Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal manufacturing and delivery schedules in a supply chain system of deteriorating items

The market is changing from minute to minute nowadays. Increasing cooperation and pursuing of the optimal interest of the integrated supply chain system become more effective than acting alone in the face of competition. In this research, an integrated inventory policy between a single producer and a multi-buyer is developed. The model extends the research of Lin and Lin (2007, A cooperative inventory policy with deteriorating items for a two-echelon model. European Journal of Operational Research, 178 (1), 92–111) by changing the single-buyer system to the multi-buyer system. This problem is solved under the assumptions of equal replenishments and production cycles. The producer and buyers collaboratively intend to decrease their joint total cost of operation. We consider the deterioration of items at all levels of producer, buyer and in-transport, and the backorders at buyer's level only. The algorithm to find the optimal solution is given, and Matlab and Maple software are used. A numerical example is also presented.
Measuring volatility persistence and long memory in the presence of structural breaks: Evidence from African stock markets

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to estimate volatility in African stock markets (ASMs), taking account of periodic level shifts in the mean level of volatility, where the regime shifts are determined endogenously. Design/methodology/approach - Volatility estimates are incorporated into standard volatility models to assess the impact of structural breaks on volatility persistence, long memory and forecasting performance for ASMs. Findings - The results presented here indeed suggest that persistence and long memory in volatility are overestimated when regime shifts are not accounted for. In particular, application of breakpoint tests and a moving average procedure suggest that unconditional volatility displays substantial time variation. Practical implications - A modification of the standard generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity model to allow for time variation in the unconditional variance generates improved volatility forecasting performance for some African markets. Originality/value - This paper describes one of the first studies to incorporate endogenously determined regime shifts into volatility estimates and assess the impact of structural breaks on volatility persistence, long memory and forecasting performance for ASMs.
Sectoral Linkages and Key Sectors of the Indian Economy

Using the input-output tables for three years 1973-74, 1978-79 and 1983-84 for the Indian economy this paper tries to quantify forward and backward linkages so as to identify the key sectors of the Indian economy. The paper also attempts to examine structural changes over the two periods, 1973-74 through 1978-79 and 1978-79 through 1983-84.
The dynamics of DM/£ exchange rate volatility: a SWARCH analysis

This paper applies the switching ARCH model introduced by Hamilton and Susmel (194) to weekly DM/L exchange rates for the period March 1987-December 1994. The sample period spans the UK's ERM tenure, which lasted until the currency crisis of September 1992. The SWARCH model generalized standard ARCH models by allowing the conditional variance to experience jumps between discrete status or regimes. The SWARCH model is shown to provide a unified statistical framework for investigating two issues of interest in the literature: (i) the evolution of volatility and its implications for ERM credibility and (ii) the effects of regime shifts on the stochastic process governing conditional volatility. Copyright @ 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Proportional Representation

Using a recent article by Monroe as a springboard, we extend and generalize his system of proportional representation (PR) by developing a general method for determining a set of winners from the ballots. Central to our analysis is the use of integer programming, which is a type of linear programming. Under Monroe's system and our generalizations of it, one minimizes total misrepresentation, where misrepresentation is based on approval votes, the rankings of candidates, or other ballot information. Our method allows for a variety of PR systems, including those proposed by Monroe, by Chamberlin and Courant, and by Tullock, as well as a new system we call `hierarchical PR'. Ties, the filling of vacancies, and certain problems of both large and small electorates are all rendered manageable with integer programming. We discuss nonmanipulability, representativeness, and other criteria for selecting a PR system and conclude with some recommendations.
Some Economic and Demographic Consequences of Mental Illness

This article uses a unique data set to measure the economic and demographic consequences of mental illness. We find that mental illness significantly reduces an individual's earnings and that in some cases this effect lasts as long as 15 years. Mental illness is also shown to affect an individual's ability to marry or stay married, lowers the number of children that he has, and encourages his wife to work.
Private Provision of Public Goods and the Failure of the Neutrality Property in Large Finite Economies

The pure public goods paradigm has been criticized because it implies the implausible result that, under certain assumptions, any (small) arbitrary income redistribution will have no effect on the allocation of resources. It is shown that this particular criticism is unwarranted because, for large enough economies, the assumptions necessary for this neutrality property will hold true for a negligible small subset of the parameter space. Copyright 1991 by Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association.
Extensive Validation of the Pain Disability Index in 3 Groups of Patients With Musculoskeletal Pain

