Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Novel Nonisolated Ultra-High-Voltage-Gain DC–DC Converter With Low Voltage Stress

Regarding the inherent structure of some nonpolluting resources such as fuel cell (FC) stacks and photovoltaic (PV) panels, the output exhibits a low voltage, which cannot be employed in the common conventional utilizations. Accordingly, an interference dc–dc converter is extremely required. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of using an ultra-high-voltage-gain dc–dc converter in either the FC or the PV applications. While keeping the high voltage gain, the proposed topology illustrates low switches’ voltage stress resulted in high efficiency. The continuous and discontinuous conduction operation modes, as well as efficiency analysis, are investigated. The prototype setup of 250 W and 400 V output voltage is implemented. The proposed dc–dc converter merits involving ultra-high-voltage ratio, low switches’ voltage stress, and high efficiency are verified via experimental results.
The Financial Crisis of 1929 Reexamined: The Role of Soaring Inequality

Abstract The financial crisis of 1929 that triggered the Great Depression has been endlessly studied. Still there is little consensus regarding what caused it. This article claims that wage stagnation and exploding inequality fueled three dynamics that set the stage for a financial crisis. First, consumption was constrained by the smaller share of total income accruing to workers, thereby restricting investment opportunities in the real economy. Flush with greater income and wealth, the elite flooded financial markets with credit, helping keep interest rates low and encouraging the creation of new credit instruments, some of which recycled the rich's surplus assets as debt to those less well off. Second, greater inequality pressured households to find ways to consume more in order to maintain their relative social status, resulting in reduced household saving, greater household debt, and possibly longer work hours. Third, as the rich took larger shares of income and wealth, they gained relatively more command over everything, including ideology. Reducing taxes on the rich, favoring business over labor, and failing to regulate newly evolving credit instruments flowed out of this ideology.
A Stochastic Model of Superstardom: An Application of the Yule Distribution

This study employs a stochastic model developed by G. Udny Yule and Herbert A. Simon as the probability mechanism underlying the consumer's choice of artistic products and predicts that artistic outputs will be concentrated among a few lucky individuals. We find that the probability distribution implied by the stochastic model provides an excellent description of the empirical data in the popular music industry, suggesting that the stochastic model may represent the process generating the superstar phenomenon. Because the stochastic model does not require differential talents among individuals, our empirical results support the notion that the superstar phenomenon could exist among individuals with equal talent. Copyright 1994 by MIT Press.
Knowledge Transfers, Spillovers and Actors: The Role of Context and Social Capital

Regional economic analysis relies heavily on the concept of knowledge spillovers to explain economic development. But this concept is too limited since it does not explain the actual transfer of knowledge. That requires looking into social networks and social capital in order to explain the flow of non-codified knowledge. This paper contributes to the literature by conceptualizing knowledge transfer and connecting it to the social network literature and the spatial dimension of social networks. The paper argues that knowledge flows, the spatial context of social networks and social capital are strongly linked.
Option Pricing: The American Put

The problem of correctly, or perhaps rationally, setting the price of an option on a stock has been attacked many times. ' Recently, Black and Scholes developed a very neat argument which provided a solution for the so-called European put and call options, and thus indirectly for the American call option.2 For it can be shown that it is better to retain an American call option until expiration rather than to convert it before expiration.3 In their paper, Black and Scholes also indicated that no formula for the value of an American put option had been constructed as yet. In Section IV of this paper, we present such a formula for the value of an American put option. In order to justify it, in Section II we review and discuss our assumptions about stock prices and their probability distributions. In Section III, we review and discuss the idea of a free and efficient options market and its consequences. In Section IV, we write down a general formula for American put and call options, and then assume for the first time in the paper that the distribution of stock prices is approximately lognormal, thus obtaining an explicit formula for the American put option. A graph of the predictions for a put option is presented; a table of put values is given which is suitable for most applications; and a limited comparison is made between the derived put formula and empirical data. The agreement is as good as can be expected, given the data available. In Section V, there are a summary and conclusions.
A Comparison of Inhaled Nitric Oxide Versus Inhaled Epoprostenol for Acute Pulmonary Hypertension Following Cardiac Surgery

