Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strategic Budget Constraints of Public Firm under Bertrand Competition of Unionized Mixed Duopoly

This paper investigates Bertrand competition of unionized mixed duopoly when the public firm is less efficient than the private firm, including endogenous imposition of the budget constraint on the public firm. Thus, we show that if the public firm's inefficiency is sufficiently small, no imposition of budget constraint is more likely to improve welfare and vice versa. Moreover, we suggest that in either budget constraint or non-budget constraint, the wages of the public firm can be smaller or larger than those of private firm depending upon the degree of inefficiency, which draws contrast to the finding of the previous literature. These results means that both the public firm and its union may or may not have different preferences with regard to the imposition of budget constraint depending upon both the degree of inefficiency and imperfect substitutability.
Ranking Triples using Entity Links in a Large Web Crawl - The Chicory Triple Scorer at WSDM Cup 2017

This paper describes the participation of team Chicory in the Triple Ranking Challenge of the WSDM Cup 2017. Our approach deploys a large collection of entity tagged web data to estimate the correctness of the relevance relation expressed by the triples, in combination with a baseline approach using Wikipedia abstracts following [1]. Relevance estimations are drawn from ClueWeb12 annotated by Google's entity linker, available publicly as the FACC1 dataset. Our implementation is automatically generated from a so-called 'search strategy' that specifies declaratively how the input data are combined into a final ranking of triples.
Penicillin-binding protein 4 overproduction increases beta-lactam resistance in Staphylococcus aureus

The Staphylococcus aureus mutant strain PVI selected in vitro for methicillin resistance overexpressed penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 4. In the wild-type parent strain the pbp4 gene was separated by 419 nucleotides from a divergently transcribed abcA locus coding for an ATP-binding cassette transporter. The mutant PVI was shown to have a deletion in the pbp4-abcA promoter region that affected pbp4 transcription but not expression of abcA. Introduction of the pbp4 gene plus the mutant promoter region into different genetic backgrounds revealed that PBP 4 overproduction was sufficient to increase in vitro-acquired methicillin resistance independently of other chromosomal genes. The role of the AbcA transporter in methicillin resistance remained unknown.
Trends in high speed ADC design

This paper discusses trends in the design of high speed ADCs. Technology scaling has enabled an increased conversion rate; however, it now also leads to difficulties with increased resolution, with the SNR, and with decreased power consumption, especially for higher resolutions. New converter design challenges are needed. One strong trend in the design of ADCs is to omit operational amplifiers (OpAmps), which used to form the basis of modern ADCs but are now no longer useful. Comparator based ADCs, such as successive approximation ADCs, sub-ranging ADCs, or pipelined ADCs which all are used comparator-based design instead of conventional OpAmp-based design, become attractive as future high speed ADC architectures.
A distributed approach to weighted frequent Subgraph mining

In various application domains like Social Network Analysis, cheminformatics etc, graph based data representations are used to effectively represent the complex relationships among entities. Many graph mining approaches have been developed over the years; of which one of the most challenging tasks is frequent subgraph mining (FSM). Most of the existing FSM algorithms consider only the graph-based structure, the importance of entities involved or the strength of their relationships are not considered. Weighted graphs may be better suited for many cases such as social networks, mobile-communication networks, transportation networks etc. Thus there is a need for efficient weighted subgraph mining approaches. Only few methods have been developed for FSM in weighted graphs. In the present big data era, to handle the massive quantity of data generated from various applications, there is a huge demand for distributed computational approaches. Currently, there is no such distributed approach for weighted FSM. In this work, a distributed approach for weighted frequent subgraph mining using MapReduce framework (WFSM-MR) is proposed. The idea is that both data and the computation part, i.e. weighted subgraph mining, should be distributed for efficient processing. The method is used to discover the significant weighted frequent subgraphs from various edge-weighted graph datasets. Experimental results indicate the proposed approach is efficient, scalable, and can handle large graph datasets compared to the existing non distributed weighted FSM task.
Accelerating Hawkes Process for Modelling Event History Data

Hawkes Processes are probabilistic models use- ful for modelling the occurrences of events over time. They exhibit mutual excitation property, where a past event influences future events. This has been successful in modelling the evolution of memes and user behaviour in social net- works. In the Hawkes process, the occurrences of events are determined by an underlying inten- sity function which considers the influence from past events. The intensity function models the mutual-exciting nature by adding up the influ- ence from past events. The calculation of the in- tensity function for every new event requires time proportional to the number of past events. When the number of events is high, the repeated in- tensity function calculation will become expen- sive. We develop a faster approach which takes only constant time complexity to calculate the in- tensity function for every new event in a mutu- ally exciting Hawkes process. This is achieved by developing a recursive formulation for mutu- ally exciting Hawkes process and maintaining an additional data structure which takes a constant space. We found considerable improvement in runtime performance of the Hawkes process ap- plied to the sequential stance classification task on synthetic and real world datasets.
Quadratic Model Predictive Control Including Input Cardinality Constraints

