Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Responsiveness of Monetary Policy to Financial Stress: A Dynamic Panel Threshold Analysis

We examine the nature of monetary policy’s response to increases in financial stress across a panel of advanced and emerging economy central banks by employing a dynamic panel threshold methodology. We also allow for switches between regimes according to an estimated threshold value of financial stress. First, we find that the negative impact of financial stress on interest rate setting is more pronounced when financial stress is low for both advanced and emerging market central banks. Second, advanced economy central banks react to output developments countercyclically regardless of the financial cycle. Third, we find strong evidence of a shift to countercyclical monetary policy responses to financial stress and business cycle fluctuations for emerging market countries in the low-stress regime.
Varicocele and Male Infertility: Current Issues in Management-A Review

Varicocele is the most common correctable cause of male factor infertility. The role of varicocele in the etiology of male infertility is still controversial regarding to whom varicocelectomy should be done and the selection should be meticulous. With the recent advances in biomolecular and development of novel sperm functional tests, it has been possible to better understand the mechanism involved in damage provoked by varicocele and therefore, propose ways to reverse them. Clinical studies have shown that varicocele surgery can improve semen quality sufficient to downgrade the type of assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedure required. This reveiw discusses current concepts on the mechanisms for varicocele induced testicular damage and efficacy of varicocelectomy for treatment of infertility. We also review the current guidelines and need for proper case selection before surgery.The authors critically reviewed the cost effectiveness of the surgical treatment of a varicocele compared with assisted reproductive techniques.
A Constraint on Shocked Mineral Abundance in the Jack Hills Zircon Suite

Introduction: Numerous studies have confirmed that 3.0 Ga metasedimentary rocks from the Jack Hills, Western Australia, contain abundances of ~10% Hadean (>4.0 Ga) detrital zircons [1]. Detrital shocked zircons eroded from known impact structures such as Vredefort and Sudbury have been reported in modern siliciclastic deposits [2,3], including distal alluvium [4]. The Jack Hills zircon suite, which contains grains ranging in age from 4.4 to 3.0 Ga [1,5], thus offers an opportunity to evaluate if detrital shocked zircons eroded from Hadean impact structure are preserved. Here we report the results of an SEM survey of 1400 Jack Hills zircons for shock microstructures. No shocked grains were identified, which places a maximum constraint of ≤ 0.07% for the abundance of shocked zircons in the Jack Hills suite, if indeed they are found to be present. Earth's early impact history: The lack of a terrestrial rock record older than ~4.0 Ga hampers the study of early impact process. The oldest evidence of impact are ca. 3.5 Ga spherule deposits [6], however source craters have not been identified. The oldest shocked mineral is quartz from a 2.6 Ga spherule deposit [7], and the oldest confirmed and well-dated structure is the 2.0 Ga Vredefort Dome [8,9]. Detrital shocked minerals: Shocked minerals provide diagnostic evidence to confirm an impact [10]. Shocked zircons have been shown to survive postimpact thermal conditions, uplift, erosion, and distal sedimentary transport [2-4]. While quartz is susceptible to erosion, shock microstructures in zircon resist annealing [11,12]. Sample/Methods: The studied grains are from sample 01JH13 [13], the same layer as the well-known sample W74 [14]. The rock sample is a clast-supported quartz cobble metaconglomerate. Zircons were handpicked and mounted on scanning electron microscope (SEM) stubs for backscatter electron (BSE) imaging of grain surfaces. Results: A total of 1,400 undated detrital zircons were analyzed. Grain morphologies are variable, ranging from euhedral grains with little evidence of abrasion (Fig. 1a) to anhedral rounded grains. No shock microstructures were identified. Discussion: The absence of shocked zircons allows a constraint of ≤ 0.07% (less than 1 in 1400) to be placed on the abundance of shocked grains in this Jack Hills suite. Of the 1400 grains, 10% were likely Hadean; the maximum constraint for the Hadean grains is thus ≤ 0.7% (less than 1 in 140), if present. Figure 1. BSE images of detrital zircon grains from Jack Hills sample 01JH13 showing (a) euhedral and (b) anhedral morphologies.
The Distribution of Leafhopper Pests in Relation to Other Leafhoppers (Hemiptera; Cicadellidae)

