Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endogenous wage rigidities, human capital accumulation and growth

This paper explains the dynamics of wage rigidity as the result of economic and political interactions of generations of workers. Some countries simultaneously experienced a rise in labor productivity and a rise in youth unemployment. In this context the political economy of wage rigidity is intriguing as (1) those with the political power are savers and those without accumulate human capital and (2) dynamic effects are crucial as workers may also vote in order to alter the future preferences for wage rigidities. We show the existence of three type of equilibrium dynamics: 1. one converging to full employment; 2. one characterized by an unemployment trap and 3. multiple equilibrium dynamics where, depending on their initial level of human capital, countries with the same fundamental may converge to steady state with sharp differences in employment, productivity and per capita income. In particular countries initially poorly endowed in human capital adopt a high wage policy profile that redistributes jobs and incomes from the young and the old towards prime-aged workers. In this case, growth is driven by investment in physical capital. Instead, countries with higher initial human capital adopt a flatter wage policy profile and have a more equal distribution of jobs among workers. For them, human capital drives growth. The physical capital driven growth leads to higher steady state productivity per employee but also to lower per capita income since it is characterised by an inefficient allocation of labor among workers. JEL: D72 E24 J24 J31 P16 ∗Contact: ahmed.tritah@eui.eu, European University Institute, ConventoVia delle Fontanelle, 19, I 50016 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI) Italy. I wish to thank warmly my thesis advisor Gilles Saint-Paul for his guidance and constant encouragements. I thank warmly Javier Ortega for his support and proofreading. I thank Francesc Ortega, Fabrice Collard, Omar Licandro, Rick van der Ploeg, Arnaud Lefranc, David Thesmar and J.V. Rodriguez Mora for enlightening discussions. The paper has benefited from comments made by participants in seminars in Toulouse, Florence, Paris and in the EEA (Vienna) and EALE (Prague) congress.
How Price Path Characteristics Shape Investment Behavior

Price paths are often the only graphical representation of financial products investors receive before making an investment decision. We argue that price paths serve as ”graphical” frames that influence the perceived attractiveness of an asset by highlighting specific asset characteristics. In a controlled lab experiment we find that price paths have an impact on investment decisions. In a regression we test a simple model relating the perception of price path shapes to several heuristics. These heuristics are: focusing on more recent outcomes, deriving implicit reference prices from focal prices, focusing on losses, and estimating risk from the amplitude of the path. We conclude that investment decisions are systematically biased due to the shape of an asset’s price path.
The impact of shift starting time on sleep duration, sleep quality, and alertness prior to injury in the People’s Republic of China

Early shift start time and night shifts are associated with reduced sleep duration and poor sleep quality that often lead to increased fatigue levels, performance decrements and adverse safety and health outcomes. This study investigates the impact of shift starting time on sleep patterns, including the duration and quality of sleep and alertness/sleepiness at the time of injury, in a large epidemiological field study of hospitalized adults with severe work-related hand injury in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from multiple industries with severe work-related traumatic hand injury were recruited from 11 hospitals in three industrially-developed cities in the PRC: Ningbo, Liuzhou and Wuxi. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to compare sleep duration, sleep quality and alertness/sleepiness across 3 h increments of shift start time, while adjusting for age, gender, work hours, shift duration, day of injury and several transient work-related factors. Effect modification by gender was also evaluated. Seven-hundred and three hospitalized adults (96.4%) completed a face-to-face interview within 4 days of injury; 527 (75.0%) were male, with a mean (±SEM) age of 31.8 ± 0.4 years. Overall, these adults worked relatively long weekly (55.7 ± 0.6 h) and daily hours (8.6 ± 0.07 h). Average sleep duration prior to injury was 8.5 h (±0.07), and showed significant variations (p value <0.05) across shift starting time increments. Overall mean prior sleep duration was shortest for individuals starting shifts from “21:00–23:59” (5.6±0.8 h) followed by midnight “00:00–02:59” (6.1 ± 0.6 h). However, a statistically significant interaction (p < 0.05) was observed between gender and shift starting time on mean sleep duration. For males the shortest sleep duration was 5.6 h (“21:00–23:59”) and for females the shortest was 4.3 h (“24:00–02:59” and “15:00–17:59”). Sleep quality (generally quite well) and alertness/sleepiness based on the KSS (generally alert) did not vary significantly across shift starting time. Results suggest that sleep duration is shortest among injured PRC adults starting shifts late night and early morning. However, with more than 8.5 h of sleep on average work days, Chinese slept much longer than typical US day workers (Sleep in America Poll, 2012, 6:44 on workdays, 7:35 on free days), and this may help to explain higher than expected alertness/sleepiness scores at the time of injury.
Loss of αB-crystallin function in zebrafish reveals critical roles in the development of the lens and stress resistance of the heart

