Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extending Risk Budgeting for Market Regimes and Quantile Factor Models

We combine several disparate avenues in the literature to create a novel, unified risk-based optimisation framework. Specifically, we extend the existing risk budgeting approach of Richard and Roncalli (2015) to allow for changing market regimes, factor dependence and nonlinear and asymmetric market structure. We show that the existing framework can be readily extended to include a factor-dependent return process using standard models available in the literature. Structural changes in market conditions are then incorporated into the framework through the use of a regime-switching turbulence index and the nonlinear and asymmetric market dependence structure is accounted for by using quantile factor models. Most importantly, this extended framework is only comprised of a series of linear models, and is thus simple to understand and implement. We consider two applications of the extended framework, namely scenario analysis and parameter uncertainty analysis, through means of a simple empirical case study. Finally, we introduce the concept of Risk Maps, which provide managers with a graphical approach for estimating and evaluating risk optimality in a multi-objective and multi-scenario setting.
Physical appearance and peer effects in academic performance

ABSTRACT A large literature examines the role of peer effects in shaping student academic outcomes. This article adds to that literature by introducing a new kind of peer effect – the effect of classmate physical appearance. We document that college students are assigned higher grades when in a classroom with peers who are rated as very attractive. This effect is strongest for female students and appears to be concentrated among the courses of younger and male instructors.
A novel cost effective algorithm for antinuclear antibody (ANA) testing in an outpatient setting

*Corresponding author: Mira Barak, PhD, General Director, Central Laboratory of Haifa and Western Galilee , Clalit Health Services, Haifa , Israel , Phone: + 972 4 209093, Fax: + 972 4 209094, E-mail: miraba@clalit.org. il Orit Rozenberg, Maya Grinberg, Dina Reginashvili, Maya Kishinewsky, Clara Henig and Paul Froom: Central Laboratory of Haifa and Western Galilee , Clalit Health Services, Haifa , Israel
Protective effect of bradykinin against glutamate neurotoxicity in cultured rat retinal neurons.

PURPOSE To identify the localization and expression of bradykinin (BK)-B2 receptors in rat retina and examine the effects of BK on glutamate-induced neurotoxicity using cultured rat retinal neurons. METHODS An immunohistochemical study using a specific antibody against BK-B2 receptor was performed with rat retina. Primary cultures were obtained from the retina of fetal rats (gestation day 17-19). Expression of BK-B2 receptor mRNA was determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using total RNA obtained from cultured retinal neurons. Cultured cells were exposed to glutamate (1 mM) for 10 minutes and followed by incubation in glutamate-free medium for 1 hour. The effects of BK were assessed by simultaneous application of BK with glutamate. The neurotoxic effects on retinal cultures were quantitatively assessed by the trypan blue exclusion method. RESULTS Immunohistochemical study demonstrated that BK-B2 receptors were expressed in the ganglion cell, inner nuclear layers, and outer nuclear layers. Furthermore, BK-B2 receptor mRNA expression was observed in cultured retinal neurons. Cell viability was markedly reduced by 10-minute exposure to 1 mM glutamate followed by a 1-hour incubation in glutamate-free medium. Simultaneous application of BK at concentrations of 0.001 to 1 microM with glutamate demonstrated dose-dependent protection against glutamate neurotoxicity. The protective action of BK (1 microM) was inhibited by simultaneous application of BK-B2 receptor antagonist, Hoe140 (1 microM). Furthermore, 1 microM BK had protective effects on neurotoxicity induced by 1 microM ionomycin, a calcium ionophore, and sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 500 microM), a nitric oxide (NO)-generating agent. However, BK did not inhibit neurotoxicity induced by 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1, 10 microM), an NO and oxygen radical donor. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that BK-B2 receptors were distributed in rat retinas and cultured retinal neurons and that BK had a protective action against glutamate neurotoxicity through BK-B2 receptors in cultured retinal neurons. It is suggested that BK-induced protection against glutamate neurotoxicity took place downstream to NO generation and upstream to oxygen radical generation.
The merits and limits of making do: bricolage and breakdowns in a social enterprise

Abstract Despite growing literature on social entrepreneurship there is scarce research on how potentially conflicting social and economic objectives manifest on a micro-level and affect everyday management of social enterprises. Applying a strategy as practice perspective we identify sources of, and responses to, temporary and complete breakdowns in Die Bäckerei, a social enterprise that epitomizes bricolage behaviour. We find that diverging interpretations of the organization’s identity eventually result in diverging standards for evaluating performance and lead to breakdowns. We discuss why bricolage is both a source of and a solution to temporary breakdowns and show how practitioners mobilize the hybrid organizational identity as an additional and equally important practice to respond to temporary breakdowns. Furthermore, in the circumstance of complete breakdown the social enterprise has to engage in identity work finding a new situational balance between its social and economic objectives and competing logics. Finally, we show how breakdowns lead to an extension of the social enterprise’s repertoire and discuss how the combination of the social mission and bricolage behaviour enables the organization to eschew path dependency, mobilize alternative resources, and build improvisational strategy.
Two-dimensional 45/spl deg/ surface-normal microcoupler array for guided-wave optical clock distribution

