Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alternative Risk-Based Levies in the Pension Protection Fund for Multi-Employee Schemes

This paper examines the basis of the annual levies paid to the UK's Pension Protection Fund by the Universities Superannuation Scheme, a multi-employer scheme covering approximately 380 universities and related institutions. The paper compares the payments between the two alternative participating arrangements for multi-employer pension schemes to the PPF, namely Last-Man-Standing and Segmented levies. Using an Ohlson (1980) logit model to predict the insolvency risk for higher education institutions, we find that financially distressed institutions are smaller, with higher leverage and lower earnings. By comparing the implied insolvency probabilities from the PPF risk-based levy using USS accounts with the simulated probabilities using our logit model, we estimate whether USS levies are fairly priced. Our estimates suggest that in 2006/07 USS member institutions appeared to be paying less than the fair risk-based levy. However this is because during the initial phase of the PPF the risk based levies were much lower as a proportion of the total levy than the intended steady-state values. The implication is that if USS had paid the same total levy but where the risk-based component was four fifths of the total, then USS would have been paying substantially more than its fair risk based levy. In addition by looking at the distributions of individual university risk-based levies under a segmented PPF arrangement, we find evidence of significant cross-subsidies under the current last-man-standing levy between participating USS institutions.
Life History Patterns of Nearctic Mountain Midges (Diptera:Deuterophlebiidae)

Mountain midges (Diptera:Deuterophlebiidae) are widespread and seasonally abundant in streams of western North America. As part of a comprehensive systematic investigation of the Deuterophlebiidae, I examined the life histories of all Nearctic species, including aspects of habitat, reproductive biology, and phenology. Collection techniques were also evaluated. This paper is based on qualitative data obtained during a seven-year period (1981-1988) and from more than 500 collection sites, and on a quantitative phenological study in 1986 of 17 populations from the Pacific Northwest. Deuterophlebiids generally are considered stenobionts, requiring cold, mountain streams; however, many species inhabit a diversity of stream types, from small, high-gradient creeks to large, low-gradient rivers. The immature stages of all species are restricted to riffle habitats where current velocities typically exceed 1 m/s. Adult mountain midges exhibit marked diel synchrony, with emergence, flight, and mating during only the early morning. Flight behaviour of the short-lived adults is distinct and includes formation of male swarms. Field and laboratory observations show that females shed their wings and select oviposition sites underwater. Asynchronous life histories are typical of Nearctic species, with egg-hatching and adult emergence usually extending 2-3 mo. This strategy is adaptive for populations in the Pacific Northwest, where unpredictable spring spates may scour substrates and cause correspondingly high mortality of stream benthos. Univoltine life histories are typical of Nearctic mountain midges, though variation from this pattern was seen in three populations. Temporal, habitat and/or reproductive isolation of sympatric deuterophlebiids, blepharicerids, and other torrenticolous insects was evident in many streams.
Differences in telomerase expression by the CD1a+ cells in Langerhans cell histiocytosis reflect the diverse clinical presentation of the disease

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a disease characterized by an uncontrolled clonal proliferation of Langerhans cells, whose aetiology is still unclear. The clonal nature of LCH could support the hypothesis that it is a neoplastic disease with unlimited growth potential. One requirement for unlimited proliferation is the maintenance of telomere length. In a group of 70 patients, we set out to investigate whether a telomere maintenance mechanism is indeed active in LCH cells. This work showed that LCH cells from all restricted skin LCH lesions (6/6) expressed telomerase as assessed by human telomere reverse transcriptase (hTERT) immunohistochemistry, whereas LCH cells from the majority of the bone lesions analysed did not express hTERT (26/34). Interestingly, in contrast to the solitary bone lesions, LCH cells from lesions of multi‐system patients always expressed telomerase (11/11), regardless of the lesional site. In situ telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assays performed on different lesional sites showed that this telomerase was active. In addition, the telomere length of LCH cells from a hTERT‐positive skin multi‐system lesion was long and homogeneous when compared to that in the LCH cells from hTERT‐negative bone single‐system LCH lesions, which was heterogeneous in length. No evidence for an alternative lengthening of telomeres mechanism was found in hTERT‐negative lesions. The difference in telomerase expression and telomere length at the different lesional sites and in biopsies from patients with solitary versus multi‐system disease appears to reflect the diverse clinical presentation and course of this disease. The results from this study have important implications for understanding the nature of this disease. Copyright © 2007 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Triton X-100-Resistant Bilayers: Effect of Lipid Composition and Relevance to the Raft Phenomenon

