Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Financing Cities

The macro-economic and micro-economic evidences makes a persuasive case for cities as important centers for productive efficiency, innnovation, and economic growth. For cities to achieve their full economic potential, however, complementary public services are required. This paper reviews the arguments and the evidence for the efficient financing and governance of city public services. Against the criterion of efficiency, city services should be limited to those services valued by city residents; financing should assign residential taxes to residential services and business land taxes and fees to business services; and city governance should foster competition and choice.
Is the Potential for International Diversification Disappearing? A Dynamic Copula Approach

International equity markets are characterized by nonlinear dependence and asymmetries. We propose a new dynamic asymmetric copula model to capture long-run and short-run dependence, multivariate nonnormality, and asymmetries in large cross-sections. We find that copula correlations have increased markedly in both developed markets (DMs) and emerging markets (EMs), but they are much lower for EMs than for DMs. Tail dependence has also increased but its level is still relatively low for EMs. We propose new measures of dynamic diversi? cation bene? ts that take into account higher order moments and nonlinear dependence. The bene? fits from international diversi? cation have reduced over time, drastically so for DMs. EMs still offer signi? cant diversi? cation bene? ts, especially during large market downturns.
A Panel of Price Indices for Housing Services, Other Goods, and All Goods for All Areas in the United States 1982-2010

This paper documents the production of a panel of price indices for housing services, other produced goods, and all produced goods for each metropolitan area in the United States and the non-metropolitan part of each state from 1982 through 2010 that can be used for estimating behavioral relationships, studying the workings of markets, and assessing differences in the economic circumstances of people living in different areas. The panel will be extended each year beyond 2010. Our general approach is to first produce cross-sectional price indices for a single year 2000 and then use BLS time-series price indices to create the panel. Our geographic housing price index for 2000 is based on a large data set with detailed information about the characteristics of dwelling units and their neighborhoods throughout the United States that enables us to overcome many shortcomings of existing interarea housing price indices. For most areas, our price index for all goods other than housing is calculated from the price indices for categories of non-housing goods produced each quarter by the Council for Community and Economic Research. In order to produce a non-housing price index for areas of the United States not covered by their index, we estimate a theoretically-based regression model explaining differences in the composite price index for non-housing goods for areas where it is available and use it to predict a price of other goods for the uncovered areas. The overall consumer price index for all areas is based on the preceding estimates of the price of housing and other goods. The paper discusses existing interarea price indices available to researchers, compares the new housing price index with housing price indices based on alternative methods using the same data and price indices based on alternative data sets, and illustrates the use of the price indices by estimating housing demand functions. Electronic versions of the price indices are available online.
Cyclical Behavior of Systemic Risk in the Banking Sector

This paper examines cyclical behavior of banks’ systemic risk contribution and exposure. Using an unbalanced panel of 787 banks from countries members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Union covering the period 2000:Q1-2017:Q4, we document that both systemic risk contribution and exposure are positively related to business cycle. That is, systemic risk starts to accumulate in the financial sector during periods of boom, i.e., when the output gap is positive. Furthermore, during periods of robust economic growth, the level of credit tends to increase dramatically, going hand in hand with asset and property prices developments. We also find that contribution and exposure to system-wide distress move procyclically during credit and house cycles, meaning that during upturns in credit and house cycles bank interconnectedness increases, but tend to fall during downturns. However, individual risk of the banks, proxied by Value at Risk, evolves countercyclically during business and financial cycles, i.e., decreasing in upturns and raising in downturns. Thus, Value at Risk is not a good proxy for signalling the buit-up of financial imbalances. Dynamic conditional beta, however, is a more appropriate measure to quantify individual risk of the banks in relation with the market, being procyclical during the financial cycle. Additionally, the empirical analysis shows that both bank-specific and macroeconomic factors influence banks’ systemic distress. Particularly, size, credit risk and inflation boost systemic risk contribution and exposure of the banks, whereas capitalization, the share of loans in total assets, the share of non-interest income in total revenue and economic freedom help banks in reducing their systemic importance. The findings remain robust after controlling for nesting, cross-sectional dependence and reverse causality issues.
Developmental Ultrastructure of the Male Gamete of Selaginella

