Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Demand for primary healthcare in rural north India

India's dynamic primary healthcare market is dominated, in rural north India, by the private sector that operates alongside a weak government system. The Indian healthcare market, in theory, offers several systems of medicine, a variance in the level of provider qualifications and incorporates both the formal and informal provider markets. However, in practice in rural north India, consumers have limited effective choice. A major constraint on our understanding of the rural north Indian primary healthcare market is the lack of data and analysis of consumers' preferences for unqualified doctors. This study estimates consumer demand for private unqualified and qualified 'doctors' and government doctors in three districts of India's largest state--Uttar Pradesh--for the treatment of mild to severe fever. Results demonstrate that unqualified 'doctor' services are normal goods and that government doctor utilization may be improved by increasing user fees to enable reduced patient travel distances.
Prediction of Continuing Client Contact in a Brief-Treatment Campus Mental Health Agency

The ability of the Counseling Readiness Scales to predict the number of sessions spent in short-term counseling or brief psychotherapy within a university mental health service was confirmed. Highly ready clients spent more time in both than those low on readiness. Significant positive correlations between number of sessions and rated improvement of clients within both short-term modes of treatment suggest the practical utility of measurement of readiness.
‘Species’ of peptidases

Abstract A good system for the naming and classification of peptidases can contribute much to the study of these enzymes. Having already described the building of families and clans in the MEROPS system, we here focus on the lowest level in the hierarchy, in which the huge number of individual peptidase proteins are assigned to a lesser number of what we term ‘species’ of peptidases. Just over 2000 peptidase species are recognised today, but we estimate that 25 000 will one day be known. Each species is built around a peptidase protein that has been adequately characterised. The cluster of peptidase proteins that represent the single species is then assembled primarily by analysis of a sequence ‘tree’ for the family. Each peptidase species is given a systematic identifier and a summary page of data regarding it is assembled. Because the characterisation of new peptidases lags far behind the sequencing, the majority of peptidase proteins are so far known only as amino acid sequences and cannot yet be assigned to species. We suggest that new forms of analysis of the sequences of the unassigned peptidases may give early indications of how they will cluster into the new species of the future.
Executive Compensation and the Boundary of the Firm: The Case of Short-Lived Projects

We consider the problem of moral hazard in the team of managers employed in a firm when the principal/firm owner can play an active role in determining team output. Unless the principal's compensation is non-decreasing in firm value there is an additional moral hazard problem since the principal will have an incentive to reduce output. In this context we determine team, and hence firm, size and solve for the form of optimal managerial compensation contracts. In particular we determine conditions under which optimal contracts will have option-like features.
House Prices and Mortgage Defaults: Econometric Models and Risk Management Applications

House Prices and Mortgage Defaults: Econometric Models and Risk Management Applications By XIANGJING WEI 07/2010 Committee Chair: Dr. _SHAUN WANG___ Major Department: __Risk Management and Insurance______ This dissertation first investigates the possible house price trend and the relationship with the mortgage market, from the perspective of risk management; then it chooses the angle from bond insurers and figures out possible methods to avoid capital procyclicality. As for the first chapter, based on the Granger-Causality test, we apply vector auto regression models (VAR) and simultaneous equations models (SEM) to estimate the dynamic relations among house price returns, mortgage rates and mortgage default rates, using historical data during the time period of 1979 through second quarter 2008. We find that house prices would be better estimated and predicted with the consideration of the mortgage market. In Chapter II, following the methodology of co-integration, we first construct four succinct measures to display the possible intrinsic values of house prices. The fifth measure is defined as a weighted average of the first four. In the short run, house price return dynamics are investigated by dynamic adjustments following Capozza et al (2002) and error correction models. The estimations reflect gradual adjustments towards the long-run intrinsic values. The 6 impacts of the mortgage credit market on house price returns are also analyzed. Furthermore, we examine the possible overshooting problem of house price returns. By both analytical derivations and simulations, we demonstrate the effects of the coefficients on overshooting. In Chapter III, we adopt a structural model with time-varying correlations, which are closely tied up with the business cycle, for bond insurers. When deriving the total loss distribution and economic capital for a bond insurer, we consider losses due to bond insurers’ downgrading and losses from both insurance contracts and investment portfolio. On that basis, we propose forward-looking smoothing rules of capital over a full business cycle, instead of only based on a short-term horizon, to avoid the procyclicality. With the smoothed capital, a bond insurer can actually establish some capital buffer in good times to support the potential losses in crisis.
Utilizing CDS-Spreads to Gauge Credit Risk in Explaining U.S. Stock Returns

