Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling and Forecasting the Conditional Heteroscedasticity of Stock Returns Using Asymmetric Models : Empirical Evidence from Ghana and Nigeria

This paper examines and evaluates the performance of asymmetric first order generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH 1, 1) models for Ghana and Nigeria stock market returns. We employed the Glosten Jagannathan and Runkle (GJR) version of GARCH (GJR-GARCH) and Exponential GARCH (EGARCH) methodology to investigate the leverage effect of return volatility in Ghana and Nigeria stock markets using Gaussian, Student-t and Generalised Error Distribution (GED) densities. Our evidence shows that both the GJR and EGARCH models capture the leverage effect of Ghana's Stock Exchange Broad Market Index (GSEI) returns, which indicates that negative shocks imply a higher next period conditional variance than positive shocks of the same magnitude. However, our results in Nigeria show that the market exhibits a reverse volatility asymmetry in contravention of the widely accepted theory. According to the different measures used to evaluate the volatility forecast performance, the EGARCH provides the best out-of-sample forecast for the Ghanaian stock market, while the GJR gives a better estimation for the Nigerian stock market.
Investigating the Possible Added Value of Hydroponically Produced Lettuce over Soil Produce

: Hydroponic is a subset of hydroculture; a plant growing method without soil using mineral nutrient solutions, with advantages including saving water, better growth rate, weeds-free environment, fewer pests and diseases. Lettuce is a vegetable crop that can be grown in hydroponic system. This research investigated the possible added value of hydroponic compared to conventional culturing on lettuce production. The experimental design was randomized blocks with two treatments and triplicates. Hydroponic culture improved lettuce fresh weight, roots’ length, leaves number and leaf area, while soil culture produced lettuce with higher dry biomass leaves and root systems. The levels of vitamin C, total phenolic compounds and chlorophyll in hydroponically produced lettuce were 7, 42 and 270 mg/100g leaf fresh weight, respectively, while these were 12, 55 and 350 mg/g leaf fresh in conventionally produced lettuce, respectively. Hydroponic system shortened the time needed to reach the harvesting stage, produced best vegetative growth with higher fresh weight of whole plant, leaf and root, longer roots with higher leaves number and larger leaves area and no pests were observed.
Optimal Monetary Policy In A Model With Habit Formation

A number of recent papers have explored monetary policy options, including inflation targeting and inflation forecast targeting (notably Svensson (1998, 1999, 2000)) and price level targeting (Wolman 1999, Batini and Yates 1999, Blinder 1999). Most papers explore ``optimal'' monetary policy in the context of a single model. However, a number of conclusions made in the literature depend strongly on the model specification used. In addition, most papers have used the efficient policy frontier concept to define optimal monetary policy. This paper investigates the behavior of a variety of small structural macro models under a variety of targeting rules. The paper examines both minimum variance policy frontiers and utility-maximizing policy. In the latter case, an explicit model of consumer behavior with inflation-induced tax distortions is explored.
Routing of Heterogeneous Sediments over Movable Bed: Model Development

A one‐dimensional numerical model of sediment routing is derived to simulate erosion, transport, and deposition of individual size‐density fractions in the bed material within a relatively straight, nonbifurcating alluvial channel. The reach of interest is subdivided into a number of longitudinal elements of varying width‐averaged properties. During each time step, flow depths and velocities in each element are determined from the gradually varied flow equation using the standard step method for backwater calculations. The bedload transport rate of each size fraction is calculated from a modified Bagnold equation implementing a novel approach that takes into consideration the effects of turbulent fluctuations in the bed shear stress. Critical shear stresses for entrainment of particles from the mixed bed are determined using relationships that treat grain protrusion and hiding. The transport of particles in suspension is modeled using a convection‐diffusion sediment continuity equation, either explicitly .
Discriminant factors of flood insurance demand for flood‐hit residential properties: a case for Malaysia

Securing flood insurance for real estate properties in flood‐hit areas is rather uncertain under the Malaysian scenario. This study attempts to identify the demand‐side factors of flood insurance in coastal residential areas, and to examine how these factors differentiate between two groups of respondents, namely flood insurance purchasers and non‐purchasers, using discriminant analysis. Tests using Wilks' lambda, eigenvalues, canonical correlation, functions at group centroids, and classification accuracy have provided strong evidence of significant differences between the two groups based on physical exposure/susceptibility to flood, resilience/adaptive capacity to flood, and overall perception of vulnerability. The most important variables accounting for group differences were low‐elevation house site, flood depth entering house, perception about high‐priced flood insurance, and level of income. The likelihood of purchasing flood insurance increased with higher physical exposure/susceptibility and overall perception of vulnerability. Resilience/adaptive capacity to flood event also increased with higher levels of income and education.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Working Paper Series Relative Status and Well-being: Evidence from U.s. Suicide Deaths Relative Status and Well-being: Evidence from U.s. Suicide Deaths Relative Status and Well-being: Evidence from U.s. Suicide Deaths

