Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
More than meets the eye – Gender differences in hierarchical positions and in earnings . Lessons from the Finnish metal industry 1 Second draft May 2008

In this paper, we focus on two aspects of gender segregation which have so far received little attention in the literature. First, we examine the role of vertical gender segregation among white-collar workers in the Finnish metal industry in 2005 using a matched employee–employer dataset, in which all jobs are evaluated by the skills, efforts and responsibilities they require and are, based on this evaluation, given a hierarchical ranking which is independent of the job holder’s occupational category. We also analyse the gender gap in earnings at each hierarchical position and explore the interplay between earnings and selection into a specific hierarchical position. Second, we broaden further the analysis of gender segregation and its impact on earnings by studying the gender wage gap in establishments located at different quintiles of the productivity distribution. Finally, we study how new forms of pay such as productivity and performance related bonuses and profit sharing systems are reflected in the gender wage gap. Our results show that also these dimensions are important and as a consequence deserve more attention in studies of gender segregation and wage gaps.
Inactivation of the Sema5a Gene Results in Embryonic Lethality and Defective Remodeling of the Cranial Vascular System

ABSTRACT The semaphorins are a large family of proteins involved in the patterning of both the vascular and the nervous systems. In order to analyze the function of the membrane-bound semaphorin 5A (Sema5A), we generated mice homozygous for a null mutation in the Sema5a gene. Homozygous null mutants die between embryonic development days 11.5 (E11.5) and E12.5, indicating an essential role of Sema5A during embryonic development. Mutant embryos did not show any morphological defects that could account for the lethality of the mutation. A detailed analysis of the vascular system uncovered a role of Sema5A in the remodeling of the cranial blood vessels. In Sema5A null mutants, the complexity of the hierarchically organized branches of the cranial cardinal veins was decreased. Our results represent the first genetic analysis of the function of a class 5 semaphorin during embryonic development and identify a role of Sema5A in the regional patterning of the vasculature.
Teaching Clinical Reasoning Skills to Undergraduate Medical Students: An action research study

Introduction Clinical Reasoning is an important competency for medical students to learn. I am a Clinical Lecturer in Medicine and I run a course which has clinical reasoning as a key component. It was identified at curriculum meetings, that Clinical reasoning can be challenging to teach and that there was some evidence that it is an area of the curriculum that could be further developed and improved upon. Study Aim To address the concern about improving the teaching of clinical reasoning skills, my study aimed to; • Develop effective approaches for teaching clinical reasoning to medical students and evaluate them, • Identify educational principles that would help students learn clinical reasoning and share them with curriculum developers, The questions that I identified to support this aim were; • What enhances the students’ ability to learn clinical reasoning? • What makes it harder to learn clinical reasoning? New knowledge was developed by exploring how the theories around clinical reasoning and its teaching could be applied in a practical setting. Methodology An action research approach was used to identify the concerns and issues around teaching clinical reasoning, look for solutions, plan and implement changes and evaluate the changes. The last element of the study was the development of principles when developing a curriculum or teaching sessions for clinical reasoning. Results A new teaching session was designed and delivered to third year medical students. Several key factors important in designing a teaching session around clinical reasoning were identified. Scenarios used in clinical reasoning teaching should be written so that the information in the history is nonspecific and broad enough to allow for thinking across different body systems. They also should be well written to allow actors to play the simulated patient role realistically. The tutors involved need to have the skills to encourage the students to apply knowledge to the scenario through interaction. The tutors need to be able to engender a feeling of safety within the group being taught. There are some indications that the tutors need to have a high level of metacognition themselves. Students need to practice using the clinical reasoning processes and receive feedback on their thought processes. The teaching sessions need to allow time for the students to think and a stop start method was highly rated by the students as a method for doing this. Assessments and teaching materials around clinical reasoning need to avoid the use of “buzz words” or formulaic thinking. Further research into how novices use the clinical reasoning process is needed, as the study suggested that students use inductive reasoning and leave it late to start the reasoning process. They also try and use pattern recognition using “buzz words” very early on in their career.
The Hinge Region of Human Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) Receptor Operates as a Tunable Switch between Hormone Binding and Receptor Activation

