Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preventing Opportunistic Uncompliance by WTO Members

The World Trade Organization's (WTO) Dispute Settlement Understanding is silent on the consequences for members if they comply with trade obligations, but later uncomply, resulting in similar violations as those giving rise to the original dispute. This article shows that WTO members can uncomply without facing economic consequences because the arbitrators that authorize the suspension of WTO concessions have a limited jurisdiction relative to compliance panels and because the DSU does not provide sanctions for past (in contrast to ongoing) violations. Members may thus delay compliance until immediately before panels assess their compliance record and then may uncomply because arbitrators cannot authorize the suspension of concessions for the measure to uncomply. Cases of uncompliance allow members to commit repeated violations with impunity. This contrasts with cases of non-compliance, where trade disputes eventually result in implementation of recommendations, compensation to the aggrieved member, or the suspension of concessions against the violating member. We identify the ongoing US -- Upland Cotton dispute as a potential case of uncompliance. WTO members have an opportunity to protect themselves from delayed compliance and uncompliance by seeking authorization to suspend concessions where the violating member has not taken measures within the timeframe given to comply. We show that because Brazil forfeited its rights to do so in the US -- Upland Cotton dispute through a sequencing agreement, the United States may have uncomplied without facing a countermeasure for certain cotton subsidies. Oxford University Press 2011, all rights reserved, Oxford University Press.
Polo-Like Kinase 3 Appears Dispensable for Normal Retinal Development Despite Robust Embryonic Expression

During retinogenesis seven different cell types are generated in distinct yet overlapping timepoints from a population of retinal progenitor cells. Previously, we performed single cell transcriptome analyses of retinal progenitor cells to identify candidate genes that may play roles in the generation of early-born retinal neurons. Based on its expression pattern in subsets of early retinal cells, polo-like kinase 3 (Plk3) was identified as one such candidate gene. Further characterization of Plk3 expression by in situ hybridization revealed that this gene is expressed as cells exit the cell cycle. We obtained a Plk3 deficient mouse and investigated changes in the retina’s morphology and transcriptome through immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization and gene expression profiling. These experiments have been performed initially on adult mice and subsequently extended throughout retinal development. Although morphological studies revealed no consistent changes in retinogenesis upon Plk3 loss, microarray profiling revealed potential candidate genes altered in Plk3-KO mice. Further studies will be necessary to understand the connection between these changes in gene expression and the loss of a protein kinase such as Plk3.
A Modified Infrared Spectrometer with High Time Resolution and Its Application for Investigating Fast Conformational Changes of the GTPase Ras

Time-resolved infrared spectroscopy is a valuable tool for the investigation of proteins and protein interactions. The investigation of many biological processes is possible by means of caged compounds, which set free biologically active substances upon light activation. Some caged compounds could provide subnanosecond time resolution, e.g., para-hydroxyphenacyl-guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) forms GTP in picoseconds. However, the time resolution in single shot experiments with rapid-scan Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometers is limited to about 10 ms. Here we use an infrared diode laser instead of the conventional globar and achieve a time resolution of 100 ns. This allows for the time-resolved measurement of the fast Rasoff to Rason conformational change at room temperature. We quantified the activation parameters for this reaction and found that the free energy of activation for this reaction is mainly enthalpic. Investigation of the same reaction in the presence of the Ras binding domain of the effector Raf (RafRBD) reveals a four orders of magnitude faster reaction, indicating that RasRafRBD complex formation directly induces the conformational change. Recent developments of broadly tunable quantum cascade lasers will further improve time resolution and usability of the setup. The reported 100 ns time resolution is the best achieved for a non-repetitive experiment so far.
An adaptive document retrieval system using a neural network

Current document retrieval systems based on keyword retrieval have many problems with regard to human‐computer interaction. This paper focuses on three of them: (a) Not only the inputted keywords but also their relations have much important information as a representation of his query, though the system ignores the relations and uses them as indices of documents. (b) As a word can be understood in various ways by different people, one query can represent as various sets of keywords. (c) A user who does not have enough knowledge about his target field may fail to represent his query as a set of the keywords. A document retrieval system that overcomes these drawbacks is presented. The system has three major characteristics corresponding to the above problems: (a) It can extract the feature between keywords by representing the user's query as an activation pattern over a neural network, and retrieve documents by considering the relation between the inputted keywords. (b) It can be adapted to each user, and sp.
The Economic Value of Soil Quality under Alternative Management in the Canadian Prairies