Background: Direct comparisons of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) to inhaled epoprostenol (iEPO) in patients with acute pulmonary hypertension (PHT) following cardiac surgery are lacking. Objective: To compare the relative efficacy, safety, and cost of iNO versus iEPO in patients with acute PHT following cardiac surgery. Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective, observational, cohort study comparing iNO to iEPO for acute postoperative PHT following cardiac surgery. The primary outcome was reduction of mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) to < 30 mm Hg, 6 hours after ICU admission from the operating room. Secondary outcomes, included ICU and hospital length of stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, bleeding complications, hypotension, in-hospital mortality, and cost. Results: A total of 98 patients met inclusion criteria (iNO, n = 49; iEPO, n = 49). There was no difference in the primary outcome of reduction of mPAP to < 30 mm Hg 6 hours after ICU admission (iNO, 33 [67%] vs iEPO, 35 [71%]; P = 0.83) or in the incidence of adverse events collected (iNO, 10 [20%] vs iEPO, 11 [22%]; P = 1.00). Based on cost estimates, the median cost of iEPO per patient was $363.53 ($226-$864.60) versus $2562.50 ($1875-$8625) for iNO (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The relative efficacy of iEPO appeared to be similar to that of iNO in reducing mPAP following cardiac surgery, in this retrospective review. Significant cost savings were associated with the use of iEPO.
Business development success in SMEs: a case study approach

Purpose – There are not many answers to the question of how the development projects launched to improve business performance in SMEs have succeeded. This study focuses on business development success in SMEs. The main objective is to structure and model the success dimensions that contribute to and can be used in evaluating the business development success in SMEs.Design/methodology/approach – The study utilises multiple case study methodology, following the replication approach. The empirical evidence is based on data from four SMEs that have implemented a business development project. Two of the projects were perceived as successful and the other two as unsuccessful.Findings – This study builds a framework for a business development project success in a SME context. In the SME context the business development project success seems to be dependent on several interrelated dimensions. Success in one area leads to success in other areas, and so creates an upward success spiral. Failure in one area seems to.
Temporal Visualization of Energy Consumption Loads Using Time-Tone

Feedback plays an important role in assisting users to better understand their energy consumption behaviour. This is particularly true when users want to change their behaviour in order to reduce their energy consumption, and to manage their usage more effectively so as to avoid putting unnecessary load on energy providers. This paper presents the time-tone visualization, which aims to assist users by displaying variations in energy consumption by different categories of household devices over time, and their respective contributions to the total energy usage load. A user study conducted to compare time-tone against area-charts shows that although the two visualizations are comparable, time-tone is more effective for cases where there are large variations in energy usage loads.
Impulsive control of stochastic interconnected power systems based on T-S fuzzy model

In this paper, we discuss the control problem of interconnected power systems with stochastic perturbation based on the fuzzy control theory. Firstly, the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) interpolation approach is adopted to approximate stochastic interconnected power system, and the simplified linear models are derived. Then, by using the impulsive control strategy, the stabilization of stochastic interconnected power system could be realized. Based on Lyapunov stability theory, sufficient conditions are derived in the form of linear matrix inequality (LMI). At last, simulation results on a two-machine interconnected system are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control methods.
IS-related Organizational Change: A complex responsive processes perspective

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Proposing an Evaluation Task for Identifying Struggling Students in Online Courses

This paper describes and proposes a community evaluation task that is designed for evaluating learning systems that can automatically identify different types of problems, that students may encounter with their online courses. As a basis, the learning systems would use logs from an artificial learning environment to analyse the student interactions and behaviour with the online course. The learning systems will also use specific domain models to ensure that the course requirements such as task deadlines and learning content conditions (e.g., pre-requisites) are addressed. As a result, the outputs (identified student problems) can be used by a) the learning systems to provide personalised feedback and direction to students to overcome a problem b) notify an instructor for a more professional support and response c) inform a learning designer for potential problems on the design of the course.
Reduced intensity conditioning HLA identical sibling donor allogeneic stem cell transplantation for patients with follicular lymphoma: long-term follow-up from two prospective multicenter trials