Genetic mutations in the human small heat shock protein αB-crystallin have been implicated in autosomal cataracts and skeletal myopathies, including heart muscle diseases (cardiomyopathy). Although these mutations lead to modulation of their chaperone activity in vitro, the in vivo functions of αB-crystallin in the maintenance of both lens transparency and muscle integrity remain unclear. This lack of information has hindered a mechanistic understanding of these diseases. To better define the functional roles of αB-crystallin, we generated loss-of-function zebrafish mutant lines by utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 system to specifically disrupt the two αB-crystallin genes, αBa and αBb. We observed lens abnormalities in the mutant lines of both genes, and the penetrance of the lens phenotype was higher in αBa than αBb mutants. This finding is in contrast with the lack of a phenotype previously reported in αB-crystallin knock-out mice and suggests that the elevated chaperone activity of the two zebrafish orthologs is critical for lens development. Besides its key role in the lens, we uncovered another critical role for αB-crystallin in providing stress tolerance to the heart. The αB-crystallin mutants exhibited hypersusceptibility to develop pericardial edema when challenged by crowding stress or exposed to elevated cortisol stress, both of which activate glucocorticoid receptor signaling. Our work illuminates the involvement of αB-crystallin in stress tolerance of the heart presumably through the proteostasis network and reinforces the critical role of the chaperone activity of αB-crystallin in the maintenance of lens transparency.
The delivery of service quality to increase customer repurchase behaviour and customer satisfaction at fast food outlets in central johannesburg, South Africa

The purpose of this paper is to determine the satisfaction level and repurchase behaviour of customers from fast food outlets (FFO), with regard to the five service quality dimensions. The focal point of the paper is to evaluate the fast food outlets (FFO), service quality through customer satisfaction. The higher the level of customer satisfaction, the greater the impact on customer retention and repurchasing behaviour. A questionnaire was established from SERVQUAL (Perceptions vs Expectations) and repurchasing behaviour concepts. The research required a convenient sampling method. Data obtained was analysed using description analysis to determine whether service quality perceived, leads to repeat purchases. After the composite analysis was conducted, it indicated a disparity between customers' perceptions and expectations. The overall service quality of the three combined fast food outlets using the SERVQUAL instrument resulted in negative gap average of (−0.6174) indicating that customers' expectations exceed perceptions. Consequently, customers are dissatisfied with service perceived.
A new murine monoclonal antibody reports an activation-dependent change in the conformation and/or microenvironment of the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa complex.