To evaluate structural homology among streamlined, biflagellated male gametes of Selaginella and bryophytes, we undertook a thorough ultrastructural study of spermatogenesis in Selaginella kraussiana (Kunze) A. Br. As in Lycopodium and bryophytes, centrioles originate as bicentrioles in the spermatid mother cell. In the nascent spermatid, a fibrous connective band is involved in the separation and rotation of the two centriolar constituents of the bicentriole. The locomotory apparatus consists of two staggered monomorphic basal bodies that originate from the centrioles and an underlying multilayered structure (MLS), including a spline of parallel microtubules and subtending elongated lamellar strip. Beneath the MLS lies the anterior mitochondrion, which elongates during development to a length of over 1.5 cellular revolutions by progressive fusion of mitochondria. Spline microtubules (MTs) increase posteriorly from one at the anterior tip to a maximum of 19 at the cell posterior. The angle between lamellar strip plates and spline MTs changes front to back from 85° to 40°. In the late midstage spermatid, the rounded nucleus compacts and elongates in register with spline growth. Individualization of cellular coils begins at the cell anterior and progresses posteriorly leaving a cytoplasmic mass in the region between coils. In the final stages of development, the lamellar strip regresses and the cylindrical nucleus shortens. Concomitantly, the posterior mitochondrion and plastid, containing two starch grains, are positioned alongside the spline at the posterior of the cell. In development, the spermatozoid of Selaginella more closely resembles those of pteridophytes than bryophytes. Common developmental and structural features of the locomotory apparatus among Selaginella and members of the Lycopodiaceae are consistent with a monophyletic lycopsid assemblage.
The Stock Market Tips

We investigate the influence of public companies on their local economies through the discretionary spending of their employees on local goods and services. Using the taxicab industry in New York City as a laboratory, we find that tips paid for taxis taken near firms’ headquarters after normal work hours are higher on the days their stock returns are higher. This finding is stronger for firms offering greater stock-based compensation, and tipping also increases following the initial public offerings (IPOs) of firms particularly at the end of the IPO lock-up period. Idiosyncratic stock returns are more strongly associated with tipping than are aggregate stock market returns, suggesting that the increase in tipping with stock returns is due to firm-level factors affecting employees. The number of taxis taken near firms’ headquarters, too, increases with their stock returns. Additional tests suggest that these findings are non-spurious, and driven by wealth- and sentiment-based mechanisms.
Unemployment, Labour Force Composition and Sickness Absence: A Panel Data Study

Sickness absence tends to be negatively correlated with unemployment. This may suggest disciplining effects of unemployment but may also reflect changes in the composition of the labour force. A panel of Norwegian register data for the years 1990-1995 is used to analyse sickness absences lasting more than two weeks. We estimate fixed effects models of the probability of absence and the number of days on sick leave conditional on absence. The county unemployment rate is found to affect the probability of absence negatively. When restricting the sample to workers who are present in the whole sample period, the negative relationship between absence and unemployment remains. The evidence on duration goes in the same direction. This indicates that the revealed procyclical variation in sickness absence is not driven by changes in the composition of the labour force.
Modelling a Multivariate Transaction Process

In this paper the dynamics of a joint transaction process is investigated. The transaction process is characterized by four marks: price changes, transaction volumes, bid-ask spreads and intertrade durations. Based on a copula approach a model for the joint density is proposed, which avoids forcing a priori assumptions on the instantaneous causality relationships between the four variables as necessary in decomposition models, where the joint density is decomposed into its conditional and unconditional densities. The price change process is treated as a discrete process and specified with an integer count hurdle model and the transaction volumes, bid-ask spreads and trade durations processes are modelled along the lines of fractionally integrated autoregressive conditional models, which are very well suited to capture the high persistency empirically observed in these processes. The model is applied to three stocks traded at the New York Stock Exchange (NSYE) in May, 2001 and we investigate several market microstructure hypothesis in the empirical part of this paper.
An internal structure investigation on Euphorbia L. species in North-East of Iran.

In present research anatomical studies carried out 11 species which growing in Khorassan Province (North-East of Iran). These species were divided to two groups, annual and perennial species. For comparative anatomy studying, cross sections from stem and leaf were prepared using microtome and differential staining. The characters of secondary xylem and axial parenchyma, arrangement of vessel and the arrangement of mesophyll were studied. The results showed the variation of internal structure didn’t have correspondence to taxonomy position.
The Option-Implied Ex-Dividend Drop

Several recent studies have used option-implied dividends to investigate the term structure of equity. A crucial question is whether these dividend strips need to be adjusted to take into account the difference in taxation between dividends and capital gains. Unlike prior research, we find an option-implied ex-day decline that is less than the cash dividend and of a similar magnitude to the overnight ex-day stock price decline. In addition, we use put-call arbitrage to identify several option mispricing factors. Our method for calculating market expectations of dividends is useful for research topics including dividend policy, analyst forecasts, and asset pricing.
In situ monitoring of heart rates in shore crabs Carcinus maenas in two tidal estuaries: Effects of physico-chemical parameters on tidal and diel rhythms