Surface-normal couplers are indispensable parts of a guided-wave optoelectronic interconnects for the coupling of optical signals into and out of the waveguides while facilitating the packaging. In this paper, integration of the 45/spl deg/ surface-normal couplers at each fanout end of the H-tree waveguide structure is described. An optical clock signal distribution system is under development using polyimide based H-tree waveguide structure. The coupler is a 45/spl deg/ slanted end surface of the polyimide waveguide. The coupler works for a wide range of wavelength. The experimentally estimated output coupling efficiency is nearly 100%. To determine the optimized size and shape of the photodetector, near and far field diffraction patterns are evaluated. Experimental results conclude that the phenomenon is dominated by the fundamental mode of the highly multimode waveguide.
ESSAYS ON DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT

The present dissertation consists of three essays related to economic development and human capital investment. The first essay investigates the choice between public and private schools in Brazil. I use cross-sectional survey data to show that families with higher income and schooling are less likely to enroll their children in public school. But if their race is black or brown, they are more likely to choose public schools, even when controlling for income, education and location. I do not find any evidence that this result comes from scarcity of private schools, race preferences, or residential segregation. But it is likely caused by the lower returns to education that black and brown individuals have. This essay shows that not only income and education matter for school choice in Brazil, but also race. The second essay explores the theory behind parental educational investments in the presence of heterogeneous returns. I build on the overlapping generations literature to study the investment that parents make on the education of their children, in a setting with private and public schools and different returns by group. This assumption is motivated by the findings in the first essay, and it results in different school choices based on income and returns. This difference in the educational investment leads to school segregation in equilibrium and may result in poverty traps. The third essay uses a quantitative approach to study the effects of implementing a voucher program in Brazil. I use simulated method of moments to estimate some parameters in a parental choice model, while calibrating others to the Brazilian economy. The estimation is used to evaluate how implementing private education vouchers compares with the non-voucher case. I find that vouchers increase
Fermented Soy Product Intake Is Inversely Associated with the Development of High Blood Pressure: The Japan Public Health Center-Based Prospective Study.

Background: Randomized controlled studies have investigated the short-term effect of soy product intake on blood pressure (BP) in normotensive people. To our knowledge, no prospective studies exist on the effect of habitual intake of fermented soy products, separate from total soy products, on BP in the general population.Objective: We examined the association between the habitual intake of soy products, including fermented soy products, and the development of high BP during a 5-y period among participants in a population-based prospective cohort study in Japan.Methods: The study included normotensive participants aged 40-69 y at baseline (926 men and 3239 women) who completed 2 questionnaires and whose BP was measured at the baseline survey between 1993 and 1994 and the 5-y follow-up in the Japan Public Health Center-Based Prospective Study Cohort II. The intake of soy products was assessed with a food-frequency questionnaire. High BP was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥130 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure ≥85 mm Hg, or antihypertensive medication use. ORs and 95% CIs of high BP by frequency of soy products (miso, natto, and tofu) consumption, intake of total and fermented soy products, and intake of isoflavones from total and fermented soy products were estimated with the use of multiple logistic regression analysis.Results: Multivariable-adjusted ORs of high BP for the highest compared with the lowest tertile of total and fermented soy product intake were 1.03 (95% CI: 0.84, 1.25; P-trend = 0.786) and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.56, 0.92; P-trend = 0.009), respectively. The frequency of nonfermented soy product (tofu) intake was not associated with the development of high BP (P-trend = 0.597). Conclusions: The intake of fermented soy products, but not total or nonfermented soy products, was inversely associated with developing high BP in men and women with normal BP.
Lymphangiogenesis and lymphangiodysplasia: From molecular to clinical lymphology