Study Design. A cross-sectional study design was performed. Objective. To validate the pain disability index (PDI) extensively in 3 groups of patients with musculoskeletal pain. Summary of Background Data. The PDI is a widely used and studied instrument for disability related to various pain syndromes, although there is conflicting evidence concerning factor structure, test-retest reliability, and missing items. Additionally, an official translation of the Dutch language version has never been performed. Methods. For reliability, internal consistency, factor structure, test-retest reliability and measurement error were calculated. Validity was tested with hypothesized correlations with pain intensity, kinesiophobia, Rand-36 subscales, Depression, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, Quality of Life, and Work Status. Structural validity was tested with independent backward translation and approval from the original authors. Results. One hundred seventy-eight patients with acute back pain, 425 patients with chronic low back pain and 365 with widespread pain were included. Internal consistency of the PDI was good. One factor was identified with factor analyses. Test-retest reliability was good for the PDI (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.76). Standard error of measurement was 6.5 points and smallest detectable change was 17.9 points. Little correlations between the PDI were observed with kinesiophobia and depression, fair correlations with pain intensity, work status, and vitality and moderate correlations with the Rand-36 subscales and the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire. Conclusion. The PDI-Dutch language version is internally consistent as a 1-factor structure, and test-retest reliable. Missing items seem high in sexual and professional items. Using the PDI as a 2-factor questionnaire has no additional value and is unreliable.
[Health inequity among waged workers by employment status].

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the differences in employment status and self assessed health in Korea. METHODS We analyzed 4 year follow-up data generated by the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study(KLIPS), which was conducted on 1,207 men and 582 women who had undergone a change in employment status. The study subjects were placed into 1 of the following 4 groups based on their employment history; Non-precarious workers, Precarious to non-precarious workers, Non-precarious to precarious workers and Precarious workers. Logistic regression was then used to examine the relationship between the changes in employment status and self assessed health. RESULTS When males were considered, self assessed health was better among the precarious to non-precarious workers (OR 1.58, 95% CI=1.57-1.60) and the precarious workers (OR 1.29, 95% CI=1.28-1.30) than in the non-precarious workers, after adjusting for age, socioeconomic status (education level, occupational class, marital status, average equivalent household income and average number of hours worked per week), health behavior (smoking, drinking and exercise) and medical service access (regular medical examination, have chronic disease or hospitalized within 1 year). When female workers were considered, the precarious to non-precarious workers (OR 1.89, 95% CI=1.86-1.92), non-precarious to precarious workers(OR 1.24, 95% CI=1.23-1.26) and precarious workers (OR 1.27, 95% CI=1.25-1.28) all reported poorer health than the non-precarious workers after adjusting for the aforementioned factors. CONCLUSIONS This study showed that changes in employment status were associated with differences in self assessed health among men and women. Specifically, the results of this study showed that a corresponding positive outcome based on self assessed health was greater for employees that changed from precarious to non-precarious jobs and for male employees with precarious jobs, whereas female employees with non-precarious jobs had higher self assessed health. However, additional longitudinal studies on the health effects of employment status should be conducted.
Reforming Taxation in the Scotland Act (1998): Hard Budget Constraints and the Inadequacy of the Calman Commission Proposals

We demonstrate that both the Barnett formula used to calculate changes in public spending by the Scottish Parliament and Government under the Scotland Act (1998), as well as the recent Calman Commission proposals for fiscal reform, are soft budget constraints that do not and will not encourage the Scottish Government and Parliament to promote economic growth in Scotland and do not offer true accountability. However, fiscal autonomy would offer a hard budget constraint, and would encourage the adoption of policies aimed at growing the Scottish tax base and make the Scottish polity truly accountable. Secondly, fiscal autonomy is argued to be a viable fiscal reform within the existing and continuing UK constitutional settlement. Thirdly, existing empirical studies in-so-far as they relate to the Scottish case are shown to largely support the case for tax devolution.
International Mobility Biographies: A Means to Capture the Institutionalisation of Long-distance Travel?

An important aspect of current international travel and tourism is the degree to which they are becoming embedded as regularised and prescribed parts of the lives of individuals, families, and various organisations. At the individual and family levels, patterns of regularised international mobility often only manifest themselves on a time scale that far exceeds that of the reference periods normally used in long-distance travel surveys. Other methods are thus needed to address these issues. This paper discusses a particular method used in ongoing research into the international mobility of young Swedes. Students in the last year of upper secondary school are asked to formulate their international mobility biographies, i.e. all international trips conducted during their childhood and adolescence. The paper discusses the potential of such a ‘biographical approach’ to gathering information about various forms of the regularisation or institutionalisation of international mobility. The approach suggested is contextualised through a review of relevant biographically oriented concepts and approaches in the fields of mobility and tourism research. Methodological challenges involved in collecting information on travel behaviour retrospectively are then discussed, with reference to initial experience gained from research concerning the international mobility of young Swedes.
How members' managerial social capital influences their opportunism in interfirm relationships: Empirical investigation of Chinese‐foreign joint venture