Considerable evidence indicates that the glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa complex on human platelets functions as a receptor for fibrinogen, but little is known about the mechanism of receptor "exposure. " To investigate this mechanism, our previously described murine monoclonal antibody (10E5) and a new monoclonal antibody (7E3), both of which block the binding of fibrinogen to platelets and bind to GPIIb and/or GPIIIa, were radiolabeled and their rates of binding to native and ADP-activated platelets were studied. At low concentrations, 125I-10E5 bound nearly equally rapidly to both native and activated platelets, whereas 125I-7E3 bound slowly to native platelets and much more rapidly to activated platelets. This increased rate of 7E3 binding is unlikely to be due to an increase in the number of GPIIb/IIIa sites on the surface of activated platelets because: (a) the rate of 10E5 binding was unchanged; (b) the total number of surface GPIIb/IIIa sites increased by only 2-10% with activation as judged by equilibrium binding of near-saturating concentrations of 10E5 and 7E3, and (c) there was less than 1% release of platelet factor 4 with activation, indicating minimal fusion of alpha-granule membranes (a potential source of GPIIb/IIIa) with the plasma membrane. Other activators (epinephrine, thrombin, and ionophore A 23187) also increased the rate of 7E3 binding, as did digestion of platelets with chymotrypsin. Aspirin did not affect the rate of binding of 7E3, whereas apyrase, prostaglandin E1, and dibucaine all inhibited the enhancement of the 7E3-binding rate produced by ADP. These data provide evidence for an activation-dependent change in the conformation and/or microenvironment of the GPIIb/IIIa complex, and offer a method of studying the receptor exposure mechanism that does not rely on the binding of fibrinogen itself.
An Examination of the Relationships Among Myosin Heavy Chain Isoform Content, Isometric Strength, and Mechanomyographic Median Frequency

Beck, TW, Housh, TJ, Fry, AC, Cramer, JT, Weir, JP, Schilling, BK, Falvo, MJ, and Moore, CA. An examination of the relationships among myosin heavy chain isoform content, isometric strength, and mechanomyographic median frequency. J Strength Cond Res 23(9): 2683-2688, 2009-The purpose of the present study was to determine if the combination of isometric knee extension strength and mechanomyographic (MMG) median frequency (MDF) could be used to estimate the percent (%) myosin heavy chain (MHC) Type II isoform content of the vastus lateralis. Five resistance-trained (mean ± SD age = 23.2 ± 3.7 years) and 5 aerobically trained (mean ± SD age = 32.6 ± 5.2 years) men volunteered to perform a 6-second isometric maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) of the dominant knee extensors at a joint angle of 90 degrees between the thigh and leg. During the isometric MVC, the surface MMG signal was detected from the vastus lateralis, and the MDF was calculated with the discrete Fourier transform. Following the isometric MVC and MMG measurements, muscle biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis and analyzed for % MHC Type II isoform content. The results showed that neither isometric knee extension strength nor MMG MDF alone was significantly correlated with the % MHC Type II isoform content. The combination of isometric knee extension strength and MMG MDF, however, explained a significant proportion (i.e., 59.8%) of the variance in % MHC Type II isoform content, with a multiple correlation of R = 0.773 and a standard error of the estimate (SEE) of 15.4%. These findings indicated that a simple, time-efficient, and noninvasive test that simultaneously measures isometric strength and MMG MDF could be useful for estimating the % MHC Type II isoform content in well-trained men.
Muscle spindle response at the onset of isometric voluntary contractions in man. Time difference between fusimotor and skeletomotor effects

1. Impulses in single muscle afferents were recorded from the median nerves of waking human subjects with percutaneously inserted tungsten needle electrodes. During isometric voluntary contractions, unitary discharges were analysed from muscle spindle endings in the wrist and finger flexor muscles and the electromyographic activity from these muscles was recorded simultaneously.
Performance analysis of a new SDN-based WSN architecture

Energy efficiency is one of the key requirements in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). In order to optimize energy usage at sensor nodes, this paper proposes a new WSN architecture that relies on concepts of Software Defined Networking (SDN). Since SDN is a relatively new technology, originally envisioned for wired networks, it can't be expected to get immediately adopted in WSN domain, regardless of potential benefits. For this reason, we consider scenario where SDN nodes coexist with traditional sensor nodes, and propose a new routing algorithm for SDN controller that prolongs the WSN lifetime even when small percentage of SDN nodes is deployed.
Transitional flow in aneurysms and the computation of haemodynamic parameters