The molecular basis for the existence of the so-called “detergent-resistant membranes” has been explored. With that aim, vesicles composed of phosphatidylcholine, sphingolipid, and cholesterol were treated with the nonionic detergent Triton X-100 either at 4 °C or at 37 °C and tested for solubilization using turbidity and centrifugation methods. Bilayer fluidity was systematically measured as fluorescence anisotropy of a diphenylhexatriene derivative of phosphatidylcholine. Putative sphingomyelin−cholesterol interactions were explored using IR spectroscopy. The combined experimental evidence clearly indicates that these lipid mixtures are solubilized more easily at 4 °C than at 37 °C, that an increased membrane fluidity does not correlate with an easier solubilization, and that sphingomyelin−cholesterol interactions are essential for insolubility. Sphingolipids by themselves do not hinder detergent solubilization, and some of them, e.g., gangliosides, actually increase bilayer solubility in the presence o.
The ultrastructure of the central zone cells of the shoot apex of Helianthus annuus

An ultrastructural study of the vegetative shoot apex of Helianthus annuus L. cv. Peredovic has shown that in most respects the cytoplasmic components of the central zone cells were similar to those of the mitotically active peripheral zone cells. For example, the mitochondria, dictyosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes, and microtubules were not different either in their structure or in distribution in the two types of cells. The only striking difference found was the presence of starch-containing plastids in the central zone, primarily in the two tunica layers in this region, and their absence from peripheral and immediately subjacent regions of the meristem. Starch-containing plastids were observed in the differentiating pith cells. Plasmodesmata were observed in the central zone and in walls between central and peripheral zone cells.
Molecular obesity, potency and other addictions in drug discovery

Despite the increase in global biology and chemistry knowledge the discovery of effective and safe new drugs seems to become harder rather than easier. Some of this challenge is due to increasing demands for safety and novelty, but some of the risk involved in this should be controllable if we had more effectively learnt from our failures. This perspective reflects on some of the learnings of recent years in relation to the causes of attrition. The term Molecular Obesity is introduced to describe our tendency to build potency into molecules by the inappropriate use of lipophilicity which leads to the premature demise of drug candidates.
Metabolisable energy requirements for maintenance and gain of liveweight of Bali cattle (Bos javanicus)

A series of liveweight gain (LWG), feed and water intake and digestibility experiments were conducted across eastern Indonesia. Thirty-six datasets of LWG, feed and water intake, and diet characteristics were used to determine the nutritional requirements of growing Bali cattle fed a wide range of diets that varied in crude protein content and apparent dry matter digestibility. Regression of average daily LWG against estimated metabolisable energy (ME) intake was conducted, and the ME requirements for maintenance of liveweight (LW, 0 kg/day) and LWG were determined. It was estimated that the ME required to maintain LW of this class of Bali cattle, across the range of diets evaluated, was 0.47 MJ ME/kg LW0.75. day and that 34 MJ ME was required for each kg LWG, or 29 g LWG/MJ ME. The relationship between estimated ME intake and LWG was not affected by the crude protein content of the diet. The data demonstrate that ME requirements for maintenance of LW of Bali cattle are comparable with values for other cattle species, but that this class of Bali cattle is generally less efficient in the use of ME for LWG across the range of diets evaluated.
A study of succession on lowland heaths in Dorset, southern England: changes in vegetation and soil chemical properties

Lowland heaths are high-profile ecosystems for conservation action in England, but they are under threat from invasion by Betula spp. , Pinus sylvestris, Pteridium aquilinum, Rhododendron ponticum and Ulex europaeus. Ten heathland sites in the Poole Basin area of Dorset, where succession to one or other of the above species had occurred, were studied to examine the changes in vegetation and soil chemical properties. A series of hypotheses to explain (i) vegetation successional trajectories, and (ii) soil chemical properties associated with vegetation change were tested using multivariate models (DECORANA - vegetation; CANOCO - vegetation and soil). A range of pathways was found along which heathland communities move during succession, with some successional pathways remaining closer to heathland than others. The Betula spp. succession caused the greatest changes in terms of the vegetation present. The Ulex europaeus and Pinus sylvestris trajectories retained some typical heathland species. Different soil nutrients were found to increase along different successional pathways, which were associated with the different successional species invading. Pinus sylvestris had similar soil nutrient concentrations to those of the heathland. Sodium concentrations increased during the Rhododendron ponticum succession. Concentrations of ammonium-nitrogen and nitrate/nitrite-nitrogen increased during the Pteridium aquilinum and Ulex europaeus succession. The Betula spp. had the greatest effect on the soil nutrients with increased pH, extractable phosphorus and exchangeable calcium. The results are discussed in relation to practical heathland management and the restoration of heathland after succession. Specifically, it is more sensible and cost-effective to restore heathland on sites where Pinus sylvestris successions have occurred, than where Betula spp. successions have occurred.
The Emerging Aversion to Inequality: Evidence from Poland 1992-2005