Purpose - Managerial social capital could exert valuable influences to firms' operating performance in social networks. Through the lens of structural hole theory, the relational rents of managerial social capital partly results from certain controlling power endured by the network structure, thereby potentially signifying opportunistic behaviors once such relational rents are acquired at the cost of other parties' potential value loss. As such, it can be expected that using managerial social capital may inherently evoke a focal firm's high tendency of opportunism in its cooperative arrangement. This paper mainly aims at shedding lights on the opportunism implications of managerial social capital in the context of interorganizational relationships. Design/methodology/approach - The authors collected data from 197 manufacturing joint ventures in China mainland. Findings - Based on these sample Chinese-foreign joint ventures, this paper found that member firms' managerial social capital tend to strengthen their opportunistic behaviors in special interfirm relationships, such that opportunistic behaviors mainly aim at taking control of the procedure of relation arrangement without significantly influencing relationship performance as well as its outcome distribution. Originality/value - By demonstrating certain downsides of social capital, such that using social capital could induce opportunistic behaviors in interfirm relationships, it is expected that the study to contribute to both future social capital and joint venture research and business practices, especially to joint venture operations in China.
A coalitional game-inspired algorithm for resource allocation in orthogonal frequency division multiple access

This work investigates the problem of resource allocation (in terms of transmit powers and subchannel assignment) in the uplink channel of an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network, populated by mobile users with constraints in terms of target transmit data rates. The optimization problem is tackled with the analytical tools of coalitional game theory, and a simple and practical algorithm based on Markov modeling is introduced. The proposed algorithm allows the mobile devices to fulfill their data rate demands with minimum utilization of the network resources. Simulation results are provided to validate the theoretical analysis for practical OFDMA network parameters.
Normal human adipose tissue functions and differentiation in patients with biallelic LPIN1 inactivating mutations

Lipin-1 is a Mg2+-dependent phosphatidic acid phosphatase (PAP) that in mice is necessary for normal glycerolipid biosynthesis, controlling adipocyte metabolism, and adipogenic differentiation. Mice carrying inactivating mutations in the Lpin1 gene display the characteristic features of human familial lipodystrophy. Very little is known about the roles of lipin-1 in human adipocyte physiology. Apparently, fat distribution and weight is normal in humans carrying LPIN1 inactivating mutations, but a detailed analysis of adipose tissue appearance and functions in these patients has not been available so far. In this study, we performed a systematic histopathological, biochemical, and gene expression analysis of adipose tissue biopsies from human patients harboring LPIN1 biallelic inactivating mutations and affected by recurrent episodes of severe rhabdomyolysis. We also explored the adipogenic differentiation potential of human mesenchymal cell populations derived from lipin-1 defective patients. White adipose tissue from human LPIN1 mutant patients displayed a dramatic decrease in lipin-1 protein levels and PAP activity, with a concomitant moderate reduction of adipocyte size. Nevertheless, the adipose tissue develops without obvious histological signs of lipodystrophy and with normal qualitative composition of storage lipids. The increased expression of key adipogenic determinants such as SREBP1, PPARG, and PGC1A shows that specific compensatory phenomena can be activated in vivo in human adipocytes with deficiency of functional lipin-1.
CE Forum: Breast Cancer Genetics and the Role of Tamoxifen in Prevention

Breast cancer accounts for 32% of all cancers in American women, making it the most common cancer in this population (Rosenthal & Puck, 1999). It is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women in this country (Sellers, 1997) and the leading cause of cancer deaths in premenopausal women (Rosenthal & Puck, 1999). While popular media has been very successful in increasing women’s awareness of preventive activities regarding breast cancer, the information disseminated is incomplete because of the rapidity of new discoveries and lack of time to fully explain them all. Health care providers face the same difficulty in keeping up with the pace of discovery. A brief literature search reveals literally hundreds of articles in the last 2 years alone dealing with the genetics of breast cancer. The purpose of this article is to attempt to put some of the facts surrounding breast cancer into perspective.
The Effects of Asset Forfeiture on Policing: A Panel Approach

type="main" xml:id="ecin12232-abs-0001"> Asset forfeiture has proven highly controversial in the United States since its expansion in 1984. Most contentious is the widespread policy that allows police agencies to keep the assets seized, which both proponents and critics assert changes police behavior. From newly developed panel data sets, we find some statistical support for the proposition that police agencies change the intensity and pattern of policing in response to forfeiture. However, in economic terms these effects are very weak and do not support the proposition that forfeiture provides vital funds and incentives for crime policing. (JEL H39, H71, K42)
Plasticity in resource allocation based life history traits in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. I. Spatial variation in food abundance

