Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring and Mending Monetary Policy Effectiveness Under Capital Account Restrictions — Lessons from Mauritania

I propose a new approach to identifying exogenous monetary policy shocks in low-income countries with capital account restrictions. In the case of Mauritania, a domestic repatriation requirement is the key institutional characteristic that allows me to establish exogeneity. Unlike in advanced countries, I find no evidence for a statistically significant impact of exogenous monetary policy shocks on bank lending. Using a unique bank-level dataset on monthly balance sheets of six Mauritanian banks over the period 2006–11, I estimate structural vector autoregressions and two-stage least square panel models to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of monetary policy. Finally, I discuss how a reduction in banks’ loan concentration ratios and improvements in the liquidity management framework could make monetary stimuli more effective.
Duration of Executive Compensation

type="main"> Extensive discussions on the inefficiencies of “short-termism” in executive compensation notwithstanding, little is known empirically about the extent of such short-termism. We develop a novel measure of executive pay duration that reflects the vesting periods of different pay components, thereby quantifying the extent to which compensation is short-term. We calculate pay duration in various industries and document its correlation with firm characteristics. Pay duration is longer in firms with more growth opportunities, more long-term assets, greater R&D intensity, lower risk, and better recent stock performance. Longer CEO pay duration is negatively related to the extent of earnings-increasing accruals.
Credit Risk and Prepayment Option

Abstract The paper examines a type of insurance contract for which secondary markets do exist: default risk insurance is implicit in corporate bonds and other risky debts. It applies risk neutral martingale measure pricing to evaluate the option for a borrower with default risk, to prepay a fixed rate loan. A simple “matchbox” example is presented with a spreadsheet treatment.
Awake: Decentralized and Availability Aware Replication for P2P Cloud Storage

The traditional decentralized availability-based replication algorithms suffer from high dependence on the underlying system's churn behavior, randomness in replica selection, and the inability of maximizing the replicas availability. These drawbacks result in poor data availability especially in low available systems as well as where the churn behavior is mispredicted. In this paper, we propose dynamic, fully decentralized availability aware algorithm named Awake, with the goal of maximizing the availability of replicas. Compared to the existing solutions, Awake always provides the maximum availability of replicas regardless of the underlying system's churn behavior. By employing Awake, a data owner can select its replicas only based on the aggregated availability information of nodes obtained in a fully decentralized manner with asymptotically the same message overhead as the communication complexity of the underlying system. Awake has linear space complexity in the number of registered users to the system. Our extensive simulation results show that in comparison to the best existing decentralized solutions, regardless of the underlying churn model of the system, Awake improves the availability of replicas with a gain of about 21%. Likewise, Awake is scalable by showing the same performance independent of the system size.
Enhanced Channel Access Estimation based Adaptive Control of Distributed Cognitive Radio Networks

Spectrum sharing in centrally controlled cognitive radio (CR) networks has been widely studied, however, research on channel access for distributively controlled individual cognitive users has not been fully characterized. This paper conducts an analysis of random channel access of cognitive users controlled in a distributed manner in a CR network. Based on the proposed estimation method, each cognitive user can estimate the current channel condition by using its own Markov-chain model and can compute its own blocking probability, collision probability, and forced termination probability. Using the proposed scheme, CR with distributed control (CR-DC), CR devices can make self-controlled decisions based on the status estimations to adaptively control its system parameters to communicate better.
The impact of digital DNA counting technologies on noninvasive prenatal testing

The discovery of cell-free DNA molecules in maternal plasma has opened up numerous opportunities for noninvasive prenatal testing. The advent of new digital counting technologies, including digital polymerase chain reaction and massive parallel sequencing, has provided the opportunity to quantify the cell-free DNA molecules in maternal plasma in an unprecedentedly precise manner. Powered by these technologies, prenatal testing of different kinds of hereditary conditions, ranging from monogenic diseases to chromosome aneuploidies, has been shown to be possible through the analysis of maternal plasma DNA. Discussed here are the principles of the approaches used in the noninvasive testing of different fetal conditions, with an emphasis on the impact that different digital DNA counting strategies have made on the development of these tests.
Survival and recurrence after first cerebral infarction