A species-level database with countrylevel information was used to examine the global distribution patterns across biogeographic realms and across latitudes for 13,621 leafhopper species (among 2,016 genera and subgenera) and 148 known leafhopper vectors of phytopathogens. There were only seven cosmopolitan genera: Balclutha, Cicadella, Deltocephalus, Empoasca, Exitianus, Idiocerus, and Xestocephaltis. Cicadellid generic richness was highest in the Indomalaysian and Neotropical Realms. Deltocephaline genera peaked in the Nearctic and the typhlocybine genera peaked in the Indomalaysian Realm. The generic overlap among most biogeographic realms was low, with complementarity (distinctness) values over 90%. Geographical proximity between realms generally was directly proportional to their overlap. The Nearctic and Neotropical Realms were the least distinct, whether the Mexican fauna was classified as Nearctic, as Neotropical, or even excluded completely from the comparison. The Nearctic and Palearctic Realms were more distinct than many others, for example, the Palearctic and Afrotropical Realms. The leafhopper fauna of the Greater Antilles was most similar to that of Mexico+Central America. Cicadellid generic richness peaked in the N 0-10° interval while species richness peaked in the N 20-30° interval and exceeded 4,000 species in the N 40-50° interval. The latter richness estimate seems to be an artifact of using country-level data. The ratio of species per genus was higher in the New World than in the Old World and was higher in the N 20-60° latitude intervals, even separating data for the New and Old Worlds. This suggests that a natural phenomenon driving finer, species-level diversification may be at work on leafhoppers in the northern habitats. The ratio of known vectors to all species was used to calculate the expected number of vectors, assuming random distribution, in all biogeographic realms and latitude intervals. The seven cosmopolitan genera and the seven largest genera have fewer known vectors than expected. The Australian, Nearctic, and Palearctic Realms, where most research has been conducted, have many more known vectors than expected and this is reflected in the latitudinal pattern. The true number of vectors is therefore probably much greater than known and their agricultural importance has been vastly underestimated. An appendix listing the genera of all biogeographic realms and the Holarctic genera is provided.
MEASURING MARKET EFFICIENCY THROUGH CALENDAR EFFECT ANOMALY IN DIFFERENT STATES OF ECONOMY PERIODS

This study investigates the day-of-the-week (DOW), week-of-the-month (WOM) and month-of-the-year (MOY) effect anomalies on the stock market returns by using the data of KSE100 index from January 2000 to February 2015. The sample period is divided into three clusters namely as; i) normal state of economy periods, ii) upturn state of economy periods and iii) downturn state of economy period to investigate the presence of calendar effect anomaly. The dummy variable approach in regression with lagged value of returns is being used to estimate the results. The DOW analysis documents the mixed results of signifi cant daily returns in all state of economy sample periods and found the presence of DOW anomaly. The WOM analysis reveals that the fi rst and fourth-week returns are positive and statistically signifi cant in the normal, upturn and overall time periods. The MOY analysis found the presence of January effect in all state of economy time periods. It is concluded that the capital market of Pakistan is not devoid of calendar effect anomalies and investors can beat market forces by taking the advantage of the weak form of market effi ciency. The explanation for the calendar effect anomalies is also valid in individual share price remains the topic of future debate.
Metabolic evaluation in patients with recurrent calcium oxalate stones

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the metabolic changes in patients with recurrent calcium oxalate stones. Materials and methods: We evaluated 143 patients with recurrent oxalate stones and measured serum calcium, phosphate, creatinine, urate, and parathormone. In addition, 24-h urinary output was monitored and collected for the measurement of total volume, pH, citrate, calcium, urate, oxalate, phosphorus, sodium, and magnesium. Results: The mean age of the patients was 42.8±10.8 years, and 132 out of 143 patients (92.3%) had metabolic abnormalities. There were no metabolic abnormalities in only 11 (7.7%) patients. Thirty (20.1%) patients only had one metabolic abnormality, and 102 (71.3%) patients had multiple metabolic abnormalities. Hyperoxaluria was the major metabolic abnormality (64.4%), but we also detected low urinary volume, hypercalciuria, hypocitraturia, hypernatriuria, and hyperuricosuria in 66 (46.2%), 47 (32.8%), 47 (32.8%), 44 (30.8%), and 21 (14.7%) patients, respectively. Conclusion: There were several metabolic abnormalities in patients with recurrent calcium oxalate stones, and the most important were hyperoxaluria, hypercalciuria, hypocitraturia, and low urinary volume. These metabolic abnormalities should be detected and corrected to prevent the recurrence of stones.
Hormonal Therapy in Gynecologic Malignancy

In endometrial cancer, hormonal therapy is used for treatment of endometrioid histologies. Because endometrial stromal sarcoma also expresses estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors, adjuvant targeted hormonal treatment is beneficial to reduce recurrence. Combination hormonal therapy for advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer is an attractive treatment alternative for selected patients, especially those with hormone receptor–positive tumors. The potential response rate and the low toxicity profile associated with these agents make them a suitable therapeutic first choice for many such patients. A significant proportion of ovarian cancers including both epithelial and stromal varieties express both estrogen and/or progesterone receptors so, hormonal therapy has role in treatment of such cancer. The most commonly used agents are progestens, tamoxifen, luteinizing hormonereleasing hormone and aromatase inhibitors. ISSN 2639-8478 Research Article Citation: Hend Ahmed EL-Hadaad, Hanan Ahmed wahba, Hisham Abdrabuh A ALthobaiti, et al. Hormonal Therapy in Gynecologic Malignancy. Cancer Sci Res. 2019; 2(2); 1-6.
Controller Synthesis for Linear System With Reach-Avoid Specifications