Haemodynamic forces appear to play an influential role in the evolution of aneurysms. This has led to numerous studies, usually based on computational fluid dynamics. Their focus is predominantly on the wall shear stress (WSS) and associated derived parameters, attempting to find correlations between particular patterns of haemodynamic indices and regions subjected to disease formation and progression. The indices are generally determined by integration of flow properties over a single cardiac cycle. In this study, we illustrate that in some cases the transitional flow in aneurysms can lead to significantly different WSS distributions in consecutive cardiac cycles. Accurate determination of time-averaged haemodynamic indices may thus require simulation of a large number of cycles, which contrasts with the common approach to determine parameters using data from a single cycle. To demonstrate the role of transitional flow, two exemplary cases are considered: flow in an abdominal aortic aneurysm and in an intracranial aneurysm. The key differences that are observed between these cases are explained in terms of the integral timescale of the transitional flows in comparison with the cardiac cycle duration: for relatively small geometries, transients will decay before the next cardiac cycle. In larger geometries, transients are still present when the systolic phase produces new instabilities. These residual fluctuations serve as random initial conditions and thus seed different flow patterns in each cycle. To judge whether statistics are converged, the derived indices from at least two successive cardiac cycles should be compared.
Myotonic dystrophy: size- and sex-dependent dynamics of CTG meiotic instability, and somatic mosaicism.

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is a progressive neuromuscular disorder which results from elongations of an unstable (CTG)n repeat, located in the 3' untranslated region of the DM gene. A correlation has been demonstrated between the increase in the repeat number of this sequence and the severity of the disease. However, the clinical status of patients cannot be unambiguously ascertained solely on the basis of the number of CTG repeats. Moreover, the exclusive maternal inheritance of the congenital form remains unexplained. Our observation of differently sized repeats in various DM tissues from the same individual may explain why the size of the mutation observed in lymphocytes does not necessarily correlate with the severity and nature of symptoms. Through a molecular and genetic study of 142 families including 418 DM patients, we have investigated the dynamics of the CTG repeat meiotic instability. A positive correlation between the size of the repeat and the intergenerational enlargement was observed similarly through male and female meioses for < or = 0.5-kb CTG sequences. Beyond 0.5 kb, the intergenerational variation was more important through female meioses, whereas a tendency to compression was observed almost exclusively in male meioses, for > or = 1.5-kb fragments. This implies a size- and sex-dependent meiotic instability. Moreover, segregation analysis supports the hypothesis of a maternal as well as a familial predisposition for the occurrence of the congenital form. Finally, this analysis reveals a significant excess of transmitting grandfathers partially accounted for by increased fertility in affected males.
Chemical and Biological Interactions during Nitrate and Goethite Reduction by Shewanella putrefaciens 200

ABSTRACT Although previous research has demonstrated that NO3− inhibits microbial Fe(III) reduction in laboratory cultures and natural sediments, the mechanisms of this inhibition have not been fully studied in an environmentally relevant medium that utilizes solid-phase, iron oxide minerals as a Fe(III) source. To study the dynamics of Fe and NO3− biogeochemistry when ferric (hydr)oxides are used as the Fe(III) source, Shewanella putrefaciens 200 was incubated under anoxic conditions in a low-ionic-strength, artificial groundwater medium with various amounts of NO3− and synthetic, high-surface-area goethite. Results showed that the presence of NO3− inhibited microbial goethite reduction more severely than it inhibited microbial reduction of the aqueous or microcrystalline sources of Fe(III) used in other studies. More interestingly, the presence of goethite also resulted in a twofold decrease in the rate of NO3− reduction, a 10-fold decrease in the rate of NO2− reduction, and a 20-fold increase in the amounts of N2O produced. Nitrogen stable isotope experiments that utilized δ15N values of N2O to distinguish between chemical and biological reduction of NO2− revealed that the N2O produced during NO2− or NO3− reduction in the presence of goethite was primarily of abiotic origin. These results indicate that concomitant microbial Fe(III) and NO3− reduction produces NO2− and Fe(II), which then abiotically react to reduce NO2− to N2O with the subsequent oxidation of Fe(II) to Fe(III).
A modified spectrophotometric assay of superoxide dismutase.