We used the Kaplan-Meier product limit method to estimate rates and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis with bootstrap validation to model significant independent predictors of and temporal trends in survival and recurrent stroke among 1,111 residents of Rochester, MN, who had a first cerebral infarction from 1975 through 1989. The risk of death after first cerebral infarction was 7% ± 0.7% at 7 days, 14% ± 1.0% at 30 days, 27% ± 1.3% at 1 year, and 53% ± 1.5% at 5 years. Independent risk factors for death after first cerebral infarction were age(p < 0.0001), congestive heart failure (p < 0.0001), persistent atrial fibrillation (p < 0.0001), recurrent stroke (p < 0.0001), and ischemic heart disease (p< 0.0001 for age ≤70, p > 0.05 for age >70). The risk of recurrent stroke after first cerebral infarction was 2% ± 0.4% at 7 days, 4% ± 0.6% at 30 days, 12% ± 1.1% at 1 year, and 29%± 1.7% at 5 years. Age (p = 0.0002) and diabetes mellitus(p = 0.0004) were the only significant independent predictors of recurrent stroke. Neither the year nor the quinquennium of the first cerebral infarction was a significant determinant of survival or recurrence. The temporal trend toward improving survival after first cerebral infarction documented in Rochester, MN, in the decades before 1975 has ended.
Improve fault tolerance in cell-based evolve hardware architecture

This paper presents a new fault tolerance control unit model in cell-based architecture. The main feature of the model is that a control unit is able to individual repair that uses to improve system reliability in case of control units are failure. In the approach considered a cell to be multi-layers that separate repairing and detecting of each layer, and also used to support repair and detect faults between layers. This paper shows how the model can be used to repair cover a single fault and multiple faults. The reliability analysis shows the improving fault-tolerance of this model.
Markers of radioresistance in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study.

PURPOSE The lack of accurate criteria to predict the response to radiotherapy for individual patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HN-SCC) remains a major problem. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of several biologic tumor markers to complement clinical prognostic factors in the assessment of response to radiotherapy in SCCs. PATIENTS AND METHODS p53, ki-67, c-erb B-2, heat-shock protein-27 (HSP-27), and glutathione S transferase (GSTpi) were evaluated by immunohistochemistry on biopsies from 101 patients treated for head and neck cancer by radical radiotherapy. Expression of each marker was correlated with local control and survival using Kaplan-Meier curves. A Cox regression multivariate analysis was also performed that included all clinical and immunohistochemical variables. RESULTS Expression of p53 and low cell proliferation allowed identification of patients whose tumors did not respond to radiation. Patients with p53-expressing tumors displayed a relative risk (RR) of 3.78 for not being controlled by radiotherapy compared with patients with p53-negative tumors. For tumors with a high growth fraction (ki-67 > 20%) the RR was 0.25 compared with tumors with a low growth fraction (ki-67 < 20%). When p53 expression and cell proliferation were considered simultaneously in a Cox model, the association with resistance to radiation was significant (P = .000004). The RR for resistance with one (p53 staining or ki-67 < 20%) or two (p53 staining and ki-67 < 20%) unfavorable markers was, respectively, 3.8 and 14.87. CONCLUSION Patients whose tumor expressed p53 with low growth fraction (ki-67 < 20%) had a strong probability not to respond to radiation therapy. Similarly, absence of p53 expression with a high cell proliferation predicted an excellent outcome after radiotherapy even for patients with advanced disease. Prediction of the outcome of radiotherapy would eventually facilitate the early choice of an adequate treatment.
Artificial neural network for load forecasting in smart grid

It is an irresistible trend of the electric power improvement for developing the smart grid, which applies a large amount of new technologies in power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization to achieve optimization of the power configuration and energy saving. As one of the key links to make a grid smarter, load forecast plays a significant role in planning and operation in power system. Many ways such as Expert Systems, Grey System Theory, and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and so on are employed into load forecast to do the simulation. This paper intends to illustrate the representation of the ANN applied in load forecast based on practical situation in Ontario Province, Canada.
Quality Management Dimensions, Contextual Factors and Performance: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract In an assessment of the status of quality management dimensions in Queensland businesses, this study has used Powell's (1995) framework of quality management. A mail survey approach was used to collect the information on various dimensions of quality management considered in this study. The results suggest that implementation of quality management practices in Queensland businesses has begun but not much progress has been made yet. Of different quality management programs, ISO9000 is a very popular quality management program used by the firms in the sample. The findings of the study indicate that the firms that have adopted Total Quality Management (TQM) tend to put more emphasis on Measurement and Training aspects than those firms that have adopted ISO9000 or a combination of ISO9000 and TQM. The results also suggest that large firms tend to put more emphasis on the benchmarking aspect of quality management than small and medium firms. Measurement and Process Improvement are found to be more important for manufacturing firms than for the firms engaged in construction. In terms of performance, there are few notable positive correlations with some of the quality management dimensions in spite of low level of implementation of quality management practices in Queensland businesses.
The New Service Model: a review, a critique and a way forward