In this paper, I analyze the role of credit risk in explaining cross-sectional stock returns. I utilize Credit Default Swap (CDS) spreads to construct a credit risk factor-mimicking portfolio, which I label as Distressed-minus-Stable (DMS). As CDS contracts are written mainly on large firms, our study focuses on explaining the stock returns of large firms. Our main results show that DMS explains stocks returns in the low and medium book-to-market (B/M) portfolios, while HML explains stock returns in the high B/M portfolios. Our finding offers two implications. First, DMS complements HML in explaining stock returns across low, medium and high B/M portfolios. Second, DMS is a more direct measure of credit risk. The fact that it is insignificant in high B/M portfolios suggests that the association of high B/M ratios with higher credit risk in Fama and French (1995), and the nature of the risk that HML represents, warrants further investigation.
Influence of monkey dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior parietal activity on behavioral choice during attention tasks

The dorsolateral prefrontal and the posterior parietal cortex have both been implicated in the guidance of visual attention. Traditionally, posterior parietal cortex has been thought to guide visual bottom‐up attention and prefrontal cortex to bias attention through top‐down information. More recent studies suggest a parallel time course of activation of the two areas in bottom‐up attention tasks, suggesting a common involvement, though these results do not necessarily imply identical roles. To address the specific roles of the two areas, we examined the influence of neuronal activity recorded from the prefrontal and parietal cortex of monkeys as they performed attention tasks based on choice probability and on correlation between reaction time and neuronal activity. The results revealed that posterior parietal but not dorsolateral prefrontal activity correlated with behavioral choice during the fixation period, prior to the appearance of the stimulus, resembling a bias factor. This preferential influence of posterior parietal activity on behavior was transient, so that dorsolateral prefrontal activity predicted choice after the appearance of the stimulus. Additionally, reaction time was better predicted by posterior parietal activity. These findings confirm the involvement of both dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex in the bottom‐up guidance of visual attention, but indicate different roles of the two areas in the guidance of attention and a dynamic time course of their effects, influencing behavior at different stages of the task.
A role for the FtsQLB complex in cytokinetic ring activation revealed by an ftsL allele that accelerates division

The cytokinetic apparatus of bacteria is initially formed by the polymerization of the tubulin‐like FtsZ protein into a ring structure at midcell. This so‐called Z‐ring facilitates the recruitment of many additional proteins to the division site to form the mature divisome machine. Although the assembly pathway leading to divisome formation has been well characterized, the mechanisms that trigger cell constriction remain unclear. In this report, we study a ‘forgotten’ allele of ftsL from Escherichia coli, which encodes a conserved division gene of unknown function. We discovered that this allele promotes the premature initiation of cell division. Further analysis also revealed that the mutant bypasses the requirement for the essential division proteins ZipA, FtsK and FtsN, and partially bypasses the need for FtsA. These findings suggest that rather than serving simply as a protein scaffold within the divisome, FtsL may play a more active role in the activation of the machine. Our results support a model in which FtsL, along with its partners FtsB and FtsQ, function as part of a sensing mechanism that promotes the onset of cell wall remodeling processes needed for the initiation of cell constriction once assembly of the divisome complex is deemed complete.
Sex-based differences in the association between duration of type 2 diabetes and heart rate variability