Heart rates were monitored in situ in the shore crab, Carcinus maenas, in relation to variations in depth, salinity, oxygen tension, temperature, light intensity and pH. Experiments were performed in the Looe Estuary, Cornwall, England and in Batson Creek in the Salcombe-Kingsbridge Estuary, Devon, England. Experiments in the Looe Estuary were conducted in the vicinity of a storm water storage discharge whereas the experiments in Batson Creek were performed on a clean site. Tidal rhythms in heart rates were commonly detected but diel rhythms in heart rate were also observed frequently. Both types of rhythm were more evident in animals from Batson Creek than from Looe. In Batson Creek, 12 out of 15 crabs expressed tidal rhythms in heart rate, whereas 6 out of 15 crabs expressed diel rhythms. In the two studies in the Looe Estuary, 6 out of 15 crabs and 3 out of 15 crabs expressed tidal and diel rhythm in heart rate, respectively. At both experimental sites, heart rates were positively correlated with increasing changes in depth and salinity, whereas heart rates were negatively correlated with light intensity. In addition, heart rates appeared to be positively correlated with increasing oxygen tension in the experiments performed in the Looe Estuary. The study suggests that depth and oxygen availability are more important to in situ heart rates in shore crabs within tidal estuaries than are salinity, light intensity and pH. Also, sewage discharge appears to cause an acute increase in heart rate, which may affect expression of biological rhythms in shore crabs.
Male and Female Competitive Behavior: Experimental Evidence

Male and female choices differ in many economic situations, e.g., on the labor market. This paper considers whether such differences are driven by different attitudes towards competition. In our experiment subjects choose between a tournament and a piece-rate pay scheme before performing a real task. Men choose the tournament significantly more often than women. Women are mainly influenced by their degree of risk aversion, but men are not. Men compete more against men than against women, but compete against women who are thought to compete. The behavior of men seems primarily to be influenced by social norms whose nature and origin we discuss.
How Stable are Corporate Capital Structures?

Leverage cross sections more than a few years apart differ markedly, with similarities evaporating as the time between cross sections lengthens. Many firms have high and low leverage at different times, but few keep debt-to-assets ratios consistently above 0.500. Capital-structure stability is the exception, not the rule, occurs primarily at low leverage, and is virtually always temporary, with many firms abandoning low leverage during the post-war boom. Industry-median leverage varies widely over time. Target-leverage models that place little or no weight on maintaining a particular leverage ratio do a good job replicating the substantial instability of the actual leverage cross-section.
Nitrogen processing and the role of epilithic biofilms downstream of a wastewater treatment plant

Abstract. We investigated how dissolved inorganic N (DIN) inputs from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent are processed biogeochemically by the receiving stream. We examined longitudinal patterns of NH4+ and NO3− concentrations and their 15N signatures along a stream reach downstream of a WWTP. We compared the &dgr;15N signatures of epilithic biofilms with those of DIN to assess the role of stream biofilms in N processing. We analyzed the &dgr;15N signatures of biofilms coating light- and dark-side surfaces of cobbles separately to test whether light constrains functioning of biofilm communities. We sampled during 2 contrasting periods of the year (winter and summer) to explore whether changes in environmental conditions affected N biogeochemical processes. The study reach had a remarkable capacity for transformation and removal of DIN, but the magnitude and relevance of different biogeochemical pathways of N processing differed between seasons. In winter, assimilation and nitrification influenced downstream N fluxes. These processes were spatially segregated at the microhabitat scale, as indicated by a significant difference in the &dgr;15N signature of light- and dark-side biofilms, a result suggesting that nitrification was mostly associated with dark-side biofilms. In summer, N processing was intensified, and denitrification became an important N removal pathway. The &dgr;15N signatures of the light- and dark-side biofilms were similar, a result suggesting less spatial segregation of N cycling processes at this microhabitat scale. Collectively, our results highlight the capacity of WWTP-influenced streams to transform and remove WWTP-derived N inputs and indicate the active role of biofilms in these in-stream processes.
Pulsatile secretion of α-MSH and the differential effects of dexamethasone and haloperidol on the secretion of α-MSH and ACTH in dogs