A simple and rapid method for the assay of superoxide dismutase in biological samples is described. Present method takes advantage of the inhibition of NADH-dependent-nitroblue tetrazolium reduction by the dismutase. Inhibition of the chromogen formation by superoxide dismutase was linear with increase in enzyme concentrations. The chromogen extract in butanol was stable even up to 48 hr. Superoxide dismutase activity, as assayed by the modified method, was in good agreement with that obtained using other methods.
The role of visa exemption in Chinese tourists’ decision-making: a model of goal-directed behavior

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the role of visa exemption in tourist decision-making using the extended model of goal-directed behavior (EMGB). Surveys were administered to Chinese tourists interested in traveling to South Korea. The structural equation model indicates that the inclusion of the expectation of tourist visa exemption enhanced Chinese tourists’ behavioral intention. Specifically, positive and negative anticipated emotions, perceived behavioral control, and the notion of a subjective norm were important antecedents of travel intention. Desire was the only significant factor affecting Chinese tourists’ travel intention. This study enhances our understanding of Chinese tourists’ intention to travel to South Korea.
Trade openness, foreign direct investment, and finance-growth nexus in the Eurozone countries

ABSTRACT The paper investigates causal relationships between trade openness, foreign direct investment, financial development, and economic growth in 19 Eurozone countries over the period 1988–2013. Using a panel vector error-correction model (VECM), the empirical results show that these variables are cointegrated. The study shows that a combination of opening the Eurozone countries for trade and fostering their financial and economic development have elevated inflows of foreign direct investment into the region in the long run. At the same time, increasing inflows of foreign direct investment in the short run have propelled economic growth, which in return has strengthened the role of financial development and international trade to sustain economic growth in the region through feedback effects. The empirical results have important policy implications for countries in the Eurozone, especially those who face challenges as a result of lack of confidence in their financial system and those who face a sovereign debt crisis.
Solution Structure and DNA-binding Properties of the Winged Helix Domain of the Meiotic Recombination HOP2 Protein*

Background: HOP2 protein promotes recombination and is required for meiotic chromosome synapsis. Results: The N terminus of HOP2 has a winged head DNA binding structure. Conclusion: The solution structure of the winged head DNA binding domain integrates biochemical and functional aspects of HOP2 recombinational function. Significance: Determining the three-dimensional structure of HOP2 is crucial to understand the mechanism of HOP2 action. The HOP2 protein is required for efficient double-strand break repair which ensures the proper synapsis of homologous chromosomes and normal meiotic progression. We previously showed that in vitro HOP2 shows two distinctive activities: when it is incorporated into a HOP2-MND1 heterodimer, it stimulates DMC1 and RAD51 recombination activities, and the purified HOP2 alone is proficient in promoting strand invasion. The structural and biochemical basis of HOP2 action in recombination are poorly understood; therefore, they are the focus of this work. Herein, we present the solution structure of the amino-terminal portion of mouse HOP2, which contains a typical winged helix DNA-binding domain. Together with NMR spectral changes in the presence of double-stranded DNA, protein docking on DNA, and mutation analysis to identify the amino acids involved in DNA coordination, our results on the three-dimensional structure of HOP2 provide key information on the fundamental structural and biochemical requirements directing the interaction of HOP2 with DNA. These results, in combination with mutational experiments showing the role of a coiled-coil structural feature involved in HOP2 self-association, allow us to explain important aspects of the function of HOP2 in recombination.