We examined the association between heart rate variability (HRV) and duration of type 2 diabetes among 155 female and 106 male subjects: mean±SD for duration=49.6±65.6 and 57.3±77.1 months, respectively, p=0.38. Among males, duration of diabetes was independently and inversely associated with vagal-heart rate modulation (high frequency (HF) power, 0.15—0.40 Hz, standardised ß = -0.32, p=0.001; root mean square of successive differences between R-R intervals, ß = -0.26, p=0.006) and total R-R variability (standard deviation of normal R-R intervals, ß = -0.36, p=0.001); but not among females (p≥0.80 for each HRV index). In contrast, HF was inversely associated with age of diabetes diagnosis (ß = -0.16, p=0.04) and 10-year absolute risk for coronary heart disease (ß = -0.16, p=0.04) among female subjects. Longitudinal research is needed to establish whether risk factors for early cardiac autonomic impairment differ among men and women with type 2 diabetes.
A First Assessment of Environment-Related Trade Barriers

International trade can affect the environment in different ways. This may justify the introduction of border measures by the importing countries. However, abuse of environmental arguments for protectionist reasons is likely. In order to disentangle protectionism from dispositions justified on the grounds of true environmental concerns, we systematically review notifications of all importing countries of the 5000 products traded at the world level. We find that 88% of world trade is potentially affected, while half of world imports potentially are subject to a protectionist use of such measures. Agriculture, the automobile industry, the pharmaceutical industry and many other sectors are concerned. LDCs’ exporters are the countries most affected by these new trade policies. JEL Classification: F130, F180, Q010
Exhaled carbon dioxide can be used to guide respiratory support in the delivery room

Respiratory support in the delivery room remains challenging. Assessing chest rise is imprecise, and mask leak and airway obstruction are common problems. We describe recordings of respiratory signals during delivery room resuscitations and discuss guidance on positive‐pressure ventilation using respiratory parameters and exhaled carbon dioxide (ECO2) during neonatal resuscitations.
Patch Based Classification of Remote Sensing Data: A Comparison of 2D-CNN, SVM and NN Classifiers

Pixel based algorithms including back propagation neural networks (NN) and support vector machines (SVM) have been widely used for remotely sensed image classifications. Within last few years, deep learning based image classifier like convolution neural networks (2D-CNN) are becoming popular alternatives to these classifiers. In this paper, we compare performance of patch based SVM and NN with that of a deep learning algorithms comprising of 2D-CNN and fully connected layers. Similar to CNN which utilise image patches to derive features for further classification, we propose to use patches as an input in place of individual pixel with both SVM and NN classifiers. Two datasets, one multispectral and other hyperspectral data was used to compare the performance of different classifiers. Results with both datasets suggest the effectiveness of patch based SVM and NN classifiers in comparison to state of art 2D-CNN classifier.
Hashmoney: exploring Twitter hashtag use as a secondary ticket market price determinant

The growth and prevalence of sport event ticket transactions on secondary ticket market platforms such as StubHub has led to the creation of a body of academic research studying this new phenomenon. Factors such as team performance and perceptions of fairness have been explored for their relationship with the price of secondary market tickets. This exploratory study introduces a new potential price determinant – social media activity – itself a popular online phenomenon that has inspired considerable academic research. This exploratory study of prices for eight National Football League games adds use of official team hashtags on Twitter to a multiple regression model, controlling for other price determinants established in previous research two models, one to predict prices for tickets sold on StubHub, the second to predict prices for tickets available on StubHub, demonstrate that increased Twitter hashtag use is a significant positive predictor of ticket prices on the secondary market.
Acoustic keyword spotter - optimization from end-user perspective