The views in this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco or the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Abstract: This paper assesses the importance of interpersonal income comparisons using individual level data on suicide deaths. Our analysis considers whether suicide risk is systematically related to the income of others, holding own income and other individual and environmental factors fixed. We estimate proportional hazards and probit models of the suicide hazard using two separate and independent data sets: (1) the National Longitudinal Mortality Study and (2) the National Center for Health Statistics' Mortality Detail Files combined with the 5 percent Public Use Micro Sample of the 1990 decennial census. Results from both data sources show that, controlling for own income and individual characteristics, individual suicide risk rises with reference group income. This result holds for reference groups defined either by county or more narrowly by county and one demographic marker (e.g., age, sex, race). These findings are robust to alternative specifications and cannot be explained by geographic variation in cost of living, access to emergency medical care, or suicide misclassification. Our results support findings using self-reported happiness data and are consistent with models of utility featuring " external habit " or " Keeping Up with the Joneses " preferences.
Effect of strenuous maternal exercise on progeny renal function Effect of strenuous maternal exercise before and during pregnancy on rat progeny renal function

The effects of strenuous exercise before and during pregnancy on the renal function and morphological alterations of the progeny were determined in a study on female Wistar rats. This research was done based on a previous study carried out in our laboratory, which showed morphological alterations in rats submitted to this kind of exercise. As the form is related to the function, the physiological relevance of submitting a pregnant female to a high-intensity exercise training regimen could be explained by the fact that morphological alterations can influence kidney function. The animals were assigned to one of two groups: control animals that did not exercise during pregnancy and trained animals that swam for 120 min 5 days a week for 8 weeks before pregnancy and daily for 60 min over a period of 8 weeks starting on the second day of pregnancy. Seven rats of each group were analyzed for morphological alterations and for renal function. The progeny of the rats used for morphological evaluation were born by cesarean section and the progeny of the animals used to evaluate renal function were born normally. The progeny were two months old when renal function was evaluated. Fertility and morbidity were the same for both groups. Strenuous maternal exercise had no significant influence on glomerular filtration rate (GFR) but renal plasma flow was lower in the progeny of the trained group (mean ± SD, 16.65 ± 3.77 ml min-1 kg-1) compared to the progeny of the control group (33.42 ± 2.56 ml min-1 kg-1). Antidiuretic and antinatriuretic effects on the progeny of the trained group were observed, since urine flow as percentage of GFR and the fraction of urinary sodium excretion were lower in this group (1.38 ± 0.10 and 0.60 ± 0.04%, respectively) compared to the progeny of the control group (2.36 ± 0.11 and 1.55 ± 0.20%, respectively). Moreover, in this exercise program, fetuses from trained animals were small-sized (2.45 ± 0.19 vs 4.66 ± 2.45 g for control animals) and showed lower differentiation compared to fetuses from the control group. These effects were probably caused by caloric restriction, hypoxia and reduction of umbilical cord length. Correspondence
Change in Spring Meridional Circulation and Its Relation to Summer Typhoon Activities

Abstract This study documents the decadal changes of the spring meridional circulation (SMC) over 110°E-165°E and the relationship between the SMC and summer (June-July-August-September) typhoon activity over the Western North Pacific (WNP) during 1948–2010. The authors found that the SMC was changed after 1969. Before its change, the SMC had no clear relation with the summer typhoon number over the WNP (TNWNP), but after the change, it has become positively correlated with the TNWNP, with a correlation coefficient of 0.57 between them (above the 99% confidence level). It was ob-served that after the SMC was changed, the positive tropical sea surface temperature anomaly associated with the SMC was shifted from the Equatorial Eastern Pacific (El Niño) to the equatorial middle Pacific (El Niño Modoki); at the same time, the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) pattern over the North Pacific, which is associated with the SMC, was enhanced. The SMC and the TNWNP are both modulated by the El Niño Modoki after 1969, so the relationship between them becomes significant.
The Transcription Factor Snail Mediates Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transitions by Repression of Estrogen Receptor -