The lymph vascular system parallels the blood vasculature and as one of its key functions returns liquid and solutes to the bloodstream, including macromolecules that have escaped from blood capillaries and entered the interstitium. In conjunction with interspersed lymph nodes and lymphoid organs, the lymphatic vasculature also acts as a conduit for trafficking immune cell populations. Echoing the explosion of knowledge about blood vessel angiogenesis (properly termed “hemangiogenesis”), the past two decades have also witnessed a series of significant, yet less‐noticed discoveries bearing on “lymphangiogenesis,” along with delineation of the spectrum of lymphedema–angiodysplasia syndromes. Failure of lymph transport promotes a brawny proteinaceous edema of the affected limb, organ, or serous space that is disfiguring, disabling, and on occasion even life‐threatening. Key members of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiopoietin families of vascular growth factors (and their corresponding tyrosine kinase endothelial receptors) have been identified which preferentially influence lymphatic growth and, when manipulated in genetically engineered murine models, produce aberrant “lymphatic phenotypes. ” Moreover, mutations in VEGF receptor and forkhead family developmental genes have now been linked and implicated in the pathogenesis of two familial lymphedema–angiodysplasia syndromes. Thus, recent advances in “molecular lymphology” are elucidating the poorly understood development, physiology, and pathophysiology of the neglected lymphatic vasculature. In combination with fresh insights and refined tools in “clinical lymphology,” these advances should lead not only to earlier detection and more rational classification of lymphatic disease but also to better therapeutic approaches, including designer drugs for lymphangiostimulation and lymphangioinhibition and gene therapy to modulate lymphatic growth. Microsc. Res. Tech. 55:122–145, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Acculturation attitude and its effect on work engagement: a case of professional Chinese immigrants in Australia

Based on Berry’s seminal work on acculturation process, this study investigates the individual differences of professional Chinese immigrants in terms of their attitudes toward acculturation, and the relationship between acculturation attitudes and work engagement of professional Chinese immigrants in the Australian workplace. Our survey on a sample of 220 professional Chinese immigrants reveals that those immigrants have a predominant preference to maintain their home culture. The professional Chinese immigrants adopting assimilation attitude have significantly higher level of work engagement than those who adopt separation and marginalization. This study provides useful information for organizations to manage immigrant employees via effective acculturation programs.
Deleveraging and Decline in Revenue‐Expense Matching Over Time

Accounting rules mandate that the cost of debt should be recorded as an expense, while the cost of equity does not appear in the income statement. Therefore, the amount of financing expense, and thus net income, in the income statements depends on how firms finance their business. Based on a clear, substantial trend of declining leverage since the 1990s, we examine how changes in capital structure might influence earnings attributes&#8212;the matching between revenues and expenses. We find that the contemporaneous relation between revenues and interest expense in US firms has decreased from 1972 to 2013, a result of both changes in leverage and the declining explanatory power of interest expense with respect to revenues. When we construct the weighted average costs of capital based on the costs of both debt and equity, we find the contemporaneous relation between revenues and the costs of capital has not significantly changed. Our results indicate that differential accounting treatment of the costs of debt and equity can affect earnings attributes through change in capital structure.
Impaired capital reallocation in a low-interest rate environment

The global financial crisis of 2008/2009 caused the most sudden and deep recession since the 1930s. In response to the crisis, the leading central banks cut monetary policy rates to unprecedented low levels and introduced a set of nonstandard monetary policy measures such as quantitative easing, credit easing and liquidity injections. However, despite massive monetary policy interventions that pushed shortand longterm interest rates close to or even below zero, post-crisis GDP growth rates remained well below pre-crisis levels in most advanced economies including Germany. Furthermore, labor productivity and total factor productivity (TFP) growth in Germany and other countries dropped to an all-time low. The global productivity slowdown has spurred a lively debate on the underlying causes and potential consequences for future output growth (Brynjolfsson and McAfee 2011; Gordon 2014; Andrews et al. 2015; McGowan et al. 2017). According to Schumpeter (1942), productivity growth is closely linked to a process of “creative destruction” and resource reallocation as factors of production are moved from lowproductive to high-productive firms (Foster et al. 2001). Following this notion, several studies provided empirical evidence that an impeded process of restructuring and resource reallocation became one of the main reasons for the post-crisis productivity slowdown (Barnett et al. 2014a; Gopinath et al. 2015). Potential barriers to an efficient allocation of resources are manifold andmost often stem from interventions in labor, product, trade and credit markets. In the context of Japan’s weak economic performance since the 1990s, the manner in which central banks’ crisis management can impede the restructuring process in the banking
Evaluating ergonomic risk factors in non-regulated stone carving units of Jaipur.