Background Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is an effective treatment for patients with poor risk lymphoma, at least in part because of the graft-versus-lymphoma effect. Over the past decade, reduced intensity conditioning regimens have been shown to offer results similar to those of conventional high-dose conditioning regimens but with lower toxicity early after transplantation, especially in patients with chemosensitive disease at transplant. Design and Methods The aim of this study was to analyze the long-term outcome of patients with follicular lymphoma who received an HLA identical sibling allogeneic stem cell transplant with a reduced intensity conditioning regimen within prospective trials. The prospective multicenter studies considered included 37 patients with follicular lymphoma who underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation between 1998 and 2007 with a fludarabine plus melphalan-based reduced intensity conditioning regimen. Results The median age of the patients was 50 years (range, 34–62 years) and the median follow-up was 52 months (range, 0.6 to 113 months). Most patients (77%) had stage III-IV at diagnosis, and patients had received a median of three lines of therapy before the reduced intensity conditioning allogeneic stem cell transplantation. At the time of transplantation, 14 patients were in complete remission, 16 in partial remission and 7 had refractory or progressive disease after salvage chemotherapy. The 4-year overall survival rates for patients in complete remission, partial remission, or with refractory or progressive disease were 71%, 48% and 29%, respectively (P=0.09), whereas the 4-year cumulative incidences of non-relapse mortality were 26% (95% CI, 11–61), 33% (95% CI, 16–68) and 71% (95% CI, 44–100), respectively. The incidence of relapse for the whole group was only 8% (95% CI, 2–23). Conclusions We conclude that this strategy of reduced intensity conditioning allogeneic stem cell transplantation may be associated with significant non-relapse mortality in heavily pre-treated patients with follicular lymphoma, but a remarkably low relapse rate. Long-term survival is likely in patients without progressive or refractory disease at the time of transplantation.
Newcomer socialization in China: effects of team values and goal interdependence

How newcomers interact with their experienced colleagues has been thought to affect their socialization and performance. In a field study of 169 new employees, team leaders provided measures of values and newcomers rated their relationships and attitudes. Structural equation analysis results suggest that relationships and open discussion values promote socialization by developing cooperative goals and integrative interaction. Results were tentatively interpreted as suggesting that values affect socialization by altering newcomer goal interdependence and interaction with experienced team members. By embracing the values of relationships and open discussion, supplemented with cooperative goals and integrative interaction, teams can more effectively socialize newcomers.
A spinal cord fate map in the avian embryo: while regressing, Hensen's node lays down the notochord and floor plate thus joining the spinal cord lateral walls.

The spinal cord of thoracic, lumbar and caudal levels is derived from a region designated as the sinus rhomboidalis in the 6-somite-stage embryo. Using quail/chick grafts performed in ovo, we show the following. (1) The floor plate and notochord derive from a common population of cells, located in Hensen's node, which is equivalent to the chordoneural hinge (CNH) as it was defined at the tail bud stage. (2) The lateral walls and the roof of the neural tube originate caudally and laterally to Hensen's node, during the regression of which the basal plate anlage is bisected by floor plate tissue. (3) Primary and secondary neurulations involve similar morphogenetic movements but, in contrast to primary neurulation, extensive bilateral cell mixing is observed on the dorsal side of the region of secondary neurulation. (4) The posterior midline of the sinus rhomboidalis gives rise to somitic mesoderm and not to spinal cord. Moreover, mesodermal progenitors are spatially arranged along the rest of the primitive streak, more caudal cells giving rise to more lateral embryonic structures. Together with the results reported in our study of tail bud development (Catala, M., Teillet, M.-A. and Le Douarin, N.M. (1995). Mech. Dev. 51, 51-65), these results show that the mechanisms that preside at axial elongation from the 6-somite stage onwards are fundamentally similar during the complete process of neurulation.
Genetic analysis and conservation of 31 surviving individuals of a rare New Zealand tree, Metrosideros bartlettii (Myrtaceae)

Metrosideros bartlettii (Myrtaceae) is a distinctive and extremely rare tree, endemic to New Zealand, first discovered in 1975. Prior to this study, a total of 19 adult individuals of the species had been reported; these are located in three small forest remnants in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. Here we describe a total of 31 adult M. bartlettii at the three sites, including 12 individuals newly discovered by us. We analyse the genetic diversity of the species, using microsatellites to examine the chloroplast genome and amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) to monitor nuclear variation. The results clearly demonstrate that M. bartlettii is a unique species, distinct from its two closest relatives M. robusta and M. excelsa. Analysis of genetic diversity within the 31 remaining individuals of M. bartlettii showed an average heterozygosity (< H >) of 0.18 and a proportion of polymorphic genes (< P >) of 0.44. Population structure, as shown by 286 AFLP loci, varied between the three geographical sites; the site with fewest individuals, containing two trees, showed some separation from the populations at the other two locations. These two latter sites, by contrast, had highly overlapping AFLP population diversity profiles. The implications of these results for conservation of the species are discussed.
Understanding the rates of nonpolar organic chemical accumulation into passive samplers deployed in the environment: Guidance for passive sampler deployments