The paper contributes to the debate on the New Service Model by focusing on the theoretical and practical implications that it calls for. The discussion seeks to take stock of the development of the idea of product-service integration, which is central to this New Service Paradigm, and provides a review and critique of the key principles that underpin this new business model. It is argued that if the New Service Model is to have longevity and deliver its promise of enhancing organisational growth, then it is critical to develop a strong theoretical account and an equally strong appreciation of the practical implications.
Fast-Follower Industrial Dynamics: The Case of Taiwan's Emergent Solar Photovoltaic Industry

The world is on the cusp of major transformations of energy systems, with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems providing one of the most promising alternatives to fossil fuels. Amongst the countries moving to take advantage of the new production possibilities thus being opened up is Taiwan, employing in this new sector its characteristic strategies of fast followership that it has perfected in earlier industrial shifts involving semiconductors, ICT products and flat panel displays. This paper provides an interim assessment of Taiwan's early entry strategies, involving a focus on mainstream crystalline silicon solar cells, as well as entry into emerging niche sectors such as thin-film second-generation cells and concentrated solar cells utilizing novel semiconductor materials. Taiwan firms’ fast-follower strategies are highlighted and assessed in light of the literature on industrial dynamics and catch-up processes generally. The paper makes a contribution to theory in building nine propositions regarding fast followership, based on prior industrial experiences and this latest episode in the solar PV industry. Taiwan's strategies as a model for China are discussed, while the paper proposes Taiwan as an alternative to the “closed” and “open” models of photovoltaic diffusion identified for Japan and the USA.
Perceiving emotion: towards a realistic understanding of the task

A decade ago, perceiving emotion was generally equated with taking a sample (a still photograph or a few seconds of speech) that unquestionably signified an archetypal emotional state, and attaching the appropriate label. Computational research has shifted that paradigm in multiple ways. Concern with realism is key. Emotion generally colours ongoing action and interaction: describing that colouring is a different problem from categorizing brief episodes of relatively pure emotion. Multiple challenges flow from that. Describing emotional colouring is a challenge in itself. One approach is to use everyday categories describing states that are partly emotional and partly cognitive. Another approach is to use dimensions. Both approaches need ways to deal with gradual changes over time and mixed emotions. Attaching target descriptions to a sample poses problems of both procedure and validation. Cues are likely to be distributed both in time and across modalities, and key decisions may depend heavily on context. The usefulness of acted data is limited because it tends not to reproduce these features. By engaging with these challenging issues, research is not only achieving impressive results, but also offering a much deeper understanding of the problem.
Controlling for Heterogeneity in Gravity Models of Trade and Integration

This paper compares various specifications of the gravity model of trade as nested versions of a general specification that uses bilateral country-pair fixed effects to control for heterogeneity. For each specification, we show that the atheoretical restrictions used to obtain them from the general model are not supported statistically. Because the gravity model has become the "workhorse" baseline model for estimating the effects of international integration, this has important empirical implications. In particular, we show that, unless heterogeneity is accounted for correctly, gravity models can greatly overestimate the effects of integration on the volume of trade.
Transportation Capital in the United States

This study introduces a new general equilibrium approach to evaluate economic impact of public transportation capital stock in the United States. By treating public transportation capital as separated factor accounts, the model enables us to assess the economic impact of public transportation stock for four modes: road, air, transit, and water transportation. The study provides a direct and easy way for policy maker and transportation planning practitioner to compare social and economic benefits of different modes of public transportation. Findings reveal that road stock has the highest contribution to the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) and levels of social welfare; public transit and other ground passenger transportation have the least impact on the U.S. economy among the four modes.
Research on Technological Innovation in Family Firms

The purpose of this article is to review and systematize prior work on technological innovation in family firms and to open up an agenda to guide future research into this promising area. The study shows that family involvement has direct effects on innovation inputs (e.g., R&D expenditures), activities (e.g., leadership in new product development projects), and outputs (e.g., number of new products), as well as moderating effects on the relationships between these steps of technological innovation. The article uses theories applied in family business research (e.g., agency theory) to discuss opportunities for extending technological innovation frameworks by considering family involvement.
Evaluation of bands containing spectrally correlated noise in hyperspectral imagery