BACKGROUND Stone carving at Jaipur in Rajasthan state of India, is a traditional craft employing a large number of local youths. As an unorganized sector problems are many ranging from lack of benefits to occupational ergonomic issues of Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders(WMSDs) and injury to body parts. STUDY DESIGN Twenty five male workers were selected in each of the three sections of a stone carving unit. The focus was to identify different ergonomic risk factors associated in this profession from the field. METHODS Still photography and video photography was used to record different activities. Different types of non invasive tools like Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), Occupational Repetitive Action Index (OCRA) were used. Psychophysical measures were investigated by Body part discomfort map, rated perceived exertion scale and visual analogue scale. Objective measurements (heart arte and skin temperature) were recorded with stop watch and digital thermometer. RESULTS The working heart rate after 30 minutes of work was 112.4 beats per minute categorizing the work as moderately heavy. Postural analysis by REBA indicated high score (13/13). Similarly postural analysis by RULA showed high score (7/7). These indicate vulnerability of many of the postures to musculoskeletal disorders and injury. CONCLUSION The study indicates that majority of the activities are in the high risk category and demands immediate ergonomic intervention in the form of tool, workstation and process design. This could be done by involving different Non Government Organizations (NGOs), political parties, and the Human Rights Department both at the center and at the state level.
Retrospective Study of Necropsy-Associated Coagulase-Positive Staphylococci in Horses

Coagulase-positive staphylococci (CoPS) are potential causative agents of equine infections, but they are rarely responsible for the death of the animal. In the current study, staphylococci implicated in the death or euthanasia of horses were retrospectively studied in 3,457 necropsies performed over a decade (1995-2006). Morbidity associated with CoPS was 1.7%, representing 60 isolates of CoPS, which were identified as Staphylococcus aureus (59) and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (1). Coagulase-positive staphylococci (alone or in association with another bacterial species) were associated with the death or euthanasia of 90% of the cases (54/60). Proportions of antibiotic resistance to penicillin G and tetracycline reached 62.7% and 23.7%, respectively. Virulence genes were detected in 91.7% of the strains, with a majority of seh or sei enterotoxin genes. Finally, 3 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates belonging to the t064 spa-type were identified. One strain was isolated in 2003 and might thus be one of the first cases of equine MRSA in France.
Making Education Work: School Autonomy and Performance

The autonomy of schools is often considered to be improving school performance. However, there is some evidence that there could be conditional factors for such a relationship. This article analyzes the effect of social capital on the relationship between school autonomy and its performance. The study is based upon a new public management approach and uses PISA test data across more than 1,500 schools and multi-level modelling to answer the question. The results suggest that performance of schools is dependent on the level of social capital in the country. Autonomy of schools in countries with more social capital has a positive effect on performance, while autonomy of schools in countries with less social capital brings a negative effect for school performance. The results invite policy-makers for a more customized approach to educational reforms.
Comparison of gene expression of epicardial and visceral adipocytes with regard to the differentiation stage.

BACKGROUND Our study focused on the ability of epicardial adipocytes to produce bioactive substances and compare the extent of this production with the production of adipokines in visceral adipocytes, which are well known endocrine cells capable of contributing to the development of atherosclerosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS The gene expression of human cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-18, RANTES and MCP-1) and adipokines (leptin and adiponectin) was measured in primary cell lines of epicardial and visceral adipocytes, both in undifferentiated and mature statuses, after a 21-day-long differentiation protocol. Each condition was assayed in triplicate in two independent primary cell lines obtained from two different donors. RESULTS The epicardial preadipocytes showed an increased expression of IL-8 (3.25-fold, p<0.05) compared with visceral preadipocytes. The expression of the atheroprotective adiponectin in epicardial preadipocytes was minimal compared with the expression in visceral preadipocytes (p<0.0001). Moreover, the expression of the genes of interest was dependent on the differentiation degree and cell origin. We observed an altered expression of the proinflammatory genes IL-8 (0.016-fold, p<0.01) and MCP-1 (0.19-fold, p<0.05) in differentiated epicardial adipocytes compared with undifferentiated adipocytes. The epicardial adipocytes showed an increased expression of IL-6 (8.13-fold, p<0.05) compared with the visceral adipocytes. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that epicardial adipocytes substantially differ from visceral adipocytes and might locally contribute to the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis.
Nanomagnetic Logic: Error-Free, Directed Signal Transmission by an Inverter Chain

In this paper we present a new clocking method for non-reciprocal information transmission by an inverter chain of focused ion-beam engineered Co/Ni nanomagnets. The functionality of the clocking method is proven experimentally. Local focused ion-beam irradiation is used in order to define the direction of the information flow. The nanodots of the chain are clocked synchronously by a global external field. Information is transmitted synchronously between neighboring dots due to field-coupling. Magnetic force microscopy is used to reveal the magnetization state of the nanomagnets after every field pulse to prove the correct transmission of the signal. The switching characteristics of the fabricated nanodots and coupling forces between neighboring dots are analyzed optically using the magneto-optical Kerr effect. A detailed explanation is given for the occurrence of possible errors in a field coupled inverter chain.