The paper deals with the development of acoustic keyword spotter (KWS) meeting requirements of a real user from the security community. While the basic scheme of the KWS is relatively standard, it uses novel features derived by a hierarchy of neural networks, and score normalization trained to maximize a user-like evaluation metric. The results are reported on a selection of Czech conversational telephone speech (CTS), radio and read data.
Effect of amphetamine on [18F]fallypride in vivo binding to D2 receptors in striatal and extrastriatal regions of the primate brain: Single bolus and bolus plus constant infusion studies

[18F]fallypride is a new positron emission tomography (PET) dopamine D2 receptor radiotracer that provides visualization of D2 receptors in both striatal and extrastriatal areas. Here, the vulnerability of [18F]fallypride binding to endogenous dopamine (DA) levels was evaluated by examining the effect of amphetamine on [18F]fallypride binding in striatal and extrastriatal regions. Data were acquired in three male baboons at three different doses of i.v. amphetamine, using two different [18F]fallypride administration protocols (single bolus and bolus plus constant infusion). Scans were performed following a single bolus of [18F]fallypride under control conditions and following 1 mg/kg i.v. amphetamine and with an [18F]fallypride bolus plus constant infusion design under control, 0.5 mg/kg, and 0.3 mg/kg amphetamine i.v. conditions. Significant decreases in [18F]fallypride binding potential were seen in striatum (–49%, –18%, and –14%), thalamus (–25%, –23%, and –14%), and hippocampus (–36%, –24%, and –12%) following 1 mg/kg, 0.5 mg/kg, and 0.3 mg/kg doses of amphetamine, respectively. Additional analyses were performed suggesting that these results were not artifacts of nonreceptor‐related effects such as regional flow changes or partial volume effects. In conclusion, [18F]fallypride binding is vulnerable to endogenous competition by DA in striatum as well as extrastriatal regions, suggesting that this ligand may be suitable for the study presynaptic DA function in striatal and extrastriatal areas. Synapse 54:46–63, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Observations of Widespread Lake-Effect Cloudiness: Influences of Lake Surface Temperature and Upwind Conditions

Abstract Large spatial and temporal variations were observed in the location of the upwind cloud edge over Lake Michigan during five westerly wind lake-effect events in November 1995 through January 1996. This study examines the impacts of variations of Lake Michigan surface water temperatures (and corresponding surface fluxes) and upwind static stability on the location of the upwind edge of lake-effect clouds, which develop as cold air crosses the lake during the winter. Data used in this study were collected during the 1995/96 National Weather Service Lake-Effect Snow study. Spatial variations in the location of the upwind lake-effect cloud edge are shown to be related to spatial variations in surface heat and moisture fluxes between the lake surface and overlying air. Surface fluxes are influenced by both the distribution of lake surface water temperatures and variations of surface wind speed, air temperature, and relative humidity. Temporal variations of heat and moisture fluxes from the lake surface.
Modelling of volatility of stock prices using GARCH models & its importance in portfolio construction