The mechanism by which the hinge regions of glycoprotein hormone receptors couple hormone binding to activation of downstream effecters is not clearly understood. In the present study, agonistic (311.62) and antagonistic (311.87) monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed against the TSH receptor extracellular domain were used to elucidate role of the hinge region in receptor activation. MAb 311.62 which identifies the LRR/Cb-2 junction (aa 265–275), increased the affinity of TSHR for the hormone while concomitantly decreasing its efficacy, whereas MAb 311.87 recognizing LRR 7–9 (aa 201–259) acted as a non-competitive inhibitor of Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) binding. Binding of MAbs was sensitive to the conformational changes caused by the activating and inactivating mutations and exhibited differential effects on hormone binding and response of these mutants. By studying the effects of these MAbs on truncation and chimeric mutants of thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR), this study confirms the tethered inverse agonistic role played by the hinge region and maps the interactions between TSHR hinge region and exoloops responsible for maintenance of the receptor in its basal state. Mechanistic studies on the antibody-receptor interactions suggest that MAb 311.87 is an allosteric insurmountable antagonist and inhibits initiation of the hormone induced conformational changes in the hinge region, whereas MAb 311.62 acts as a partial agonist that recognizes a conformational epitope critical for coupling of hormone binding to receptor activation. The hinge region, probably in close proximity with the α-subunit in the hormone-receptor complex, acts as a tunable switch between hormone binding and receptor activation.
Audio coding technology of ExAC

A new low bitrate audio coding technology (called "ExAC") based on enhanced audio coding (EAC) and spectral band replication (SBR) is introduced. The major building blocks of the coding schemes are explained, in which EAC works as a core coder and SBR works as a powerful bandwidth extension module. The new coding technology provides a high quality audio compression scheme for a broad range of applications, including the high-density laser video diskette, HDTV and very low bitrate applications such as AM audio broadcasting and streaming.
Chemical evolution of the intra-cluster medium

The high metallicity of the intra-cluster medium (ICM) is generally interpreted on the basis of the galactic wind scenario for elliptical galaxies. In this framework, we develop a toy model to follow the chemical evolution of the ICM, formulated in analogy to chemical models for individual galaxies. The model computes the galaxy formation history (GFH) of cluster galaxies, connecting the final luminosity function (LF) to the corresponding metal enrichment history of the ICM. The observed LF can be reproduced with a smooth, Madau-plot like GFH peaking at z 1 2, plus a "burst" of formation of dwarf galaxies at high redshift. The model is used to test the response of the predicted metal content and abundance evolution of the ICM to varying input galactic models. The chemical enrichment is computed from "galactic yields" based on models of elliptical galaxies with a variable initial mass function (IMF), favouring the formation of massive stars at high redshift and/or in more massive galaxies. For a given final galactic luminosity, these model ellipticals eject into the ICM a larger quantity of gas and of metals than do standard models based on the Salpeter IMF. However, a scenario in which the IMF varies with redshift as a consequence of the eect of the cosmic background temperature on the Jeans mass scale appears to be too mild to account for the observed metal production in clusters. The high iron-mass- to-luminosity-ratio of the ICM can be reproduced only by assuming a more dramatic variation of the typical stellar mass, in line with other recent findings. The mass in the wind-ejected gas is predicted to exceed the mass in galaxies by a factor of 1.5-2 and to constitute roughly half of the intra-cluster gas.
Environmental effects on measured structural frequencies—model prediction of short‐term shift during heavy rainfall and comparison with full‐scale observations

The sensitivity of measurements of the frequencies of vibration of structures to environmental factors, such as weather, has been of interest for structural identification and health monitoring, as changes in these frequencies are often used as indicators of degradation of the structure. This paper presents a simple 2D soil–structure interaction model that can predict shifts in the apparent frequency of a building due to water saturation of the soil during heavy rainfall, and recovery as the degree of saturation decreases. The soil is modeled as a porous half‐space, dry or fully saturated with viscous fluid (water in this case), the motion of which is described by Biot's theory of wave propagation in fluid‐saturated porous media. This model is a generalization of a previous model considered by the authors to more realistic soils—with finite permeability and saturated with viscous fluids. Results of model predictions are shown for model parameters that correspond approximately to the NS response of Millikan library in Pasadena, CA, and are compared with the observed trends at the same site under ambient noise excitation (up to about 3.5% increase in the first frequency during heavy rainfall, and recovery within about a week following the rainfall). Results are shown for a range of values of soil permeability as well as for undrained soil (elastic solid with Poisson ratio close to 0.5). The model predictions agree qualitatively with the observed effects at Millikan library, but the analysis does not exclude other possible causes for the observed effect. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Global Optimization with Polynomials and the Problem of Moments

We consider the problem of finding the unconstrained global minimum of a real-valued polynomial p(x): {\mathbb{R}}^n\to {\mathbb{R}}$, as well as the global minimum of p(x), in a compact set K defined by polynomial inequalities. It is shown that this problem reduces to solving an (often finite) sequence of convex linear matrix inequality (LMI) problems. A notion of Karush--Kuhn--Tucker polynomials is introduced in a global optimality condition. Some illustrative examples are provided.
SUGAR EXPORT PRICE AND IMPORT TARIFF REFORMS: A COMPUTABLE GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM ANALYSIS OF MAURITIUS