Studies on real hyperspectral data have shown that spectrally correlated noise may have a negative impact on noise approximation methods and hence on procedures that require accurate noise estimates, for example intrinsic dimension estimation. The exact behavior of this noise and the best method to overcome its effect is not well understood. In this paper we study this effect in a synthetic dataset by creating an image with areas of spatial homogeneity based on the geography of a Cuprite scene. Cosines with varying frequencies are used as endmembers, and various types of noise are added in order to analyze the effect. We found that we were able to create partial correlation coefficients which were similar to those found in real images. Also, correlated and uncorrelated noise were separable, and removal of correlated bands resulted in partial correlation coefficients consistent with images containing no correlated noise. These findings mean that it is possible to threshold to remove bands containing highly correlated noise for the improvement of noise estimation or of intrinsic dimension algorithms.
Oral Appliance Treatment Response and Polysomnographic Phenotypes of Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Mandibular advancement splints (MAS) are an effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA); however, therapeutic response is variable. Younger age, female gender, less obesity, and milder and supine-dependent OSA have variably been associated with treatment success in relatively small samples. Our objective was to utilize a large cohort of MAS treated patients (1) to compare efficacy across patients with different phenotypes of OSA and (2) to assess demographic, anthropometric, and polysomnography variables as treatment response predictors. METHODS Retrospective analysis of MAS-treated patients participating in clinical trials in sleep centers in Sydney, Australia between years 2000-2013. All studies used equivalent customized two-piece MAS devices and treatment protocols. Treatment response was defined as (1) apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) < 5/h, (2) AHI < 10/h and ≥ 50% reduction, and (3) ≥ 50% AHI reduction. RESULTS A total of 425 patients (109 female) were included (age 51.2 ± 10.9 years, BMI 29.2 ± 5.0 kg/m2). MAS reduced AHI by 50.3% ± 50.7% across the group. Supine-predominant OSA patients had lower treatment response rates than non-positional OSA (e.g., 36% vs. 59% for AHI < 10/h). REM-predominant OSA showed a lower response rate than either NREM or non-stage dependent OSA. In prediction modelling, age, baseline AHI, and anthropometric variables were predictive of MAS treatment outcome but not OSA phenotype. Gender was not associated with treatment outcome. CONCLUSION Lower MAS treatment response rates were observed in supine and REM sleep. In a large sample, we confirm that demographic, anthropometric, and polysomnographic data only weakly inform about MAS efficacy, supporting the need for alternative objective prediction methods to reliably select patients for MAS treatment.
The Carbon Nanotube Based Micro Bubble Generator in Micro Channel with Dynamic Fluid

Based on the previous study of micro bubble generation using carbon nanotube heating elements with uW power input in static droplet of water, the dynamic characteristic of micro bubble generated by CNTs heater draw us much attention. In this summary, the micro bubble transportation, diameter control in micro channel and the departure of micro bubble from CNTs heater by pulse current stimulation in water tank will be presented. On the one hand, PDMS, after fabricating micro channel on it, will be bonded to the silicon substrate by oxygen plasma to form micro channel device. In our research, we could observe that the movement of vapor bubble along the micro channel by pulse flow or constant flow. The power consumption for bubble generation in micro channel is relative higher than that in static droplet of water, but it keeps staying around 275 uW. Furthermore we also use the injected cool water to control the diameter of the micro bubble. On the other hand, from micro bubble departure in water tank experiment, we observe that the micro bubble has shake response by pulse current input on the CNTs heater, which accelerate the departure of micro bubble. With low power consumption, dynamic transportation and controllable diameter, the micro bubble generated by CNTs heater in micro channel offers a promising future in lots of application, e.g., micro manipulation and micro transportation.
A magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of brain glutamate in a model of plasticity in human pharyngeal motor cortex.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Coordinated delivery of peripheral and cortical stimuli (paired associative stimulation [PAS]) has been shown to induce plasticity in limb motor cortex, however, its application in pharyngeal motor cortex and the molecular mechanisms involved in human neuroplasticity remain uncertain. Because neuroplasticity appears to form the basis for functional recovery of digestive functions such as swallowing after brain injury, the aim of this study was to characterize the induction of cortical plasticity in human pharyngeal motor cortex through PAS applied to pharyngeal musculature and investigate the potential role of glutamate in this process. METHODS Fifteen healthy volunteers completed a series of experiments in which cortical excitability was assessed through pharyngeal motor evoked potential amplitudes in response to transcranial magnetic stimulation. The optimal parameters and interhemispheric interactions of PAS in the bilaterally represented pharyngeal system initially were investigated. Cortical glutamate after PAS then was assessed with magnetic resonance spectroscopy. RESULTS The greatest increase in cortical pharyngeal excitability was seen if paired stimuli were separated by 100 ms (F[15,210] = 2.28; P < or = .05). Cortical excitability increased over 2 hours with analogous albeit lesser changes in the contralateral hemisphere. A focal and transient reduction in glutamate was found in the stimulated pharyngeal motor cortex (F[1,12] = 21.9; P = .001), without changes in any other measured brain metabolites. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that PAS-induced plasticity in the human pharyngeal motor system is both timing- and hemisphere-dependent and provides novel evidence for the potential role of glutamate in modulating this effect.