We investigated the quantitative genetics of plasticity in resource allocation between survival, growth and reproductive effort in Crassostrea gigas when food abundance varies spatially. Resource allocation shifted from survival to growth and reproductive effort as food abundance increased. An optimality model suggests that this plastic shift may be adaptive. Reproductive effort plasticity and mean survival were highly heritable, whereas for growth, both mean and plasticity had low heritability. The genetic correlations between reproductive effort and both survival and growth were negative in poor treatments, suggesting trade‐offs, but positive in rich ones. These sign reversals may reflect genetic variability in resource acquisition, which would only be expressed when food is abundant. Finally, we found positive genetic correlations between reproductive effort plasticity and both growth and survival means. The latter may reflect adaptation of C. gigas to differential sensitivity of fitness to survival, such that genetic variability in survival mean might support genetic variability in reproductive effort plasticity.
Postoperative residual curarization with cisatracurium and rocuronium infusions.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Monitoring of neuromuscular blockade still often relies on clinical judgement. Moreover, there are substantial national differences in the use of agents to 'reverse' their effects. We investigated the recovery characteristics and incidence of postoperative residual curarization after cisatracurium and rocuronium infusions for long duration interventions without systematic antagonism. METHODS In 30 patients undergoing major surgery, we measured infusion dose requirements for rocuronium and cisatracurium during propofol anaesthesia. Infusions were discontinued at the beginning of surgical closure; spontaneous recovery of neuromuscular function was awaited in both groups. Neostigmine (50 microg kg(-1)) was administered only when a patient started to wake without a train-of-four ratio (TOF) of 0.9. RESULTS In the cisatracurium and rocuronium groups, four (27%) and one (7%) patients, respectively, had a TOF ratio > or = 0.9 at the end of surgery. The TOF ratio in each group at that time was 51 +/- 32% for cisatracurium and 47 +/- 31% for rocuronium (P = 0.78). Six patients (40%) in the cisatracurium group and seven (47%) in the rocuronium group required neostigmine. The TOF ratio at the time of reversal was 63 +/- 7% for cisatracurium and 40 +/- 19% for rocuronium (P = 0.01). The time interval between the end of surgery and a TOF ratio of 0.9 was 10 +/- 9 min for cisatracurium and 18 +/- 13 min for rocuronium (P = n.s.). CONCLUSIONS Patients receiving a cisatracurium or rocuronium infusion have a high incidence of postoperative residual curarization when the block is not antagonized. When 'reversal' is not attempted, cisatracurium seems to be safer than rocuronium.
The barley stem rust-resistance gene Rpg1 is a novel disease-resistance gene with homology to receptor kinases

Stem rust caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici was among the most devastating diseases of barley in the northern Great Plains of the U.S. and Canada before the deployment of the stem rust-resistance gene Rpg1 in 1942. Since then, Rpg1 has provided durable protection against stem rust losses in widely grown barley cultivars (cvs.). Extensive efforts to clone Rpg1 by synteny with rice provided excellent flanking markers but failed to yield the gene because it does not seem to exist in rice. Here we report the map-based cloning and characterization of Rpg1. A high-resolution genetic map constructed with 8,518 gametes and a 330-kb bacterial artificial chromosome contig physical map positioned the gene between two crossovers ≈0.21 centimorgan and 110 kb apart. The region including Rpg1 was searched for potential candidate genes by sequencing low-copy probes. Two receptor kinase-like genes were identified. The candidate gene alleles were sequenced from resistant and susceptible cvs. Only one of the candidate genes showed a pattern of apparently functional gene structure in the resistant cvs. and defective gene structure in the susceptible cvs. identifying it as the Rpg1 gene. Rpg1 encodes a receptor kinase-like protein with two tandem protein kinase domains, a novel structure for a plant disease-resistance gene. Thus, it may represent a new class of plant resistance genes.
High step-up single-stage boost inverter

This paper presents a high step-up single-stage boost inverter. The basic topology is known in the literature as a Z-source inverter (ZSI). The ZSI has the ability of buck-boost conversion. No dead time is needed in phase legs, so high reliability can be achieved. Alternative impedance network which can achieve higher step-up performance compared to traditional ZSI is presented. A comparison between the new and traditional single-stage inverter is performed. The advantage over ZSI of the new inverter is its ability to improve the voltage boost inversion performance. In addition, the voltage buck-boost inversion ability is also provided by proposed converter when turn ratio of the coupled inductor is unit. The circuit operation principle is analyzed in detail. Simulation and experimental results are shown to verify the correctness and effectiveness.