This study employs a multisectoral computable general equilibrium model of Mauritius designed to explore the economic consequences of the removal of the preferential pricing agreements for Mauritius' sugar exports by the European Union, the United States, or jointly. This is performed with endogenous tax changes in the distortionary value-added taxation or the lump-sum taxation to maintain a constant government budget. Each sugar export price change affects other sectors and lowers welfare in most cases. Mauritius' greatest gain comes from the removal of the preferential price by the United States with value-added tax replacement. However, unilateral tariff liberalization with the European Union, the Southern African Customs Union, the United States and the Southern African Customs Union jointly, and with all of Mauritius' trade constituents yield further decreases in Mauritius' welfare when combined with sugar export price changes. The country is most adversely affected in the full tariff liberalization case with value-added tax replacement, where region-specific unilateral trade is usually better than unilateral global free trade.
A Data-Driven Approach for Semantic Role Labeling from Induced Grammar Structures in Language

Semantic roles play an important role in extracting knowledge from text. Current unsupervised approaches utilize features from grammar structures, to induce semantic roles. The dependence on these grammars, however, makes it difficult to adapt to noisy and new languages. In this paper we develop a data-driven approach to identifying semantic roles, the approach is entirely unsupervised up to the point where rules need to be learned to identify the position the semantic role occurs. Specifically we develop a modified-ADIOS algorithm based on ADIOS Solan et al. (2005) to learn grammar structures, and use these grammar structures to learn the rules for identifying the semantic roles based on the context in which the grammar structures appeared. The results obtained are comparable with the current state-of-art models that are inherently dependent on human annotated data.
Essays on the economics of ability, education, and labor market outcomes

Title of dissertation: ESSAYS ON THE ECONOMICS OF ABILITY, EDUCATION AND LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES Maŕıa Fernanda Prada Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Dissertation directed by: Professor Sergio Urzúa Department of Economics The analysis of the heterogeneity in worker ability and its economic implications have been a focus of a broad strand of research in labor economics. Several studies have demonstrated that both cognitive and socio-emotional dimensions of ability have a positive effect on wages, schooling, and the probability of choosing high paying occupations. However, there is no theoretical reason to expect that all dimensions affect outcomes in the same direction. This dissertation, composed by four chapters, shows that mechanical ability, jointly with cognitive and socio-emotional dimensions, affects schooling decisions and labor market outcomes. Moreover, it demonstrates that this facet of ability has a positive economic return and affects schooling decisions and occupational choices differently than other measures of ability. Chapter 2 introduces the concept of mechanical ability, describes the tests used to measure it, and briefly compares this dimension with conventional measures of ability. Chapter 3 presents a general framework to understand the effects of multiple dimensions of ability on outcomes with special emphasis in the selection into occupations and tasks where workers are more productive. This framework is used to decompose the overall effect of unobserved abilities into the components explained by schooling decision, occupational choice, and direct on-the-job productivity. I show that all three dimensions of ability have multiple, heterogeneous, and independent roles. They influence the sorting of workers into schooling and occupations, and also have a direct effect on wages. This implies that a policy that increases ability at advanced ages, when schooling and occupational decisions cannot be altered, may still have a direct impact on wages. Chapter 4, written in collaboration with Sergio Urzúa, analyzes the implications of considering the three dimensions of ability on the decision of attending four-year college. We find that, despite the high return associated with college attendance, individuals with low levels of cognitive and socio-emotional ability but high mechanical ability could expect higher wages by choosing not to attend a four-year college. These results highlight the importance of exploring alternative pathways to successful careers for individuals with a different profile of skills. ESSAYS ON THE ECONOMICS OF ABILITY, EDUCATION AND LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES
Learning Styles and Emotion Recognition in a Fuzzy Expert System

This paper presents a fuzzy system that recognizes learning styles and emotions using two different neural networks. The first neural network (a Kohonen neural network) recognizes the student cognitive style. The second neural network (a back-propagation neural network) was used to recognize the student emotion. Both neural networks are being part of a fuzzy system used into an intelligent tutoring system. The fuzzy system evaluates both cognitive and affective states in the student whenever he/she answers math exercises.
Secure geographic routing protocol in MANETs

GEOGRAPHIC routing protocols use a basic geographic forwarding strategy to forward packets node by nodes toward the location of the destination. This approach to routing has the advantage of eliminating the need for nodes to maintain conventional routing information. One geographic routing protocol named Boundary State Routing protocol which routes the data using the location of nodes. In this paper we discussed possible attacks in boundary state routing protocol namely wormhole attacks and proposed two methods to avoid wormhole attacks namely Counter March Technique (CMT) and Signature Based Verification Technique (SBVT). The CMT method uses no methodology for the detection of the malicious nature of the intermediate nodes. SBVT method uses cryptographic concepts.
Workflow on Mobile Phones