The estrogen receptor (ER)(ESR1) is a key regulatory molecule in mammary epithelial cell development. Loss of ERin breast cancer is correlated with poor prognosis, increased recurrence after treatment, and an elevated incidence of metastasis. A proposed molecular pathway by which ERacts to constrain invasive growth in breast cancer cells involves direct, ER-dependent expression of metastasis-associated protein 3, a celltype-specific component of the Mi-2/NuRD chromatin remodeling complex. MTA3 in turn represses expression of Snail, a transcription factor linked to epithelial to mesenchymal transition and cancer metastasis. To elucidate its role(s) in epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), we expressed Snail in the noninvasive, ER-positive MCF-7 cell line. Snail expression led to decreased cell-cell adhesion and increased cell invasiveness. Furthermore, we observed loss of ERexpression at both the RNA and protein level that was accompanied by direct interaction of Snail with regulatory DNA sequences at the ESR1 locus. A consequence of loss of ERfunction in this system was the increased abundance of key components of the TGFsignaling pathway. Thus, cross-talk among ER, Snail, and the TGFpathway appears to control critical phenotypic properties of breast cancer cells. (Molecular Endocrinology 21: 2907–2918, 2007)
Daily covariations in near‐surface relative humidity and temperature over the ocean

[1] Changes in atmospheric relative humidity in concert with temperature changes in a future climate may have large consequences for the water vapor feedback, the hydrological cycle, and its interaction with weather systems. This study contributes to the basic understanding of the relationship between temperature and humidity by investigating the processes leading to synoptic-scale covariations of the two variables close to the ocean surface. Daily data from in situ observations between 10°S and 50°N and global ERA-Interim reanalyses are used. Correlations between temperature and both specific and relative humidity are calculated. The results from the two data sets appear to be greatly consistent. They show strong anticorrelation between temperature and relative humidity (RH) in the inner tropics with minimum correlation coefficients below −0.8. In midlatitudes, there are large areas where the correlation coefficient of temperature and RH is positive and greater than 0.6. The anticorrelation in the tropics is found to be related to convective precipitation, which, on the one hand, leads to local temperature decrease due to vertical mixing and reduction of solar radiation by clouds. On the other hand, rainfall is associated with an increase in boundary layer RH. Over the midlatitude ocean, daily temperature variations are mainly controlled by meridional transport, as shown with the help of backward trajectories. Moreover, advection of cold air typically goes along with vertical moisture transport, either due to large-scale subsidence or turbulent mixing, causing a reduction of near-surface RH. All together, this dynamical effect induces the positive temperature-RH correlation.
Regional Settlement Patterns and Political Complexity in the Cinti Valley, Bolivia

Traditionally, scholars investigating prehispanic Andean polities and sociopolitical organization have worked from cross-cultural models of complex societies underlain by concepts of political hierarchy and centralized control. Recently, however, some archaeologists, drawing from ethnohistorical and ethnographic sources, have argued that late prehispanic polities in various parts of the Andes were organized around principles very different from those that underlie traditional constructs of complex societies. This ethnohistoric evidence raises the possibility that the models of political organization often used by archaeologists are not adequate to account for the development and dynamics of all prehispanic Andean polities.Ethnohistoric sources portray the structure and dynamics of the "ethnic kingdoms" as rooted in still poorly understood indigenous principles of organization featuring nested, dual socio-territorial units (ayllus), decentralized political leadership, and confederation as the basis of hierarchy. To date, there has been very little study of what these polities would look like archeologically, or how the supposedly different principles of organization would manifest themselves in a regional settlement structure, wealth and status differentiation, or production and exchange patterns. Ethnohistoric documentation for the existence of ayllu polities in the Cinti region, southern Bolivia, made this area a prime setting for exploration of the archaeological ramifications of traditional and ayllu-based models. Full-scale regional survey and excavation generated data on the long-term evolution of sociopolitical structure and economic processes in the Cinti Valley. The investigation was organized around identifying strategies (economic and social) associated with political leadership, and their role in politico-economic centralization and social differentiation. The research revealed the emergence, by AD 800, of a strongly integrated, regional polity, characterized by a traditional settlement hierarchy, and elite residence at a dominant center. Catchment zone analysis indicated that increasing agricultural production was most closely linked to strategies of political leadership and status differentiation. The Cinti Valley investigation served to refine our understanding of the ayllu polity both as an archaeological model, and as a form of prehispanic political organization. Highlighting the convergence and divergence between emic constructs and empirical regional patterns should contribute to a better understanding of the nature and variability of southern Bolivian prehispanic societies, and how they should be archaeologically approached.
Sun-protective behaviors in populations at high risk for skin cancer