This paper describes a dynamic simulation model that integrates environmental and economic components of agricultural crop production systems to predict changes in soil quality and the concomitant impact on economic returns. The model is used to simulate crop yield, soil quality and economic performance of a conventional crop rotation and several alternative crop rotations in two contrasting environments in western Canada over a 50-year period. This information is used to quantify the impact of the crop rotations on soil organic carbon (SOC) and the economic value of on-site SOC changes. The estimated value of these impacts range from $0.20/t to $2.10/t of SOC/ha/yr. Les auteurs decrivent un modele de simulation dynamique integrant les parametres environnementaux et economiques des systemes de production vegetale pour prevoir la qualitye du sol et l'incidence de cette derniere sur les rentrees. Le modele simule le rendement des cultures, la qualitye du sol et la performance economique d'un systeme d'assolement classique et de plusieurs de ses variantes, dans deux milieux contrastants de l'ouest du Canada, sur une periode de 50 ans. Les resultats ont permis de quantifier l'incidence de l'assolement sur la teneur du sol en carbone organique et la valeur economique des fluctuations d'une telle concentration. Les auteurs situent cette incidence entre 0.20 $ et 2,10 $ la tonne de carbone organique par hectare et par annee.
New Evidence About the Relation Between Credit Availability and Investments Contraction during Systemic Banking Crises

Economic literature has revealed the existence of some biases in the identification of the linkage between the supply of credit and aggregate output in periods of financial turbulence. From this perspective, when a banking crisis occurs a contraction of credit offered by banks generally happens, accompanied by a slowdown in economic activity. In these circumstances, there are different directions of causality that explain the coexistence of these two fundamental phenomena, the credit contraction and the economic slowdown. Throughout the analysis of 76 episodes of systemic banking crises, we research for the main determinants and effects which interested with different intensity 54 countries, in terms of credit restriction and economic slowdown. Evidence obtained from the analysis, by considering different components of demand and supply of credit during financial crises, lead us to significant findings, supporting the hypothesis that, under specific circumstances, credit contraction during financial crises is more to be ascribed to the reduction of credit demand from household and enterprises, rather than to a voluntary reduction of credit from banks.
Learning across borders: Labour market and social policies

The International Social Security Association (ISSA) has always had as one of its missions the exchange of information between member organizations in order to assist them to learn about common challenges and efforts taken to meet them. The International Social Security Review has long been one of the vehicles by which such information has been distributed. It has provided a forum where policy-makers can articulate and explain in a thoughtful fashion their initiatives and their concerns and where academics can raise new issues and throw a critical light upon efforts to meet existing and perceived needs that have already been undertaken. By definition, the content of the Review provides opportunities for comparison and, on many occasions, specific contributions have a comparative component. Because it is directed to a practitioner audience as much as an academic one, contributors feel obliged to make recommendations and, indeed, are encouraged to do so.Moreover, academics working in the area of policy analysis recognize that they are not merely commentators; they are also expected to use their analysis to make suggestions about what needs to be changed and about what more, or what instead, needs to be done.
Is Monetary Policy Non-Linear in Latin America?: A Quantile Regression Approach to Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru

There is a growing literature on nonlinear monetary policy in industrialized countries. These investigations have revealed that the reaction of central banks to economic variables depends on the level of such variables, confirming the nonlinearity of policy in the industrialized world. Researching whether monetary policy is nonlinear in Latin America, however, is hampered by the lack of data as stable monetary regimes have existed in many Latin American nations for only about fifteen years. We investigate monetary policy for four Latin American nations with quantile regression. Quantile regression does not require the additional parameters of traditional switching or threshold models; thus quantile regression can reveal nonlinearities without the long data span typically required in Markov Switching or Threshold estimation. Our results indicate that all of the nations display nonlinearities. For three, Chile, Mexico and Peru, policy becomes systematically tighter as the level of inflation rises, mirroring results found previously for the US and Japan.
Influence of poverty and infection on asthma in Latin America

Purpose of reviewAsthma in Latin America is a growing public health problem and seems to be most prevalent and cause most morbidity among poor urban populations. This article will review the findings of recent human studies of the associations of asthma prevalence in Latin America with factors associated with poverty and inequality including childhood infections, stress, environment, nutrition and diet. Recent findingsMost asthma in childhood in Latin America is nonatopic and has been associated with exposures related to environmental dirt, diet and psychosocial distress. These factors are strongly linked to poverty and inequality. Interestingly, infections with bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens in childhood appear to attenuate atopy in childhood but have no effect on asthma symptoms. There are biologically plausible mechanisms by which dirt exposures (e.g. endotoxin and other microbial products and nonmicrobial irritants), diet and obesity and psychosocial stress may cause airways inflammation. SummaryMost childhood asthma in Latin America is nonatopic for which important risk factors are those of poverty including poor hygiene (i.e. dirt), poor diet and obesity and psychosocial stress. There is evidence that exposures to infections in early childhood reduce atopy but not asthma. Research is needed to identify causes of nonatopic asthma that may be suitable for primary prevention or other public health intervention strategies for asthma in Latin America.
Maximum Power Point Tracking of Photovoltaic Panels by Using Improved Pattern Search Methods