This paper provides an illustration of the changing tolerance for inequality in a context of radical political and economic transformation and rapid economic growth. We focus on the Polish experience of transition and explore self-declared attitudes of the citizens. Using monthly representative surveys of the population, realized by the Polish poll institute (CBOS) from 1992 to 2005, we identify a structural break in the relation between income inequality and subjective evaluation of well-being. The downturn in the tolerance for inequality (1997) coincides with the increasing distrust of political elites.
Motivation Governance

Standard economics uses a one-dimensional concept of motivation. It assumes that people are perfectly rational and are solely motivated in a selfish way. This essay argues that people differ in their preferences with respect to pro-social orientations, that preferences are plastic and systematically susceptible to the design of institutions, working conditions, and the quality of human interactions, that individuals partly lack self-control in following their preferences, and that preferences often are not known to the individuals and are wrongly interpreted. We discuss measures for motivation governance derived from the insights of psychological economics.
A "Quantum" Approach to Rational Inattention

In this paper, I propose a model of rational inattention where the choice variable is a deterministic function of the exogenous variables, and still only a finite amount of information is being used. This holds provided the choice variable is discrete rather than continuous; that is, the mapping from the realization of the exogenous variables to the endogenous ones is piece-wise constant. Thus, limited information is now a source of lumpiness in behavior, rather than a source of noise. A central result is that the mutual information between the exogenous variable and the endogenous one is simply equal to the entropy, in the usual discrete sense, of the endogenous variable. The approach is illustrated with two applications: a general linear-quadratic problem with a uniform distribution, and a simple static model of price-setting where individual price setters face aggregate monetary shocks and idiosyncratic productivity shocks.
Trait assembly of woody plants in communities across sub‐alpine gradients: Identifying the role of limiting similarity

Questions - Plant species can be assembled into communities through habitat filtering or species competition, but their relative roles are still debated. We do not know whether there is limited similarity between co-existing species when accounting for the parallel effect of abiotic habitat filtering and biotic competition. By accounting for such effects, we test the predictions of three theories (classic niche theory, the Hubbell neutrality theory and the Scheffer and van Nes theory) of community assembly. Location - Two vegetation transitions (a grazing gradient and a timber line ecotone) in a sub-alpine area of western Sichuan Province, China (31° 51'N, 102° 41'E). Methods - We used a null model to investigate the above plant community assembly theories on two sub-alpine gradients of woody vegetation. In the null model, species traits were constrained between the maximum and minimum trait values of observed communities to test the principle of limiting similarity between co-existing species by testing for even spacing of traits. We analysed traits characterizing growth strategies of stems, leaves and twigs, measured at the level of individuals in situ. Results - After accounting for variations in trait range, it became evident that six out of eight traits showed significantly uneven spacing within some plots, notably towards the forest end of the gradient, i.e. under increased competition pressure among woody plants. The Wilcoxon rank test showed that seven out of eight traits were significantly unevenly spaced within plots. The two transitions studied showed surprisingly similar patterns, despite their dissimilar precise drivers.
Calculating Welfare Costs of Inflation in a Search Model with Preference Heterogeneity: A Calibration Exercise

Using US cross‐sectional data, this paper calculates the welfare cost of a 10 percent inflation for different individuals and finds that the difference in cost between the poorest 20 percent, measured by their net worth, and the richest 20 percent is in the order of 102 percent. That is, a poor person is on average willing to forgive 102 percent more of their total consumption in order to have inflation reduced from 10 percent to 0. In absolute terms this represents a cost of 0.461 percent of consumption for the poorest and 0.228 percent for the richest. I accomplish this by introducing preference heterogeneity in a monetary search model first developed by Lagos and Wright, and calibrate the model to match each agent's type of cash holdings, approximated by their holdings in transactional accounts that bear almost no interest, as a fraction of their net worth using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances. I also show that this welfare difference increases to 130 percent (2.28 percent for the poorest 20 percent and 0.992 percent for the richest 20 percent) whenever frictions in the use of money are imposed (holdup problem). This distributional effect is further augmented if more frictions in the terms of trade are present. The ability to explicitly model these frictions is the advantage of using this model. Hence, inflation in this framework, as other studies have shown, acts as a regressive consumption tax; and this regressiveness is augmented with the holdup problem.
Dunaliella salina (Chlorophyceae) Affects the Quality of NaCl Crystals

