial crisis and lowest after the global economic crisis. Our results also show that the debt ratios of Korean chaebols were higher than that of non-chaebols. Moreover, we find that the high level of leverage of Korean firms was associated with tangible assets, income variability, size and age of the firm, non-debt tax shield and uniqueness.
Control of Jovian radio emission by Callisto

Galileo has been in orbit around Jupiter since December 1995 and a large database has been collected. We present the results of a survey of the plasma wave data for the frequency range 2.0 MHz to 5.6 MHz, the low frequency decametric (DAM) emissions. While the control of a portion of the radio emission by the moon Io is well known, and Ganymede control has been more recently indicated, we report that a small but significant portion of DAM emission is seen to be correlated with the orbital phase of Callisto. While the occurrence rate of emission controlled by Ganymede and Callisto is considerably less than for Io, the power levels can be nearly the same. We estimate the power of the Callisto‐dependent emission to be ∼70% of the Io‐dependent radio emission and about the same as the Ganymede‐dependent radio emission. This result indicates an Alfvén current system associated with Callisto, and thus a significant interaction of the magnetosphere of Callisto with that of Jupiter as is believed to exist for both Io and Ganymede.
Radiation damage and recovery properties of common plastics PEN ( Polyethylene Naphthalate ) and PET ( Polyethylene Terephthalate ) using a 137 Cs gamma ray source up to 1 . 4 Mrad and 14

Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and polyethylene teraphthalate (PET) are cheap and common polyester plastics used throughout the world in the manufacturing of bottled drinks, containers for foodstuffs, and fibers used in clothing. These plastics are also known organic scintillators with very good scintillation properties. As particle physics experiments increase in energy and particle flux density, so does radiation exposure to detector materials. It is therefore important that scintillators be tested for radiation tolerance at these generally unheard of doses. We tested samples of PEN and PET using laser stimulated emission on separate tiles exposed to 1 Mrad and 10 Mrad gamma rays with a 137Cs source. PEN exposed to 1.4 Mrad and 14 Mrad emit 71.4% and 46.7% of the light of an undamaged tile, respectively, and maximally recover to 85.9% and 79.5% after 5 and 9 days, respectively. PET exposed to 1.4 Mrad and 14 Mrad emit 35.0% and 12.2% light, respectively, and maximally recover to 93.5% and 80.0% after 22 and 60 days, respectively.
A Second Thought on Estimating Expansionary Fiscal Policy Effects in the U.S.

This paper revisits mixed findings of the expansionary fiscal spending effect in the U.S. An array of standard Vector-Autoregressive (VAR) models have been implemented to capture inconsistent effects of the fiscal expansion across studies. Findings in this paper consistently reveal that, first, government expenditures often generate less positive influence than government purchases; second, leaving aside the state and local government spending, federal government purchases alone have a very limited influence on the economy; third, 2007 recession significantly weakened the effectiveness of fiscal expansionary policy thereafter. Following these findings, this paper questions the validity of using government purchases alone to conclude the comprehensive effect of fiscal expansion.