This paper deals with the optimization of maximum power point tracking when a photovoltaic panel is modelled as two diodes. The adopted control is implemented using a sliding mode control (SMC) and the optimization is implemented using an improved Pattern Search Method. Thus, the problem of maximum power point tracking is reduced to an optimization problem whose solution is implemented by Pattern Search Techniques, inheriting their convergence properties. Simulation examples show the effectiveness of the proposed technique in practice, being able to deal with different radiations. In addition, improved pattern search method (IPSM) is compared with other techniques such as perturb & observe and Particle Swarm optimization, after which IPSM presents lower energy losses in comparison with the other two algorithms, with the advantage of ensuring the location of the optimal power point in all cases.
The components of interest rate swap spreads: Theory and international evidence

This article contains both a theoretical and an empirical analysis of the components of interest rate swap spreads defined as the difference between the fixed swap rate and the risk‐free rate of equal maturity. The components are determined by expected LIBOR spreads, default risk, and market structure. A model of the swap market incorporating debt market imperfections and corporate financing choices is used to explain participation by both swap buyers and sellers. The model also motivates an empirical relationship between swap spreads and the slope of the risk‐free term structure. The article then provides empirical evidence on the cross‐sectional and time‐series variation of swap spreads in seven international markets. The evidence is consistent with the suggested components across both markets and swap maturities as well as over time. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 23:347–387, 2003
Red nuclear and cerebellar but no olivary activation associated with essential tremor: A positron emission tomoraphic study

There has been debate as to whether essential tremor has a central origin and over the possible role of the inferior olivary nucleus in its genesis. We use positron emission tomography with radioactve water (H215O) to detect abnormal patterns of cerebral activity associated with this condition, at rest, without tremor, and on posture when the tremor was present. At rest, cerebellar blood flow was significantly increased bilaterally in the group with essential tremor (30–40%) but no increased olivary activity was evident. Essential tremor during arem extension was associated with further abnormal increases in bilateral cerebellar and abnormal red nuclear activation. Again, no olivary overactivity was evident. Voluntary wrist oscillation in control subjects caused only ipsilateral cerebellar activation. We conclude that essential tremor is associated with abnormal bilateral overactivity of cerebellar and red nuclear connections but found no evidence of intrinsic overactivity of the inferior olivary nucleus, as evidenced by raised blood flow.
Money and Endogenous Growth

The Ramsey-Romer model of endogenous growth is extended to allow for holdings of real money balances and government debt as well as capital and for non-interconnected generations of households. Tax-financed increases in government consumption and debt depress growth prospects and boost inflation, as long as a positive birth rate ensures that future taxes are shouldered by future, yet unborn, generations. Debt-financed increases in government consumption depress growth and boost inflation even more. Money-financed increases in government consumption depress growth less but increase inflation by more. Giving subsidies through an increase in monetary growth is non-neutral, since this increases real growth and thus inflation increases by a lesser amount than monetary growth. Bond-financed increases in monetary growth lead to a larger increase in real growth and a smaller increase in inflation. If there are cost adjustment for investment, cuts in monetary growth and increases in government debt and government consumption induce an increase in the real interest rate. Copyright 1994 by Ohio State University Press.
Labour market transitions and economic incentives

Building on register data describing monthly labour market status for the whole Norwegian population 1992-95, we estimate grouped competing risk hazard rate models for transitions between employment, unemployment and non-participation. The models impose no parametric restrictions on either calendar timeor spell duration effects. There is a substantial business cycle element in all transition rates apart from transitions from employment to non-participation. Conditioned on observed covariates, there is a strong negative duration dependence in transitions from unemployment to employment. Economic incentives play an important role in transitions from unemployment to employment, as well as in transitions from employment to nonparticipation. A 10 per cent increase in the unemployment benefit replacement ratio reduces the transition rate from unemployment to employment with 4-7 per cent, while it reduces the transition rate from unemployment to non-participation with 1013 per cent. Access to a particularly generous voluntary early retirement scheme increases the hazard rate from employment to non-participation with 40-80 per cent. More human capital entails higher job-to-job transition rates and lower transition rates to unemployment and non-participation. It is also associated with higher transition rates from unemployment to employment.
Measuring innovations in the Japanese LCD TVs using market data