Abstract The green alga Dunaliella salina is a common inhabitant of crystallizers in solar saltworks. Although its presence has been associated with low salt quality, little is known about the mechanism through which Dunaliella causes such effect. It has been suggested that the release of organic matter from healthy D. salina cells interferes with NaCl crystallization. With the intention to cast some light on this matter, we grew D. salina cells at different [NaCl] (0.3, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 M), in the presence of either NO3- or NH4+, in conditions that, although strongly hyperaline, were mild enough to minimize cell lysis and substantial spill over of cytosolic sap. The two N treatments were done because the N-source was shown to influence organic release from D. salina. We then attempted to link this physiological information to the information to the quality of NaCl crystals. In order to reduce the impact of inter-crystal inclusion and focus on the structure of the crystalline reticulum, the volume of water used for the production of crystals was as small as possible. Photosynthesis (as chlorophyll variable fluorescence associated with photosystem II), cell organic (as determined by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, FTIR) and elemental (measured by total reflection X ray fluorescence spectrometry, TXRF) composition were analyzed at the beginning and in the middle of the exponential growth phase, and in the stationary phase. The quality of the crystals obtained from sterile media and from D. salina growth media was studied by optical microscopy (to determine the shape of the crystals) and by X-ray diffractometry. Our results demonstrate that the presence of D. salina cells is directly connected to alterations of NaCl crystalline structure (specifically of crystallite size) and with the quantity and quality of contaminants in the salt.
EU Structural Funds and Spain's Objective 1 Regions: An Analysis Based on the Hermin Model

This paper presents an empirical evaluation of the economic effects of the Structural Funds received by the Spain's Objective 1 regions through the Community Support Framework (CSF). The empirical results suggest that the funds have significantly contributed to economic growth, as well as to wealth and employment creation. Compared to a scenario without CSFs, the successive investment programmes from 1989 to 2006 would represent an average increase of 0.56 percentage points in the growth rates of the Spanish recipient regions. This increase would translate to an average increase in per capita income of 425 euros at 1999 prices. In terms of the labour market, the CSF has maintained or generated an increase of 1.46 per cent in employment compared to an alternative scenario without CSF. This in turn would represent an average reduction of 0.74 percentage points in the unemployment rate during the aforementioned period.
Seasonal infertility in Kenyan pig breeding units : research communication

Reproductive performance of 12 Kenyan pig breeding units (56-299 sows per unit) of similar feeding, genetics and health status were evaluated from October 2003 to October 2004 during hot and cooler periods. Sows during cooler months of the year (April to October, average temperature between 08:00 and 17:00: 25.2 + 2.2 °C) had shorter ( P < 0.01) weaning to service intervals (7.9 + 2.2 days vs 12.7 + 2.7 days, respectively), less ( P < 0.01) regular returns to service (5.7 + 1.9 % vs 9.9 + 1.9 %, respectively), higher ( P < 0.01) farrowing rates (80.1 + 4.4 % vs 70.8 + 3.8 %, respectively), and larger born (10.0 + 1.1 vs 9.1 + 1.7, P < 0.05) and weaned litter sizes (9.2 + 1.2 vs 8.0 + 1.3, P < 0.05) compared with the time periods of high ambient temperature (November to March, between 08:00 and 17:00: 37.2 + 3.3 °C). It was concluded that a high ambient temperature is a risk factor for reproductive performance in pig breeding units.
Does Trade Credit Facilitate Access to Bank Finance? An Empirical Evidence from Portuguese and Spanish Small Medium Size Enterprises

To assess the existence of credit rationing, we examine if trade credit is a substitute and/or a complement to bank credit. Using a data set of Portuguese and Spanish small and medium sized enterprises, and controlling for endogeneity problems by using GMM estimators, our results confirm the existence of credit rationing. This effect is particularly strong for firms that maintain an exclusive relationship with one bank, which indicate a greater severity of adverse selection problems for those firms. However, our results indicate that the substitution and complementary hypothesis are not mutually exclusive, especially for the younger and smaller firms.