This note addresses the problem of feedback control with a constrained number of active inputs. This problem is known as sparse control. Specifically, we describe a novel quadratic model predictive control strategy that guarantees sparsity by bounding directly the $\ell _0$ -norm of the control input vector at each control horizon instant. Besides this sparsity constraint, bounded constraints are also imposed on both control input and system state. Under this scenario, we provide sufficient conditions for guaranteeing practical stability of the closed-loop. We transform the combinatorial optimization problem into an equivalent optimization problem that does not consider relaxation in the cardinality constraints. The equivalent optimization problem can be solved utilizing standard nonlinear programming toolboxes that provides the input control sequence corresponding to the global optimum.
Issue salience in regional party manifestos in Spain

This article analyses the dynamics of electoral competition in a multilevel setting. It is based on a content analysis of the party manifestos of the Spanish PP and PSOE in eight regional elections held between 2001 and 2003. It provides an innovative coding scheme for analysing regional party manifestos and on that basis seeks to account for inter-regional, intra-party and inter-party differences in regional campaigning. The authors have tried to explain the inter-regional variation of the issue profiles of state-wide parties in regional elections on the basis of a model with four independent variables: the asymmetric nature of the system, the electoral cycle, the regional party systems and the organisation of the state-wide parties.Three of their hypotheses are rejected, but the stronger variations in the regional issue profiles of the PSOE corroborate the assumption that parties with a more decentralised party organisation support regionally more diverse campaigning. The article concludes by offering an alternative explanation for this finding and by suggesting avenues for further research.
Thymidylate synthase inhibition after administration of fluorouracil with or without leucovorin in colon cancer patients: implications for treatment with fluorouracil.

PURPOSE To determine the time-dependence of fluorouracil (5FU)-induced thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibition in colon cancer patients, the effect of leucovorin (LV), and the relation to response. PATIENTS AND METHODS A 5FU injection (500 mg/m2) was given to 47 patients with advanced colorectal cancer; tumor biopsy specimens were obtained 1 to 72 hours after laparotomy. Eleven patients received LV (2-hour infusion of 500 mg/m2) with 5FU midinfusion; biopsies were obtained after 45 hours. TS inhibition was evaluated by comparing the number of total and free 5-fluoro-2'-deoxy-uridine-5'- monophosphate (UMP) (FdUMP) binding sites and the total and residual catalytic activity of TS. RESULTS The total catalytic TS activity varied from 0 to 621 pmol/h/mg protein and the total number of FdUMP binding sites varied from 0 to 976 fmol/mg protein. The residual catalytic TS activity after 2, 23, and 45 hours was 41%, 65%, and 74% of the total catalytic activity; the number of free FdUMP binding sites was 12%, 27%, and 49% of the total number, respectively. LV enhanced TS inhibition after 45 hours; the residual catalytic activity decreased from 74% to 49%, and the number of free FdUMP binding sites from 49% to 24%. Eleven of 19 patients treated with hepatic arterial infusion of 5FU had a partial response (PR). In the nonresponding patients, total TS activity was significantly higher (P < .05) than in responding patients. A high TS activity with a poor inhibition correlated with no response. CONCLUSION Residual and total TS activity are predictive for response to 5FU. The findings may be applicable for treatment of patients with advanced disease and TS should be evaluated as a prognostic factor in adjuvant chemotherapy studies.
Physical Activity: Economic and Policy Factors

While much research has focused on the costs of obesity and economic factors that drive obesity growth, little economic research has examined the factors that contribute to obesity -- physical inactivity and poor nutrition. This paper will examine correlates and predictors of physical activity over time with emphasis on economic factors. We use data for adults from the 2000-2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey that includes state and county codes for each individual that allows us to add supplementary data on state beer and cigarette taxes, local transportation costs, availability of gyms and recreational facilities, county unemployment, crime rates, and prices of related goods. We find that income and education has a strong and consistently positive effect on physical activity across specifications. Sin taxes have no effect on the likelihood of any exercise but generally have negative effects on vigorous exercise or moderate and vigorous exercise. Physical activity is more likely when there are more parks per capita in a county. Our results above are robust to the inclusion of weight status and use of flu shots (a measure of an individual's tendency towards prevention).
Coherent risk measure for derivatives under Black‐Scholes economy with regime switching