We address the problem of synthesizing provably correct controllers for linear systems with reach-avoid specifications. Discrete abstraction-based controller synthesis techniques have been developed for linear and nonlinear systems with various types of specifications. However, these methods typically suffer from the state space explosion problem. Our solution decomposes the overall synthesis problem into two smaller, and more tractable problems: one synthesis problem for an open-loop controller, which can produce a reference trajectory, and a second for synthesizing a tracking controller, which can enforce the other trajectories to follow the reference trajectory. As a key building-block result, we show that, once a tracking controller is fixed, the reachable states from an initial neighborhood, subject to any disturbance, can be overapproximated by a sequence of ellipsoids, with shapes that are independent of the open-loop controller. Hence, the open-loop controller can be synthesized independently to meet the reach-avoid specification for an initial neighborhood. Moreover, we are able to reduce the problem of synthesizing open-loop controllers to satisfiability problems over quantifier-free linear real arithmetic. The number of linear constraints in the satisfiability problem is linear to the number of hyperplanes as the surfaces of the polytopic obstacles and goal sets. The overall synthesis algorithm, computes a tracking controller, and then iteratively covers the entire initial set to find open-loop controllers for initial neighborhoods. The algorithm is sound and, for a class of robust systems, is also complete. We implement this synthesis algorithm in a tool RealSyn ver 2.0 and use it on several benchmarks with up to 20 dimensions. Experiment results are very promising: RealSyn ver 2.0 can find controllers for most of the benchmarks in seconds.
09 HARITH_04 LORD_c

Good nutritional status is important in maintaining humans’ well-being, growth and development, and resistance towards illnesses (1). The rate of mortality in Malaysia is largely contributed by the unhealthy heating habits and inactive lifestyles (Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 2010). One of the factors that related to these contributors is socioeconomic status. It is widely reported that the lower income community has poorer health status compared to the higher income community. Poor calcium and vitamin D status is detrimental towards skeletal health. Calcium and vitamin D deficiency leads to the reduction of mineralization and growth of bone, reducing its structural stiffness and strength (2, 3). Apart from their importance in maintaining skeletal health, calcium and vitamin D also play important role in many cellular activities (4, 5). Every cell in human body depends on the calcium in extracellular fluid (ECF) in order to function properly. Calcium ion involves in metabolic function and also acts as one of the linkages between the extracellular coordination functions such as nerve signals, endocrine controls and cytokine action (4). Due to their crucial roles in our body, calcium ion concentration is strictly regulated in the ECF in about 4.8mg/100ml (1.20 mmol/L) (6). Calcium is obtained through diet, and for Malaysian, the suggested requirement is at 800 mg/day for premenopausal and 1000 mg/day for postmenopausal women (7, 8). Vitamin D is involved in many physiological processes as well as to maintain muscle strength (5, 9). Vitamin D is obtained either from diet or through the synthesis under the skin after exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D, in form of 1,25(OH)2D3 also suppresses the formation of parathyroid hormone (PTH) which promotes bone loss (3, 5, 10). Being the major active circulating metabolites, 25(OH)D is regarded as the indicator of vitamin D status (11, 12). Vitamin D deficiency happens when the circulating 1. Dietetic Program, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia; 2. Biomedicine Program, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF ANCHOR GROUPS UNDER SEISMIC TENSION ACTIONS NUMERISCHE UNTERSUCHUNG VON GRUPPENBEFESTIGUNGEN

In this work a tension loaded 2 x 1 anchor group is investigated numerically. The numerical analysis is performed within the framework of a 3D FE analysis using microplane model with relaxed kinematic constraint as the material model for concrete. The anchor group includes two bonded anchors, a fixture connecting the anchors and a concrete slab in which the anchors are embedded in. At first the anchor group behavior is investigated when subjected to static and centric tension load. In the second step the anchor group is loaded with a displacement-controlled loading protocol for pulsating tension load which allows the assessment of the cyclic performance of the anchor group even in the post-peak range. The results of the static and cyclic tests are assessed regarding their load-displacement behavior and the damage in the concrete (crack pattern).
American Civil Religion, The Lost Cause, and D.W. Griffith: The Birth of a Nation Revisited