: Over 3 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the US annually. Melanoma, a subtype of skin cancer that can be fatal if the disease is not detected and treated at an early stage, is the most common cancer for those aged 25–29 years and the second most common cancer in adolescents and young adults aged 15–29 years. The primary carcinogen for the genesis of skin cancers is ultraviolet light from solar radiation and tanning beds. In spite of massive health campaigns to raise public awareness on ultraviolet radiation, sun-protective practices still fall behind. A plausible explanation is the lack of behavioral change in the populations at risk; in this review article, we examine sun-protective behavior in the four high-risk skin cancer groups: skin cancer survivors, individuals with a family history of melanoma, individuals with physical characteristics associated with skin cancer risk, and organ transplantation patients. Findings in the literature demonstrate that increased knowledge and awareness does not consequently translate into behavioral changes in practice. Behavior can differ as a result of different attitudes and beliefs, depending on the population at risk. Thus, intervention should be tailored to the population targeted. A multidisciplinary health team providing consultation and education is required to influence these much needed changes.
Two‐ship deep seismic soundings in the basins of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (Pasiphae cruise)

SUMMARY New results from a two-ship refraction and oblique reflection deep seismic cruise are presented to discuss the nature of the crust in the Ionian, Sirte and Herodotus abyssal plains. These expanding spread profiles were processed and analysed in both the x–t and p domains. Arrival times of reflected and refracted branches are matched by ray tracing in both domains. In spite of a shallow evaporitic sequence (messinian evaporites) deposited on top of a thick sedimentary pile responsible for velocity inversions on many profiles, we obtain excellent velocity control down to Moho depth. PmP and Pn (8.4–8.6 km s-1) arrivals are observed. The three basins have a relatively thin crust (8 to 11 km) overlain by a thick sedimentary cover, up to 10km in the Herodotus abyssal plain. The Moho boundary and main crustal units identified in the basins can be followed beneath the Calabrian prism to the west, and beneath the Mediterranean Ridge to the east. The crustal structure is of oceanic type for both the Ionian and Sirte basins, where typical oceanic layer 2 and 3 are recognized. The thin crust of the Herodotus basin may be interpreted either as oceanic or thinned continental crust (about 10 km thick). The top of the crust of the Herodotus basin is much deeper. Therefore, the Herodotus basin is probably significantly older than the Ionian basin, Triassic versus Early Cretaceous in age.
Clay mineral occurrence and burial transformations: reservoir potential of the Permo‐Triassic sediments of the Iberian Range

The diagenetic evolution of Permian (Autunian and Saxonian) and Triassic (Buntsandstein) sandstones and mudrocks have been studied over 1000 m sequence from the Sigüenza 44‐3 drill core in the Iberian Range, Spain. We compare and contrast the diagenetic processes in these different lithologies and the timing of clay mineral formation. Moreover, we establish the relationship between clay mineral diagenesis and reservoir potential. Both the Permian and Triassic successions are characterised by conglomerates, sandstones and interbedded mudstones of fluvial origin that change upwards into distal deposits of a fluvio‐deltaic system. The clay minerals are illite, illite‐smectite mixed layers, kaolinite and dickite. The illite content in all sequences is not related to diminished feldspars; it is owing to the initial detrital mineralogical composition of the Autunian sandstones. The effect of feldspar alteration to kaolin minerals has a strong influence on the lost of porosity‐permeability in the Saxonian facies. In contrast, illite and mixed layers illite‐smectite are the main clay rims preserving porosity in the Buntsandstein sandstones. However, fibrous illite is the dominant pore‐filling in the Permian Autunian facies, closing porosity and permeability. Kaolinite and dickite show opposite trends: dickite increases yet kaolinite decreases from Triassic to Permian sandstones. Dickite replaced kaolinite during burial‐thermal evolution of the succession. The δD and δ18O isotopic signatures from silt and clay fractions indicate a mixture of meteoric and marine waters, and suggest a minimum temperature range between 60 and 150 °C for diagenetic pore fluids. The Permian δD values (−24‰ to −44‰) are relatively similar to Buntsandstein values (−24‰ to −37‰). However, the Permian δ18O values (+7.6 and +15.3, average of +13.3‰) are generally higher by ca. 6.2‰ compared to the Buntsandstein data (4.8–10.1‰, average +7.1‰). Such a variation is interpreted as the result of mesodiagenetic pore fluid changes. The extensive dickitisation of kaolinite is attributed to increased hydrogen ions resulting from maturation of organic matter. The vitrinite reflectance of organic matter and the modelled thermal history suggest a maximum burial of 3400 m, accomplished 70 Ma ago. The Permo‐Triassic reached the gas window shortly before major uplift, at 65 Ma, when further maturation and hydrocarbon expulsion ceased.