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a scenario-based risk measure for a portfolio of European-style derivative securities over a fixed time horizon under the regime switching Black-Scholes economy. Design/methodology/approach - The risk measure is constructed by using the risk-neutral probability, the physical probability and a family of subjective probability measures. The subjective probabilities can be interpreted as risk managers or regulators' risk preferences and/or subjective beliefs. Findings - The authors provide closed form expressions for the European option and barrier option. Research limitations/implications - The results are difficult to apply to a portfolio with many different kinds of options. Practical implications - The results provide some insights on risk management of portfolios with derivatives. Originality/value - The paper presents a scenario-based risk measure for a portfolio of European-style derivative securities over a fixed time horizon under the regime switching Black-Scholes economy. Risk management is the most important task for almost all financial industries, although it cannot be claimed that the method and results of this paper solve the problem, it is believed to provide some insights to the problem, albeit theoretical. For vanilla European options and barrier options, the authors obtained a closed form expression for the risk measure. The idea of this paper can be applied to some other exotic options. For portfolios containing different kinds of derivatives, the results of this paper provide some guideline and insights.
An Economic Analysis of Works Councils

Works councils, found in most Western European economies, are elected bodies of employees with rights to information, consultation, and in some cases co-determination of employment conditions at local workplaces, mandated by law. Many European employers and unions believe that councils improve communication between workers and management, raising social output, while reducing the speed with which decisions are made. This paper analyzes the operation of councils as a means of improving social output by creating more cooperative labor relations. It argues that councils are mandated because the incentive for companies to institute them and delegate them power falls short of the social incentive; that workers provide more accurate information to employers about preferences when councils have some say over how that information is used; and that the communication from employers to workers produces socially desirable worker concessions in bad times that would not occur absent this institution. It compares a jury style random selection of works councilors with selection via elections.
Accounting Decentralization and Performance Evaluation of Business Unit Managers

ABSTRACT: We use survey data to examine firms' propensity to rely on financial measures in evaluating local business unit managers. We find that firms rely less on financial measures (and more on nonfinancial measures or subjective evaluations) in determining local managers' bonuses when those managers have greater influence over the design of internal accounting systems. At the same time, we find no significant association between the choice of performance measures and local managers' authority to make operating decisions. Instead, we find that local authority to make operating decisions is positively associated with local managers' influence over accounting systems. Taken together, our findings suggest that the design of internal accounting systems is an important dimension of overall organizational design. Our findings also cast doubt on the maintained assumption in prior work that major organizational design choices are complementary. Data Availability: Data used in this study cannot be made public du.
[Comparison between femoropopliteal bypass and subintimal recanalization in the treatment of critical limb ischaemia].

INTRODUCTION Revascularization of occlusion of the femoropopliteal region in patients with critical limb ischaemia (CLI) may be performed following the standard surgical approach using bypass with the saphenous vein graft (FP bypass). Unfortunately, up to 40% of these patients do not have a suitable saphenous vein. In these patients, revascularization may be performed surgically using bypass with prosthesis, allograft vein or by interventional radiological methods. An endovascular alternative is represented by subintimal recanalization (SIR). MATERIAL AND METHODS Our prospective analysis evaluated mid-term results of revascularization using FP bypass or SIR in patients with occlusion of the femoropopliteal region and CLI. Our aim was to answer the question whether SIR can fully replace FP bypass in certain indications. From January 2010 to December 2012, 59 revascularizations of the CLI (Rutherford 5-6) with comparable SFA occlusion were performed. We monitored the immediate postoperative course, technical and clinical success and the process of healing of the defect. RESULTS Healing of the defect was achieved in 78.6% of patients with FP bypass using the saphenous vein, in 62.5% of patients with FP bypass using prosthesis and in 64.9% of patients with SIR (P=0.578). When comparing the bypass group, which was subdivided into a group with revascularization using autologous vein and a group with revascularization using ePTFE prosthesis, with the SIR group, primary patency was evaluated. The results for vein 78.0% after 6, 12, 24 and 36 months, for prosthesis 74.5%, 55%, 55% after 6, 12 and 24 months, and for the SIR group 78%, 60%, 51.3% and 50.7% after 6,12,24 and 36 months. When comparing the results of the groups, no statistically significant difference was found (P =0.625). CONCLUSION As expected, the most successful method of choice is revascularization by FPB using the saphenous vein. SIR and FP bypass using prosthesis had similar results with respect to healing of the defects.
Was Growth in Egypt between 2005 and 2008 Pro-Poor? From Static to Dynamic Poverty Profile