Polymeric passive samplers have become a common method for estimating freely dissolved concentrations in environmental media. However, this approach has not yet been adopted by investigators conducting remedial investigations of contaminated environmental sites. Successful adoption of this sampling methodology relies on an understanding of how passive samplers accumulate chemical mass as well as developing guidance for the design and deployment of passive samplers. Herein, we outline the development of a simple mathematical relationship of the environmental, polymer, and chemical properties that control the uptake rate. This relationship, called a timescale, is then used to illustrate how each property controls the rate of equilibration in samplers deployed in the water or in the sediment. Guidance is also given on how to use the timescales to select an appropriate polymer, deployment time, and suite of performance reference compounds. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:486–492. © 2015 SETAC
A Solution to Overoptimistic Forecasts and Fiscal Procyclicality: The Structural Budget Institutions Pioneered by Chile

Historically, many countries have suffered a pattern of procyclical fiscal policy: spending too much in booms and then forced to cut back in recessions, thereby exacerbating the business cycle. This problem has especially plagued Latin American commodity-producers. Since 2000, fiscal policy in Chile has been governed by a structural budget rule that has succeeded in implementing countercyclical fiscal policy. The key innovation is that the two most important estimates of the structural versus cyclical components of the budget - trend output and the 10-year price of copper - are made by expert panels and thus insulated from the political process. Chile's fiscal institutions could usefully be emulated everywhere, but especially in other commodity-exporting countries. This paper finds statistical support for a series of hypotheses regarding forecasts by official agencies that have responsibility for formulating the budget. 1) Official forecasts of budgets and GDP in a 33-country sample are overly optimistic on average. 2) The bias toward over-optimism is stronger the longer the horizon 3) The bias is greater among European governments that are politically subject to the budget rules in the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). 4) The bias is greater at the extremes of the business cycle, particularly in booms. 5) In most countries, the real growth rate is the key macroeconomic input for budget forecasting. In Chile it is the price of copper. 6) Real copper prices mean-revert in the long run, but this is not always readily perceived. 7) Chile's official forecasts are not overly optimistic on average. 8) Chile has apparently avoided the problem of official forecasts that unrealistically extrapolate in boom times. The conclusion: official forecasts, if not insulated from politics, tend to be overly optimistic, and the problem can be worse when the government is formally subject to budget rules. The key innovation that has allowed Chile in general to achieve countercyclical fiscal policy, and in particular to run surpluses in booms, is not just a structural budget rule in itself, but a regime that entrusts to panels of independent experts the responsibility for estimating the extent to which contemporaneous copper prices and GDP have departed from their long-run trends.
The Andes basins: biophysical and developmental diversity in a climate of change

To understand how agriculture and poverty interact, we analysed water availability, productivity and institutions for the Andes basins. Water limits agricultural productivity in the southern basins but is plentiful in the northern basins where steep slopes or poor land and water management limit productivity. The dominance of small, steep basins results in important upstream–downstream linkages. The greatest challenge to improving the productivity of water in the Andes basins is to regulate water quality better for multiple uses and to negotiate fair and transparent compensation for upstream providers of water-based ecosystem services for the benefits that they provide to downstream users.
Capital Structure Across Industries

Abstract The purpose of this article is to examine the capital structure across different industries for companies quoted on a stock exchange and headquartered in the United States. The paper demonstrates significant difference in the capital structure depending on the industry where the company operates. The debt ratio sensitivities to the explanatory variables differ significantly between the five industries studied. Almost every significant coefficient obtained in our regressions is in accordance with capital structure theory and other studies. Debt ratio is negatively related to profitability, growth, and age, while asset structure and company size are positively related. However, the debt ratio of the 50 largest companies in the sample is negatively related to company size, which gives support to a currency hedging hypothesis.
Macroeconomic impact of Eastern enlargement on Germany and UK: evidence from a CGE model

The Eastern enlargement of the EU is accompanied by a substantial increase in trade, capital movements and migration between the incumbent and the new member states. This article examines the effects of these trade and factor flows on Germany and United Kingdom using a CGE model which considers wage rigidities. We find that Eastern enlargement positively impact real GDP, wages and employment in both economies. The effects are substantially larger than those found in previous studies.