Mobile devices and services are rapidly becoming a common property. In this paper, we describe what this development implies in terms of usability of complex services. Management of workflow in the context of interactive services is focussed on. It is shown how to implement workflow on mobile phones, and how to increase the usability of complex services by application of two main categories of design guidelines are presented: Navigation and work flow, and Input and error handling. Ditto user interface design is demonstrated through a concrete case, the ‘mobile tax demonstrator’, which provides functionality for updating information required for tax calculations and consequently for ordering a new tax deduction card.
Perceived Sleepiness, Sleep Habits and Sleep Concerns of Public School Teachers, Administrators and other Personnel

Abstract Background: Sleep deprivation is a world-wide health concern. Few studies have examined the sleep behaviors of those employed in the education field. Purpose: To describe the sleep habits and concerns of school personnel in a Midwest school corporation. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data about demographics, the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Sleep Measure, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and sleep concerns. Data were analyzed using univariate and bivariate procedures. Results: Almost 25% of teachers reported daily activities were impaired by sleepiness and 43% slept an average of six hours or less per night. Female respondents reported significantly poorer sleep. Overall, school employees experienced more sleep problems than reported by the general U.S. population. Discussion: This study confirmed the existence of sleep deprivation among school personnel. Sleepy teachers are at higher risk of providing insufficient supervision and inferior instruction. They also report more mood swings and are at higher risk for health problems. Little attention has been given to the sleep concerns and behaviors of school personnel, and there is a need for further research. Translation to Health Education Practice: Education regarding the importance of sleep and how to get a good night's sleep should be included in employee wellness programming.
Probabilistic Analysis of a 1-of-n Selection Algorithm Using a Moderately Pessimistic Decision Criterion

In this paper we are concerned with the fundamental problem of reaching agreement among a set of distributed processes in presence of an unbounded number of communication failures. We present a probabilistic analysis of a family of synchronous consensus algorithms that aim to solve the 1-of-n selection problem. In this problem, a set of n nodes are to select one common value among a set of n proposed values. There are two possible outcomes of each node's selection process: it can decide either to select a value, or to abort. Agreement implies that all nodes select the same value, or all nodes decide to abort. We know from previous research that it is impossible to guarantee agreement if there is no upper bound on the number of communication failures that can occur. Our aim is to study how the probability of disagreement varies for different decision criteria. The decision criterion consists of the logical expressions that determine whether a process will select a value or decide to abort based on its view of the system state. In this paper we propose and analyse a moderately pessimistic decision criterion. We compared this decision criterion with an optimistic and a pessimistic decision criterion, which we have investigated in our previous work. Our results show that the moderately pessimistic decision criterion for most configurations has a lower maximum probability of disagreement compared with the two other decision criteria. Furthermore, it provides a compromise between the optimistic and the pessimistic approaches since it reduces the probability of disagreement without increasing excessively the probability of agreeing to abort.
Ultra-low Energy, High-Performance Dynamic Resistive Threshold Logic

We propose dynamic resistive threshold-logic (DRTL) design based on non-volatile resistive memory. A threshold logic gate (TLG) performs summation of multiple inputs multiplied by a fixed set of weights and compares the sum with a threshold. DRTL employs resistive memory elements to implement the weights and the thresholds, while a compact dynamic CMOS latch is used for the comparison operation. The resulting DRTL gate acts as a low-power, configurable dynamic logic unit and can be used to build fully pipelined, high-performance programmable computing blocks. Multiple stages in such a DRTL design can be connected using energy-efficient low swing programmable interconnect networks based on resistive switches. Owing to memory-based compact logic and interconnect design and highspeed dynamic-pipelined operation, DRTL can achieve more than two orders of magnitude improvement in energy-delay product as compared to look-up table based CMOS FPGA.
Generalised space-time modelling of Rayleigh MIMO channels

A recently proposed space-time model for Rayleigh fading for a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel with arbitrary spatial separation at the transmitter and the receiver is extended. A space-frequency cross spectrum is derived from a space-time cross correlation for a non-isotropic scatterer distribution around the receiver. A simulation study is performed into the space-time correlation formulation to gain understanding of the changing of some relevant parameters and applying different non-isotropic distributions. The formulations presented can be applied to analyse any numbers of transmit and receive antennas operating in typical time-selective MIMO fading channels, and hence can be used in the design of space-time modems