This paper presents a detailed picture of how sustained growth in Egypt over 2005-2008 affected different groups both above and below the poverty line. This analysis, based on the Household Income, Expenditure and Consumption Panel Survey conducted by Egypts national statistical agency, compares the changes in the static poverty profiles (based on growth incidence curves on a cross-section of data) with poverty dynamics (relying on panel data, growth incidence curves and transition matrices). The two approaches yield contrasting results: the longitudinal analysis reveals that growth benefited the poor while the cross-sectional analysis shows that the rich benefitted even more. The paper also shows the importance of going beyond averages to look at the trajectories of individual households. Panel data analysis shows that the welfare of the average poor household increased by almost 10 percent per year between 2005 and 2008, enough to move out of poverty. Conversely however, many initially non-poor households were exposed to poverty. As a matter of fact, only 45 percent of the population in Egypt remained consistently out of (near-) poverty throughout the period, while the remaining 55 percent of Egyptians experienced at least one (near-) poverty episode. This high mobility is not a statistical artefact: it reflects the actual process of growth. Taking high vulnerability into account is essential when designing policies to protect the poor and to ensure that growth is really inclusive.
An input control technique for power reduction in scan circuits during test application

This paper proposes a novel technique to minimize the switching activity of full-scan circuits during test application. The basic idea is to identify an input control pattern for a full-scan circuit such that by applying the pattern to the primary inputs of the circuit during the scan operation, the switching activity in the combinational part can be minimized or even eliminated. A D-algorithm-like pattern generator is developed to generate the control pattern. This input control technique can be utilized together with the existing vector ordering or latch ordering techniques. Experimental results show that the vector ordering and the latch ordering techniques can achieve about 19.29% of average improvement, while 29.28% average improvement can be achieved if the input control technique is employed before the vector ordering and the latch ordering techniques.
Liquidity creation or de‐creation: evidence from US property and liability insurance industry

Purpose - The purpose of this study is two-fold. The first purpose is to properly measure the level of US property and liability (P/L) insurers liquidity creation, applying the liquidity creation measure developed by Berger and Bouwman. The second purpose is to identify factors affecting P/L insurers' liquidity creation using a regression. Particularly, this paper tests two competing hypotheses regarding the relationship between the level of capital and liquidity creation. Design/methodology/approach - The paper calculates liquidity creation for the US P/L insurers. First, the paper categorizes all items in assets, liabilities and surplus into liquid, semi-liquid, or illiquid. This process is based on the ease, cost, and time for insurers to meet their contractual obligation to obtain liquid funds or to pay off their liability. The paper also constructs the regression model to test the impact of insurers' surplus level on liquidity creation while controlling for the firm-specific variables. The paper examines this relationship for the time period between 1998 and 2007. Findings - Contrary to the study of depository institutions, the paper reports that P/L insurers are liquidity destroyers than liquidity creators. This paper also provides that liquidity destruction varies over time and differs among insurers in different size. The total amount of liquidity destruction ranges from 47 to 58 percent of insurer total asset. In addition, the results of a regression show that insurer capital is negatively related to the level of liquidity creation. This provides implications that insurers with lower level of capital face more regulatory requirements and are forced to meet liquidity demand more. Practical implications - The level of liquidity creation and the trend of liquidity creation of P/L insurers are of particular interest to regulators and consumers because the level of liquidity creation as shown during the financial crisis has a significant adverse impact on the financial intermediaries. Originality/value - The paper do not aware of any study that attempts to measure liquidity creation by insurers and its relationship with both organizational and financial characteristics. The paper reports that P/L insurers are, unlike depository institutions, liquidity destroyers. Whether or not P/L insurers create/destroy liquidity is an interesting economic question to shed light on the roles of P/L insurers as a financial intermediary.
The Success of Anti-Inflation Policies in the United States

The Fall of 1971 is not a timely moment to write a paper evaluating "The Success of Anti-Inflation Policies in the United States. " It should be written about this time next year when we have had a chance to see at least the initial results of President Nixon's new anti-inflation program which will be a unique chapter in our experience. As it is, perhaps this paper can serve as documentation of the need for such a program. We have just been through the biggest failure of conventional stabilization policy to control inflation in our history. By conventional stabilization policy I mean the use of aggregate fiscal and monetary policies to control the rate of expansion of aggregate demand. And in grading this period the biggest failure of conventional policy I am not making a political judgment but a judgment about conventional policies. I have no reason to think that results would have been any better if the same degree of economic slowdown had been engineered by Arthur Okun ant Hubert Humphrey than by Paul McCracken and Richard Nixon. Other important differences would no doubt have existed with policy-making in different hands. But it is fair to say that no economist or economic model would have, in 1969, predicted the rate of inflation we have had this year if the correct information about the economic slowdown-about real GNP growth and unemployment in the intervening period-had been available at the time of the forecast. This is just another way of saying that inflation in general is a complicated rather than a simple