ii This thesis is aimed at investigating the possibility to model the risk of stocks in financial markets and evaluating the adequacy and eftectiveness of univariate GARCH models such as the symmetric GARCH and a few other variations such as the EGARCH, T ARCH and PARCH in modelling volatility in monthly returns of stocks traded on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. This is further used to investigate the importance of GARCH modelling in portfolio construction using Improved Sharpe Single Index Models. The data used for model estimation has been randomly selected 5:om different sectors of the South African economy. GARCH models are estimated and validated for the data series of the randomly selected 15 JSE stocks. Conclusions are drawn regarding the ditTerent GARCH models, best lag structure and best enor distributions for modelling. The GARCH (1,1) model demonstrates a relati\cly good forecasting perf(mnanee as far as the short tern1 forecasting horizon is concerned. HCl\\cver. the use of alternatives to the more common GARCH (1,1) and use 0 f non-norn1al distributions is not clearly supported. Also, the use of higher order GARCH models such as the GARCH (1,2), GARCH (2,1) and GARCH (2.2) is not clearly supported and the GARCH (1, 1) remains superior overall to these models. The results obtained from this thesis are of paramount importancc in portfolio construction, option pricing and forn1Ulating hedging strategies. An illustration of the importance of the G ARCH (1,1) model in pOIitolio construction is given and conclusions are drawn regarding its usefulness in imprcl\ing our volatility estimations t()r pUI1Joses of portfolio construction. Un ive rsi ty of Ca pe To wn f'iode! ling of Volatility of Stock Prices Using Garch Models & its importance in Portfolio Construction Acknowledgements iii 1'1/1;; smcere thanks to my superVIsor, Professor Renkuan Guo. for his invaluable advice and directions. and fix his continuous support and help in my thesis; and Professor Caspar Troskie for all the helpful discussions we had on my thesis topic. I am grateful to Prokssor Caspar Troskie for providing me \\ith the stock data used in this thesis. A special thanks to Dr Danni Guo for providing the thesis template. I am also sincerely grateful to my family for all their support and encouragement which helped me to complete this master thesis. Without them this would not have been possible. Un ive rsi ty of Ca pe To wn fv1ode! ling of Volatility of Stock Prices Using Garch Models & its importance in Portfolio Construction
Dual representation and its online scheduling method for event-varying DESs with capacity constraints

This research focuses on event varying discrete event systems with capacity and order constraints, and derives two state-space representations that stand for the earliest and latest times of event occurrences. Moreover, we consider rescheduling methods for these representations that can be applied even when the relevant parameters are changed after the commencement of the job. The two state-space representations derived have forms that are similar to dual systems in modern control theory. In online scheduling, it is often essential to keep track of state changes or the float times of jobs continuously. For the calculation of the float times, both earliest and latest times must be calculated. Hence, the derived representations are an attractive tool for solving online scheduling problems.
Glycogen Accumulation and Degradation by the Trichomonads Trichomonas vaginalis and Trichomonas tenax

Several species of trichomonad have been shown to accumulate significant quantities of glycogen during growth, suggesting an important role for this compound in cell physiology. We provide the first analysis of the changes in glycogen content and glycogen phosphorylase activity that occur during in vitro growth of two trichomonad species: Trichomonas vaginalis and Trichomonas tenax. Both species accumulated glycogen following inoculation into fresh medium and utilized this compound during logarithmic growth. Glycogen phosphorylase activity also varied during growth in a species‐specific manner. The expression of phosphorylase genes in T. vaginalis remained constant during growth and thus transcriptional control did not explain the observed fluctuations in phosphorylase activity. After cloning, expression, and purification, two recombinant glycogen phosphorylases from T. vaginalis and one recombinant glycogen phosphorylase from T. tenax had robust activity and, in contrast to many other eukaryotic glycogen phosphorylases, did not appear to be regulated by reversible protein phosphorylation. Furthermore, allosteric regulation, if present, was not mediated by compounds known to impact the activity of better characterized phosphorylases.
Significance of elevated levels of serum creatine phosphokinase in febrile diseases: a prospective study.

The incidence and significance of elevated serum levels of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) in febrile diseases were studied prospectively in all patients admitted with fever to a department of medicine during 1 year. High serum CPK levels were detected in 70 (28%) of 247 febrile patients but in only six (6%) of 105 afebrile control patients (P = .0001). Elevated CPK levels were not related to any specific diagnosis. Logistic regression analysis identified five factors that correlated both significantly and independently with elevation of CPK values: increased blood urea nitrogen level, low serum phosphate level, a stuporous or comatose state, tremor, and muscle tenderness. Myoglobinuria, detected in 14 patients, was predictive of a fatal outcome, but a high CPK level by itself was not an independent correlate of mortality. In summary, CPK elevation is not uncommon in febrile diseases, but because it does not reflect a specific etiology it does not necessarily indicate that an extensive diagnostic work-up is required.