Quality-adjusted price indexes based on a discrete choice model and a weighted hedonic function are estimated using market data for Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) TVs obtained from a large Internet price comparison service in Japan. Implicit values of attributes were used to unify marginal values of attributes into a scalar quality measure, and thus, we measure innovations by the price shift while controlling the levels of the attributes. We also report estimates on welfare gains through the discrete choice approach.
IBC-based TDIE solver for transient scattering by coated conductors

A Time Domain Integral Equation (TDIE) approach combined with Impedance Boundary Condition (IBC) for analysis of transient scattering by conductors coated with absorbing material is developed. The IBC is considered to be dependent on local incident direction and polarization property. Numerical results are compared with the analytical MIE series solutions and found in good agreements, demonstrating that the proposed procedure is stable, accurate and efficient.
Promotion of diabetic wound healing by collagen scaffold with collagen‐binding vascular endothelial growth factor in a diabetic rat model

Aims: Studies show that VEGF can promote tissue regeneration in diabetic wounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a new composite biomaterial, a collagen scaffold with CBD‐VEGF, for wound healing in a diabetic rat model. Materials and methods: We produced a collagen scaffold loaded with CBD‐VEGF, which allowed VEGF to bind to the collagen scaffold. The diabetic rat model was constructed by injecting streptozocin (STZ) peritoneally and removing a 2 x 2.5 cm thick slice of skin from the back of the animal. Animals were randomly divided into 4 groups: blank control (BC Group, n = 24), collagen scaffold loaded with PBS (PBS Group, n = 24), collagen scaffold loaded with NAT‐VEGF (NAT‐VEGF Group, n = 24), and collagen scaffold loaded with CBD‐VEGF (CBD‐VEGF Group, n = 24). Wounds of the BC Group were covered with gauze and those of the PBS, NAT‐VEGF and CBD‐VEGF Groups were grafted by corresponding collagen scaffolds, respectively. Healing rates were calculated and compared among groups. Wound tissue was evaluated by histologic analysis. Results: The CBD‐VEGF group showed a higher wound healing rate, better vascularization and higher level of VEGF in the granulation tissue wound compared with NAT‐VEGF and PBS groups. Conclusions: The collagen scaffold with CBD‐VEGF promoted wound healing in a diabetic rat model, which could potentially provide better therapeutic options for the treatment of diabetic wounds. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Employment Transitions in 13 European Countries. Levels, Distributions and Determining Factors of Net Replacement Rates

This paper utilises a multi-country microsimulation tax-benefit model for Europe, EUROMOD, to simulate the distribution of net replacement rates for 13 European countries. We look at different types of labour market transitions by comparing household incomes in the current state with simulated in-work/out-of-work counterfactuals. In particular we compare how the importance of household composition and different income sources varies across countries and for different replacement rate bands. We also show which individual and household characteristics are associated with observed replacement rate levels.
Distributed-parameter Luenberger observer for semi-linear parabolic PDE systems with a mobile pointwise sensor

The paper addresses the problem of state estimation using the measurement output of a mobile pointwise sensor for a class of nonlinear distributed parameter systems, which are modeled by a scalar semi-linear parabolic partial differential equation. A Lyapunov-based co-design method is proposed for simultaneous design of the guidance law of the mobile sensor and the distributed-parameter Luenberger observer. Exponential stability is guaranteed for the observer error system under a linear matrix inequality (LMI) condition. Numerical simulation of a real-world example shows the effectiveness of the method and the merit of the proposed design compared to a fixed sensor.
An Empirical Investigation on System and Statement Level Parallelism Strategies for Accelerating Scatter Search Using Handel-C and Impulse-C

Scatter Search is an effective and established population-based metaheuristic that has been used to solve a variety of hard optimization problems. However, the time required to find high-quality solutions can become prohibitive as problem sizes grow. In this paper, we present a hardware implementation of Scatter Search on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Our objective is to improve the run time of Scatter Search by exploiting the potentially massive performance benefits that are available through the native parallelism in hardware. When implementing Scatter Search we employ two different high-level languages (HLLs): Handel-C and Impulse-C. Our empirical results show that by effectively exploiting source-code optimizations, data parallelism, and pipelining, a 28x speed up over software can be achieved.