The centrality of religion to the discourse of American national identity is rarely addressed by students of film. Whilst scholarly interest as to the nature, role, and persistent importance of religion within the national culture of the United States has, from Tocqueville onwards, been enduring and extensive (e.g Niebuhr, 1937; Herberg, 1960; Berger, 1961; Mead, 1963, 1967; Bellah, 1967, 1975, 1980; Ahlstrom, 1972; Marty, 1977, 1985; Bellah et al, 1985; Douglas, 1988; Wuthnow, 1989; Warner, 1993; Stout and Hart, 1997; Swift, 1998; Albanese, 1999), this vast literature is largely ignored within the confines of cinema studies. We might, as a matter of course, assume that the movies have, like religion, exerted a profound influence upon the American imagination. But there has been little serious examination of interrelations between the key medium of the twentieth century and the religious ideas, images, people, and institutions which continue to exert a significant influence over the most modern and powerful nation on Earth (see Appendix One). Responding to this neglect, the following article re-examines D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915), a picture that needs no introduction to scholars of film history or twentieth century American culture. It argues that, as racist as Griffith's picture certainly was, the white Southern, and quite explicitly Christian, perspective of the film was integral to the way it sought to enact a transformation of the ways and means whereby Americans imagine themselves to be members of a nation specially favoured by Providence. Because the development and growth of the supposedly "secular" medium of cinema in the United States created a cultural arena which was free, to some extent, from Protestant suppositions as to the primacy of the word, the impact of Griffith's movie actually helped to establish an important public space in which non-Protestant groups could offer their own view of what it means to be an American.
Linking leadership style, organizational culture, motivation and competence on civil servants performance. The mediating role of job satisfaction

This research aims to analyze empirically the influence of leadership style, organizational culture, motivation, and competencies on civil servants performance in mediation is job satisfaction. The design of this research using survey method with the collection of the data in cross-section through the questionnaire. Determination of a sample using simple random sampling with the total number of respondents as much as 265 employees. Methods of analysis of data used in hypothesis testing are the analysis moments of structures. This research provide evidence that leadership style, organizational culture and competence of a positive and significant effect on the job satisfaction, while the negative effect of motivation but Significantly to job satisfaction. Then the leadership style and organizational culture is positive but not significant effect on civil servants performance and motivation as well as competence and job satisfaction the positive and significant effect on the civil servants performance. Job satisfaction is not as mediating variable in explaining the effect of leadership styles and organizational culture on the civil servants performance, while on the other mediation of job satisfaction testing proved to be a full mediation in analyzing the effect of motivation and competencies on the civil servants performance.
WIDER Working Paper 2017/170 Backsliding and reversal The J-Curve revisited

: Ian Bremmer published a treatise on the stability of states built on the notion that states fall along a curve resembling a slanted “J” when plotting their stability against openness. States in the turnover process are considered unstable, and are at risk of either reversing to a closed and stable system or even collapsing. Our paper shifts the J curve’s associated conditions to a model to more accurately specify the causes of reversal in which crises of instability and backsliding occur. We define stability as a function of two state dimensions: authority and capacity, and apply the remaining state dimension of legitimacy as a proxy for openness. We find that transitions can reverse, oscillate, or simply stall, which are exemplified in the different types of states we categorize. The paper concludes with implications for policy and the application of the model to conflict prediction.
cube2net: Efficient Query-Specific Network Construction with Data Cube Organization

Networks are widely used to model objects with interactions and have enabled various downstream applications. However, in the real world, network mining is often done on particular query sets of objects, which does not require the construction and computation of networks including all objects in the datasets. In this work, for the first time, we propose to address the problem of query-specific network construction, to break the efficiency bottlenecks of existing network mining algorithms and facilitate various downstream tasks. To deal with real-world massive networks with complex attributes, we propose to leverage the well-developed data cube technology to organize network objects w.r. t their essential attributes. An efficient reinforcement learning algorithm is then developed to automatically explore the data cube structures and construct the optimal query-specific networks. With extensive experiments of two classic network mining tasks on different real-world large datasets, we show that our proposed cube2net pipeline is general, and much more effective and efficient in query-specific network construction, compared with other methods without the leverage of data cube or reinforcement learning.
Equivalence of generic medicines in general and immunosuppressants in particular – a regulatory opinion on switching of cyclosporin, tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil

Submitted: 18 February 2013; Revised: 27 March 2013; Accepted: 28 March 2013; Published online first: 9 April 2013 Author for correspondence: Marc Maliepaard, PhD, Senior Clinical Assessor, Clinical Pharmacologist, Pharmacotherapeutic Group 3, College ter Beoordeling van Geneesmiddelen/Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board, PO Box 8275, NL-3503 RG Utrecht, The Netherlands Generic Immunosuppressants in Transplantation