This study was performed to determine whether, in the dog, there is at any time pulsatile release of alpha-MSH and whether secretion of ACTH from the pars intermedia (PI) contributes to the circulating concentrations of ACTH. The 24-h secretory profiles of alpha-MSH, ACTH, and cortisol were determined in eight dogs. Plasma samples were obtained at 10-min intervals via an indwelling jugular catheter during two 12-h periods. Pulsatile secretion of alpha-MSH was found in all dogs, with wide variations in peak height. Plasma alpha-MSH levels were usually low (mean 15 pmol/l), but brief, distinct periods of increased plasma alpha-MSH concentrations as high as 489 pmol/l were found. Analysis of pulse frequency revealed a mean of 4.75 significant alpha-MSH peaks/24 h. The highest alpha-MSH peaks were associated with definite changes in the plasma concentrations of ACTH. In separate studies, the influence of dexamethasone on the 6-h secretory profiles and on the haloperidol-stimulated secretion of alpha-MSH, ACTH, and cortisol was investigated. In these two studies, plasma ACTH was measured by a highly sensitive immunoradiometric assay. Dexamethasone pretreatment significantly suppressed the plasma concentrations of ACTH, cortisol, and alpha-MSH to 10.3%, 3.9%, and 74.6% respectively. Dexamethasone pretreatment also significantly reduced the haloperidol-stimulated secretion of ACTH and cortisol, but had no influence on the haloperidol-stimulated secretion of alpha-MSH. After the administration of haloperidol to the dexamethasone-pretreated dogs, there were small increases in the plasma concentrations of ACTH and cortisol, the latter being significant. These data demonstrate that alpha-MSH is secreted spontaneously in a pulsatile manner in the dog and suggest that the canine PI contributes to circulating ACTH concentrations.
The Role of Real Wages, Productivity, and Fiscal Policy in Germany's Great Depression 1928-1937

We study the behavior of output, employment, consumption, and investment in Germany during the Great Depression of 1928-37. In this time period, real wages were countercyclical, and productivity and fiscal policy were procyclical. We use the neoclassical growth model to investigate how much these factors contribute to the Depression. We find that real wages, which were significantly above their market clearing levels, were the most important factor for the economic decline in the Depression. Changes in productivity and fiscal policy were also important for the decline and recovery. Even though our analysis is limited to a small number of factors, the model accounts surprisingly well for the Depression in Germany.
Social Security Reform with Self-Control Preferences

This paper analyzes a fully funded social security system under the assumption that agents face temptation issues. Agents are required to save through individually managed Personal Security Accounts without, and with mandatory annuitization. When the analysis is restricted to CRRA preferences our results are congruent with the literature in indicating that the complete elimination of social security is among the reform scenarios that maximize welfare. However, when self control preferences are introduced, and as the intensity of self control becomes progressively more severe the "social security elimination" scenario loses ground very rapidly. In fact, in the case of relatively severe temptation the elimination of social security becomes the least desirable alternative. Under the light of the above findings, any reform proposal regarding the social security system should consider departures from standard preferences to preference specifications suitable for dealing with preference reversals.
Modulations in Cell-Mediated Immunity of Mytilus Edulis Following the ‘Sea Empress’ Oil Spill

The ‘Sea Empress’ oil tanker grounded outside Milford Haven (Wales, UK) in February 1996, spilling ~70,000 tonnes of crude oil and contaminating over 100 km of coastline, causing mass mortalities and standings of at least 11 mollusc species. Intensive field monitoring commenced after the spill, examining immunity and hydrocarbon levels in the mussel, Mytilus edulis (Mollusca: Bivalvia), a commercially-harvested species which can accumulate contaminants. Comparisons of mussels from oiled and reference sites revealed significant modulations in cell-mediated immunity. Elevations in blood cell (haemocyte) numbers and decreases in superoxide generation and phagocytosis were identified in contaminated animals. The immune response of contaminated mussels gradually improved and generally showed no significant differences compared with clean mussels after 11 weeks. By then, total hydrocarbon content in contaminated mussels had declined by 70–90%, while polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content had decreased by over 90%.
Exploiting Inter-Processor-Interrupts for Virtual-Time Coordination in Speculative Parallel Discrete Event Simulation

Reducing the waste of resource usage (e.g., CPU-cycles) when a causality error occurs in speculative parallel discrete event simulation (PDES) is still a core objective. In this article, we target this objective in the context of speculative PDES run on top of shared-memory machines. We propose an Operating System approach that is based on the exploitation of the Inter-Processor-Interrupt (IPI) facility offered by off-the-shelf hardware chipsets, which enables cross-CPU-core control of the execution flow of threads. As soon as a thread T produces a new event placed in the past virtual time of a simulation object currently run by another thread T', our IPI-based support allows T to change the execution flow of T'---with very minimal delay---so to enable the early squash of the currently processed (and no longer consistent) event. Our solution is fully transparent to the application level code, and is coupled with a lightweight heuristic-based mechanism that determines the actual goodness of killing thread T' via the IPI (rather than skipping the IPI send) depending on the expected residual execution time of the incorrect event being processed. We integrated our proposal within the speculative open-source USE (Ultimate Share Everything) PDES package, and we report experimental results obtained by running various PDES models on top of two shared-memory hardware architectures equipped with 32 and 24 (48 Hyper-threads) CPU-cores, which demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposal.